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
Reminder: APC has decided to continue the extended winter break schedule for the 2015-16 calendar year. This continues to be a change from our traditional “floating holiday” schedule for staff who have 262-day work schedules. APC will review winter break annually as part of the calendar-building process. Enjoy your time!
Dec. 24
Staff work day
Offices closed to the public
Dec. 25
Official agency holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Dec. 28
Official floating holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Dec. 29 & Dec. 30
Additional floating holidays for employees with 262-day work schedules
Offices closed to staff and public
Dec. 31
Official floating holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Jan. 1
Official agency holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Regular Van Delivery: Dec. 21-23
No Van Delivery: Dec. 24-Jan. 1
Regular Van Delivery Resumes: Jan. 4
Due to the upcoming agency holiday schedule, staff members paid from a timesheet must have their Dec. 1-15 timesheets completed, approved by their supervisor and submitted to the Payroll Department by the end of the day on Friday, Dec. 18 in order to ensure they receive pay at the end of the month. The December end-of-month payday will be Dec. 30. If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.
The IRS has announced that the 403(b) contribution limits for 2016 will be the same as 2015:
• The regular elective deferral limit is $18,000 per calendar year.
• The catch-up contribution limit for employees age 50 and over is $6,000 per calendar year.
Since Heartland AEA is an education organization, if you have 15 or more years of service with the Agency, you may be eligible for an additional catch-up contribution of up to $3,000 per calendar year. A calculation is required to determine the actual amount available under this special catch-up provision. If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.
The Social Security Administration has announced the 2016 social security wage base will be $118,500, unchanged from 2015. The tax rate remains the same at 6.2%. As in prior years, there is no limit to the wages subject to the Medicare tax. The tax rate of 1.45% also remains unchanged. If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.
Semi-annually, Heartland AEA must comply with the Federal Grant rules identified in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-87, pertaining to documentation needed for federal expenditures. For employees who are funded 100% with federal funding, there are Circular A-87 audit requirements we need to meet in order to document appropriate expenditures. If you are in the fully funded group, you will receive an email on Dec. 9 from “heartlandworkflow” with the subject “A87 Certification Notice - Action Required” with a link to the certification page. The process is very simple and the same as previous years.
If you are new to this process or need a refresher, below is a link to a presentation which explains the background for Circular A-87 and the steps Heartland AEA is taking to meet the A-87 requirements. Please watch the 5-minute video using the password a87aea. Keep in mind that the video was created in March 2011. Although, some of the dates and timelines in the video are old, the process and the purpose of the A-87 certification are still the same.
You will need to click on the play button in order to start the video. As the video will explain, employees who are fully funded from one grant will need to certify every six months that they are preforming duties allowed under the federal grant.
If you have any questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005. The Business Office appreciates your prompt completion of the certifications and your assistance in helping us comply with this reporting requirement.
Inside, this month’s School Leader Update, Director Wise talks about two big pushes in the state – the Iowa School Report Card and Differentiated Accountability, Attorney Nicole Proesch reminds you to keep the holiday in (legal) perspective and read about the 2016 Teacher of the Year.
In this month’s Each and Every Child newsletter, drop in on the team at Pocahontas Elementary School in Pocahontas where you’ll find educators embracing Universal Design for Learning, or UDL; something they find helps individualize classroom work for each and every child – and enables a deeper understanding of content.
Heartland AEA is offering you an opportunity to lose weight with a program called Naturally Slim®.
Naturally Slim is a 10-week online program that helps you lose weight plus improve your overall health – all while eating the foods you love! With Naturally Slim, you will learn that you don’t have to starve yourself or count calories to lose weight and keep it off forever.
How does the Naturally Slim program work?
Naturally Slim is a mindful-eating program that helps you change how you eat instead of what you eat. It is not a diet. And, as you lose weight, you also improve your health by improving the risk factors that can lead to serious, chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more.
Why not give it a try?
You can still eat the foods you love and this could be the solution that you’ve been looking for. Thousands of people have used the Naturally Slim program to successfully lose weight.
The average weight loss in just ten weeks is 10.1 pounds. In fact, 15% of participants lose more than 20 pounds in that time.
How do I apply?
The program begins on Jan. 18, 2016 but participation is limited so you must complete the online application. Enrollment begins Dec. 7, 2015 and closes on Dec. 23, 2015. Please note: By submitting the online application, you are committing to participate in the program, if accepted.
How will participants be selected?
Program professionals select participants based on pre-determined criteria and a willingness to meet all program completion requirements as outlined below. You will be notified of your application status via e-mail by Jan. 8, 2016.
What are the program completion requirements?
In order to successfully complete the program, you must:
- Submit the online application and sign all appropriate releases by their associated deadlines.
- Complete at least 8 of the 10 online video courses for Naturally Slim Foundations within their set weekly time frames. It will be your responsibility to ensure your participation is accurately recorded each week.
- Complete a pre- and post-program biometric screening.
- Pre-biometric screening must be obtained and submitted to the Wellmark portal by Dec. 23.
- Post-biometric screening must be obtained at a local Hy-Vee by April 13 (2 weeks after Foundations class concludes).
What is the cost for the program?
There is no cost to you for the Naturally Slim Program. Your participation will help Heartland AEA achieve our goal of becoming a more health-conscious agency!
However, if you do not meet the program completion requirements as defined above, you will be responsible for reimbursing Heartland AEA $75, which is a portion of the program fee originally paid on your behalf.
A Note about Confidentiality…
The information that you provide to Naturally Slim will be considered confidential and will be available only to you and the program professionals. Heartland AEA will receive participation reports for administration of payroll and billing processes. Otherwise, the information you provide to Naturally Slim is confidential and available only to you and Naturally Slim and its affiliates involved in conducting or evaluating the program. Naturally Slim cannot sell or otherwise divulge any participant information to any unauthorized party.
If you have any questions, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Human Resources Manager, at ext. 14534.
The agenda for the December 8, 2015 Board of Directors meeting is now available.
Note: If your Hangout chat boxes do not look similar to the images below, read these instructions to update from gChat to Hangouts.
In early August, the Heartland AEA Internal Technology Department shared the news that iChat will be phased out of support as of Dec. 31, 2015. We are encouraging agency employees to transition to using Google Hangouts instead of iChat. Think of Hangouts as Google’s one-stop messaging app for both mobile and desktop devices. One does not need to download or sign-in to anything additional, as Hangouts is automatically turned on in Gmail. You might’ve noticed something similar to this on the left side of your email:
To use Hangouts to chat with others, here are the steps to get the conversation started:
1. Click the finder icon next to your name. A sidebar should appear with a search box at the top. In that box, type in the name of the person you want to chat with. Their information should appear underneath.
2. Click on the appropriate person you want to chat with and a chat box should pop-up in the lower right side of the Gmail window:
Note: If it is the first time you are chatting with a person in Hangout, the message will be sent as an invitation to the recipient.
