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
On March 1 all staff will be invited to take the Denison Organizational Culture Survey
At Heartland AEA, we define culture as “the way we do things around here.” It’s about our collective behaviors that are driven by our individual assumptions and beliefs. This matters because our collective behaviors lead to our results. Culture is often confused with climate, which is “the way we feel about the way we do things around here.” Obviously, both culture and climate are important.
Is it possible to shape our culture (the way we do things around here)?
Absolutely! And we have been actively working to shape our culture over the past several years. In the spring 2012, 2013 and 2014, our agency administered the Denison Organizational Culture Survey to a stratified sample of our staff. The Denison Survey is designed to assess an organization’s strengths and weaknesses as they apply to organizational performance. We also included two modules, trust and commitment, with the survey. Click here for a brief video about the culture model narrated by Dan Denison, author of the Denison Survey.
What do we know about our results so far?
Over the three years in which the Denison survey was administered, our agency saw what the Denison consultants call “textbook progress.” In other words, our efforts have impacted our assumptions, beliefs and behaviors (the way we do things around here), which in turn is reflected in more positive survey results. This was made possible by our collective input, suggestions and actions.
What’s next for ALL staff?
It is time to update our culture (the way we do things around here) survey results once again.
- During January, all Regional and Department Planning Councils were in favor of providing all employees with the opportunity to respond to the survey questions (versus a stratified sample as in the past).
- The survey is scheduled to launch on March 1 and will close on March 11.
- All employees will receive a survey invitation that will contain a link to the survey. This link will take you to a survey website that has been designed specifically for Heartland AEA. Please be as honest as possible when completing the survey. Your responses are completely confidential and cannot be tracked.
What’s in it for you?
We are glad to be able to provide ALL employees with the opportunity to complete the survey this year. By completing the survey, you will ensure that your voice is heard along with your colleagues about the way we do things around here. This input has and will continue to be very important as we look for themes and points of leverage for advantage in areas such as impact of our services, our professional relationships and our continuous improvement. (Remember the One Word chosen by APC for 2016? LEVERAGE.) We hope each and every one of you will take the time to complete the Denison Survey and provide your input.
Thank you in advance for your time and feedback!
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: Conversation was requested regarding the need for paper student files now that signatures can be completed on the computer. Is the district paper file (or lack there of) something that our agency has a position/guidance on for districts? Or, is this a district decision?
Thanks to Misty Christensen, Assistant Director of Special Education/Regional Director, for providing the following response:
Management of student records is a district decision. However, if districts move to an electronic file, they must be able to ensure that they can access these records when needed. With technology ever changing, districts need to be very thoughtful when determining what electronic record format will be used. For example, if a student went to school until he or she was 21 and was entitled until that time, the rules would require them to be able to access those records for five years past the time of their services. The records need to be maintained, according to the Iowa Administrative Rules of Special Education, for five years after special education services end [41.624(3)].
Please note the guidance provided from the Iowa Department of Education in this document.
Heartland AEA offers employees the opportunity to voluntarily save for retirement by participating in the Iowa Department of Administrative Services’ Retirement Investors’ Club (RIC) 403(b) and/or 457 plans. You can participate in these plans by making pre-tax contributions (before state and federal income taxes are computed) and/or Roth after-tax contributions. You are eligible to participate in this plan whether or not you are actively contributing to it.
The RIC plan provides you the option to select between four investment providers: Horace Mann, Mass Mutual, VALIC and Voya.
Plan details:
- The minimum contribution is $12.50 per pay period.
- You have the option of traditional pre-tax contributions and/or post-tax Roth contributions. You should work with your financial advisor to determine what is best for your retirement planning. If you want to model the effect of the tax savings from a pre-tax investment, go to the Employee Online tab on your Employee Dashboard and click on the “What If” calculator and enter the amount of your pre-tax contribution. This will show you how making the contribution on a pre-tax basis will affect your paycheck. The post-tax Roth investment is designed to offer tax savings at the time of withdrawal and not at the time of investment.
