This message was e-mailed to all staff on August 11. Below you will find the same message to serve as a reminder to complete this important request.
The Heartland Staff Handbook has been updated as of July 1, 2011 and is now available for all staff to read and become familiar with. All previous versions of the Staff Handbook should be discarded or archived. 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. Do not print off a paper form and sign it—complete the web-based form. When you click on the link to the web form, you will need to enter the username and password that you use to login to the Employee Dashboard. You will then be prompted to complete the read receipt form. 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 navigate through the chapters and headings. By clicking on an entry title, you'll be taken directly to that entry. You can also click on the 'triangles' next to the bookmarks to expand the view to include subtopics of that chapter. The PDF is indexed, which means that you will be able to quickly conduct keyword searches to find what you are looking for. The PDF can be viewed in Mac Preview or Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader will provide additional features such as the ability to highlight and keep comment notes in the document should you choose to save it locally to your computer.
Click here to download the staff handbook.
Click here for the read receipt form for the handbook and the HIPAA notice.
For future reference, the Staff Handbook is located in the Intranet tab on the Employee Dashboard. Look under Human Resources and click on the 'Agency Information and Policies' link.
Monday, August 15, 2011
All Staff Meeting Presentations Available
We hope that you found the All Staff meeting informative and pleasant. To view the PowerPoint presentations, please click on the presenters’ names below. To view the reports that were referenced in the meeting, click on the report names. The video, For the Love of It, by Dewitt Jones is available in our professional library.
Presenters
Dr. Troyce Fisher
Dr. Paula Vincent
Mr. David King
Reports
Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform (Fullan)
Rising to Greatness: An Imperative for Improving Iowa’s Schools (Iowa DE)
Click here for the Agency's Theory of Action sheet that was also given out.
Presenters
Dr. Troyce Fisher
Dr. Paula Vincent
Mr. David King
Reports
Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform (Fullan)
Rising to Greatness: An Imperative for Improving Iowa’s Schools (Iowa DE)
Click here for the Agency's Theory of Action sheet that was also given out.
Planning Councils to Serve as Forums for Staff Input
Staff will continue to play an important role in sharing input regarding our agency culture and climate in the future. For 2011-12, the Staff Advisory Council will officially sunset and our planning councils will serve as the formal forums for communicating staff input. Staff feedback can always be provided to supervisors and Human Resource staff. While we hope these opportunities for staff input will be efficient and meaningful, please let us know if you have other ideas you would like us to consider throughout the year.
2011-2012 Regional Planning Council Meeting Schedule
Click here for a schedule of the Regional Planning Council meetings. Please be sure to mark the following dates/times that apply to you in your calendar. Locations will be determined and communicated by your Regional Director.
July Board of Directors Meeting Recap
The July meeting of the Heartland AEA Board of Directors was held July 12, 2011.
Public Forum & Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Letter of Correspondence
No one was present to address the Board.
A motion was made and passed to accept the IASB letter of correspondence with the modification submitted to the last sentence of paragraph two. The word “respectable” will be changed to “its intended.”
Discussion Items
• CAO Evaluation Committee – Chief administrator evaluation summary sheets were added to each board member’s binder.
• Professional Development Committee – No report.
• Board Advisory Council – The Board Advisory Council met on July 11. Council members discussed Michael Fullan’s monograph “Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform.” There was good discussion, and the group spoke honestly about the implications for Heartland AEA.
• Board Policy Committee – The committee met briefly today and work continues on updating the manual.
• IEC/IAEP – No report.
Board Policy Manual – Series 100
Board members reviewed policies 100, 101, 102 and 103. Minor word changes were made to policy 101 and 103 and members noted that in the future they would like policy 103 to include four compliance officers. A motion was made and passed to approve the 100 series as modified.
Budget Review
Mr. David King, chief financial officer, reviewed the Agency’s financial status for FY2010-11. Currently the Agency is below its spending compared to FY2009-10 which will allow a remaining fund balance in educational services and media services. All ARRA and Part B funds have been expended, and he is unsure if special education will require a subsidy from educational services or media services to balance. As the Agency looks at FY2011-12, the AEA system faces a funding reduction of $20 million. With the addition of permanent cuts from previous years, this totals $27.5 million. Heartland AEA’s portion will be around $6.3 million or 18 percent of its budget. The Agency is positioned well enough to weather the financial storm for FY2011-12, but for FY2012-13, additional reductions will need to take place and adjustments will need to be made for the future.
Contract Services for Print and Production
Mr. Steve Prall, executive director of operations, shared that for the last six months the Agency has been researching options to reduce print service costs and create efficiencies.
