Heartland AEA will host an Iowa Department of Education Mini-Summit open to superintendents, curriculum directors, special education directors and other administrators and teachers who are responsible for providing oversight for a federal or state program/initiative. The mini-summit will be held on October 3, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites on Merle Hay Road in Des Moines.
The Iowa Department of Education will have representatives available from different program areas and state initiatives to give updates, share new information and answer questions. Some of the programs/initiatives represented include the following:
- New Iowa Core website/resources
- C4K
- Early literacy
- MTSS
- Competency-based education
- Special education
- Early childhood
- Teacher leadership
- TAG
- Fine arts
- Iowa Learning Online
- Senior Year Plus
- Board of Educational Examiners
- Legal updates
- Open enrollment
- Whole grade sharing
- Bullying and harassment
- Alternate assessment
A final agenda will be in the Administrator Connection in mid-September.
Brad Buck, director of the Iowa Department of Education, will participate in a conversation facilitated by school administrators and speak to the participants over lunch. All participants need to register as lunch will be provided free of charge. Registration is available through the Heartland AEA professional development catalog.
If you have any questions, contact Kevin Fangman, Executive Director of District Services, at kfangman@heartlandaea.org.
School Counselors must be evaluated on the Iowa Teaching Standards, however, the teaching standards do not necessarily correlate with the work of the school counselor. To ease this process, the Iowa School Counselor Association, in conjunction with other stakeholders, has created the Evaluation Supplement for School Counselors.
This tool crosswalks the Iowa Teaching Standards with the School Counselor Competencies from the American School Counselor Association and provides rubrics to assist both the counselor and the administrator in moving forward. To assist with the process, a series of videos has been prepared and housed on our Heartland EA EduVision site.
Evaluation Supplement for School Counselors - Overview for Counselors
This video gives the “high-level” overview of the Evaluation Supplement with the history and process for determining how the Iowa Teaching Standards and SC Competencies intersect. The video also explores the ways in which this supplement can be used as a reflective tool for professional growth or in the evaluation process.
Evaluation Supplement for School Counselors - Overview for Administrators
This video gives the “high-level” overview of the Evaluation Supplement with the history and process for determining how the Iowa Teaching Standards and School Counselor Competencies intersect. The video also explores the ways in which this supplement can be used as a reflective tool for professional growth or in the evaluation process.
Evaluation Supplement for School Counselors - Standards 1-4
This video examines the first four Iowa Teaching Standards and the intersection of the School Counselor Competencies in the Evaluation Supplement.
Evaluation Supplement for School Counselors - Standards 5-8
This video examines the last four Iowa Teaching Standards and the intersection of the School Counselor Competencies in the Evaluation Supplement.
If you have any questions, contact Sue Schirmer, Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant, at sschirmer@heartlandaea.org.
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.
