Student Invitation to the United States Senate Youth Program

The state of Iowa has accepted an invitation to participate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program (USSYP), sponsored by the William Randolph Heart Foundation. The program is designed to give young Americans a working knowledge of American political life. Each year two Iowa students have the opportunity to spend a week in Washington, D.C. The William Randolph Heart Foundation pays all expenses. In addition, the two Iowa high school representatives each receive a $5,000 scholarship.

Selection of the two Iowa high school representatives is based on the outstanding ability and demonstrated leadership qualities of elected junior and senior high school student officers for the 2011-12 school year.

Each high school may nominate up to three students (in previous years, schools were only allowed to nominate one student). Student application materials and the brochure are available on the Iowa Department of Education website http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=939&Itemid=1225

Completed applications should be submitted to Kim Thuente at Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, IA 50131 by 4:00 p.m. October 3, 2011. Nominees will take a qualifying examination on October 19 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 18 at the Johnston AEA Regional Education Center regarding the U.S. Constitution and government. The award recipients will be announced in December. Contact Kim Thuente (kthuente@aea11.k12.ia.us) or Cheryl Mullenbach (Cheryl.Mullenbach@iowa.gov) for more information.

New Usernames/Passwords for Online Databases

Each school has a new username/password for the online databases such as Learn 360, iClipart for Schools, Gale, netTrekker, EBSCO, Atomic Learning, Soundzabound, etc. The license agreement allows schools to share the username/password and log-in information with parents. Please don't post username/passwords on a website, wiki or blog nor include them in any printed materials that may be sent to the general public. Ask your teacher librarian for the new username/password or call the Heartland library.

Parents can be directed to the Homework Help section found here for links to the databases or go to our home page, click the Parents tab and scroll down to Homework Help.

Superintendents: September 6, 2011 HAA Meeting at Johnston Regional Education Center

Click here to download the September Heartland Administrators Association meeting agenda. The meeting will be held from 9:00-11:50 a.m. on Tuesday, September 6 (the day after Labor Day) at the Heartland AEA Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive) in Room 13A and B. It is open to all superintendents in the Heartland service area. No registration is necessary.

Book Provided as a Resource for Learning
All participants will be provided with a copy of: Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions that Undermine Learning, by Alexander D. Platt, Caroline E. Tripp, Robert G Fraser, James R. Warnock, and Rachel E. Curtis

The book will be used to frame our study of the conditions that need to be in place to accelerate student learning…and what to do about those conditions that undermine it. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Collaborative learning and leadership structures
• Community engagement
• Supportive learning environments
• Use of data
• Effective educators (Improving hiring, induction and evaluation to support learning, principal development, impacts of contracts and collective bargaining on improving learning conditions)
• Supporting effective instructional and assessment practices to deliver a high quality curriculum

In addition to the Skillful Leader II, the facilitators will introduce supplemental readings from the current work of some of the leading researchers and authors in the field of educational leadership. Multiple copies of each of these books will be available for checkout by participants at before and after each session.