Our Mission
To improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth by providing services and leadership in partnership with families, schools and communities.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
What a fun day our All-Staff Meeting was to connect, celebrate and learn with one another!
The energy in the room as high and the laughs were plentiful between the service awards, a dance marathon video and figuring out what a tech taco is! Antonio Mouzon also left everyone with plenty to consider when it comes to emotional intelligence and building relationships with one another and those we serve. We hope you again enjoyed time to reconnect with colleagues, celebrate our accomplishments and learn from one another during our afternoon presentations.
Meeting Materials
In this folder, you'll find materials from the meeting:
- Celebration Slideshow
- Morning Presentation
- Program Packet
- Videos – Wellness Dance video and It’s a Tech Taco video
- Photos
Survey
Please take a few minutes to offer your feedback and comments about this year's All-Staff Meeting via our survey. Your responses will help us plan for future meetings. Please respond by Oct. 11. Thank you!
Lost & Found
Email the Communications Dept. to claim these sunglasses left at the All-Staff Meeting.
The Oct. 2019 edition of the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is available.
Four Iowa schools have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2019. The award honors schools for overall academic performance or for progress in closing achievement gaps among subgroups of students.
The four schools are:
- Dayton Elementary School, Southeast Webster Grand Community School District
- Delwood Elementary School, Delwood Community School District
- Fredericksburg Elementary School, Sumner-Fredericksburg Community School District
- Winterset Middle School, Winterset Community School District
“We congratulate Iowa’s Blue Ribbon Schools for their achievements and look forward to learning from them as our state’s education system works to make sure all students are engaged in their learning and prepared for success after high school,” Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said.
More than 9,000 schools nationwide have received the National Blue Ribbon Schools award, which is now in its 37th year. The award recognizes schools in one of two performance categories based on all student scores, student subgroup scores and graduation rates:
- Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
- Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.
The U.S. Department of Education will celebrate 362 National Blue Ribbon Schools, including Iowa’s, at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on November 14 and 15.
Last year, Heartland AEA filled 60 vacancies in the Certified Union and Management staff employee groups. It has been to the Agency’s advantage to enter the recruitment cycle as early as possible.
For 2019-20, the Heartland AEA Board of Directors has again approved an Early Notification Incentive for staff who have a signed contract and who notify Heartland AEA of their intent to not renew their contract for the 2020-21 school year by Dec. 6, 2019. Details are listed below.
Early Notification Incentive Process & Requirements
- Certified Union and Management staff who do not plan to return to Heartland AEA for the 2020-21 school year must submit early notification letters of resignation that are effective at the end of the 2019-20 work year.
- Early notification letters must be received in the Human Resources Department by 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2019.
- Heartland AEA’s Board of Directors acts on early notification letters no later than the regular meeting on Dec. 10, 2019.
- Departing staff must fulfill their individual employment contract obligations for the 2019-20 work year.
Early Notification Incentive
- A $1,500 early notification incentive will be paid on June 30, 2020, to employees fulfilling these requirements.
If you have any questions about the early notification incentive, contact Nia Chiaramonte, Director of Human Resources, at ext. 14534.
Heartland AEA staff participating in classes, study groups and conferences offered for Teacher Quality funds can now be reimbursed for mileage.
Please follow agency guidelines for submitting mileage and enter the mileage on your monthly expense report.
The following changes took effect for courses offering graduate credit through the statewide AEA Professional Learning Registration system beginning Sept. 1, 2019, or after:
- All courses with graduate credit will be offered for Drake, Grand View and Morningside credit. The 30 hours of outside work per credit will still be required. As before, all participants in the course must do the outside work no matter what type of credit they choose.
- Instructor stipends will not be paid by any of the colleges.
- The cost for graduate credit from all three colleges will be $90 per credit.
- For courses with a paid instructor, the registration fees per credit are as follows:
- Participant Only = $85
- License Renewal Credit = $85
- Graduate Credit = $85 + $90 or $175
- For courses with no instructor pay, the registration fees per credit are as follows:
- Participant Only = $0
- License Renewal Credit = $35
- Graduate Credit = $35 + $90 or $125
Instructors are not required to offer courses for graduate credit. They can be offered for License Renewal Credit only. If a class is not offered for graduate credit, the 30 hours of outside work are not required.
If you have any questions, contact the Heartland AEA Professional Learning team at ext. 14701.
This year, Senate File 2113 was enacted, requiring all school personnel to engage in annual training on suicide prevention and postvention. It is the Agency’s expectation that all certified staff AND any staff who work with children complete this module in preparation for our October Agency Directed Learning sessions, as we will be engaging in reflective conversations together.
In the interest of honoring staff voice and choice regarding when to engage in this professional learning, as well as providing adequate time for this learning, we are offering two options:
- You may complete the online module prior to arriving at your October Agency-Directed learning session. If you elect to complete the module prior to your October session, you will need to arrive at your session at 9:30 a.m.
OR
- You may complete the online module during the first hour (8:30-9:30 a.m.) of your October Agency Directed Learning session. If you elect to complete the module during your October session, you will need to arrive no later than 8:30 a.m. on the day of your session.
The module, “Suicide Prevention and Postvention,” can be accessed via AEA Learning Online. You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the module. You may download the certificate for your own records, however, you do not need to send the certificate to anyone, as we will be pulling completion reports from the online system.
If you have any questions regarding the modules, contact your regional director and/or Jadie Boens, Special Programs Director. If you have any questions specific to the October Agency Directed Learning and the logistics for your session, contact Martha Condon, Director of Professional Learning.
