Welcome to the new face for Friday News! At its finest, a blog shares information and also provides an opportunity for readers to comment and add their own thoughts on the subject. Dr. Kay will be frequent, featured blogger offering news, thoughts and other perspectives that affect Prairie Lakes AEA.

What can you expect?

  1. A reminder with the URL will be sent out each Friday.
  2. This site can be bookmarked and referenced whenever you wish.
  3. All information is archived on the site. Thanks to the search box and tags that help make searching easier, information can be retrieved without reviewing past issues of Friday News.
  4. A link has been placed in the Agency Tools box in AEA Manager. If the URL is forgotten it can be accessed through that point.
  5. Are you RSS feed savvy? Simply subscribe and your feed reader will alert you when the Friday News is updated.

How to add your comments, ideas, thoughts to the blog

Did you read something on the blog and feel compelled to comment? Like to contribute news from your corner of PLAEA? Want to read comments left by others? Here’s what you can do to make that happen.

  1. Under the headline, there is a line that includes the date the article was published and the word Comments.
  2. Click Comments and a text box will appear. You’ll also need to enter your name and email address in the boxes to the left. This is required!
  3. When your comment is approved, ONLY your name will appear with the comment. It is OK for you to identify yourself with a code name, i.e. Idea Girl or IMRunner.
  4. All comments are read before being published on the site. While the guidelines are being updated, these are the guidelines under which we are currently operating.

Let’s get started with the new format for Friday News!

Agency calendar

The board has approved the 2008-09-staff-calendar

AEA Board of Directors’ Conference

Each spring, the state AEA system welcomes its board members from all of Iowa’s AEAs to a conference specifically for AEA board members. This year’s conference, Learning…Whatever it Takes” began on Thursday with a panel presentation that included our very own chief administrator, Dr. Kay Forsythe. During this session, representatives from three AEAs (,PLAEA, Heartland and Grant Wood) shared how each have redesigned and restructured to effectively meet the changing demands of schools, students and families.

A Friday session, The Board’s Role in Student Achievement” was led by Sandy Spangler and Harry Heiligenthal, Leadership Development Director with the Iowa Association of School Boards. Prairie Lakes AEA board members Steve Peterson, Bruce Bahnson and Dean Saunders, as well as  representatives from AEAs 9 & 13, each shared the work being done on the Lighthouse Project. Here’s the session description:

Do some school boards create higher student achievement than others? The Iowa Association of School Boards conducted a groundbreaking research study to find reliable, quantifiable measure to answer that question. Results from this Lighthouse Project, identified links between what school boards do and the achievement of students in schools. Presenters will share how Iowa AEAs have partnered with IASB and local schools to create conditions that support school improvement.

Prairie Lakes AEA has six school boards participating in this project:

  • Eagle Grove
  • Pocahontas Area
  • Pomeroy-Palmer
  • Ruthven/Ayrshire
  • Spencer
  • Titonka

The PLAEA Board of Directors is also participating in the Lighthouse Project. Thanks to all involved for sharing some of the great work being done in Prairie Lakes AEA!

Early ACCESS

Early ACCESS is the topic of a podcast prepared by the State AEA Communications Committee. This podcast, as well as previous podcasts, can be found on the state AEA website. Details? Contact Connie Johnson.

April birthdays

1 Jennifer Zhai
2 Carla Berkler
3 Denise Gajewsky
7 Jerita Nelson
7 Robin Montgomery
8 Bill Heileman
8 Cheryl Petersen
10 Esther Mullen
11 Holly Hinrichs
12 Dawn Fode
12 Christine Wells
13 Tim Youngdahl
16 Sandy Johnson
16 Paula Smith
17 Mary Berkenpas
17 Sandee E. Bonner
21 Karen Ackerman
22 Becky Kinnander
23 Carrie Kee
24 Sara Trueblood
24 Kathy Petersen
26 Trudy Anderson
26 Jodee Jorgenson
27 Tammy Berger
30 Wendy Hopkins