Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Click here for an e-card (with sound) from chief administrator Paula Vincent wishing you all a happy holiday season.

AEAs Enter into New Compact with Iowa Schools and the Department of Education

Each of Iowa’s nine AEAs serves the special and unique needs of schools and children in a particular area of the state. Although there is still a need for support at the regional level, response to a 2011 legislative study and two consecutive years of $20 million budget reductions in state AEA funding have given reason for the AEAs to formalize a more system-wide mission and approach. 

Last school year, the leadership from the AEAs worked with the leadership from the Iowa Department of Education (DE) to define and strengthen the relationship between the AEA system and the DE. Building upon this collaborative work, the AEA chief administrators drafted a document entitled A New Compact with Iowa Schools and the Department of Education. 

This document announces a new, bold statement for AEA system co-ownership of student results and outlines a new direction in terms of accountability for Iowa’s AEAs. The document also is a statement of leadership for educational reform and is intended to be a vehicle for AEAs to be proactive and focused on student learning. 

The unified AEA Board of Directors and each of the nine individual AEA Boards have endorsed the Compact. Throughout this month the Compact is being shared with AEA staff across the state, DE staff, state elected officials and local school administrators and staff. 

The Compact identifies the commitment of the AEAs to work collaboratively to achieve one overarching goal: 

By 2018 every child who graduates from an Iowa PK-12 public or non-public accredited school will be prepared for success in post-secondary studies, a career and citizenship. 

Progress toward this overarching goal will be monitored through the use of a “vital few” or key measures (immediate focus will be on measures 1 and 2): 

1. Every Iowa child will be proficient in reading by the end of third grade. 

2. The learning gaps between students with IEPs and those without and for those students in disaggregated sub-groups will be reduced by half by 2018. 

3. A numeracy goal will be determined after sufficient progress has been made in reaching the literacy goal identified above. 

4. A post-secondary readiness goal will be established by 2014 that most accurately identifies and tracks post-secondary success. 

Seeing the goals of the Compact, I hope that you make connections to our goals at Heartland AEA that focus on increasing learning growth, decreasing achievement gaps, increasing graduation rates and preparing gateways to post-secondary success. 

I invite you to think of this Compact as not only a way to strengthen our AEA system, but also a strategic avenue to achieve our goals here in central Iowa. 

Although many details are yet to come, I wanted you to have a chance to review this information. If you have any thoughts, ideas or questions about the Compact, please contact me at pvincent@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14314. 

Best regards, 

Paula 

Click here for the Compact document and here for a short PowerPoint that has been shared with Iowa superintendents. Click here for a short video outlining a summary of the Compact. The video was created by our AEA 267 colleagues and is narrated by Roark Horn, Chief Administrator at AEA 267.

Upcoming December Payroll Timelines

Due to the upcoming agency holiday schedule, staff members paid from a timesheet must have their December 1-15 timesheets completed, approved by their supervisor and submitted to the Payroll Department by the end of the day on December 20 in order to ensure they receive pay at the end of the month. 

Agency offices will be closed on December 31; as a result, payday will be December 28. Please contact Steve Jordan, Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908 if you have any questions.

December 2012 School Leader Update

Click here to download the December 2012 edition of the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.

Reminder: Planning for Retirement? Save the Date for IPERS & Social Security Session

Are you thinking of retiring in the next two to three years? If so, you may be interested in attending a “Planning for Retirement” session on January 16, 2013 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Conference Rooms 13A and B at the Johnston REC. 

Representatives from IPERS and Social Security will be providing guidance to those who are close to retirement on what you need to know to make the best choices for your retirement years. More information will be coming soon, but save the date if this is of interest to you. We’ll be asking you to register so that we can get individual IPERS benefit estimates for each attendee.

December 2012 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda

Click here to download the agenda for the December 11 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting.

Agency iPad User Survey

An email was sent to all agency staff today with a link to a survey that asks staff members who were issued iPads about how they are using them. If you weren’t issued an iPad from the Agency, you do not need to take the survey. If you do use an Agency iPad, please complete the survey by 4:00 p.m. on December 21.

Holiday Offer on Software for Students, Faculty and Staff (Including AEA Staff)

JourneyEd and the Iowa Educators Consortium are offering a special deal on software just in time for the holidays. 

Through December 31, 2012, JourneyEd is offering a 5% discount on any software or product order over $50. Available products include Inspiration, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat Xl Pro, Dragon Naturally Speaking, CorelDraw and more. 

1. Purchase online at www.JourneyEd.com/IEC5OFF. 
2. Enter PRIORITY CODE 304678 at checkout to apply the 5% savings on your order of $50 or more. Some exclusions may apply. Discount not valid on Microsoft Store purchases. 
3. Purchases made through JourneyEd are for in-home, personal use only. 
4. Eligible customers include students, teachers, K-12 public and private administrators and all support staff.