2019 AEA Boards' Conference
March 28-29, 2019 at Hilton Garden Inn, Johnston
Thursday Agenda
Conference registration will begin at 11 a.m.
11:30 a.m. - Buffet Lunch
Noon - Welcome
Facilitator: Jim Green
12:10-12:30 p.m. - Introduction of the New Executive Director
David Ludwig will begin his tenure as the Executive Director of Iowa’s AEAs on July 1, 2019. He brings over 30 years of experience as a school administrator to the position, including five years as the State Executive Director for the Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council (ESUCC) of Nebraska.
12:30-1:15 p.m. - Digital Learning in Iowa -- See the Possibilities!
Presenters: Evan Abbey, Jason Plourde, Cari Teske, David Van Horn
Prepare to be immersed in all things digital learning when members of the AEA Media Directors present the power and purpose behind Iowa's Digital Learning Plan. The Plan, a collaborative effort between the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa’s AEAs and school districts, provides a vision for what digital learning could look like in schools around our state. Board members will rotate between three stations that demonstrate real-world digital learning examples and showcase the support AEA staff members provide to schools around those examples.
Host: Courtney Croatt
1:30-2:15 p.m. - Monitoring for Success
Presenters: Annette Hyde, David Van Horn and Barbara Guy
The Special Education Directors’ session will describe the ways that AEAs and the Iowa Department of Education are shifting their monitoring approaches. Included will be a description of the move from procedural compliance to a greater emphasis on student outcomes through a unified system of differentiated accountability.
Host: Devin Laughlin
2:30-3:15 p.m. - Placing Future-Ready Students at the Center
Presenters: David Ford and Andrea Stewart
Iowa’s AEAs are collaborating to lead and support statewide efforts in the areas of college- and career-readiness and personalized, competency-based education through its support of AEA PREP and The Center. This session will explain what The Center and AEA PREP are, how they serve PK-20 education and how AEA boards of directors can leverage these efforts to create local impact.
Host: Whitney Smith-Bringolf
3:15 p.m. - Break
3:30-4:30 p.m. - Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Facilitator: Tesha Ruley
Test your knowledge of all things 5th grade when you take the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP)! These new assessments, developed by Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa for the state of Iowa, are aligned with the Iowa Core standards and provide a clear and accurate assessment of student learning outcomes. The ISASP will be administered in the spring of 2019 and marks the first time statewide assessments can be offered on paper or online.
Host: Julie Tschirgi
4:30-6 p.m. - Check-in & Social Hour
4:45-5:30 p.m. - IAAEA Board Meeting
6:00 p.m. - Dinner
6:30 p.m. - Awards Presentation
Friday Agenda
7:30-8:15 a.m. - Breakfast Buffet
8:15-9:15 a.m - Legislative Update
Presenters: Matt Eide, Kate Walton, and Tom Lane
Host: Liz Determan
9:15-9:30 a.m. Break
9:30-10:15 a.m. -Providing Mental Health & Well-being Supports to our Schools and Students
Presenters: Jeff Herzberg and Jennifer Ulie-Wells
Improving the system of children's mental health and well-being is a focus for educators, policymakers, providers, and stakeholders from across Iowa. This session will provide insights into the work of Iowa's AEAs in this system, while also exploring basic mental health characteristics, information, suicide prevention warning signs and some classroom/school strategies.
Host: Beth Strike
10:15-10:30 a.m. - Break
10:30-11:15 a.m. - Future Ready Iowa
Presenters: Beth Townsend, Director, Iowa Workforce Development and Evan Abbey, Director, AEA Learning Online
11:20-11:50 a.m - Working Together as an AEA System
Presenters: Sam Miller and Cindy Yelick
This session will focus on two key pieces of AEA system work: the results from the Hanover study and AEA Strategic Plan. Board members will engage in conversation about the impact of this work.
Host: Connie Johnson
Noon - Buffet Lunch
12:30 p.m. - The Power of AEA Purchasing
AEA Purchasing offers all schools the ability to save time and money. Learn more about the many facets of this initiative of Iowa's Area Education Agencies.
Host: Jennifer Woodley
1 p.m. - Conference closes
Room Reservations
Please call the hotel directly for reservations - 515-270-8890 and be sure to mention these are part of the State AEA Boards' Conference reservation block. Rate is $108 per room.
Reservations must be made no later than March 6. After that date, rooms will be released for general sale.
Check-in time is 3 p.m. and check-out time is noon.