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

All-Staff Meeting Right Around the Corner; Register by Sept. 15!

We look forward to a great day of connecting, celebrating and learning from one another on Sept. 24, as this is our one opportunity during the year to come together in person as an entire Heartland AEA staff! 

Registration is open! 

This year we are asking staff to register for the meeting and to indicate interest in flu shots, meal selection and breakout session topics, as well as to identify the region or department in which staff are aligned. This data will help the planning committee with COVID mitigation efforts, meal planning and room set up. Register by Sept. 15!

Registration

Location 

Hy-Vee Hall Located in the Iowa Events Center 

730 3rd Street, Des Moines

 

Agenda 

7 – 9 a.m. - Biometric Screenings 

7:30 – 9:15 a.m. - Staff informational tables 

7:30 – 9:30 a.m. - Name tag pick up  

9:30 – 11:45 a.m. - General Session 

11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. - Lunch 

1 – 2:30 p.m. - Staff Presentations 

COVID Mitigation Efforts 

Through our vaccination survey, of the 622 staff who completed the survey, 97.25% of respondents reported being fully vaccinated. We are still planning a number of social distancing measures during the All-Staff meeting to help with COVID mitigation. Please be cognizant of these efforts and help do your part for the health and safety of yourself and your colleagues. 

Wear Agency Colors
 

Wear your agency colors – purple and/or green – and proudly display your Heartland AEA pride! You are welcome to wear typical casual Friday attire and any agency logo t-shirts you have. 

Parking 

The Agency is paying for parking in the north lot of the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. Tell the parking attendants you are there for the Heartland AEA meeting. Enter Veterans Auditorium/Convention Center and follow the signs to Hy-Vee Hall, Hall C. 

Biometric Screenings, Managed by HyVee 

HyVee staff will be onsite to offer a limited number of biometric screenings from 7 - 9 a.m. If you would like to learn more about biometric screenings and schedule an appointment, refer to the HyVee Biometric Screening Registration Directions. HyVee will administer the screening program as well as health protocol required to receive a screening. 

Staff Informational Tables 

Staff will be on hand at several informational tables to showcase information or just have fun! Creative Services 

• Emergency Response & Safety Team 
• Family & Educator Partnership 
• Heartland Education Association 
• Job-Alike Facilitators 
• SEBMH Team
• Teamsters Local #238 
• Twice-Exceptional Learner Resources 

Food & Beverage 

Only coffee and tea will be served in the morning, so please plan to eat breakfast before you arrive. A boxed lunch will consist of a smoked turkey wrap, chips, fruit, dessert and beverage. Water stations will be available throughout the day so bring a water bottle. An afternoon snack will be served as well. To select an alternative menu option, indicate your preference in the registration link above. 

General Session 


In the morning general session, we’ll be inspired by Mitch Matthews who will help us DREAM bigger, THINK better, and DO more of what we were put on the planet to do! We'll also hear from Chief Administrator Jon Sheldahl with a year in review and a look ahead as we enter a new academic year. Get your cheer on as we celebrate successes and honor our years of service award recipients. 

 

Sit With Your Region or Department 


Seating is limited to five people at tables during the morning session in an effort to social distance. You’re invited to sit with the region or department in which you spend the most time in person. Identify your region or department in the registration link above. A map will be provided onsite to find your region or department. Do not move chairs from table to table. 

Flu Shots 

Flu shots will be available onsite. Indicate your interest in getting a flu shot in the registration link above. 

Staff Breakout Sessions 

Our afternoon will again be spent learning from one another during staff presentations. To help the planning committee with room set up, indicate the presentation topics of interest to you in the registration link above. 

United Way
 

We will kick off our annual United Way campaign again this year at the All-Staff meeting. We are counting on you to once again pledge record support to United Way, so they can in turn support communities through Essential Needs, Early Childhood Success, Education Success, Economic Opportunity and Health & Well-Being – the 5 Elements of a Thriving Community! Watch again this year for an email to be able to pledge your support online. (Yay, no paper!) Supporters will be entered in a drawing to win cash prizes! 

Benefits & Wellness Fair

The Fair is canceled for 2021 as we could not get enough of our vendors to participate due to restrictions from their employers. 

We're looking forward to seeing you!

