Logan-Magnolia School Safety Training for Districts

Logan-Magnolia CSD will host an all-day school safety training event with John Michael Keyes, the founder of the I Love U Guys organization and you are invited! This event will inform school and community counterparts about Standard Response Protocol (Evacuate, Shelter, Lockout, Lockdown, Hold) and Standard Reunification Method, discuss important response components within comprehensive school safety plans, begin/continue multidisciplinary team discussion and planning, initiate &/or strengthen collaboration between school staff members and first responders.

Interested in Attending?
DATE: April 4, 2019
TIME: 8:00 registration/check-in   
            8:30 - 3:30 workshop
LOCATION: Logan Community Center, 108 W 4th St, Logan, IA 51546
TARGET AUDIENCE: School safety/crisis team members, administrators, Green Hills AEA staff, and local first responders (law enforcement, fire, EMS, emergency management)
Optimal planning and discussion will occur when school staff and community first responders attend this workshop together. 

QUESTIONS: Jacob Hedger, Logan-Magnolia 7-12 Guidance Counselor jhedger@lomaschools.org / 712.644.2250

Iowa AEA Online's New Website

The Iowa AEA Media Collaborative Committee is pleased to announce the launch of our new website for Iowa AEA Online.

The website includes 16 high-quality resources available to Iowa's accredited public and non-public PK-12 schools. Students and staff have 24/7/365 access from anywhere!

The previous URL:  iowaaeaonline.org (has been redirected to the new website).

New URL:  https://www.iowaaea.org/about/iowa-aea-online/

The redesign brings a new look to Iowa AEA Online through the addition of visual resource representation, recommended grade level and an associated color band at the top.

All username(s) and password(s) remain the same for access at both the building and/or district level.

We hope you enjoy the new Iowa AEA Online website as you continue your learning!

Green Hills AEA Professional Learning Opportunities

Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools:

Green Hills staff members continue to be involved in bringing trauma-sensitive training to districts. Since January of last year, 18 districts have participated in this training and interest continues to rise. This important information is paramount to understanding the science behind toxic stress and how it affects students and educators. Contact Michelle Catterson or Jenny Barnett if you are interested in learning more about this training.

Social-Emotional-Behavioral-Mental Health: 

• Several opportunities for learning are being offered in 2019 including:
• Developing a Mindful Classroom
• Youth Mental Health First Aid
• Yoga for Teachers:  How to use Yoga and Meditation in the Classroom
• Foundations of MTSS for Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health
• Suicide Risk Assessment Training
• PREPaRE 2 Workshop

Registration for these courses can be accessed under the Professional Development tab on our website.

Your NEW -printed- Spring 2019 Professional Development Catalog should be arriving at your school very soon!  Check your mailbox!

Last Chance! Survey Ends Today!

The Iowa's AEAs Customer Satisfaction Survey is open until 4:00 p.m. today, December 21, 2018!

Share your input: https://bit.ly/2RVBUWx

The holidays are right around the corner and we realize you are working hard to get everything completed before winter break. If you would be willing to take a moment to complete this survey, we would greatly appreciate it.
Your time is valuable and we appreciate the opportunity to hear from you about your awareness and satisfaction of AEA services. Your feedback will help provide us with a more complete set of data, which we will use to better serve you, your students, and your district.

Iowa Leadership Academy Coming June 2019!

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are partnering with McREL to offer the Iowa Leadership Academy. The Iowa School Leadership Academy will give school leadership teams in-depth strategies and guidance from McREL’s research- and evidence-based knowledge sets of Balanced Leadership, What Matters Most, and Curiosity Works. School districts are encouraged to consider bringing a team(s) of 3-6 leaders who can learn and work collaboratively around the presented course content and be willing to engage in this work within their respective districts.
Learn more!

Exciting Products at the Print and Design Center

Canvas backdrop featuring
Career and Technical Education Consultant, Murray Fenn

With our new canvas material, we can make anything from picture backdrops, posters, banners, you name it. We can print up to 44" wide by any length you need! Grommets are available if you'd like those as well. The canvas material makes your colors POP and look very professional! Order today!

