In consideration of staff members’ busy schedules, requests we’ve received from many to allow for more time in schools and the Agency’s desire to control extra expenses, the April 2010 benefit meetings have been cancelled.
However, effective April 5, we will have posted on your Employee Dashboard under the Benefits tab, videos about your benefits that you will be able to review at your convenience.
These videos will be listed under 2010 Benefits Information and will be available to explain the plan design changes made by the Insurance Committee in response to your feedback from the insurance survey, as well as Wellmark’s more in-depth explanation of how the new drug deductible will work for employees. Additional presentations reviewing flex benefits, the Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), long term care and the voluntary vision plan will also be available.
After viewing the recordings, we invite you to e-mail any questions you may have about your benefits to Kathy Martin, benefits specialist, at kmartin@aea11.k12.ia.us. Each week Kathy will add to a Question & Answer list on your Dashboard under 2010 Benefits Information. You will find answers to questions such as “Will I have to pay the deductible for a colonoscopy?” “How do I know whether it’s better for me to select the $500 or $1,500 deductible plan?” and “How do I find an in-network doctor?”
Online enrollment will be available from April 5-25 on your Employee Dashboard. Check for the Benefits Enrollment tab at the top of the screen. We ask that all full-time (over 192-day contract) and part-time (96-contract) staff complete enrollment. If you have a 192-day contract and do not plan to return in the fall, we ask that you still complete enrollment, letting us know what your benefit selections are for the summer. If you are not renewing your contract with Heartland, you are not eligible to participate in flex benefits, but health and dental coverage continue through August.
If you and your spouse both work for Heartland, you will be receiving an enrollment packet in the mail that must be completed and returned to the Benefits Office by April 25.
This is not an open enrollment year for health insurance. That means that you may not add additional family members to your Wellmark policy. You may add family members to your dental coverage each year. The next open enrollment year for health insurance is April 2011, with insurance effective July 1, 2011. Family members may be brought on your plan before July 2011 if you have a change of family status (marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, death, loss of job and insurance coverage by a spouse). The member must be added to your policy within 30 days of the change of status.
Health Insurance Rates and Plan Design Changes
The Insurance Committee is pleased to be able to keep the Agency’s health insurance plan with Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield for another year. Unfortunately, we received significant increases in our premiums. Wellmark initially gave us a 19.5% increase, but due to the good negotiating power of our insurance consultant, David P. Lind and Associates, and the plan design changes made by the Insurance Committee, that increase has been reduced to 9.6%.
There are three plan design changes that are part of the Insurance Committee’s efforts to keep your insurance rates down.
1) Coinsurance at an in-network doctor or facility will change from 90/10% to 85/15%.
2) The $5 co-pay for an in-network vision exam or chiropractic visit will change to $10.
3) A $100 individual/$200 family annual calendar year deductible will be added to brand name drugs. No deductible will apply to generics.
A Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) will again be offered for those selecting either the single or family $1,500 deductible health plan.
Our Delta Dental plan will remain unchanged both in benefits and rates.
Please click on the appropriate link below to see a list of the rates and HRA amounts effective July 1, 2010.
For rates/HRA amounts for Certified Union and Classified Union (professional staff who work in the schools, such as SLPs, school psychologists, consultants and staff in offices such as secretaries, media clerks and van drivers) click here.
For rates/HRA amounts for Certified Non-Union and Classified Non-Union (management, such as directors, partnership directors and regional secretaries, business office, HR and technology staff) click here.
To find out more about the way your plans work and to better understand the changes in plan design, check the benefit videos that will be on your Employee Dashboard April 5 under 2010 Benefit Information. Questions may be addressed to Kathy Martin, benefits specialist, at kmartin@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Submitting Leave Requests/Calendar Exchanges After 30 Days
We appreciate that most staff have been timely in following the expectation of submitting leave and calendar exchanges in a timely manner. However, there have been situations that need more prompt attention. We outline leaves and calendar exchange situations separately below.
Leaves
The expectation is that leave requests are entered into the Leave Online system prior to the day not worked or in rare circumstances immediately upon return from the day(s) not worked. In some situations, staff members have taken leave but have not recorded the leave until months later. This creates difficulty for supervisors and staff members alike to confirm the accuracy of the leave record. Beginning April 15, 2010, leave requests submitted more than 30 days past the date of leave will require special approval from the Human Resources Department. Please submit any outstanding leave requests prior to April 15 to avoid the additional approval requirements.
