Be sure to vote for Iowa ASCD President-Elect, Directors of Members-at-Large, and Secretary.
|
Advocacy and Influence: Support for English Language Learners
One out of every twenty students in Iowa schools is an English Language Learner. In some districts, like Marshalltown, it's one in three.
Learning a new language takes time: 5-7 years according to widely accepted research. Under current Iowa law, schools receive per-pupil ELL funding for four years, about $1,200 per student per year. During the last legislative session this was expanded to five years, yet there remains a disparity between funding and student needs. This leaves local districts struggling to find funding to meet student needs.
A bill currently before the Iowa Legislature would expand funding to seven years, aligning funds to the research-based timeline for ELL students to reach English proficiency. It would also establish best practices and policies to improve English Language Learning.
This bill comes from recommendations of the Iowa ELL Task Force, a statewide group charged with making informed recomme ndations to support Iowa students.
Supporting English language learning is crucial to increasing student achievement in all academic areas, as well as preparing students for college and the workforce. ELL students are the product of immigrant and refugee families who represent the bulk of Iowa's population growth of the past 20 years. The combined purchasing power of Latinos and Asians in Iowa is $5 billion, making them a major part of the state economy.
For Iowa's economy to continue to grow, a skilled workforce is essential. Supporting this legislation would provide the support for Iowa's 25,000 English Language Learners to become college and career ready graduates.
This bill has wide support from education and business, but its passage depends on our local legislators. Please contact your Iowa legislators, them to support SF 2096. Their investment in the next generation of Iowans will mean an investment in the future growth and success of our state.
A sample letter is available on the Iowa ASCD website page on Advocacy and Influence - right at the top!.
|
|
Register Now for Iowa ASCD Curriculum Leadership Academy - April 10 and 11 - with Jay McTighe
Iowa ASCD is proud to present the 12th Annual Curriculum Leadership Academy, "Implementing the Core by Design," created for leaders of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development.
 Join us this year as we feature Dr. Jay McTighe with Understanding by Design on April 10; schools from across the state will be sharing on April 11 their implementation of the Iowa Core with RtI (multiple tiers of support), competency- based education, concept-based units, STEM, and more. Please come learn and network with Dr. McTighe and other leaders in Iowa.
Date: April 10 and 11, 2014
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Johnston, IA - Interstate Exit 129
Fee: $250 for members; $295 for non-members of Iowa ASCD
|
|
Fostering Efficiency in K-12
Educational Technology Procurement
National Research Study Seeking
School District Participation!
Digital Promise*, in partnership with the Education Industry Association (EIA), with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has launched an initiative to identify and promote specific improvements in the purchasing practices of K-12 school district buyers as they seek to implement innovative digital technology products and services. Our research partner is the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education. Our objective is to identify challenges and promising practices in edtech discovery and acquisition from the perspective of educators and entrepreneurs alike. WE NEED TO LEARN ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF PRACTITIONERS. PLEASE JOIN THE STUDY. District participation will require only brief surveys (no more than 30 minutes) or interviews with: (a) the superintendent, (b) a procurement officer (or comparable staff member), (c) the district curriculum director (or comparable staff member), (d) instructional technology director, and (e) three school-level staff. In return, participants will be offered the first opportunity to receive tools and information generated from the project and will be invited to special briefings of project findings during the summer, 2014. Please click here to express interest in participating in the study. Contact Information for Project Partners: Dr. Steve Ross of Johns Hopkins University Sross19@jhu.edu Phil Martin of Digital Promise Phil@DigitalPromise.org Steve Pines of EIA spines@educationindustry.org * Digital Promise is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to advance innovation in education through research and technology. They are working with the Education Industry Association in this research being completed by Johns Hopkins University. |
|
|
Register Now for Competency-Based Education Conference
The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa ASCD are collaborating on the second annual Competency-Based Education Conference: Define! Design! Deliver! on June 23-24 at the Iowa Events Center.
Come learn how students can learn and demonstrate competencies which will endure throughout time. CBE provides a strong framework for teachers and administrators to understand the Iowa Core and ensure students are college, career, and citizenship ready.
Among the featured speakers are Rose Colby, author of Off the Clock and Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart. Several Iowans will be joining the conversation and sharing their expertise, including the pilot schools of the CBE initiative.
