Reminder: Please Complete Two-Question Website Survey

We are redesigning the website to make it easier to navigate for those we serve. If you have not already done so, please take a short, two-question survey on how you use Heartland AEA’s website. Your feedback is appreciated. The survey will be open until November 1, 2012. Go to the link below for the survey. 

https://docs.google.com/a/aea11.k12.ia.us/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEhLeGtOWHNRMVctTk42Tk5ORUUyREE6MQ

World Food Prize Posters to be Distributed Via Van Mail

Dr. Norman Borlaug arguably did more to alleviate world hunger than anyone in history. To help celebrate his legacy, Iowa’s leaders proclaimed October 16 as Dr. Norman Borlaug – World Food Prize Day. The World Food Prize Foundation has organized a series of events throughout the state for a week-long celebration and has coordinated with the AEAs to distribute a poster to promote the awareness of Borlaug and global food security issues. Posters, accompanied with a letter from the governor, will be delivered to area schools via the Heartland van mail service in the next two weeks. 

Problems & Solutions for Electronic 4Box With DIBELS Next Data

We wanted to alert you to a potential problem as you get ready for your fall data days and offer three solutions.

The Problem
The current version of the electronic 4-Box Filemaker Pro tool that you received as part of the IDM Winter or Spring Cohort Reunion no longer works. Because the UO DIBELS Data System has two sets of benchmark goals (i.e., the Recommended and the Former), the Data System no longer populates a necessary field in the data set that is downloaded from their system and imported into the Filemaker Pro tool.

Three Solutions:
1. We have updated the electronic 4-Box Filemaker Pro tool (version 2.1). That means you will be able to initially sort your students by need based on their DIBELS Next data. However, you will need to delete the old Filemaker Pro tool and install the new tool. Click here for directions on how to delete the old tool, install the new tool and download the correct data set from the UO DIBELS Data System. Version 2.1 of the Filemaker Pro tool uses the Former (i.e., the goals we used last year and recommended by the DIBELS Next authors) benchmark goals. Please note that this solution is only for schools that use Mac computers.

2. A second solution is the availability of a quadrant report in HEART. You will need to work with your Heartland assessment consultant for assistance with importing the DIBELS Next data set into HEART. For an overview of how the HEART quadrant report functions, please see http://tinyurl.com/8lhu8ne. The HEART quadrant report allows you to set your own cut scores, thus the DIBELS Next Former or Recommended benchmark goals can be used. This solution works for Macs and PCs.

3. Of course, various paper-pencil versions of the 4-Box are still available. If you or staff at your school are a DIBELS Mentor, the grouping worksheets are available on Dynamic Measurement Group's Mentor website: http://dibels.org/mentors.html. In addition, Becky Hinze, AEA reading consultant, has a version of the grouping worksheets posted on her wiki: http://beckyhinze.pbworks.com/w/page/53368611/DIBELS. For these worksheets, please note that there is a slight modification in the winter and spring of 1st grade grouping. Instead of using Nonsense Word Fluency - Whole Words Read (WWR) as the second sorting variable, Nonsense Word Fluency - Correct Letter Sounds (CLS) is used. The grouping worksheets cited above currently reference the Former Goals.

One Caution
As you download the data set from the UO DIBELS Data System for import into the Filemaker Pro tool or HEART, you’ll notice that the Data System reports that the data set (i.e., DIBELS Next and Math Data Export (Deprecated)) will no longer be available after December 1, 2012. Please know that we are exploring several possibilities and are confident we can develop a solution before your winter data day.

If you have any question about the Filemaker Pro tool, please contact Alecia Rahn-Blakeslee (arahn@aea11.k12.ia.us) or Berrett Rice (brice@aea11.k12.ia.us). If you have questions about the HEART quadrant report, please contact the assessment consultant for your region.

Welcome Back

On behalf of Heartland Area Education Agency, I’d like to extend a warm 'welcome back' to all of you. I hope you join me in my excitement for the start of another school year, and look forward to the opportunity to partner together to make a positive impact on students—all 140,000 of them in Heartland’s service area.

I invite you to take interest in this Heartland AEA Administrator Connection blog. The Administrator Connection is updated every Friday (excluding holidays and summer vacation) to inform area superintendents, principals, curriculum directors and other school leaders of important announcements, agency news, professional development opportunities and other key information items. Please consider using the Administrator Connection as a means of exchanging ideas, offering feedback and sharing information with each other.

To our superintendent colleagues, we invite you to join us for our monthly Heartland Administrator Association (HAA) meetings. The meetings are a time to learn together, collaborate and exchange information around contemporary educational issues. The meetings are held at the Heartland AEA Johnston Regional Education Center from 9:00 to 11:50 a.m. on the first Tuesday of every month. This year’s first HAA meeting will be on September 4, 2012.

