CTE Regional Meetings are Coming to Your Area Soon

In May 2016, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Redesign initiative was signed into Iowa law in an effort to be in line with Future Ready Iowa, an effort launched by former Gov. Branstad and current Gov. Reynolds. The purpose of the CTE Redesign is to:

• Improve access to high-quality CTE through a statewide system of regional planning partnerships to assist school districts in providing an effective, efficient and economical means of delivering programs.
• Encourage alignment of secondary CTE offerings to in-demand occupations to meet the needs of employers.
• Reform career and academic planning and CTE programming to encourage students to explore opportunities aligned to their interests through holistic career guidance, exploratory CTE coursework and work-based learning opportunities.

As part of the CTE Redesign, the state was divided into sections associated with AEAs and community colleges. All the schools served by Heartland AEA and Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is considered to be in the Region 11 CTE Partnership. The partnership is led by the Executive Partnership consisting of at least one representative of the Heartland AEA regions.

For the 2017-18 school year, the CTE focus will be on planning and providing information to the regional groups. The regional groups consist of at least one member from each school district within that region; names to be on the regional groups were provided by superintendents at the end of last year. The plan is for the regional groups to meet twice this school year - once in the fall and once in the spring. These meetings will provide information about the CTE Redesign and will work to get the regional CTE groups up and running before the next school year. The names from each school district provided to the partnership will receive an email in the next couple of weeks related to the specifics of the meeting. If the staff member cannot attend the regional meeting, someone else from the district may attend in their place. Below are the districts by region and the date and time of the meetings. If you have questions regarding the CTE Redesign please contact T.J. Jumper, Heartland AEA Regional Director, at tjumper@heartlandaea.org.

Region 1: Oct. 25, 2017 at Panorama School District, 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Districts: Adair-Casey, Audubon, Carroll, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Earlham, Exira-EHK, Glidden-Ralston, Guthrie Center, Interstate 35, Panorama, West Central Valley, Winterset

Region 2: Nov. 1, 2017 at Van Meter School District, 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Districts: Adel-Desoto-Minburn, Dallas Center-Grimes, Perry, Van Meter, Waukee, Woodward-Granger

Region 3: Nov. 1, 2017 at Indianola School District, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
Districts: Carlisle, Indianola, Knoxville, Martensdale-St. Marys, Melcher-Dallas, Norwalk, Pella, Pleasantville, Southeast Warren, Twin Cedars

Des Moines Metro Region: Oct. 18, 2017 at Heartland AEA Johnston Regional Education Center, 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Districts: Ankeny, Bondurant-Farrar, Des Moines, Johnston, North Polk, Saydel, Southeast Polk, Urbandale, West Des Moines

Region 7: Oct. 18, 2017 at Oakwood Rd. Church in Ames, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
Districts: Ames, Ballard, Boone, Collins-Maxwell, Colo-Nesco, Gilbert, Madrid, Nevada, Ogden, Roland-Story, United

Region 8: Oct. 31, 2017 at DMACC-Newton Campus, 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Districts: Baxter, Colfax-Mingo, Lynnville-Sully, Newton, PCM

AEA and BrightBytes Agreement has Expanded to Offer More Options for Districts

AEA Media Directors across the state updated the contract with BrightBytes and there are now more options for districts to choose from. Information was shared with Curriculum Directors last Friday. Here is a link to the slides that were shared and a brochure with more information. If you have any questions, contact the Regional Director or Instructional Technology Consultant who serves your district.

Heartland AEA to Host Resource Fair on Oct. 21 for Students with Special Needs and Their Families

Oct. 21, 2017
9 a.m. - Noon
Science Center of Iowa, 401 W Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, Des Moines

This free event offers families of children with special needs an opportunity to meet local service providers. Attendees are welcome to tour the Science Center after attending the fair. Breakout sessions will be held concurrently at 9 a.m., followed by table sessions from 10 a.m. - noon.

Check out the service providers who will be at the fair in this PDF: Resource Fair Service Provider List (PDF)

Attendees will be able to choose from one of the following breakout sessions:

• Managing Your Child's Challenging Behavior
• Post-secondary Education & Employment Options
• Service Providers

To assist families in getting the most benefit, a stipend for childcare reimbursement will be offered. Families may bring a childcare provider along to assist while parents and caregivers attend a session. To learn more, contact Terry Mendell, Lead Parent Coordinator, Heartland AEA Family & Educator Partnership, at (800) 255-0405 ext. 17135 or tmendell@heartlandaea.org.