Our Mission 

To improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth by providing services and leadership in partnership with families, schools and communities. 

Our Goals

• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success

Heartland Administrators’ Association Meeting - Sep. 7, 2021

The next regular meeting of the Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) will be held on Sept. 7 from 9 -11:30 a.m. at the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, in Johnston in Rooms 107AB. The meeting will also be available via Zoom at https://heartlandaea.zoom.us/j/708115455.

Agenda Link

This month’s agenda will feature updates from the Iowa Department of Education with Director Dr. Ann Lebo, as well as a session on Learning and Leading for Equity with guest speakers, Lee Teitel, Ed.D., and Circe Stumbo, Ed.M. Dr. Teitel is the founding director and senior consultant for the Reimagining Integration: Diverse and Equitable Schools (RIDES) project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently supports teams from more than 50 schools and districts around the country in equity improvement work, and has co-founded a new nonprofit supporting this work, SchoolsTransforming.org. Ms. Stumbo is president of West Wind Education Policy, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Apply for Computer Science Curriculum, Professional Development Grants

Grants for high-quality computer science curriculum and aligned professional development for teachers are available to school districts and accredited nonpublic schools.

The grants will assist with implementing a 2020 state law that requires high schools to offer computer science instruction starting July 1, 2022, and middle and elementary schools to provide computer science starting July 1, 2023. The goal with this funding, however, is for teachers to begin professional development in the summer of 2022 and for classroom instruction to begin in the fall of 2022.

This is possible thanks to a portion of a 2007 court-approved settlement of a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against Microsoft Corp. being designated for this purpose. In addition to the $3.7 million provided, up to $300,000 will be spent to help districts and nonpublic schools develop local K-12 computer science plans as required by the 2020 state law. More details will be provided soon regarding the $300,000 for computer science plan development

School districts and accredited nonpublic schools may apply to receive grants in each of the grade bands, up to a total of $30,000.

Priority will be placed on awarding school districts and accredited nonpublic schools that do not currently offer computer science in one or more of the designated grade bands: K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. After adhering to that priority, awards will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information on how to apply, go to the Iowa Department of Education’s webpage.

K-12 Teachers, Students Invited to Sign up for Statewide ‘Design Challenge’

Work-based learning is an essential tool to connect what students learn in the classroom to future careers. That’s why the Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning and the Home Builders Association of Iowa are pleased to announce the statewide Build Iowa's Future Design Challenge for school districts and accredited nonpublic schools. Teachers and school administrators across the state are invited to sign up starting Aug. 18 for their K-12 students to participate with the chance to win up to $1,000 for their school.

Please encourage teachers and students you know to get involved in either the Iowa Home Design Challenge for grades K-5 and 6-8 or the Iowa Dream and Design Challenge for grades 9-12. Learn more about the challenge at https://clearinghouse.futurereadyiowa.gov/challenge. Assistance is available from your Heartland AEA PLLC or a member of our Future Ready Team.