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
A representative from the Agency Planning Council (APC) attends each of our regional and department planning council meetings for the purpose of assisting with agency-wide coordination and communication. Issues may be discussed or questions may be asked during these meetings and APC will respond via The Connection to “close the loop” so the entire agency can benefit from the process.
This week’s question is: I don’t like that my address and phone number show up on the online staff directory because I don’t want the public to see that information. Can that be taken down?
Answer: Your address and phone number are only visible to other Heartland AEA staff – not to the public. If you are logged in to the directory via the directory itself or through the Employee Dashboard, you will see staff members’ photos, addresses and phone numbers. The public is not able to access this link, so they are not able to see the same things that staff members see. If you aren’t comfortable having your information posted internally, you may contact the Human Resources Department to have your information hidden.
Each morning, the Heartland AEA Communications Department provides links to local and national education news headlines to those who have signed up for our “News Clips” email list. If you would like to be added to the News Clips list, contact the Communications Department.
The Feb. 2016 issue of the School Leader Update is available from the Iowa Department of Education. In this issue, read about Science Standards, Early Literacy Guide and Summer Meals.
Over the past few years, our agency has taken the opportunity to conduct exit interviews with staff who are leaving employment with us. These interviews have been beneficial in knowing why staff choose to leave Heartland AEA and what opportunities are available for organizational improvement. We recognize, however, the importance of also having information that could help existing staff work toward their goals, too.
In light of this recognition, our agency will begin “stay interviews” this year. A stay interview asks current staff members to elaborate on an important question: “Why do you continue to work at Heartland AEA?” The results of a stay interview can give insight into what the Agency and leaders can do to improve and how we can retain our valued staff. The stay interview is also an opportunity to build trust between staff and supervisors and a chance to assess the degree of our staff’s satisfaction and engagement.
For this first year, anyone who is on cycle for a summative evaluation will also participate in a stay interview. The stay interview will not be attached to the evaluation and will not be submitted to Human Resources. The questions for the stay interview can be found here. If you are on cycle to do a stay interview this year, please review the questions ahead of time, as some of them may best be answered after some advanced thinking.
Frequently Asked Questions About Stay Interviews
1) What is the purpose of a stay interview?
The main purpose of a stay interview is to open up communication between staff and supervisor, as well as identify opportunities for improvement and celebrate successes in the way staff work.
2) How long does a stay interview take?
The interview should take about 15 minutes. It may be conducted before or after a summative evaluation, or supervisors may set up a separate time to conduct the interview.
3) What happens to the answers I give in the interview?
Currently, all information stays with supervisors. If there are themes identified by supervisors, they are responsible to take that information forward to the larger LLPC and SSPC leader groups. Themes across the Agency can be identified and ideas for improvement can then be addressed.
4) What if there are issues I don’t feel comfortable talking about with my supervisor?
Staff members may also talk with a member of APC or a member of the Human Resources staff.
Thank you in advance for your participation in what we hope will be a beneficial process for our staff and our agency!
Dr. Aaron Rector, a chiropractor at Active Wellness in Johnston, will be the featured speaker at a Lunch and Learn on Feb. 22 from 11:00 a.m. to noon at the Johnston REC, Conference Rooms 107 A/B. Dr. Rector will discuss several wellness topics and take questions from the audience. If you aren’t able to join in person, a Zoom option will be available. Contact Katie Streff, Human Resources Assistant, if you’d like to join via Zoom.
Human Resources is happy to report that staff have taken advantage of the Stash the Cash Savings Wellness challenge and are saving money and paying off debt! The challenge began on Jan. 15 and will run through March 15. In addition to putting money in savings and paying off debt, staff who are participating in the challenge, have been entered into drawings to win one wellness point. Results thus far:
After First Payroll
There was $25,806 saved and $16,722 in extra money going towards debt. That is a $42,528 change in position! Drawing winners:
· Jessica Marohl
· Tyler Higgs
· Dawn Grimes
· Tamara Naylor
After Second Payroll
There was $48,748 saved and $28,903 in extra money going towards debt. That is a $77,651 change in position!
Drawing winners:
· Kara Ihde
· Rebecca Carver
· Aimee Lozier
· Abigail Lukins
Remember, you can jump into the contest at anytime by going to the Heartland AEA Stash the Cash website!
The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is now taking applications for the 2016-17 STEM Scale-up Programs. Online applications are due March 1 for 11 programs, some of which are new this year. Heartland AEA staff are available to partner with you to help determine which of these programs will meet the needs of your district.
The most current information and the application can be found online using these links:
• Program menu
• Scoring rubric
• Sample copy of application
• Online application
• Letter of commitment
For more information or support, contact your Heartland AEA team or Paul Gibbins, North Central Regional STEM Manager, Iowa State University at (515) 294-0645.
The agenda for the Feb. 9 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting is available. The meeting will be modified due to the weather. A face-to-face meeting will still be held, beginning at 5:30 p.m., but there is now an option to join via phone as well.
Dialing Instructions
1. Dial 1-866-685-1580.
2. At the prompt, enter the conference code number followed by the # key. Conference code: 0009991589#
3. Skip the call lead option and wait to be asked to state your name followed by the # key.
4. You will then be placed into the call.
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.
A new feature will be rolled out on the Web IEP program this Friday, Feb. 12. It's an optional tool for all users of the program to organize meetings and automatically link them to a Google, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail or iCal Calendar.
Instructions:
Once logged into the program, the "ORG" tab will be available to be selected.
After selecting the "ORG" tab, the Menu options are "Home" and "My Meetings.”
Select "My Meetings" to see a list of your meetings.
Once selected, a "List View" and a "Calendar View" are available.
The "List View" populates based on Meeting Notice forms where the user is listed as the contact person.
Choose "Add to Calendar" and select the calendar type (Google, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail or iCal). The student name will be entered automatically in the description box on the Calendar Event page.
If you wish to see all the monthly meetings at a glance, choose "Calendar View.
If you have questions about this feature, contact: Misty Christensen, Sue Dunsmoor or Mary Keul.
The Internal Technology Department is planning to upgrade everyone with an agency iPad to the current iOS (operating system) for the purposes of simplifying the support of these devices and improving network security. This update will happen in two stages: one to get every iPad to iOS 9.2.1, and then to iOS 9.3 when it has been released and tested later this spring.
As with many upgrades, we would like people to do the upgrade to 9.2.1 on their own. If you would like to do your own upgrade, directions are available here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204
If you would like to have assistance in upgrading your iPad, we have scheduled several sessions for that purpose, at various locations around the Agency. See below for dates and locations. Internal Technology team members will be available from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on each of those days. There is no need for an appointment -- you can walk in at any time and start the upgrade process. Depending on how old your iOS is, and how full your iPad is, this process could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours.
• Feb. 12 - Ames Regional Office
• Feb. 16 - Carroll Regional Office
• Feb. 24 - Knoxville Regional Office
• March 2 – Johnson REC (Internal Tech Dept.)
• March 3 -- Johnson REC (Internal Tech Dept.)
• March 4 -- Johnson REC (Internal Tech Dept.)
We would like every agency iPad to be updated by no later than March 11. After that date, only iPads with the current iOS will be able to get new apps sent to them. If you have any questions, contact Mande Gamble, Technology Training Specialist, at ext. 14676 or Marquis Jones, Technology Support Specialist, at ext. 14618.
In last week’s Connection we provided a reminder on how to access the Digital Citizenship training modules. The password for the AEA PD Online Learning System was listed incorrectly. The district password is still aea11 – not aea119. We apologize for the error.
