Required Action: Read 2009-2010 Staff Handbook & Sign Read Receipt

This message was sent in an e-mail to all staff earlier today and is reiterated here.

The 2009-2010 staff handbook has been completed and is now available for all staff to read and become familiar with. The handbook also contains a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Notice for staff to read. After you read through the handbook and HIPAA notice, you are required to complete a Web-based read receipt form that confirms you've read both of these documents.

When you click on the link to the Web form, you will need to enter the username and password that you use to log-in to your Employee Dashboard. You will then be prompted to complete the read receipt. If you don't fill out the form in a timely manner, you will receive a friendly e-mail reminder to do so.

Note that the handbook is in pdf form and contains bookmarks that allow you to clock on the title of the entry you'd like to read. By clicking on an entry title, you'll be taken directly to that entry. When the pdf is opened in Adobe Reader, you should be able to access the bookmarks.

Click here to download the staff handbook, which can also be found under the Human Resources tab on the Intranet.

Click here for the read receipt form for the handbook and the HIPAA notice.

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Jones at cjones@aea11.k12.ia.us or Chris Pierson at cpierson@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Required Action: Staff Reminders from the Business Office

• Do not share your IFAS password with anyone, including your support staff, partnership director, co-workers or "need-to-know" person. If you believe your IFAS password has been compromised, please contact Rod Howell at ext. 14599 for a new password.

• For goods or services reimbursed through the on-line expense system (supplies, services, cell phones, hotel costs, etc.), you must retain your original receipts for 18 months. We periodically audit a random group of receipts, and staff members will be asked to pay back the Agency if they are unable to provide the original receipt when requested.

Chief Administrator Search Begins

The Heartland AEA Board of Directors initiated the search process for a new Chief Administrator at its July board meeting. The search process will be completed over the next six months and will generally progress as outlined below. Please know that the timelines are general at this point and may be adjusted.

• July Board Meeting -- Initiate the search process and review prior processes that were used for a Chief Administrator search

• August Board Meeting -- Identify tasks for an external search or recruitment firm to complete, identify possible search firms to partner with and request proposals from various search firms; identify tasks that the Board will be responsible for during the search

• August -- Begin conducting meetings for staff input (Dave Tilly & Laura Gillon)

• September -- Initiate the Request for Proposal (RFP) for search firm

• October -- Conduct search firm interviews

• October Board Meeting -- Receive an update from staff input

• November -- Receive a report from internal and external stakeholders on desirable characteristics of a new Chief Administrator

• December -- Approve interview committees and receive a list of potential candidates from search firm

• January -- Identify which candidates to interview

• Late January/early February -- Interview candidates, conduct site visits, make selection and offer contract

Input from Heartland staff members will be invaluable as we move through the process of hiring a new Chief Administrator. We will solicit your ideas and feedback and all input will be given consideration during the hiring process. There will be a number of opportunities for staff to offer their input during the next six months beginning in August and early September when Dave Tilly and Laura Gillon will be meeting with staff groups to identify desirable characteristics of a new Chief Administrator. If you have any questions about the search process, please contact Dave Tilly at dtilly@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Heartland Still Providing Vision Services for Area Students

Please note that Heartland is still providing services to students who are blind or have visual impairments. Heartland is partnering with the Iowa State System for Vision Services through the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School to work with Teachers of the Visually Impaired to provide services to students. Although these teachers are not employed by Heartland, they will still be considered part of the Agency's team.

Teachers Dianne Ferrell and Karrie Schloemer join former Heartland staff members Judye Cooper, Pat Nagel-Wilson, Lorna Sellberg, Chris Short and Shelley Smith to assist students will visual challenges. The teachers will work out of Heartland offices and have Heartland e-mail accounts and phone extensions. You can find them in PeopleBox as well. If you have any questions about this transition, contact Kristi Upah at kupah@aea11.k12.ia.us or at ext. 14539.

August Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The August 2009 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting was held on August 11, 2009.

Board member Margaret Borgen presented a list of six legislative priorities for approval by board members. The final list of 2010 legislative priorities includes the following:
1. Sustain funding for school improvement.
2. Set an allowable growth rate that encourages continuous school improvement and reflects actual cost increases experienced by school districts and AEAs.
3. Create policy and a separate funding mechanism for the operation and maintenance of AEA facilities.
4. Increase funding for accredited early childhood programs, particularly four-year old preschool and wrap-around programs.
5. Establish special education funding that accurately reflects costs.
6. Retain local district/AEA control of cash reserves and fund balances.

Grace Bargstadt, Director of Special Education, shared special education updates with the Board including recent changes to Child Find, a program designed to locate, identify and refer children with disabilities and in need of services. Topics included the following:

• Advisory councils for parents are in the process of being developed. It is anticipated that by spring 2010, parent advisory councils will be established in a regional configuration. The councils will be made up of parents and AEA and LEA district stakeholders.
• A complaint has been filed with the Department of Education (DE) from parents within Heartland's area. Those filing the complaint wanted to know how partnership directors and staff were being utilized and how they were organized within the Agency. The DE will submit its outcome of the investigation to Heartland by August 21, 2010.
• Ms. Bargstadt met last week with administrators from the West Des Moines Community School District. Time was spent discussing how the Agency could support their district. Administrators from West Des Moines expressed their gratitude for the Agency's partnership model and the staff from the AEA who serve their students and teachers.
• Forty staff members have been designated as Autism Resource Team members this fall. These employees were selected based on their professional course work, interviews, skill level and competence. The resource team is modeled after the University of Iowa's Regional Autism Services Program. Team members are regionally located and will have additional professional development throughout the year in order to keep their skills strong and cutting-edge.

