Friday, May 26, 2017

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

Districts Are Reminded to Submit CTE Expenses by June 1

School districts in the Heartland AEA service area are asked to submit CTE expenses and receipts for reimbursement to the AEA by June 1. You may reference this earlier CTE memo for information about the claim process and find CTE district allocations in this spreadsheet. The CTE reimbursement form can be accessed here and sent to:

Heartland AEA
Accounts Payable
6500 Corporate Drive
Johnston, IA 50131

If you have any questions, contact T.J. Jumper, Regional Director, at tjumper@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 12308 or Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at bwhalen@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14005.

Heartland AEA Vans Will Deliver to Your District During Summer Months

Heartland AEA vans will deliver once a week to each district administration building and schools with summer school during the summer months. If you have summer school or professional development programs and you would like regularly scheduled deliveries to additional buildings, please email Colleen Miller at colleen_miller@heartlandaea.org.

Schedule:
  • Regular delivery ends June 13. Drivers will stop at each school even if school has ended.
  • Summer delivery begins June 14.
  • Last summer delivery is August 10.
  • Regular fall delivery begins August 14.

Stay Connected With Us This Summer

As many of you are winding down your year’s work and planning to be away over the summer months, remember you can always keep up-to-date with Agency and statewide happenings through our social media! Be sure to “follow” and “like” (and Share!) the following sites to stay updated with the latest news and information.

Facebook
Twitter

Come be Inspired at the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute

Registration is open for 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.

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!
Sessions will focus on:

  • 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
Registration
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. Bring a team! We hope to see you there!

Register by June 4 at this link

Note for Teachers and Administrators in the Heartland AEA area: Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus an honorarium of $200 (totaling $350) to off-contract individuals for full attendance and participation. Claim forms will be available at the event.

Note for districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners: Districts 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.

New Professional Learning Opportunity Offers Additional Preparation for Teachers of English Learners

The University of Iowa Baker Teacher Leader Center & Heartland AEA have developed a professional learning opportunity in response to a growing need by in-service teachers and teacher leaders to receive additional preparation in serving an increasing EL population.

The In-service Teacher Leadership of English Learners Program is open to 40 interested in-service teachers or teacher leaders (non-ESOL endorsed and might not prefer the full ESL endorsement) who are currently serving ELs in their classrooms, while potentially feeling underprepared to meet the linguistic, cultural and academic needs of their students.

The program uses a blended approach of six face-to-face workshops, field experiences and additional learning opportunities. The first workshop begins on Sept. 7, 2017 and the program ends at the Our Kids Summer Institute in mid-June 2018. Participants successfully completing the program will receive the following benefits/incentives:

  • Five licensure renewal credits
  • A credential verifying enhanced EL expertise
  • Reimbursement of all program, online and conference registration and textbook expenses, plus a $400 individual honorarium

For detailed program information and to register online, visit the University of Iowa Baker Teacher Leader Center.

Any questions contact Heartland AEA ESL/Diversity Consultants Janet E. Hiatt, Ph.D., at jhiatt@heartlandaea.org or Stephaney Jones-Vo, M.A. (TESL), at sjonesvo@heartlandaea.org.

ELPA21 Online Reporting System is Live

The ELPA21 Online Reporting System (ORS) is now live with 2016-17 scores. Training for using ORS is also now live on AEA PD Online and needs to be accessed prior to accessing ORS within the portal. While there are not a significant number of changes to ORS from the 2016 version, the training is very important in order to understand the improvements within the system that are aimed to make the report printing and comprehensibility even better than last year. 

To locate the training, log on to AEA PD Online and search the catalog for the module title ELPA21 Online Reporting System (ORS) for 2016-2017 Assessment Results.

Thank you to everyone for all of your hard work on ELPA21 and another successful test administration. Iowa tested over 98% of English Learners during the 2017 ELPA21 window.

Free Registration is Available at the 2017 Teacher Leadership #BCedcamp

Benton Community School District is hosting its 3rd annual EdCamp, June 15, in Van Horne, Iowa. Registration is limited to the first 175 participants and the cost is free.

The event has a teacher leadership focus, however, the experience is not only limited to educators who are in teacher leadership positions. Dr. Ryan Wise, Director of the Iowa Department of Education, will again be welcoming attendees at the event and participating in the day's learning.

