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
During the last two months, districts have been asked to complete Steps I - II in the online Request for Transportation Agreement process. Districts can now complete Step III (certifying your permissions) beginning May 1 through May 31. Please review the instructions and timelines to complete the process for 2017-18, including the video tutorials. For more information, contact Jenny Ugolini at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14441.
*Share this with all of your full-time employees*
Heartland AEA is partnering with an advisory company, IS Loan Solutions, to help school employees improve their student loan situations and overall financial well-being. All of your full-time district employees (regardless of position) with student loans are encouraged to find out if this voluntary benefit can help them. They may qualify for loan forgiveness and refinancing to help lower or even eliminate loan payments. IS Loan Solutions has helped others reduce their monthly payments on average by 81%.
Click this link https://HeartlandAEA.myisls.com/register and enter registration code AEA11 for more information.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) may be able to:
- Immediately lower monthly student loan payment
s
- Reduce student loan obligation
- Significantly lower costs to earn additional degrees
PSLF also provides a personalized 10-year loan forgiveness plan outlining projected tax-free savings.
Contact IS Loan Solutions at (866) 831-5564 or visit isloansolutions.com for more information and success stories.
If you registered with IS Loan Solutions in the past and were told you would not benefit from PSLF, login to your MyISLS portal and you will be directed to the refinancing option.
Don’t miss out on the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute for educators and administrators of English Learners, June 13-14, 2017 at Waukee High School in Waukee. Network with other educational professionals, discover new strategies for working with English language learners in Iowa and meet national and local experts to enrich practices for increasing EL achievement. Sessions include:
- Serving English Learners with Disabilities
- Newcomer Considerations
- Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices
- ELs and Literacy Support
- Enhancing EL Instruction through Home Language Connections
- High Yield Strategies for ELs
- Successful District Programs
- First-person student voices
Featured speakers include:
- Trudy Arriaga, Ed.D. - Administrator leader and advocate for ELs, first female superintendent of Ventura Unified School District where she began as a bilingual paraeducator
- Fern Westernoff, Ph.D. - Speech language pathologist who earned her doctorate in ELL and merged two areas of expertise to inform her work in Toronto, the world’s largest K-12 EL population
- Amy Hewett-Olatunde, Ed.D. - Minnesota’s 2015 Teacher of the Year
- Major Sean Quinlan - Retired Major United States Marine Corp, ROTC Instructor at Des Moines’ North High School and former football coach featured with his team on ESPN during the 2017 Super Bowl and
- Our amazing students!
Registration is $150 and includes lunch, snacks, Go To Strategies, OELA Newcomer Toolkit and OELA English Learner Toolkit. Seating is limited to the first 500 registrants on a first-come, first-served basis. Register by June 4 at this link: https://goo.gl/2pXC0m
Note: Districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners are required to send a team in accordance with the Technical Assistance Requirement under Title III. Contact your AEA Title III Consultant for additional information and financial support.
With another successful ELPA21 assessment administration in the books, districts are reminded to return all testing materials as noted in the training and in the original shipment. Return all used and unused paper and pencil materials (e.g. Kindergarten and 1st grade online writing supplements, paper test booklets, braille kits) using the prepaid return shipping label for return to Measurement Inc. as soon as possible. If you have any questions, contact the Iowa Department of Education Help Desk at iowaelpa21helpdesk@air.org or (855) 873-5710.
Heartland AEA with support from the Iowa Department of Education is pleased to pilot an additional course option for administrators and/or evaluators who want to renew their evaluator license. The Collaborative Leadership Institute is a two credit hour course that will be held on June 19-20, Oct. 3 and Dec. 5, 2017 at the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center in Johnston.
Heartland AEA and Corwin partnered in the design of the Evaluator Approval Training pilot with the assistance of Peter Dewitt, Ed.D., and his work on Collaborative Leadership, which is grounded in the Visible Learning research of education expert John Hattie, on the most influential and impactful leadership practices shown to accelerate student learning.
