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 Administrators' Association Meeting Reminder, March 7

The Heartland Administrators’ Association (HAA) meeting will be held on March 7 from 9-11:30 a.m. at Heartland AEA, Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston. Lunch will be provided immediately following. This will be an in-person meeting, with no Zoom option. The session will not be recorded.

College and workforce readiness speaker Brooks Harper will present, “Passionately Preparing the Next Generation.”

It is time to revitalize, recharge and be impassioned in your profession! Re-energize your faculty and staff and let Brooks adjust the lens by which they view their roles and excite them about the tremendous opportunities their positions provide every day. Brooks will discuss the power of gratitude, value development, investing in others and avoiding burnout; increasing your team’s morale and ability to provide passionate performance.

Read more about Brooks

Watch his video!

SAVE THE DATES
April 4

• Timothy Kanold, Ph.D., Solution Tree, Educator Wellness

May 2

• Future Ready Task Force
• Recognition of Retiring Superintendents

HAA 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.

Dr. Timothy D. Kanold to Lead Wellness Sessions for Educators on Leadership and Physical/Mental Wellness

Dr. Timothy D. Kanold is former Director of Mathematics and Science and School Superintendent of Adlai E. Stevenson HSD 125, Lincolnshire, Illinois, the birthplace of PLCs At Work. Also author of the best-selling and award-winning books HEART! (2017) and SOUL! (2021) and co-author with Dr. Tina H. Boogren of the best-selling book Educator Wellness (2022).

Morning Session for Superintendents and District Leaders (90 minutes)

At the Heart of Educator Wellness: Leadership Decision-making, Mindfulness, Relationship-building and Trust-building. Strategies for Leading a Thriving Workplace!
Your leadership life story is a relationship story of learning how to effectively respond to daily emotions and events. How do you become the type of school leader and person others will want to follow and join as part of a relationally intelligent community? How do you effectively respond emotionally and socially to experiences of adversity and triumph?

Creating and sharing new knowledge with others is at the heart of any school with continuously improving levels of student achievement and thriving teachers who love their work. As school leaders you are expected to emotionally and socially adapt, shift, alter, adjust and subsequently lead a belonging and trust culture others will want to be a part of.

In this active and inspiring session, Dr. Kanold reminds each school leader how their daily positive emotional and social presence directly impacts their relationship and trust-building actions with others. He highlights mindfulness, trust, and relationship routines from the Wellness Solutions for Educators™ framework and provides strategies for improving trust, relational intelligence, and emotional regulation; while decreasing stress and anxiety each day!

Participants can expect to:

• Understand essential research behind the Wellness Solutions for Educators™ framework and its relation to student achievement.
• Consider essential research behind compassion and self-compassion as a pathway to encourage teacher retention and renewal.
• Embrace the emotional wellness routine of mindfulness to build atomic habits that stick.
• Understand how to use the social wellness routines of trust and relationships to develop effectively support a culture of collaboration.

April 4

9-11:30 a.m.

Heartland AEA, Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Afternoon Session for School Leaders, Teachers, Coaches, Counselors and more!
(3-hour session with a 15-minute break)

Your Physical and Mental Wellness: Thriving At Work and At Home!
In this decade, teaching and leading in pursuit of improved student achievement is hard to do well – day in and day out. The work at hand takes its toll physically and mentally. During this highly interactive, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, and always engaging session, Dr. Timothy D. Kanold, uses the Wellness Solutions for Educators™ framework to take a deep dive into the physical and mental wellness challenges that exist in the daily life of all educators. The neuroscience research is crystal clear: Improved sleep and rest, food and hydration, and movement are interwoven together as a result of daily decision-making and the intentionally planning for living a more balanced and active life. Participants will be (re)invigorated, (re)inspired, and (re)connected to the benefits of a sustainable and thriving home and work life.

