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?
Friday, April 17, 2009
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Available Iowa Educators Consortium Software Discounts
As of April 1, school students and staff will have access to software discounts of up to 85% with the NEW! Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) Software Store powered by Journey Education. Partnerships with Microsoft, Adobe, NUANCE and Inspiration have been made which extends fantastic discounts to Iowa K-12 students, teachers and school staff. In addition, thousands of other software programs as well as computer hardware, books, bags and more are available at discounted prices!
Journey Education products can be ordered online at http://www.JourneyEd.com/Select or by calling (800) 874-9001. Any product ordered will be shipped directly to the customer’s home.
Pricing examples:
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007 - Retail $399, IEC Price $59.98
• Microsoft Office Professional 2007 - Retail $499, IEC Price $89.98
• Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Standard K-12 – Retail $1,399, IEC Price $219.98
• Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium - Retail $1,699, IEC Price $319.98
• Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred 10.0 Student/Teacher Edition - Retail $99, IEC Price $49.98
• Inspiration Kidspiration 3 Student Single - IEC Price $29.98
Journey Education products can be ordered online at http://www.JourneyEd.com/Select or by calling (800) 874-9001. Any product ordered will be shipped directly to the customer’s home.
Pricing examples:
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007 - Retail $399, IEC Price $59.98
• Microsoft Office Professional 2007 - Retail $499, IEC Price $89.98
• Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Standard K-12 – Retail $1,399, IEC Price $219.98
• Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium - Retail $1,699, IEC Price $319.98
• Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred 10.0 Student/Teacher Edition - Retail $99, IEC Price $49.98
• Inspiration Kidspiration 3 Student Single - IEC Price $29.98
Buying Textbooks and NIMAS Guidelines
NIMAS guidelines for providing print-accessible textbooks are outlined at http://trueaim.iowa.gov. It is recommended that the following paragraph be inserted in all textbook purchasing contracts. It requires the publisher to send a NIMAS fileset to the NIMAC.
By agreeing to deliver the materials marked with "NIMAS" on this contract or purchase order, the publisher agrees to prepare and submit, on or before ___/___/_____ a NIMAS fileset to the NIMAC that complies with the terms and procedures set forth by the NIMAC. Should the vendor be a distributor of the materials and not the publisher, the distributor agrees to immediately notify the publisher of its obligation to submit NIMAS filesets of the purchased products to the NIMAC. The files will be used for the production of alternate formats as permitted under the law for students with print disabilities. Please note that the delivery of print versions should not be delayed in cases where the NIMAS fileset has yet to be validated and cataloged by the NIMAC.
Heartland AEA's World of Media
Make sure to take a look at Heartland AEA's April edition of the World of Media newsletter which included some technology and 21st century research and reports. You will find full articles of the below summaries and more at http://wom.aea11.k12.ia.us.
The annual SpeakUp survey from Project Tomorrow shows that students feel restricted using technology when they enter school and suggests that this signals weakness in U.S. global competition. Survey results are linked and highlights from the survey are summarized.
The Horizon Report 2009 was released in March. It identifies six emerging technologies that will have a huge impact on education in the next 1-5 years: collaborative environments, online communication tools, mobile devices, cloud computing, "smart" objects and the personal web.
Check out Web sites that explore how cell phones can be used in the classroom. Different areas of usage include simple text messaging voting, GoogleText, audio blogs, real-time sharing of audio and video, etc.
See demonstration and lecture videos posted online by an Urbandale High School chemistry and physics teacher.
YouTubeEDU includes special channels for university and college lectures and demonstrations--similar to what Urbandale High School is doing.
The annual SpeakUp survey from Project Tomorrow shows that students feel restricted using technology when they enter school and suggests that this signals weakness in U.S. global competition. Survey results are linked and highlights from the survey are summarized.
The Horizon Report 2009 was released in March. It identifies six emerging technologies that will have a huge impact on education in the next 1-5 years: collaborative environments, online communication tools, mobile devices, cloud computing, "smart" objects and the personal web.
Check out Web sites that explore how cell phones can be used in the classroom. Different areas of usage include simple text messaging voting, GoogleText, audio blogs, real-time sharing of audio and video, etc.
See demonstration and lecture videos posted online by an Urbandale High School chemistry and physics teacher.
YouTubeEDU includes special channels for university and college lectures and demonstrations--similar to what Urbandale High School is doing.
Perry Elementary Provides Healthier School Environment
Congratulations to Perry Elementary School for winning the Silver Award and being the fifth school in Iowa to receive a HealthierUS School Challenge award! The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) award is the highest nationally recognized award for making changes to school nutrition environments, providing physical activity opportunities, improving the quality of the foods served and providing students with more nutritious, healthy choices.
Perry Elementary is offering legumes, whole grain products and dark green and orange fruits and vegetables more often in school lunches. A special, congratulatory school award ceremony involving various dignitaries and fun for the students will take place in Perry in the near future.
Go to http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=373&Itemid=1332 for additional HealthierUS School Challenge information.
Perry Elementary is offering legumes, whole grain products and dark green and orange fruits and vegetables more often in school lunches. A special, congratulatory school award ceremony involving various dignitaries and fun for the students will take place in Perry in the near future.
Go to http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=373&Itemid=1332 for additional HealthierUS School Challenge information.
Need Classroom Space or Storage? FEMA Trailers May Be Available Soon
IASB has learned that many of the mobile homes that were used to house displaced families after the natural disasters of 2008 are in the process of being transitioned to other uses.
According to the Rebuild Iowa Office, it is quite possible the trailers will be made available to local governments within a few days or weeks. If you are interested in obtaining one of the units, your district should fill out the application and submit it to Clint Schmidt at Iowa Prison Industries for approval. You will then be positioned for consideration if and when the trailers become available. The only costs to acquire a trailer would be payment to Prison Industries (approximately $500) and moving expenses. FEMA will likely want the trailers moved within 10 working days of notification that a sale is approved. The trailers are currently located in Black Hawk County.
You can download the application, approximate timeline and instructions at http://members.ia-sb.org/fileshare/IASB04022009102222.zip.
If you have questions, please contact Clint Schmidt from the Iowa Prison Industries at clint.schmidt@iowa.gov or (515) 281-0426.
Note: This e-mail was sent to K-12 superintendents and business managers, and the administrators and business managers at AEAs and community colleges.
According to the Rebuild Iowa Office, it is quite possible the trailers will be made available to local governments within a few days or weeks. If you are interested in obtaining one of the units, your district should fill out the application and submit it to Clint Schmidt at Iowa Prison Industries for approval. You will then be positioned for consideration if and when the trailers become available. The only costs to acquire a trailer would be payment to Prison Industries (approximately $500) and moving expenses. FEMA will likely want the trailers moved within 10 working days of notification that a sale is approved. The trailers are currently located in Black Hawk County.
You can download the application, approximate timeline and instructions at http://members.ia-sb.org/fileshare/IASB04022009102222.zip.
If you have questions, please contact Clint Schmidt from the Iowa Prison Industries at clint.schmidt@iowa.gov or (515) 281-0426.
Note: This e-mail was sent to K-12 superintendents and business managers, and the administrators and business managers at AEAs and community colleges.
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