UNI Offering "Empower Educators" Scholarships for Practicing Teachers

What: Empower Educators Scholarship for spring 2026 -- funding that bridges the gap between undergraduate and graduate tuition, saving $220 per credit hour 

For: Practicing teachers seeking these graduate-level endorsements and certificates: 

• Special education endorsements (Strat I, Strat II – ID and BD/LD) 
• Reading endorsement 
• Early childhood education endorsement 
• NEW! PK-K Early childhood special education endorsement & Graduate Certificate
• Artificial intelligence in education (grad certificate) 
• Transformative education (grad certificate) 

Whether looking to add an endorsement or begin work on a stackable master’s degree, this is a cost-effective path for professional advancement. Interested? Just complete this short application to confirm eligibility. 

Feel free to share with others in your network! Questions? Reach out to Cheryl Meller, graduate recruitment coordinator, at (319) 273-6255.

Discover the University of Iowa's Dynamic Programs for Educational Leadership – Attend an Informational Session to Learn More

If you are interested in earning a graduate degree in educational leadership, check out the dynamic programs offered by the University of Iowa including expanded scholarship opportunities for new and returning students! The UI Masters, Ed.S., Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs provide outstanding opportunities for learning and advancement with an emphasis on equity and social justice. 

Please join the UI for an informational session to visit with the UI leadership team. The event will be held:

April 11, 2023

5:00 p.m.

Heartland AEA 

Johnston Regional Education Center

6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston 

Register today! 

Application Deadlines

• Summer 2023 Session: April 30 
• Fall 2023 Session – July 1 
• *Ed.D. Cohort Application – Feb. 1 (Still Open)

Join Iowa PBS in Honor of Autism Acceptance Month with a Special Event Featuring the Film In a Different Key

In a Different Key Screening + Discussion 

April 13, 2023

6:00 - 8:15 p.m. 

Iowa PBS, Maytag Auditorium

6450 Corporate Dr., Johnston 

This screening and conversation will focus on the importance of inclusion and provide the opportunity for an open conversation. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book of the same name by journalists Caren Zucker and John Donvan, In a Different Key follows the mother of an autistic son as she finds and then befriends the first child ever diagnosed with autism – Donald Triplett, who still lives in the rural Mississippi town where he was born nearly 90 years ago. 

This documentary tells the stories of different people with autism and is a true story of love, difference and the fight to belong. Following the film screening, an interactive discussion will be moderated by Kris Steinmetz, Executive Director of the Autism Society of Iowa. Panelists will include Tyler Leech, an autism advocate who is featured in Iowa PBS’s documentary The Life Autistic, Evelyn Horton, BCBA, Vice President of Children Services with Balance Autism and Scott Atwood, Ph.D., Vice President of Adult Services with Balance Autism. 

Attendees will be able to ask questions anonymously during the conversation. This event is made possible in part by the Lainie Grimm Fund for Inclusive Programming at the Iowa PBS Foundation. 

Register for free

Iowa Dept. of Management to Hold Town Hall Meetings to Address Digital Inequality & Broadband Access

The Iowa Department of Management, Office of the Chief Information Officer announces they will conduct more than 50 public town hall-style meetings to get feedback from everyday Iowans on digital services, including broadband in their area. They want to hear from Iowans of all walks of life on how Iowans use the internet and digital services in general. 

If you ever felt like the digital world is passing you by, for whatever reason, this is your chance to speak up and help Iowa identify ways to help you and your community. Attendees will hear a short presentation on digital services followed by a discussion with the audience on the barriers and potential solutions for full participation in the digital aspects of society. 

All meetings will start at 6 p.m. at the designated locations and are anticipated to last about 90 minutes. Join in a town near you!  

For more information, contact the Office of the Chief Information Officer. 

Iowa BOEE May 2014 Newsletter

Click here for the link to the Iowa BOEE's May 2014 newsletter. Topics include: important information about hiring, legislation, the TeachIowa.gov website, new endorsement areas and more.

Schmidt Named 2014 Teacher of the Year

Jane Schmidt, a longtime teacher known for her leadership, her ability to connect with students, and her commitment to improvement, is the 2014 Iowa Teacher of the Year. 

“Great teachers make a world of difference for their students, for their colleagues and for their communities,” Branstad said. “The Lt. Governor and I congratulate Jane Schmidt, who is a true role model for both students and teachers.” 

