Superintendents: November 2013 HAA Agenda

Click here to download the agenda for the November 5 HAA meeting. Meeting topics include a session with SAI Legal Counsel Matt Carver about school safety and related legal issues and breakouts dealing with district-wide technology and negotiations.

October 2013 AEA PD Online & AEA K-12 Online Updates

The October 2013 AEA PD Online and AEA K-12 Online updates are now available. For real time updates, follow AEA PD Online on Twitter @aeapdonline or download our app at http://myapp.is/aeapdonline. 

AEA PD Online 
• Find out how Moodle 2.5's Drag and Drop Feature makes adding images and files easier 
• Now Available: AEA PD Online Training System Level One Investigator Training 
• Upcoming Courses: November 1-December 15, 2013 
• External Partner Webinars and Events 

AEA K-12 Online 
• Connected Educator Month: Network to Learn, to Collaborate, and to Innovate 
• A View from the Field: Angie Emerick

Iowa ASCD to Host 4th/5th Grade Teacher Conference

Are you looking for opportunities for your fourth- and fifth-grade teachers to see quality implementation of the Iowa Core? Are you wanting to impact the learning of your teachers and their students? Register your teachers now so they can learn from practitioners - other fourth- and fifth-grade teachers - and go home with ideas, tools, strategies, information, and networking opportunities. (And be sure to watch the tweets from @IowaASCD - lots of tips for fourth- and fifth-grade teachers of reading!) 

Iowa Teachers will provide learning opportunities around these 3 strands: 

• Teaching for Understanding – Curriculum Strand: What do all students need to learn, know and be able to do? How do we in our building/grade level connect our teaching with the students’ learning expectations identified around “the core”?  
• Assessment for Learning – Assessment Strand: How do we know that students have learned? How do we use assessments to assess and diagnose our students’ progress in learning? How do we adjust our instruction based on the results of the formative assessments to implement the Iowa Core?  
• Teaching for Learner Differences – Instruction Strand: How do we plan and deliver instruction so that we meet the needs of all learners in our classroom? How do we respond if students struggle or don’t learn and how do we respond when students have already learned?

Iowa ASCD and ISEA are sponsoring this conference: 

• Date: December 4, 2013; Registration is from 7:45-8:30. Starting at 8:30 .
• Location: Prairie Meadows Conference Center in Altoona, IA (just east of Des Moines)  
• Fee: $100 for members of Iowa ASCD or ISEA; $150 for non-members

Four ways to register: 

• Register on line with a credit card at https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1317768  
• Mail a check/purchase order with names of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith, Room 123, Drake University School of Education, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA 50311  
• Email with attached purchased order with names of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu.  
• FAX purchase order with names of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.

And - if you send four or more teachers to the conference, you attend the conference free.

ESL Family Literacy/Parent Involvement Mini-Grant Opportunity

Districts with ESL students are eligible to write for additional money to support sustained activities that promote family literacy and/or parent involvement of their ESL students and families. Please consider submitting a proposal. Click here to view the guidelines. If you have any questions, contact ESL/Diversity Consultants Stephaney Jones-Vo (sjones-vo@heartlandaea.org) or Pat Latham (platham@heartlandaea.org).

2013-14 Staff & Schools Directory Now Available

Click here to download the 2013-14 Staff & Schools Directory. Updates to our PeopleBox database and the conversion of staff to new email addresses delayed the completion of the directory, but it is finally complete!

Schmidt Named 2014 Teacher of the Year

Jane Schmidt, a longtime teacher known for her leadership, her ability to connect with students, and her commitment to improvement, is the 2014 Iowa Teacher of the Year. 

“Great teachers make a world of difference for their students, for their colleagues and for their communities,” Branstad said. “The Lt. Governor and I congratulate Jane Schmidt, who is a true role model for both students and teachers.” 

Schmidt, a 33-year teaching veteran from Delmar, is an eighth-grade literacy and language arts teacher at Maquoketa Middle School in the Maquoketa Community School District. 

Schmidt’s leadership extends well beyond the classroom. She serves as a teacher mentor at her school and, in a new role this fall, she coaches educators, refines curriculum and gauges the effects of teaching practices across the school district. Schmidt also will help her school district craft a teacher leadership and compensation plan, an opportunity made available by the education reform law adopted by Iowa legislators this year. 

“I love schools, and I’ve never been tired of teaching,” Schmidt said. “It’s always been my passion, and it’s always given me purpose. I think that’s all we ask of a career – that, and a commitment to continuous improvement.” 

Schmidt works with her students to nurture not only a love for reading and writing, but also a deep understanding of the importance of literacy. She recently shared with her students a study on college dropouts that showed a link to an inability to keep up with the reading. 