If you’ve never been part of an EdCamp session, get ready to discuss, think and problem solve! The agenda is built in the morning and participants spend the rest of the day talking, sharing and learning. Come prepared to participate! For more information, contact Jo Prusha, Director of Curriculum and Instructional Services, Benton Community Schools at jprusha@benton.k12.ia.us or (319) 228-8701 ext. 408.

#BCedcamp
Date: June 15
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.mm.
Location: Benton Community High School, 600 1st Avenue, Van Horne, IA

Register at this link

Youth Mental Health First Aid Course Coming June 13

District school staff within the Heartland AEA service who work primarily with youth age 12-18 are invited to attend this course. Through the Youth Mental Health First Aid curriculum, participants will learn about the prevalence of various mental health disorders impacting youth, and how to recognize the warning signs or mental health problems that my impact a youth’s mental health and resiliency. Participants will become certified Youth Mental Health First Aiders. 

Youth Mental Health First Aid
Date: June 13, 2017
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register at this link

Friday, May 19, 2017

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

Be Inspired at the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute

Registration is open for 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.

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,

And, our amazing students!

Sessions will focus on:

  • 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
Registration
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. Bring a team! We hope to see you there!

Register by June 4 at this link

Note for Teachers and Administrators in the Heartland AEA area: Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus an honorarium of $200 (totaling $350) to off-contract individuals for full attendance and participation. Claim forms will be available at the event.

Note for Districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners: These districts 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.

New Professional Learning Opportunity Offers Additional Preparation for Teachers of English Learners

The University of Iowa Baker Teacher Leader Center & Heartland AEA have developed a professional learning opportunity in response to a growing need by in-service teachers and teacher leaders to receive additional preparation in serving an increasing EL population.

The In-service Teacher Leadership of English Learners Program is open to 40 interested in-service teachers or teacher leaders (non-ESOL endorsed and might not prefer the full ESL endorsement) who are currently serving ELs in their classrooms, while potentially feeling underprepared to meet the linguistic, cultural and academic needs of their students.

The program uses a blended approach of six face-to-face workshops, field experiences and additional learning opportunities. The first workshop begins on Sept. 7, 2017 and the program ends at the Our Kids Summer Institute in mid-June 2018. Participants successfully completing the program will receive the following benefits/incentives:
  • Five licensure renewal credits
  • A credential verifying enhanced EL expertise
  • Reimbursement of all program, online and conference registration and textbook expenses, plus a $400 individual honorarium
For detailed program information and to register online, visit the University of Iowa Baker Teacher Leader Center.

Any questions contact Heartland AEA ESL/Diversity Consultants Janet E. Hiatt, Ph.D., at jhiatt@heartlandaea.org or Stephaney Jones-Vo, M.A. (TESL), at sjonesvo@heartlandaea.org.

Registration is Now Open for Heartland AEA’s Pilot of an Additional Course Option for Iowa Evaluator License Renewal

Heartland AEA with support from the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is pleased to pilot an additional course option for administrators and/or evaluators who want to renew their evaluator license. The Collaborative Leadership Institute will be held on June 19-20, Oct. 3 and Dec. 5, 2017 at the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center in Johnston. The pilot is open to anyone in the state and seating is limited to 50 people. Registration is now open at this link.

Collaborative Leadership Institute

Dates: June 19-20, Oct. 3 and Dec. 5, 2017
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register at this link

Instructional Practices Inventory Workshops Coming in October

Heartland AEA is hosting two Instructional Practices Inventory Workshops in the fall for teachers who want to enhance their practice of collecting and collaboratively studying student engagement. Both workshops will be facilitated by Jerry Valentine, IPI Developer and Lead Trainer at the University of Missouri’s Instructional Practices Inventory group.

Instructional Practices Inventory Level I Workshop
The IPI workshop will begin with an overview of the IPI categories and the protocols for data collection and transitions to a local school to make observations in a classroom setting.

Dates: Oct. 4, 2017
Times: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Van Meter Community School District, 520 First Ave., Van Meter
Register at this link


Instructional Practices Inventory Technology Workshop
During the workshop, participants will develop the skills to document student engagement through the use of technology and learn how to use the profiles to engage faculty in collaborative learning conversations about engagement, instructional change, technology integration and school-wide instructional goals.

Dates: Oct. 5, 2017
Times: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston
Register at this link

Thursday, May 11, 2017

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

Come Get Inspired at the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute

Registration is open for 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.

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,

And, our amazing students!

Sessions will focus on:

  • 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
Registration
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. Bring a team! We hope to see you there!

