From the Chief Administrator -- Thank You & Best Wishes for a Great Summer

School is out for another year, and I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for your dedicated work and service. As many of you know, I meet with area school leaders in regional groups throughout the year. In these meetings I get to hear first-hand about the excellent work that is going on in partnership with families and local school staffs. I would summarize the feedback this year as consistent praise for the work you do. As many school leaders stated, “We think of the Heartland AEA staff working in our schools as part of our team.” That sentiment highlights a true partnership! I have also appreciated the clear focus on student learning that I observe in the work of the department and regional planning councils. Congratulations on the multiple ways you have made a difference!

As we continue working toward a new school year, agency leaders will take time in June and July for reflection and learning. We will review all of the data collected over the past 12 months and consider these results along side the trend lines from prior years. Your feedback from the technology survey, Denison Culture survey, planning councils and staff meetings will be considered, along with feedback from regional school visits and the formative and summative student results in the established student learning goal areas (the 4 Gs). These datasets will help us identify celebrations and challenges as we update and establish working action plans for the next school year. We look forward to sharing these highlights with you as part of our agency All-Staff Meeting on Sept. 9.

While we all know it is a myth that staff working in education have summers off, I do hope you take some time to enjoy being with friends and family. Before we know it, another school year will be here!

With appreciation for the work you do and best wishes for a great summer,

- Paula