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

  

We Need Your Feedback on Training Options for our 5-Day Autism Training

We are seeking your feedback to help Heartland AEA's Challenging Behavior and Autism Team explore training dates and format for our 5-Day Autism Training. For reference, currently we provide this training one time per year in the summer months. We are exploring alternative training options and formats. Please respond to this short survey to help guide our decision making. Thank you!

Save the Date: Heartland Administrators’ Association (HAA) Meeting Dec. 6

The Heartland Administrators’ Association (HAA) meeting will be held on Dec. 6 from 9-11:30 a.m. at Heartland AEA, Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston. The agenda will focus on cybersecurity with guest speaker Scott Augenbaum, former FBI - Cybercrime. Agenda here. Lunch will be provided immediately following.

January 3 HAA Meeting

Since this is the first day back for many school districts following winter break, the Jan. 3 HAA meeting will be held entirely via Zoom. It will begin at 9:00 a.m. and consist of partnership updates only.

Join Us As We Celebrate CSEdWeek, Dec. 5 - 11

Computational thinking skills inspire problem solving, innovation and creating – skills that are essential for our future workforce. Computer science opens worlds of opportunity for young Iowans to improve how we work and live. Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) takes place Dec. 5-11, 2022, and is an annual call to action to provide American youth with resources to learn more about computer science, explore the opportunities that exist and encourage participation in computer science education.

A variety of resources, panel opportunities and activities are available for anyone interested in learning more about computer science at www.iowastem.org/csedweek. These resources can be utilized to set up unique experiences and events and are customizable for a variety of settings, including classrooms, libraries, businesses, at home, among others.

Throughout the week, schools and other education providers in Iowa and all around the world will offer activities and programs to engage students in computer science education. Scheduled activities for Computer Science Education Week include:

Dec. 5
9 a.m. – Panel for Secondary Students: “What it’s like to be a computer scientist”

10 a.m. – Panel for Non-Traditional Learning Environments (Librarians, After-School Providers, Homeschool, 4-H): “How to include CS in your programming”
4 p.m. – Panel for Classroom Educators: “How to grow CS in your building and/or district”

Dec. 6
3:30 p.m. – Panel for School Counselors: “How to impact and support all learners with CS”
4:30 p.m. – Panel for School Administrators: “NOT one more thing! How to build a CS culture, incorporate into core content, support implementing your K-12 CS plan”

Dec. 7
11 a.m. – Panel for Business and Community Partners: “How to support CS efforts in your community, school districts and/or building”

Dec. 8
6:30 p.m. – Virtual Family Coding Night

Dec. 9
12:30 p.m. – Nutcracker Ballet + STEM at Stephens Auditorium, 1900 Center Drive, Ames, IA 50011

The following companies and organizations are collaborating to help build awareness and provide various resources, events and activities to integrate high-quality computer science education throughout Iowa’s educational systems.

Alliant Energy
Bio::Neos
Computer Science Teacher Association (CSTA) Iowa
Google
Iowa’s Area Education Agencies
Iowa Business Council
Iowa Department of Education
Iowa Technology & Education Connection
Iowa Workforce Development
Kirkwood Community College
Microsoft
NewBoCo K-12 Education
Technology Association of Iowa

Learn more about CSEdWeek activities by visiting www.iowastem.org/csedweek. Follow on social media using the hashtag #CS4IA to see Computer Science Education Week events happening throughout Iowa.

You’re Invited: Complete This Survey That Explores Factors Leading to Teacher Burnout

The purpose of this study is to identify predictive factors for teacher burnout that may be related to working with students with disabilities. It is estimated that the survey will take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Participation in the study is totally voluntary, and responses are entirely anonymous. Participants must hold an appropriate teacher/teaching credential in Iowa, currently work in a middle or high school and are 18 years or older. If you agree to participate, follow this link to access the survey. Please consider sharing this invitation with your networks as appropriate.

For more information, contact the survey administrator:
Allison Levine, Ph.D., CRC, Assistant Professor, Department of Counselor Education,
Affiliate Research Faculty, Scanlan Center for School Mental Health, University of Iowa
Allison-levine@uiowa.edu
(319) 467-4355

Don't Miss Out! Youth Mental Health First Aid Training Dec. 5

Youth Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that introduces participants to the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents, builds understanding of the importance of early intervention, and teaches individuals how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. Participants do not learn to diagnose, nor how to provide any therapy or counseling rather, participants learn to support a youth developing signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis.

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

Dec. 5, 2022

8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Invited Audience: Any District Staff

Register at this link: https://bit.ly/3OhHvom

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

  

We Need Your Feedback on Training Options for our 5-Day Autism Training

We are seeking your feedback to help Heartland AEA's Challenging Behavior and Autism Team explore training dates and format for our 5-Day Autism Training. For reference, currently we provide this training one time per year in the summer months. We are exploring alternative training options and formats. Please respond to this short survey to help guide our decision making. Thank you!

UNI and Iowa’s AEAs Partner to Provide Computer Science Endorsement to Teachers at No Cost

Computer Science Education at University of Northern Iowa partnered with Central Rivers and Grant Wood AEAs to earn a $1,000,000 National Science Foundation Grant. 

