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.