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
We look forward to connecting, celebrating and learning virtually on Aug. 18, as this is our kickoff to the new academic year and a time to come together as an entire Heartland AEA staff! We'll have the opportunity to hear from Chief Administrator Jon Sheldahl and special guest speaker Lyndsey Fennelly. Make sure you check “YES!” in your agency calendar and we’ll see you on the 18th!
The 2020-21 Heartland AEA Composite Calendar is now available. The Composite Calendar is a spreadsheet that provides the dates of all our districts and schools’ start dates, end dates, parent-teacher conference dates, early out dates, etc. The calendar will also be archived on the intranet in the coming days.
The 2020-21 Van Route Schedule is now available and archived on the Intranet > Communications > Annual Publications.
2020-21 Van Route Schedule
The Van Route Schedule provides a list of all the places our delivery vans stop, including the numbers that correspond with each location.
Reminder on how to address van mail:
From: Your Name
To: Building Name
Recipient's Name
Route #
FY 2020 Expense Reimbursement
Aug. 31 is the last date the Business Office will accept and process any claims for expenses occurring on or before June 30, 2020. Do not submit expense claims with dates crossing the new fiscal year. Use a separate expense claim if you still have reimbursable expenses which occurred prior to July 1. Please check your ‘Rejected Expenses’ link to see if you have any expense claims requiring your attention and resubmit after appropriate changes are complete.
If you have questions, contact Mary Heaberlin, Accounts Payable Specialist, at ext. 14818 or Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005.
New Mileage Reimbursement Rate
Beginning July 1, 2020, the reimbursement rate for Heartland AEA business related miles changes to 41 cents/mile. The penny reduction is due to the IRS 2020 business mileage rate dropping from 58 cents to 57.5 cents per mile. If you have any questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005.
Sales Tax and Receipts
Beginning July 1, 2020, Heartland AEA will not reimburse sales tax associated with purchases submitted through Expense Online. As a tax exempt organization, our auditors are critical of the Agency reimbursing sales tax. Keep in mind that vendors (e.g., Payless, Amazon) generally deliver within 1-2 business days. To maintain proper internal controls, we prefer purchases go through an Agency purchase order. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005.
Iowa’s Area Education Agencies have collaborated to generate multiple professional development opportunities and resources that support appropriate instructional pedagogy for teaching in the online environment. The deliverables include varied formats for independent earning, district facilitated learning, or learning in collaboration with an AEA partner.
Competency Scale for Online Learning
The Competency Scale for Online Learning was developed to support the Continuous Learning Technology Integration Continuum released by the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa’s AEAs. The scale measures one’s ability to demonstrate competency for teaching online.
Menu of PD Opportunities & Learning Opportunity Database
Review the scope of learning opportunities available on AEA Learning Online, courses, modules, articles and webinars. The Menu of PD Opportunities is an abbreviated, condensed list and infographic. The Learning Opportunity Database is a comprehensive, searchable tool with an abundance of resources for educators in developing online learning experiences.
Supporting Online Learning: An AEA Webinar Series
This three-week, AEA Webinar Series, will cover topics around creating an online learning environment, designing and delivering online learning, how to facilitate good communication & collaboration and embedding feedback & assessment. Iowa’s AEA and LEA educators will deliver webinars that will be streamed on the Iowa AEA Facebook page and made available for “anytime viewing” following the live sessions.
District IT Support for Online Learning: An AEA Webinar Series
In partnership with Google for Education, this free webinar series is specifically for IT professionals.
Modern Teacher
This platform offers flexibility to align professional learning with the district’s vision for digital proficiency. Negotiated pricing is available. An overview of the product can be found here. NOTE: Contact the vendor to arrange a specific contract for your district for the upcoming academic year. Please note that the AEAs are pleased to coordinate information about this resource, but the AEAs are not subsidizing or purchasing the resource for districts.
As was shared earlier this summer, there are a number of professional learning sessions being designed through statewide collaborative efforts, which will be required for practitioners working in special education across the state.
Heartland AEA will be facilitating a professional learning session entitled: Virtual Evaluation Considerations training. This course will help evaluators identify best practice considerations for engaging in evaluation practices in virtual learning environments. All certified staff who engage in Child Find processes should plan to participate in one of the following live Zoom sessions:
8:00 a.m. - 12 p.m. Aug. 19, 2020, Zoom Link
or
12:00 - 4 p.m. Aug. 24, 2020, Zoom Link
If you are unable to participate in either of the two options above, please discuss this with your Regional Director, so alternative plans can be made for you to engage in learning via a recorded version of the session.