Register by June 4 at this link

Note for Teachers and Administrators in the Heartland AEA area: Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus an honorarium of $200 (totaling $350) to off-contract individuals for full attendance and participation. Claim forms will be available at the event.

Note for Districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners: These districts 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.

Registration is Now Open for Heartland AEA’s Pilot of an Additional Course Option for Iowa Evaluator License Renewal

Heartland AEA with support from the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is pleased to pilot an additional course option for administrators and/or evaluators who want to renew their evaluator license. The Collaborative Leadership Institute will be held on June 19-20, Oct. 3 and Dec. 5, 2017 at the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center in Johnston. The pilot is open to anyone in the state and seating is limited to 50 people. Registration is now open at this link.

Collaborative Leadership Institute

Dates: June 19-20, Oct. 3 and Dec. 5, 2017
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register at this link

Educators Considering Authentic Standards-based Learning Will Gain Valuable Information at the Conference on Transforming Systems Through Standards-Based Learning

Des Moines Public Schools and Drake University are teaming up to bring you the conference on Transforming Systems Through Standards-Based Learning on June 22 at the Iowa Events Center.

Conference Emphasis
The conference will have an emphasis on secondary buildings and educators who are considering how to start authentic standards-based learning (including grading and reporting), help teachers who are trying things on their own, and support secondary educators who are looking for new ideas to try.

Session Topics
The conference consists of a keynote and two breakouts in the morning, lunch on site, teacher highlight speakers over lunch and two afternoon breakouts. Breakouts will be facilitated largely by DMPS teachers and leaders, as they lead learning over how DMPS has implemented standards-referenced learning, including grading and reporting, in a large district. Other conference faculty will offer sessions on:

  • Making a student information system (online grading system, such as Infinite Campus) work with standards-referenced/based grading
  • Learning how standards become proficiency scales
  • How to track and monitor student learning
  • Considerations for exceptional learners
  • How administrators can lead efforts in standards-based learning, including grading & reporting
  • Where to stand philosophically with regard to standards-based learning, scoring evidence, use of zeroes
  • Successful implementation of standards-based learning and grading in smaller, rural schools
  • Managing multiple opportunities for assessment of learning
  • Looking at research regarding how standards-based learning and grading work
Drake University and Des Moines Public Schools Present:
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

Register at this link

For more information, contact Becca Lindahl, at blindahl@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 Ext. 14355.

Instructional Practices Inventory Workshops Coming in October

Heartland AEA is hosting two Instructional Practices Inventory Workshops in the fall for teachers who want to enhance their practice of collecting and collaboratively studying student engagement. Both workshops will be facilitated by Jerry Valentine, IPI Developer and Lead Trainer at the

Instructional Practices Inventory Level I Workshop
The IPI workshop will begin with an overview of the IPI categories and the protocols for data collection and transitions to a local school to make observations in a classroom setting.

Dates: Oct. 4, 2017
Times: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Van Meter Community School District, 520 First Ave., Van Meter
Register at this link


Instructional Practices Inventory Technology Workshop
During the workshop, participants will develop the skills to document student engagement through the use of technology and learn how to use the profiles to engage faculty in collaborative learning conversations about engagement, instructional change, technology integration and school-wide instructional goals.

Dates: Oct. 5, 2017
Times: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston
Register at this link

Reserve Your Spot Today for Maximizing School Counselor Impact: A Module for School Leaders

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
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 Surplus Available

DMACC Ankeny Campus has the following surplus items available. If interested contact Julie Klocke in Purchasing at jaklocke1@dmacc.edu.

70 sled based desks










24 tables, 24” x 48” (do not fold)


Friday, May 5, 2017

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

Districts Are Asked to Complete Step III in Request for Transportation Agreement Process

During the last two months, districts completed Steps I - II in the online Request for Transportation Agreement process. Districts are now asked to complete Step III (certifying your permissions) by May 31. 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.

Are You Paying Too Much on Your Student Loans? IS Loan Solutions May Be Able to Help Lower or Eliminate Your Payments

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

  • Receive a personalized 10-year loan forgiveness plan outlining projected tax-free savings
Some may be able to lower their payments through the program, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF is not Teacher Loan Forgiveness). If you choose to work with IS Loan Solutions, there will be a fee for their services. For those who won’t benefit from PSLF, refinancing may work for you. For those who registered with ISLoan 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.

Contact IS Loan Solutions at (866) 831-5564 or visit isloansolutions.com for more information and success stories.

