Calhoun Named New Regional Director; Chiaramonte Hired as HR Manager

The Agency Planning Council (APC) wants to provide clear and timely communication to you as work continues on leadership assignments and program supports for 2013-14. 

As you know, we have based decisions on the feedback we’ve had from regional planning councils, agency staff, district staff, our observations and our collaborative work with the Department of Education and the statewide AEA system. 

Some of the themes: 
• District and agency staff members are requesting additional technical support for special education. 
• District and agency staff members are requesting greater access to regional directors. 
• We want to maintain consistent support to regions and districts to the greatest extent possible. 

To help address these themes, we will be adjusting responsibilities for some regional director assignments. 
• Keri Steele will continue in Region 1, working directly with Earlham, I-35, West Central Valley and Winterset. Her agency-wide responsibilities will shift from supporting the work around serving students with significant disabilities and vision services to more generally supporting special education across the Agency. Her title will be Regional Director/Assistant Director of Special Education.
• Angie Calhoun, currently the Director of Special Education at the West Des Moines Schools, will join the Agency and serve in Region 2. She will also support the work of serving students with significant disabilities and vision services. 

Tony Chiaramonte has been hired for the Human Resources Manager position effective July 1, 2013. He has been with Heartland AEA for two years serving as a Human Resource Generalist. Tony is certified as a Professional in Human Resources and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa. In Tony's new role he will supervise the Agency's human resources staff and continue to support several functions including employment inquiries/advertising, recruitment/staffing and onboarding. The Agency will not be filling the vacant FTE as a result of this position change. Tony will continue to report to Laura Gillon, Executive Director of Human Resources. 

APC will continue to use The Connection to update you about any decisions regarding leadership assignments and responsibilities. 

Reminder: Help the Business Office Close Out the 2013 Fiscal Year

Heartland AEA’s fiscal year will end on June 30, 2013. In order for us to close our books in a timely and accurate manner, the Business Office needs your assistance in returning date-sensitive items. 

• For payroll-related work completed on or before June 30, please turn in timesheets and submit addendum online forms with appropriate approvals to the Payroll Department by Friday, July 5. 
• Review open Addendum Online assignments. Please close addendum assignments that will not have any additional hours logged. 
• For travel, mileage and purchases occurring on or before June 30, please turn in claim forms, expense claims, invoices for services or professional development/travel forms with appropriate approvals to the Business Office by Friday, July 5. 
• Do not put dates from two different fiscal years on the same timesheet, vacation request or in-area travel form. In-area travel forms with two fiscal years will be returned for correction. 

A separate year-end communication is being sent directly to budget managers and support staff. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005 or Rebecca McCreary, Accountant, at ext. 14325. Thanks for your assistance and enjoy your summer.

Reminder: Do You Pin(terest)? If So, We Want You!

The statewide AEA Communications Committee recently met to determine best practices regarding social media. As a system we are working to create a collaborative Iowa AEA website that showcases visual best practices in education organized around key AEA services. We want to accomplish this by using Pinterest, an online bulletin board, with an increasing presence of educators, administrators, districts and universities. As a result, the connections we make on Pinterest should lead to an increased awareness about the value of the AEA system, the strength of our collaboration and the skills and expertise of our staff. 

If you are using Pinterest professionally to create boards with educational resources, ideas and best practices, we want to invite you to share and collaborate using the AEA system’s Pinterest boards. If you are interested in participating, contact the Heartland Communications Department at comms@aea11.k12.ia.us. 

Iowa AEAs on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/iowaaea/

Off & Bishop Win $250 Gift Cards in Well-Being Assessment Contest

Congratulations to Molly Off (Speech-Language Pathologist/GC) and Michelle Bishop (Special Education Consultant/KN), who both completed their well-being assessment, and by doing so, were entered into the wellness contest drawing and won the grand prize of a $250 gift card to Hy-Vee! Thanks to all who participated!

Sept. 13 – Save the Date for Agency All Staff Meeting

Please save the date for the Agency’s All Staff Meeting to be held on September 13 at Adventureland Park in Altoona.

June 2013 AEA PD Online & AEA K-12 Online Updates

The June AEA PD Online and AEA K-12 Online updates are now available. For real time updates, follow AEA PD Online on Twitter @aeapdonline or on your mobile device by accessing our app at myapp.is/aeapdonline. 

AEA PD Online 
• Upcoming Courses 

AEA K-12 Online 
• New K-12 Moodle Server