Pear Deck Update: Heartland AEA will Cover the Cost for Districts for the 2020-21 School Year--Deadline August 10

Heartland AEA will be covering the cost for districts to use Pear Deck during the 2020-21 school year. Pear Deck is a communication platform that lets teachers create interactive assessments and presentations that students can follow from their personal devices. To receive Pear Deck at no cost for the 2020-21 academic year, register here no later than Aug. 10. You can access additional information here. If you have any questions, contact Sheila King, Heartland AEA Chief Information Officer, at sking@heartlandaea.org.

Iowa’s AEAs Are Offering Variety of PD Opportunities to Support Educators with Online Instruction

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies have collaborated to generate multiple professional development opportunities and resources that support appropriate instructional pedagogy for teaching in the online environment. The deliverables include varied formats for independent earning, district facilitated learning or learning in collaboration with an AEA partner, including:

• Competency Scale
• Menu of PD Opportunities
• Learning Opportunity Database
• Supporting Online Learning Webinars
• District IT Webinars
• Modern Teacher Pricing

Return to School Post COVID-19 Closure Considerations for Students with Disabilities and Special Healthcare Needs

Please share this document with your school nurse

The purpose of this document is to guide school nurses when planning for return to school for students with disabilities and special healthcare needs (D/SHN) as defined by Section 504 or Individual Education Program (IEP) teams. School nurses understand the susceptibility of these students to environmental factors. While research is still emerging, results from early studies suggest that students with D/SHN have a higher prevalence of comorbidities associated with less favorable outcomes after infection with COVID-19, including higher fatality rates at younger ages compared to typically developing peers (Turk et al., 2020). 

Special acknowledgement to MaryAnn Tapper Strawhacker, MPH, BSN, RN, SEN (Heartland AEA Special Education Nurse), for her contributions as an author of this article.

Instructional Technology Webinar Speakers Announced + 3 New Courses for Fall!

Check out the three new courses we are offering this fall and our Heart of Innovation Webinar Series speakers for 2020-21!

New Courses for Fall

• Using Google Classroom Effectively
• Seesaw in the Classroom Basics
• Going Digital 2.0

Please check out our latest Heartland AEA Tech Newsletter that has our current course offerings and our updated Virtual/Hybrid Learning Guide.

Our Mission 
To improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth by providing services and leadership in partnership with families, schools and communities.

Our Goals

• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success

CPI Training 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

More COVID Signs, Posters Are Available for Your District Buildings

More 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. The newest item includes signage and clings for locating and using hand sanitizer.

Pear Deck Extends Special Pricing Until Aug. 10

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are pleased to announce reduced pricing available for Iowa school districts interested in using Pear Deck for the upcoming academic year. Pear Deck is a communication platform that lets teachers create interactive assessments and presentations that students can follow from their personal devices. To receive Pear Deck for the 2020-21 academic year, register here no later than Aug. 10.

Supporting Online Learning: an AEA Webinar Series Begins Aug. 4

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are pleased to partner with Iowa educators to share information about how to help support online learning. These practices can be utilized in online learning, but may be applied when educators and students are in the classroom together. This three-week series will cover topics around creating an online learning environment, designing and delivering online learning, how to facilitate good communication & collaboration and embedding feedback & assessment. 

Here is the schedule and details which will be used as a landing page for resources and recording links for these instructional sessions.

To join these webinars, please sign up here and an email will be sent with the Zoom link. The webinars will also be streamed live on the AEA Facebook page and all resources and recordings will be archived on this document.

Separate sessions are also being offered, and geared specifically for district IT professionals. That schedule and details are available at this link.

August 2020 School Leader Update Available

The August 2020 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is available.

New Athletic Directors Evaluator Approval Course Coming This Fall

A new Athletic Directors Evaluator Approval course is being offered this fall. This class is for the renewal of evaluator approval only by the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. The mandatory Evaluator Approval One class must be completed first before being able to take this course. The AD Evaluator Approval Training is for the formal evaluation of athletic coaches and activity sponsors only. The AD Evaluator Approval Course is NOT approved for the formal evaluation of the Educational Classroom Instructor. 

Participants are encouraged to have a conversation with their respective superintendents or human resource director to confirm that they are aware that this course has been approved by the DE and that their respective districts approve of the training for the formal evaluation of coaches and activity sponsors within their district. 

If you would like further information regarding this course, please contact Al Lammers, Norwalk Community Schools AD at alammers@norwalk.k12.ia.us.