Action Items
A motion was made and passed to recommend termination of the labor portion of the Xerox Managed Services Agreement noting that it requires the Agency to give 90 days notice.
Consent Agenda
Dr. Rose reviewed the bills and stated everything was in order. He asked for more information on the refund process for course cancellation versus student cancellation and complimented staff on keeping budget expenditures lower than last year. A motion was made and passed to approve the consent agenda including payment of warrant numbers 00359922 through 00360112.
Board Comments
• Ms. Borgen discussed the value of those attending the Governor’s Education Summit meeting prior to the event. Dr. Vincent said she would explore the option of having a breakfast meeting.
• Dr. Rose spoke about the wonderful opportunities being provided through the Newton Iowa Community Outreach Program. A possible work session item would be an update on the instructional program within the correctional institute and Shelter Care programs.
Chief Administrator Comments
• Work from the Department of Education and AEA administrative group continues. Both parties met for a two-day retreat in June and will meet again in September to address how they can work together as a system. There are high hopes for what can be accomplished.
• Several agency staff and board members have had contact with members from IASB. There is a growing recognition that we need to work together as partners, and IASB is beginning to have a better understanding of the issues.
• Dr. Vincent noted that Heartland AEA has 12 new superintendents this year. Some are new to the state and others new to the area.
• Staff are beginning to look forward to the new school year. There is a sense of excitement and figuring out how we can move towards achieving the Agency’s goals.
Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 4:18 p.m.
Public Forum & Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Letter of Correspondence
No one was present to address the Board.
A motion was made and passed to accept the IASB letter of correspondence with the modification submitted to the last sentence of paragraph two. The word “respectable” will be changed to “its intended.”
Discussion Items
• CAO Evaluation Committee – Chief administrator evaluation summary sheets were added to each board member’s binder.
• Professional Development Committee – No report.
• Board Advisory Council – The Board Advisory Council met on July 11. Council members discussed Michael Fullan’s monograph “Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform.” There was good discussion, and the group spoke honestly about the implications for Heartland AEA.
• Board Policy Committee – The committee met briefly today and work continues on updating the manual.
• IEC/IAEP – No report.
Board Policy Manual – Series 100
Board members reviewed policies 100, 101, 102 and 103. Minor word changes were made to policy 101 and 103 and members noted that in the future they would like policy 103 to include four compliance officers. A motion was made and passed to approve the 100 series as modified.
Budget Review
Mr. David King, chief financial officer, reviewed the Agency’s financial status for FY2010-11. Currently the Agency is below its spending compared to FY2009-10 which will allow a remaining fund balance in educational services and media services. All ARRA and Part B funds have been expended, and he is unsure if special education will require a subsidy from educational services or media services to balance. As the Agency looks at FY2011-12, the AEA system faces a funding reduction of $20 million. With the addition of permanent cuts from previous years, this totals $27.5 million. Heartland AEA’s portion will be around $6.3 million or 18 percent of its budget. The Agency is positioned well enough to weather the financial storm for FY2011-12, but for FY2012-13, additional reductions will need to take place and adjustments will need to be made for the future.
Contract Services for Print and Production
Mr. Steve Prall, executive director of operations, shared that for the last six months the Agency has been researching options to reduce print service costs and create efficiencies.
Action Items
A motion was made and passed to recommend termination of the labor portion of the Xerox Managed Services Agreement noting that it requires the Agency to give 90 days notice.
Consent Agenda
Dr. Rose reviewed the bills and stated everything was in order. He asked for more information on the refund process for course cancellation versus student cancellation and complimented staff on keeping budget expenditures lower than last year. A motion was made and passed to approve the consent agenda including payment of warrant numbers 00359922 through 00360112.
Board Comments
• Ms. Borgen discussed the value of those attending the Governor’s Education Summit meeting prior to the event. Dr. Vincent said she would explore the option of having a breakfast meeting.
• Dr. Rose spoke about the wonderful opportunities being provided through the Newton Iowa Community Outreach Program. A possible work session item would be an update on the instructional program within the correctional institute and Shelter Care programs.
Chief Administrator Comments
• Work from the Department of Education and AEA administrative group continues. Both parties met for a two-day retreat in June and will meet again in September to address how they can work together as a system. There are high hopes for what can be accomplished.
• Several agency staff and board members have had contact with members from IASB. There is a growing recognition that we need to work together as partners, and IASB is beginning to have a better understanding of the issues.
• Dr. Vincent noted that Heartland AEA has 12 new superintendents this year. Some are new to the state and others new to the area.