Calendar Exchanges
The expectation is that calendar exchanges are submitted and approved ahead of time. In some situations staff members have made the exchange but not recorded the exchange until months later. This creates difficulty for supervisors and staff members alike to confirm the accuracy of the calendar exchange record. Beginning April 15, 2010, calendar exchange requests submitted more than 30 days past either of the days exchanged will require special approval from the Human Resources Department. If you have outstanding calendar exchanges, please submit them prior to April 15 to avoid the additional approval requirements. Thank you for your cooperation.
Leaves
The expectation is that leave requests are entered into the Leave Online system prior to the day not worked or in rare circumstances immediately upon return from the day(s) not worked. In some situations, staff members have taken leave but have not recorded the leave until months later. This creates difficulty for supervisors and staff members alike to confirm the accuracy of the leave record. Beginning April 15, 2010, leave requests submitted more than 30 days past the date of leave will require special approval from the Human Resources Department. Please submit any outstanding leave requests prior to April 15 to avoid the additional approval requirements.
Calendar Exchanges
The expectation is that calendar exchanges are submitted and approved ahead of time. In some situations staff members have made the exchange but not recorded the exchange until months later. This creates difficulty for supervisors and staff members alike to confirm the accuracy of the calendar exchange record. Beginning April 15, 2010, calendar exchange requests submitted more than 30 days past either of the days exchanged will require special approval from the Human Resources Department. If you have outstanding calendar exchanges, please submit them prior to April 15 to avoid the additional approval requirements. Thank you for your cooperation.
Calendar Update: Domain Days
We have received specific questions regarding Domain Days. You will learn more about these dates in discipline meetings, but we wanted to provide some information now since there have been questions. These meetings are for special education staff who serve in the following capacities:
• Early Childhood Home Intervention Teachers
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• School Psychologists
• School Social Workers
• Special Education Consultants
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists
These meetings will be held multiple times in several regions in order to reduce staff travel time. At this time, please hold three dates in your calendar next year. You will decide which portions of each day may be appropriate for you in the fall. Please hold one Domain Day date from each of the following months: November, December and February. Locations for each are located on the internal calendar so you can choose a location that’s close to the schools you serve.
Thank you for paying close attention to the additions to the calendar. We hope that by getting dates out early and making it easy to copy things to your calendar, we create a more efficient and effective process.
• Early Childhood Home Intervention Teachers
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• School Psychologists
• School Social Workers
• Special Education Consultants
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists
These meetings will be held multiple times in several regions in order to reduce staff travel time. At this time, please hold three dates in your calendar next year. You will decide which portions of each day may be appropriate for you in the fall. Please hold one Domain Day date from each of the following months: November, December and February. Locations for each are located on the internal calendar so you can choose a location that’s close to the schools you serve.
Thank you for paying close attention to the additions to the calendar. We hope that by getting dates out early and making it easy to copy things to your calendar, we create a more efficient and effective process.
Calendar Update
The following dates have been added to the internal calendar. These dates are typically attended by first and second year staff (by domain), but this year rather than calling them “new staff training,” we are labeling the dates by topic so that any staff member who needs the information can discuss attending with their supervisor. Advanced DBDM
Advanced DIBELS
Advanced Eligibility
AEPS Training
Behavior PD Committee
Behavioral Interviews and Observations
CBE Articulation
CBE Conversation
CBE Fluency & Voice
CBE Math
CBE Narrative
CBE Reading
CBE Social
CBE Vocabulary/Expository
CBE Written Expression
CBE: Core for SLPs
Data Based Decision Making
Dialogic Reading
DIBELS 101
DIBELS Review
Early Childhood DBDM
Early Childhood Screening
EC Transition
EER Training
Eligibility 101
ELL Assessment
Fall Regional Staff PD
