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
Greetings,
A few years ago, the members of the Agency Planning Council (APC) read the book One Word that Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page. Using this concept, we have selected a new word for each calendar year to help focus our work. For example, our word in 2015 was “clarity.”
If you happen to read the “leadershipfreak” blog, you may have noted that the “one word” idea was featured in a recent post. Author Dan Rockwell encouraged organizations to think about a word that exemplifies the positive energy sources and describes the points of passion of those who work there. Perhaps for us at Heartland AEA, that is another way of leveraging our core values—especially caring.
We will select a new word for 2016 as an APC team, and I invite you to also consider using this concept in your work. For more information, you can also link to the website, GetOneWord.com.
The One Word book is available in the agency library for checkout plus there are 5 ebook copies in Mackin VIA, and staff can create a personal account and write in the book.
Paula
Someone from the Agency Planning Council (APC) attends each of our regional and department planning council meetings, and sometimes they take questions from those meetings back to others in the Agency to get the answers. Instead of just reporting findings to the council who raised the question, APC will now use The Connection to “close the loop” so the entire agency can benefit from the process.
This week’s question is: What process do we use to purchase apps for our agency iPads?
There are two ways to purchase apps for your iPad:
1) Work with your job-alike group: You can also recommend apps that are needed for yourself and/or your entire group.
2) Work with your supervisor: Always a good option! Your supervisor can discuss app purchases with you.
If you have additional questions about acquiring apps for your iPad, or you have selected apps you would like to add to your iPad, contact Judy Cleveland, Technology Support Specialist, at ext. 14538 for assistance.
Your 2015 Form W-2 has been mailed to your home address. A help document of tips to better understand your W-2 can be found on the Intranet > Business Office > Payroll Forms & Information. This help document provides an explanation of certain boxes on your W-2.
Want to view your 2015 Form W-2 online? You can! Login to your Employee Dashboard and select the Employee Online navigation tab at the top of the page. Once in Employee Online, go to the left-hand navigation and click on “W2 Info” then on the “W2 2015” link. This will open a PDF copy of your W-2 that you can print.
The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act of 2010 (also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) requires employers to report on Form W-2 the cost of employer-sponsored group health insurance. Staff members who participated in the Agency’s health insurance plan at any time in calendar year 2015 will have an amount reported in box 12, letter code DD of their W-2. The required amount to be reported is the sum of employer and employee premium contributions. Please note that this is informational only and the amount reported is not taxable.
If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.
Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise announced the members of a state team that will rewrite Iowa’s social studies standards for public review and possible adoption statewide. The team’s work will begin Jan. 21.
Iowa has set statewide standards for mathematics, English-language arts, science and 21st century skills that will be revisited over time. The state’s social studies standards have more room for growth and improvement, Wise said.
For example, about a third of Iowa middle school and high school teachers who responded to a recent survey said they were dissatisfied with Iowa’s social studies standards, which were adopted in 2008. In written comments, 17 percent of the surveyed teachers said Iowa needs clearer, more specific social studies standards.
Academic standards outline a set of expectations, not a curriculum, so decisions about how to help students reach statewide standards remain with teachers and school administrators.
The Social Studies Standards Writing Team will develop draft standards that will then be subject to public review in line with Gov. Branstad’s Executive Order 83. This will include convening a special review panel and seeking public input statewide.
Local members of the writing team include Rebecca Helland, Pella Schools; Jenny Sinclair, Norwalk Schools; Trenton Williams, Des Moines Schools; Jennifer Knight, Earlham Schools; Mike Miller, Ankeny Schools; Alicen Morley, Boone Schools; Jeff Ferguson, Dowling Catholic High School; Carol Van Waardhuizen, Ames Schools; Ryan Austin, Carroll Schools; Canada Snyder, Des Moines Schools; and Catherine Mein, Ballard Schools.
We are excited to announce that beginning starting Jan. 15, we will begin the Stash the Cash Savings Challenge. Stash
the Cash Savings Challenge will help encourage you to save money and
pay off debt, while rewarding you with an opportunity to win Wellness
points. The challenge will run through March 15.
Details:
1. Log on to the Stash the Cash website.
2. Choose the date of payday to report.
3. Report total amount saved during that pay period and total amount of EXTRA money that was used to pay off debt.
4.
For each $100 you save and for each $100 paid EXTRA towards debt, you
will receive a ticket into multiple drawings for Wellness points.
• Savings that can be included: Emergency Fund, Retirement, Investing, Short-Term Savings (i.e., Christmas, Vacation, etc.)
•
Debt example: If your car payment is $400 and you pay $500, you are
paying an EXTRA $100 towards debt and will receive one ticket.
5. All tickets will be emailed to you.
6.
By participating, you agree to receive an email notification on or
about payday to remind you to report. You may opt out of these reminders
at any time.
How do I win Wellness points?
After
each pay period, we will randomly select four participants who will win
one Wellness point. At the end of the challenge, we will randomly select
two participants who will win five Wellness points!
If you have any questions, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Human Resources Manager, at ext. 14534.
Each week during the Iowa legislative session, we will bring you an AEA Legislative Update from the AEA system’s lobbyists, Tom Lane, Matt Eide, John Pederson and Kate Walton.
Jones Joins Internal Technology Team as Tech Support Specialist
Heartland AEA would like to welcome Marquis Jones to the Internal Technology support team. Marquis helps support computers and iPads and is your primary contact for reserving computer carts and the computer lab.
Marquis can be reached via email (mjones@heartlandaea.org), phone (ext. 14618) or other methods such as Zoom or Google chat. And, of course, he is available to help you face-to-face when you visit our Internal Tech support area in the Johnston Regional Education Center.
Technology Support Area of Intranet Updated
Check out the updates that have been made to the Technology area of the Intranet! We think you’ll like them!