So Long VHS! Hello More Streaming Video

At Heartland AEA we have been surveying teacher librarians and technology coordinators about their school’s media usage and we’re finding that streaming video is the preferred video format in most classrooms. We randomly chose eight days in April to study usage and there were over 10,000 views of streaming videos! As we continue to build our streaming video collection, we will also remove VHS tapes from circulation after this school year. DVDs will still be available for checkout. If you have questions about streaming video or any of our other library or digital supports for schools, contact the Heartland AEA Library at (800) 255-0405 ext. 15799 or info@heartlandaea.org.

Registration is Open for the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute!

Registration is open for 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.

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!
Sessions will focus on:

  • 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
Registration
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. Bring a team! We hope to see you there!

Register by June 4 at this link

Note for Teachers and Administrators in the Heartland AEA area: Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus an honorarium of $200 (totaling $350) to off-contract individuals for full attendance and participation. Claim forms will be available at the event.

Note for Districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners: These districts 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.

Heartland AEA is Piloting an Additional Course Option for Iowa Evaluator License Renewal - Join a Live Webinar to Learn More

Heartland AEA with support from the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is pleased to pilot an additional course option for administrators and/or evaluators who want to renew their evaluator license. The Collaborative Leadership Institute will be held on June 19-20, Oct. 3 and Dec. 5, 2017 at the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center in Johnston. The pilot is open to anyone in the state and seating is limited to 50 people. Registration will be open soon pending approval from the DE and BoEE.

Learn more about the Institute in a live webinar on May 9
If you’d like to learn more about the content that will be presented in the Institute, join course facilitator Dr. Peter DeWitt in a live webinar on May 9, 2017 at 4:15 p.m. (Note: This is a change in time from the original announcement). 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.

The Final Statewide C4K Leadership Webinar of the School Year Will be Held on May 18

Join in the last statewide C4K Leadership webinar on Zoom to receive updates and start planning for next year. C4K Leadership webinars allow for ongoing opportunities for professional learning and support for state administrators and access to tools and resources necessary for leadership. The webinars put learning into actual leadership practice, make connections and help leaders to stay ahead of new initiatives, laws and expectations through Differentiated Accountability.

Statewide C4K Leadership Webinar
Date: May 18, 2017
Time: 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Zoom link to join the webinar

Educators Considering Authentic Standards-based Learning Will Gain Valuable Information at the Conference on Transforming Systems Through Standards-Based Learning

Des Moines Public Schools and Drake University are teaming up to bring you the conference on Transforming Systems Through Standards-Based Learning on June 22 at the Iowa Events Center.

Conference Emphasis
The conference will have an emphasis on secondary buildings and educators who are considering how to start authentic standards-based learning (including grading and reporting), help teachers who are trying things on their own, and support secondary educators who are looking for new ideas to try.

Session Topics
The conference consists of a keynote and two breakouts in the morning, lunch on site, teacher highlight speakers over lunch and two afternoon breakouts. Breakouts will be facilitated largely by DMPS teachers and leaders, as they lead learning over how DMPS has implemented standards-referenced learning, including grading and reporting, in a large district. Other conference faculty will offer sessions on:

  • Making a student information system (online grading system, such as Infinite Campus) work with standards-referenced/based grading
  • Learning how standards become proficiency scales
  • How to track and monitor student learning
  • Considerations for exceptional learners
  • How administrators can lead efforts in standards-based learning, including grading & reporting
  • Where to stand philosophically with regard to standards-based learning, scoring evidence, use of zeroes
  • Successful implementation of standards-based learning and grading in smaller, rural schools
  • Managing multiple opportunities for assessment of learning
  • Looking at research regarding how standards-based learning and grading work
Drake University and Des Moines Public Schools Present: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

Register at this link

For more information, contact Becca Lindahl, at blindahl@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 Ext. 14355.

BoEE Newsletter - May 2017

The BoEE May 2017 Newsletter contains important news about a legislative update on Mandatory Reporting, CPR Certification - Coaching, hiring new graduates, conditional licensure, BoEE helpful website tools and more.

May 2017 School Leader Update

The Iowa Department of Education May 2017 School Leader Update is now available.

May 2017 Each and Every Child Newsletter

The Iowa Department of Education’s May 2017 Each and Every Child newsletter is now available. This issue focuses on keeping kids learning throughout their summer break. And Deborah Reed, head of the Iowa Reading Research Council, weighs in on the so-called summer slide.