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
Location
Palace Theater at Adventureland
Time
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. – Benefits/Wellness Fair & Continental Breakfast
9:00 to noon – All-Staff Meeting
Theme
Enriching Lives Since ’75 -- Celebrating 40 Years!
Details
United Way: We will kick off our annual United Way campaign again this year at the All-Staff meeting. We are counting on you to once again pledge record support to United Way, so they can in turn support communities through education, income and health initiatives!
Watch your tables for pledge forms to begin pledging your support on Sept. 11. Everyone (whether you donate to United Way or not) will have the chance to fill out a form to get your name in a drawing for over a dozen wellness-related prizes!
Benefits/Wellness Fair: The Benefits/Wellness Fair will be held from 7:30-8:45 a.m. before the start of the meeting. This flyer gives you information on who is participating and what they will have to offer. Come check it out! Flu shots will be offered again this year, with more nurses on hand to administer them! We hope to have the fair outside this year, so cross your fingers for some sunshine!
Wear Agency Colors: Wear your agency colors – purple or green – for our group photo at the end of the meeting outside near the Adventureland train station!
Photo Booth: We’ll have a photo backdrop available to take photos with your co-workers to show your “Enriching Lives Since ‘75” spirit! Can you say selfie stick?
Fill in the Tables: Please make every attempt to fill the chairs at every table. Please do not move chairs around from table to table, either. We would like to avoid having to scramble to find a place for everyone to sit.
Directions:
Coming from I-80:
• Turn left on to Adventureland Drive.
• Turn right into the Adventureland Park entrance.
• Continue through the unattended parking gate. (Parking will be free.)
• Park in the first or second parking lot to your left.
• Enter through the furthest gate to the right (if you are looking at the park).
• If you continue to walk straight after entering the park, the Palace Theater will be right in front of you.
Can’t wait to see you there!
The past three years we’ve had a great response to our annual photo contest, and we invite you to participate again this year! The contest is open to all Heartland AEA staff members!
Our two photo categories will be “People” and “Places.” You may enter ONE 5x7 photo in each category. Divisions are “Black and White/Sepia” and “Color.” Local photographers will judge the photos and select those that will be framed and featured in the Johnston Regional Education Center and Administration Center.
It is our hope that many of you will take the time to share your photos with us. Our goal is to give whomever chooses to participate the opportunity to share their uniqueness and perspective of the world with their colleagues and our guests!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jim Verlengia, Director of Leadership Supports, at jverlengia@heartlandaea.org.
Contest Details:
• The contest is open to all Heartland AEA staff.
• You may enter ONE 5x7 photo of people or places in each categories (black and white/sepia or color).
• A completed entry form must accompany each entry.
• All entries are due by 4:00 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2015.
• Photos and entry forms are to be turned in to Connie Kellogg, Library Clerk.
• An electronic copy of the winning photos must be available so that prints can be made.
• Selected photos will be framed and displayed in both the Johnston REC and Administration Center buildings.
• Judges will not be associated in any way with Heartland AEA and will judge photos with no knowledge of the photographer.
• Judging will occur in October.
We look forward to seeing your photos!
Julie McCarty has joined the Agency’s Communications Department as a Communications Specialist, taking over the role previously held by Claire Sowder. She will have responsibility for many of the same tasks as Claire, including social media, the Administrator Connection and the Educator Connection. We are glad to have Julie aboard and please don’t hesitate to contact her for support or with contributions for social media and newsletters.
It’s not too late to get a new shirt for the beginning of the school year! Lands’ End is the official vendor for Heartland AEA-logo clothing items. Visit our Lands’ End e-store today! You can go to the site to purchase any clothing item, case, bag or tote in any color with the Agency’s logo. The more logos we can get in front of the public, the better! Happy shopping!
Welcome
back to another school year! In this month’s Eachand Every Child newsletter from the Iowa Department of Education, learn
why an Algona educator takes special education very personally, and how it
makes her determined that all children will succeed.
Happy September! Welcome to your next issue of SchoolLeader Update from the Iowa Department of Education. Inside, read about the
Department of Education’s priorities from Director Ryan Wise, and attorney
Nicole Proesch gives you updates on several issues.
Volunteer time will continue! Agency staff members are granted four hours per fiscal year (July 1-June 30) to volunteer their time to serve their communities. In the past staff have volunteered at Meals from the Heartland, many food banks, the Animal Rescue League, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity and many more!
Please keep these guidelines in mind when volunteering:
- 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.
