November 2011 Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The regular meeting of the Heartland AEA Board of Directors was held on November 8, 2011.

Public Forum
No one from the public was present to address the Board.

Discussion Items
Board Committee Reports and Updates
• Board Advisory Committee – The Board Advisory Council met in October. It was an excellent meeting as members are very committed and taking their work seriously. The majority of discussion focused on building partnerships and reciprocal accountability.
• Board Policy Task Force – The task force is working on series 200 of the Board Policy Manual. The work is going very slow as the policies are being condensed. They will contain the same information, only in an updated version.

Media and Technology Executive Summary
Mr. Steve Prall, Executive Director of Operations, reviewed the executive summary of the operations redesign study that took place in October and November. It has been a learning opportunity for the Agency, as it looked at the current state of the Operations Department and what was needed to provide services for the 21st century. From the study, five priority areas were developed that include recovering funds for the operations budget, developing and using assessment data as new services are offered, developing an integrated support system worthy of national attention, delivering facilities support to where the work is done and implementing internal services for job-alike workgroups.

AEA System Reform Initiative
Governor Branstad and Jason Glass, Director of the Iowa Department of Education, have released the state’s education reform plan. It’s unsure where the plan will go at this time, however it has brought the attention back to education within the state.

Capacity Building for Agency Work
Ms. Sheila King, Executive Director of Instructional Services, discussed a meeting that was held today between Heartland consultants and principals and school improvement leaders from Des Moines Public Schools. Time was spent focusing on what the Agency could do to help principals and leaders be the best they could be in meeting the needs of children. It was a great opportunity to learn together, build relationships and to learn how to leverage the Agency’s resources. Everyone left feeling very optimistic. The group will meet four more times over the winter and next month’s session will focus on instruction.

Board Self-Evaluation
Board members reviewed last year’s self-evaluation and discussed if changes were needed to the questions or rating system. The rating system will be on a 1-5 scale, with 5 the highest and 1 the lowest. No changes were made to the questions. Ms. Jenny Ugolini will send the survey within the next two weeks and present the results at the December meeting.

Chief Administrator Comments
• Dr. Vincent gave kudos to Heartland staff for their participation in the United Way campaign. There is always the concern about how far the Agency should push in fundraising, but because of United Way’s tie to increasing graduation rates and its educational goals, it is a worthy organization and staff raised over $10,000.
• Board members were given a copy of the AEA system’s response to the Governor’s education reform plan. The document was drafted so there is a consistent message across the state in how the AEAs can support the plan and impact instruction. Dr. Vincent was thrilled that the AEA system is focusing on those things that will make a difference in student achievement.
• There were over 100 applications for the AEA system government relations position. The application pool was reviewed and there are many highly qualified candidates. Interviews will be scheduled soon.