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 Winter 2022
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As we think about our changing educational landscape and all of the moving parts, it is so important to focus on what matters most — that every student has an opportunity to succeed and teachers feel supported as they help students find their path forward.
Last week I had the honor of recognizing some of our talented and dedicated teachers during the 2022 Outstanding Iowa Teachers Recognition Luncheon. These teachers represent all parts of the state — rural and urban, big and small. They teach different subjects — math, science, history, social studies, English, physics and music.
But what stood out to me was not their differences, but their collective focus.
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You’ll want to save the date for the June 6-9 Iowa Education Conference held in Des Moines.
The Iowa Education Conference (IEC) 2022 is designed to support school leadership teams, educators and their organizational partners to prepare all learners for their future at every step of their educational journey.
Formerly the Special Education Symposium and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) June Institute, the IEC seeks to align statewide efforts to support Iowa’s school districts, area education agencies (AEAs) and partnering agencies and organizations in the provision of leadership, instructional services and other supports to promote the success of all Iowa learners.
Content strands across the event include college and career readiness, early childhood, leadership, literacy, mathematics and social-emotional-behavioral health. Each day has a different focus as shown below.
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IEC 2022 seeks to:
- Strengthen leadership teams;
- Support implementation of multi-tiered system of supports;
- Address evidence-based universal and targeted content needs across literacy, mathematics and social-emotional-behavior health for all learners;
- Build educator knowledge and skills in literacy, mathematics and social-emotional-behavioral health for all learners;
- Increase knowledge of family and community engagement best practices;
- Improve understanding of best practices in early childhood, including early intervention, early childhood special education and preschool;
- Provide information to attendees about current law and requirements in early intervention, special education and ESSA Title programs; and
- Connect teams with current evidence-based practices in college and career readiness, including computer science.
School administrators, building leadership teams, Early ACCESS providers and service coordinators, educators and providers from early childhood to high school, AEA professionals and higher education faculty supporting pre-service educators and providers will all benefit from the conference.
Registration will get under way in early spring. We will put out a notice when registration is open.
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To grow Iowa’s teacher and paraeducator talent pipeline and support expansion of Registered Apprenticeship in high schools, the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Workforce Development are seeking applications for teacher and paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship grants.
Up to $9 million in federal relief funding through the American Rescue Plan of 2021, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds has been allocated to fund competitive grants for public school districts partnering with an eligible community college or four-year college or university under the following Registered Apprenticeship models:
High-School-to-Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship:
A Registered Apprenticeship model designed to help high school students begin a career as a paraeducator while earning credit toward an associate degree. This includes currently employed paraeducators who are not high school students.
Paraeducator-to-Teacher Registered Apprenticeship:
A Registered Apprenticeship model designed to help paraeducators continue to work while earning credit toward a bachelor’s degree and teaching license.
Application deadline is March 31; more information is available about the funding and application process.
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To provide high school students with the opportunity to explore health-care careers while getting paid and to address the health-care workforce shortage, Iowa Workforce Development is seeking applications for Iowa Health Careers Registered Apprenticeship Grants.
Federal funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act has been reserved to award a minimum of five competitive grants to support the establishment of a new, or expansion of an existing, high school-based Registered Apprenticeship program modeled on the Patient Care Registered Apprenticeship Program launched last year at the Career Academy of Pella. The program takes advantage of virtual reality and real-world work experience with a local nursing facility and hospital.
Funding priorities include partnerships comprised of, at a minimum, a school district or accredited nonpublic school, a hospital and nursing facility, and a Related Training Instruction provider such as a community college or other qualified training provider, in a community or region collaborating to establish, expand or enhance a Registered Apprenticeship program that prepares Iowa high school apprentices for careers in health care will be considered.
The application deadline is March 1. More information can be found on the website.
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Guidance concerning the eligible use of Perkins funds for the purchase of career information system (CIS) platforms has been released by the Department.
The guidance states that a school district/community college cannot use federal Perkins funds for a CIS if it is state mandated, if the purchase is used by non-CTE students or if they have already been paying for it with other funds such as local, state or other federal funds.
Questions may be addressed to Amy Vybiral amy.vybiral@iowa.gov (Perkins), Jane Bradley jane.bradley@iowa.gov (Regional Planning Partnerships) or Dennis Harden dennis.harden@iowa.gov.
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To encourage families to take advantage of a healthy school breakfast, Iowa schools will celebrate National School Breakfast Week during March 7-11.
Iowa schools offer nutritious school breakfasts to ensure students are fueled for learning every school day. This year, USDA has issued a nationwide waiver allowing all children to receive school breakfast and lunch for free, so it is an ideal opportunity for families to give school breakfast a try.
The School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) theme for this week is “Take Off with School Breakfast” which aims to remind the entire school community how breakfast provides a healthy and energizing start to the day for students. Studies show that students who eat breakfast are more likely to:
- Reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math
- Score higher on standardized tests
- Have better concentration and memory
- Be more alert
- Maintain a healthy weight
SNA has promotional resources and ideas for schools to celebrate at National School Breakfast Week.