This program will provide secondary (5-12) computer science endorsements at no cost for roughly 25 educators in each of Iowa's 9 AEAs and at a reduced cost for others from Summer 2023 through Winter 2025.

Participants will complete course work online and attend 15-20 total regional, in person Communities of Practice throughout the endorsement program. The computer science endorsement will be completed in 18 months and includes the following courses:

• Foundational Concepts of Computer Science
• Fundamentals of Programming
• Teaching and Learning Programming
• Methods of Computer Science
• Data Structures and Algorithms

We anticipate running three cohort groups at Central Rivers, Grant Wood and Northwest AEAs beginning Summer 2023 and six cohort groups Summer 2024 in various locations across the state. 

Teachers interested in receiving additional information about the program as more details are released can register their interest by completing this Teacher Interest Form.

For more information on this program you can visit csed.uni.edu, view an informational flyer at bit.ly/CSED_UNI_NSF23_Info or contact Ben Schafer, Ph.D., at schafer@cs.uni.edu or (319) 273-2187.

Nov. 17 Future Ready Network Meeting to Focus on Apprenticeships, Financial Aid, the Military & More

The next Heartland AEA Future Ready Network meeting will be on Nov. 17 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and will focus on apprenticeships, Job Corps, financial aid, scholarships and the military.

This network meeting will be offered as a hybrid option. District teams can join in person in the Johnston Regional Education Center, Conf. Room 123 or via Zoom. Participants will leave with a greater awareness of apprenticeship opportunities in central Iowa, scholarships and financial aid available in Iowa and Job Corps and military connections to post-secondary education. Several guest speakers will be on hand including Kris Byam, Registered Apprenticeship Bureau Chief, from the Iowa Department of Education; Shari Clausen from Denison Job Corps; Todd Brown from Iowa College Aid; and Maj. Daniel Torrence, Iowa Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force, ROTC.

Visit the Heartland AEA Future Ready site to stay up to date on news, resources, past network Zoom recordings and more. For more information, contact Sue Schirmer, Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant.

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

  

Digital Learning News from Heartland AEA

In this issue of the Digital Learning newsletter from Heartland AEA:

• Tech Tip of the Month
• Computer Science News
• Canva and Pear Deck
• Want to Earn Some Credits?
• Opportunities from Your Statewide AEA System
• From the Blogosphere

Canva and Pear Deck Go Hand in Hand

If you’re a K-12 educator, you can access Canva for Education for free! You’ll get all the benefits of Canva premium features such as millions of images, fonts, graphics, videos, animations, and templates, plus a dedicated classroom workspace to invite students and teachers to share, review, and manage your work.

AND if you’re an Iowa Educator you get Pear Deck Premium for free! You’ll get all of the bells and whistles of draggables, immersive reader, student paced mode, locks, timers review and reflect and more!

Combine the two and you have a plethora of ways to engage your students. Explore these ready-to-use Canva templates designed for Pear Deck — along with many more or jump on into Canva and create your own!

• About Me — build connections with your students by sharing an “About Me” presentation
• Social Emotional Learning (SEL) — understand your students with a Mood or Feelings check-in
• Science — teach a ready-to-use Science presentation template
• Social Studies — engage students with an eye-catching Social Studies lesson

Pear Deck also partners with Newsela! This month’s tip is a recommendation from Stephanie Hnesh, 5th grade teacher in Iowa City. She loves using the Daily Decks with Newsela content that are new every day to engage students in rich conversations. Take a look!

Each month, be on the lookout for a variety of tips, tricks and testimonials shared via our newsletter, the statewide Iowa AEA website and via social media (@iowa_aea, #iowaaea, Heartland AEA Twitter).

For more information or to share your favorite Pear Deck features and ideas, check out the AEA website!

READ: Heartland AEA Library & Digital Resources Newsletter

In this issue of the Heartland AEA Library & Digital Resources newsletter:

• New PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next Articles
• Open House: Explore Robots and Physical Computing Devices
• First Amendment and Students
• New Ebooks
• New Titles in Learn360
• Test Your Children's Lit Knowledge
• Teach Computational Thinking with Literature

Heartland AEA Literacy Newsletter is Now Available

In this issue of the Heartland AEA Literacy newsletter:

• Simple View of Writing
• Connecting Writing to the Science of Reading, Developing Writing for Young Learners (K-2)
• Instructional Resources
• Professional Learning Opportunities

Heartland AEA Introduces Preschool Administrators’ Newsletter

Welcome to the Heartland AEA Preschool Administrator's Newsletter! This e-newsletter is for district and community partner leaders to keep you updated on preschool initiatives, state requirements, professional development, assessment and best practices. Enjoy and share with your colleagues! In this issue:

• Communities of Practice
• IQPPS Desk Audit
• ACHIEVE Professional Learning
• Assessment GOLD Checkpoint dates
• myIGDIs
• Professional Learning Activities

Iowa Department of Education Releases Fall 2022 School Leader Update

The Fall 2022 School Leader Update is now available. Some topics include:

• Message from the Director
• Does your student want to serve on the Iowa State Board of Education?
• Iowa e-Learning Central now offers course sharing
• School vulnerability assessment update
• Preschool professional learning webinars
• Student Reporting in Iowa updates