We wanted to provide you with an exciting update on the status of the relocation of the Newton office and its transformation into a Regional Education Center (REC).
As you know, during the 2007-2008 school year, the Heartland Board of Directors approved the Agency’s plan for five RECs, including one located in Newton. In pursuing a new location for the Newton REC, the Agency found an appropriate space at the Iowa Telecom building in Newton. A proposed layout of the space had been completed and negotiations were underway when the Newton Community School District school board voted to close Emerson Hough Elementary in Newton. The closure of Emerson Hough brought Heartland’s negotiations for the Iowa Telecom space to a halt, as the Agency is required by Iowa Code to inquire with school districts for possible office space before pursuing agreements for commercial space.
Since the announcement of the closure of Emerson Hough, the Agency worked closely with Newton Schools superintendent Steve McDermott to determine if Emerson Hough would have appropriate space and accommodations for the Newton REC. It was determined that the building has suitable space for the REC, including space for a room suitable for professional development classes and agency meetings.
At its meeting on July 26, the Newton school board voted to approve a lease agreement between the district and Heartland for the Agency to occupy office space in the Emerson Hough building. Heartland will use the building’s former library and adjoining offices for general office space and staff workstations. Future negotiations will take place for an agreement for professional development space in the building. The lease with the Newton Schools is for five years and is at a significantly lower price than a commercial space.
Effective August 3, the Heartland AEA Newton branch office has relocated to the former Emerson Hough Elementary School building at 700 N. 4th Ave. E. in Newton. The AEA office at 301 1st Street S. will close upon the move to Emerson Hough. All other contact information for the office and its staff will remain the same.
Relocating the Newton office to Emerson Hough presents a great opportunity for Heartland to partner with the Newton Schools. We realize that the process to open a new Newton REC has been lengthy and complex, and we greatly appreciate the understanding and patience everyone has shown during this time.
If you have any questions about the office relocation, please contact Steve Prall at sprall@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14423.
Monday, August 2, 2010
State Board of Education Adopts Common Core State Standards
On July 29 the State Board of Education voted to adopt the Common Core State Standards as part of the Iowa Core.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative was a voluntary state-led effort to develop common expectations among the states for what students should learn from kindergarten through high school. The standards cover the areas of English language arts and mathematics. It helps students and parents by setting clear and realistic goals for success. It also lays out the knowledge and skills students should have so that teachers can locally build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms.
The board approved the Common Core standards as part of the Iowa Core. Signed into law in 2008, the Iowa Core was originally called a curriculum, but is not a set of courses or specific classroom instruction like a traditional curriculum. What the Iowa Core does is identifies essential skills and concepts that kindergarten through 12th grade students must learn in literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and 21st century skills. In addition, it offers professional development for teachers to assist them in enhancing instruction. The Iowa Core provides greater detail to the state’s standards, which were approved in 2007 for No Child Left Behind accountability in reading, math, and science. All Iowa school districts and accredited nonpublic schools are required to implement the Iowa Core by 2014-2015.
In July, the Iowa Department of Education conducted a formal alignment study—or comparison—of both the Common Core and the Iowa Core. The process used was developed by Achieve, an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C., to examine the alignment of the Iowa Core with the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. The study results show a high level of correspondence between the Iowa Core and the Common Core.
In adopting the Common Core, states have the option to add to the national standards. Iowa will likely do this to include the areas that are in the Iowa Core that are not in the Common Core.
Parents, teachers, school administrators, and experts from across the country together with state leaders, through their membership in the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) lead the effort to develop the Common Core standards. The federal government was not involved in the development of the standards. During the winter of 2010, writers of the Common Core standards came to Iowa to review the work on the Iowa Core and to gather input on initial drafts of the Common Core. The Common Core was finalized by CCSSO and the NGA Center on June 2, 2010.
The Common Core standards are:
• Aligned with expectations for college and career success;
• Built upon strengths and lessons of current state standards and standards of top-performing nations;
• Informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
• Evidence- and research-based.
For more information on the Common Core State Standards, visit http://www.corestandards.org. For more information on the Iowa Core, visit http://www.corecurriculum.iowa.gov/Home.aspx.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative was a voluntary state-led effort to develop common expectations among the states for what students should learn from kindergarten through high school. The standards cover the areas of English language arts and mathematics. It helps students and parents by setting clear and realistic goals for success. It also lays out the knowledge and skills students should have so that teachers can locally build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms.
The board approved the Common Core standards as part of the Iowa Core. Signed into law in 2008, the Iowa Core was originally called a curriculum, but is not a set of courses or specific classroom instruction like a traditional curriculum. What the Iowa Core does is identifies essential skills and concepts that kindergarten through 12th grade students must learn in literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and 21st century skills. In addition, it offers professional development for teachers to assist them in enhancing instruction. The Iowa Core provides greater detail to the state’s standards, which were approved in 2007 for No Child Left Behind accountability in reading, math, and science. All Iowa school districts and accredited nonpublic schools are required to implement the Iowa Core by 2014-2015.
In July, the Iowa Department of Education conducted a formal alignment study—or comparison—of both the Common Core and the Iowa Core. The process used was developed by Achieve, an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C., to examine the alignment of the Iowa Core with the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. The study results show a high level of correspondence between the Iowa Core and the Common Core.
In adopting the Common Core, states have the option to add to the national standards. Iowa will likely do this to include the areas that are in the Iowa Core that are not in the Common Core.
Parents, teachers, school administrators, and experts from across the country together with state leaders, through their membership in the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) lead the effort to develop the Common Core standards. The federal government was not involved in the development of the standards. During the winter of 2010, writers of the Common Core standards came to Iowa to review the work on the Iowa Core and to gather input on initial drafts of the Common Core. The Common Core was finalized by CCSSO and the NGA Center on June 2, 2010.
The Common Core standards are:
• Aligned with expectations for college and career success;
• Built upon strengths and lessons of current state standards and standards of top-performing nations;
• Informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
• Evidence- and research-based.
For more information on the Common Core State Standards, visit http://www.corestandards.org. For more information on the Iowa Core, visit http://www.corecurriculum.iowa.gov/Home.aspx.
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