- You can change the amount of your contribution 12 times per year (at the beginning of each month). All changes received by the end of a month will be effective at the beginning of the following month. For example, a change submitted between Jan. 1–31 will be effective on your Feb. 15 paycheck.
- The Agency does not offer matching funds, but it is still very beneficial for you to start saving for retirement, even if you are only able to start with a small amount.
- For 2016, the maximum amount you may contribute per year is 100% of your compensation up to $18,000. Also, if you are 50 or older, you may contribute an additional $6,000. In some cases you may also be able to make additional catch-up contributions. A calculation is required to determine if you’re eligible for this special provision.
To start your contributions, contact one of the RIC’s investment providers. Contact information is on RIC’s website. On the left side of the page, click on “Providers and Investments.” Clicking on the “Advisor” button to the right of each provider will give you a list of agents who are authorized to sell their products. The agent can send you enrollment information, and at your request, will schedule an appointment to discuss your individual financial goals. Heartland AEA’s Election Forms can be found on the Intranet > Benefits > Retirement > 403(b) or 457 Election Forms.
This Notice is not intended as tax or legal advice. Employees are encouraged to contact their financial advisor or tax professional with any tax or legal questions. If you have any questions about participating in these retirement plans, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.
Jane Schmidt, an educator from the Maquoketa Community School District, is debuting a new blog on the Iowa Core website. Through this blog, “Voice from the Field,” Jane will describe the progress and challenges faced by her district and others as they continue to put the Iowa Core into practice.
Jane will write about, as she says, “the good, the bad, and the ugly of Iowa Core implementation.” Jane became a passionate voice of support for Iowa’s state standards during her term as 2014 Iowa Teacher of the Year, when she visited schools and community groups in all 99 counties. Join the conversation today!
Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise announced the members of a state team that will review Iowa’s academic standards for literacy.
The Literacy Standards Review Team represents the second phase of an ongoing state process for reviewing Iowa’s academic standards, which also cover science, social studies, mathematics and 21st century skills, such as financial literacy.
The process was prompted by Gov. Branstad’s Executive Order 83, which called for an ongoing review of Iowa’s academic standards, including public comment, to identify areas for improvement. Iowa was the last state in the nation to adopt statewide standards, which outline consistent expectations for what students should know and be able to do.
Local district and AEA members of the review team include:
• Kara Dietrich, Ballard Community School District
• Laura Johnson, Grant Wood AEA
• Kristine Milburn, West Des Moines Community School District
• Erin Miller, Ames Community School District
• Kathy Perret, Northwest AEA
• Josh Wager, Des Moines Public Schools
• Sarah Brown Wessling, Johnston Community School District
For more information about the Literacy Standards Review Team, visit the Iowa Department of Education’s website.
The 1st Annual Iowa Summit featuring Google for Education will take place May 1, 2016 at Saydel High School in Des Moines. This two-day, high-intensity event with Google employees and world-class educational technology leaders focuses on deploying, integrating and using Google Apps for Education (and other Google tools) to promote student learning in K-12 and higher education.
Early bird registration of $279 ends March 1. Come a day early for specialized pre-summit workshops!
May 1, 2016
Saydel High School
5601 NE 7th St.,
Des Moines
For more information and to register, visit the Iowa Google for Edu Summit website. Group rates are available!
Tackling Debt
April 15, 2016
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Johnston REC
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. This week’s update also includes a list of the districts that will be participating in this summer’s summer reading program pilot.
The Web IEP program now has the capacity for a user to view all of a student's graphs at one time. Web IEP users who have the ability to view all the students in a building will see the "Building Graph List" option under the “Student List” option on the menu:
After selecting the "Building Graph List," the user will be able to choose the district, building and student to view:
After choosing the student from the pull down list, the user will be able to view all the graphs for that student:
If you have any questions, contact Misty Christensen, Sue Dunsmoor or Mary Keul.
