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

Update on How Agency Departments Are Being Staffed

Who can you expect to see when you visit the Johnston campus (Johnston Regional Education Center and Johnston Administration Center)? With the exception of our Information Systems Department, all other departments are staffed every workday with at least one person, which may include that department’s manager or director. 

Here is our list of departments: 

• APC Executive Assistants 
• Business Office 
• Communications 
• Conference Center 
• Creative Services 
• Human Resources 
• Information Systems 
• Internal Technology 
• Library 
• Operations 
• Professional Learning 

As always, even when working remotely, staff members from these departments are available to you. Ways to communicate with them include: 

• Zoom Video 
• Phone 
• Email 
• Google Hangouts (chat) 
• Google Meet 

If you need support from Information Systems, you can email is-support@heartlandaea.org. 

Finally, we’re working on some signs that staff can also use to help signal their availability. For example, we’ll have something to say “Zoom in Progress” or “Away from My Desk.” We’ll let you know when those have been added to Creative Services Online for you to order.

Need to Order More Business Cards? Here’s a Reminder on How to Place an Order

To place your order for Heartland AEA business cards: 
 

• Go to Creative Services Online. 
• Log in using your email and password that you use for AEA Learning Online. 
• Go to "Browse Heartland AEA Products", then "Heartland AEA Catalog."  
• Click Continue on "Staff Business Cards."   

A window will come up for you to enter your information in real-time! Type in your information, then submit your order. This information is also available on the Intranet > Creative Services. 

If you have any questions, contact the Creative Services Department.

Governor Reynolds, Iowa Department of Education Award Over $8.6 million in K-12 School Mental Health Grants

Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education announced last week over $8.6 million in competitive grants will be awarded to 64 school districts to assist them in providing mental health support and other wraparound services to students and families. 

The funds are provided through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II), which is part of the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRSSA) Act passed in December 2020. Governors in each state were granted a share of discretionary dollars to address critical needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We have to look at the whole health of every child and supporting the mental health of Iowa children and families is a top priority of mine,” said Gov. Reynolds. “This investment is not only about adapting to the challenges we face today, but it will help schools expand support systems to secure better outcomes moving forward." 

“As we prepare for a new school year it is important to remember that what happens outside of the classroom has a substantial impact on students in the classroom,” said Ann Lebo, director of the Iowa Department of Education. “These additional resources will help schools expand services to address growing social-emotional-behavioral health needs and support the overall well-being of students, including youth mental health first aid training and implementation, suicide prevention services and other programming.” 

A total of 130 grant applications were received. Funding will be distributed equitably across awardees based on district-certified enrollment for 2020-21 school year unless an applicant requested a different amount. Applicants had to demonstrate unique student and family mental health needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Priority consideration was given to applicant districts proposing to provide direct mental health services to students and families. 

Grants will be finalized following a 10-business-day appeal period as required by state law and distributed on a reimbursement basis. The Notice of Intent to Award letters sent to the school districts today starts the 10-business day period in which an unsuccessful grantee may file an appeal. 

The list of the 64 school districts along with their respective intended award amounts is available on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.

Here’s a List of the Schools in Our Area That Updated Their FAST Subscriptions for 2021-22

This year Iowa’s AEAs again subsidized the costs for schools to upgrade their DE-provided FAST subscriptions that include the expanded assessment suite in math and behavior for K-6, and literacy, math and behavior for grades 7-8. Participation was available both to schools that purchased the expanded assessment suite in previous years and those that want to use it for the first time in 2021-22. Here are the participating schools in the Heartland AEA service area. Please note the spreadsheet has a tab for grades K-6 and 7-8.

St. Joseph & St. Theresa Schools Have New Emails

St. Joseph School now uses: @stjosephcatholicdsm.org 

Example: Jodi Halligan: jhalligan@stjosephcatholicdsm.org 

St. Theresa School now uses: @stsdsm.com 

Example: Ellen Stemler: estemler@stsdsm.com

Registration for TQ Courses is Open! (And There’s Still Time to Create a Study Group!)

Registration for Teacher Quality (TQ) courses is open until Sept. 22, 2021! Study groups must be formed by Sept. 22 as well. Additional information is included in this TQ document.

New in 2021: Professional Development Plans Can Be Used for License Renewal Credit

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners recently shared an exciting option for license renewal credits connected to individual Professional Development Plans (PDPs). Full details can be found in the BOEE newsletter and are summarized below. 

Starting with applications received after July 1, 2021, holders of a standard, master, professional administrator or professional service license may use one Iowa Individual Professional Development Plan (annual goal setting) for up to 1/2 of the required renewal credits for their license type. 

• Standard license - 1 IPDP plan is 3 credits (6 needed) 
• Master educator license - 1 IPDP plan is 2 credits (4 needed) 
• Professional administrator license - 1 IPDP plan is 2 credits (4 needed) 
• Professional service license - 1 IPDP plan is 2 renewal credits (4 needed) 

In your online renewal application, upload a completed (spring) IPDP signed by you and your evaluator. The plan should minimally include specific goal(s), planned activities, alignment to building/district goals, alignment to the Iowa teaching standards, data collected, and how the goal impacted student learning. The plan needs to have been completed after the issue date of the current license or be no more than five years old if the license is expired. The plan must be completed in an Iowa school setting, as the plans are based on the Iowa teaching or administrator standards. 

Does this sound awesome to you? If so, read on to learn how to do this at Heartland AEA! 

Staff may use a completed PDP from a previous year or wait until their 2021-22 PDP is completed this spring. 

Within the Learning Management and Registration System: Technology Platform, navigate to the Professional Development Plan. To use your PDP from a previous year, you will need to access your archived plans. On the 2021-22 Professional Growth and Evaluation Tools page, you will see a navigation bar (three vertical lines) as marked with an arrow below. 

Select the archived plan you would like to use. 

Within the PDP year you would like to use, from the “My Professional Growth Process” tab, navigate to Step 4.

In order to sign and obtain your supervisor’s signature on the PDP, download the completed PDP to your computer. Digital signatures using Adobe or pen/paper signatures by printing the document, can then be added. Follow the BOEE guidelines above to submit your completed PDP for license renewal credits. 

For questions regarding Heartland AEA processes, contact Martha Condon, Director of Internal Professional Learning. For questions related to licensure, contact the Iowa BOEE.

Phone Refreshers -- Remember These Things When Using Zoom Phone

As the school year begins again, here are some reminders about using Zoom Phone. 

Make sure you have the Zoom app open and are logged on. 

Phone calls and text messages will only come through to your devices if you have the Zoom app open and are logged in with your Heartland AEA account. 

Use your unique direct number. 

Full-time and part-time staff all have their own unique direct number, which you can use to communicate with staff, teachers and parents by phone and text in the Zoom app without having to give out your personal cell phone number. Please go to zoom.us, log on with Google and your Heartland AEA account and click on your profile to check your direct number. For those who had entered a personal contact phone in Zoom prior to the Agency’s migration to Zoom Phone, check your profile under “Personal Phone” and delete that number. 

Check your work hours and call handling. 

Log onto zoom.us and navigate to your settings under the “Phone” section. Check the work hours you have set in your Zoom Phone settings and make sure they match what you will be working this school year. Also, check your call handling for work hours/off-hours and be sure to send your missed calls to voicemail. 

If you have any questions, email zoomphone@heartlandaea.org.