Mark your calendars now! $250 for Iowa ASCD members and $295 for non-members of Iowa ASCD.
Register now!
- Mail a check/purchase order with date/name of conference and names/e-mail addresses of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith, Drake University School of Education, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA 50311.
- E-mail a purchase order with name/date of conference and names/e-mails of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu.
- FAX purchase order with name/date of conference and names/e-mails of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.
|
|
Best Practices in Social Studies Institute - Great Opportunity for Teachers of Social Studies - FREE!
We are excited to announce the opening of registration for the 2014 Best Practices in Social Studies Institute, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education. This Institute is being offered entirely FREE for any K-12 social studies teacher in Iowa. Participants will have to cover their own travel expenses and meals. The Institute takes place June 24-25 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa (600 E. Locust) in Des Moines. Participants can sign up to attend both days of the institute, or just one of the days.
Please see below for information on signing up, receiving credit, and details about the Institute. Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in attending.
Registration
At a Glance Schedule
Institute Program
License Renewal
� License renewal is available for the Institute, however, participants must sign up to attend both days of the Institute in order to be eligible for credit.
� Directions: Go to www.heartlandaea.org and click on Professional Development � Heartland AEA PD Catalog. Where it says "Enter an
Activity Number," enter SS004399991401 and then complete the registration process.
Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation Workshop- June 26th
�
The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation is coming to Des Moines to do a one-day workshop on June 26th at the Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge. The Foundation recently created curriculum around Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Each lesson highlights a recipient and is centered around a character trait of the recipient. This has great ties to social studies and character development.
The workshop is also entirely FREE to attend and is open to any teacher or administrator 6-12. The Foundation sends a master teacher and a Medal of Honor recipient to put on the workshop. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Sign up by opening the attached PDF. For more information visit http://cmohfoundation.org/. Check out this recent video of the Foundation at http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/53255639#53255639.
|
|
Iowa Superintendent Recognized for Innovative Leadership
The District Administration Leadership Institute recently recognized Deb Olson, Superintendent of Clinton Community School District, for incorporating two cutting-edge programs into the district's learning environment. The Innovation Classroom, the first of its kind in a U.S. public high school, enables teachers to partner technology resources with inquiry-based, collaborative learning. The district also has implemented a Response to Intervention process by which schools use data to identify the academic and behavioral support needed for each student. In addition, student progress is monitored to improve educational outcomes. The Institute spoke with Olson.  What makes the Innovation Classroom so engaging for students and teachers? It has been a paradigm shift for the teachers as they act as a facilitator for students responsible for their own learning. The large classroom is fitted with advanced technology that allows students to work collaboratively. Microphones, whiteboards and multiple monitors enable the students to interact in the classroom and conduct live interactions with business leaders and others outside the classroom. The Innovation Classroom promotes critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, agility, adaptability, intuition, entrepreneurialism and oral and written communication. What were the driving forces behind and barriers to creating the Innovation Classroom? Several counselors were inspired after visiting the University of Iowa's Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage (T.I.L.E.) classrooms. We were fortunate to have local businesses and a community education foundation that donated money in addition to receiving a grant donation from Clinton County Development Corporation, a nearby casino's charitable arm. We rehabilitated an underutilized area within our high school. The Innovation Classroom was actually a rallying point for almost everyone. The hardest part was for the teachers because the children are driving instruction. Not only has the response from the community been positive, but business owners have appreciated the workplace skills the students have learned. Our new middle school will include two more Innovation Classrooms. How did you handle the scope of implementing RtI districtwide? We started five years ago with a two-class, ninth-grade pilot program. Although we did not have an initial 100 percent buy-in, the results convinced the remaining teachers and administrators. Principals committed to providing a common planning time for teachers and staff during the school day. Teachers underwent professional learning communities model training. The time frame from the pilot program to district-wide participation took over two years. What results have you seen since implementing RtI? The number of behavior incidents in our high school has dropped while attendance has increased. We have seen a reverse of the typical eighth to ninth grade dip in reading, which goes against our 10-year trends. Overall course failures have dropped 58 percent and behavioral referrals by 30 percent. We also have seen a 100 percent increase in the number of rigorous course enrollments over the last five years. |
|
Check It Out!
