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
The Data & Assessment Work Team has been working hard to identify critical content that will be part of the Agency’s professional development redesign. This group, like the Adult Learning Work Team, has now shared its initial draft of work with the PLC Committee. (See last week’s Connection article for a reminder about how work team content is being shared.)
Focus of the Data & Assessment Work Team
The Data & Assessment Work team has focused on content that will enable Heartland AEA staff to do the following:
- Understand the purpose and development of assessments
- Organize and display data
- Interpret and report data
- Use relevant tools
- Incorporate other concepts and skills that are required for effective use of data and assessment information
The Data & Assessment Work Team received feedback on the group’s initial continuum of work related to the following questions:
- How does the identified continuum of learning connect to the work you do for the Agency?
- What items in the identified continuum of learning are essential to the work you do for the Agency?
- What appears to be missing from the continuum of learning?
The Data & Assessment Work Team shared the overview of its initial work with the PLC group, along with their Key Components. The video will reference the group’s original proposed Key Components. The team will incorporate the feedback received from the PLC group into their continued work on Key Components and professional learning that centers around data and assessment.
We hope you take a moment to listen to the overview and review the first draft of key components of the Data & Assessment Work Team. You will hopefully get sense of how the critical content this team has identified can be useful to you in the work you do for the useful to you in the work you do for children, families and educators.
The “Chat With the Chief” scheduled in Guthrie Center on May 24 has been rescheduled to May 19. Other dates can be found in a previous Connection article.
There’s one week left to register to present during the afternoon of our All-Staff meeting in September. We need you to sign up to make our meeting a great learning time!
The Agency is looking forward to trying a new format for this year’s All-Staff Meeting on Sept. 9, 2016.
We’re planning for an all-day meeting that features an afternoon of
presentations from YOU! We are excited about the possibilities that we
hope will come from staff members learning from and connecting with each
other.
Through your Regional Planning Council or Department
Planning Council, we hope you’ve heard a little bit about the format
we’re planning for these presentations. They will be in the spirit of a PechaKucha presentation,
during which speakers give quick presentations that include 20 images
shown for 20 seconds each for a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Topics can be almost anything that are inspiring within our work throughout the Agency, including but certainly not limited to:
- A successful project
- A pilot project that didn’t reach its target
- Team-building strategies,
- A story of collaboration,
- Technology integration that improved a process or project or
- An initiative that made a positive impact on kids, teachers or families
Here are some quick tips for a great presentation!
How to Apply
If you or a team of your co-workers are interested in presenting, complete this presentation application by May 13, 2016.
Our
All-Staff Planning Committee will review and select presentations, and
they will use the following question as one way to evaluate your
proposal: Does this Pecha Kucha reflect, educate, touch on or celebrate areas that we’ve emphasized as an organization?
- Core Values: Caring - Proactive - Collaborative
- 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.
- Goals: Increase learning growth, Decrease gaps in achievement, Increase in annual graduation rate, Increase post-secondary gateways
- Wellness:
Heartland AEA’s Five Elements of Wellness help promote the total
well-being of agency staff: Career Wellness, Community Wellness,
Financial Wellness, Social Wellness, Physical Wellness
This
new approach to learning during our All-Staff meeting gives us a unique
opportunity to feel the pulse of the Agency in just a few hours, to
celebrate together, learn together and get re-connected. More than a
PowerPoint slideshow, Pecha Kuchas generate discussion and innovation,
so don’t be shy, show your work, make an impact!
Submit your presentation application by May 13, 2016!
If you have any questions, contact the Communications Department.
Iowa’s high school graduation rate has increased for the fifth year in a row while dropout rates continue to fall, according to figures released last week by the Iowa Department of Education.
State data show 90.8 percent of students in Iowa’s Class of 2015 graduated within four years. Graduation rates increased for all but two subgroups of students in the Class of 2015.
Iowa has led the nation in recent years in high school graduation rates and last year became the first state with a graduation rate above 90 percent. U.S. Department of Education data for the Class of 2015 are not yet available.
Iowa’s statewide graduation rate has increased 2.5 percent over a five-year period, from 88.3 percent for the Class of 2011 to 90.8 percent for the Class of 2015.
Four-year Graduation Rate
Iowa graduation rates are calculated with a formula established by the U.S. Department of Education. Unique student identification numbers allow school districts to carefully account for all ninth-grade students as they move through high school. At the state level, the method helps determine when a student graduates, even if the student has switched districts in Iowa during high school.
- Graduation and dropout rates for individual school districts can be found here.
- Six-year trend data can be found here.
- One-year trend data can be found here.
Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise is appealing to Iowans to complete the online survey seeking feedback on the state’s literacy standards. The standards outline learning expectations for English-language arts and for literacy in history, social studies, science and other technical subjects. Feedback from the public forums and survey will be used to provide guidance to the review team, which is expected to submit a final recommendation to the State Board of Education later this year. If you haven’t yet done so, please take a few minutes to complete the survey, which will be open through May 13, 2016.
The 2016-17 calendar has been added to the Employee Dashboard for all staff who need to complete a work calendar. The link to this function is found in the Calendar Online Forms folder on the Leave Online tab.
The calendar presented will be the default calendar based on the individual staff member’s pay assignment. This will look very similar to the Online Calendar View function. However, functionality is built into the interface to allow the personalization of the calendar to reflect the staff member’s schedule. This is done by simply clicking on the day in question. Each time a day is clicked it will change to one of the following:
-
Blue X – represents a non-working day
- Green / – represents a half working day
- White Space – represents a full working day
-
A yellow H represents unpaid holidays, and a yellow H followed by an asterisk (*) represents paid holidays. Sundays and holidays cannot be changed.
