Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve
the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
This is a reminder about the new transportation agreement request procedure. Please complete steps 1-3 by next Friday, May 22. Please review the attached instructions and the short overview. Questions can be directed to Jennifer Ugolini, Board Secretary at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14441.
Thirty-three new school districts have been accepted into the state system, bringing the total number of districts in the teacher leadership system to 198. The 33 new districts were accepted through a one-time opportunity for districts whose plans missed the minimum score in the last round to re-apply. The 33 new districts will implement their teacher leadership plans in the 2016-17 school year.
Read the Iowa Department of Education’s full release which includes a list of the chosen districts.
On April 23, six schools in our area received state level recognition for their work with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS emphasizes a school-wide system of support that includes proactive strategies for creating a positive, supportive school culture. Across the state, 39 were recognized for their success with PBIS development, implementation and sustainability. Congratulations to our staff members and school teams who work together to promote greater productivity, safety and learning in our schools.
Area schools recognized were the following:
DeSoto Intermediate School, Adel-DeSoto-Minburn CSD
Horizon Elementary, Johnston CSD
Perry Elementary, Perry CSD
Summit Middle School, Johnston CSD
Western Hills Elementary, West Des Moines CSD
Westwood Elementary, Ankeny CSD
Please forward to anyone in your district who may be interested.
Recognizing that language and technology skills are important even as budgets are tightening, the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) continues its partnership with Rosetta Stone® Education. As a result of this partnership, you have the opportunity to provide your school with access to more than 20 languages at a special price. This rate is open to all Iowa schools.
With Rosetta Stone, the uses go beyond your typical high school foreign language instruction. Think outside the box!
• English Language Learning (ELL)
• Before/After-school programs and summer programs
• Professional language development (faculty, staff)
• Independent study programs
• Special education
• World language expansion/Dual language immersion
• Credit recovery/Intervention
For more information about this opportunity, visit the Rosetta Stone page on the IEC website and then contact one of your dedicated language learning consultants.
René Nicolle Murphy (New Accounts)
Senior Account Executive, Education Sales K12
(800) 788-0822 ext. 7712
rmurphy@rosettastone.com
Shannon Rankin (Renewals)
Account Manager, Education Sales K12
(800) 788-0822 ext. 7708
srankin@rosettastone.com
UNI will host a six week, six unit online course on how to teach with Scratch. The course assumes no prior programming experience and will include an introduction to the environment, material on Scratch for Logo, storytelling, text interaction and game-laying, as well as coverage of some advanced topics. Each unit is a blend of 60-90 minutes of lecture videos (roughly 5 minutes each), hands-on guided activities and independent programming assignments. It was taken by over 140 teachers last summer and was VERY well reviewed in end of course evaluations.
The course will run from June 8-July 17 and will require a TOTAL commitment of roughly 20-25 hours. Apply by June 1.
The mission of EyesOpenIowa (formerly FutureNet) is to lead Iowa communities in advocacy, education and collaboration to ensure adolescent sexual health. Find a list of trainings and professional development they have available this summer.
Here are some tips and tricks for districts to consider when planning their online trainings for their employees in 2015-2016.
1. Encourage employees to take trainings earlier. If your district sends out a welcome-back letter in July to employees, encourage them then to take the trainings. July is a down time for usage of the server.
2. If you are having staff complete the training in August, avoid the heavy usage dates. To the right, you can see the projected usage chart for August, the darker the color, the heavier the usage.
3. Avoid having your entire staff take the training at once. While this practice might be very convenient for the planning of pre-service days, it also greatly enhances your chances of hitting the cap, meaning some will be logged into the site and some will not. Plus, all the individuals from your school accessing the same training could impact your own district bandwidth, slowing down the experience as well.
4. Target district inservice days throughout the school year. Waiting until your first early-out can save a lot of frustration for your teachers.
Secondary social studies teachers may be interested in our new
course, Building Literacy in Social Studies (Year 1). Participants will
learn about the ELA Literacy Standards for History/Social Studies within
the Iowa Core. In addition, time will be spent on an overview of the
six instructional shifts needed to fully implement the Iowa Core. A more
in-depth analysis of two of the instructional shifts- disciplinary
literacy and the use of informational text will also be a central part
of the professional development. Social studies best practices and
examples will be used throughout the two days.
Building Literacy in Social Studies (Year 1)
Dates: June 8 & 9, 2015
Location: Zion Lutheran Church (4300 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines)
Activity Number: SS004599991601
The 12 LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Readers and Spellers) modules are designed to teach teachers how students learn to read and write, the reasons why some children fail to learn and the instructional strategies best supported by research. Heartland AEA will host a class June 8-9 which will cover Module 4 - The Mighty Word: Building Vocabulary. Explore the research foundations of the importance of vocabulary in literacy learning, as well as the various ways that students learn vocabulary. The course will be a combination of research theory and practical strategies for the classroom.
This class is most appropriate for K-5 teachers, instructional coaches and teacher leaders and school administrators.
The Mighty Word: Building Vocabulary and Oral Language
Dates: June 8-9, 2015
Location: Johnston REC
Activity Number: RE034292111601
As custodians of Iowa's history, the Iowa Museum Association wishes to aid in educators' professional development and preparedness for teaching Iowa history in interactive and engaging ways that encourage community collaboration. In their workshop July 20-21, educators will learn and understand Iowa's role in history during the time of Westward Expansion. Educators will learn about what local, authentic artifacts are available with which to illustrate their lessons and create a unit of study in object-based learning for the classroom that aligns with the Iowa Core English Language Arts Standards for History/ Social Studies.
Teaching Iowa History with Local Resources
Dates: July 20 & 21, 2015
Location: Boone County Historical Society (602 Story Street, Boone)
Activity Number: SS004799991601
RTI is not a series of implementation steps to cross off on a list, but a way of thinking about how educators can ensure each child receives the time and support needed to achieve success. Starting Fall 2015, Heartland AEA will bring Mike Mattos, Solution Tree, to lead a series of sessions which will guide middle and high school buildings in design and implementation of an RTI/MTSS system to meet the needs of all leaders. The role and access to the universal instruction (Tier 1) will be empathized as well as the need for targeted (Tier 2) and intensive intervention (Tier 3) will be shared.
RTI at Work
Dates: Sept. 16-17, Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 2015, Feb. 29 & March 1, 2016
Location: Ramada Tropics Resort & Convention Center
Activity Number: AD017699991601
If you would like a Heartland AEA member to attend this training with your middle or high school team. Contact Shannon Harken at sharken@heartlandaea.org. Shannon will work with the regional director assigned to your district to identify the AEA staff member.