• Staff are beginning to look forward to the new school year. There is a sense of excitement and figuring out how we can move towards achieving the Agency’s goals.
Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 4:18 p.m.
Remember to Check Out Employee Online
Employee Online is a new tab that was recently added on the employee dashboard. Employee Online is a way for staff members to electronically view and manage certain personal information such as home address, emergency contact information, payroll tax withholding and past pay stubs. Another feature of Employee Online is called “What If.” This feature allows you to display current paycheck data and input different data to see the “What If” effect on your paycheck.
A new link named “Emergency Contact Information” has been added to the Employee Online tab. It is recommended you identify a primary contact and an additional local contact, in case your primary contact is unavailable. The Department of Homeland Security has requested that each employee list an out-of-town contact for use during a natural disaster or terrorist threat. Check the out-of-town contact box below the contact’s name to indicate to crisis responders that this contact should only be notified for this type of emergency.
You also have the ability to identify your primary care provider and, if necessary, other care providers for emergency care. On this record a text box is available to add any pertinent medical information along with your preferred hospital. If listing medications in the notes field, please indicate clearly whether these are medications you are currently taking or medications you are allergic to.
If you have not done so already, check out Employee Online. Just sign on to your Employee Dashboard, and Employee Online will appear as another navigation tab at the top of the page, just like the Intranet or Leave Online tabs. Employee Online is designed to provide an intuitive user experience. As such, there are no specific instructions for using it.
We’d also like your feedback. Questions about any of the data presented and feedback can be directed as follows: personal information to Carolyn Jones (cjones@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext. 14614) in Human Resources, tax status and paycheck information to Steve Jordan (sjordan@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext. 14908) or Michelle Westcott (mwestcott@aea11.12.ia.us, ext. 14422) in Payroll and browser and website navigation to Rod Howell (rhowell@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext.14599) in Technology.
Note: We will continue to mail paper direct deposit pay stubs to staff members’ homes until September 30, 2011. After September 30 direct deposit pay stubs will only be available online through Employee Online.
A new link named “Emergency Contact Information” has been added to the Employee Online tab. It is recommended you identify a primary contact and an additional local contact, in case your primary contact is unavailable. The Department of Homeland Security has requested that each employee list an out-of-town contact for use during a natural disaster or terrorist threat. Check the out-of-town contact box below the contact’s name to indicate to crisis responders that this contact should only be notified for this type of emergency.
You also have the ability to identify your primary care provider and, if necessary, other care providers for emergency care. On this record a text box is available to add any pertinent medical information along with your preferred hospital. If listing medications in the notes field, please indicate clearly whether these are medications you are currently taking or medications you are allergic to.
If you have not done so already, check out Employee Online. Just sign on to your Employee Dashboard, and Employee Online will appear as another navigation tab at the top of the page, just like the Intranet or Leave Online tabs. Employee Online is designed to provide an intuitive user experience. As such, there are no specific instructions for using it.
We’d also like your feedback. Questions about any of the data presented and feedback can be directed as follows: personal information to Carolyn Jones (cjones@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext. 14614) in Human Resources, tax status and paycheck information to Steve Jordan (sjordan@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext. 14908) or Michelle Westcott (mwestcott@aea11.12.ia.us, ext. 14422) in Payroll and browser and website navigation to Rod Howell (rhowell@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext.14599) in Technology.
Note: We will continue to mail paper direct deposit pay stubs to staff members’ homes until September 30, 2011. After September 30 direct deposit pay stubs will only be available online through Employee Online.
Changes to the Leave Online and Calendar Exchange Online Systems
Over time the HR department and the IFAS support team have received suggestions of ways to improve the Leave Online and Calendar Exchange Online systems. On August 1, 2011, the following changes were made to these systems.
- Staff can cancel a leave request that is waiting approval from their supervisor. In the past a staff person would have to contact their supervisor and ask the request be rejected or the staff person would have to wait until the request was approved in order to cancel it.
- All supervisors can view the individual work calendars for all applicable staff. This will especially assist regional directors in scheduling workshops, team meetings, etc. in their regions.
IEP Development Support for AEA and LEA Staff
IEP training for 2011-2012 is being provided in each region this fall. In addition to the two face-to-face days of training, a Moodle course is available to all AEA and LEA staff. The Moodle course includes examples of quality IEP components and activities to support quality IEP writing. The Moodle course can be utilized by all staff as a resource for development of IEPs regardless of participation in the face-to-face component. The course can be found at the Heartland Moodle site: http://moodle.aea11.k12.ia.us/moodle/
Please scroll to IEP training and then select IEP training 2011/12. Each participant will need to use/create their Heartland Moodle login for access to the course, or can log in as a guest each time. The Enrollment Key for the course is: IEP. When a person is logged in as a guest, the enrollment key is required each time the course is accessed.
