Heartland Administrator Association 2011-12 Meetings
September 6 will be the first meeting of the year for the Heartland Administrators Association (HAA). The HAA is a collaborative effort between superintendents in central Iowa and Heartland AEA. It is open to all superintendents in the Heartland service area. No registration is necessary.
The meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month beginning at 9:00 a.m. All meetings will be held at the Johnston Regional Education Center at 6500 Corporate Drive in Johnston. The dates for the meetings this year are the following:
September 6, 2011
October 4, 2011
November 1, 2011
December 6, 2011
January 3, 2012
February 7, 2012
March 6, 2012
April 3, 2012
May 1, 2012
We hope to see you all on September 6 (the day after Labor Day). Check next week’s Administrator Connection for the agenda.
Professional Learning Theme for 2011-2012: Confronting the Conditions that Undermine Learning
This year we will again devote the first hour of each HAA meeting to professional learning. We are hoping that all superintendents will choose to participate. We found last year that the best learning came from our colleagues and conversations about how the research on leadership applied situations in our local schools.
Book Provided as a Resource for Learning
All participants will be provided with a copy of Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions that Undermine Learning by Alexander D. Platt, Caroline E. Tripp, Robert G Fraser, James R. Warnock, and Rachel E. Curtis The book will be used to frame our study of the conditions that need to be in place to accelerate student learning…and what to do about those conditions that undermine it. Some of the topics discussed will include:
- Collaborative learning and leadership structures
- Community engagement
- Supportive learning environments
- Use of data
- Effective educators (Improving hiring, induction and evaluation to support learning, principal development, impacts of contracts and collective bargaining on improving learning conditions)
Supporting effective instructional and assessment practices to deliver a high quality curriculum The Skillful Leader II was selected as the main resource for our learning experience because it offers a comprehensive analysis of the conditions worth changing with practical strategies and suggestions for leaders at all levels. It also contains many scenarios and mini case studies that should lead to great conversations about these stories and how to apply the lessons in our situations. Here is what Richard Elmore, Professor of Educational Leadership Harvard School of Education, says about this book:
“The Skillful Leader II takes on the central issue of building strong communities of practice in schools that support and nurture high quality instruction. ….This is a wise and much needed, practical and supportive guide for school leaders, aspiring and practicing on how to make schools places where adults and student learn at high levels.”
In addition to the Skillful Leader II, the facilitators will introduce supplemental readings from the current work of some of the leading researchers and authors in the field of educational leadership. Multiple copies of each of these books will be available for checkout by participants at before and after each session.
Titles Available for Checkout in Heartland AEA’s Professional Library:
- Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement by Robert Marzano and Richard Dufour (New in June 2011)
- The Moral Imperative Realized by Michael Fullan (Also new in 2011)
- All Systems Go: The Change Imperative for Whole system Reform by Michael Fullan
- Leaders Make it Happen: An Administrator’s Guide to Data Teams by Brian McNulty and Laura Besser
- It’s Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools, by Karin Chenoweth
- Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey
- The Skillful Leader I: Confronting Mediocre Teaching by Alexander D. Platt, Caroline E. Tripp, Wayne R. Ogden and Robert G Fraser
Relicensure Credit Available
Relicensure credit will be available for those who are interested. In order to complete the 15 hours needed for credit, there will be some online learning requirements. This blended course of face-to-face meetings and online learning will give participants an opportunity experience learning in an online environment (If you haven’t participated in an online course before…don’t worry the technology will be very easy to access.) If you are not interested in credit, the online learning will be optional.
See You Soon!
There is no need to register prior to attending. Just join us at 9:00 a.m. on September 6.
The following message is from the Department of Education regarding the status of Evaluator Approval training which was previously in the Administrator Connection. We wanted to give you a chance to see it again as a reminder.
For the last two years the Iowa Evaluator Approval Training Program state advisory committee has been working on the structure and focus of Level III renewal of the evaluator’s license. This work has been based on the experience and input from practicing administrators who have been involved with the training for Level I and Level II renewal and their experience in applying the previous training at the local school level. At this point, what is available to any person needing renewal at Level III is described as follows:
- Four credit hours are needed for renewal of the administrator license at Level III.
- Everyone will need to take the Assessing Academic Rigor course which is currently available in all of the AEAs. This option will count for two of the four credits needed.
In addition:
- In state Administrators may take another course for credit with researched based content which aligns with the work of their district or their own individual professional development. This course must be an AEA licensure renewal credit or a semester credit from a regionally accredited institution.
- They make take the Fierce Conversations course which is a two-credit course offered through each of the AEAs.
Furthermore:
- Out-of-state: Individuals coming from out-of-state will be required to take the I-Evaluate on-line class for full administrative licensure. Please contact Fred Kinne at (515) 281-3587 or fred.kinne@iowa.gov for further information.
Given new leadership at the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Evaluator Approval Training Program Advisory Committee and others will be working to review the direction and focus of the current plans beyond what is currently established as described above. This review will be conducted over the next six months to a year. Those who need to renew at Level III before July 2012 are advised to participate in the arrangement as described above. Any administrator who does not need to renew at Level III for another year or more may decide if they want to wait and determine if any changes in the training for evaluator approval Level III would be more appropriate for their work.
Click here for a FAQ sheet and here for a flowchart for decision making to help address more specific questions. Please submit any additional questions to: matt.ludwig@iowa.gov or connie.maxson@iowa.gov and those will be addressed in future updates and FAQ documents that will be shared with all administrators across the state.
You are cordially invited and encouraged to sign on to our new PBIS Wiki Website! As users, you will be granted writer status and you will be able to post good news and good works that are outcomes from using PBIS principles in your classrooms and schools. Occasionally, the front page will have a question and we invite your responses. This new interactive site is designed to be a forum for networking and collaboration with each other. In addition, we will include frequently requested resources from Early Childhood (EC PBIS) and from School-Wide (SW PBIS) Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports.
To access this site, go to http://pbisaea11.pbworks.com and request access on the right-hand side of the page. Either Heartland’s webmaster or Carol Price will accept your request.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Carol Price, Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant, at cprice@aea11.k12.ia.us.
All participants will be provided with a copy of Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions that Undermine Learning by Alexander D. Platt, Caroline E. Tripp, Robert G Fraser, James R. Warnock, and Rachel E. Curtis The book will be used to frame our study of the conditions that need to be in place to accelerate student learning…and what to do about those conditions that undermine it. Some of the topics discussed will include:
