With August’s arrival, our attention turns again to a new school year and all of the excitement that ensues. While I hope you have had a chance to enjoy time with family and friends this summer, I also know many of you have been actively engaged with local school planning and/or helping provide summer learning opportunities for children, family members and school staff. Still others have been working behind the scenes to assure technology, media and other supports are in place. Thank you to all of our current staff for the work you do to provide services of the highest quality. We’re pleased to have you and your talents at Heartland AEA.
The start of a new school year also means we have the opportunity to welcome new team members. For those of you joining the Heartland AEA staff, welcome! We are excited you have chosen to work here and apply your knowledge and skills to help us in our service to others. Working as partners with families, schools and communities, we have unlimited potential for making great things happen for students!
I look forward to working with all of you this year. Together we can make great things happen in progressing toward our ultimate goal of improving the learning outcomes and well-being of children and youth in Iowa.
With best wishes,
Paula Vincent
Chief Administrator
Carlene Lodermeier has been selected as the new regional director of Region 4 (Des Moines Public Schools). She begins her new position today, Aug. 11, and succeeds Kathie Danielson, who has returned to Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) as the district’s Director of High Schools.
Last school year Lodermeier was a member of the Region 4 team supporting DMPS in the area of literacy, as well as serving as an instructional coach supporting Collins-Maxwell as the district participated in Phase I of the state's implementation of Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).
Prior to working at Heartland AEA, Lodermeier served as a K-12 Curriculum Coordinator in Ankeny and Ames, a literacy consultant at the Iowa Department of Education and as an educator in Ames and Bozeman, Mont. She brings a wealth of experience in school improvement, professional development, evidence-based instructional practice and leading large-scale school improvement initiatives. Lodermeier earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Iowa State University and holds an administrator certification.
“I am looking forward to supporting Heartland AEA’s Region 4 team and Des Moines Public Schools as we work collectively to improve learning outcomes for students,” Lodermeier said. “I am so impressed with the dedication and expertise of individuals within these organizations, and it’s truly an honor to be on this team.”
The Business Office made several changes related to business travel and professional development that went into effect July 1, 2014. Changes include the following:
- The Out-of-Area Travel & Professional Development Form was renamed the Overnight Travel & Professional Development Form. As a result of this change, staff traveling out of our agency’s area, to meetings not requiring overnight lodging and not related to professional development, can claim the mileage on their monthly online expense claim.
- Staff should use the account code ‘OUTAREA’ when claiming the mileage on their online expenses. If the ‘OUTAREA’ code is not set up in your expense report, contact Mary Heaberlin, Accounting Technician, at mheaberlin@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14818. Travel involving overnight lodging and expenses related to professional development will be reimbursed using the Overnight Travel & Professional Development form.
- Hotel reimbursement is limited to $55 plus taxes for in-state lodging and $175 plus taxes for out-of-state lodging. However, an exception will be made for conferences that advertise a related hotel rate. The advertised hotel rate will become the new maximum amount of reimbursement even if it exceeds the $175 limit. If the conference hotel is full, the conference hotel rate will be the maximum reimbursed at other area hotels. Staff will be responsible for turning in documentation supporting the conference hotel rate. Staff members are encouraged to double up on occupancy when possible in order to maximize the use of the Agency’s professional development budget.
- The Agency’s preferred method of payment for registration fees will continue to be via purchase orders. Pre-payment of registration fees may be allowed with Business Office approval. The exceptions for pre-payment include, but are not limited to, high cost fees, fees that must be pre-paid and vendors that do not accept purchase orders. Regardless of whether a registration fee is pre-paid, all registration fees require a purchase order. Staff members are allowed to personally pay registration fees and be reimbursed after the conference is attended using the Overnight Travel & Professional Development form.
Please refer to the memo attached to the Overnight Travel & Professional Development Form for detailed information and instructions, or if you have questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at bwhalen@heartlandaea.org or at ext. 14005.
In order to expedite the reimbursement of overnight travel and professional development expenses, the Business Office asks that staff members adhere to the following guidelines:
- Only use the current Overnight Travel & Professional Development form located on the Intranet and always submit the form electronically. The form is titled Overnight Travel & Professional Development Form and is located under the Business Office link. Do not use forms stored on your hard drive. Using old forms causes confusion on who should be signing the forms and where the forms should be sent.