Formative and Summative Evaluation
Functional Assessment Training
Heartland Leaders
ICE/CBE Task
IDEA Indicators
IEP Training: Internal Staff
IGDI Training
IGDIS for DBDM
Iowa Core Training
Measurement Review for SSWs
Medicaid Training
Monitoring Progress
Poverty Simulation
Problem Analysis of Behavior
Problem Analysis of Reading
Psychs Consultants SSW Regional Support
QPPS overview
Secondary Transition
Treatment Integrity
Advanced DIBELS
Advanced Eligibility
AEPS Training
Behavior PD Committee
Behavioral Interviews and Observations
CBE Articulation
CBE Conversation
CBE Fluency & Voice
CBE Math
CBE Narrative
CBE Reading
CBE Social
CBE Vocabulary/Expository
CBE Written Expression
CBE: Core for SLPs
Data Based Decision Making
Dialogic Reading
DIBELS 101
DIBELS Review
Early Childhood DBDM
Early Childhood Screening
EC Transition
EER Training
Eligibility 101
ELL Assessment
Fall Regional Staff PD
Formative and Summative Evaluation
Functional Assessment Training
Heartland Leaders
ICE/CBE Task
IDEA Indicators
IEP Training: Internal Staff
IGDI Training
IGDIS for DBDM
Iowa Core Training
Measurement Review for SSWs
Medicaid Training
Monitoring Progress
Poverty Simulation
Problem Analysis of Behavior
Problem Analysis of Reading
Psychs Consultants SSW Regional Support
QPPS overview
Secondary Transition
Treatment Integrity
Technology Update
Kerio Mail to be Upgraded
On March 31 at 10:00 p.m., Kerio Mail will be upgraded to version 7. Even though this is a major upgrade version for the e-mail server, most of the enhancements will be behind the scenes. Your user experience will remain much the same. The most noticeable change will be in the login screen and the title in the browser window. The login screen will present a graphic that says “Kerio Connect Webmail” instead of “KerioMailServer6 WebMail.” The window title will change to “Kerio Connect 7.0.0 patch 2 WebMail” from “Kerio MailServer 6.7.3 patch 1 WebMail.” Below are images to illustrate these changes. Kerio will also get support for a variety of new mobile devices with the installation of the upgrade.
The current login window looks like this:
The new login window will look like this:
If you have any questions or issues with logging in, please contact Jim Lagnese at ext. 14462 or jlagnese@aea11.k12.ia.us.
On March 31 at 10:00 p.m., Kerio Mail will be upgraded to version 7. Even though this is a major upgrade version for the e-mail server, most of the enhancements will be behind the scenes. Your user experience will remain much the same. The most noticeable change will be in the login screen and the title in the browser window. The login screen will present a graphic that says “Kerio Connect Webmail” instead of “KerioMailServer6 WebMail.” The window title will change to “Kerio Connect 7.0.0 patch 2 WebMail” from “Kerio MailServer 6.7.3 patch 1 WebMail.” Below are images to illustrate these changes. Kerio will also get support for a variety of new mobile devices with the installation of the upgrade.
The current login window looks like this:
The new login window will look like this:
If you have any questions or issues with logging in, please contact Jim Lagnese at ext. 14462 or jlagnese@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Regional Technology Trainings
In these optional sessions, for Heartland staff members working in the regions, we will spend the first two hours reviewing Mac essentials and shortcuts such as server use, Spotlight and where items are on your computer. Technology staff will then be available to answer individual questions and provide individualized support. Please register for a training using the Universal Registration system. Contact Sarah Brown with questions at ext. 14380 or sbrown@aea11.k12.ia.us.
May 10 – 8:30 – 12:00 – Knoxville Public Library – WK029299991001
May 10 – 1:00 – 4:30 – Indianola AEA – WK029292111001
May 11 – 8:30 – 12:00 – Johnston AEA, Room 13 – WK029292111002
May 12 – 9:00 – 12:00 – Guthrie Center Public Library – WK029299991002
May 14 – 9:00 – 12:30 – Ames AEA Conference Rooms – WK029292111003
May 17 – 8:30 – 12:00 – Adel Public Library – WK029299991003
May 10 – 8:30 – 12:00 – Knoxville Public Library – WK029299991001
May 10 – 1:00 – 4:30 – Indianola AEA – WK029292111001
May 11 – 8:30 – 12:00 – Johnston AEA, Room 13 – WK029292111002
May 12 – 9:00 – 12:00 – Guthrie Center Public Library – WK029299991002
May 14 – 9:00 – 12:30 – Ames AEA Conference Rooms – WK029292111003
May 17 – 8:30 – 12:00 – Adel Public Library – WK029299991003
General Education Interventions Workshops
"Supporting All Learners Through General Education Interventions" workshops will be held on various dates in April. These workshops will update participants on new rules about general education interventions and will provide an opportunity for building leaders to develop capacity to provide professional learning about general education interventions for their teaching staff. Click here for more information.
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