Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grant Planning Meetings

Heartland Area Education Agency has been working with West Wind Education Policy to develop a series of workshops to help districts develop their Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grants. Click here for more detailed information including where to register.

The purpose of this workshop series is to prepare local districts to make informed decisions about teacher leadership and compensation models. The goals are to enable each participating district team to submit a compelling and competitive plan to implement a local teacher leadership and compensation system to the Iowa Department of Education and be well positioned to implement their plans, if funds are awarded.

Teacher Leadership and Compensation System Planning Sessions

Workshop 1: Gather Information  
October 30, 2013     
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

Workshop 2: Consider Designs 
November 13, 2013    
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

Workshop 3: Craft Your Plan
December 2, 2013
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

Workshop 4: Organize Your Application              
January 13, 2014
Johnston Office, Rooms 13A & B

All workshops will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.  The lunch break will be short and food will be provided by Heartland AEA.

Registration will close on Thursday, October 24.  If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Fangman at kfangman@heartlandaea.org or (515) 201-3744.

Network Maintenance Scheduled Oct. 24

On Thursday, October 24, from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m., the ICN and Heartland AEA will be installing a new network switch and will transition the PK-12 school traffic to a new 10Gb interface.

During this maintenance window, some of the school Internet services will be restored sooner than the others, but we will try to keep the downtime for each school to a minimum. This upgrade will also affect Heartland AEA web services during the scheduled hours.

We apologize for the inconvenience, but appreciate your patience as we do this necessary upgrade. Please contact Tuan Dao, Network Administrator, at (515) 473-6702 if you have any questions.

IEC partners with Vintage Tech to Offer FREE Electronics Recycling

Vintage Tech is one of the leading electronics recycling and asset recovery companies in the industry. As an e-Stewards, R2, and ISO 14001 certified electronics recycler, Vintage Tech guarantees the highest level of service and compliance. The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) is pleased to partner with Vintage Tech to offer yet another useful service to Iowa schools.

Click here for a form to list your equipment counts and arrange a recycling pickup. Completed sheets can be submitted to Brendan Wittry bwittry@vintagetechrecyclers.com.

Vintage Tech Recyclers will arrange a pickup at your facility so you don't have to transport your recycled items.  This service is FREE unless you are requesting specialized audit or data destruction services.

Accepted items include: computers, wires and cables, scanners, laptops, computer parts, microwaves, CRTs and LCDs, battery back-ups, cell phones, monitors, computer mice, CD/VCR/DVD players, printers, keyboards, stereo equipment, televisions, MP3 players, fax machines, PDAs and video game consoles.

Follow the links below for more information:
Data security
Certifications and Affiliations
Recycle Your Apple Equipment

Upcoming IEC Ordering Dates

Mark your calendars for the below ordering dates available through the Iowa Educators Consortium.

Health & First Aid
Now-Dec. 31

Light Bulbs & Ballasts
Oct. 14-Mar.

Copy Paper
Nov. 25-Jan. 10

IASL Books
Jan. 2-Feb. 14

Hold the Date: Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grant Planning Meetings

Heartland AEA will be hosting planning meetings to support districts that are applying for Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grants.  The meetings will be held on the following dates: 

October 30, 2013
November 13, 2013
December 2, 2013
January 13, 2014 

Districts will be able to send up to four participants and are encouraged to bring representation from stakeholder groups on their district planning team. Meeting outlines and registration will be released next week. If you have any questions, contact Kevin Fangman at kfangman@heartlandaea.org.

“One Nation, Many Voices,” the Iowa Culture and Language Conference

Register now for the Iowa Culture and Language Conference, "One Nation, Many Voices." This year's conference will be held November 11-13, 2013 at the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.

For more information about the conference and to register go to:
 
http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/programs_and_services/iowa_culture__language_conference/ 

Heartland Title III funds will support attendance by reimbursing your district for registration and substitute pay for the pre-conference and/or conference. Your district will also be reimbursed a total of $100 as a travel stipend.

Participants should register following your district's policy. After the conference, your district will submit one claim form for registration, sub pay and the travel stipend. Title III will reimburse directly to the district, not individuals. The claim forms will be made available in the Administrator Connection at the conclusion of the conference.

We encourage teams of classroom teachers, administrators and ESL teachers to attend.

Invitation to the Administrator Connection

If you are interested in having the Administrator Connection sent to other personnel in your district in addition to the superintendent, principal and curriculum coordinator, please email the Heartland Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org with the subject line of "Add to Administrator Connection List." Please include the person's name, title (assistant principal, activities director, etc.) and email.

October is Connected Educator Month

Online communities and learning networks are helping hundreds of thousands of educators learn, reducing isolation and providing “just in time” access to knowledge and opportunities for collaboration. To learn more about getting involved in the national movement, go to http://connectededucators.org/.

Part of being connected is through social media. Heartland AEA and the statewide AEA system have been active users of Facebook and Twitter for several years. Also announced this year was the Iowa's AEAs Pinterest page which is a collaborative effort amongst Iowa’s nine AEAs and is maintained by AEA consultants from all over the state who specialize in different curriculum and instructional areas. Please connect with Heartland AEA and the statewide AEA system on social media!

Facebook
Heartland AEA: http://twitter.com/HeartlandAEA
Iowa's AEAs: http://twitter.com/iowa_aea

Twitter
Heartland AEA: http://www.facebook.com/heartlandaea
Iowa's AEAs: http://www.facebook.com/iowaaea/

Pinterest
Iowa's AEAs: http://www.pinterest.com/iowaaea

Impacting Lives Blog Showcases AEA Services

View the latest Impacting Lives update at http://aeas4iowa.wordpress.com/ for stories about the many ways Iowa's AEAs are making a difference. In this issue, read more about the work being done to improve early literacy in Iowa as well as a check-in on a child that receives services from her local AEA.

Iowans Invited to Give Feedback on Science Standards

On September 18, the Iowa Department of Education launched a public opinion survey of Iowans regarding the Next Generation Science Standards. The survey is part of a broader state effort to seek input on the new science standards, which represent a multi-state effort to develop a common set of learning expectations for students in kindergarten through high school.
The standards are internationally benchmarked and identify science and engineering practices and content with a focus on preparing K-12 students to go to college or to enter the workforce. To read the Next Generation Science Standards, visit http://www.nextgenscience.org/.

The survey will be open through Friday, October 11. To participate, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JBQM56P.

For more information about the Next Generation Science Standards Task Force, visit http://www.educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2951&Itemid=5238.

Wanted: Your Input on Extended Learning

Learning doesn’t take place just in a classroom. It can happen before school, after and during the summer.

Called in educational circles “extended learning,” it enhances students’ overall educational experiences. The best programs, research shows, involve both school and community involvement.

And to that end, the Iowa General Assembly directed the Iowa Department of Education to produce a report due Dec. 15 on best practices for extended-learning opportunities in the state. To accomplish this, the Department and the Iowa Afterschool Alliance are seeking input from Iowans on extended learning, both in the form of a survey as well as a series of meetings hosted around the state.

The report for the extended learning pilot model comes from funds appropriated by the 2013 Iowa General Assembly in House File 215.

The survey can be accessed here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/extendedlearningIA2013.

For specific information on the individual state meetings, go to http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2962:wanted-your-input-on-extended-learning&catid=666:headlines