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

Stumme to Serve As Interim Regional Director for Van Meter & Waukee

Heartland AEA is pleased to announce that Jim Stumme has joined the Agency as the successor to Angie Calhoun, regional director in Region 2. Stumme will provide leadership and support to the Van Meter and Waukee school districts as interim regional director for the 2014-15 school year. Calhoun’s last day at the Agency will be Wednesday. 

Stumme began his career in 1973 as a school psychologist in the Boone County Superintendent's office, and he joined the Heartland AEA staff in 1975 when the AEAs were founded. During his career at Heartland AEA, he served as a school psychologist, supervisor of psychological services, zone coordinator, assistant director of special education, director of special education, associate administrator and deputy chief administrator. He retired from the Agency in 2008. Since that time he has taught at Drake University and served as a contracted mediator for the Iowa Department of Education. His bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of Northern Iowa and his doctorate is from Drake University. 

Stumme will be working with Calhoun the next three days as he transitions into the position. His first day in the Adel office will be Wednesday afternoon.

Reminder: All-Staff Meeting Set for Sept. 12; Send in Your Slideshow Photos Now!

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 4 - 1205 25th Ave. SW, Altoona 
• Region 8 - Lutheran Church of the Cross, Altoona 

We hope you are looking forward to gathering for our All-Staff meeting on Sept. 12! This is the only time during the year all 630 of us come together to learn and connect with one other. The “theme” of this year’s meeting is “Impacting Lives, Building Futures!” Please plan to join us for a great morning! 

A few details: 

• The Benefits/Wellness Fair will be held from 7:30-9:00 a.m. before the start of the meeting. This flyer gives you information on who is participating and what they will have to offer. 
• We will be recognizing our years of service award recipients for 2014. So pay attention, you just might be asked to walk across the stage! 
• We will again be doing a photo slideshow 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@heartlandaea.org by Aug. 29 No more than three photos per person…thanks! 
• Wear your agency colors (purple and green) for our group photo at the end of the meeting!
  

Reminder: Business & Professional Development Travel Procedures

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.

Reminder: Guidelines for Completing the Overnight Travel & PD Form

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: 

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
3. 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.

Wellness Updates: Next Step Challenge & Healthiest State Walk Coming Soon

Next Step Challenge Through Live Healthy Iowa
For the third year, Heartland AEA will be participating in the Next Step Challenge through Live Healthy Iowa. Heartland AEA Wellness will cover the cost of participation, which is $10 per person, and agency teams of 2-10 people can compete. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Get your 2-10 person team together and nominate a team captain.
2. The team captain will then go to www.livehealthyiowa.org, click on the area that says “start a team” on the right side of the page and enter LHIHAEA11 as the Group ID to register his/her team.
3. The team captain will register all of his or her team members, selecting ‘LHI Pedometer’ from the promotional item drop down box for each team member who needs a pedometer.
4. Team members will then log their steps through the Live Healthy Iowa website. 

The contest will start Sept. 8 and run through Oct. 17, so get a team together and sign up before Aug. 29! 

If you have any questions about the program or about registering, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Human Resources Manager, at tchiaramonte@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14534. 

Save the Date! Healthiest State Walk Oct. 8

Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Healthiest State Walk on Oct. 8, 2014. Join thousands of other Iowans as we each walk 1K to help Iowa become the healthiest state in the nation by 2016. You can visit www.iowahealthieststate.com/healthiest-state-walk to commit to walk that day and to help coordinate a walking route for your office or join another walk in your area.

NEW Registration Information for Regional Meeting Follow-Up Sessions for Elementary Staff (Early Literacy, MTSS & Dyslexia)

As was shared last week, regional meeting follow-up sessions for staff members who serve elementary schools were postponed to allow for the delayed release of substantially deficient definition. The new schedule and registration information is below. Please sign up as soon as possible. 

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, math consultants, reading consultants, school psychologists, school social workers, special education consultants and speech-language pathologists (and others as directed by regional directors) who serve elementary school partners 

Sessions:
Sept. 3
Johnston
IN061692111505 

Sept. 4
Adel 
IN061692111506

Sept. 5 
Johnston/Ankeny location TBD 
IN061692111507 

Sept. 8 
Knoxville 
IN061699991502 

Sept. 9 
Ames 
IN061692111508

Sept. 19 
Johnston 
IN061692111509 

Identified staff members (see targeted audience above) need to pick only one session to attend. 

If you are uncertain if you need to attend this professional learning opportunity, please contact your regional director. If you have any questions regarding these sessions, contact Martha Condon, School Psychologist, at mcondon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 18145.

