Competitive Mental Health Grants Available to Public PK-12 Schools

On April 15, 2021, Gov. Reynolds announced that she would distribute $8.67 million of Iowa's discretionary GEER II funds for competitive mental health grants to public PK-12 schools. The purpose of the grant is to assist districts with urgent, specific or significant needs in providing mental health supports to PK-12 students that have been created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Services include coordination and delivery of mental health services and wraparound support to students, Youth/Child Mental Health First Aid training (YMHFA/Child MHFA), and suicide prevention services and programming. Competitive applications should prioritize mental health services and supports that directly impact students and families. For more information about each of the qualifying areas of mental health services and grant application process, please see Competitive Grants for Mental Health Supports for PK-12 Schools.

NEW! 3 Feet Social Distancing Decals & Posters

Given the updated classroom social distance guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Heartland AEA has created 3 Feet posters and decals for your buildings. Find a variety of these posters and decals by logging on to csonline.heartlandaea.org and search COVID.

The Des Moines Art Center is Bringing the Museum to Your Classroom

In looking for ways to support your work, adapting to needs and challenges that this year has presented, the Des Moines Art Center has new educational resources to utilize in your classrooms and learning environments. Please help us spread the word about these resources with your colleagues and anyone else that may have interest.

Creative Connections
PDF step-by-step explorations of artwork in the Des Moines Art Center’s collection. All lessons are designed around one work of art and an accompanying theme with prompts, questions, activities and related links for further learning. These activities help to build critical thinking, cultural awareness, empathy, and a connection to artwork and the human spirit!

Virtual Viewing
Practice the art of slow looking with your students with these two-to-five minute videos focusing on a wonderful artwork in the Des Moines Art Center's collection and narrated by an Art Center Docent. Looking closely, students see, learn, and think about artwork, artists, and how it all applies to their own lives.

We are working on additional resources and programming (including virtual tours) to be released in the coming months. Please help us understand what further resources/opportunities would be most helpful for your instruction by taking this five question survey.

We hope these resources will help you find creative ways to bring the museum into your teaching this year!

Updated DE Return-to-Learn Guidance on Recovery Services

Two new documents to address COVID Recovery Services were released on Oct. 13, 2020 at the AEA System Special Education Network Webinar.

COVID-19 Recovery Services for Learners Receiving IDEA Services Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): The previous Recovery Services FAQ was updated on Oct. 13, 2020. It has also been updated on the Return to Learn Special Education Compendium.

Considerations for Recovery Services: This document is a flowchart to support IEP teams through the process of considering when COVID Recovery Services are warranted for an individual student with a disability.

Reminder: COVID Posters and Decals Are Available for Your District Buildings

Posters, signs, vinyls and clings related to COVID-19 health and safety measures are available for your district at csonline.heartlandaea.org. You can browse all of the items by searching COVID. Log in with your AEA Learning Online (mandatory reporter) username/password to order.

New DE/AEA Return-to-Learn Special Education Documents

Additional documents and guidance related to special education were released this week on the DE/AEA Return-to-Learn Compendium of Resources for Districts, Schools and IEP Teams.

• New 8-11-20 R2L Collaboration Considerations: Roles, Infrastructure, Technology, Teaching, and Learning Skills - This document provides considerations for the following audiences: administrators, special educators, general educators, families/caregivers, paraprofessionals, and learners.
• New 8-11-20 R2L Considerations for Collaboration: Paraprofessionals - This document provides considerations around paraprofessionals and their role in virtual and hybrid environments.
• New 8-11-20 Tech Resources for Access and Instruction - This document provides technology resources around the following areas: Teacher Management, Self Regulation/Monitoring, Student Work Flow, Student Collaboration, Accessible Educational Materials, Mindfulness, Website/Digital Resource Evaluation Tools, and Tips and Tricks.
• New 8-11-20 R2L Support for Secondary Transition - This document provides ideas, supports, and resources for providing secondary transition services during typical and continuous/hybrid learning models during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended to be a resource, not only for special education teachers, but also for support staff members and non-certified staff who provide transition services to students (such as contracted staff with Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services or IVRS).
• New 8-11-20 R2L Considerations for Collaborating - Overview - This document provides resources applicable for all students, but they are focused here for students receiving special education. These resources are grouped around the following areas: Pre-Planning (Independently), Collaborative Planning, Instruction and Access, and Post-Planning.
• New 8-11-20 The “Sweet Spot” of Building Positive Student Behavior and Engaging Climates for Learning - This document is broken up into three core classroom pillars that can provide the "sweet spot" of optimizing engagement and learning for students, which will give teachers and paraprofessionals ideas and examples of how to meet the ever changing needs of the students in their classroom.
• Updated 8-11-20 Return-to-Learn Compendium of Resources - This document organizes available resources and will be revised on an ongoing basis. The resources provided here are to address the standard of IDEA under the current pandemic situation.

CPI Program Adjustments Announced for 2020-21 School Year

Due to COVID-19, the Heartland AEA CPI training team has had the opportunity to analyze our current training format, and we have made some adjustments. Please see the CPI Program Adjustments for the 2020-21 School Year, including information about:

• Move to blended learning option
• Recommended training participants
• Training in district
• Additional crisis prevention training option
• Enhanced safety measures

New DE/AEA Return to Learn Special Education Documents

Additional documents and guidance related to special education were released this week on the DE/AEA Return to Learn Compendium of Resources for Districts, Schools and IEP Teams

• Updated 7-21-20 Return-to-Learn Compendium of Resources - This document organizes available resources and will be revised on an ongoing basis. The resources provided here are to address the standard of IDEA under the current pandemic situation.
• New 7-21-20 Placement Considerations for Administrators - This document discusses various options for IEP teams to consider. For discussion of placement considerations, see the Department’s placement decisions guidance.
• New 7-21-20 Considerations for IEP Teams Regarding How to Address Progress Monitoring - This document supplements traditional progress monitoring support procedures and policies.

Five Assumptions to Leave Behind as School Resumes

Reprinted with permission from Master Teacher, July 2020
The past several months have been filled with surprises, challenges, bewilderment, wonder and stress. Our regular routines were disrupted. We were asked to engage in teaching and learning in new ways that often have felt awkward and out-of-balance.

Now, as we approach the transition back to face-to-face teaching and learning, we are not the same, and our students are not the same. In fact, a lot will change from when we closed schools because of the virus. Many of our students have learned how to use new tools to support their learning. They have developed new skills and experienced greater learning independence. And, we too have gained important input and insights about our work and how to engage and mentor students. We have also learned much about ourselves when facing the unknown and needing to find ways to adjust and succeed.

There is much from this experience we will want to take with us when we return to our school. There are adjustments we will want to make in the ways we engage in face-to-face learning. However, there also are assumptions and practices we will need to leave behind.

Consider five assumptions for abandonment as students return.

Meeting the Needs of All Students During COVID-19 - Supporting Students & Families in Underserved Communities Online Event

This community engagement event creates an opportunity for education stakeholders in urban, suburban and rural communities to convene online to discuss equity implications for addressing students' educational, social and emotional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. During this Café, we will engage in dynamic discussion and share ideas for solutions to identified challenges in historically underserved communities, as school communities prepare for recovery, reentry and reimaging teaching and learning in a new landscape. Featuring these selected topics:

• Mental Health/Socio-emotional Wellness
• Family/Community Care
• Leadership
• Supporting Diverse Students in Distance Learning

June 22, 2020
1:30 - 3 p.m. CST
Online
No Cost

Registration Information