Schmidt, a 33-year teaching veteran from Delmar, is an eighth-grade literacy and language arts teacher at Maquoketa Middle School in the Maquoketa Community School District. 

Schmidt’s leadership extends well beyond the classroom. She serves as a teacher mentor at her school and, in a new role this fall, she coaches educators, refines curriculum and gauges the effects of teaching practices across the school district. Schmidt also will help her school district craft a teacher leadership and compensation plan, an opportunity made available by the education reform law adopted by Iowa legislators this year. 

“I love schools, and I’ve never been tired of teaching,” Schmidt said. “It’s always been my passion, and it’s always given me purpose. I think that’s all we ask of a career – that, and a commitment to continuous improvement.” 

Schmidt works with her students to nurture not only a love for reading and writing, but also a deep understanding of the importance of literacy. She recently shared with her students a study on college dropouts that showed a link to an inability to keep up with the reading. 

Schmidt’s classes also emphasize communicating effectively, both in small groups and one on one. “In this era of texting, that face-to-face communication doesn’t always take place and it’s important,” she said. 

“We hear from employers that kids don’t know how to communicate, how to talk, so it’s something we have to focus on.” 

Schmidt says she was inspired to become a teacher as a teenager, when she volunteered at a summer camp for children with special needs during high school and then volunteered at a laboratory school as a freshman at Illinois State University. Her teaching roots began in special education. Through that experience, she developed a love for literacy instruction and went back to school to earn endorsements in reading and language arts.

Schmidt’s spirit of self-improvement never waned. She earned National Board Certification in 2004, after witnessing a dramatic impact the credential had on one of her own children’s teachers. In May, Schmidt earned a second master’s degree. She also has learned how to use video and other technology to incorporate digital storytelling into her classes. 

“This ‘digital immigrant’ feels strongly that our instruction must include technology if we are to relate to the ‘digital natives’ in our classrooms and prepare them for the 21st century,” Schmidt wrote in her Iowa Teacher of the Year application. 

Schmidt started her teaching career at a special education cooperative in Valparaiso, Ind. She taught special education in the Davenport Community School District for seven years before coming to Maquoketa in 1989. She also has been a special education consultant at Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Davenport. Schmidt has taught language arts and reading at Maquoketa Middle School since 1997. 

Finalists for the Iowa Teacher of the Year award are: 

• Aaron Maurer, a gifted education teacher and instructional coach at Bettendorf Middle School in Bettendorf  
• Kari Murray, a science teacher at Carlisle High School in Carlisle  
• Jon Parrott, an 8th grade social studies teacher at Urbandale Middle School in Urbandale  
• Kristi Wickre, a special education teacher at Smouse Opportunity School in Des Moines (Des Moines Public Schools)  
• Elaine Wolf, a culinary arts teacher at Central Campus in Des Moines (Des Moines Public Schools) 

Schmidt was chosen by a committee that includes representatives from the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa State Education Association, the School Administrators of Iowa, the Iowa Association of School Boards, the Parent Teachers Association, the Area Education Agencies, the Iowa Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and 2013 Teacher of the Year Tania Johnson.

Individuals with Special Needs Sought to Demonstrate Social Media Tools

Family to Family Iowa is looking for young presenters (middle-school age through age 25) who can demonstrate how to use a form of social media (blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to adults attending the spring Family to Family conference held April 27-28 in Johnston, Iowa. Because Family to Family Iowa is a statewide network of navigators who provide assistance to families of children with special needs (developmental, behavioral, emotional, physical), the presenters would preferably have a special need. Parents or teachers are welcome to accompany and support presenters. Presenters will sit at tables and demonstrate to groups of about 10 persons at a time for about 20 minutes. The time of the presentation will be 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 28.

For more information or to nominate a young presenter, please contact Cheryl Risen at crisen@aea11.k12.ia.us or 515-270-0405 ext. 14587 by April 7.

For more information about Family to Family Iowa, contact Martha Hanley at martha-hanley@uiowa.edu or 319-356-0886.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not infer sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

Requested Action: DMACC Seeking Adjunct Instructors

DMACC is seeking qualified instructors to teach in a number of college programs. Please forward the email found by clicking here to your teachers and retirees who may be interested in applying for adjunct teaching openings at DMACC. Daytime, evening and summer positions are posted on the DMACC website at https://jobs.dmacc.edu throughout the year. They are in great need of daytime instructors.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not infer sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.