Schmidt’s classes also emphasize communicating effectively, both in small groups and one on one. “In this era of texting, that face-to-face communication doesn’t always take place and it’s important,” she said. 

“We hear from employers that kids don’t know how to communicate, how to talk, so it’s something we have to focus on.” 

Schmidt says she was inspired to become a teacher as a teenager, when she volunteered at a summer camp for children with special needs during high school and then volunteered at a laboratory school as a freshman at Illinois State University. Her teaching roots began in special education. Through that experience, she developed a love for literacy instruction and went back to school to earn endorsements in reading and language arts.

Schmidt’s spirit of self-improvement never waned. She earned National Board Certification in 2004, after witnessing a dramatic impact the credential had on one of her own children’s teachers. In May, Schmidt earned a second master’s degree. She also has learned how to use video and other technology to incorporate digital storytelling into her classes. 

“This ‘digital immigrant’ feels strongly that our instruction must include technology if we are to relate to the ‘digital natives’ in our classrooms and prepare them for the 21st century,” Schmidt wrote in her Iowa Teacher of the Year application. 

Schmidt started her teaching career at a special education cooperative in Valparaiso, Ind. She taught special education in the Davenport Community School District for seven years before coming to Maquoketa in 1989. She also has been a special education consultant at Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Davenport. Schmidt has taught language arts and reading at Maquoketa Middle School since 1997. 

Finalists for the Iowa Teacher of the Year award are: 

• Aaron Maurer, a gifted education teacher and instructional coach at Bettendorf Middle School in Bettendorf  
• Kari Murray, a science teacher at Carlisle High School in Carlisle  
• Jon Parrott, an 8th grade social studies teacher at Urbandale Middle School in Urbandale  
• Kristi Wickre, a special education teacher at Smouse Opportunity School in Des Moines (Des Moines Public Schools)  
• Elaine Wolf, a culinary arts teacher at Central Campus in Des Moines (Des Moines Public Schools) 

Schmidt was chosen by a committee that includes representatives from the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa State Education Association, the School Administrators of Iowa, the Iowa Association of School Boards, the Parent Teachers Association, the Area Education Agencies, the Iowa Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and 2013 Teacher of the Year Tania Johnson.

Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grant Planning Meetings

Heartland Area Education Agency has been working with West Wind Education Policy to develop a series of workshops to help districts develop their Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grants. Click here for more detailed information including where to register.

The purpose of this workshop series is to prepare local districts to make informed decisions about teacher leadership and compensation models. The goals are to enable each participating district team to submit a compelling and competitive plan to implement a local teacher leadership and compensation system to the Iowa Department of Education and be well positioned to implement their plans, if funds are awarded.

Teacher Leadership and Compensation System Planning Sessions

Workshop 1: Gather Information  
October 30, 2013     
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

Workshop 2: Consider Designs 
November 13, 2013    
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

Workshop 3: Craft Your Plan
December 2, 2013
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

Workshop 4: Organize Your Application              
January 13, 2014
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

All workshops will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.  The lunch break will be short and food will be provided by Heartland AEA.

Registration will close on Thursday, October 24.  If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Fangman at kfangman@heartlandaea.org or (515) 201-3744.

Network Maintenance Scheduled Oct. 24

On Thursday, October 24, from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m., the ICN and Heartland AEA will be installing a new network switch and will transition the PK-12 school traffic to a new 10Gb interface.

During this maintenance window, some of the school Internet services will be restored sooner than the others, but we will try to keep the downtime for each school to a minimum. This upgrade will also affect Heartland AEA web services during the scheduled hours.

We apologize for the inconvenience, but appreciate your patience as we do this necessary upgrade. Please contact Tuan Dao, Network Administrator, at (515) 473-6702 if you have any questions.

IEC partners with Vintage Tech to Offer FREE Electronics Recycling

Vintage Tech is one of the leading electronics recycling and asset recovery companies in the industry. As an e-Stewards, R2, and ISO 14001 certified electronics recycler, Vintage Tech guarantees the highest level of service and compliance. The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) is pleased to partner with Vintage Tech to offer yet another useful service to Iowa schools.

Click here for a form to list your equipment counts and arrange a recycling pickup. Completed sheets can be submitted to Brendan Wittry bwittry@vintagetechrecyclers.com.

Vintage Tech Recyclers will arrange a pickup at your facility so you don't have to transport your recycled items.  This service is FREE unless you are requesting specialized audit or data destruction services.

Accepted items include: computers, wires and cables, scanners, laptops, computer parts, microwaves, CRTs and LCDs, battery back-ups, cell phones, monitors, computer mice, CD/VCR/DVD players, printers, keyboards, stereo equipment, televisions, MP3 players, fax machines, PDAs and video game consoles.

Follow the links below for more information:
Data security
Certifications and Affiliations
Recycle Your Apple Equipment

Upcoming IEC Ordering Dates

Mark your calendars for the below ordering dates available through the Iowa Educators Consortium.

