It's Time to Submit Your Nomination for AESA's National Award Program!
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FIVE Reasons You Should Submit a Nomination for One of
AESA's National Awards!
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When you nominate a colleague for an AESA award, you:
- Say Thanks! In this very special way, you can thank a colleague for their exemplary service!
- Inspire: Give someone a career boost and let them know that they are making a real impact for education.
- Connect: A national award says to everyone - we are better together!
- Encourage Courage: Tell the courageous leaders in your ESA that they are supported for their excellence.
- Shine: We know you submit the nomination for the nominee, but really, your ESA shares in the recognition when one of your own receives a national award!
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Submit by midnight June 15, 2019! Thank you!
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What are Affinity Groups?
These are groups of professionals - like you - who share an interest in a common educational topic. AESA facilitates a network of ESA employees through the Affinity Group structure. All Affinity Groups "meet" in the new AESA Community online platform.
More About the New Teaching & Learning Affinity Group
Has your ESA provided an amazing professional development opportunity for teachers that you would love to share with others? Have you wondered what ESAs are offering to ensure schools are aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices? If so, then this AESA Affinity Group is for you!
Participants in this Affinity Group will have access to other professionals that support or have a passion for curriculum and instruction. Members can post questions, offer suggestions, share innovations, explore challenges, and provide resources. Join us in creating an online community that assists in the development of outstanding teaching and learning practices in our local ESAs..
Lead Contact: Heather Fish, Director of School Improvement Services, CESA 5, Portage, WI,
fishh@cesa5.org
How to Get Involved
Sign-in. Look under communities, scroll down to Teaching and Learning, JOIN!
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It's not too late:
Join the Microsoft Webinar on June 12
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AESA and Microsoft have teamed up to provide FREE Webinars for AESA members.
June 12, 2 p.m. EST
Fostering Inclusive Classrooms
This session will discuss what inclusive classrooms and employing accessibility looks like from the standpoint of reading, writing, math and communication. The presenters will share examples from Microsoft Education’s free accessibility suite of tools and including the stories of teachers who have worked with students of all abilities in an inclusive classroom setting.
Meet the Presenters:
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Lauren Pittman is a special education teacher with 12 years of experience working with students with exceptionalities. She is a graduate of Berry College in Rome, GA and holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and certifications in general special education and adaptive special education as well as an ESOL and math endorsement.
As a champion for accessibility and inclusion in today’s classrooms, Lauren travels around the country presenting at schools and conferences on the importance of inclusion and how to leverage technology to meet student needs.
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Mike Tholfsen, Principal Product Manager on the Microsoft Education team, focuses on Inclusive Classroom Learning Tools and OneNote Class/Staff Notebooks. He is passionate about education and has been regularly working with students and teachers around the world over the past ten years to create products that improve student outcomes.
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Next webinar coming in July!
July 23, 2019 @ 2 pm EST
Streamlined Collaboration and Professional Learning Communities
Presenters: Cathy Cavanagh and Justin Chando
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Summer Leadership Conference
July 15-18, 2019
Make An Impact: ESAs Leading the Way for Stronger Communities
Come learn how you can make an impact in your community!
Please take note:
Register for the conference and make your hotel reservations before June 24 and take advantage of the group hotel discount.
Microsoft Webinar Series
June 12, 2019, 2 p.m. Eastern Time
Microsoft Webinar:
Fostering Inclusive Classrooms
Presenters: Mike Tholfsen and Lauren Pittman
This session will discuss what inclusive classrooms and employing accessibility looks like from the standpoint of reading, writing, math and communication. Free and open to all AESA members (including all staff of ESAs.)
July 23, 2019, 2 pm Eastern Time
Microsoft Webinar:
Streamlined Collaboration and Professional Learning Communities
Presenters: Cathy Cavanagh and Justin Chando
This session showcases ways in which schools around the world are using collaborative digital learning environments for professional learning communities (PLCs) and networked improvement communities (NICs) for professional development and school improvement.
Free and open to all AESA members (including all staff of ESAs.)
Educators' Call to Action Conference
September 18-20, 2019, Washington D.C.
This event features federal legislative updates relevant to educational service agencies and the regional schools they serve. It is an important way to become or stay informed! Plus, all attendees are encouraged to visit with their local legislators during their visit.
