Reminder: All-Staff Meeting—Photos for Slide Show Due Aug. 30, Wear Agency Colors for All-Staff Photo

Location: Palace Theater at Adventureland 
Time: 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. – Benefits/Wellness fair, Continental breakfast
9:00 to 11:30 a.m. – All-Staff meeting 
Afternoon meetings: Region 5 (training), Zion Lutheran Church, Des Moines
Region 6 regional meeting, Johnston REC, Conference Rooms 13A & B 
Central Support Staff meeting, Palace Theater at Adventureland 

We will again be doing a photo slide show to showcase the people and places that are important to you outside of work. We want to see photos of babies, pets, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, winning teams and over achievers! Send your photos with a short caption to comms@aea11.k12.ia.us by August 30. No more than three photos per person…thanks! 

We are now planning to attempt to organize everyone for an all staff photo! You are encouraged to wear Heartland AEA logo colors—purple or green—for the large group shot we hope to take outside near the Adventureland train depot.

Please be Aware of Secondary Employment Policy

Staff members should be aware of and fully follow the intent of Board Policy 405 Secondary Employment. The key points of the policy include the following: 

• Employees shall not engage in any outside or secondary employment that substantially interferes with their employment at the Agency. 
• Secondary employment shall not duplicate, replace or interfere with services provided to school districts by Heartland AEA. 
• Employees shall not perform duties related to an outside job or receive compensation for services performed, public or private, during non-vacation regular work hours. 
• Employees shall not solicit clients for their private practice or distribute advertising as part of their Heartland AEA employment. 

Any potential conflict with these points should be discussed with an employee’s supervisor. Non-compliance with this policy may constitute a violation of contract and result in disciplinary action.

Elk Horn-Kimballton Schools Now Considered “In Area” Travel

Effective July 1, 2013, Elk-Horn Kimballton (EH-K) Schools will be considered “in area” for travel purposes. EH-K is in whole grade sharing arrangement with Exira and will be merging with that district effective July 1, 2014.

Reminder: Direct Deposit of Employee Expense Payments Coming Soon

Beginning September 6, 2013, the Agency will begin to use direct deposit for paying employee expense reimbursements—no more trips to the bank or the possibility of lost checks! This change will make handling employee expense reimbursements more convenient for both you and the Business Office. 

All employees who currently receive their payroll deposits via direct deposit will automatically receive expense reimbursements via direct deposit as well. Your checking or savings account designated to receive your net pay for payroll direct deposit will be used for the direct deposit of expense reimbursements. You must have direct deposit set up for payroll in order to have expense reimbursements direct deposited. Expense reimbursements cannot be deposited to more than one bank account, and we cannot use a bank account that is not designated as your net payroll account. 

You may opt out of receiving your expense payments through direct deposit. Click here for a form to fill out if you do not want to receive your expense reimbursement via direct deposit. Please email completed forms to Accounts Payable at acctspay@heartlandaea.org or through interoffice mail.

Updated Communication Resources for 2013-14

Below you will find the updated communication resources we currently have available. Look for the Superintendent Directory and the Staff & Schools Directory in September. These items are also archived on the Intranet > Communications > Communications Resources & Publications.

• Regional Map
• Regional map with regional directors noted

• Regional Director Assignments
• List of districts served for the agency’s regional directors 

• Van Route List 
• A list of all van route numbers for the 2013-14 school year

• Composite Calendar
• Excel spreadsheet of our districts’ and schools’ start dates, teacher workdays/in-services, parent/teacher conferences, early dismissals, holidays/no school days, breaks, semester ending dates and year-end dates. Please note that school schedules are subject to change throughout the year.

Clarification on Titles to be Used on Business Cards and Email Signatures

To avoid confusion for our schools and families, we ask that you please use your contract title when requesting business cards and in your email signature. Contract titles are used in our online directory and our Staff & Schools Directory, so using a different title can be confusing for those trying to contact us. Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

Also note that the Agency has one set of numbers that all staff members’ direct dial extensions are routed through: (515) 270-0405 and (800) 255-0405. Each office does not have its own direct dial numbers. These are the direct dial numbers that will be printed on business cards. Please also allow two weeks for delivery of requested business cards. Click here for the order form, which can also be found on the Intranet > Communications > Forms.

Did You Know You Can Order Logo Clothing From Lands’ End?

