Click here for the agenda of the September 1 Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) meeting which will be held at the West Des Moines Learning Resource Center from 9:00-11:50 a.m.
Friday, August 21, 2009
HEART Database Checkoff List
Here are a few important pieces of information about the HEART database. These apply to every district using HEART. Please read and pass on to the correct people in your district for action.
• Send a K-12 barcode file to heart@aea11.k12.ia.us ASAP to update students to their new grade and building and to inactivate students who have moved away. This should be done at the start of each school year. Some displays will not work correctly without this information.
• Review the access and security settings for your users each year. Inactivate users who have left the district and modify other settings as needed.
• HEART training sessions for the year were posted over the summer. The next administrator and behavior training sessions are scheduled for September 3, 2009. Go to the July archive of the Administrator Connection or click here for details and registration information.
• A new version of HEART is up and running. Most of the changes are behind the scenes to accommodate the new ethnicity coding requirements. The changes visible on the Web are mostly minor tweaks to eliminate bugs and improve ease of use. Please let us know if you encounter any problems.
• There is a new administrator’s manual available for download from the Heartland Web site or by clicking here. Please download this version and trash your old administrator manual. The user manual is under revision and will be posted when finished.
As always, your questions and suggestions are welcomed. Please address HEART questions to Connor Hood at chood@aea11.k12.ia.us.
• Send a K-12 barcode file to heart@aea11.k12.ia.us ASAP to update students to their new grade and building and to inactivate students who have moved away. This should be done at the start of each school year. Some displays will not work correctly without this information.
• Review the access and security settings for your users each year. Inactivate users who have left the district and modify other settings as needed.
• HEART training sessions for the year were posted over the summer. The next administrator and behavior training sessions are scheduled for September 3, 2009. Go to the July archive of the Administrator Connection or click here for details and registration information.
• A new version of HEART is up and running. Most of the changes are behind the scenes to accommodate the new ethnicity coding requirements. The changes visible on the Web are mostly minor tweaks to eliminate bugs and improve ease of use. Please let us know if you encounter any problems.
• There is a new administrator’s manual available for download from the Heartland Web site or by clicking here. Please download this version and trash your old administrator manual. The user manual is under revision and will be posted when finished.
As always, your questions and suggestions are welcomed. Please address HEART questions to Connor Hood at chood@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Heartland AEA's Annual Progress Report Now Available
Heartland AEA's Annual Progress Report (APR) for the 2007-08 school year is now available. You can access the APR at the following:
https://www.edinfo.state.ia.us/web/aea_apr_summary_staticweb.asp
You can also access the Agency's APR via our Web site by selecting "Heartland Information" on the navigation on the left-hand side of the page and going to "Annual Progress Report."
Please direct any questions or comments about the report to Kristi Upah, Assistant Director of Internal Accountability, at (800) 362-2720 or kupah@aea11.k12.ia.us.
https://www.edinfo.state.ia.us/web/aea_apr_summary_staticweb.asp
You can also access the Agency's APR via our Web site by selecting "Heartland Information" on the navigation on the left-hand side of the page and going to "Annual Progress Report."
Please direct any questions or comments about the report to Kristi Upah, Assistant Director of Internal Accountability, at (800) 362-2720 or kupah@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Last Call for Counselor Academy I
Don't let your district/school miss out on the last opportunity to participate in Counselor Academy I (CAI). This four-day professional development opportunity tailored for school counselors helps them write and refine their K-12 articulated, sequential school counseling program as required by Iowa Code. Help and guidance is provided to collect artifacts to ease schools through the new requirements for school counseling programs as related to the Iowa Department of Education site visits. There are two other professional development opportunities that are offered as follow-ups to CAI which are the following:
For more information about the counselor academies or other counselor support resources, please contact Sue Schirmer at sschirmer@aea11.k12.ia.us or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14379.
- Counselor Academy II, which focuses on using data to drive the school counseling program
- Counselor Academy III, which focuses on curriculum, instruction and assessment with regard to the school counseling program
For more information about the counselor academies or other counselor support resources, please contact Sue Schirmer at sschirmer@aea11.k12.ia.us or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14379.
