Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve
the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
Monday, July 14, 2014
New Benefits Features Added to Employee Online Section of Your Employee Dashboard
Check out the Employee Online tab of your Employee Dashboard to see some important changes and enhancements. A new Benefits category has been added to provide you with a convenient way to view information on all of your current benefits.
• Forgot which health insurance plan you elected? Want to know which dependents are covered? Find out by clicking on Your Current Benefit Statement.
• Looking for a summary of your benefit coverage or a specific benefit form? Click on Benefit Forms and Info.
And yes, we have also added a Benefit Enrollment section! In April 2015 you will begin using Employee Online to elect your annual benefits. Employee Online will be your single go-to source for all your benefit information. New agency staff members will start using this application beginning in August.
We’d appreciate your questions and feedback on these changes. Send your comments and questions to Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315 or Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at sjordan@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14908.
• Forgot which health insurance plan you elected? Want to know which dependents are covered? Find out by clicking on Your Current Benefit Statement.
• Looking for a summary of your benefit coverage or a specific benefit form? Click on Benefit Forms and Info.
And yes, we have also added a Benefit Enrollment section! In April 2015 you will begin using Employee Online to elect your annual benefits. Employee Online will be your single go-to source for all your benefit information. New agency staff members will start using this application beginning in August.
We’d appreciate your questions and feedback on these changes. Send your comments and questions to Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315 or Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at sjordan@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14908.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Holding Community Conversations
Mary Cownie, Director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, invites all Iowa residents to the Department’s July “community conversations.” The goal of the conversations, which will take place across the state, is to gather input about how the Department can better serve Iowans.
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.
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.
Agency Board Convenes Committee, Extends Post-Employment Benefit
Heartland AEA’s Board of Directors has been asked by several agency staff members to revisit its decision about ending the current post-employment benefit policy. After considerable conversation, the Board has convened a new Total Rewards Committee to study the issues and establish policies and procedures the Agency will use moving forward.
In order to have time for a thorough study and to be fair to our employees, the Board of Directors voted at its July 8, 2014 meeting to continue the current post-employment benefit for an additional year, until June 30, 2016. See Section 6:13 of the Staff Handbook to review the full version of the post-employment benefit policy and for further information and other eligibility options and requirements.
“Total rewards” is a term that includes all of the tools available to the Agency that may be used to attract retain employees. Total rewards include everything our employees may perceive to be of value resulting from the employment relationship. The Total Rewards Committee is comprised of board members, the Chief Administrator, the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Director of Human Resources. The committee plans to meet monthly and expects to bring recommendations to the full Board of Directors for possible action sometime during the 2014-15 year.
Understanding More About Total Rewards
The graphic below further defines what we mean by total rewards. For employees, benefit and compensation terms can be complex topics. The concept of total rewards can provide our employees with a complete overview of the “rewards” our agency provides, with the hope that this will be meaningful as you begin or continue your employment at Heartland AEA.
For the Agency, using a total rewards strategy is intended to: 1) leverage multiple factors to attract and retain high-quality employees, 2) maximize strategic use of resources to support employees across a variety of elements and 3) provide a tool that communicates a more complete picture of Agency contributions for employees/potential employees.
If you have questions about the post-employment benefit, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315. If you have questions about the total rewards concept, contact Laura Gillon, Executive Director of Human Resources, at lgillon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14416.
In order to have time for a thorough study and to be fair to our employees, the Board of Directors voted at its July 8, 2014 meeting to continue the current post-employment benefit for an additional year, until June 30, 2016. See Section 6:13 of the Staff Handbook to review the full version of the post-employment benefit policy and for further information and other eligibility options and requirements.
“Total rewards” is a term that includes all of the tools available to the Agency that may be used to attract retain employees. Total rewards include everything our employees may perceive to be of value resulting from the employment relationship. The Total Rewards Committee is comprised of board members, the Chief Administrator, the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Director of Human Resources. The committee plans to meet monthly and expects to bring recommendations to the full Board of Directors for possible action sometime during the 2014-15 year.
Understanding More About Total Rewards
The graphic below further defines what we mean by total rewards. For employees, benefit and compensation terms can be complex topics. The concept of total rewards can provide our employees with a complete overview of the “rewards” our agency provides, with the hope that this will be meaningful as you begin or continue your employment at Heartland AEA.
