Requested Action: DIBELS Next Assessment Materials and Training

Please also find the following memo in pdf form available for download here.

To: Heartland Area Curriculum Coordinators and Principals
From: David Tilly, Director Innovation and Accountability
Sharon Kurns, Director Professional Learning and Leadership
RE: DIBELS Next Assessment Materials and Training

We are writing to update you about the distribution and training of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Next (DIBELS Next) assessment materials for the 2010-2011 school year. Heartland will again provide assessment materials and access to the DIBELS Data System website at no cost to your district. DIBELS assesses literacy skills and assists teachers and literacy teams in identifying those students who may be in need of additional instruction. DIBELS is available for students in Kindergarten through 6th grade. DIBELS is most effectively used within a school-wide system where all students are assessed at least three times per year and the data are used to plan for the instructional needs of all students.

We have been anticipating changes to the DIBELS materials for several years and are pleased to tell you that the revised materials for DIBELS Next will be available for the 2010-2011 school year. They will not be available for download until May 17, therefore we will not begin filling orders until after that time. Our intent is to have all orders delivered to schools by the beginning of next school year. This will ensure all schools have the materials they need in order to gather data in the fall.

The assessment materials and procedures have been revised; therefore it will be necessary for teachers and others who will administrator the assessments to receive training. Because of this, you may want to schedule your fall benchmarking day a bit later than usual so that you can ensure that this training occurs. There will be many options for training including webinars and other electronic means of obtaining the training at a time that fits your schedule. Specific information about training will be provided through the Heartland Administrator Connection in coming weeks.

Click here for an order form for DIBELS Next student assessment booklets. Please complete this order form indicating the number of booklets per grade level you anticipate needing for the 2010-2011 school year. A master copy of Stimulus Books and Administrative will be provided with each order. You may then reproduce the number you need for your building. Be sure to indicate the building contact person who should receive the order. All order forms and future requests for DIBELS assessment booklets should be sent to Teri Hazen at the Johnston Office. Please return the form by May 30, 2010.

Questions regarding administration and scoring, training and/or use of the DIBELS Data System website can be directed to Kristin Orton at (515) 270-0405, extension 14673, or to your Partnership Director. Questions regarding materials may be directed to Teri Hazen at (515) 270-0405, extension 14465.

Additional IEC Rebate Checks to be distributed at May 4 HAA Meeting

Recently, the Iowa Educators’ Consortium (IEC), along with Martin Brothers Distributing Co., received rebate funds for providing post-sale information to a company called Healthcare Foodservice Sourcing Advantage (HFSA). HFSA is a purchasing organization that provides rebates from manufacturers in exchange for allowing them to see where products are sold. The IEC is passing every penny of the received rebate funds directly to Iowa schools.

During the next Heartland Administrator Association Meeting on May 4, all Heartland area school districts that buy food through the IEC will receive an additional rebate check. The amount of the check is prorated according to your 2009-10 foodservice purchases and will not affect your year-end rebate (which you will receive in September). Those not attending the HAA meeting will receive their checks in the mail.

Superintendents: May HAA Meeting

Click here for a Word doc and here for a pdf download of the May Heartland Administrators Association meeting agenda. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 4. Please remember that this month's meeting will take place in Rooms 3 & 4 of the Heartland AEA Johnston office.

Curriculum Network: May 7 Curriculum Network Meeting

The Curriculum Network will meet on Friday, May 7 at 8:30 a.m. in the Heartland AEA Johnston office building. The focus for the meeting will be Iowa Core Implementation Plans. During the morning session, participants will have an opportunity to participate in a peer review process to give and receive suggestions and feedback on two of the outcomes. An afternoon session will also be available for those who would like to continue the process on other outcomes or the plan as a whole. The computer lab will also be open during the day. The agenda and handouts can be downloaded from the May agenda wiki at http://curriculumnet.pbworks.com/May-2010-Agenda.

District Administrators Survey to launch May 4

Heartland AEA will be collecting data from district administrators to assist in agency planning and program improvement using an online survey this year. An invitation email will be sent to each school/district administrator in the Heartland area on Tuesday, May 4, 2010. We send this survey each spring to school administrators to evaluate Heartland's successes and areas for improvement. Thank you in advance for your participation in our continuous improvement efforts.

Iowa Core Effective Instruction Summer Institute

There are still openings to attend the June 15-17 Effective Instruction Institute which will be held at Johnston High School. You can download a flyer on the conference here. The institute will focus on the five characteristics of effective instruction with featured presentations by the following:

• Sarah Brown Wessling, recently named National Teacher of the Year by President Obama
• Troyce Fisher, Director of a Leadership Grant at School Administrators of Iowa (Wallace Foundation)
• Margaret Heritage, Assistant Director for Professional Development at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA
• Bridgette Wagoner, Director of Price Lab School at UNI

To register, go to the Professional development course catalog on the Heartland AEA website at https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH.
Activity Number: IS013932311101

Site Visit Preparation for K-12 School Counseling Programs

Is your K-12 School Counseling Program ready for a site visit? Join Julie Melcher, School Improvement Consultant from the Department of Education, and Susen Schirmer of Heartland AEA for a morning workshop in preparing your K-12 School Counseling program for your DE Site Visit for 2010-11. The workshop will be held on September 1, 2010 in the Heartland AEA Johnston office.

To register, go to the Professional development course catalog on the Heartland AEA website at https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH.
Activity Number: CN005292111101