

Educator Connection
Jan. 18, 2022

Feb. 16, 2022
Seeking presenters for FOCUS Conference
FOCUS 2022, the Prairie Lakes AEA Summer Learning Conference, will take place Wednesday, June 22 and Thursday, June 23 on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. We have two amazing keynote speakers (Joe Beckman and Curt Slater) lined up and are looking forward to hosting up to 24 breakout sessions. This is where YOU could help your fellow educators!
We’re seeking presenters for those breakout sessions. Each breakout session will be 45 minutes. We encourage presenters to consider preparing 30-35 minutes of content with the remaining 10-15 minutes to be used for interaction and discussion.
Learn more and submit a session proposal at this link.
Physics Competition - March 24
Prairie Lakes AEA and Iowa Central Community College are excited to host a regional physics competition for 2022! Here are the key details:
What: PLAEA Regional Physics Competition (A practice event for the State of Iowa Physics Competition to be held April 12th at the University of Northern Iowa. Teams no longer need to qualify at a regional event to participate at the state competition. The PLAEA Regional Physics Competition is intended to provide students the opportunity to test their event entries in a controlled environment outside of their home district.)
When: Thursday, March 24. Teams arrive beginning at 8am with competition commencing at 8:30am.
Where: Iowa Central Community College East Campus, Building #3, 2031 Quail Avenue, Fort Dodge
Information: We will use the state competition rules updated for the April 12, 2022 event. The rules can be found here.
Please visit the Iowa Physics Competition website (https://chas.uni.edu/physics/outreach/physics-competition) for more information on the state event. One item of note, the PLAEA Physics Measurement Problem will differ from the state competition problem.
If you have students interested in participating in the regional competition, please complete this Google form by March 17, 2022
If you have any questions, please contact Hope Brown. We are excited to again be able to host this event and look forward to seeing you Thursday, March 24!
PLAEA Creative Services is ready to help create your yearbooks
Yearbooks are a great way to help preserve school memories. Let Prairie Lakes AEA Creative Services help you create and print your yearbook project. Click here for more details.
Remember us for your teacher & student planners
Check out the designs for teacher planners and student planners! Contact Jenifer Krischel in our Creative Services for assistance.
SEBH News & Trainings
Click here to check out the March SEBH newsletter featuring information and resources on one of CASEL’s 5 Social Emotional Learning Competencies: Social-Awareness.
Winners named in News-O-Matic Winter Reading Contest
Thanks to all of those who participated in our News-O-Matic Winter Reading Contest! The three PLAEA schools who have won a Barnes & Noble gift card for their school library are:
- First Place ($250 gift card): Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Elementary with 51 articles read per student
- Second Place ($150 gift card): Clay-Central-Everly Elementary with 25 articles read per student
- Third Place ($100 gift card): Sioux Central Middle School with 14 articles read per student
Congratulations to these schools!
Early Childhood/Preschool Toolbox
mySAEBRS clarification on parental consent
During the Iowa BEST Conference, there was a message shared during one of the sessions regarding the need for parent consent when administering SEBH screening. The Iowa Department of Education has clarified this question - specifically around the use of mySAEBRS.
If mySAEBRS is voluntary for students to complete: parent/guardian notification and passive consent are needed. In schools, when screeners or surveys administered by school staff AND voluntary for the student to complete, the consent may be passive consent--meaning it requires parental/guardian notification and the opportunity to opt out of the activity.
If mySAEBRS is required for students to complete: active (prior, written permission) parent/guardian consent is required. SAEBRS addresses number 2 of the PPRA topic areas, "mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family", which meets one of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) topic areas.
Districts are also strongly encouraged to consult their local district legal counsel to ensure alignment with local policy. Here is the guidance we issued in 2020 re: Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA):
Sample federal notification: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/resources/ppra-model-notice-consent-opt-out-specific-activities
Related, but a bit different:
Senate File 2360 passed in 2021, allows LEAs and AEAs to contract with licensed mental health professionals to administer behavioral health screeners to students with ACTIVE (prior, written consent) parent/guardian consent. This legislation applies only to contracted mental health professionals and does not change what screenings schools have in place & administered by school staff.. Here is the link to the guidance: Guidance for School Behavioral Health Screening and Telehealth Services.
Contact Tabitha DeMey with questions.
Let's go bowling!
Looking for a fun activity to get your students through these winter days? Check out the Bowling Kit (012451) from the PLAEA Lending Library! The equipment allows you to offer a true bowling experience with an atmosphere similar to a bowling center inside the gym. There are six sets, so with up to six students per lane, that's fun for the entire class! To reserve: https://media.ia-hsdn.net/index.php/snap/login/sso_search/search/query/id:local_087965
Belin-Blank Center hosts AP Summer Institutes
The Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa is hosting two weeks of Advanced Placement Summer Institutes (APSI). The AP Summer Institutes are appropriate for middle and high school teachers, gifted coordinators, and administrators. The Belin-Blank Center also offers a limited number of $500 grants for Iowa teachers. For more information, visit https://belinblank.education.uiowa.edu/educators/apsi/.
Prairie Lakes AEA serves almost 32,000 students and families in a 14-county area. Over 3,000 educators in 38 public school districts and 11 accredited, nonpublic schools, rely on Prairie Lakes AEA for services in special education, school technology, media and instructional/curriculum support. The agency serves children from birth through age 21.