Redefining Ready

Earlier this month, Green Hills AEA sponsored a session with Dr. David Schuler. Dr. Schuler is Superintendent of High School District 214, a northern Chicago suburban high school district. He is also the current AASA Superintendent of the Year and a recent Past-President of AASA. Dr. Schuler is nationally known for his district's "Redefining Ready" criteria to ensure every high school graduate is either career or college ready in measurable and concrete ways. "Redefining Ready" is now a widespread national movement and many states and districts across the nation have adopted his model or a personalized version of it for their college/career readiness work.

Want to learn more? Check out these resources:

• Dr. Schuler's slides presentation
• This document
• AASA (American Association of School Administrators) website

Green Hills AEA Professional Learning

Be on the lookout for your 2019 Spring Professional Learning Catalogs to be delivered to your schools next week!

If you have taken Fierce Conversations (Foundations, Team, Coaching, Delegation and Confrontation Conversations) and are interested in adding two more conversation models to your repertoire, join us for FIERCE 2 on February 1st and 15th in Avoca to learn more about the Generations and Feedback Models. This has been approved for 1 Evaluator Approval/License Renewal credit. Register today! Course #160607

The Collaborative Leadership Institute with Peter DeWitt wrapped up on Friday, December 7th with several representatives from 12 school districts and Green Hills AEA in attendance. Participants engaged in deep discussions about building collective efficacy and providing effective feedback within their organizations. Students from the CAM school district interviewed several participants about their most important takeaways and ideas for implementation. They also enjoyed the opportunity to interview Mr. DeWitt about his experiences as a student, teacher, administrator, author and international speaker. These students will now analyze the information from their interviews and provide feedback to Green Hills about the themes and overall responses they received. Their digital learning class is excited about this project and we are thrilled to partner with them!

Iowa'a AEAs Customer Satisfaction Survey Extended

Great news! You now have an additional week to complete the customer survey from Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEA)!

Share your input: https://bit.ly/2RVBUWx

The survey will close at 4:00 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2018.

We ask school administrators and teachers to complete this survey so that Iowa's AEAs better understand stakeholder awareness of and satisfaction with AEA services. We hope that you will participate in this survey, as your feedback is critical to ensuring that Iowa's AEAs continue to provide quality services to local schools.

Iowa's AEAs have partnered with Hanover Research to administer and analyze this survey. Hanover Research is an independent market research firm based in Washington, D.C., and is in no way affiliated with any other entity or organization. Your responses are completely anonymous and will be kept strictly confidential, so please be as open and honest as possible. The survey should take approximately 15 min. to complete.

Take the survey: https://bit.ly/2RVBUWx

Thank you for your time!

Gov. Reynolds Announces More Iowans on Track for Success in Postsecondary Education, Training

Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg on Wednesday announced that fewer Iowa high school graduates are taking remedial coursework during their first year at Iowa’s community colleges and state universities, a signal that more students are on track to earn a degree or other postsecondary credential.

Iowa AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey

Green Hills AEA is undertaking an important, system-wide effort to review our mission, vision, and core values as your AEA. Following that, we will be launching the 2019-20 school year with a new 5-year strategic plan based on The 4 Disciplines of Execution model. We are very excited about what this will mean for our ability to improve our services, support and impact for students and schools in southwest Iowa.
One powerful tool to guide us in this work will be the results of the Iowa AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey that you would have received recently. We sincerely want your feedback and assessment of our AEA services and will use the results in our strategic planning. Please take time to complete the survey by Friday, December 14, 2018. If you haven’t already done so, you can use this link. It should only take you 10 minutes to complete, but will provide us with rich and meaningful information to help us improve. Thank you in advance for helping us in this important way.

Iowa Authentic Learning Network

Have you heard about the Iowa Authentic Learning Network (IowaALN)?  This partnership with local businesses provides students with opportunities to help solve real-world problems while they gain invaluable experience. Learn more about Iowa ALN from Brodie, a member of Creston CSD's CAST program.
For more information, contact Stephanie Lane.

Green Hills AEA Holiday Schedule

All Gren Hills AEA offices will close at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, December 21, 2018. Offices will be closed Monday, December 24, 2018 through Tuesday, January 1, 2019. They will return to a normal schedule on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

Our van mail delivery will not run while the agency is closed. Please be aware of this as you place your print and design job orders and request media supplies.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

K-2 Special Education Math

The Green Hills AEA Math team will be offering a Sped Math K-2 Follow-up Class for any teacher who has previously participated in the 3-5 Sped Math Project on January 18 at the Red Oak AEA. This 1-day training is for returning teachers/coaches who would like additional information about supporting K-2 students with math IEPs. This expansion will include new content around understanding early counting, a diagnostic assessment, and materials.

