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
Superintendents should have received a calendar invitation to the Sept. 6 Heartland Administrators’ Association (HAA) meeting. The meeting will include an administrator-only learning session on Fundamentals of Communication and Media Interaction featuring Andy Garman with Wixted & Co. This is an in-person meeting only, with no Zoom option and it will not be recorded.
Lunch will be provided immediately following the meeting. Please accept or decline your calendar invitation as it will be used as a headcount for ordering lunch.
If you wish to bring an extra person, such as your Comms or PR person, please contact Jenny Ugolini. We will be monitoring attendance as attendance will be capped.
The search for a new Heartland AEA chief administrator began this week after the board of directors approved Hazard Young and Attea (HYA) to lead that search process. The search will begin immediately with the intention of a new chief administrator being selected by winter break in December 2022. Current chief administrator Jon Sheldahl will retire at the end of June 2023. Sheldahl has led the agency since 2017.
Iowa redistricting is currently underway. Redistricting is the process of redrawing electoral districts to equalize population between districts and is required by Iowa law following each decennial Census. If existing school director districts meet the standards in Iowa Code and the 2020 population between districts is still within the required parameters, existing districts can remain in place - though do still need to be recertified by the Iowa Secretary of State.
Redistricting Resources
Iowa's AEAs are partnering with Cornerstone Geospatial Consulting to support districts in the redistricting process. Cornerstone is an Iowa-based GIS mapping company with considerable experience in non-partisan redistricting. Owner Jodi Flory has worked through three redistricting cycles with the Iowa Legislative Services Agency, and has extensive expertise in GIS mapping, particularly in working with school districts in boundary verification, reorganizations, and in performing director redistricting.
Cornerstone has begun preliminary work on AEA director redistricting. Flory is actively scheduling with school districts now to assist them in the redistricting process, and has begun some preliminary plan work with districts already signed up.
Getting Started
Complete the Redistricting Information Form to provide the information needed to get the process started. Flory will follow up with you.
Timeline
- Nov. 15, 2022 - First day that school boards can adopt a resolution redrawing director district boundaries
- May 15, 2023 - Deadline for school boards to complete redistricting
- July 1, 2023 - School director district boundaries become effective
More Information
Heartland AEA is proud to partner with thought leaders Drs. Nicole Law and Sonja Hollins-Alexander in providing the “Collective Equity Learning Series” for districts in the Heartland AEA service area. Law and Alexander are the authors of the Collective Equity Framework, published by Corwin. This series consists of four face-to-face learning dates, two virtual learning dates and one virtual coaching session for district teams.
Overview
When we create a learning community that works together through a collectivist lens of shared accountability, we begin to see how educators can convene around high expectations for all. The Collective Equity framework consists of the following dimensions: personal relational, professional, organizational and systemic. These dimensions empower learning communities to explore how their collaborative actions and decisions propel learning forward.
The Collective Equity Framework Includes:
- Considering all the dimensions we individually and collectively bring to school, including poverty, special needs, beliefs, values and more.
- Engaging in practices that fortify all members in the learning community as they develop a shared language, create a safe place for the work of equity and establish cultural sustainability.
- Activating the Collective Equity Organizational Analysis in a comprehensive process that informs the removal of organizational, instructional, programmatic and curricular barriers that impede the promise of equity.
*Presenters have reviewed HF802 and understand all content delivered has to meet the requirements in the law.
Dates:
In-person: Sept. 26 & 27 and Oct. 17, 2022, April 11 and June 12, 2023
Virtual: Nov. 14, 2022 (90-min. coaching session), Jan. 10 and Feb. 6, 2023
Registration:
Collective Equity Learning Series
More Information:
*View all dates and content overview*
Heartland AEA has been approved for grant funding through the Iowa Department of Education to provide the paraeducator certification courses at no cost to candidates needing this certification to qualify for the paraeducator-to-teacher model pathway through the Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship (TPRA) Grant Program. The full list of districts that were approved for the TRPA grant can be found here. There are three courses you must register for and complete to be able to apply for the Paraeducator Generalist Certificate through the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. There are two cohort options listed below.
NOTE: Paraeducators that have an associate's degree or a bachelor’s degree are able to participate in the TPRA program without the paraeducator certification. So you do NOT need to take these courses.
Participants must have access to a computer/internet in order to take the courses. Participants must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent GED to apply for the paraeducator certificate through the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners.
Click on the name of each course below to link to the registration system. You must register for all three courses separately.
Cohort 1
Sept. 6 - Dec. 8, 2022
Maximum 25 participants
Registration ends Aug. 30
Course Name: HL - Paraeducator Generalist Certification Program - Course I Introduction/Foundation (TPRA Grant)
Course 203936, Section 313016
Dates: Sept. 6, 15 & 29, 2022 (4:30-5:45 p.m.)
Via Zoom + Online Work due by Sept. 29, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Course Name: HL - Paraeducator Generalist Certification Program - Course II Instructional Support (TPRA Grant)
Course 203937, Section 313017
Dates: Oct. 20 & Nov. 3, 2022 (4:30-5:15 p.m.)
Via Zoom + Online Work due by Nov. 10, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Course Name: HL - Paraeducator Generalist Certification Program - Course III Behavioral Supports (TPRA Grant)
Course 203938, Section 313018
Dates: Nov. 17 & Dec. 1, 2022 (4:30-5:15 p.m.)
Via Zoom + Online Work due by Dec. 8, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Cohort 2
Sept. 7 - Dec. 21, 2022
Maximum 40 participants
Registration ends Sept. 1
Course Name: HL - Paraeducator Generalist Certification Program - Course I Introduction/Foundation (TPRA Grant)
Course 203936, Section 313051
Dates: Sept. 7, 22 & 28, 2022 (4:30-5:45 p.m.)
Via Zoom + Online Work due by Sept. 29, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Course Name: HL - Paraeducator Generalist Certification Program - Course II Instructional Support (TPRA Grant)
Course 203937, Section 313052
Dates: Oct. 26 & Nov. 2, 2022 (4:30-5:15 p.m.)
Via Zoom + Online Work due by Nov. 16, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Course Name: HL - Paraeducator Generalist Certification Program - Course III Behavioral Supports (TPRA Grant)
Course 203938, Section 313053
Dates: Nov. 30 & Dec. 14, 2022 (4:30-5:15 p.m.)
Via Zoom + Online Work due by Dec. 21, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Questions? Contact:
Professional Learning Department at (515) 473-6780 or profdev@heartlandaea.org