AEA staff members are being trained on new Child Find requirements. Child Find has been part of Special Education processes since the inception of the law. During the course of the last two years, the AEA Directors of Special Education have been working to create a statewide system for consistent implementation of Child Find processes throughout the state. While AEA staff will continue to attend to Child Find requirements, it is recognized that general education interventions will be primarily the responsibility of general education staff and Heartland AEA staff members will spend the majority of their time and expertise in evaluation activities, making data-based decisions about which students meet the eligibility requirements, as well as supporting students who are served with Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

The Board was presented with three memos providing updates on staff reassignments, transfers, evaluations and agency investigators.

• For 2009-2010, there were 13 voluntary reassignments, 18 voluntary transfers, 60 involuntary reassignments and 22 involuntary transfers.

• Currently 92 percent of all staff evaluations have been completed. This represents all groups including certified, classified and management staff.

Board members discussed the process that will be used to select a search firm for the hiring of a new Chief Administrator. To help assist and streamline the process, members agreed on a set of services the firm would perform. These criteria will be used in the Request For Proposal (RFP) process.

The search firm will:
- Advertise and recruit nationally and within its networks
- Receive and compile all applications
- Prepare and disseminate materials to applicants
- Screen applications based on criteria that is established by the Board. This is to include all application materials, phone interviews, background checks and site contacts.
- Return a list of 5-7 viable candidates.

The Board of Directors will:
- Set-up screening criteria.
- Set-up a process for interviews (including staff and stakeholder input).
- Set-up site visit schedules.
- Select and schedule candidates to be interviewed.
- Pay for all travel associated with the search.
- Oversee and attend all interviews.
- Make a final decision and offer the final contract.

Business Card Ordering Update

Click here to download the most current business card order form. The form is also available on the Intranet under Communication Assets, which is under the Critical Communication tab. If you have previous forms saved on your computer, please delete them, or if you have hard copies in your office, please recycle them. All forms must be submitted with an account number to charge. If you do not know your account number, please ask your secretary or clerk. All order forms should be e-mailed to Claire Spellman, Communications Administrative Assistant, at cspellma@aea11.k12.ia.us or mailed to her at the Johnston Administration Center.

2009-2010 Regional Map

Click here to download Heartland's 2009-2010 regional map, which lists Partnership Directors and Special Education Program Assistants for the Agency's 15 regions.

Crafting the Art of Differentiation Workshop Offered in January

Rick Wormeli is a National Board Certified teacher, a columnist for Middle Ground magazine and an internationally-known speaker. For more than 20 years, he has taught science, math, English and history and was the 1996 winner of Disney's American Teacher Award for English. In January 2008, Rick shared with Heartland through a workshop that "fair isn't always equal." We anticipate Rick's motivational presentation and the vast knowledge and skills that he will share on differentiation. For questions about this workshop, contact Cheryl Risen at crisen@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14587.

Date: January 7, 2010
Time: 8:30 a.m. -4:00 p.m.
Location: Airport Holiday Inn
Cost: $60 (lunch will be provided)
Activity #: AS004899991001

Transition Training for Teachers & AEA Staff Members

This professional development training will provide an opportunity to understand and apply the six critical elements around quality transition IEPs. The training is appropriate for middle and high school special education teachers, and it would also be beneficial for AEA staff members who serve in secondary assignments. Click here to download the informational flyer with dates and registration information.

Technology Update

Follow Up on Changes to Agency File Server
The previous Heartland file server ("heartlandserver") was retired on July 1, 2009. The new file server ("aeaserver") has taken its place. Personal folders for all staff have already been set up on the new server and agency staff should have already transferred their files to the new server. If you have not transferred your files, Jim Lagnese, Network Support Assistant (jlagnese@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14462), will transfer files from the old server to the new server for you.

If you have not logged into the new file server ("aeaserver") yet, you should do so as soon as possible as you still need to reset your passowrd. To access the new server, go to the "Go" menu from the Finder on your computer and select "Connect to Server..." Under Server Address, type afp://aeaserver.aea11.k12.ia.us then click on the "+" sign to add the server to the list. Select the server and click on "Connect." After initiated the connection, the login window should open. Click on the tab in the lower left of the window and select change password. Use "aea11" as the old password and whatever you would like for the new password. Click on "Change Password." and you should be logged in. Select your home folder, which is named with your short user name. If you have any issues accessing the server, please contact Jim Lagnese.

After you have your home folder mounted, all your files will be in the Documents folder. You can purge whichever files you wish, but all files you wish to keep private must be saved in the Documents folder in your home folder on the sever. Any files you wish to share should go in the Public folder. Your Public folder will have a Drop Box for receiving files from others. Please do not save personal files of any type on the file server, especially video, music libraries and photo collections.

"Work Group" volumes have also been transitioned to the new server with folders and permissions reflecting the Agency's organizational structure. Each work group will be able to created nested folders, and they can request specific access permissions for staff (Read Only or Read/Write). The structure and number of folders that can be nested within will be entirely up to each work group. Jim Lagnese can set up whatever permissions might be needed for folders that are created by work groups.

The hard drive of the old "heartlandserver" will be archived for at lease one year to enable retrieval of files that weren't moved but are needed for reasons that weren't anticipated. The only way to access these files will be by contacting Jim Lagnese.