Check List Item for Your District Handbooks

As part of the requirement for districts to meet compliance with Chapter 103-Corporal Punishment regulations, the following statement from the Iowa Department of Education should be in district handbooks annually. Click here for a Word doc of this notice.

This text was prepared and approved by the Department.

Notice: Corporal Punishment, Restraint, and Physical Confinement and Detention

State law forbids schools employees from using corporal punishment against any student. Certain actions by school employees are not considered corporal punishment. Additionally, school employees may use “reasonable and necessary force, not designed or intended to cause pain” to do certain things, such as prevent harm to persons or property.

State law also places limits school employees’ abilities to restrain or confine and detain any student. The law limits why, how, where, and for how long a school employee may restrain or confine and detain a child. If a child is restrained or confined and detained, the school must maintain documentation and must provide certain types of notice to the child’s parent.

[If school or AEA has additional policies or procedures, briefly describe them here].

If you have any questions about this state law, please contact your school. The complete text of the law and additional information is available on the Iowa Department of Education’s Web site: www.iowa.gov/educate.

Acceptable Use Policies Becoming A Relic?

As the use of the Internet is becoming more central to the educational curriculum, the nature of Acceptable Use Polices (AUPs) is becoming an outdated concept. Click here to read more on this issue.

Get Acquainted with "Prairie Progress" at the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar

Come to the 33rd Annual Loess Hills Prairie Seminar, Prairie Progress, which will be held May 29-31, 2009 in the Loess Hills Wildlife Area northeast of Onawa, Iowa. The seminar's role is to provide education and training for K-12 educators in the areas of conservation, environmental studies and science education. For more information, click here for a flyer or go to http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/upcoming_events/loess_hills_prairie_seminar/.

Facebook, MySpace, & YouTube: Protect Your Students & Your School

For those school administrators concerned with the use of Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other online communities at their schools, there will be a live, 60-minute Audio Conference:

"Facebook, MySpace, & YouTube: Protect Your Students & Your School"
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Get information on the following issues:
• Drafting an Online Network Policy for Your School
• Monitoring Online Student Behavior: What You Can & Can't Do
• Protecting Your Students & Your School from Online Slander
• How to Communicate With Parents About Dangerous Online Activities

Register for this opportunity by calling (800) 964-6033 or going to http://www.pbconferences.com/CT/0/2/p2EKAWc/p2ATWDFLi/p0e.

Participation in the call is $199.00 per site and allows access to one phone line for an unlimited number of people to listen. Program Materials will be provided approximately one week before the program date via email with PDF links. Please download the PDF files before the day of the program.

Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship Summer Camp Instructors

The Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship is seeking applications for instructors for the following 2009 summer entrepreneurship day camps:

Youth Entrepreneur Camp – July 6-10, 2009 in Iowa City
Grades 4-6
$1,650 for week long contract + preparation (55 total hours @ $30/hour)

Jacobson Entrepreneurship Academy – July 13-17, 2009 in Iowa City
Grades 7-9
$1,650 for week long contract + preparation (55 total hours @ $30/hour)

Jacobson Entrepreneurship Academy – July 27–31, 2009 in Des Moines
Grades 7-9
$1,650 for week long contract + preparation (55 total hours @ $30/hour)

BizSmARTS: An Entrepreneurship in the Arts Summer Day Camp in Des Moines Grades: 4-12
$2,415 for week long contract + preparation (80.5 total hours @ $30/hour)
Note: Overnight accommodations are the responsibility of the instructor; however, home-stay arrangements may be possible through the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa coordinator. A pre-Camp Sunday evening meeting and a Saturday graduation ceremony is part of the program.

Qualifications:
* State certified teacher
* Experience teaching entrepreneurship and business preferred
* > 3 years teaching experience preferred
* Interest in Art and Women Artists is a bonus for BizSmARTS camp!

Responsibilities:
* Lead instruction
* Engage students in interactive and hands-on learning
* Manage classroom ranging from 25 – 40 students
* Facilitate learning in the following content areas:

• Introduction to Entrepreneurship
• Opportunity Recognition
• Idea Evaluation
• Marketing and Market Research
• Basic Finance
• Developing a Business Plan
• Presenting to Investors

* Effectively lead 2-3 classroom counselors/assistants
* Be technologically savvy
* Have basic knowledge of PowerPoint, Microsoft Word and Clip Art
* Ability to excel in a high-pace environment
* Effectively work with academy coordinators

To Apply:

Click here to fill out an Instructor Interest Form. Submit the Instructor Interest Form along with a statement of interest/experience to Dawn Bowlus at dawn-bowlus@uiowa.edu or mail to:

Dawn Bowlus
Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship
The University of Iowa
108 PBB Suite S160
Iowa City, IA 52242

For more information, please contact Dawn Bowlus at dawn-bowlus@uiowa.edu or (319) 335-0985. The application deadline is Friday, May 1, 2009.