For more information about this training, visit this link.  Please contact Lisa Magnesonif you are interested or if you would like any additional information.

Self-Care for Parents

Missouri Valley CSD is hosting a parent self-care night on December 12th with Katie Pohlman. Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Katie's presentation will demonstrate the impact stress has on our lives, which includes the impact it has on the children we are raising! Participants will learn about their top stressors and new ways to take care of themselves.
Click here to learn more!

Iowa AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEA) are administering a survey to local school administrators and teachers to better understand stakeholder awareness of and satisfaction with AEA services. You should have received an email yesterday containing this information and a link to the survey. We hope that you will participate in this survey, as your feedback is critical to ensuring Iowa AEA continues to provide quality services to local schools.

Iowa AEA has partnered with Hanover Research to administer and analyze this survey. Hanover Research is an independent market research firm based in Washington, D.C., and is in no way affiliated with any other entity or organization. Your responses are completely anonymous and will be kept strictly confidential, so please be as open and honest as possible. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The survey will close on December 14.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Cate Keller (ckeller@hanoversurveys.com) at Hanover Research.

Please click the link to begin.

SPARK for Autism

Want to be a part of something big? The University of Iowa invites you to join SPARK for Autism, the nation's largest autism research study. The SPARK site in Iowa City is the closest clinical site for all of Iowa and Nebraska. But on January 5, SPARK for Autism is coming to YOU! Free for anyone participating in SPARK, participants will enjoy a sensory-friendly night at The Durham Museum in Omaha.

Learn more HERE

Find an EdCamp Near You

There are two EdCamps coming to you this winter! Save the date for the Council Bluffs EdCamp on February 23 and the Lamoni EdCamp on December 8th.

WHAT IS AN EDCAMP?

 EdCamps are FREE "unconferences," designed to be teacher centered. They are great places to network and learn from each other. Each session is created and run the day of the event by the individuals who attend an EdCamp. Sessions could include exploring a technology tool, a discussion about best practices, or a collaborative presentation with multiple facilitators. All participants are encouraged to discuss and provide content as well as ask questions. Edcamps also operate on the “Rule of Two Feet.” This means if you attend a session and you decide it isn’t what you expected, you are encouraged to get up and go to another session.

STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program Grant

As shared in the November School Leader Update, The Iowa Department of Education was awarded a $494,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Justice’s STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program. The federal funding is intended to help schools prevent and respond to acts of violence, and respond to students who face mental health challenges.

Iowa’s project has three objectives:
• Train teachers and school employees to respond to threats of violence and to prevent violence in schools. Training content will align with school emergency plans.
• Train school staff, area education agency staff, and community members to respond to students who may be struggling with mental health or addiction.
• Educate students on preventing violence against themselves and others.

The application to participate will be open from Nov. 5 to Dec. 3. To learn more, register to attend the informational webinar on Nov. 5, at 11 a.m. The webinar will be recorded. For questions, contact Nancy Ankenhy- Hunt at 515-326-1031 or nancy.ankeny-hunt@iowa.gov.

Pre-Retirement Workshop

If you have started thinking about retiring this year, in five years, in ten years, or more, this Pre-Retirement Workshop is just for you! Learn everything you need to know about retirement including IPERS benefits, Social Security, retirement tools, Medicare, SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program), benefits of Pre-Retirement membership and Retired School Personnel Association, AARP, & NRTA. The more you know now, the better you can plan your future. The workshop is free, but registration is required. Sign up today!

Free Microsoft Office Applications

For those who are in need of office applications such as Word, Excel, Power Point and more, please be aware that Microsoft offers Office applications and more free of charge to Educational Institutions.

If you are interested, you can use this link to get started. If you have any questions, please contact Darek Madejski at darek@ghaea.org or 712-366-7768

Display Student Artwork Easier Than Ever

Just in time for the holiday season, the Green Hills AEA Print and Design Center can take any piece of art and turn it into a vinyl adhesive. Just think of what you can do with student artwork and classroom learning decorations! 11 x 17 vinyl adhesive printed in color is $1.06 each. The adhesive can be hung on walls and windows with no residue behind. No more worrying about taking off paint with tape. To order yours today contact the Print and Design Center at printcenter@ghaea.org

Green Hills AEA Website: Tell Us What You Think!

