Several staff members had submitted leave requests for the 2009-2010 year before the Agency Board of Directors voted to increase the work day from 7.5 hours to 8 hours for Classified, Classified Non-Union and Management staff. On Monday, May 18, 2009, all such requests will be rejected by Human Resources and will need to be resubmitted. The staff member, the approver and the need-to-know assignment will all be notified of this action via e-mail. Once this action is complete, all staff members can resubmit their requests based on the 8-hour workday.
All projected leave balances, those presented on the 2009-2010 tab on the Leave Request screen, have been up-converted to reflect the 8-hour workday.
Monday, May 18, 2009
May Heartland Board of Directors Meeting Recap
The Board recognized the work of the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum team including Ms. Julie Hukee, Ms. Teresa Bellinghausen, Ms. Linda Hoobin, Ms. Jennifer Riedemann, Ms. Julie Sypersma, Ms. Lynn McCartney, Dr. Brad Niebling and Ms. Becca Lindahl.
Also recognized was the partnership between the Agency’s Core Curriculum team and Ms. Sarah Wessling, an AP English teacher at Johnston High School. The Core Curriculum team recognized the great teaching that Wessling employs in her class. Her work reflects the type of teaching that the Core Curriculum is supporting. With the help of Julie Sypersma, a DVD has been developed to help others see an example of effective teaching.
For School Board Recognition Week, Dr. Maxine Kilcrease recognized board members with certificates and flowers, and the Heartland Education Association also recognized the Board’s work with a gift. The Board has tripled its work time and has been working with the Lighthouse Project and other statewide projects.
The Iowa Core Curriculum team gave an update of the work its has been doing with the districts. Over 700 leaders have participated in the module trainings. Outcomes and self-studies were also explained.
Dr. Kilcrease reviewed the committee that has been formed for the America’s Reinvestment Recovery Act (ARRA). The committee is made up of stakeholders for every work group within the Agency. The District Services Council and the Operations Support Council provided the framework. The committee has met twice and will meet again on May 18 to produce a final draft of recommendations for the monies.
Dr. Kilcrease reviewed a draft of budget for the monies. Monies will go toward special education and will also be dedicated to maintenance of effort (MOE). MOE funds can be used to support things such as Iowa Core Curriculum, learning supports, math assessment, instructional coaching, instructional decision-making and positive behavior supports.
Dr. Kilcrease’s comments to the board included:
• Negotiations continue with DMACC for the Newton office.
• The 2010 IASB Legislative materials will be reviewed in the future.
• The Agency has started talks with the Science Center of Iowa about ways to use the SEMI in the future.
• The article “Redesigning an Education Service Agency to be Accountable for Student Achievement and Competency: Phase I” will be published this fall in Perspective magazine. It was written by Dr. Maxine Kilcrease, Dr. David Tilly, Dr. Alecia Rahn-Blakeslee and Dr. Brad Niebling.
• Official notification has been received that AEAs 13 and 14 will merge. Districts can now request to be part of AEA 11. We’ve had one request to date.
The Blueprint for Success, part of the Multiple Education Pathways Blueprint project, was completed and provides information on the drop-put rate in Des Moines. On May 13, Dr. Kilcrease, Mr. Wayne Ford and Dr. Rob Denson presented the document at a public forum. Heartland, DMACC and the United Way will work on creating a Workplace Learning Center housed at DMACC as a way of preventing dropouts by offering opportunities in the world of work and internships. Dr. Kilcrease will also work with Mr. Ford on using the AEA system as a hub to form focus groups on drop-put issues and what is needed across the state. An integrated system will also be developed as part of the Iowa Core Curriculum to create a seamless system to connect people in the workforce and school system.
Also recognized was the partnership between the Agency’s Core Curriculum team and Ms. Sarah Wessling, an AP English teacher at Johnston High School. The Core Curriculum team recognized the great teaching that Wessling employs in her class. Her work reflects the type of teaching that the Core Curriculum is supporting. With the help of Julie Sypersma, a DVD has been developed to help others see an example of effective teaching.
For School Board Recognition Week, Dr. Maxine Kilcrease recognized board members with certificates and flowers, and the Heartland Education Association also recognized the Board’s work with a gift. The Board has tripled its work time and has been working with the Lighthouse Project and other statewide projects.
The Iowa Core Curriculum team gave an update of the work its has been doing with the districts. Over 700 leaders have participated in the module trainings. Outcomes and self-studies were also explained.
Dr. Kilcrease reviewed the committee that has been formed for the America’s Reinvestment Recovery Act (ARRA). The committee is made up of stakeholders for every work group within the Agency. The District Services Council and the Operations Support Council provided the framework. The committee has met twice and will meet again on May 18 to produce a final draft of recommendations for the monies.
Dr. Kilcrease reviewed a draft of budget for the monies. Monies will go toward special education and will also be dedicated to maintenance of effort (MOE). MOE funds can be used to support things such as Iowa Core Curriculum, learning supports, math assessment, instructional coaching, instructional decision-making and positive behavior supports.