What’s Different About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
These sessions connect research-based reading instruction and second language acquisition theory and practice. Through an interactive format, teachers learn about the important and striking differences between teaching reading to native English speakers and teaching reading to ELLs. Using a practical, hands-on approach, teachers then explore reading instruction strategies, focusing on areas of need particular to ELLs.
Instructor: Lynda Franco
Date: September 24, 2009
Location: Heartland AEA, Johnston Office, Learning Center
Session 1: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. This session is geared for internal staff, but teachers are welcome, too. The activity number is ES0055-9211-10-01.
Session 2: 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. This session is geared for teachers, but internal staff are welcome, too. Please bring a “brown bag” meal to eat during the brief break. The activity number is ES0055-9211-10-02.
Choose the session that works for your schedule. Register through the Heartland Professional Development catalog on the home page or click here. For an informational flyer, click here.
Instructor: Lynda Franco
Date: September 24, 2009
Location: Heartland AEA, Johnston Office, Learning Center
Session 1: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. This session is geared for internal staff, but teachers are welcome, too. The activity number is ES0055-9211-10-01.
Session 2: 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. This session is geared for teachers, but internal staff are welcome, too. Please bring a “brown bag” meal to eat during the brief break. The activity number is ES0055-9211-10-02.
Choose the session that works for your schedule. Register through the Heartland Professional Development catalog on the home page or click here. For an informational flyer, click here.
Spread the Word about "THE PUSH"
Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University. He also is the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation's only center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators.
Join his latest campaign, the PUSH, to identify excellent subject-specific blogs that are useful to P-12 teachers. If you know if any great blogs that could be a useful resource, please submit them on his Web site, Dangerously Irrelevant, at http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org.
Thanks in advance for helping with this initiative. If everyone contributes, two weeks from now there will be a bevy of excellent subject-specific blogs and resources to share with teachers in your district/school.
Join his latest campaign, the PUSH, to identify excellent subject-specific blogs that are useful to P-12 teachers. If you know if any great blogs that could be a useful resource, please submit them on his Web site, Dangerously Irrelevant, at http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org.
Thanks in advance for helping with this initiative. If everyone contributes, two weeks from now there will be a bevy of excellent subject-specific blogs and resources to share with teachers in your district/school.
A Two Step Online Fundraising Strategy for Schools and Nonprofits
Posted on August 17, 2009 by Will Marlow
Here is a solid online fundraising strategy that will work for many non-profits and schools:Will Marlow is an online fundraising consultant. Learn more about fundraising from Will Marlow’s blog at http://willmarlow.wordpress.com/
1. Become an excellent storyteller.
2. Adopt a proactive "spread the word" strategy that enables your donors and volunteers to begin carrying your flag and making requests for people to donate.
Of course, I would never suggest that an organization stop asking for money. I am suggesting, rather, that you start asking people to join you in making even more solicitations, which enables you to begin sending out more THANK YOU notes than requests for money.
It used to be that you had to do everything. You had to produce the content and deliver it. Now, you can get help with the second part of that, using tools like Facebook, Twitter and AlumniFidelity to ensure deliverability of your message. And this allows you to focus more of your own resources on the content part of the equation.
Inside your institution, you should cultivate your strength for storytelling so that whenever someone visits your Web site, they are hit hard by the compelling stories about how you impact the community and accomplish your mission: videos that discuss your impact on homelessness; interviews with your CEO talking about how many children you taught to read; a transcript of your school’s President talking about how excellent this year’s incoming freshman class is; stories about people you help and stories about how those people go on to help their communities. Whatever your institution’s mission, focus your resources on telling that story, and telling it well online.
And if you get the content right, your donors and volunteers will want to tell their friends and family about you; all you need to do is ask them to spread the word, and tell them exactly how you want them to do so (Facebook, Twitter, AlumniFidelity). It doesn’t need to be intrusive, but your message to your donors and volunteers should be: "Help Carry Our Message". Tell your friends and family. If you’re on Facebook, update your status message to tell people about your support. If you’re on Twitter, tweet on our behalf and include a link to your homepage. And for some supporters, ask them to create a personal fundraising page using a service like AlumniFidelity, or a product from Blackbaud or Convio, that let’s them do something like asking for donations to your charity or school instead of birthday presents. Let them be as creative as you like.
The bottom line is, you can tell your story better than anyone. And that story is the real asset you own. Create inspiring content that will make your donors feel good about giving you their money, and feel good about telling their friends. Your donors and volunteers are in the best position to deliver your message to their friends and family on your behalf. Let them do it.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Race And Ethnicity Changes 2009-2010: Project EASIER
Project EASIER (Electronic Access System for Iowa Education Records) is the Iowa Department of Education's initiative involving the transfer of individual student records. The mission of the project is to reduce data burden, encourage better decision-making by establishing and maintaining a cost effective method of accessing and transferring accurate and timely education information among school districts, post-secondary institutions and the DE.
To access the DE's Project EASIER resources, go to http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=1261.
If the documents on the Web site do not provide enough information or you need someone to talk to specifically about Project EASIER issues, please contact Jay Pennington at jay.pennington@iowa.gov.
To access the DE's Project EASIER resources, go to http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=1261.
If the documents on the Web site do not provide enough information or you need someone to talk to specifically about Project EASIER issues, please contact Jay Pennington at jay.pennington@iowa.gov.
Department of Education Site Visit Training Schedule
A choice of trainings is scheduled for school districts and accredited non-public schools receiving an Iowa Department of Education comprehensive site visit during the 2009-2010 school year. School districts and schools are encouraged to include the superintendent, curriculum director, building principals and other staff who will be involved in planning for the visit in the team it sends for training. Additionally, anyone serving as a team member on a site visit is highly encouraged to attend training. Please select one of the two face-to-face trainings that have been scheduled. Please send an e-mail to Julie Melcher, DE School Improvement Consultant (Julie.melcher@iowa.gov), to let her know how many from your district/school plan will attend and which training your staff will attend. Julie will respond to your email with site visit documents to be copied and brought to the training.
The Academy, January 13-14
Baxter, February 16-18
Carlisle (Equity Focus), December 15-17
Colfax-Mingo, February 23-25
Dowling Catholic High School, October 20-21
Holy Family School, October 15-16
Indianola, January 19-21
Knoxville, November 17-19
Madrid, December 8-10
Martensdale-St.Marys, February 9-11
Mt. Olive Lutheran, February 24-25
North Polk, January 26-28
Pella Christian Grade School, October 15-16
Pella Christian High School, October 12-13
Perry (Equity Focused), January 12-14
St. Augustin School, October 13-14
St. Cecilia School, October 27-28
Sully Christian School, November 17-18
West Des Moines, March 29-April 1
Persons wishing to register as a team member on one of the scheduled visit may do so through the following link, https://www.edinfo.state.ia.us/web/sitevisit.asp, at your earliest convenience.
Please contact Julie Melcher at Julie.melcher@iowa.gov or (515) 281-6293 with any questions.
- September 4, 2009 from 1:00 - 3:30 p.m., Heartland AEA, Johnston Office, Rooms 3 & 4, Johnston, Iowa (following the September Curriculum Network Meeting to be held at the same location)
- October 6, 2009 from 1:00 - 3:45 p.m., West Des Moines Learning Resource Center, 3550 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines (following the October Superintendent Meeting to be held at the same location)
- Face-to-face training at the Iowa Department of Education, State Board Room 2nd floor, September 22, 2009 from 1:00-3:30 p.m.
- ICN training, September 29,2009 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Site availability and additional information will be sent to each district receiving a focused equity visit.
The Academy, January 13-14
Baxter, February 16-18
Carlisle (Equity Focus), December 15-17
Colfax-Mingo, February 23-25
Dowling Catholic High School, October 20-21
Holy Family School, October 15-16
Indianola, January 19-21
Knoxville, November 17-19
Madrid, December 8-10
Martensdale-St.Marys, February 9-11
Mt. Olive Lutheran, February 24-25
North Polk, January 26-28
Pella Christian Grade School, October 15-16
Pella Christian High School, October 12-13
Perry (Equity Focused), January 12-14
St. Augustin School, October 13-14
St. Cecilia School, October 27-28
Sully Christian School, November 17-18
West Des Moines, March 29-April 1
Persons wishing to register as a team member on one of the scheduled visit may do so through the following link, https://www.edinfo.state.ia.us/web/sitevisit.asp, at your earliest convenience.
