Iowa Leadership Academy Coming Soon!

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

Iowa's AEAs Seek Nominations for Annual Awards Recognition

Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions to education and Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs)? Please take a few minutes to nominate this person for recognition!

  Iowa’s AEAs bestow three awards annually to outstanding candidates for their contributions to education and the work of Iowa’s AEAs. To submit a nomination, complete this application by Feb. 15, 2019. Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination.

Pearson Seeks Nominations for ISASP Development

Pearson is the assessment company the Iowa Department of Education has contracted with to develop and score the new Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP). Pearson is actively seeking nominations for teachers and building who are interested in working with other Iowa educators to determine the ranges ISASP proficiency score benchmarks, set up rubrics and scores for open-ended ISASP questions, etc. People who are knowledgeable and passionate about the Iowa Standards, reading, math, or writing would be good candidates. Nominate someone (or yourself) from your district by contacting catherine-welch@uiowa.edu

New Product Coming Soon

    As we gear up for the second half of the 18-19 fiscal year, the Green Hills AEA Print and Design Center is excited to add another enhanced print and design offering to their list of services. Coming soon, we will offer vinyl wall art. This is a great way to inspire greatness and pride in your conference and classrooms. As we grow in this service arena, we encourage you to please plan ahead for your print and design service requests so we can meet your needs, as well as the maximum two- week turnaround time we have set for any job completion. Our goal is to always give you great customer services, fast turnaround times, and quality work. Thanks for your continued support in our service department.   

School Safety Workshop Update

   Invite your school safety/crisis team members, administrators, Green Hills AEA staff, local first responders (law enforcement, fire, EMS, emergency management) to this School Safety Workshop featuring John Michael Keyes, founder of the I Love U Guys organization.
   Participants will learn 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, and initiate &/or strengthen collaboration between school staff members and first responders.

DATE: April 15, 2019
TIME: 8:00 registration/check-in   
            8:30 - 3:30 workshop
LOCATION: Logan Christian Church, 205 E 8th St, Logan, IA 51546
HOST DISTRICT: Logan-Magnolia CSD
Save Your Seat NOW!

QUESTIONS?
Please contact Jacob Hedger, Logan-Magnolia 7-12 Guidance Counselor
jhedger@lomaschools.org  712.644.2250

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