At the top of the screen two numbers will be presented. The number on the left is the number of working days based on the days selected as such. In other words, the total of the white spaces (full days) and green slashes (half days). The second number is the number of days expected to work based on the pay assignment. These two numbers must match when the calendar is submitted.
A help doc named “Calendar Online Entry Documentation” is available on the Help tab. This document describes in detail all functions of the interface.
When the calendar is submitted, it will be routed to the staff member’s supervisor just as a leave request would be. And, just as a leave request, the supervisor will review and can approve or reject your calendar. Applicable emails are sent to the staff member and their need-to-know person as well.
Once approved, the 2016-17 calendar can be viewed by the staff member, the supervisor and the need-to-know person. Also, all subsequent changes to the 2016-17 calendar must be submitted via the Calendar Exchange Online request system after July 1, 2016.
The working days calendars are due before you leave for the summer or June 13, whichever comes first.
If you have any questions, contact Samantha Perry, Human Resources Specialist, at ext. 14432.
Water, water, everywhere! Get ready to get your drink on May 23 through MAY 27, which coincidentally is Wellness Week!
How to Participate in the Water Challenge
You will record your daily ounces of water by your participant number that will be assigned to you when you register. Deadline to register is May 20 at 2:00 p.m. After you register, Katie Streff will send you a Google form where you will record your daily entries.
In order to be in the drawing for the Delta Dental Advanced Sonic toothbrush, you must record at least 75 oz. daily. You are not required to drink this amount to participate in the challenge in order to earn your points.
HOW MUCH WATER?
Daily recommend water amount: drink 1/2 ounce for every 1 pound of your weight, every day. That’s .033 liters per 1 kg you weight.
Examples:
Half of 150 lbs. = 75, so 75 oz./day
Half of 250 lbs. = 125, so 125 oz./day
Half of 68 kg x .033 = about 2 liters/day
Half of 90 kg x .033 = about 3 liters/day
WHY AM I DOING THIS?
Resetting your body is all about undoing years of bad habits and less than perfect health choices. As you’ve heard a thousand times, drinking lots of water is critical. As part of the Wellness Challenge, you can earn your points while flushing your system and creating more energy! Water Challenge = 75 points in the Social category for Wellness points.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT WATER?
The Earth is 70% water. Your body is 80% water. It stands to reason that water is some pretty important stuff – right? Water is the body’s transportation medium. It’s how it moves EVERYTHING around to different parts of your body. Water is used to move nutrients to the 100 trillion cells in your body. Water is used to move waste and toxins from your cells to your kidneys, to leave your body. Water is used to wash fat from your body. These things have to get out somehow—they don’t just evaporate away! So water moves good things around your body, and water moves waste, toxins and fat out.
Also check out the Healthy Express Wellness Site during Wellness Week to find information about daily challenges!
Another friendly reminder that the activities and challenges through the Heartland AEA Wellness Program are still going on in full force!
Deadlines:
- Last day to complete the challenges is May 31, 2016.
- Last day to use your points towards items in the Wellness Catalog is June 17, 2016.
The agenda for the May 10 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting is now available.
Iowa’s
nine AEAs and AEA PD Online have been collaborating to move our
individual professional development/licensure programs to a statewide
system, beginning Jan. 1, 2017. Having one system will provide
participants with a much larger offering of professional learning
activities through a statewide catalog. It also creates greater equity
and consistency in programming and resources to help support quality
professional development/licensure programming.
As part of the
program review and redesign, each AEA will be adjusting to the same
participant fee structure. Changes for those taking Heartland AEA
courses will be effective Jan 1, 2017.
In the coming
months, there will be ongoing communication through The Connection and
Administrator Connection about these changes. If you have any immediate
questions, contact Brandie Gean, Licensure/Conference Center Manager, at ext. 14459.
Most of you use our very convenient "Self Service" app to install or update software. Due to some scheduled maintenance, Self Service will not be in service on May 11. Any installations or updates that are accessed through Self Service, including the upgrade to Mac OS 10.11, will not be available until May 12.
You may notice as you receive your updated MacBook laptop, one of the new features included is an HDMI port on the side. This is an easy way to connect your laptop to a TV monitor or a projector without the need for a dongle. Here are a couple things to keep in mind if you connect your laptop to a TV or projector.
Resolution
One bonus of using HDMI (versus using a dongle and VGA cable) is that you’ll get a clean digital HD signal to the screen. Sometimes, however, that great HD resolution means the items on your computer screen will shrink to match what the much larger TV/projector can show.
To change your resolution back to a more optimal setting, go to the Apple menu in the top left-hand corner of your screen > System Preferences > Displays > Scaled. Typically by picking the 720p (or 1280 x 720) option will give the best results.
Audio
HDMI cables not only pass through HD video from your computer, they also carry audio with them, saving the hassle of using more cables to connect to a speaker.
To check and make sure the audio is connected correctly, go to the Apple menu in the top left-hand corner of your screen > System Preferences > Sound > Output and select the HDMI option. Now your sound will play on the TV or projector. Note: since this is a digital signal, you won’t be able to adjust the volume from the keys on your keyboard - you’ll have to use the TV or projector remote to control volume.
If you have any questions about hooking up an HDMI connection, contact David Hammer, Multimedia Specialist, at ext. 14342.
