Resources
The Communications Toolkit for designated schools contains the following information:
Common Questions
Talking Points
Parent letter templates for Targeted, No Designation and an example for any school who was designated, but no longer designated.
This document contains the most current list of definitions and acronyms. It is the “source of truth” and should be used to obtain definitions or acronyms used in any Iowa Department of Education document, including the Every Student Succeeds Act and Iowa e-Learning Central (ILC). It is anticipated that this list will be expanded and be refined with input from the field. If there are missing definitions or items that need to be revised, please utilize the provided Google Form.
The Iowa Department of Education has included Conditions for Learning as part of the plan under the new federal education law, Every Student Succeeds Act. All Iowa public school districts will use the Conditions for Learning Survey (Survey) to improve safety, student engagement and the overall learning environment so that all Iowa students have optimum conditions for learning. Studies have shown this work matters. Improving skills such as solving problems, working out conflict, and working with other people in a group has led to double-digit increases on achievement test scores, improved classroom behavior and improved attitudes. Therefore, this work to improve safety, student engagement and the overall learning environment will have a lasting impact on the future.
Each year, students in grades 3-12 will be surveyed on their experiences in school in five constructs: Physical Safety, Emotional Safety, Adult-Student Relationships, Student-Student Relationships, and Expectations/Boundaries. Surveys for parents and school staff are also available.
The Department has a Conditions for Learning Resources document that provides an overview of the Conditions for Learning survey results. In addition, there will be a Data Toolkit to guide understanding and applying survey results in an action plan. When the toolkit is ready for statewide use, it will be posted on the ESSA Support Site.
Conditions for Learning Data Tool
The Conditions for Learning Data Tool will populate Panorama Student Success CfL data for easy review. Hover over the image below and click on "Pop Out." Then download the file directly into Excel.
Conditions for Learning Data Tool.xlsxThe Conditions for Learning Guide (CfL Guide) is a tool that helps building leadership teams understand the status of conditions for learning at the school level. This guide supports teams to engage in active discussions to identify strengths and challenges within their current culture and climate. It is designed to be used with the CfL student survey results, and aid the local system to identify current practices, areas of strength and areas for growth and refinement and enable the team to focus and prioritize resources in need of the most attention or support to enhance conditions for learning.