Visit Iowa's AEAs at the 2009 Iowa State Fair!

For the second year, Iowa's AEAs will be featured at the State Fair in a booth in the William C. Knapp Varied Industries Building. The booth will highlight information about AEA services and will provide visitors with the opportunity to share their personal AEA success stories. Heartland AEA staff members will be working in the booth on August 18th and 19th. For more information about the 2009 Iowa State Fair, which runs from August 13-23, visit www.iowastatefair.org.

Revised dates for HEART Training

Please see below for the descriptions and revised class schedule for HEART Trainings.

HEART Administrator Overview class
This class is intended for school leaders new to HEART and those who want a refresher. In this training we will cover the use of HEART, security setup and cleanup, as well as general Q&A. This class is intended for building/district leaders who will be responsible for local implementation of HEART. Among others, this may include superintendents, principals, technology and/or curriculum coordinators, but may also include building/district clerical personnel who provide major support for HEART.

Class schedule (all from 8:30-11:30 a.m.)
* August 10, 2009 - AS003792111001
* September 3, 2009 - AS003792111002
* October 16, 2009 - AS003792111003
* December 2, 2009 - AS003792111004
* February 1, 2010 - AS003792111005
* April 8th, 2010 - AS003792111006

HEART Behavior Module class
This training will cover the setup and operation of the behavior module as well as some discussion of its use in a building/district setting. We recommend the behavior training be attended by at least one administrator and another person who will assist with technical support (primarily building data files for import). We also encourage the school to invite members of the AEA team such as the School Psychologist and/or School Social Worker, as they may be able to assist in the implementation of the behavior module in your building/district.

Class schedule (all from 1:00-4:00 p.m.)
* September 3, 2009 - AS003692111002
* October 16, 2009 - AS003692111003
* December 2, 2009 - AS003692111004
* February 1, 2010 - AS003692111005
* April 8, 2010 - AS003692111006

If you are interested, you may register for either one or both sessions. To register, go to the Heartland Professional Development catalog on our home page or click on the link below. Copy the appropriate activity number and paste it into the search box on the registration page in the browser.

https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH

Questions can be directed to Connor Hood at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14506 or chood@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Update from the Heartland AEA Iowa Core Curriculum Team

July 16, 2009

The team has received inquiries about how an Iowa Core Curriculum Leadership Team might build capacity in the Iowa Core Curriculum once school starts for 2009-2010. The July issue of School Leader Update contained the following information:

“Leadership Teams are very motivated to undertake the important work of implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum. Before extensive improvement efforts are launched, it is critical that Leadership Team members take time to carefully determine what actions are needed.

During the first semester of next year, Leadership Teams should focus their efforts to design and implement the Iowa Core Curriculum by:

• Engaging all teachers in thoroughly exploring the Essential Concepts and Skills
• Gathering and analyzing data to complete the Iowa Core Curriculum Self Study
  
• Participating in thoughtful dialogue and planning for all six outcomes of the Implementation Plan
• Informing all teachers and administrators about the implementation planning process
• Developing and sharing the district’s vision about the Core with community members
• Supporting existing professional development that focuses on student learning
• Ensuring that teachers have the time to learn and apply the priority professional development

During the second semester Leadership Teams should work on:

• Orienting staff to alignment processes (the Iowa Core Curriculum Network will be leading this work)
• Gathering information regarding alignment data and working with the necessary tools
• Planning how to improve alignment based on analysis of data collected through this process

For more information or questions, please contact Rita Martens, Iowa Department of Education, at 515-281-3145 or rita.martens@iowa.gov

You can also contact Linda Biermann Hoobin, Heartland AEA Teaching and Learning Consultant, at 515-270-0405 ext. 14327 or lhoobin@aea11.k12.ia.us.