Annual Benefit Enrollment Now Open!

Our online benefit enrollment will be open to all full-time and 96-day employees from Monday, April 2 through Wednesday, April 25 at 4:00 p.m. Full-time employees will be enrolling in health and dental insurance coverage and in a medical flex spending plan. Part-time employees (96-day) will just be enrolling in medical flex spending. (This enrollment period is not for enrollment in the dependent care plan, which is done in November.) We will need your enrollment selections even if you choose not to make any changes to your benefits for next year.

The monthly insurance rates for the $500 and $1,500 deductible health plans will be as follows:

$500 Deductible Plan
Single - $544.45 (paid in full by the Agency)

Family - $1,361.13 (the Agency pays 60% of the premium for Classified and Certified Union employees, so you owe only $272.22 per pay period)
No HRA with the $500 deductible plan.

$1,500 Deductible Plan
Single - $461.21 (paid in full by the Agency)
Annual HRA is $738.00 ($184.50/quarter)

Family - $1,153.03 (The Agency pays 60% of the premium for Classified and Certified Union employees, so you owe only $230.60 per pay period)
Annual HRA for Classified and Certified Union taking $1,500 family - $1,140.00 ($285/quarter)
Annual HRA for Non-Union taking $1,500 family - $1,944.00 ($486/quarter)

Clarification of $2,499.84 Limit on Medical Flex Spending Plan
Questions have arisen about the per person limit of $2,499.84 for the plan year beginning June 1, 2012. Each employee may choose to deduct from his/her paycheck a maximum of $2,499.84 ($104.16/pay period) regardless of how many family members you have or whether your spouse is able to contribute at his/her place of employment. As in the past, you may submit claims for eligible expenses for you, your spouse and your eligible children. For those couples where both husband and wife work at Heartland, each spouse may elect up to $2,499.84 for the plan year.

It will take about five minutes for you to enroll in your benefits for the new plan year. You will find a new tab on your Employee Dashboard called Benefit Enrollment, and it will step you through the enrollment process. While enrolling you’ll find a “Save and Finish Later” button at the bottom of the page that will allow you to leave and return to the program when you’re ready. You may change your benefit selections as many times as you’d like until the close of enrollment on April 25.

If you have any questions about your benefits, contact Kathy Martin, Benefits Specialist, at kmartin@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14385.

Would You Like to be a Mentor Next Year? If So, Sign Up Now!

It’s that time of year to sign up to mentor for the 2012-13 school year! Sharing your time and expertise to welcome and support new employees as they join the Heartland team is an important task. It is a personally and professionally fulfilling experience that also helps us retain great employees. Mentors provide 15 hours of one-on-one coaching and support for their mentee, are provided with mentorship training and in return will receive a $1,000 (gross) payment and the personal satisfaction of knowing that you’ve made a difference in the career of your mentee. If you are currently a mentor and would like to continue your involvement next year, please remember that you will need to re-apply.

It’s easy to sign up! The Mentor Application is archived on the Intranet > Human Resources > Mentoring Program > Mentor Application. Fill it out and return it to Lisa Fleming, Human Resources Generalist, by May 1. After receiving applications, more information will be provided to mentors in the near future for next year’s program.

April 2012 School Leader Update

Click here to download the April School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.

Impacting Lives Newsletter Shares How Iowa’s AEAs Make a Difference

April is National Autism Awareness Month. All of Iowa's Area Education Agencies employ certified staff members who specialize in supporting children and students with autism spectrum disorders, their families and the classroom teachers who work with them. This edition of Impacting Lives provides examples of AEA expertise for supporting autism as well as other topics that include Iowa AEA Online, curriculum instruction and technology support. Find the Impacting Lives blog at http://aeas4iowa.wordpress.com/.

This issue includes:
• AEA ‘Angel’ Gave Hope to Family Living with Autism
• Oscar's Story: Supporting a Child with Autism
• Northwest AEA Employees Present Research at International Autism Conference
• Learning with the Resources of Iowa AEA Online
• AEA Social Workers Serve as Link Between Families and Schools
• My Ears Help Me Read: The Important Role of AEA Audiology Staff
• Training Aims to Increase Teachers’ Skills in Literacy Instruction
• How Putting Laptops in Student Hands is Changing Education Today
• Grant Wood AEA Launches iPad Project
• Capturing Student Interest through the Use of Virtual Reality

Check Out Our New Facebook Timeline!

Heartland AEA’s Facebook page has changed to a “Timeline” layout. Take a look at https://www.facebook.com/heartlandaea and let us know what you think! Don't forget to share our page with your friends.

It’s Severe Weather Awareness Week – Make Sure You Know How to Protect Yourself

The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division and the National Weather Service have declared the week of April 2 through April 6, 2012 as Severe Weather Awareness Week. Severe Weather Awareness Week is an annual event to remind Iowans that severe weather is part of living in our state and that understanding the risks and how to respond to them can save lives. The highlight of the week will be the statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, April 4. Even though Heartland will not be participating in this drill, please be aware of the different types of severe weather and how to protect yourself during each one.

Click here to learn more about flash flooding, the storm warning system, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and family preparedness from the National Weather Service.

Below you will also find a list of our offices and co-location sites along with the storm shelters for each building.

Johnston REC -- Conference Rooms 3/4 & ICN Room
Johnston Admin Center -- Board Room/Restrooms
Ames -- Sound Booth Hallway/Workroom
Adel -- Restrooms
Guthrie Center -- Sound Booth
Carroll -- Restrooms
Indianola -- Basement
Newton -- North Wing Hallway
Knoxville -- Basement
Clay Elementary -- Room B112
Neveln Center -- Restrooms or Hallway Outside Restrooms on 1st Floor

AEA Legislative Update

Click here to read the weekly legislative update from the AEAs’ lobbyists, Matt Eide and John Pederson, of the Eide & Heisinger firm.