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 

Do Your Best on the Agency Technology Use Questionnaire

We’ve had some feedback from staff who felt unable to answer many of the questions in the questionnaire sent out last week. We urge you to try your best when answering the questions. We’d really appreciate your feedback to get a baseline of staff members’ technology knowledge and use. Our overall goal is to increase our capacity to serve our member districts by clearly highlighting our own strengths and needs.

Please complete the questionnaire by this Friday, April 17.

Thanks again for your participation and input!

2nd Semester A-87 Emails

On Wednesday, April 15, the second semester A-87 certification will be e-mailed to federally-funded employees. We are following the same process we used for previous certifications. The e-mail will come from heartlandworkflow with the subject, "A87 Certification Notice - Action Required." There will be a link in the e-mail for employees to follow to complete the certification. If you have questions or problems with accessing the link, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at bwhalen@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14005. The Business Office appreciates your prompt completion of the certifications and your assistance in helping us maintain compliance with this reporting requirement.

UNI Education Summit to Focus on Systemic Reform of Iowa Education

Recent research suggests that American school children are falling behind their international cohorts in academic skills at all education levels (Center for Research on Human Capital and Education; ETS, 2013). Creating and delivering quality education requires a complex system of institutions. Institutional change (reform) is always difficult; however, it becomes significantly more probable if relevant stakeholders are involved at all levels of the reform process. This necessary connectedness among stakeholders is essential for lasting systemic change to occur. Speakers and participants at the UNI Education Summit will discuss topics related to education reform, with particular emphasis on the areas of literacy/reading, rural education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) instruction.

Governor Branstad, the Iowa Legislature and the Iowa Department of Education have signaled their understanding of the need for education reform as follows:

• Passed and signed HF 215, an omnibus education reform bill addressing issues such as:  school funding, teacher recruitment, teacher advancement and accountability requirements.
• Passed and signed SF 2319, a bill that directly addresses assisting young children who underperform in reading, specifically because of dyslexia.
• Created and funded Iowa Reading Research Center (IRRC).

The purpose of the annual UNI Education Summit is, and will continue to be, to provide a venue and an opportunity for discussion among institutions and individuals involved in, and necessary for, the successful, systemic reform of Iowa education.

For more information and to register, visit the UNI Education Summit website.

Standards Based Grading in Special Education Scheduled at Drake University

The move to standards-based grading poses real challenges as we implement this practice with learners of diverse abilities. In this session, participants will learn about an inclusive grading and intervention-planning model for grading and reporting achievement of exceptional learners in a way that is fair, meaningful and legally defensible. For more information and to register, visit the Drake University registration website.

Only 20% Enrolled? Time to Enroll for Your Employee Benefits! Additional Life Insurance Also Available

As of late last week, only 20% of eligible staff members had enrolled for employee benefits. If you do not enroll by April 30, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. you will not be covered next year! Even if you choose to keep the same plan you had for this year, you still need to designate your enrollment options.

Enrollment can be completed through the Employee Online tab on the Employee Dashboard. If you are having trouble enrolling, log out of Employee Online and then log in before you start the enrollment process. This helpful tip and more can be found in the enrollment instructions attachment, which now includes how to print off your benefit statement!

VOYA Life Insurance Enrollment During our annual benefit enrollment, employees who didn’t opt for additional life insurance coverage through VOYA can also enroll. Please complete the enrollment form and submit it to Juliette Houseman. Existing employees who are enrolling for the first time will be required to fill out an Evidence of Insurability form. Existing employees who are already enrolled but who want to increase their coverage may also do so at this time. Existing employees may increase their coverage, but if they choose to increase it over $10,000, they will be required to fill out an Evidence of Insurability form. Enrollment will be during April but will be effective on July 1, 2015. 

If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315.

AEA Legislative Update

Each week during the Iowa legislative session, we will bring you an AEA Legislative Update from the AEA system’s lobbyists, Tom Lane, Matt Eide and John Pederson.

The Facts About Education Funding – A Team Approach

During the legislative session, the Joint Education Allowable Growth Group (IASB, UEN, AEAs, SAI, ISEA and RSAI) will once again be creating weekly factoids about the need for consistent growth in the state’s annual education spending rate. These “Facts About Education Funding” will be sent to all legislators, Gov. Branstad and Dept. of Education Director Buck highlighting a pertinent fact about education spending in Iowa. Each week this link will also be shared in The Connection.

Funding Education is Affordable

Prior Written Notice Available on all Child Find Records

The Prior Written Notice will be available on all Child Find records beginning today, April 13, 2015. A Prior Written Notice will be an optional form for Disability Suspect meetings when a parent is not requesting an evaluation. The Prior Written Notice will be required when a parent does request an evaluation. As with all Disability Suspect forms, the Prior Written Notice will be available after the Family Tab requirements are completed. This includes the student and adult information. 

If parents did not request an evaluation: If parents did request an evaluation:
 

If a Prior Written Notice is complete, it will archive with the Child Find record.