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
Did you know that almost 60% of seniors in the Class of 2020 are reconsidering their postsecondary school choice due to COVID-19 closures? That’s over 20,000 Iowa high school seniors. Do you know how many of your students are reconsidering their plans?
While many of you are already connecting with your graduating seniors, AEA PREP is sharing this resource to assist you in organizing and focusing your response to the needs of your seniors as we close out the 2020 school year.
The attached document provides step-by-step strategies to ensure the Class of 2020 successfully pursues their postsecondary plans and includes resources to collect data or use existing data from your seniors to organize follow-up supports. These are Iowa-specific resources, adapted from this National College Attainment Network (NCAN) document.
This work should be done in collaboration with a team of educators consisting of school personnel with additional capacity or existing relationships with students who can share in this work. Additionally, the information collected in this process will help your school complete the post-graduation plans required for state reporting (SRI).
If you have questions about this message or the attachment, please send messages to questions@aeaprep.org.
Polk County Health Services is hosting a webinar series for schools and businesses as we begin to look at returning to school and work. The “Cultivating Resilience: Mental Health Supports in the Workplace/in Schools” will be a short, interactive refresher on cultivating resilience in the classroom and at work! This webinar will cover a return to learn plan that:
- Gives tactical examples to help employees return to work
- Adds extra support as many have experienced fear, trauma, grief or depression due to COVID-19
- Informs about mental health and social emotional learning and the importance of connections
- Helps you find a new normal post-pandemic
To sign up for the webinar follow the links below!
Schools
Workplaces
In an effort to support the well-being of districts, educators, students and families, Heartland AEA is pleased to bring you, "Wellness Weekly," a weekly series dedicated to all things wellness and well-being.
Check out the Wellness Weekly site every week for well-being resources, tips and fun and share with colleagues and families!
This week features:
- 25 Daily Affirmations to Improve Your Mindset
- Daily Stretches You Should Practice When Working from Home
- The Positive Psychology Podcast - Bringing the Science of Happiness to Your Earbuds
- Talking Dog Gives Tips on Living Right During the Coronavirus Crisis
Apoyos de Educación Especial Para Escuelas Públicas de Iowa Durante COVID-19
The Spanish version of the Special Education Supports is now available. It has also been added to the top of the Special Education Supports and the individual enrichment opportunities have been added as well. The Spanish version has also been added to the COVID-19 resources on our website.
Last week the Iowa Department of Education announced the release of new resources to support districts and schools as they work on their Return-to-Learn Plans. These resources have been developed jointly by the Department with Iowa’s AEAs and can be found on a new Iowa Return to Learn Support site. Use the headings at the top of the home page to navigate to the area you want to explore.
New Releases:
Required Continuous Learning
- R2L Tech Integration Framework for Online Instruction
Iowa Academic Standards
- Unit Acceleration Planning Activity
- Planning Protocol for Accelerated Learning
Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health (SEBH)
- SEBH R2L toolkit
- SEBH R2L action planning tool (to be used with toolkit)
Health & Safety
- AEA Learning Online Module R2L: Health and Safety - District Leadership Teams
These resources are provided for your convenience and are not required. The Department will continue to provide new resources on the site multiple times each week, so check back frequently.
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
This year Iowa’s AEAs again will be subsidizing the costs for schools to upgrade their DE-provided FAST subscriptions that include the expanded assessment suite in math and behavior for K-6 and literacy, math and behavior for grades 7 & 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 2020-21.
Subscriptions are based on a per-student annual cost, and your AEA and the statewide AEA system have committed to covering 50 percent of the cost for each K-8 student in Iowa. The deadline to register is May 16. If you have any questions, contact Kevin Fangman, Chief Academic Officer.
FAST Registration for the 2020-21 School Year
Here's some good news. Ebook usage statistics for April show the high-use titles our students read for what we assume were assignments (The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, The Outsiders, Animal Farm, 1984) and for leisure (Harry Potter, Black Panther, Fault in our Stars). Stats are also showing that the ebook titles teacher librarians and teachers recommended for purchase in the last few months are also being widely read. Heartland AEA is pleased to play a part in providing remote access to reading materials.
New ebook additions in 2020
We hope you will consider joining us for UNI's self-paced Leadership Camp. This online learning will be in lieu of the June 18-19 face-to-face learning for renewal of evaluator license.
What: The UNI Leadership Camp is an opportunity to engage in reflection around the Iowa Standards for School Leadership, earn a reduced-cost Evaluator Approval Renewal credit ($75 reduced from $509), enjoy a meaningful, professional development experience hosted by UNI Educational Leadership faculty through online modules and have the opportunity to participate in a research project as part of a grant-funded by the Kern Family Foundation.
When: Self-paced modules and resources beginning on June 18 with one month to complete the work (UNI will communicate full timelines and expectations)
How: If interested, please email Denise Schares at denise.schares@uni.edu to register or for more detailed information regarding the course. Please note that we are also planning to host a Leadership Camp on July 21-22 and are hopeful that it will be safe to gather in person at that point.
In an effort to support the well-being of districts, educators, students and families, Heartland AEA is pleased to bring you, "Wellness Weekly," a weekly series dedicated to all things wellness and well-being.
Check out the Wellness Weekly site every week for well-being resources, tips and fun and share with colleagues and families!
This week features:
- Mental Health Resources
- Being Our Best Self During Challenging Times
- How to Manage Anxiety During the COVID-19 Outbreak
- May is Mental Health Month
- Staying Resilient During COVID-19
- It's Okay Not to be Okay
- Structure Your Day with Points
- Emotions at Home: How do we want to feel?
- 9 Ways to Relax Without Spending a Cent
- My 5 Parenting Rules for Letting Go and Getting Through the Coronavirus Crisis
- Resources to Support Your Emotional Health
- Compassion Resilience Toolkit
