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
As another school year ends, I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for your dedicated work and service. Comments I heard this spring in visits with our staff and local schools made it clear that our collective focus on student learning is making a difference. Congratulations on your many accomplishments and celebrations of progress within the regions and departments!
While it is rewarding to reflect on the progress made over the past school year, summer also provides a great opportunity to work on our cycle of continuous improvement. Agency leaders will spend time in June and July reviewing multiple data sets we have collected recently such as staff feedback regarding professional development, staff feedback from the culture focus groups and visits with the chief, staff comments from regional and department planning councils, DE and LEA feedback from the accreditation report (when we receive it) and district visits, etc. This data helps us acknowledge our accomplishments, identify challenges and consider potential next steps in our journey to meet established student learning goals and to develop a high reliability organization.
Whether the summer ahead is typically your busiest time of year or you have some time off, I hope one of your planned activities also includes reading. I plan to read Orphan Train and will also join other Agency Planning Council (APC) members in finishing a book study of Lencioni’s newest book The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business. In preparation for a summer seminar, APC members will also read a short monograph on leadership called For the Common Good.
What activities will your summer include? What will you be reading? Share your ideas on this Google doc. I hope you will share some of your fun adventures and reading recommendations! Happy reading and best wishes for a great summer!
Take care,
Paula
As many of you are winding down your year’s work and planning to be away over the summer months, please remember you can always keep up-to-date with Agency and statewide happenings through social media! Be sure to “follow” or “like” the following sites to stay updated with the latest news and information.
Heartland AEA
• Facebook
• Twitter
AEA System
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blog
• Pinterest
New Clips
Also available are Heartland AEA’s daily news clips. Each morning, the Heartland AEA Communications Department provides links to local and national education news headlines to those who have signed up for our “News Clips” email list. If you would like to be added to the News Clips list, contact the Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org.
In order for the Wellness leads to better plan financial wellness offerings, they’d like to hear from you about what activities would be most beneficial to you. Please complete the Financial Wellness Survey to let us know what topics are of interest to you and how you feel about your current financial situation. The survey is anonymous, and the Human Resources Department will only see results. The deadline to complete the survey is June 10. Thank you for your input!
We are happy to announce that employees covered under Madison National Life Insurance’s policy are now being offered a new service: Identity Theft Assistance. You and your family members are covered—there’s no cost and no need to sign up. Madison National Life has already handled everything for you.
Having your personal information stolen can be stressful and overwhelming. If you lose your wallet, suspect credit card fraud or if any of your personal or financial information were to become compromised, you are just a phone call away from help. A dedicated person will assist you in contacting the necessary agencies, completing the required paperwork and providing the follow-up and support you need through the restoration process.
Just call the phone number on this flyer, which is archived on the Intranet > Benefits > Identity Theft Assistance, if you ever find yourself a victim. We hope you never have to use this service, but we hope you will feel more secure knowing it’s there if you should ever have the need.
If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315.
As the fiscal year comes to a close, remember that you are granted up to 4 hours of agency time per fiscal year to do volunteer/community service work.
Staff members must follow these procedures for volunteering during agency hours:
- There must be at least three Heartland AEA staff members (you and at least two other staff) working at the same volunteer opportunity together.
- Staff members are encouraged to wear Heartland AEA-logo clothing or our “Heartland Cares” stickers that were created for this purpose. You can request stickers by contacting the Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org. (Please request your stickers so others can see who you are!)
- Of course, you must approve your leave with your supervisor before taking the time off.
- Finally, to celebrate our work, please take a photo of your group during the volunteer activity and send it to the Communications Department with information about the activity and who was involved.
Many staff members have already taken advantage of this opportunity—thank you for representing the Agency and serving our communities!
