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 

Happy Holidays to You and Yours!

Click above for an e-card (with sound) from chief administrator Paula Vincent wishing you all a happy holiday season! (Click the full screen button in the right hand corner to expand.) Warm wishes to you and your families and may you find much love, happiness and laughter throughout the holidays and in the coming year. Thank you for sharing your talents at Heartland AEA!

It’s Almost W-2 Time! Is Your Address Current?

The Payroll Department will have your 2015 Form W-2 Wage and Tax State ready around mid-January.  Your W-2 will be available electronically through Employee Online and a paper copy will be mailed to your home address. Please help us ensure you receive your paper W-2 in a timely fashion by verifying we have your correct address on file in our Employee Online system. Please verify your information in the system by Jan. 9, 2016.

You can verify your address through Employee Online. Login to your Employee Dashboard. Employee Online is one of the navigation tabs at the top of the page, just like the Intranet and Leave Online tabs. Once you’re reached the Employee Online home page, click on “Home Address” in the left hand navigation section. If you need to update your address, click the “Edit” button in the lower right hand corner of the page. It’s that easy!

If you have questions about your personal information, contact Katie Streff, Human Resources Assistant, at ext. 14614. If you have any questions about your Form W-2, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.

Getting Ready for Tax Season: What is Form 1095-C?

As part of the Affordable Care Act, Heartland AEA will begin providing employees with Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage. This form includes information about health insurance coverage and enrollment that is offered to you and your family, if applicable. Heartland AEA is required to provide both you and the IRS with this information.

If you were a full-time employee for at least one month during the 2015 calendar year or were covered under the Agency’s health plan, you will receive Form 1095-C via U.S. mail by Jan. 31, 2016. You will not receive Form 1095-C if you were a part-time employee throughout the 2015 calendar year and were not covered under Heartland AEA’s health plan. You should wait to complete your 2015 federal income tax return until you receive Form 1095-C. 

If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.

Out-of-Office Protocols For Quality Customer Service

With winter break right on our heels, now is a good time to review the steps we should all take prior to being out of the office.

Change Gmail Vacation Responder (Out-of-Office message) (sample below)
Thank you for contacting Heartland AEA. I will be out of the office until Jan. 4, 2016, as our Heartland AEA offices are closed for Winter Break. I will return your message as soon as I can. Thank you.

Tip: If you use your out-of-office email reply for every little thing, people might just stop reading it. Use your out-of-office email response only in the instances you’ll truly be unresponsive for an extended period of time—like vacation. The customer will actually read it because they haven’t gotten multiple iterations of your bounce-back email on a continuous basis. Be clear and concise about when you’ll be responding, and leave out the personal information about where you are going and why.

Change Voicemail Greeting to Unavailable (sample below)
Thank you for calling Heartland AEA. You have reached Sally Smith. I am currently out of the office until Jan. 4, 2016, as Heartland AEA offices are closed for Winter Break. Please leave a message, and I will return your call when I am back in the office. Thank you.

Tip: If you want to change your voicemail greeting from your home phone or cell phone, you may do so by calling either (515) 270-0405 or (515) 473-7450 and pressing # when you begin to hear the greeting. This gets you into your voicemail, and you can then follow the prompts to access your messages, change your voicemail greeting or set it to out of office if you are ill and want callers to get immediate help. Please be mindful not to refer a customer to another staff member who is also scheduled to be out of the office. Check with that person to make sure he or she will be available and aware that you are forwarding customers and/or staff members to them during your absence.

New Iowa School Report Card Measures Public School Performance

Last week the Iowa Department of Education released the Iowa School Report Card, a new web-based system to evaluate and rate each public school based on performance on a required set of measures, such as student attendance and graduation rates. The system meets a legislative requirement and aligns with Department efforts to provide Iowans easier access to meaningful education statistics, to hold schools accountable for student progress and to support local efforts to improve schools.
 
The Iowa School Report Card assigns schools one of six ratings: Exceptional, High-Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement and Priority. Schools are grouped by comparable grade configurations (elementary, middle and high schools).

The ratings are based on each school’s performance over a two-year span on the following educational measures:

• Proficiency: The percentage of students scoring proficient or better on state reading and mathematics assessments.
• College and Career-Ready Growth: The percentage of students who are making the year-to-year growth necessary to be ready for college and career training by the end of high school.
• Annual Expected Growth: The percentage of students making a year of academic growth in a year’s time on state reading and mathematics assessments.
• Closing Achievement Gap: A measure that reflects a statewide goal of narrowing the gap in achievement for students with disabilities, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, and English Language Learners.
• College and Career Readiness: The percentage of students who score at or above a level of performance on reading and mathematics assessments that predicts a higher probability of postsecondary success. (Middle/high schools only.)
• Graduation Rate: The percentage of ninth-grade students who finished high school within five years. (High schools only.)
• Attendance: The average daily attendance of students, which is the total number of days students were enrolled and present divided by the total number of possible attendance days.
• Staff Retention: The percentage of teachers, school administrators and other licensed staff members who remained employed in a school over consecutive school years.

Iowa School Report Card scores and ratings are based on data reported by school districts for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years. The scores and ratings, which will be updated annually, apply only to public schools – districts do not receive ratings. No consequences or rewards are tied to the school ratings.

The Iowa School Report Card delivers on a component of the comprehensive education reform legislation adopted by Iowa lawmakers in 2013. The legislation, House File 215, directed the Department to develop a process to evaluate the performance of each school on certain measures and to “arrive at an overall school performance grade and report card” that is posted to the Department’s website. In its development phase, the Iowa School Report Card was known as the “Attendance Center Rankings” system.