In the Institute, Dr. Dewitt will unpack six leadership factors of Collaborative Leadership, painting a powerful scheme to meet stakeholders where they are, motivate stakeholders to strive for improvement and model how to do it. Participants will learn:
- The definition and complexities of collaborative leadership
- The 6 influences from Hattie’s research where they should focus
- How to redesign structures they have in place to help them have deeper and more impactful conversations with teachers, students and parents
- How to increase their ability to identify effective strategies for improvement
- How to build consistency in providing feedback to teachers based on a common set of agreed upon effective components of teaching
- Several activities to use with their staff to elicit the teachers’ voice and input into coaching, thus increasing teachers’ investment
- A deeper understanding of the Claims, Evidence, Impact, Judgment model for providing feedback to teachers
- To share best practices and be a resource
The pilot is open to anyone in the state. Seating is limited to 50 people. Registration information is coming soon!
Learn more about the Institute in a live webinar!
If you’d like to learn more about Collaborative Leadership and the course content, join Dr. Dewitt in a live webinar on May 9, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. Register for the webinar at this link.
For any other questions, contact Jim Verlengia, Ed.D., Director of Leadership Supports with Heartland AEA at jverlengia@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14388.
Are you an AEA or district staff member serving students with autism in less restrictive environments? Then the web-based course “Online Effective Programming for Integrated Students on the Autism Spectrum” may be for you!
This self-paced course will cover a variety of topics, including:
- Characteristics of autism
- Effective classroom supports
- Evidence-based strategies for addressing concerns in the areas of communication, behavior and social skills
- Professional collaboration as a vital component to serving students on the autism spectrum
Effective Programming for Integrated Students on the Autism Spectrum
Dates: June 12 - Aug. 11, 2017
Location: Online
Registration: Register at this link
*Graduate and license renewal credit are available.
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
*Share this with all of your full-time employees*
Heartland AEA is partnering with an advisory company, IS Loan Solutions, to help school employees improve their student loan situations and overall financial well-being. All of your full-time district employees (regardless of position) with student loans are encouraged to find out if this voluntary benefit can help them. They may qualify for loan forgiveness and refinancing to help lower or even eliminate loan payments. IS Loan Solutions has helped others reduce their monthly payments on average by 81%.
Click this link https://HeartlandAEA.myisls.com/register and enter registration code AEA11 for more information.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) may be able to:
- Immediately lower monthly student loan payment
s
- Reduce student loan obligation
- Significantly lower costs to earn additional degrees
PSLF also provides a personalized 10-year loan forgiveness plan outlining projected tax-free savings.
Contact IS Loan Solutions at (866) 831-5564 or visit isloansolutions.com for more information and success stories.
If you registered with IS Loan Solutions in the past and were told you would not benefit from PSLF, login to your MyISLS portal and you will be directed to the refinancing option.
Don’t miss out on the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute for educators and administrators of English Learners, June 13-14, 2017 at Waukee High School in Waukee. Network with other educational professionals, discover new strategies for working with English language learners in Iowa and meet national and local experts to enrich practices for increasing EL achievement. Sessions include:
- Serving English Learners with Disabilities
- Newcomer Considerations
- Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices
- ELs and Literacy Support
- Enhancing EL Instruction through Home Language Connections
- High Yield Strategies for ELs
- Successful District Programs
- First-person student voices
Featured speakers include:
- Trudy Arriaga, Ed.D. - Administrator leader and advocate for ELS, first female superintendent of Ventura Unified School District where she began as a bilingual paraeducator
- Fern Westernoff, Ph.D. - Speech language pathologist who earned her doctorate in ELL and merged two areas of expertise to inform her work in Toronto, the world’s largest K-12 EL population
- Amy Hewett-Olatunde, Ed.D. - Minnesota’s 2015 Teacher of the Year
- Major Sean Quinlan - Retired Major United States Marine Corp, ROTC Instructor at Des Moines’ North High School and former football coach featured with his team on ESPN during the 2017 Super Bowl and...
- Our amazing students!
Registration is $150 and includes lunch, snacks, Go To Strategies, OELA Newcomer Toolkit and OELA English Learner Toolkit. Seating is limited to the first 500 registrants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Register by June 4 at this link: https://goo.gl/2pXC0m
Note: Districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners are required to send a team in accordance with the Technical Assistance Requirement under Title III. Contact your AEA Title III Consultant for additional information and financial support.
This two-credit, online course for principals, assistant principals and directors of counseling, helps school leaders understand how to engage effectively with school counselors to take the steps needed to achieve your goals in school improvement. In this course, participants will learn more about:
- The impact school counselors can have on student success
- The school counselor’s role
- A comprehensive school counseling program and how to support one
- Developing a shared vision for student success with your school counselor
This course was developed in collaboration with the National Association of Secondary School Principals and is offered through a joint agreement with the Southern Region Education Board, Iowa College Aid and AEA PD Online. It is part of a series of the Go Alliance Academy.