Digging Deeper into Chapter 62/ELI: Support for District & Building Leadership

Heartland AEA will be offering a professional learning opportunity focused on early elementary reading as it pertains to Chapter 62 requirements. These sessions will be held Sept. 11-25, 2014 at various locations across the Heartland AEA region. The targeted audience includes school administrators, curriculum coordinators, coaches and student services coordinators. These sessions will include presentation of most recent information, review of new guidance documents and discussion of current questions and sharing processes being used by participants to meet Chapter 62 requirements. Areas of coverage include: 

• What does “at risk of substantial deficiency” mean and what is required? 
• What does “substantially deficient” mean and what is required? 
• Discussion of the relationship between substantially deficient and suspicion of a disability. 
• Parent notification. 
• Progress monitoring and monitoring requirements. 
• Data-based decisions based on monitoring data. 
• Considerations around implementation fidelity. 

These meetings are sponsored by Heartland AEA and will be facilitated by Randy Allison and Martha Condon. 

Here is the registration information.

Information Regarding Educational Services Available for Children From Central America Who Have Recently Crossed the U.S./Mexico Border

From the U.S. Department of Education’s Heartland Communications and Outreach Team 

We have received inquiries regarding the educational services available for the children from Central America who have recently crossed the U.S. - Mexico border. 

The U.S. Department of Education is in close communication with the other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, leading the federal response to the humanitarian situation on the border and have created the fact sheet available at www.ed.gov/unaccompaniedchildren. The fact sheet provides information to help education leaders better understand the responsibilities of States and local educational agencies (LEAs) in connection with such students, and the existing resources available to help educate all immigrant students. The third page also contains frequently asked questions. 

The internal team Secretary Duncan has tasked with tracking the inquiries being received from the field will continue to monitor this situation as it evolves and the new school year approaches.

Reminder: Certified Staff: Register Today For 2014-15 Internal Capacity Building Sessions

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.

Home Safety Visit Guide Now Available

The Agency is pleased to present staff a newly created Home Visit Safety Guide. This guide was developed to address questions from staff and regional directors and to improve the previous information in the staff handbook. The Home Safety Guide, which is archived on the Intranet > Human Resources > Health & Safety Information, is intended to provide tips and guidance for health and safety issues related to home visits. 

In the fall of 2013, at a professional development session for staff serving early childhood, questions and input were gathered. Through the reminder of 2013-14 school year, a group of volunteers participated in a Home Visit Safety Committee. The committee members were:

• Sandra Darveau, Early Childhood Special Education Consultant 
• Heather (Morphew) Nelson, Early Childhood Special Education Consultant 
• Chris Pierson, Regional Director 
• Julie Ridley, Early ACCESS Family Support Coordinator 
• Annie Volker, Early ACCESS Regional Coordinator 
• Linda Wegner, Special Education Nurse 

The committee reviewed questions from staff, identified gaps between current agency information and staff questions, researched practices in place by other human service institutions and wrote the manual to address the safety and health issues relevant to Heartland AEA staff who conduct home visits. Additional edits and suggestions were provided by: 

• Dave Wood, Regional Director 
• Wendy Robinson, Director of Instructional Services 
• Rachelle Dawson, Regional Director 
• Laura Gillon, Executive Director of Human Resources 

All staff and supervisors of staff who conduct home visits should become familiar with this information. Please remember: no policy, staff handbook or staff training will cover every contingency for the provision of safe home visits; however, the safety guide is intended to provide some of the big ideas related to home visit safety for Heartland AEA employees. Employees must always use their best judgment and be vigilant for their own safety.

Update on Agency Co-Locations: Parkview & Delaware

The Agency maintains “co-locations” within two of the school districts we serve. These locations are at Parkview Middle School in Ankeny and Delaware Elementary in Des Moines (SE Polk school district). The SE Polk co-location recently moved from Clay Elementary in Altoona to the Delaware school building. Co-locations serve as “landing strips” for staff to do paper work and other quick office tasks. Each location has a dedicated administrative assistant who is there throughout the school year -- Veretta Schuyler at Parkview and Chris Ahrend at Delaware.

Assessing Academic Rigor Offered in September & October

The next session of Assessing Academic Rigor is now available for registration in the Heartland AEA Professional Development Catalog. The dates are September 23, 30, October 14 & 21, 2014. This course is required for school administrators (superintendents, central office administration, building principals, assistant principals, etc.) and other educational leaders responsible for evaluating educators who are renewing their licenses.

Private Instruction for Students Entitled to Special Education Services

Legislative changes in 2013 altered private instruction (often referred to as homeschooling or CPI-competent private instruction) options in Iowa. These changes are reinforced in the 2014-15 Private Instruction Handbook. Additional guidance documents have been developed to support Heartland AEA and LEA staff in understanding and meeting the requirements and to ensure appropriate paperwork is completed for students who are entitled to special education services. Please take special note that the Heartland AEA guidance document has been revised with significant changes and should replace the previous version. 

You will find a Google Drive folder with these three additional guidance documents related to this topic: 

• Heartland AEA Guidance Private Instruction Requests for Special Education Entitled Individuals – March 2014 Version 
• CPI Worksheet 
• 2014-15 Private Instruction Handbook which includes Form A, referenced throughout the guidance 

If you have any questions regarding this information, contact Keri Steele, Regional Director/Assistant Director of Special Education, at ksteele@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14372 or Sara Mercer, School Psychologist, at smercer@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14312.