Please contact Julie Melcher at Julie.melcher@iowa.gov or (515) 281-6293 with any questions.
Heartland Leadership Development Offerings 2009-2010
Heartland has a broad set of options available for administrative teams and individuals for enhancing there leadership skills. Below is a list of the opportunities with brief descriptions that are available during this school year. Click here for more detailed descriptions of each activity as well as dates, contact/registration information and decision making guides to help with your planning. If a registration number is provided, you may go directly to the Heartland Professional Development Web site and register for the activity. If a contact person is provided, this is an activity that will be tailored directly to your district needs. You may also contact your Partnership Director for more information.
Believe and Achieve
This is a four-day workshop covering the basics of "School Leadership that Works". This would be an excellent opportunity for those who want follow-up to Balanced Leadership or for team members who did not have an opportunity to participate in Balanced Leadership.
Showcase and Network Events
Networking opportunities will be available four times this year in various locations throughout the AEA. These network events will be held late in the day and early evening in a social setting to allow administrators a relaxed atmosphere for connecting. Each session will be facilitated by a local administrator.
Building Background Knowledge through Academic Vocabulary Development
This is only available to teams who attended last year's sessions provided by Dr. Robert Marzano. Participants will have an opportunity to implement the process Dr. Marzano introduced to develop a building-wide vocabulary development program. Wendy Robinson will facilitate.
Tregoe
Tregoe Analytic Processes are useful tools for administrators to use with group decision making and facilitation.
Time Audits
Heartland has a process for administrative teams to analyze their use of time in relationship to the 21 responsibilities introduced in School Leadership that Works (Balanced Leadership). These sessions are facilitated by Roger Scott and Dick Sundblad.
CBAM - Concerns Based Adoption Model
CBAM is a useful set of processes for leaders to use when analyzing and supporting initiatives and change.
Study Group Options
A variety of study group options are available for teams of leaders.
Learning opportunities are developed and available according to district leadership needs for learning the area of special education procedures, rules, regulations etc. These sessions are typically held on site in the requesting district.
Superintendent Network
This is a learning opportunity for superintendents using the Instructional Rounds process.
Believe and Achieve
This is a four-day workshop covering the basics of "School Leadership that Works". This would be an excellent opportunity for those who want follow-up to Balanced Leadership or for team members who did not have an opportunity to participate in Balanced Leadership.
Showcase and Network Events
Networking opportunities will be available four times this year in various locations throughout the AEA. These network events will be held late in the day and early evening in a social setting to allow administrators a relaxed atmosphere for connecting. Each session will be facilitated by a local administrator.
Building Background Knowledge through Academic Vocabulary Development
This is only available to teams who attended last year's sessions provided by Dr. Robert Marzano. Participants will have an opportunity to implement the process Dr. Marzano introduced to develop a building-wide vocabulary development program. Wendy Robinson will facilitate.
Tregoe
Tregoe Analytic Processes are useful tools for administrators to use with group decision making and facilitation.
Time Audits
Heartland has a process for administrative teams to analyze their use of time in relationship to the 21 responsibilities introduced in School Leadership that Works (Balanced Leadership). These sessions are facilitated by Roger Scott and Dick Sundblad.
CBAM - Concerns Based Adoption Model
CBAM is a useful set of processes for leaders to use when analyzing and supporting initiatives and change.
Study Group Options
A variety of study group options are available for teams of leaders.
- Art and Science of Teaching
- Building Background Knowledge
- District Level Leadership
Learning opportunities are developed and available according to district leadership needs for learning the area of special education procedures, rules, regulations etc. These sessions are typically held on site in the requesting district.
Superintendent Network
This is a learning opportunity for superintendents using the Instructional Rounds process.
Changes to the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum Web Page
The Heartland AEA 11 Iowa Core Curriculum team as made some changes to its Web page found on the Heartland site. Search by leadership session or by topic for resource materials. Several resources have been updated to reflect the most current version including the Iowa Core Curriculum Overview document, now dated June 2009. Questions related to the resources may be directed to Linda S. Biermann Hoobin, Teaching and Learning Consultant for the Iowa Core Curriculum, Johnston Office at lhoobin@aea11.k12.ia.us or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14327.
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