Heartland Earns Full Accreditation From State Board of Education

Heartland is pleased to announce that it has earned continued full accreditation from the Iowa State Board of Education. The State Board met on September 16, 2010, and unanimously approved the Iowa Department of Education’s recommendation for full accreditation.

As you know, the Department conducted a site visit at the Agency earlier this year, analyzing programs and services data in our new online Service Tracker database and interviewing dozens of Heartland staff members and local educators for feedback about the Agency. Iowa’s nine AEAs receive accreditation site visits every five years; Heartland AEA’s next visit will be in 2015.

The Department’s report states, “The central purpose of the accreditation visit is to help AEAs improve the quality and focus of their services, which will in turn assist schools and school districts to improve learning for students. Iowa’s AEAs are a critical part of the support structure for schools and ultimately for children. With so much at stake, maintaining high standards or quality in programs and services is a top priority.”

Heartland was assessed on the following AEA standards for service:
1) School-Community Planning
2) Professional Development
3) Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
4) Diverse Learner Needs
5) Media
6) School Technology
7) Multicultural, Gender Fair
8) Leadership

Areas of strength that the Agency was praised for included the following:
• Incorporating technology into professional development
• Heartland Educational Assessment Resource Toolbox (HEART) database
• Content Area Capacity Building (CAB) projects
• Model of delivering services closer to districts/schools

The Department noted that no recommended areas for improvement were found in the Agency’s Media and School Technology service areas.

Areas identified for improvement included the following:
• Communication to districts/schools about survey data the Agency gathers
• Clarification and communication of the partnership director role to all district/school staff
• Communication with parents of children with special needs
• Establishing more support for “at-risk” students

The Agency will incorporate these and other recommendations into its Comprehensive Improvement Plan, which will be submitted to the Department by April 1, 2011.

A thank you goes out to the staff members who put in many hours of hard work to prepare for and carry out the accreditation visit. Also a big thank you goes out to all Heartland staff members. Your continued dedication to your work and commitment to students is why the Agency received this positive accreditation outcome. Keep up the good work!

Click here to read the entire accreditation report.