Annual Conference
December 4-7, 2019, Phoenix, AZ
20/20: The Vision Ahead
This multi-day event features presentations on education topics of national importance; break-out sessions featuring ESAs and experts from around the country; and an exhibit hall.
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AEPA adds new cooperative purchasing agency in Georgia
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The Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA) has approved its newest state member Cooperative Purchasing Agency (CPA) in Georgia. Georgia is now the 28
th
state to join the AEPA group with 181 school districts, 16 Regional ESAs, and 1.6 million students.
In 2017, AEPA set a goal to add five new member states in five years. Illinois was added last year.
According to AEPA Executive Director George Wilson, “The opportunity to provide the State of Georgia with access to AEPA’s contracts will be a win-win for Georgia’s public schools and our awarded vendors. Unlike other national cooperatives, AEPA leverages the buying power and expertise of 28 purchasing cooperatives to ensure its contracts are safe, legal, and compliant."
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About AEPA, a Business Partner of AESA
The Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA) is a nationwide multi-state non-profit organization comprised of ESAs and political subdivisions who work collaboratively on cooperative purchasing contracts that benefit all schools and public agencies, regardless of size. Currently, AEPA is made up of 28 member states representing over 27 million K12 students. By competitively bidding contracts on a national basis, AEPA enables school districts across the U.S. to obtain goods and services at significantly reduced costs. For more information, please contact George Wilson, Executive Director at 270-996-8970 or visit our website at
aepacoop.org.
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Business Partner Spotlight:
Iowa AEA and IntelliBoard
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Iowa’s AEA Learning Online and IntelliBoard
are Stepping in the Right Direction, Together
Iowa’s AEA LO offers an updated, full-featured Moodle Learning Management System to all educators in the state of Iowa. An incredible advancement and opportunity for Iowa schools - the ability to have a supported, attractive LMS for their teachers. One of the first additions to their LMS was augmenting their site with comprehensive reporting from IntelliBoard, the premier reporting and analytics solution for Moodle and other Learning Management Systems.
IntelliBoard provides the clarity for Iowa to view what is happening in their LMS in
real-time.
Iowa AEA LO has identified data predictors for at-risk learners using a wide variety of tools available through IntelliBoard: tracking learner success, time spent in the LMS, and assessment data. The next steps include utilizing site-wide data to make instructional and institutional decisions – ultimately improving the learning experience for all.
Craig Mohr, AEA LO’s Instructional Designer, and Champion of Data, shared “IntelliBoard has really helped in getting a feel for what is happening in classroom online environments. It's like doing classroom walkthroughs.” Iowa educators use IntelliBoard to identify at-risk learners, expose areas needing professional learning, give kudos to high performers (often overlooked), as well as set clear teacher usage expectations.
We at IntelliBoard always enjoy hearing which reports and features folks like to use and why. Craig’s "Top Six” include:
Site Visits by Day/Hour
: shows us when the system is the most popular helping address system needs and maintenance.
Learner Engagement by Activity:
helps us understand where learners need the most support and cater instruction accordingly.
Instructor Site Use:
makes instructor commitment very clear as well as identify professional learning needs.
Time Spent/Grade Correlation
(on the Instructor Dashboard): guides in-classroom discussions about how to improve academic achievement and success.
Learner Engagement by Activity:
points out where participants need the most support and drives instruction accordingly.
Conditional Event Notification Dashboard:
sends learners and teachers messaging regarding at-risk predictors such as learner inactivity, time in course and grade.
We love these too! And so many more (all 130+). “IntelliBoard has been great to work with,” continued Craig. “They have made sure our needs are met and have been more than happy to build custom reports for a district. These custom reports allow a district to compare assessment results across teachers and across grade levels. This gives insight into teacher effectiveness as well as how to improve as a teaching team rather than individuals. These reports lay the foundation for transformational PLC work.”
Let IntelliBoard join your ESA learning adventure. We’ll walk alongside your ESA as you make your way to offering online professional development, support your current eLearning efforts and offer our reports and analytics to your districts. We would love to help. IntelliBoard works with Blackboard, Canvas, D2L and Moodle Learning Management Systems. Contact us today for a personal tour.
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If your organization would like to be featured in Member's Spotlight, please submit your idea or article for consideration to
Dr. Joan Wade
AESA Executive Director!
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