At Heartland AEA, we will do our best to be a valued partner with you in our joint efforts to assure quality outcomes for those we serve. Please do not hesitate to contact your regional director or me with questions, comments and suggestions at any time.

Best regards,

Paula Vincent

Chief Administrator

Heartland AEA's Annual Progress Report Now Available

The Agency's Annual Progress Report (APR) for the 2010-2011 school year is now available. Click here for the report. You can also access the report via the Agency's website by clicking on the "About Us" link in the upper left-hand side of the homepage and then scrolling down to “Annual Progress Report.”

New Heartland AEA Comic Video Highlights Services

The graphic/comic book novel approach has generated super high "readership" for Web-based documents. We took that approach to make a short video that highlights how Heartland AEA makes an impact for the teachers we serve. Click here to see the video. Please help us share this video with teachers, parents and community members wanting to know a little more about how our Agency works with educators.

Internet Connectivity Through Heartland AEA

Heartland AEA area schools are relying more and more each year on Internet connectivity to provide a 21st Century education to their students, and their need for bandwidth is growing exponentially. An important service provided by Heartland AEA is Internet access, which is offered free to all of our districts. While some districts choose to use other providers, Heartland AEA and the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) work together to provide Internet access to 45 of our school districts and several of our private schools. 

As noted earlier, the demand for bandwidth has been increasing rapidly over the past decade. For the 2012-2013 school year, Heartland will be providing 2.5 gigabytes of Internet bandwidth at no cost to the participating schools, more than triple the 800 megabytes provided in 2011-2012.

If you would like to learn more about this service, contact Lance Wilhelm, Director of Technology, at lwilhelm@aea11.k12.ia.us or (515) 270-9030.

Requested Item: Send Your School/District Academic Composite Calendar

Each year, Heartland AEA makes a composite calendar with all our schools'/districts' start dates, teacher workdays/in-services, early dismissals, holidays/no school days, etc. We create this composite by gathering districts' and non-public schools' calendars, and it is used to help our regional directors, practitioners, library staff and van delivery staff be more aware of what's happening in your district and how best to serve you. We have yet to collect all 2012-2013 calendars. If your district or non-public school is listed below, please send your 2012-2013 academic calendar by June 30 to Claire Sowder at csowder@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Public
Colo-Nesco
Coon Rapids-Bayard
Exira
Pleasantville
Saydel
Twin Cedars

Non-Public
Ankeny Christian Academy
Bergman Academy
Christ the King Catholic
Grandview Park Baptist
Holy Family
Iowa Christian Academy
Mt. Olive Lutheran
Newton Christian
Pellla Christian High School
Peoria Christian
Sacred Heart (Boone)
Sacred Heart (West Des Moines)
St. Anthony
St. Augustin
St. Joseph
St. Theresa
Sully Christian
Trinity Lutheran

2012 Summer Hours for Heartland AEA Regional Offices

We have set the summer office hours for our regional offices. These times will be in effect from June 11-August 10. Our Johnston Regional Education Center and Administration Center will maintain our Agency hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please see the regional office summer schedule below.

Adel
7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Ames
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Carroll
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Guthrie Center
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Indianola
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Johnston (Regional Office)
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (June 11-29) and 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (July 2-August 10)

Knoxville
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Newton
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Heartland AEA Offers Affordable Window Clings and Decals for the Classrooms

We can create window clings or decals for the car, classroom window or door, laptop, notebook and more! Go to www.aea11.k12.ia.us/print to view some samples and download an order form. The cost is $1.00 for 8.5x11 sheet in either white or transparent.

Below are just a few examples of how you can use them!

• Insects on the window for a 2nd grade science unit
• Exotic animals on the window to inspire 5th graders’ creative writing
• Music and math symbols interplayed on the window to show connections
• Decals for a math notebook
• Clings for the laptop or iPad
• School spirit decals
• I ♥ reading decals

Heartland AEA 2012 Summer Van Delivery

Heartland AEA is in the process of scheduling summer van delivery. We will deliver twice a week to each district administration building. If you have summer school, professional development programs or intercessions and you would like regularly scheduled deliveries to additional buildings, please e-mail Sherise Ahlers at sahlers@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Schedule-to-date:

• Twice-a-week delivery to each district administration building runs June 11 to August 2.
• Twice-a-week delivery will automatically continue to each building that has an extended year calendar.
• Regular fall van delivery resumes August 6.

Printing:

• Heartland AEA will contact the district to arrange for special delivery of large printing orders during the summer.

May 2012 Educator Connection Newsletter Now Available

Click here for the May 2012 issue of the Educator Connection. This issue was emailed to all educators this week and contains information about our summer professional development courses, special print offers and a story about a graduating teen who has been helped by his AEA physical therapist since he was two.