Participants can expect to:

• Discover brain research associated with sleep, rest, hydration, movement and decision-fatigue.
• Consider specific strategies for incorporating improved sleep, rest, hydration, movement, balance, and decision- making routines into daily life.
• Embrace the emotional wellness routine of mindfulness to build atomic habits that stick.
• Give the physical wellness routine of movement clout in everyday life.
• Understand how to use the social wellness routines of trust and relationships to develop friendships and effectively collaborate with others.

April 4
1 - 4 p.m.
Heartland AEA, Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register for the afternoon session at this link: https://bit.ly/3DLnbb8

There is no cost to attend.

The Educator Wellness book will be provided for the afternoon session.

Check Out the Heartland AEA Digital Learning Newsletter March 2023

In this issue of our Digital Learning newsletter:

• Heart of Innovation Keynotes Announced
• Host a Digital Learning Micro Summit
• Computer Science PD Week
• Google Updates
• Audiobooks
• Want to Earn Some Credits?

Ninjafying the Unicorn of Pear Deck: The Teacher Dashboard

Wait….Ninja and Unicorn in the same sentence? Sold! Tell me more….one of the unicorns of premium access to Pear Deck is the teacher dashboard. You might be familiar with using the projector view when facilitating a session in Pear Deck. However, if wanting to ninjafy your Pear Deck skills, you need to dive into the teacher dashboard and discover the additional features you can unlock to create a more dynamic experience for your learners.

Here are just a few ninja level skills the teacher dashboard provides:

• Spotlight specific student submissions when showing responses by staring their replies
• Provide real-time feedback to individual student responses
• Hide replies that might distract from the overall learning experience
• Open the dashboard on a separate device (phone, tablet, etc) for greater mobility

We hope these teasers about the teacher dashboard spark some insights on how you can ninjafy your Pear Deck skills further.

Each month, be on the lookout for a variety of tips, tricks and testimonials shared via our newsletter, the statewide Iowa AEA website and via social media (@iowa_aea, #iowaaea, Heartland AEA Twitter).

For more information or to share your favorite Pear Deck features and ideas, check out the AEA website!

Heartland AEA to Host District Career Guidance Plan Workshop for Future Ready Network on March 23

The Heartland AEA Future Ready Network meeting on March 23 will be a District Career Guidance Plan Workshop. 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. Plans need to be submitted to the Regional Planning Partnerships by March 31. Please complete this survey to indicate how and if your team is planning to attend by March 6 so we can plan for space accordingly.

Great News! UNI is Hosting Two Leadership Camps This Summer for License Renewal Credit

The University of Northern Iowa Institute for Educational Leadership received a grant called Leading and Learning with Character through the Kern Family Foundation. As part of the grant, UNI continues to host Leadership Camps (approved for evaluator renewal) for $75. The two camps being offered at Heartland AEA this summer are:

CANCELLED: Leadership Camp 2.0: New Iowa Standards for School Leaders
June 22-23, 2023

Leadership Camp 1.3 with Special Education Focus
July 24-25, 2023

Free lunch is provided.

Heartland AEA Literacy Newsletter Features National Read Across America Day and More!

In this issue of the Heartland AEA Literacy newsletter:

• Celebrating National Read Across America Day Through an Equity Lens
• Self-Regulated Reading Guides for Teachers and Parents
• Best Practices for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Literacy Interventions
• Middle Tennessee State Dyslexia Center expert minute video series
• Learning Bit By Bit
• SERP Institute Adolescent Literacy
• Spring and Summer Literacy Classes

Heartland AEA Preschool Administrators Newsletter March 2023 is Now Available

In this issue of our Preschool Administrators’ newsletter:

• Heartland AEA Community of Practice for Preschool Administrators
• IQPPS Desk Audit
• PW-PBIS Cohort Application
• ACHIEVE Professional Learning
• Assessment & Assessment Windows
• Professional Development
• Resources

For additional support, contact Brianna Sayre Geiser or Amy Hanken.