Moving Forward with PBIS

This year Heartland AEA will offer four district support days for PBIS in addition to regular course offerings. These days are designed based on feedback we received from districts regarding what would be helpful to keep buildings Moving Forward with PBIS. Please save the date for Sept. 22, 2014, December 15, 2014, and February 3, 2015. A fourth day will be provided in the spring and this date will be provided as soon as speakers are finalized. License renewal credit will be available for participants attending sessions totaling at least 15 hours across all four days. 

TARGET AUDIENCE: 
Sessions for various audiences will be provided and a target audience for each session is provided in the description. 

More information, including how to register, is in the registration flyer.

New Teacher Leadership & Compensation System Virtual Community Created

Iowa’s AEAs and the Iowa Department of Education announce the opening of a new virtual community to support the Teacher Leadership and Compensation system. The purpose of this site is to bring teacher leaders and administrators across the state together to access resources and learning opportunities and to collaborate as we strengthen teacher and administrator leadership. 

This community is an Agora site developed by AEA PD Online. To participate in the community click here. Community Resources include: 

• Self-Assessments – Teachers and administrators will be able to complete surveys, which will help identify areas of need in relation to the Learning Supports Framework. 
• On-Demand Learning – Community participants will find learning opportunities that address the seven focus areas of teacher leadership. The searchable database includes articles, learning modules, websites, videos and more. 
• Community Forums – Participates will have different forum spaces in which to participate, each with a different overall focus. Join in on the discussion, or just choose to follow the conversation. 
• Events – This is a statewide calendar of learning opportunities for teacher leaders and administrators to support the seven focus areas. Participants can search the calendar and find professional development opportunities to address identified areas of growth for teachers and administrators. 

All resources on the site can also be explored by each focus area: Adult Learning, Collaborative Culture, Communication, Content Pedagogy & Assessment, Systems Thinking, Data and Organizational Leadership. 

Resources and learning opportunities will continue to be added to the TLC On-line Community. The Event Calendar is currently the most developed section. Events will be added as they become available. The other areas are at the beginning stages of development, but will soon be a robust source of resources. If you choose to enroll in the community, you will be able to sign up for notifications as well as to participate in community activities. 

If you have questions about the Agora site, contact Lora Rasey at lora.rasey@iowa.gov or 515.281.6719.

Reminder: Heartland AEA to Host DE Mini-Summit on Oct. 3

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.