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
One month until the All-Staff Meeting – can you believe it?!? Below are some details to keep in mind.
Location
Palace Theater @ Adventureland
Schedule
Benefits/Wellness Fair and breakfast – 7:30-8:45 a.m.
Main meeting – 9:00 a.m. to noon
Theme
Impacting Lives Since ’75! - Celebrating 40 Years!
Details
• The Benefits/Wellness Fair will be held from 7:30-9:00 a.m. before the start of the meeting. We will have a flyer that gives information about the vendors participating and what they will have to offer. Keep your fingers crossed for no rain this year, so we can have this portion of our event outdoors!
• We will again be doing a photo slideshow to showcase the people and places that are important to you outside of work. We want to see photos of babies, pets, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, winning teams and over achievers! Send your photos with a short caption to comms@heartlandaea.org by Aug. 28. No more than three photos per person…thanks!
• Wear your agency colors – purple or green – for our group photo at the end of the meeting outside near the Adventureland train station! (Again, fingers crossed for a nice day!)
The new school year is right around the corner, so we are busy updating publications and documents for the new year. See below for those that have been updated. Stay tuned for the Staff & Schools Directory and Superintendent Directory. Annual publications can always be found on the Intranet > Communications > Annual Publications, Presentations & Resources.
• Composite Calendar
• Regional Director Assignments
• Regional Map w/ Directors
• Van Routes
Last week members of the State Board of Education adopted new state standards for what Iowa students should know and be able to do in science from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The board’s unanimous vote was based on a state review team’s recommendation that Iowa adopt the Next Generation Science Standards with some modifications. The board accepted that recommendation and directed the Iowa Department of Education to develop a timeline and plan to help schools statewide put the new science standards into practice.
The Next Generation Science Standards is the name of learning expectations in science for grades K-12 that all states can consider adopting and adapting to meet their needs. Twenty-six states, including Iowa, led the development of the Next Generation Science Standards, which refocus the way science is taught to help students truly grasp the subject and apply what they’ve learned.
In October 2014, the Iowa Department of Education convened the Science Standards Review Team in response to Gov. Branstad’s Executive Order 83. The executive order called for a review of Iowa’s academic standards, including public comment, to determine the content of, and to continually improve, the standards. The science team’s charge was to review Iowa’s science standards, as well as rigorous science standards from other states and organizations, and to make a recommendation for improvement. The team’s recommendation followed months of work in an open, transparent process that emphasized public input as well as the team’s scientific expertise.
The Science Standards Review Team recommended that Iowa modify the Next Generation Science Standards so that they reflect only the performance expectations section of the standards. Performance expectations are statements of what students should be able to do to demonstrate their learning. The team also recommended organizing the performance expectations into grade-specific standards for K-8 and into grade spans for 9-12.
Education and business leaders who made up the science team have said the Next Generation Science Standards are an improvement from Iowa’s current science standards because they reflect more modern practices in science, were developed by experts in a process led by states including Iowa, and include engineering practices, which is important as Iowa grows its commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
Visit the Iowa Core website to read Iowa’s new science standards.
The agenda for the Aug. 11 Board of Directors meeting is now available.
Woodward Academy has changed its email addresses. They are now firstname.lastname@sequelyouthservices.com. Please update your records accordingly.
Grant Wood AEA is offering two PLC workshops in September and is inviting anyone who is interested to attend. See this flyer for more information. If you have any questions, contact Sherry Sines, Professional Development Coordinator at Grant Wood AEA, at ssines@gwaea.org.
The Special Education Statewide Procedures Manual (July 23, 2015 version), Release Notes (July 1, 2015 version), Parental Rights Summary (July 2015 version), Procedural Safeguards Manuals for Parents (Translations), Educational Evaluation Reports (Translations) and IEP Forms (Translations) are now posted on the Iowa IDEA website. These documents are currently posted on the front page of the IDEA website in addition to their permanent location under the IEP drop down menu > Statewide Special Education Procedures > Manual.
By Aug. 31, read the Release Notes, watch this video and complete the task shared at the end of the video.
If you have any questions regarding the content, contact your regional director.