For more information, contact Christine.crow@iowa.gov or Jean.Easley@Iowa.gov
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Just a reminder that with the changes in Early Literacy Alternate Assessment Monitoring requirements that started Fall of 2019, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team now determines the scale or scales that are monitored as well as the frequency of monitoring if greater than once a month. The scales identified to be monitored must be indicated in the Early Literacy Alternate Assessment (EL AA) online system. As of December 28, 2021, there were 1,066 students out of 1,764 who had no scales indicated in the EL AA online system.
Requirements include screening on all required scales, monitoring on a minimum of one scale at least once per month.
District Alternate Assessment Contacts have access to the Early Literacy Alternate Assessment online system to monitor at the district level.
For more information, contact Jennifer Denne at jennifer.denne@iowa.gov or 515-326-5332.
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The 2022 Conditions for Learning Student Survey will take place from April 1-29. Surveys for staff, parents and families of students will be available during the same period. More information will be shared with district and building administrators about how to administer the survey.
Future Conditions for Learning Survey dates are as follows:
- April 3-28, 2023
- April 1-30, 2024
- April 1-30, 2025
Questions about the survey may be sent to cfl@iowa.gov.
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Sara Russell of Pleasant Valley was recently honored as the 2022 Iowa Teacher of the Year at the Outstanding Iowa Educator’s luncheon in Des Moines. Would you like to join us at the awards luncheon next year as we honor a teacher from your district or community?
The Iowa Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador to education by traveling the state and the nation promoting educators, educational practices and serving as a liaison to our schools, professional organizations and institutions of higher education.
The nomination process for the 2023 Teacher of the Year is now open and will close on March 1. Nominations are accepted from students, parents, school administrators, colleagues, college faculty members, community members and associations. Self-nominations and nomination from family members are not accepted. The nomination form can be found at Iowa Teacher of the Year 2023.
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Need a Spanish teacher for the 2022-23 school year? Check out the Iowa Exchange Visiting Teachers from Spain Program.
The program enables Spanish teachers to have the opportunity to teach in an accredited school in the United States under a visa for up to three years. The program provides local school districts and accredited nonpublic schools with the opportunity to fill vacant Spanish and dual language teaching positions.
A dual purpose of the exchange program is to promote cultural and educational exchange between citizens of the United States and those of other countries. The program provides foreign nationals with opportunities to participate in exchange programs in the U.S. and then return to home countries to share their experiences.
Local institutions are responsible for ensuring that exchange visitors and their host schools abide by the strict program rules and requirements established by the U.S. Department of State and Homeland Security. Teachers are hired in accordance with all other local policies in terms of salary scale, licensure, and local system requirements.
The Iowa Department of Education will be taking applications for the 2022-23 school year until March 25. Go to the Visiting Teachers from Spain webpage to find information about the program and the application.
For more information, contact Isbelia Arzola at isbelia.arzola@iowa.gov or 515-326-5962.
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The Department has released updated computer science instruction requirements, effective January 24, 2022. House File (HF) 2629 amends existing law, creating several new requirements for kindergarten to 12th grade computer science instruction.
The purpose of this guidance is to summarize what is required, optional and permitted for school districts and accredited nonpublic schools related to computer science instruction. This guidance includes updated technical definitions, requirements for districts and accredited nonpublic schools, required instruction and frequently asked questions.
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The Iowa Department of Education has released an update to the Iowa Work-Based Learning Guide.
The updated Iowa Work-Based Learning Guide outlines each work-based learning experience with a definition, components of a quality experience and provides a link for individuals to find additional supportive resources.
The updated version includes clarified definitions and descriptions of the work-based learning continuum and essential elements of work-based learning as well as new sections about integration strategies and individual career and academic plans.
For more information, contact Kristy Volesky at kristy.volesky@iowa.gov or 515-971-0669.
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The March 2022 session of the Iowa College & Career Readiness Academy includes a new course:
602: SUPPORTING COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS FOR SYSTEMS-INVOLVED STUDENTS
The class provides professional development for individuals who work on issues at the intersection of systems-involved youth and education.
This session runs from March 14 to May 8. Other courses beginning in March include:
101: FOUNDATIONS OF COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS IN IOWA
201: CREATING IOWA’S COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS CULTURE
401: PLANNING AND THE DISTRICT’S ROLE IN CREATING A STUDENT-CENTERED CAREER AND ACADEMIC PLAN
501: INTRODUCTION TO PLANNING, ACCESSING AND FINANCING POSTSECONDARY OPPORTUNITIES
701: COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS FOR K-5 SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS
See the Academy webpage for course descriptions and additional information. Classes may be taken for licensure renewal or grad credit, or for no credit (free). Contact Megan Sibbel with any questions.
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Iowa Department of Education
400 E 14th Street
Grimes State Office Building
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Ph: 515-281-5294
www.educateiowa.gov
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Antidiscrimination Statement
It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, political party affiliation, or actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code sections 216.9 and 256.10(2), Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C.§§ 1681 – 1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy by the Iowa Department of Education, please contact the legal counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, telephone number: 515-281-5295, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544, telephone number: 312-730- 1560, FAX number: 312-730-1576, TDD number: 877-521-2172, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.
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