Got a minute? We want to hear from you! Take our survey and help us improve our website! Take the Survey!

American Education Week

What is American Education Week?

American Education Week, November 12-16, 2018, will present all Americans with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education.

The weeklong celebration will spotlight distinguished individuals who are critical in building great public schools for the nation's 50 million K-12 students. American Education Week's celebration days include:

Monday, November 12, 2018: Kickoff Day
Tuesday, November 13, 2018: Parents Day
Wednesday, November 14, 2018: Education Support Professionals Day
Thursday, November 15, 2018: Educator for a Day
Friday, November 16, 2018: Substitute Educators Day

Sensory Friendly Holiday Workshop

This event is free to families supporting someone with a Sensory Processing or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Mark your calendar for November 24th for pictures with Santa, cookie decorating, crafts and games!

See more details HERE

Post-Secondary Readiness Data Recently Released Through AEA PREP Dashboards

This message was shared with school administrators and is being included here for your information.

   Recently, the Iowa Department of Education released the AEA PREP (Postsecondary Readiness & Equity Partnership) Dashboards providing a portrait of how prepared Iowa high school graduates are for success in postsecondary education and training. The dashboards are intended to help guide school and district school improvement efforts using statewide, AEA, district and building level data.  Schools can use their local information to benchmark and monitor progress toward locally defined goals as they relate to postsecondary readiness and success, including enrollment, persistence, and completion of postsecondary programs. The AEA PREP Dashboards are highly interactive in nature and allow schools to examine the postsecondary success of their students through a variety of postsecondary readiness and demographic filters. The dashboards are housed within EdInsight; if you desire access to these dashboards and currently do not have an EdInsight role in the Portal (also known as an “A & A” account), please see these instructions for creating a user account and/or requesting access.

History Day Contest

The 2019 Western Historic Trails History Day Contest registration will open January 1st for grades 4-12. Get your students involved in this year's theme, "Taking a Stand in History" and encourage entries in one of nine catagories including:
• Paper (individual only)
• Individual exhibit
• Group exhibit
• Individual performance
• Group performance
• Individual documentary
• Group documentary
• Individual web site
• Group web site

Click here to learn more!

Iowa Ramps Up Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Training

Following Senate File 2113, a law requiring at least one hour of training annually for certified K-12 educators beginning July 2019, the Iowa’s Area Education Agencies have increased their efforts to address student mental health by launching online suicide "prevention and postvention" training. This training will serve as an option for teachers completing the new annual requirement. The "awareness-level" course is a "step in the right direction," said David VanHorn, Green Hills AEA associate administrator who helped develop the online module.
Read the full article

STEM BEST Program Awards 13 New Partnerships

The STEM Council Executive Committee voted unanimously to award 13 of 23 proposed new or expanded STEM BEST® (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program partnerships. These newly added partners bring the total to 50 partnerships in Iowa since the inception of the program in 2014.

Iowa's Digital Learning Plan Available NOW!

  Iowa’s Digital Learning Plan, a collaborative effort between the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa’s Area Education Agencies and school districts, is now available!

The Plan includes sections relevant to all educators and administrators:

• Leadership
• Teaching with Technology
• Engaging and Empowering Learning through Technology
• Assessment
• Infrastructure

Edcamp Lamoni

WHAT IS AN EDCAMP?

 EdCamps are FREE "unconferences," designed to be teacher centered. They are great places to network and learn from each other. Each session is created and run the day of the event by the individuals who attend an EdCamp. Sessions could include exploring a technology tool, a discussion about best practices, or a collaborative presentation with multiple facilitators. All participants are encouraged to discuss and provide content as well as ask questions. Edcamps also operate on the “Rule of Two Feet.” This means if you attend a session and you decide it isn’t what you expected, you are encouraged to get up and go to another session.

Social Studies Standards Webinars

  In an effort to help teachers implement the new social studies standards for Economics and Financial Literacy, the Dordt College Center for Economic Education, the Iowa Council for Economic Education, and the TS Institute for Financial Education have teamed up to produce a series of webinars for teachers.

