Paraeducator Competency Changes, New Curriculum Coming

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners recently changed the competencies for the Paraeducator Generalist Certification and the Area of Concentration-Special Needs Paraeducator. As a result of those competency changes, a statewide group was formed to write new curriculum aligned with the changes. This work is wrapping up and will now be consistent across the state. Heartland AEA will continue to provide a hybrid (on-line and face-to-face) training for paraeducators currently employed by districts. Because of the changes, the course will not be ready for training to begin until late September or early October. Please contact your regional director or the professional learning and leadership consultant that serves your district for more information.

Teacher Librarian Professional Learning Day on Sept. 29

Please consider passing the following opportunity on to your district’s teacher librarians. We have an exciting day set aside for teacher librarians! Register for our annual teacher librarian professional development day! Topics include school library survey data, digital citizenship, our new SUPER Search tool, netTrekker, Teachingbooks.net and resources to reach reluctant readers. Plus, the opportunity to network with fellow teacher librarians from area schools! Register through the Heartland AEA professional development catalog.

ESL/ELL Opportunities for 2014-15

Welcome back to a promising school year! We are pleased to have our newest ELL team member, Janet Hiatt, on board. She is working hard as your ESL/Diversity Consultant at the Johnston Regional Education Center along with Stephaney Jones-Vo. A big shout-out to Pat Latham, our recently retired friend and colleague! 

We have many exciting opportunities to share with administrators and teachers of ELLs as school begins this fall. We encourage your collaboration with general education grade-level and content colleagues. Below you will find a list of classes, (several provide a $200 stipend for participants so bring a team from your school)! Wishing everyone a wonderful school year! 

ESL Updates for Administrators and Teachers of English Learners 
1. Iowa Culture and Language Conference Update 
Plan to send a district team to the Iowa Culture and Language Conference (ICLC) in Coralville, IA on Nov. 11 & 12, 2014. Learn ways to engage ELLs in the classroom and more! Visit the ICLC website to register. Early bird fee: $130 (Reimbursed to districts) 

Check out the additional pre-conferences scheduled for Nov. 10. Register for those sessions separately from the conference. Open now! 

Pre-Conference registration for the day-long session of your choice: $125.00 (Reimbursed to districts) 

Pre-Conference sessions include: 

• Teachers New to the Field of ESL (recommended for first year ESL teachers) 
• English Proficiency Standards 
• Differentiated Instruction and Accelerated Academic Language 
• Secondary ELL Newcomers 
• Literacy Strategies 
• Migrant Education 
• Early Childhood 

2. District support/reimbursement available from Heartland AEA Title III for attendance at ICLC 
Heartland AEA will reimburse districts for early bird registration costs of district staff to the conference, substitute teacher costs and a one-per district stipend of $200 toward expenses. (Participants will be responsible for picking up one district reimbursement claim form, completing it and mailing it to the address listed on the form by Nov. 21. A district administrator must sign the form. The allowable number of teachers/administrators per district is based on the following rough estimates of the district’s ELL enrollment: 

• 0-30 ELLs: 2 
• 31-100 ELLs: 3 
• 101-200 ELLs: 4 
• 201-300 ELLs: 5 
• 301-400 ELLs: 6 
• 401 or more ELLs: 7 

3. Heartland AEA Professional Development Offerings 
Check out the available classes for teachers of English Learners and other diverse learners; some classes provide a $200 stipend from Title III for taking the 2-day class! Go to www.heartlandaea.org and click on “Professional Development catalog” under the Professional Development tab. Enter the activity number to read the class description and to register for your class. 

Engaging ELLs in the Iowa Core Using Sheltered Instruction ($200 stipend) 
Activity Number: ES008492111501 

EL Bridge Online Workshops from the University of Iowa 
Activity Number: 22017699991501 

Coming soon: Engaging ELLs in the Mathematics Classroom ($200 stipend) 

4. TELPA and I-ELDA Assessment Information 
Teachers who administer the TELPA and I-ELDA are required to complete the online certification annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Department of Education ELL webpage and scroll down to TELPA. Remember: the TELPA must be administered as the ELL screener within 30 days of enrollment or within two weeks (14 days) if the student arrives later. 

5. ESL Advisory Group 
This is an invitation to all public and non-public school districts to send a representative or team to the quarterly ESL Advisory group. Come network with ESL colleagues and your Title III ESL consultants, Janet Hiatt and Stephaney Jones-Vo; learn strategies and the newest ESL information, apply for mini-grants for your district, suggest professional development topics and make sure that your Lau Plan is up-to-date. This year’s dates are: 

• Sept. 2, 2014 
• Dec. 4, 2014 
• Feb. 3, 2015 
• May 6, 2015 

All ESL Advisory meetings are 4:00 – 5:00 pm at Heartland AEA’s Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive). 

We look forward to another great year of working together on behalf of ELLs! 

Stephaney Jones-Vo, ESL/Diversity Consultant sjonesvo@heartlandaea.org 
Janet Hiatt, ESL/Diversity Consultant jhiatt@heartlandaea.org