Wise said the Iowa School Report Card also fits with the new Every Student Succeeds Act – the successor to No Child Left Behind – which restores the balance between the role of states and the federal government in education accountability.

The Department sought extensive input from education stakeholders representing teachers, school administrators and others throughout the development of the Iowa School Report Card. Improvements to the site’s methodology and functionality will continue over time.

Professional Development Around New Iowa Science Standards Begins Jan. 12

FYI: In order to support the implementation of the new Iowa Science Standards, the science learning community of Iowa is partnering to offer the first professional development opportunity, beginning Jan. 12, 2016.

Iowa Science Standards Professional Development Module 1 will introduce participants to the new Iowa Science Standards, their conceptual shifts and three-dimensional nature, as well as provide participants and districts an opportunity to have conversations as we move toward implementation. Find registration, locations and dates at this link.

If you have any questions, contact Rob Kleinow, Science Curriculum Consultant, at ext. 14376.

Heartland AEA Night @ the Iowa Wild

Since HeartBeat will not be published until Jan.7, we are including this information in The Connection.

Change to Web IEP Program Coming on Jan. 4, 2016

The Web IEP has a feature for a primary contact or support service provider to add a student to a teacher’s or support service provider’s My List and building Student List without transferring the student and assigning them as a provider. This allows a teacher or support service provider to see the student’s record before the student can be transferred to their roster as a provider. This action is accomplished by choosing the Potential Service Provider (PTSP) option under the “Add/Transfer” utility. It does NOT remove the student from the assigned provider’s list.

 Currently when a student is added to a teacher’s or support service provider’s My List and Student List via the Potential Service Provider (PTSP) option, the student record remains available until the teacher or service provider removes it by clicking on the red X next to the student’s name.

Beginning Jan. 4, 2016, that student record will fall off automatically from the teacher or support service provider’s My List and Student List after the 14th day of being added. The record can still be removed manually prior to the 14 days by clicking on the red X.

This will impact all student records that have previously been added to a teacher or service provider’s My List via the Potential Service Provider option. They will be automatically removed at the time of this rollover if they were added more than 14 days prior to that date. It will not remove a record from a teacher or service provider’s My List if they are assigned as a provider for that student.

The following message will display on the “add to roster” screen when choosing the PTSP option:

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.

Digital Citizenship Training Modules Ready to be Taken!

The new Digital Citizenship training modules for staff are now ready! Note that there is no pre-assessment for these modules. If you can’t remember where to go to access the trainings, please read below!

 
Q: How do I log in to the AEA PD Online Learning System?
A: First, you will need to have an AEA PD Online account. (If you have an account, but don’t remember your login information, contact Shelley Christensen for assistance. This is the same system that you’ve used to take Bloodborne Pathogens, Mandatory Reporter, etc.)

If you haven’t created an account, follow the steps below:
1.    Begin on the AEA PD Online Learning System.
2.    First time user??? Click on Register here.
3.    Enter your first and last name.
4.    Enter your email address.
5.    Enter your BoEE folder number
If you don't know this number, you can look it up at the BoEE Website. 
If you don't have one, indicate N/A.
6.    Click Yes to indicate that you are an AEA or District Employee.
7.    Locate Heartland AEA from the district list.
8.    Enter the District Password - aea11
9.    You may complete the other fields, but they are not required.
10.  Click on Submit Registration Info.
11.  The screen will not appear to change, but you will see a Continue button under the Submit button.
12.  Click on Continue.

Q: Once I login, how will I know where to start?
A: Once logged in to the AEA PD Online Learning System, you will choose the catalog link in the upper left hand sidebar. Then, click on district modules, and all of Heartland AEA’s content for our capacity building training will be listed. Begin by clicking on the course you want to take. You will need to take the Heartland AEA Digital Literacy, Heartland AEA Digital Security, and Heartland AEA Digital Netiquette and Digital Footprint modules. When you have completed each module, please print out your certificate of completion.

Q: What supports are in place for me while I’m accessing these training modules?
A: We have a number of supports to offer.
•    Some of your professional learning time this year will be about expanding your technology skills through an online learning experience. Work with your supervisor if you have questions about when you should be accessing the technology training during your work schedule.
•    You can participate in face-to-face regional seminars to work on the online content in a setting where you can learn with others and be supported by a coach who knows that particular area of content.

•    You can collaborate with others who are working on the same content.
•    Significant resources are included within every learning module that you can access.
•    Tech Support Leads and agency Internal Technology staff continue in their roles to provide technical support for routine questions and issues.

Q: Whom do I contact if I have questions about the learning system?
A: You can contact Lynn McCartney, Instructional Technology Consultant, or Mande Gamble, Technology Training Specialist, for help with Heartland AEA-specific technology trainings. Continue to contact Shelley Christensen for help with the Bloodborne Pathogens, Mandatory Reporting and other statewide trainings.

To print a certificate of completion:

1. Go to the training system homepage.

Log in using your email and password.

To print a certificate:
1. Locate the training on the right side of the screen, click on Certificate.

Interruptions in Network Services Coming Over Winter Break

During winter break, the Internal Technology Department will be moving the Agency’s Internet connection and key servers to LightEdge, a state-of-the-art data center in Altoona. We hope to minimize down time, but there will be some outages on Dec. 29, 2015 as our Internet connection and services are moved.

Assuming the weather cooperates, and the move goes as planned, the interruptions to systems such as the Employee Dashboard, Universal Registration, Moodle and agency phones/voicemail will be limited to Dec. 29th. Access to Google and the agency website will be unaffected by this transition. If there are changes in this timeline, we will provide further updates via email and the website.

If you have any questions, contact Lance Wilhelm, Director of Technology, at ext. 14324. Thanks for your understanding and patience as we complete this major relocation of services.