If you have questions regarding the Moodle IEP, please contact Martha Condon, Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant at mcondon@aea11k.12.ia.us or ext. 18145.
If you have questions regarding the face-to-face IEP course being held regionally, please contact your Regional Director.
Please scroll to IEP training and then select IEP training 2011/12. Each participant will need to use/create their Heartland Moodle login for access to the course, or can log in as a guest each time. The Enrollment Key for the course is: IEP. When a person is logged in as a guest, the enrollment key is required each time the course is accessed.
If you have questions regarding the Moodle IEP, please contact Martha Condon, Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant at mcondon@aea11k.12.ia.us or ext. 18145.
If you have questions regarding the face-to-face IEP course being held regionally, please contact your Regional Director.
Collaborative Special Education Professional Development Materials available on Statewide Site
Visit the website: https://sites.google.com/a/aea8.k12.ia.us/aea-special-education-training/home to find professional development materials related to the Child Find process. Modules with materials and video links on Progress, Discrepancy, Need and Exclusionary Factors are available for use. The Collaborative Special Education Professional Development Team created materials on this site during the 2010-2011 school year. Questions can be directed to Martha Condon, Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant, at mcondon@aea11k.12.ia.us or ext 18145.
Guidelines for Technology Support of Heartland AEA Employees Who Work in School District Buildings
There has been considerable confusion in the past about how to provide tech support to Heartland AEA employees while they are working in school districts. Over this past year, Heartland AEA has been working with technology directors to develop some guidelines that will help to clear up this confusion:
We will evaluate these guidelines in the spring of 2012 to see what changes (if any) need to be made for the coming school year. If you have comments/concerns/suggestions, please contact Lance Wilhelm at lwilhelm@aea11.k12.ia.us.
- Heartland employees will be provided with access to the building wireless network as it is available. If wireless is not available, access should be provided via hard-wired connection. Heartland employees are expected to provide their own Ethernet cable in those situations. If you need an Ethernet cable, please contact Judy Cleveland (jcleveland@aea11.k12.ia.us), Greg Wilcox (gwilcox@aea11.k12.ia.us) or Mike Permann (mpermann@aea11.k12.ia.us). All passwords provided by school districts will be treated confidentially. Heartland employees are expected to use bandwidth responsibly and will check ahead of time to see if the district blocks sites they wish to use.
- Heartland employees will be provided with reasonable access to office printers. Heartland AEA tech support will make sure common printer drivers are available on employee laptops and will add others as needed. Heartland employees can setup or request assistance to access building printers if the district provides him/her with building printer maps and/or IP addresses. If there is concern about excessive printing by Heartland employees, school districts should contact their Regional Director or Lance Wilhelm, Director of Technology.
- If Heartland employees occasionally need phone access, districts should make reasonable accommodations to provide that access.
- Districts will provide basic information such as network passwords or printer IP numbers, as appropriate, but troubleshooting problems for Heartland employees should be done by Heartland AEA tech support. Heartland AEA uses iChat extensively for resolving tech support issues, and we would greatly appreciate it if that feature is not blocked at the district level.
- Heartland AEA will provide districts with lists of Heartland employees who will be working in their buildings. If requested, Heartland AEA will provide technology directors key information (such as MAC addresses) about the AEA computers that will be used in their school buildings.
We will evaluate these guidelines in the spring of 2012 to see what changes (if any) need to be made for the coming school year. If you have comments/concerns/suggestions, please contact Lance Wilhelm at lwilhelm@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Iowa Education Summit Videos Now Online
Recordings of main sessions, quest speakers, round tables and break out sessions are now available on Eduvision, http://aea111.eduvision.tv.
Reminder: Teacher Listserv for Alternate Assessment for 2011-2012
Contrary to what was reported in a previous edition, the alternate assessment process will continue with a few substantial changes this year. To ensure that teachers completing the alternate assessment for the 2011-2012 school year have up-to-date information regarding timelines and activities, please make sure that any teachers who did not complete an alternate assessment last year are subscribed to the Heartland IAA listserv. Teachers who DID complete one last year are on the state database and will receive messages from the state automatically. Teachers who did not complete an assessment last year will NOT receive state messages right away. To subscribe to the listserv, teachers can send a blank email to this address: alternateassessment-subscribe@aea11.k12.ia.us. Please direct any questions to Pam Childers at pchilders@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext 14457.
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