Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.

Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success

Johnston REC HVAC Remodel Updates

Shipping Meeting/Class Materials to West Des Moines Campus 
If you will be holding a meeting or class at the West Des Moines Campus over the next four months, you can send boxes of materials there to store in advance of your event. You can send your items to the West Des Moines Campus via van mail. Please mark your materials as Route #2 for Monday and Wednesday delivery or Route #12 for Tuesday and Thursday delivery. There is a bin labeled West Des Moines Campus near the Route #2 bins on the dock. Please label your boxes with your name, the name of your class/meeting and the date of your event, and we will store them on shelves in the Operations storage room, which is the room at the entrance to the tornado shelter. 

Small Rooms at West Des Moines Campus Available for Staff to Reserve Through Resource Scheduler 
Click here to see a list of all the rooms at the West Des Moines Campus, their capacities, any pertinent notes and their A/V equipment. Please note that the small rooms: 101, 104, 105, 106, 114, 115, 118, 119, 120 and 123 are now available for all staff to reserve through Resource Scheduler. If you are making a reservation through Resource Scheduler, you will need to make sure you toggle to the 'Heartland West Des Moines Campus' Office option. 

All large rooms, which are denoted by an asterisk on the room sheet, must be reserved by using the Conference Room Request Form. (Some rooms are not able to be reserved due to them being designated for specific purposes, e.g. technology or if they have specific stipulations.) Please note that the rooms at the West Des Moines Campus are not quite what you are used to at the Johnston REC—set up is different and room capacities are approximate. 

If you have any questions, contact Lindsey Turner, Central Office Administrative Assistant, at lturner@heartlandaea.org or Sherise Ahlers, Central Office Administrative Assistant, at sahlers@heartlandaea.org.

Board of Educational Examiners’ Quarterly Newsletter Available

Click here for the Board of Educational Examiners’ quarterly newsletter for February 2014. Topics include the new www.teachiowa.gov job posting and applicant site, new endorsement areas (STEM and content area specialists), the teacher intern program, teacher shortage areas, native language teaching authorization and the military exchange license.

EyesOpen Iowa Offers Sexual Health & Teen Pregnancy Prevention Trainings & Curricula

Did you know the Department of Education is no longer offering sex education curricula trainings? 

EyesOpenIowa: Your connection to adolescent sexual health, the statewide teen pregnancy prevention agency is here to help school districts with trainings and curricula to meet Iowa Code section 279.50. Our work is funded in partnership with the Department of Human Services. 

We can help school districts by offering: 

• Teacher Trainings – trainings with Heartland AEA continuing education and nursing credit options 
• Curricula – Iowa Department of Education approved curriculums are listed on our website at www.eyesopeniowa.org 
• Evaluation Tools – Establish implementation monitoring to ensure success 
• Technical Assistance – Development of an individualized technical assistance program for your teachers 
• Resources – We will provide you with the supplies you need to successfully deliver your programming 

We offer the Working to Institutionalize Sexuality Education program (WISE Initiative). This program is a nationwide effort to support schools and districts in the effective and sustainable implementation of K-12 Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). The WISE Iowa Initiative partners with school districts to support them in adopting, implementing and institutionalizing comprehensive sexuality education programs that are research-based, medically accurate, age-appropriate and comply with the State’s Human Growth and Development mandate. The WISE program is currently serving 78,821 students in Iowa, including the Des Moines Public School District. 

Additionally, EyesOpenIowa offers topic trainings such as HIV/AIDS 101, working with LGBTQ youth, answering sensitive questions and self-disclosure, and teaching techniques for sexual health educators. We can also customize trainings to your school’s needs including offering them at your location if enough participants are available. We are also happy to provide any technical assistance, curriculum review, policy assessment and parent sessions. 

These opportunities are available at a sliding scale fee with scholarships available to school districts Heartland AEA works with. 

On our website you will find further details on the services, trainings and curricula that EyesOpenIowa offers at www.eyesopeniowa.org. If you have any questions, contact bobbiejo@eyesopeniowa.org or call our office at (515) 276-6788.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

AEA Legislative Update

Click here to read this week’s legislative update from the AEA system’s lobbyists, Matt Eide, John Pederson and Tom Lane. We will bring you these updates weekly throughout the legislative session.

The Facts About Education Funding – A Team Approach

The Joint Education Allowable Growth Group (IASB, UEN, AEAs, SAI, ISEA) developed an action plan to address Iowa’s declining education funding and the need for consistent growth in the annual spending rate (as well as the need to set the rate consistent with law). A weekly “Fact About Education Funding” will be sent to all legislators, Gov. Branstad and Dept. of Education Director Buck highlighting a pertinent fact about education spending in Iowa. Each week this link will be shared in The Connection. 

Iowa’s Per Pupil Expenditures

Reminder: How to Add the Agency Internal Calendar to Your Google Calendar

First login to Google and go to your Google Calendar. To add the Agency Internal Calendar to your “Other calendars” located on the left side, copy the link below and paste it in the box just below “Other calendars.” If you do not see a box below Other Calendars, click on the arrow to the left of “Other calendars.” 

aea11.k12.ia.us_gg5e2fnevnqej0cp8f5ap2a4lg@group.calendar.google.com

If you have any questions about the calendar, contact Lindsey Turner, Central Office Administrative Assistant, at lturner@heartlandaea.org. 

Course Coming This Spring About Mental Health in Schools

Join us March 29 and April 12 at the Heartland AEA West Des Moines Campus for the professional learning course “Mental Health in Schools.” During this course, participants will learn about the most common mental health disorders seen in schools. Participants will learn how to recognize and describe symptoms, access resources and increase their confidence when working with students experiencing mental health concerns. This course will include face-to-face instruction as well as self-guided study through a Moodle site. Participants will be responsible for blogging about their learning online and participation during in-class exercises. Click here to register.