Dr. Kilcrease’s comments to the board included:
• Negotiations continue with DMACC for the Newton office.
• The 2010 IASB Legislative materials will be reviewed in the future.
• The Agency has started talks with the Science Center of Iowa about ways to use the SEMI in the future.
• The article “Redesigning an Education Service Agency to be Accountable for Student Achievement and Competency: Phase I” will be published this fall in Perspective magazine. It was written by Dr. Maxine Kilcrease, Dr. David Tilly, Dr. Alecia Rahn-Blakeslee and Dr. Brad Niebling.
• Official notification has been received that AEAs 13 and 14 will merge. Districts can now request to be part of AEA 11. We’ve had one request to date.
The Blueprint for Success, part of the Multiple Education Pathways Blueprint project, was completed and provides information on the drop-put rate in Des Moines. On May 13, Dr. Kilcrease, Mr. Wayne Ford and Dr. Rob Denson presented the document at a public forum. Heartland, DMACC and the United Way will work on creating a Workplace Learning Center housed at DMACC as a way of preventing dropouts by offering opportunities in the world of work and internships. Dr. Kilcrease will also work with Mr. Ford on using the AEA system as a hub to form focus groups on drop-put issues and what is needed across the state. An integrated system will also be developed as part of the Iowa Core Curriculum to create a seamless system to connect people in the workforce and school system.
Cell Phone Discount Update: U.S. Cellular
Numerous staff members who read last week’s Connection article about cell phone discounts and who contacted U.S. Cellular about those discounts were sent the following message from James Lininger of U.S. Cellular:
We do offer a monthly discount to school employees. However, the information coming from the Iowa Educator Consortium is out of date as it directs individuals to contact me.
The new discount program has two ways to sign up:
• The customer will need to go to www.uscellular.com/partner and fill out your name and your school email address. It will take one to two billing cycles for the discount to take effect.
• If you do not have a school e-mail address or the address comes back invalid, you can call 800-819-9373 and reference discount code PED1008.
• When signing up for the discount you will be required to renew your service agreement for 24 months. This renewal does not change the date for which you will be eligible for new equipment at the discounted price.
We do offer a monthly discount to school employees. However, the information coming from the Iowa Educator Consortium is out of date as it directs individuals to contact me.
The new discount program has two ways to sign up:
• The customer will need to go to www.uscellular.com/partner and fill out your name and your school email address. It will take one to two billing cycles for the discount to take effect.
• If you do not have a school e-mail address or the address comes back invalid, you can call 800-819-9373 and reference discount code PED1008.
• When signing up for the discount you will be required to renew your service agreement for 24 months. This renewal does not change the date for which you will be eligible for new equipment at the discounted price.
Iowa Professional Development Model Technical Guide Now Available
The Iowa Professional Development Model (IPDM) Technical Guide is now available for use. The Technical Guide replaces the original IPDM Training Manual and the IPDM Administrator’s Guide.
The new version of the IPDM Guide includes information on the Student Achievement and Teacher Quality Act (2007) and connections to the Iowa Core Curriculum. Input from Iowa practitioners was used to make the document more concise and useful to district leadership teams.
The DE recommends that local education agency (LEA) administrators, district and school leadership teams, Teacher Quality Committees, area education agency (AEA) administrators and AEA Leadership teams study the IPDM guide and use it as a tool for guiding professional development planning and decision making. The guide will be very beneficial for developing the Iowa Core Curriculum Implementation Plan. This plan includes the outcome “Educators engage in professional development focused on implementing Characteristics of Effective Instruction and demonstrate understanding of Essential Concepts and Skill Sets.”
This guide may be reprinted and posted on Web sites for use in Iowa education programs. The document is also available on the Iowa Department of Education Web site at http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=232&Itemid=1286#pddocuments.
The new version of the IPDM Guide includes information on the Student Achievement and Teacher Quality Act (2007) and connections to the Iowa Core Curriculum. Input from Iowa practitioners was used to make the document more concise and useful to district leadership teams.
The DE recommends that local education agency (LEA) administrators, district and school leadership teams, Teacher Quality Committees, area education agency (AEA) administrators and AEA Leadership teams study the IPDM guide and use it as a tool for guiding professional development planning and decision making. The guide will be very beneficial for developing the Iowa Core Curriculum Implementation Plan. This plan includes the outcome “Educators engage in professional development focused on implementing Characteristics of Effective Instruction and demonstrate understanding of Essential Concepts and Skill Sets.”
This guide may be reprinted and posted on Web sites for use in Iowa education programs. The document is also available on the Iowa Department of Education Web site at http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=232&Itemid=1286#pddocuments.
Technology Update
Reminder: Changes to the Agency File Server
This is an important reminder regarding the Technology Update of April 5, 2009: Important Changes to the Agency File Server. While many people have transferred their files, a lot of people have not. If you have not transferred your files, read the Technology Update at the link above. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Lagnese.
This is an important reminder regarding the Technology Update of April 5, 2009: Important Changes to the Agency File Server. While many people have transferred their files, a lot of people have not. If you have not transferred your files, read the Technology Update at the link above. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Lagnese.
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