A joint board meeting was held between the Heartland Board of Directors and the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Board of Directors from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
AEA Update
Board members received informational packets on the services and resources provided by Heartland. Dr. Maxine Kilcrease then reviewed five best practices that are currently being used by the Agency that are getting results in impacting student achievement. Some of these best practices include such things as the alignment between the Iowa Core Curriculum and Career Pathways that helps students develop skills for the workplace and the Heartland Educational Assessment Resource Toolbox (HEART) that stores and tracks district data. These types of practices are just a few pieces of evidence of the Agency’s commitment to teachers and the students they serve. Dr. Kilcrease also reviewed the Agency’s dedication to cultural competency and spoke about facility updates that were made to be more cost and energy efficient.
DMACC Update
Dr. Rob Denson reviewed the spring enrollment for 2009, which hit a record high of 1,524 more students than last year. This is the largest enrollment DMACC has had in its existence. The recent layoffs that are impacting the state have not hit community colleges yet, although even during good years enrollment has increased. DMACC has many ongoing partnerships. The school is heavily involved in Central Iowa Works, a job training system to develop a state-of-the-art work force program that is now being recognized nationally. By working closely with the Greater Des Moines Partnership, United Way and the Casey Foundation, their goal is to align businesses with clients. DMACC has also started many new programs, including mortuary science, enology, viticulture and the electronic crime institute, which will be the first one-of-its-kind institute built.
Drop-Outs: Role of AEAs and Community Colleges
Dr. David Tilly reviewed dropout data from the last three years from the 54 districts Heartland serves. This information was compiled from the Department of Education and shows the impact of dropouts per school district.
Board President Ms. Ann Wilson called the regular meeting of the Heartland Board of Directors to order at 5:36 p.m.
Board Recognition
Ms. Brenda Gustafson introduced Ms. Sue Schirmer, Heartland Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant, and Ms. Julianne Steven, Iowa Elementary School Counselor of the Year. Both women were recognized for their work in supporting school counselors. Ms. Steven and Ms. Schirmer were instrumental in helping create and implement a counseling program model and providing professional development to school counselors. Also recognized were Ms. Ruth Ann Gaines, East High School teacher, Ms. Stephaney Jones-Vo, Heartland English as a Second Language Consultant, Ms. Sheri Florez, former Indianola teacher and Ms. Sue Schirmer, Heartland Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant, for their work in cultural competency. For the past few years, these women worked together to create a DVD on diversity and the impact it has in Iowa schools. The DVD has been distributed in and out of the state of Iowa and some clips from the DVD will also be shown during the Immigration Forum on February 11.
Discussion Items
Support and Services for Students with Challenging Behaviors
Dr. Cindy Yelick, Mr. Randy Allison and Mr. Matt Cretsinger were present to follow-up on what the Agency is doing to support students with challenging needs. The philosophy of the future is to build the capacity of Heartland and LEAs so there are more staff in the districts to work with students exhibiting these behaviors. The second step will be to build program options for students.
Staff Allocation
Ms. Sheila King gave the Board an update on this year’s staff allocation process. The Agency will continue to use the current formula, however through input from staff and districts, have a better understanding of how the system is working and how improvements can be made. No major overhaul of the formula is expected, although a few areas will be tweaked now that there is better data. The goal will be to have allocations by the end of the month and final assignment decisions made by spring break in March.
Second Year Communication Plan
Ms. Brenda Gustafson presented the final draft of the Communications Department Strategic Plan for 2007-10. This is a comprehensive plan that encompasses the Board, chief administrator and North Star goals. It’s not a step-by-step plan but a cross walk across the Agency. The content of the plan has been a team effort and the work being done is to achieve everything listed.
Insurance Renewal
Dr. Chris Pierson and Mr. Mark Becker from Lind & Associates provided a brief summary of Heartland’s benefit plan. The Agency will experience a 10 percent increase (still being negotiated) in insurance rates. There will also be a slight increase in prescription co-pays and the Insurance Committee is looking at possibly eliminating the zero deductible plan. No changes to dental coverage are expected at this time. Other plan enhancements are also being reviewed and would be offered at no increase in cost. Specifically, that would be specialty prescriptions applying to current co-pay structure and the inclusion of Federal Mental Health and Substance Abuse Requirements.
Public Forum
A grandparent from Ames was present to speak to the Board regarding her grandson who is 14 years old and has autism.
2009-10 Proposed Budget
The proposed budget was carried unanimously.
Insurance Renewal
The approval of the Dental Plan and Wellmark Insurance Renewal actions contingent upon current or improved offers carried unanimously.
The Board of Directors entered into closed session at 7:23 p.m. and returned to public session at 8:18 p.m.
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