- When saving the form, title it ‘OT-your name mm_dd_yy’. The date should be either the first date of travel or the date of your professional development. Using a standard naming convention should help with the flow of the form. Supervisors will immediately know what is attached and know that they need to act on it.
- When receipts are required, copy them to one pdf file. The file can contain multiple pages, but we would like it all in one file. By limiting the number of documents being emailed, it will be easier for supervisors and the Business Office to track the receipts and keep them with the form.
If you have any questions, contact Mary Heaberlin, Accounting Technician, at mheaberlin@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14818 or Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at bwhalen@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14005.
The Agency’s Administrator Connection will begin publishing for the 2014-2015 school year on Aug. 15. The Administrator Connection newsletter is in a blog format just like the staff Connection and is published every Friday from mid-August to mid-June. It informs our school administrators (superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, etc.) of news and information important to them and is the primary communications tool the Agency uses to communicate directly with school administrators. Send any information you’d like to communicate to school administrators to the Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org.
The Aug. 2014 issue of the Each & Every Child newsletter from the Iowa Department of Education is now available. In this issue, read about a family that has taken back-to-school efforts to a level that works well for their son.
Identified staff members who serve schools and students are reminded to register for internal capacity building sessions. The Internal Capacity Building Google Site lists dates and registration information for most of the 2014-15 sessions. All the information will be updated by the end of next week. The page for each strand on the Google Site lists the contact person for strand-specific questions.
Staff members who joined the Agency in 2013-14 will need to work with their regional director to select a strand. New staff members who joined the Agency this year will participate in new staff training and will not participate in a capacity building strand.
If you have any general questions about capacity building, contact Kevin Fangman, Executive Director of District Services, at kfangman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14374.
During our April regional meetings, we continued our agency discussions around the Early Literacy Implementation/Chapter 62 requirements for elementary schools across the state of Iowa. Below you will find registration information for one support that will be provided to AEA staff this fall. All targeted AEA staff need to register and participate in one session this fall.
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 following job-alike groups who serve elementary school partners:
• instructional coaches
• math consultants
• professional learning generalists
• reading consultants
• school psychologists
• school social workers
• special education consultants
• speech-language pathologists
• and others as directed by regional directors
Sessions
Aug. 18
Adel
IN061692111501
Aug. 19
Ames
IN061692111502
Aug. 20
Johnston
IN061692111503
Aug. 22
Knoxville
IN061699991501
Sept. 2
Johnston
IN0616921115
Identified staff members only need to participate in one session. If you are uncertain if you need to participate in 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.
The agenda for the Aug. 12 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting is available.
On Sept. 4, 2014, representatives from MJCare will be on site to provide training updates and answer Medicaid billing questions for Heartland AEA staff.
While the training is not mandatory, it is highly recommended that staff members who do Medicaid billing attend in order to hear updates to billing practices. Additionally, new staff who will likely begin billing Medicaid should also plan to attend. It is anticipated that the first 30 minutes will review accessing the system for new staff. Two sessions will be offered, and both will be offered electronically. More information regarding the electronic connection will follow in a future Connection article.
Please join us for one of these sessions by registering through the online course catalog using the following activity numbers:
Session 1
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Activity Number: IN061792111501
Session 2
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Activity Number: IN061792111502
If you have any questions, contact Sara Mercer, School Psychologist, at smercer@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14312.
The Internal Technology Contact Guide available on the Intranet under the Technology link has been updated. Please note that the sheet includes the name of staff members who are tech support leads in each region/office. They are available to help with basic technology questions and troubleshooting.
Watch for a special Connection update at the end of the month specially devoted to technology updates!
The following trainings are only for staff who are receiving an agency iPad for the first time. The trainings will cover a basic system overview and applications that apply to agency work. Your iPad must have already arrived and be setup for your use before you sign-up for this training.
August 15, 2014
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
September 17, 2014
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
October 24, 2014
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
November 21, 2014
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
January 23, 2015
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
February 20, 2015
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
March 25, 2015
9:00 a.m. – noon
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
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