Check out the following:
- Be sure to vote for Iowa ASCD President-Elect, Directors of Members-at-Large, and Secretary. Vote now.
- ASCD's Forum: How do we cultivate and support teacher
 leaders? Share your voice. - ASCD Members: Be ready to cast your ballot April 1 - May 15 for two directors for the board. Candidates include Tony Frontier (Wisconsin), Josh Garcia (Washington), Patrick Miller (North Carolina), Lorraine Ringrose (Alberta, Canada), and Anne Roloff (Illinois).
- Contact your legislators. Be sure to use Iowa ASCD's Legislative Agenda to develop your "ask" and support for Iowa education.
|
|
Launching Teacher Leadership - June 12, 2014
Launching Teacher Leadership: An Institute for Teacher Leaders and Administrators will be held June 12, 2014, 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. at the FFA Enrichment Center - DMACC, 1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway. The fee is $125.00 per person.
Sessions will include the following: 
- Setting the Stage for Change
- Leading & Learning with Trust
- Resources to Support Effective Teaching and Learning
- How to Create and Provide Powerful PD Experiences for Adult Learners
- Multiplier Effect (if speaker is available)
- Identifying and Leveraging Your Leadership Style
- Learning Forward Modules: Learning Designs & Facilitating Learning Teams
- Ignite Learning Sessions for Teachers & Administrators by current Teacher Leader Practitioners & Administrators
This opportunity is being sponsored by Iowa ASCD, Iowa State Education Association, School Administrators of Iowa, Iowa AEAs, Iowa Department of Education, and Learning Forward Iowa. |
|
I owa ASCD seeks to keep you informed about webinars for your  learning and the learning of those with whom you work. Check out the following; many of these support the work in your collaborative time and definitely help with implementation of The Core!
- Title: Virtual Learning Network - Social Studies
- Presenter: Mark Barnes
- Provider: ASCD
- Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2:00 - 3:00 P.M.
- Register Here
- Title: Supporting Educators with Implementing STEM along with the Common Core
- Presenters: Marcia Barton, Christie Jones, and Nevin Katz
- Provider: EdTech Leaders Online
- Date: Monday, March 31, 11:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
- Access Webinar Here
- Title: Beyond Iowa Core: What Happens in a PLC Math Environment?
- Presenter: Brian Townsend, University of Northern Iowa
- Provider: AEA 267
- Date: Tuesday, April 8, 3:30 - 4:30 P.M.
- Register Here
- Title: Using PLCs to Further the Math Learning of Teachers and Students
- Presenter: Chris Quisley, AEA 267 Math Consultant
- Provider: AEA 267
- Date: Monday, April 21, 3:30 - 4:30 P.M.
- Register Here
|
 Stay current with learning! Follow Iowa ASCD on Twitter! We would like to follow you on Twitter as well. If you are willing to share your "Twitter Handle" with us, please leave your information on this site. |
 Iowa ASCD is the source for developing instructional leadership and translating research into daily practice. Serving more than 1200 educators - teachers, principals, superintendents, directors of curriculum, technology specialists, college professors, AEA staff - Iowa ASCD strives to develop the collaborative capacity to impact the learning of each and every student in Iowa. |
|
|
|
|
Iowa ASCD Contacts President Allan Eckelman Past-President Jason Ellingson President-Elect Kevin Vidergar Membership and Conference Information Bridget Arrasmith Secretary Leslie Moore Treasurer (Interim) Lou Howell Members-at-Large Ottie Maxey Becky Martin Sara Oswald Amy Whittington DE Liaison Rita Martens Higher Education Jan Beatty-Westerman Elaine Smith-Bright Advocacy and Influence Pam Armstrong-Vogel Susan Pecinovsky Curriculum Leadership Academy Sue Wood Pam Zeigler Fall Institute Veta Thode Summer Institutes and Grade-Level Conferences Kym Stein Planning Chair Cindy Swanson Technology Chris Welch Membership Relations and E-Learning Amy Wichman Executive Director Lou Howell |
Here's What's Happening!
- April 10-11, 2014
-
June 23-24, 2014
- September 19, 2014
- Fall Institute
- Nell Duke
- K-3 Reading and the Iowa Core
- Drake University
- Watch for upcoming details
- Get The Source the first and third Friday of each month.
- Join us on Twitter @IowaASCD
|
|