4 Our Kids

This unique all day training includes a variety of topics for professionals working with students/families involved in juvenile court situations. Questions can be e-mailed to Judge Susan Christensen, and those attending are asked to e-mail her to register. See more information

Omaha Symphony

The Omaha Symphony education programs may be perfect your your school this year. Combine aspects of math, science, history and literacy all while learning about music! With registration open for all students from preschool to high school, now is your chance to explore the opportunities!

Course Disclaimer/Course Refund Policy

All nine of Iowa's AEAs have adopted the following policy regarding registering and/or withdrawing from an Agency-wide sponsored course for credit. Please read through this policy so that you are aware of any changes.

Trauma Responsive Schools

Prairie Lakes AEA welcomes you to attend a conference focused on creating a trauma-responsive school. The conference will be held Nov. 2 & 3 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. A trauma-responsive school is a safe and respectful environment that enables students to build caring relationships with adults and peers, self-regulate their emotions and behaviors, and succeed academically, while supporting their physical health and well-being. It is about creating a culture that prioritizes safety, trust, choice, and collaboration.

Breakout sessions include:

• ACES and the impact of trauma on youth
• Restorative Justice - what is it and how does it work in education
• Blue Zones
• Therapy dogs
• Collaborative and Proactive Solutions
• Mindfulness, self-care, and more

Register by clicking here now!

FastBridge Math Questions

Now that your school has purchased FastBridge math. You may have several questions:
What tests should we use? How do I use the data? What does it mean for instruction or intervention?

The Green Hills AEA Math team has created short videos to help you and your school teams answer those questions. Find them here on the Green Hills AEA Math Site.

Yoga and Meditation in the Classroom

Start implementing yoga and mediation in your classroom routines and structures with this training! Join us on November 3rd and December 8th in Avoca!
Register today!

Green Hills AEA Directories

The 2018-19 Green Hills AEA Directories are on their way! Look for your copy to be arriving via van mail shortly. If you need additional copies, please contact Devin Laughlin, dlaughlin@ghaea.org.

Children's Mental Health Listening Posts

Listening posts are being hosted at locations across Iowa on behalf of the Children’s System State Board established by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April. The focus of the listening posts is to understand what children mental health services need to be available locally. How can you get involved?

Science Workshops

Register Today!

Date	Location	Workshop/Course Information Link
October 24	Council Bluffs	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088
November 19	Central Decatur CSD	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088
January 17	Avoca RO	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088
February 18	Atlantic CSD	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088
March 4	Avoca RO	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088
April 19	Creston CSD	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088
May 14	Vilisca CSD	Science Standards Module 4 - workshop only, no credit - Course #168088

HIgh Impact Instruction

Please consider adding more skills to your coaching repertoire by joining others on October 29 and 30 in Avoca. Green Hills is a host site for High Impact Instruction with Ann Hoffman from The Instructional Coaching Group. Jim Knight's research over several decades has led to this work. The High Impact Instruction workshop provides coaches with a framework to use with teachers and is focused on content planning, instruction, community building and assessment for learning.

English Language Learners Critical Data Process Training

Register now for the English Language Learners Critical Data Process Trainings with Steve Gill. This training will support district and building teams to be better equipped to determine when an English Language Learner needs additional interventions and when a disability should be suspected. Each building that sends representatives to this training will receive a FREE copy of Steve Gill and Ushani Nanayakkara's book: The ELL Critical Data Process - 2nd Edition.

Western Historic Trails "Wagons West"

Celebrate the150th Anniversary of the Oregon and California Trails with the Western Historic Trails with a free event packed full of fun and learning!

Iowa Teacher Librarians Have New Opportunity to Collaborate During Monthly Online Sessions

Iowa’s AEAs have a new opportunity for Iowa school teacher librarians to network, share ideas and “talk shop.” The “Better Together: Collaborative Conversations” are a new year-long series in which an AEA teacher librarian will facilitate a monthly online discussion about a predetermined topic with time built in for networking and Q & A.

And the best part? No cost, no long agenda and no drive time!

Check out this online flyer for all the details.

Professional Learning Fall Catalogs

Be on the lookout for the Green Hills AEA Professional Learning Fall catalog at in your teacher mailbox! Check out the online catalog and get a head start on your fall professional development planning!

AEA Purchasing

Please join us in a webinar to explore the updated AEA Purchasing website! You'll get to know us better and also learn how to find what you need at aeapurchasing.org!
Once registered, you'll receive the webinar log-in information prior to the event.