2021-22 Staff & Schools Directory is Here; Reminder of Other Updated Comms Resources

The annual Staff & Schools Directory is available for download from the Intranet > Communications > Annual Publications and from the agency website > About > Staff & Schools Directory.

See this Connection article from August about the other Communication resources that have recently been updated.

Update on FastBridge Learning Website Access

We wanted to update staff on where we are with providing access to FastBridge Learning through the Iowa Education Portal for new staff, for staff who have changed assignments or if new buildings have been added to your district. Your requests have been turned in and provided to the Iowa Department of Education. At this time the Department has been unable to process them, as the Iowa Education Portal is being worked on to provide a more efficient process for providing AEA educators access to FastBridge. Until this work is complete, no changes to access can be made. 

At this time, please work with your team members and LEA educators to gain access to student data that is needed to do your work. We will notify you as soon as the portal work is complete and you will gain access to the data system. 

Thank you for your patience. If you have specific questions or need to problem solve accessing data, contact your regional director or Wendy Robinson, Director of Instructional Services.

Iowa’s AEAs Ready to Assist School Administrators in Learning About Iowa Standards for School Leaders

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are ready to help district administrators in learning about and implementing the Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL 2021). We’ve put together three different options so administrators can choose the learning that best fits their needs. By partnering as a system, Iowa’s AEAs can establish common outcomes, resources, and learning opportunities for school leaders around the new school leader standards. 

• Asynchronous Modules 
• Micro-Learning Opportunities 
• Face-to-Face Sessions 

Refer to this document for more information or contact Amy Wichman, Director of Instructional Services.

Interested in Participating in a Professional Learning Conference? See Below for How to Make a Request

Heartland AEA has a strong commitment to professional learning focused on enhancing skills and knowledge to impact the delivery of equitable, high-quality services to our district and community partners. At times, professional learning conferences provide unique opportunities to support individual staff, job-alike, regional/departmental or agency priority services group learning to impact services. 

Heartland AEA’s process for receiving and reviewing professional learning conference requests is intended to increase clarity, equity and consistency of decision making across the Agency. We are continually working to improve efficiency and effectiveness with thoughtful alignment and integration of our learning opportunities across the Agency. Data will be collected to help guide our decision-making about professional learning in the future. 

Who? 

Any Certified staff member may submit a request. One person may submit a request on behalf of multiple requested participants. Prior to submitting a request, requestors need to first discuss their conference interest with their supervising director. 

How? 

The request form is completed for all conference requests, regardless of type of request: regional, job-alike or agency directed. The requestor will use the Common Conference Request Form found below to submit any type of request. 

When? 

Staff is encouraged to submit requests well in advance of a conference (~60 days). If air travel is required, the request must be submitted at least 90 days prior to the conference to ensure adequate time for the review process and for the Business Office to make travel arrangements. 

Request Form 

Complete the Heartland AEA Conference Request Form. Your request will be reviewed in 2-3 weeks following submission. 

What happens after a request is submitted? 

Notification of Decision

Requestors will be notified of the decision, typically via email. 

Approved Requests

Staff discusses the conference with their supervising director to confirm participation and plan for any impact on service. Staff will then need to complete estimated costs on the Travel/Professional Learning Request System on the Employee Dashboard indicating the type of request/ funding source. This request will include details such as registration fees, out-of-area mileage, meal, lodging and other associated fees. Each employee is responsible to follow our agency’s Out-of-Area Travel guidelines. 

If the conference has no associated costs (no registration fees and travel is within the Heartland AEA geographical area), no Out-of-Area request is required and mileage can be claimed on your typical expenses. 

After the Conference

Staff will apply and share their learning with others in the manners described in the conference request. Individual staff are responsible for completing and submitting actual expenses incurred on the Employee Dashboard. 

Denied Requests 

If a request is denied, no further action related to the request is required by the staff member. 

If you have any questions, contact Martha Condon, Director of Internal Professional Learning.

Do You Still Have Something to Do? Oh Yeah....Register for TQ!

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.

Support for Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities & Iowa Alternate Assessment

The Iowa Department of Education has sent information about the 2021-2022 Alternate Assessment Requirements and Timelines to designated contacts within each district. 

A summary of timelines, some additional resources for teachers and 2021-22 Professional Development opportunities available through Heartland AEA are linked on this Supporting Learners with Significant Intellectual Disabilities document.