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
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
As you set your calendars for next year, keep these dates in mind:
Aug. 15, 2016
New Staff Orientation
Sept. 9, 2016
All-Staff Meeting
Winter Break
APC has decided to continue the extended winter break schedule for the 2016-17 calendar year.
Dec. 23, 2016
Staff work day
Offices closed to the public
Dec. 26, 2016
Official agency holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Dec. 27, 2016
Official floating holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Dec. 28-29, 2016
Additional floating holidays for employees with 261-day work schedules
Offices closed to staff and public
Dec. 30, 2016
Official floating holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
Jan. 2, 2017
Official agency holiday
Offices closed to staff and public
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: Can you give us with a reminder about the fitness discounts we have available to us as Heartland AEA employees?
As Heartland AEA staff, you have a number of wellness discounts available to you. One type of discount pertains to fitness, including gyms and fitness programs. Discounts include:
- Blue 365 – A $25 monthly fee for access to a network of 9,000+ gyms nationwide through Wellmark's Blue365® program. Through Blue 365 you can also get discounts on Reebok running shoes, Garmin fitness products, fitness magazines and more.
- Farrell’s – A $100 discount ($299 fee) on Farrell's eXtreme Body Shaping's 10-week challenge course at Des Moines-area locations.
- Kosama – A free one-week membership, $100 off the initial 8-week session and $10 off regular monthly rates at Kosama locations in Johnston, Ankeny and Waukee.
Information about fitness and other discounts, as well as other wellness information is available on the “Healthy Express” Wellness site.
If you have any questions, contact Wellness leads Katie Streff and Juliette Houseman.
The Agency Planning Council (APC) prepared a special invitation for you for the Sept. 9, 2016
All-Staff meeting. You’ll want to watch and see what “wicked rad”
things are in store at the meeting, which will be held at the West Des Moines Sheraton this year. See you there!
Heartland AEA’s fiscal year will end on June 30, 2016. In order for us to close our books in a timely and accurate manner, the Business Office needs your assistance in returning date-sensitive items.
- For payroll-related work completed on or before June 30, turn in timesheets and submit addendum online forms with appropriate approvals to the Payroll Department by July 7, 2016.
- Review open Addendum Online assignments and close addendum assignments that will not have any additional hours logged.
- For travel, mileage and purchases occurring on or before June 30, turn in claim forms, expense claims, invoices for services or professional development/travel forms with appropriate approvals to the Business Office by July 8, 2016.
- Do not put dates from two different fiscal years on the same timesheet, vacation request or in-area travel request. In-area travel requests with two fiscal years will be returned for correction.
IMPORTANT: If extenuating circumstances cause a delay in submitting expenses related to fiscal year 2016, Aug. 31 is the last date the Business Office will accept and process any claims for expenses occurring on or before June 30, 2016.
A separate year-end communication is being sent directly to budget managers and support staff. If you have any questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005 or Heng Fongkhamdeng, Accountant, at ext. 14417. Thanks for your assistance.
As many of our staff members are transitioning to a well-deserved summer break, the Heartland AEA leadership team asks that staff who have time off during the summer check their agency email at least once a week during the summer months (June, July, August).
The Agency relies heavily on email to communicate valuable agency and regional messages and timely responses are oftentimes requested. If you have any questions about this request, contact your supervisor.
If you are off contract for the summer months, we ask that you set your out-of-office messages accordingly.
Change Gmail Vacation Responder (Out-of-Office message) (sample below)
Thank you for contacting Heartland AEA. I will be off contract and out of the office from June *** until Aug. ***, 2016. I will return your message as soon as I can. If you need immediate assistance, contact *****. Thank you.
Change Voicemail Greeting to Unavailable (sample below)
Thank you for calling Heartland AEA. You have reached Sally Smith. I am currently off contract and out of the office from June *** until Aug. ***, 2016. Please leave a message, and I will return your call when I am back in the office. If you need immediate assistance, contact ******. 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.
The June 2016 issue of the School Leader Update is now available from the Iowa Department of Education. Read Director Wise’s thoughts on his extensive travels throughout Iowa visiting dozens of schools and districts. Legislative Liaison Shan Seivert wraps up the session with final thoughts for the year, and Attorney Nicole Proesch gives you a little bit about a lot of important legal matters.
Naturally Slim has notified us that the period for the next round of applications to the program doesn’t open until June 13. So if you went to the website and got a message that the program was not currently accepting applications, this is why. No matter how much you communicate, sometimes details get left out! We apologize for any inconvenience.
Reminder: Agency Offering Second Free 10-Week Online Weight Loss Opportunity
Heartland AEA is offering a second opportunity for our employees to participate in the Naturally Slim® program.
Naturally
Slim is a 10-week online program that helps you lose weight plus
improve your overall health – all while eating the foods you love! With
Naturally Slim, you will learn that you don’t have to starve yourself or
count calories to lose weight and keep it off forever.
How does the Naturally Slim program work?
Naturally
Slim is a mindful-eating program that helps you change how you eat
instead of what you eat. It is not a diet. And, as you lose weight, you
also improve your health by improving the risk factors that can lead to
serious, chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more.
Why not give it a try?
You
can still eat the foods you love and this could be the solution that
you’ve been looking for. Thousands of people have used the Naturally
Slim program to successfully lose weight. The average weight loss in
just 10 weeks is 10.1 pounds. In fact, 15% of participants lose more
than 20 pounds in that time. The first group of Heartland AEA participants had so many success stories that the Agency has decided to offer a summer program!
How do I apply?
The program begins on July 11, 2016 but participation is limited, so complete the online application by June 24, 2016.
Please note: By submitting the online application, you are committing to participate in the program, if accepted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will participants be selected?
Program
professionals select participants based on pre-determined criteria and a
willingness to meet all program completion requirements as outlined
below. You will be notified of your application status via email by July
1, 2016.
What are the program completion requirements?
In order to successfully complete the program, you must:
- Submit the online application and sign all appropriate releases by their associated deadlines.
- Complete
at least 8 of the 10 online video courses for Naturally Slim
Foundations within their set weekly time frames. It will be your
responsibility to ensure your participation is accurately recorded each
week.
- Complete a pre- and post-program biometric screening.
- Pre
biometric screening must be obtained and submitted to the Wellmark
portal by June 24. (You may use your current screening if it was
completed after Jan. 1, 2016.)
- Post biometric screening must be obtained at a local Hy-Vee by Sept. 30 (2 weeks after Foundations class concludes).
What is the cost for the program?
There
is no cost to you for the Naturally Slim Program. Your participation
will help Heartland AEA achieve our goal of becoming a more
health-conscious agency.
However, if you do not meet the program
completion requirements as defined above, you will be responsible for
reimbursing Heartland AEA $75, a portion of the program fee originally
paid on your behalf.
A Note about Confidentiality…
The
information that you provide to Naturally Slim will be considered
confidential and will be available only to you and the program
professionals. Heartland AEA will receive participation reports for
administration of payroll and billing processes. Otherwise, the
information you provide to Naturally Slim is confidential and available
only to you and Naturally Slim and its affiliates involved in conducting
or evaluating the program. Naturally Slim cannot sell or otherwise
divulge any participant information to any unauthorized party.
If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at ext. 14315.
