Heartland AEA & Ankeny Staff Members Partner on Literacy Project

Front row (left to right) Pam Dodge and Susie Meade. Back row (left to right) Nikki Roorda and Ann Wilson, Heartland AEA Board President.

Two Heartland staff members and three teachers from Ankeny’s Parkview Middle School have teamed up to participate in the Literacy, Language and Communication for Children with Significant Disabilities Project sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education and the University of Northern Iowa.

Nikki Roorda (Partnership Director/JO), Susie Meade, Ankeny Schools’ Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, and Pam Dodge, Ankeny Schools’ Executive Director of Special Programs, were recognized at the September Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting for the partnership between Heartland and the district around this project.

They attended the meeting on behalf of Deb Rohweder (Speech-Language Pathologist/JO) and Amy Garrett (Assistive Technology Specialist/Physical Disabilities Consultant/JO), and Ankeny teachers Michaela Grundmeyer, Scott Holt and Sarah Ostrem, who are participating in the literacy project. 

The project is focused on helping significantly disabled students gain better access to literacy instruction, specifically through the use of assistive technology. The Heartland/Ankeny team participated in a week-long training session in August and will continue to attend sessions throughout the school year. Meade also reports that Ankeny’s special education professional learning community meets on a weekly basis to apply the theories being learned through the project.

The literacy project is part of a 5-year state project designed to promote the development of communication and literacy in students with significant developmental disabilities as well as form strong relationships among the Iowa Department of Education, Area Education Agencies, Local Education Agencies, Institutes of Higher Education and Iowa families.

“This project is one of several that the DE (Department of Education) is partnering with higher education institutions to increase students with intensive needs work within the Iowa Core,” Roorda said. “I think that we are all appreciative of the dedication these staff members have displayed towards their work with children and improving the educational outcomes for all students.”

“Any time we can maximize the resources available from the DE, Heartland AEA and school districts with a laser-like focus on improved student learning, our students benefit,” Meade said. “We are extremely pleased with this collaborative project and look forward to students with significant disabilities having greater access to our core literacy instruction.” 

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Heartland AEA is an intermediate education agency serving 11 counties and 136,000 students in Central Iowa. The Agency is committed every day to helping people grow, develop and learn.