Do You Know About Heartland AEA’s Parent & Educator Connection?

The Heartland AEA Parent & Educator Connection (PEC) encourages and promotes positive partnerships between parents and educators so that children with special needs are successful. Our PEC coordinators are parents of children or young adults with special needs, so they share a unique perspective with the families we serve.

The PEC offers:

• Conferences, workshops or networking groups
• Links to community resources, camps and leisure activities
• Transition support to help prepare a student in special education to move from high school to the workplace or higher education
• Parent Online Trainings for topics such as orientation to special education, eligibility for special education, managing behavior, bullying prevention

For more information, contact Terry Mendell, Lead Parent Coordinator, Heartland AEA, at (800) 255-0405 ext. 17135 or sign up to receive notifications of PEC events and newsletters.

Reminder: Applicants Sought for 2015 STEM Education Award for Inspired Teaching

Administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, students and other STEM advocates are invited to nominate an inspirational science, technology, engineering or mathematics teacher for the 2016 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award, sponsored by Kemin Industries and the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.

Nominations close Dec. 11, 2015.

For more information or to make a nomination, visit the 2016 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award website or contact Taylor Rookaird or Carrie Rankin.

Dec. 2015 School Leader Update

The Dec. 2015 issue of the School Leader Update is available from the Iowa Department of Education. Inside, Director Wise talks about two big pushes in the state – the Iowa School Report Card and Differentiated Accountability. Attorney Nicole Proesch reminds you to keep the holiday in (legal) perspective. And read about the 2016 Teacher of the Year.