Credit Accrual Tip Sheet for Students Experiencing Homelessness

NCHE Credit Accrual Tip Sheet This NCHE tip sheet summarizes the key provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act related to credit accrual, provides credit accrual strategies at the State and local levels, and recommends credit accrual training and collaboration practices. 

Legislative Update on Suicide Prevention

Report from The Capitol Group 
ISCA Lobbyist
Legislative Update March 26, 2018

Suicide Prevention Bill Heads to the Governor

• Great thanks to all the ISCA members who contacted lawmakers to encourage them to pass suicide awareness legislation. Your efforts have paid off!
• Senate File 2113, the ISCA-backed bill to increase suicide awareness education for school employees was approved by the Senate on a 49-0 vote following approval and amendment by the House.  It now awaits signature into law by Governor Reynolds.
• The bill requires the Board of Education to require schools to adopt protocols for suicide prevention and postvention and protocols for the identification of adverse childhood experiences to mitigate toxic stress response.
• The bill also requires school boards to require at least one hour annually of evidence-based training for employees who have regular contact with students.

Grant Available: Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling (Iowa ACAC)

“Every session I went to was excellent. We all know that occasionally when attending conferences we wonder if our time would have been better spent staying in our offices. That was definitely not the case at a national conference! It was worth every minute I spent there. We are currently implementing many of the ideas I learned about at the (NACAC) national conference.”

(Shalon Frye, Independence High School Counselor)

The Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling (Iowa ACAC) has once again received funding from our parent organization, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), to help provide funding for public high school counselors to attend our state or national conference.

If selected, you will have the opportunity to attend either the MIDWest Spring Conference, May 20-22, 2018, in Dubuque, IA, or the NACAC National Conference, September 27-29, 2018, in Salt Lake City!

DON'T WAIT - Apply now online and get the process started.

***Deadline is April 2, 2018. Recipients will be notified by mid-April. 

Questions? Please info@iowaacac.org!

Update from the Regents regarding Science Entrance Requirements

Iowa State University has approved a change to the science portion of their minimum high school course requirements. This change will go into effect for freshmen entering Iowa State beginning in 2020.

Below is the change:
Past Language: Three years, including one year each from any two of the following: biology, chemistry,
and physics.

New Language: Three years, including at least two years of laboratory science courses which emphasize elements of biology, chemistry, or physics.

Anti-Bullying Investigations checklist for Iowa schools

The Iowa Department of Education has developed a document designed to assist schools in meeting their obligation to respond to bullying allegations in a prompt, thorough, and effective manner. Districts and nonpublic schools can access the document to determine how their processes and procedures align with expectations.

Bullying Checklist - District

Accompanying Online training: Bullying and Harassment Training for Schools

Course available at https://training.aealearningonline.org

Description: This module was created by the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Safe Schools
Academy to provide guidance on investigating bullying and harassment incidents in schools. This
training was developed under grant number 1H79SM061872-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.

Future Ready Iowa- Connecting Standards to Students' Future Success

Connecting Standards to Students' Future Success

Join us for this opportunity to discover your role in advancing Future Ready Iowa. This one-day event is to set the stage for future work aimed at connecting careers and civic life to instruction of the Iowa Academic Standards. It is designed for curriculum leaders including members of statewide leadership teams, administrators, curriculum directors, teacher leaders, and teachers. Future Ready Learning is on June 13 at the FFA Center on the DMACC Ankeny Campus from 9:00-3:30. To register, click here. 

The workplace your students will enter will be very different from today’s workplace. National keynote Joe Fuller from Harvard Business School will discuss current labor statistics and coming trends. In addition, Gary Beach from the Wall St. Journal will moderate a panel of business and community leaders about future skills and market needs. At the Iowa Business Council Educator Career Fair, find out what career options might be and what Iowa’s top employers will be looking for when they hire. Collaborate in teams to connect academic standards to opportunities for students in business and community life. Hear from national experts and work with fellow educators to find out how to best position your students for success.

For more information, contact Erika Cook at erika.cook@iowa.gov or (515) 240-3103 or Rita Martens at rita.martens@iowa.gov or (515) 281-3145. 

Keystone AEA's new website: Resources to support mental health

Subscribe to @KeystoneAEA Mental Health Team's website for resources to support students. The site contains videos, tips, outreach contacts and more on the topics of anxiety, trauma, suicide, and executive functioning. http://aea1techintegratio.wixsite.com/mentalhealth
#iaedchat

Summary Individual Career and Academic Plan

This is a Summary of the Individual Career and Academic Plan that went into effect on July 1, 2016 under Chapter 49. This is not new information, but rather a reminder to review your ICAP district team and plan (plan template).

Here is the ruling:

281—49.1(279) Purpose. For the school year beginning July 1, 2016, and each succeeding school year, the board of directors of each school district shall ensure each student in grade eight develops and, in each succeeding year until graduation, reviews and revises an individualized career and academic plan. The code is further defined here.

Overview and Initial Guidance on ICAP: This overview does a nice job of outlining the Individual Career and Academic Planning (ICAP).

Selecting a career information system:
The state designated career information system is KUDER Navigator per Ryan Wise’s memo. Districts may choose to select and use a different career information system from the state-approved list.

Establishing a team and a plan:

All districts should have established an ICAP district team and completed the District Plan for 2017-2018 (template here).​ District plan long form and short form options. The District Plan is a living/dynamic document.  The district can make changes to the plan throughout the year as needed.

Reporting on ICAP:

Each school district will report annually on or before September 15.  The reporting occurs within the CASA and CSIP  assurances and data reporting.

FAFSA Dashboard Now Available To All Iowa High Schools

College and Career Readiness Update-- 

In the coming month, all school contacts designated by their building administration will be receiving data regarding FAFSA completion status of all high school seniors in your building. It is part of the Iowa College Aid FAFSA Completion Initiative. Keep an eye on your inbox for an email from me. It will contain all the info you need to follow-up with students in their FAFSA filing. 

Parent Learning Opportunity at Keystone Trauma Sensitive School Conference

Keystone is offering a parent component on Friday, April 13, 2018, at the Best Western in Dubuque, Iowa, as part of the Keystone Trauma Sensitive Schools Conference. Feel free to share this informational flyer with your parents.