We love to see you serving our communities – please consider volunteering your time for others!
Did you know that 80% of workers polled nationally indicate they want their employer to provide financial wellness education? Consider where we are as a society today:
• 76% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck (bankrate.com)
• 30% of Americans have outstanding loans on their 401(k)s (Business Record)
• The #1 cause of stress is money problems and money fights (multiple studies)
Heartland AEA is excited to announce our next financial wellness offering, Relationships & Money! Whether you are looking to pick-up a few nuggets of information, or you need a financial overhaul, this 90-minute lunch and learn workshop is just for you. You will leave knowing how to better communicate, cooperate and be committed with your spouse or significant other when it comes to your finances. You’ll also learn how to teach your children how to handle money.
Join us for the Relationships & Money workshop on Sept. 23 from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Johnston Regional Education Center. This seminar will also be available via Zoom. RSVP by Sept. 21.
Register Now!
It is recommended that healthcare professionals, emergency personnel and others who work closely with the public receive a Hepatitis B vaccination. New agency staff who serve children will be getting their second round of Hepatitis B shots on Friday at the All-Staff meeting. If you work with children and haven’t received a shot in the past or you are a new staff member who didn’t receive the shot at orientation, contact Juliette Houseman to schedule a vaccination during the Benefits/Wellness Fair on Friday from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. If you aren’t sure whether you should receive a vaccination, you can contact Juliette (ext. 14315) as well.
The agenda for the Sept. 8, 2015 Board of Directors meeting is now available. The Board will hold its annual meeting with DMACC today as well.
The Heartland AEA Board of Directors terms of Sheri Benson, Steve Rose, Cal Halliburton, Margaret Borgen and Jane Bell expire in October, and we are happy to report that Benson, Rose and Borgen have chosen to run for re-election, while Halliburton and Bell will be stepping down.
A special Director District Convention to replace Halliburton and Bell will be held on Sept. 29.
Bell represents Director District 9, which is comprised of the Des Moines, Martensdale-St. Marys, Norwalk and West Des Moines school districts. She has served on the Heartland AEA Board of Directors since 1996. Halliburton represents Director District 5, which is comprised of the Ames, Ballard, Colo-Nesco, Gilbert, Nevada, Roland-Story and United school districts. He has served on the Heartland AEA Board of Directors since 2009.
Newly elected and re-elected board members will be sworn in at the Oct. 13 board meeting.
Registration for Teacher Quality courses and study groups begins today and ends Sept. 14. TQ courses and study groups meet for 15 hours off contract time and participants are eligible for a stipend upon completion.
The
amount of the stipend is established after registration closes. Last
year eligible staff members were paid $600 to participate in a course or
study group and were paid $500 in 2013-14. The amount for 2015-16 will
be determined when registration closes on Sept. 14. Classes and study
groups will be offered from Oct. 2015 through June 2016. Here is a frequently asked questions document that will help answer questions.
On Aug. 31, 2015, the Central Processing Center rolled out the electronic signature feature on the Web IEP/Web IFSP system. Any form that requires a signature can now be signed electronically. This document, created by the Central Processing Center, explains the features of the electronic signature.
In addition, the following message is posted on the Web IowaIDEA Login Screen:
August 31, 2015 - Optional Electronic Signatures released. This will be an optional feature via the forms tab in the IEP/IFSP applications. The signatures will archive with the IEP/IFSP records if this option is used.
If you have any questions, contact Misty Christensen, Regional Director/Assistant Director of Special Education, at ext. 11203, Sue Dunsmoor, Special Education Data Specialist, at ext. 11202 or Mary Keul, Special Education Data Specialist, at ext. 14326.
Protect Your Work – Back It Up!
Most of our work is important enough that we should protect – or “back up” – documents and files in several places. We recommend that you save your work on your computer hard drive AND in these places!
Google Drive
1. Go to drive.google.com.
2. On the left, click New.
3. Select File upload.
4. Select the file you want to upload.
External Hard Drive
1. At least once a week, connect your external hard drive to your computer to begin the automatic backup. Check progress under Devices in the left column.
We have unlimited space in our Google educational accounts for Heartland AEA work files (not personal) and Google backs up our accounts for us! Backing up our most important information keeps it safe and is one of our core technology skills. So use Google and your external hard drive regularly to make sure your important agency files are backed up!
BONUS TIP: Your external hard drive should be stored in a separate location from your computer. If, for example, you put them in the same bag and you lose that bag, you’ve lost two of your most common places to store and back up files.