Detailed descriptions of the Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship camps are available online at www.jacobsoninstitute.org/camps.html.

Iowa Department of Education Request for Information

We recently received a request for information from the Iowa Department of Education (DE). The DE needs specific information about the number of paraeducators employed by Iowa’s school districts and the training of them. The DE is requesting the AEAs collect this information because it does not currently have access to these data.

We would like to have this information compiled by Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Please alert your district's Human Resources representative to have the numbers to the following questions ready for when a Heartland representative calls next week. If you would rather not be called, you may e-mail the answers to the following questions to the Heartland Communications Department e-mail address at comms@aea11.k12.ia.us. Questions can also be directed to Heartland Communications or Connor Hood at chood@aea11.k12.ia.us.

1. How many paraeducators are employed by your district who are certified? (include all paraeducator certifications recognized by the Iowa Department of Education or other state agency and their associated licensing boards)

2. How many paraeducators are employed by your district who are NOT certified, but have a degree in education?

3. How many paraeducators are employed by your district that are neither certified nor have a degree in education?

4. What is your starting wage for paraeducators?

5. Do paraeducators receive additional pay if certified?

Customer Satisfaction Survey: The Results are In...And Our Schools Delivered!

The results are in on the Iowa AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey, and Heartland AEA has reason to celebrate. Although we did not reach our goal of a 36% participation rate, we are thrilled with the 30.72% rate that we received! That's a 61.1% increase from last year! We appreciate the 4,594 individuals who took the time to complete the survey. The data collected from the survey will be used to make important program decisions that benefit all schools in the Heartland region. Relevant data results and more information from the survey will be shared by your Partnership Director at a later time. Please be sure to extend our sincere gratitude to your school staff who completed the survey.

Department of Education's Title I Spring Update

Mark your calendars for the Title I Spring update meeting which will be held on Friday, May 8, from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the Johnston Library. Please share this information with others in your district who should be included. Click here for an informational flyer.

To register, click here or visit the Heartland Professional Development Catalog and enter activity number RE011799990901.

Corporal Punishment Chapter 103B Training Modules

Heartland AEA now has Corporal Punishment Chapter 103B Training Modules available on our Web site. There are seven sections (none longer than 10 minutes). Viewing all sections takes 53 minutes. We recommend that a group of people view the training together and have discussions between each section. At the end of each section, the viewers will need to scroll down to the the bottom of their screen and hit "return to menu" or hit the back button on their browser to get to the main menu and select the next section.

Districts are to document the training. You may develop your own documentation or request certificates from Heartland by e-mailing Anita Davids at adavids@aea11.k12.ia.us. A district administrator will need to sign the certificate.

To view the Corporal Punishment Training, click the following link: http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/spedresources/video/index.html

Earn Your Elementary or Secondary Reading Endorsement from Drake University

Classes are available in online and face-to-face formats. Complete the entire endorsement in as little as one summer or take classes at your own pace throughout the school year. This endorsement can be used towards Drake's Masters of Science in Education degree in Effective Teaching.

Click here for an informational flyer, or attend an informational session to find out more. One session will be April 23, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. at Valley High School, West Des Moines. The other session is on April 28, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. at Heartland AEA's Johnston office.

For more information, contact reading@drake.edu or 1-800-DRAKE, ext. 3888.

Summer Professional Development Opportunities

It is an exciting time in the world of professional development. Our summer catalog of offerings is on the Web, and we are pleased to showcase some new opportunities available for teachers and administrators.

Vocal Pedagogy for the High School Voice is being offered by Dr. James Tener from Iowa State University. In this 1 credit course, Dr. Tener will instruct high school vocal music instructors on vocal music pedagogy in the morning, then in the afternoon, will observe and coach that instructor in working with their high school students. For more information or to register for the course, go to: https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/FA013699171001INV*

We are again partnering with Des Moines Area Community College to offer several courses in the Career-Technical Area. Courses in Engines, Cabinet Making, Robotics, Programming and Cryptography are just a few of the offerings in this area. They can be found on the Heartland Professional Development Catalog under "Career-Technical Education" and "Mathematics."

Time is running short for educators to apply for the 21st Century Workplace Skills Experience. Applications must be sent in by May 1, 2009. For more information on this exciting opportunity to learn at a job site, go to: http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/prodev/counseling/workplace.html.

For more information about these and other opportunities, please see the professional development catalog on Heartland's Web site.