Register Here
DMACC Ankeny Campus has the following surplus items available. If interested, contact Julie Klocke in Purchasing at jaklocke1@dmacc.edu.
70 sled based desks
8 ft. boat shaped conference table (widest part is 4 ft)
As shared in the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education:
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) requires states to report the percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities. This year, the Iowa Department of Education is gathering these data as a census for both students with and without a disability using a three-question survey.
This Parent Letter has a survey link that you are asked to share with all parents via email, website, and/or social media.
If you have any questions, contact Meredith MacQuigg, Data Consultant, Iowa Department of Education at (515) 494-5610 or meredith.macquigg@iowa.gov.
The Principal TLC Coaching with the New York City Leadership Academy was presented to superintendents and principals during the Superintendents meetings the first week of April. As a reminder, the deadline for pre-registration is TODAY, April 21.
The TLC Administrator Support Program is a comprehensive, year-long professional development program focused on building your capacity as the principal to develop and facilitate distributed leadership in your school, namely by supporting and leveraging teacher leaders as part of your leadership team.
Cost for the program will be $5,000-$6,000 unless the legislature makes last minute funding changes. You may edit your TLC plan and use TLC implementation dollars for this Principal Coaching program. Please consider pre-registration so appropriate planning can be done for the 2017-18 school year.
For more information, contact Lora Rasey at the Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-6719 or lora.rasey@iowa.gov.
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
Heartland AEA is beginning year three of the online Request for Transportation Approval process.
Chapter 285.9(3) of the Iowa Code requires the Area Education Agency Board of Directors to approve all bus routes outside the boundaries of the school district operating the buses. This has been interpreted to mean regular routes and regular special education routes, not bussing for field trips or activity trips. The Code requires you to request permission from neighboring district(s) before any bus routes cross district boundaries.
Refer to this document to see if your district has completed Steps I - II.
Please review the instructions and timelines to complete the process for 2017-18, including the video tutorials. Districts are asked to begin the multi-step process this month. For more information, contact Jenny Ugolini at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14441.
As an educational leader, are you faced with increasingly complex challenges to tackle? Do you try to tackle them alone? Would you be interested in being part of a group that identifies, examines and addresses real problems of practice leaders face? Explore and develop systems leadership? Have access to Drake University? Then...
Become a part of the Drake Continual Improvement Network. The vision is to transform education in Iowa in order to restore joy in learning, teaching and leading in Iowa’s schools. The network provides opportunities to learn and work together to solve real problems of practice through the process of systemic continual improvement.
Interested? Read more here or contact Dr. Doug Stilwell, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Drake University at doug.stilwell@drake.edu or (515) 271-1993.
The TLC Administrator Support Program is a comprehensive, year-long professional development program focused on building your capacity as the principal to develop and facilitate distributed leadership in your school, namely by supporting and leveraging teacher leaders as part of your leadership team.
The program includes a three-day summer intensive training for principals followed by three half-day workshops during the school year for principals and their team, and 36 hours of one-on-one school-based coaching.
The TLC Administrative Support Program for 2017-18 will have a registration fee, however the school district may use their TLC funds to pay for the registration fee of their participating principal(s). This program is a collaborative effort among Iowa’s AEAs, Iowa Department of Education, School Administrators of Iowa, and the New York City Leadership Academy.
100% satisfaction rating from current participants!
For more information, contact Lora Rasey at the Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-6719 or lora.rasey@iowa.gov.
Iowa’s high school graduation rate has increased for the fifth year in a row while dropout rates edged up for the first time since the 2009-10 school year, according to figures released by the Iowa Department of Education. State data show 91.3 percent of students in Iowa’s Class of 2016 graduated within four years, up from 90.8 percent for the Class of 2015. Iowa’s annual dropout rate was 2.8 percent in the 2015-16 school year, up from 2.5 percent in the 2014-15 school year. The state’s 2015-16 dropout rate represents 4,154 students in grades 9-12. For more information on Iowa’s graduation rates and dropout rates, including rates by school district and by student subgroup, visit the Graduation Rates and Dropout Rates webpage on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.
Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise announced he’s seeking public input on fine arts standards that are under consideration in Iowa. Wise announced public forums throughout the state, as well as an online survey that’s open through May 12, following a state team’s recommendation to get feedback on the National Core Arts Standards. These standards were developed by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, an alliance of national arts and arts education groups. Iowans can access the online survey regarding the National Core Arts Standards at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZF7BCQY. Visit the Fine Arts Standards Adoption Team webpage on the Iowa Department of Education's website for more information.
Public Forums on April 25 and 27
Public forums will be held at Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, on April 25 and April 27 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
To view all public forum sites and details, visit the Iowa Department of Education website.
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
Heartland AEA is beginning year three of the online Request for Transportation Approval process.
Chapter 285.9(3) of the Iowa Code requires the Area Education Agency Board of Directors to approve all bus routes outside the boundaries of the school district operating the buses. This has been interpreted to mean regular routes and regular special education routes, not bussing for field trips or activity trips. The Code requires you to request permission from neighboring district(s) before any bus routes cross district boundaries.
Refer to this document to see if your district has completed Steps I - II.
Please review the instructions and timelines to complete the process for 2017-18, including the video tutorials. Districts are asked to begin the multi-step process this month. For more information, contact Jenny Ugolini at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14441.
Dr. Laurie Noll, Superintendent in the Fairfield Community School District, is asking school districts if they allow community colleges to hand out AA diplomas at district graduations. Dr. Noll has provided a link to a Google spreadsheet where you can add your information if you like.
There are still a few remaining seats open for the upcoming Special Education for ELLs Workshop on May 8. Register at this link by May 1, 2017. Registration is free. Title III will be able to provide district reimbursement for subs with Claim Forms available at the workshop.
The workshop provides collaborative principles for participants to practice with school-based teams, explore student’s performance from an English Learner (ELs) and special education perspective, practice culturally and linguistically responsive solution-seeking process for ELs, and examine use of a framework to build a more culturally and linguistically responsive Multi-Tiered System of Supports for ELs.
Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners Workshop
Date: May 8, 2017
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Where: FFA Enrichment Center, 1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway, Ankeny
Register at this link by May 1, 2017
Des Moines Public Schools and Drake University are teaming up to bring you Transforming Systems Through Standards-Based Learning on June 22 at the Iowa Events Center. Topics covered include implementing standards-referenced learning, including grading and reporting, over a large district, specific learning sessions for administrators, small school strategy on system transformation and aligning student information systems with standards-based learning.
The conference is designed for secondary and elementary educators who are starting authentic standards-based learning (including grading & reporting), teachers who are trying things on their own, and those who are looking for new ideas to try.
For more information, contact Becca Lindahl, at blindahl@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 Ext. 14355.
Transforming Systems through Standards-Based Learning
Date: June 22, 2017
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Location: Iowa Events Center, 730 3rd St, Des Moines
Registration Link
The TLC Administrator Support Program is a comprehensive, year-long professional development program focused on building your capacity as the principal to develop and facilitate distributed leadership in your school, namely by supporting and leveraging teacher leaders as part of your leadership team.
The program includes a three-day summer intensive training for principals followed by three half-day workshops during the school year for principals and their team, and 36 hours of one-on-one school-based coaching.
The TLC Administrative Support Program for 2017-18 will have a registration fee, however the school district may use their TLC funds to pay for the registration fee of their participating principal(s). This program is a collaborative effort among Iowa’s AEAs, Iowa Department of Education, School Administrators of Iowa, and the New York City Leadership Academy.
100% satisfaction rating from current participants!
For more information, contact Lora Rasey at the Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-6719 or lora.rasey@iowa.gov.
The Iowa Department of Education April 2017 School Leader Update is now available.
There are literally thousands of talented Iowa educators who lead and inspire their students. But only one is chosen annually as the state’s top teacher. The deadline to nominate the 2018 Iowa Teacher of the Year is April 28.
The award is an opportunity to recognize an exceptional Iowa teacher who is helping to redefine education. Nominations will be accepted from anyone, including students, parents, school administrators, colleagues, college faculty members and associations. Nomination forms can be found on the Iowa Department of Education website.
The Iowa Teacher of the Year award was established in 1958. The annual program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education through an appropriation from the Iowa Legislature. The Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador to education and as a liaison to primary and secondary schools, higher education and organizations across the state. The 2018 Teacher of the Year will be announced this fall.
