In Need of Teacher Leader PD? Bookmark These Sites!

Teacher leaders within the Heartland AEA area may want to check out the Teacher Leadership Professional Development Google Site which provides direct links to professional learning opportunities for teacher leaders. There is also an Agora Site managed by the state that allows teachers and principals to see the professional learning opportunities being offered statewide.

Reminder: Showcase of PBIS Systems and Practices Set for May 6

We are excited to announce a professional development opportunity for school teams and AEA staff - Showcase of PBIS Systems and Practices –happening May 6 at the DMACC Ankeny FFA Enrichment Center. We will have content related to a variety of topics and age/grade levels. The presentation will showcase local schools sharing examples of systems and practices that have been effective within the Heartland AEA area. Scheduled topics include: 

• Restructuring of PBIS Leadership team to align with TLC grant (within an MTSS system)
• Building Relationships
  Community Involvement
• Family Involvement in an Early Childhood setting
• Sustainability of PBIS practices 
• Implementation at the Middle School level
• Tier 2 Systems at the Elementary level
• Evidence-based practices in Tier 3 
• Building consensus and involving students in a High School PBIS system

Target Audience: Schools interested in learning more about implementing MTSS systems for behavior and teams already implementing PBIS

Registration is now open.

Gifted and Learning Disabled? Serving Twice-Exceptional Students

Students are served with an Individual Education Program (IEP) for various educational needs.  Some students are eligible for services in multiple goal areas. But did you know that a student with an IEP can simultaneously fall under another umbrella - that of gifted and talented?  This subgroup of students, known as twice-exceptional or “2e”, is under-identified and underserved in schools.

Twice-exceptional learners are defined as follows by authors Sally Reis, Susan Baum, and Edith Burke in the June 2014 edition of Gifted Child Quarterly:
"Twice-exceptional learners are students who demonstrate the potential for high achievement or creative productivity in one or more domains such as math, science, technology, the social arts, the visual, spatial, or performing arts or other areas of human productivity AND who manifest one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility criteria.

These disabilities and high abilities combine to produce a unique population of students who may fail to demonstrate either high academic performance or specific disabilities.  Their gifts may mask their disabilities and their disabilities may mask their gifts."

Few teachers are aware of the possibility of overlap in the populations of special education students and gifted students.  As a result, twice-exceptional students fall through the cracks of both systems and lack access to the appropriate educational services they need.


The West Des Moines Community School District is working to address this issue with professional development for their teachers on May 21. A parent session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 21 at Raccoon River Park Nature Lodge, 2500 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines. The evening session is open to all parents (and educators) in the Heartland AEA area who wish to know more about supporting students who are twice exceptional. Contact Kristine Milburn at (515) 633-4052 or milburnk@wdmcs.org if you have questions about the WDMCS event.

For further guidance on supporting your 2e students, contact a Parent and Education Connection Coordinator who serves your district.