Mark Your Calendars for May 3 HAA Meeting

The next Heartland Administrator Associations' (HAA) meeting will be held on May 3 from 9 - 11 a.m. at the Johnston Regional Education Center, Rooms 107A/B and via Zoom. Look for a final agenda soon. The agenda will feature Heartland AEA updates on Achieve training, digital security, partnership updates and recognition of outgoing superintendents.

Coming Soon! Iowa’s AEAs Continue to Add Digital Resources for Students and Educators

Iowa’s AEAs provide students and educators with no-cost access to high-quality, vetted digital resources. They are proud to announce their lineup of digital instructional resources for the 2022-23 school year, including six new offerings! Students, educators and parents have 24/7/365 access to these ebooks, streaming videos, encyclopedia, reference materials and more! Check out the list of returning and new digital resources.

Also Coming in 2022-23: Accessing the Digital Resources Will Be Easier!
Accessing the AEA digital resources will be easier than ever! If your district has signed up to use AEA OneClick powered by ClassLink, you’ll be able to use your district email login to access the resources and other AEA links. That’s all — no more special usernames and passwords to remember!

Questions?
If you have any questions about the digital resources or how to access them, contact Tracie Marshall, Iowa AEA Media/Technology Project & Purchasing Coordinator.

2022 Global Education Institute for Teachers Offering No Cost Tuition, Materials, Housing

The 2022 Global Education Institute for Teachers: Global Perspectives on Social Justice, will be held June 7-28, 2022 in a hybrid format. The institute is organized by the Global Education Program at the Stanley Center and University of Iowa International Programs and presented by the UI Stanley Museum of Art and College of Education.

K-12 teachers of all disciplines are invited to attend the institute and earn one license renewal credit. Join the institute co-directors and special guests to discuss how to apply global perspectives to social justice throughout the curriculum.

Mandatory live Zoom sessions will be Tuesdays from 9-10:30 a.m. (June 7, 21 and 28) and other sessions (small-group discussions; videos; office hours; etc.) will be throughout the month. There will be one day of in-person sessions on June 14 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on the UI Campus in the new Stanley Museum of Art building.

FREE tuition and course materials for everyone! FREE housing to attend in person!

Application deadline is May 6, 2022.

* Registration is limited to teachers that have not participated in the last three years.

More information and an application may be found on our website. Please contact Amy Green (319) 335-1433 with any questions.

UNI Leadership Camp Approved for Evaluator Renewal

The University of Northern Iowa Institute for Educational Leadership received a grant called Leading and Learning with Character through the Kern Family Foundation. As part of the grant, UNI continues to host Leadership Camps which are approved for evaluator renewal. The course focuses on the three pillars of an effective evaluation process (standards, aligned evidence and coaching conversations).

Participants consider the evaluation process through the lens of the New Iowa Leadership Standards as they collaborate with colleagues to consider how to implement the evaluation process in an authentic, meaningful manner to most fully support those they serve. The class is very engaging and interactive. Heartland AEA has hosted Leadership Camps in the past, and the feedback from participants has been exceptional.

Opportunity 1
June 8-9, 2022
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
40 participants
Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, Room 152B

Opportunity 2
June 23-24, 2022
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
40 participants
Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, Room 107A

Cost and Credit

• One graduate credit needed to renew Evaluator Approval license
• $75 includes one graduate credit, all materials and lunches

Registration
Contact Denise Schares to sign up. Indicate your choice of dates in your email.

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

  

Annual Library Survey is Open, Share With Your Teacher Librarian

This is a follow-up to the April 5 presentation at the HAA meeting with Dr. Joan Bessman Taylor (UNI) regarding school libraries, intellectual freedom, digital learning and citizenship. The annual Iowa School Library Survey is now open through April 22. This survey provides important information about the status of school library programs and their impact on teaching and learning. It's also an opportunity for teacher librarians to continue conversations with administrators and stakeholders about the role of a school library and its programs and services. Teacher librarians are encouraged to complete the survey.

The survey should take less than 15 minutes. Here is the link.

For planning purposes, read through a copy of the survey that you can also use as a worksheet.

Results from previous surveys are at http://www.iowaaea.org/how-we-can-help/iowa-school-library-survey/.

Iowa’s Own Kidventor Named as Featured Speaker for Virtual Student Expo

Charles Smith, the Kidventor from Ottumwa, has been featured on Good Morning America for his life saving invention

The 2nd Annual Iowa ALN Statewide Virtual Student Expo will be held on April 26 with live events during the day and flexible on-demand sessions that feature students across the state and their passion and creativity on real authentic projects. Be inspired and leave with ready-to-go ideas and supports for your students! Here is our tentative schedule and program guide for the day! Be sure to register to stay in the know as updates are available!

Register here! This is a free event for students, educators and community/business partners.

Share this invitation with your students! We would love to have student participants in the Zoom rooms networking and asking questions to our student presenters. Join for a class period or whatever is most convenient! We want this to be a professional and authentic networking event for students!

Need License Renewal Credit? Register for the event and then sign-up in the registration system to indicate you will be attending (live or self-paced) for License Renewal Credit!

Be sure to join our AM Session to hear from student speakers! Charles, our kick-off speaker, will share his story starting at 8:45 am on the 26th! Check out his GMA video here!

Heartland AEA Digital Learning News - April 2022

In this issue:

• Heart of Innovation Summer Summit
• ITEC April 13-14
• National Library Month - Heartland AEA Offerings
• Computer Science Updates
• AEA OneClick
• Graduate & License Renewal Options

FastBridge Registration is Open for 2022-23, AEA Subsidy Available for Grades K-8

This year Iowa’s AEAs again will be subsidizing the costs for schools to upgrade their DE-provided FAST subscriptions that includes the expanded assessment suite in math and behavior for K-6, and literacy, math and behavior for grades 7 and 8. Participation is available both to schools that purchased the expanded assessment suite in previous years and those that want to use it for the first time in 2022-23. For more information about registration, pricing, billing and training, refer to the FastBridge Registration Information for 2022-23.

Heartland AEA Library & Digital Newsletter - April 1, 2022

In this issue:

• New Ebooks
• Reminder: Annual Iowa School Library Survey
• PreK-12 DVD Collection Is Closing
• Announcement: Tales2Go Audiobooks
• Soundzabound Is Bigger, Better, Louder!
• New Science Digital Resources Coming Fall 2022
• AEA Scout Module Is Online

STEM BEST Fund$ Available: Applications Due May 9

Applications for STEM BEST Programs are now open! These programs give educators the opportunity to work side-by-side with industry professionals to develop curriculum that prepare students for careers in the STEM fields of manufacturing, information technology, bioscience (agriculture and medicine), finance and more!

Applications are due May 9.Learn more here at https://iowastem.org/STEMBEST.