For the Agency, using a total rewards strategy is intended to: 1) leverage multiple factors to attract and retain high-quality employees, 2) maximize strategic use of resources to support employees across a variety of elements and 3) provide a tool that communicates a more complete picture of Agency contributions for employees/potential employees.
If you have questions about the post-employment benefit, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315. If you have questions about the total rewards concept, contact Laura Gillon, Executive Director of Human Resources, at lgillon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14416.
VOYA New Agency Life Insurance Carrier; Please Fill Out New Beneficiary Form
The Agency has a new life insurance carrier, effective July 1, 2014—VOYA. Although the new company will honor the beneficiary forms of our former carrier, Madison National Life, we would strongly encourage employees to fill out the new VOYA beneficiary form. The completed form, with hand written signatures, can be mailed or emailed to Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org. Remember, always have your beneficiary information up-to-date!
August Trainings to Focus on Early Literacy, MTSS & Dyslexia
During our April regional meetings, we continued discussions around the Early Literacy Implementation/Chapter 62 requirements for elementary schools across the state of Iowa. Registration information for one support that will be provided to AEA staff this fall is below.
Course Title: Early Literacy Progression, Supporting MTSS, Understanding the Dyslexia Bill and Implications for our work in Educational Systems for AEA Staff serving Elementary Partners
Target Audience: All AEA staff in the job-alike groups of instructional coaches, professional learning generalists, reading consultants, school psychologists, school social workers, special education consultants and speech-language pathologists (and others as directed by regional directors) serving elementary school partners
Sessions:
Aug. 18
Adel
IN061692111501
Aug. 19
Ames
IN061692111502
Aug. 20
Johnston
IN061692111503
Aug. 22
Knoxville
IN061699991501
Sept. 2
Johnston
IN061692111504
Identified staff members (see targeted audience above) only need to attend one session.
If you are uncertain if you need to attend this professional learning opportunity, contact your regional director. If you have any questions regarding the sessions, contact Martha Condon, School Psychologist, at mcondon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 18147.
Course Title: Early Literacy Progression, Supporting MTSS, Understanding the Dyslexia Bill and Implications for our work in Educational Systems for AEA Staff serving Elementary Partners
Target Audience: All AEA staff in the job-alike groups of instructional coaches, professional learning generalists, reading consultants, school psychologists, school social workers, special education consultants and speech-language pathologists (and others as directed by regional directors) serving elementary school partners
Sessions:
Aug. 18
Adel
IN061692111501
Aug. 19
Ames
IN061692111502
Aug. 20
Johnston
IN061692111503
Aug. 22
Knoxville
IN061699991501
Sept. 2
Johnston
IN061692111504
Identified staff members (see targeted audience above) only need to attend one session.
If you are uncertain if you need to attend this professional learning opportunity, contact your regional director. If you have any questions regarding the sessions, contact Martha Condon, School Psychologist, at mcondon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 18147.
Scheduled Agency Records Purge Set for Aug. 15
The Agency will soon do a records purge. Please send any files you have to be shred to the Johnston REC by Aug. 15 for a one-time mass shred. This includes any files and student records to be destroyed. Please put the files in boxes and that are clearly labeled, “SHRED.”
New Business Card Order Form and Process
The Business Card Order Form has been revised to reflect updated contact information. Orders should now be sent to Creative Services in the Johnston REC or emailed to creativeservices@heartlandaea.org.
The order form can also be found year around on the Intranet > Communications > Forms. If you have previous forms saved on your computer, please delete them, or if you have hard copies in your office, please recycle them. All forms must be submitted with an account number to charge. If you do not know your account number, ask your supervisor or administrative assistant.
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.
Please also allow two weeks for delivery of requested business cards.
The order form can also be found year around on the Intranet > Communications > Forms. If you have previous forms saved on your computer, please delete them, or if you have hard copies in your office, please recycle them. All forms must be submitted with an account number to charge. If you do not know your account number, ask your supervisor or administrative assistant.
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.
Please also allow two weeks for delivery of requested business cards.
Revised Conference Room Request & Set-Up Form Available
A handful of tweaks were made to the Agency’s Conference Room Request & Set-Up Form. Please use this updated version and discard any other versions you may have saved on your computer.
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