It’s not too late to get a new shirt for the start of the school year! Lands’ End is still the official vendor for Heartland-logo clothing items. Our Lands’ End e-store can be found at ces.landsend.com/heartlandaea. You can go to the site to purchase any clothing item, case, bag or tote in any color you like with the Agency’s logo. Happy shopping!

Reminder: Iowa’s AEAs Launch Statewide Pinterest Site, Sign Up to be a Contributor

Iowa’s AEA system has developed a statewide Pinterest site at http://pinterest.com/iowaaea/. 

The Pinterest site is a collaborative project of the state’s nine AEAs and content is added by AEA consultants from across the state. The 35 pinning boards provide a visual, dynamic forum that informs parents, educators and school administrators about AEA programs and resources, as well as other quality, credible ideas and resources relating to education. 

For more information or to sign up to be a contributor to the boards, contact the Heartland AEA Communications Department at comms@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Reminder: Required: Read 2013-14 Staff Handbook and Sign Read Receipt

This message was emailed to staff and is being repeated here. 
The Heartland AEA staff handbook has been updated as of July 1, 2013 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. 

Click here to download the staff handbook.

You are required to complete a web-based receipt form that confirms you’ve received an updated version of the staff handbook and privacy notice. Once you’ve located the staff handbook, click here for the receipt form for the handbook and HIPAA notice. 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 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. 

For future reference, the Staff Handbook is located on the Intranet tab on the Employee Dashboard. Look under Human Resources and click on the “Agency Information and Policies” link.

Governor’s Bullying Prevention Summit Video Contest Now Open

To learn more, visit https://preventbullying.iowa.gov/. The rules for the contest are posted under “video contest” and all videos must be submitted by October 10. There will be cash prizes awarded to the top three videos.

No Course Proposals Processed From Aug. 31 to Sept. 15

This is a busy time of year for planning professional learning opportunities for educators. If you are completing a course proposal for your staff’s learning, please be aware that there will be no course proposals processed from August 31-September 15, so please turn your proposals in prior to that time or they will need to wait until after September 15. Please also remember that course proposals MUST be submitted PRIOR to the learning experience. If you have any questions, contact Sue Schirmer, Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant, at sschirmer@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14379.

Learning Opportunity: School Counselor Site Visit Preparation

Are you wondering what is included in the Iowa Department of Education’s site visit? Join Beth Happe, DE School Improvement Consultant, and Sue Schirmer, Heartland AEA Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant, for a workshop on preparing K-12 schools’ counseling and at-risk programs for the DE’s site visit. The workshop will be held on September 17, 2013 from 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Conference Room 18 at the Johnston Regional Center. Click here to register.

Interested in Joining Learning Forward?

Learning Forward is a professional organization with the mission to “...define, refine and advocate for quality professional development practices.” 

Iowa’s Learning Forward chapter membership is only $25 per year. Click here to see an informational brochure with a membership form. 

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

Corrections to AEA Special Education Procedures Manual

Please make note in your Area Education Agency Special Education Procedures Manual dated July 25, 2013, of two needed corrections: 

1.) On page 406 the following information should read: An IEP team may elect to provide a trial out of all special education services and supports. A 45-day trial out may be initiated at either a Review or Reevaluation type of IEP meeting. A reevaluation IEP meeting must be held at the conclusion of the trial. The trial is calling the question of continued need, and therefore, eligibility for special education and this may only be done in the content of a reevaluation process. 

2.) On page 149, IEP Changes Matrix, the second bullet under the column heading "Revaluation" and the row of "When it is Required" should read: Exit from special education services when terminating student due to completion of IEP/no longer eligible (exit code RRG). 

We anticipate these items to be corrected in the next version of the Area Education Agency Special Education Procedures Manual, expected to be released January 2014.

Reminder: If Having Problems Accessing Intranet, Use Safari or Chrome Web Browsers

Many of you are experiencing trouble accessing the Intranet tab when you login to your Employee Dashboard. This is happening only for those people using the most recent version of the Firefox web browser (version 23 on the Mac platform). The Internal Technology Department is working on a solution to this issue. In the meantime, if you have problems seeing the Intranet tab login to the Employee Dashboard using a different browser such as Safari or Chrome. When a more permanent solution is in place, we will send out additional information.

September Birthdays

Birthdays will resume in HeartBeat on Sept. 6 

1     Megan Stroud 
1     Megan Weaver 
2     Shelley Payne 
3     Suzanne Howard 
5     Kristen Bloch 
5     Shannon Jensen 
6     Charlie Johnson 
8     Courtney McCormick 
9     Kathy Cole 
9     Jessica Dempsey