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

 

ISFIS partners with Iowa's Area Education Agencies to Host Budget Workshops for School Leaders

These hands-on workshops provide the opportunity for superintendents, SBOs and their teams to prepare their individual district Certified Budget in just one highly productive day. Districts will leave the workshop with a completed (or nearly completed) Certified Budget and will know all the details for publication. Attendees also learn about sales and property tax debt and other variables affecting district finances.

This year, the budget workshop at Heartland AEA will be in-person. There are also two virtual workshop options. The budget workshop fee is $300 per district per workshop (whether in person or virtual), but please sign up each person individually to ensure there is adequate space for everyone.

ISFIS Budget Workshop
Jan. 30, 2023
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register online at this link: https://www.iowaschoolfinance.com/Budget_workshops

For more information, email Jen Albers at jen@iowaschoolfinance.com.

Mark Your Calendars for Heartland Administrators' Association Spring Speaker Series

Heartland AEA has announced speakers for the spring Administrators’ Association meetings in Feb., March and April. Scheduled speakers include:

February

• Jean Berger, Executive Director, Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union
• Alan Greiner, Executive Director, Iowa High School Music Association
• Stacy Hansen, Executive Director, Iowa High School Speech Association
• Todd Tharp, Assistant Director, Iowa High School Athletic Association
• Laura Williams, Iowa AEA Learning Online, Authentic Learning, 21st Century Learning Specialist/Work-based Learning Coordinator

March

• Brooks Harper, Passionately Preparing the Next Generation

April

• Ann Lebo, Ed.D., Executive Director, Iowa Department of Education
• Timothy Kanold, Ph.D., Solution Tree, Educator Wellness

Meetings are scheduled from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, Rooms 107A/B. Lunch to immediately follow. View the speaker series flyer to learn more.

Upcoming Future Ready Network Meetings Focus on Portrait of a Graduate, District Career Guidance Plans

UPDATE: We have made the decision to cancel the Feb. 16 Future Ready Network, due to the high likelihood of a large number of late starts and/or cancellations due to the weather. We will plan to have the Portrait of a Graduate make-up session on April 20 from 8:30-11:00 a.m. Further details about this rescheduled date will be shared on our Future Ready Website and in future communications.

February Future Ready Network - Portrait of a Graduate
The content for the February Future Ready Network will now be Portrait of a Graduate content that was originally scheduled for January and postponed due to weather. The meeting will be on Feb. 16 from 8:30-11:00 a.m. District teams can join in person in the Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, room 123 or via Zoom at this link. Guest speakers will share their Portrait of a Graduate journey and how they navigated each phase. Question and answer breakout sessions will also be available for districts to learn more about different aspects of Portrait of a Graduate.

March Future Ready Network - District Career Guidance Plan Workshop
The Heartland AEA Future Ready Network meeting on March 23 will be a District Career Guidance Plan Workshop. This network meeting and workshop will be offered as a hybrid option. Districts are encouraged to bring members of their District Career Guidance Team to review their plans and explore the trends with feedback to continue to improve opportunities for all students. This date will include morning work time from 8:30-11:30 a.m. for districts to revise and update their plans with support from AEA consultants. Plans need to be submitted to the Regional Planning Partnerships by March 31. Please complete this survey by March 6 to indicate how and if your team is planning to attend so we can plan for space accordingly.

Visit the Heartland AEA Future Ready Website to stay up to date on news, resources, past network Zoom recordings and more! 

For more information, contact Sue Schirmer, Heartland AEA Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant.

Revitalize Student Learning with Authentic Partnership Projects at Free Virtual Event

We encourage you to share this communication with area educators, business partners and students.

2023 Iowa Authentic Learning Network Student Expo
Feb. 22, 2023
8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Are you looking for an engaging event to rejuvenate your learners? Curious about authentic learning but haven’t had a chance to dive in? Join us Feb. 22 for a one-of-a-kind FREE virtual event designed to promote student projects with area partnerships. This event is brought to you by students for students as a collaborative AEA partnership.

• Looking for ways to engage students? Don’t wait...Register now!
• New to the idea of embedding partnership projects? This event is for you!
• Have established partnerships already? Learn more and showcase your students!
• Are you a business or organization looking to engage with area youth? Experience first hand the kinds of projects already in progress.

Register for the expo at this link https://bit.ly/3VbcIvn (register by logging in and signing up in the top right hand corner).

Iowa Principals Invited to Join Principal Alliance on Jan. 31 to Discuss Building Culture with Author Jimmy Casas

Iowa Principals join your colleagues on Jan. 31 at 9:00 a.m. for the Principal Alliance! Topic: Building Culture – with Jimmy Casas, author of Culturize, and most recently, Recalibrate. Registration is not required to attend. For more information contact Kevin Fangman, Chief Academic Officer.