Our Kids Summer Institute Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the 2012 Our Kids Summer Institute. The institute is appropriate for all content teachers and administrators, not just ELL teachers, and will provide the opportunity to discover new strategies for working with English language learner students. Other topics include Response to Intervention (RtI), co-teaching, technology for ELLs and literacy for the limited formal school population.

The first 350 participants registered will receive a $125 stipend from the Iowa Department of Education for attending the full conference. In order to receive a stipend, you must attend both days and sign in and out. Two graduate credit hours through William Penn University will be available on site. No other credit will be offered for this conference.

Click here for a flyer that can be distributed to interested teachers and administrators. Registration is available through the Heartland AEA Professional Development Catalog.

Heartland Area Spring Title I Meeting

The annual Spring Title I meeting will be held on Monday, May 14, 2012 form 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Rooms 13A & B of the Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston). The Iowa Department of Education will be sharing the latest updates and requirements concerning Title I programs and funding.

If this date does not work for you, click here for the Iowa Dept. of Education's May School Leaders Update, which has a listing of the other AEA meetings in the state.

ICAM Update: 2012 and Beyond

The Iowa Collaborative Assessment Modules (ICAM) will be offered for another two years. At that time the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium program will be in place to provide multi-format testing that ICAM has provided for districts.

Click here for a set of FAQs to bring you up-to-date with the future of multi-format testing in Iowa.

Contact Lisa Krapfl, ICAM State Coordinator, at lkrapfl@aea1.k12.ia.us or (800) 942-4668 with any questions you may have.

Print School Graduation Programs Through Heartland AEA

It's May and many schools are starting to prepare for graduation/commencement ceremonies. Remember that Heartland AEA is able to print, fold and bind your school's graduation programs, whether it is preschool, elementary, middle school or high school, in a variety of formats.

The most popular sizes are 5.5x8.5 or 8.5x11, and we can print in full color or black/white. You are not limited to a set number of pages -- we've printed everything from a simple one-pager to a 30+ page, full color program.

Submit an electronic copy of your program with a Print Request Form to our Print Center at printcenter@aea11.k12.ia.us. We also have graphic artists that can create your programs. Please submit a Production Request Form to our graphic designers at graphics@aea11.k12.ia.us, and one of them will contact you about layout, information and design. The Print Request Form and Production Request Form can be found on our website at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/print/index.html.

Please allow two weeks for the completion of your order. Finished programs will be shipped via our van mail delivery or can be picked up at our Print Center in the Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive).

Preview of Heartland AEA 2012-2013 Calendar

Click here for a copy of the Heartland AEA Agency Calendar of Major Events. This calendar contains the major events and start dates for Heartland AEA staff. We are currently working to schedule all professional development opportunities for next year.

Heartland AEA Staff Retirement Receptions

Members of the public are invited to attend our regional parties for retiring Heartland AEA employees. Below you will find information for retirement receptions that will be taking place in the coming weeks. We'd be honored if you would join us in celebrating these retirees.

Anita Davids (Administrative Assistant) & Mavis Hoogers (Administrative Assistant)
April 27
2:00-4:30 p.m.
Johnston REC, Conference Room 13

Allen Peterson (Special Education Consultant) & Joan Schooley (Speech-Language Pathologist)
May 4
2:30-4:30 p.m.
Adel Office

Marg Clark (Challenging Behavior & Autism Consultant), Monica Simons (Speech-Language Pathologist) & Judy Stockbridge (Speech-Language Pathologist)
May 9
2:30-4:30 p.m., program at 3:15 p.m.
Carroll Office

Joyce Reams (Secretary)
May 9
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Newton Office

Kim Thuente (Regional Director)
May 14
2:30-4:30 p.m.
Johnston REC, Conference Room 13

Sandi Callison (Special Education Consultant)
May 22
4:00-6:00 p.m.
THE STUDIO, Indianola

2011-2012 Heartland AEA Staff & Schools Directory Now Available

Click here for the 2011-2012 Heartland AEA Staff & Schools Directory. It is archived on our website under the General Information link, which can be found under the About Us link on our homepage. The Agency no longer prints bound copies of the directory to be more environmentally friendly and budget conscious.

Also keep in mind that Heartland AEA has an online staff directory. This electronic directory contains the most up-to-date information about Heartland staff members. To access this directory, visit our homepage and click on the “AEA Staff Directory” link on the top right hand side of the page above the Leaders tab. You can search for Heartland staff members by last name, position or by the school districts they serve.

The Administrator Connection: A ‘Hub’ for Ideas and Feedback

Please consider using the Administrator Connection as a means of exchanging ideas, offering feedback and sharing information. You may post a comment by clicking on an article title, scrolling to the bottom of the page and leaving a comment in the field. A more direct route to leaving a comment is to click “Comments” under the article (shown below) and the Comment field will appear. Note: Posts are moderated by the Heartland Communications Department.