Health & First Aid
Now-Dec. 31

Light Bulbs & Ballasts
Oct. 14-Mar.

Copy Paper
Nov. 25-Jan. 10

IASL Books
Jan. 2-Feb. 14

Hold the Date: Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grant Planning Meetings

Heartland AEA will be hosting planning meetings to support districts that are applying for Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grants.  The meetings will be held on the following dates: 

October 30, 2013
November 13, 2013
December 2, 2013
January 13, 2014 

Districts will be able to send up to four participants and are encouraged to bring representation from stakeholder groups on their district planning team. Meeting outlines and registration will be released next week. If you have any questions, contact Kevin Fangman at kfangman@heartlandaea.org.

“One Nation, Many Voices,” the Iowa Culture and Language Conference

Register now for the Iowa Culture and Language Conference, "One Nation, Many Voices." This year's conference will be held November 11-13, 2013 at the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.

For more information about the conference and to register go to:
 
http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/programs_and_services/iowa_culture__language_conference/ 

Heartland Title III funds will support attendance by reimbursing your district for registration and substitute pay for the pre-conference and/or conference. Your district will also be reimbursed a total of $100 as a travel stipend.

Participants should register following your district's policy. After the conference, your district will submit one claim form for registration, sub pay and the travel stipend. Title III will reimburse directly to the district, not individuals. The claim forms will be made available in the Administrator Connection at the conclusion of the conference.

We encourage teams of classroom teachers, administrators and ESL teachers to attend.

Invitation to the Administrator Connection

If you are interested in having the Administrator Connection sent to other personnel in your district in addition to the superintendent, principal and curriculum coordinator, please email the Heartland Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org with the subject line of "Add to Administrator Connection List." Please include the person's name, title (assistant principal, activities director, etc.) and email.

October is Connected Educator Month

Online communities and learning networks are helping hundreds of thousands of educators learn, reducing isolation and providing “just in time” access to knowledge and opportunities for collaboration. To learn more about getting involved in the national movement, go to http://connectededucators.org/.

Part of being connected is through social media. Heartland AEA and the statewide AEA system have been active users of Facebook and Twitter for several years. Also announced this year was the Iowa's AEAs Pinterest page which is a collaborative effort amongst Iowa’s nine AEAs and is maintained by AEA consultants from all over the state who specialize in different curriculum and instructional areas. Please connect with Heartland AEA and the statewide AEA system on social media!

Facebook
Heartland AEA: http://twitter.com/HeartlandAEA
Iowa's AEAs: http://twitter.com/iowa_aea

Twitter
Heartland AEA: http://www.facebook.com/heartlandaea
Iowa's AEAs: http://www.facebook.com/iowaaea/

Pinterest
Iowa's AEAs: http://www.pinterest.com/iowaaea

Impacting Lives Blog Showcases AEA Services

View the latest Impacting Lives update at http://aeas4iowa.wordpress.com/ for stories about the many ways Iowa's AEAs are making a difference. In this issue, read more about the work being done to improve early literacy in Iowa as well as a check-in on a child that receives services from her local AEA.

Iowans Invited to Give Feedback on Science Standards

On September 18, the Iowa Department of Education launched a public opinion survey of Iowans regarding the Next Generation Science Standards. The survey is part of a broader state effort to seek input on the new science standards, which represent a multi-state effort to develop a common set of learning expectations for students in kindergarten through high school.
The standards are internationally benchmarked and identify science and engineering practices and content with a focus on preparing K-12 students to go to college or to enter the workforce. To read the Next Generation Science Standards, visit http://www.nextgenscience.org/.

The survey will be open through Friday, October 11. To participate, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JBQM56P.

For more information about the Next Generation Science Standards Task Force, visit http://www.educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2951&Itemid=5238.

Wanted: Your Input on Extended Learning

Learning doesn’t take place just in a classroom. It can happen before school, after and during the summer.

Called in educational circles “extended learning,” it enhances students’ overall educational experiences. The best programs, research shows, involve both school and community involvement.

And to that end, the Iowa General Assembly directed the Iowa Department of Education to produce a report due Dec. 15 on best practices for extended-learning opportunities in the state. To accomplish this, the Department and the Iowa Afterschool Alliance are seeking input from Iowans on extended learning, both in the form of a survey as well as a series of meetings hosted around the state.

The report for the extended learning pilot model comes from funds appropriated by the 2013 Iowa General Assembly in House File 215.

The survey can be accessed here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/extendedlearningIA2013.

For specific information on the individual state meetings, go to http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2962:wanted-your-input-on-extended-learning&catid=666:headlines

October 2013 School Leader Update

Click here to find a link to the October 2013 issue of the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.