Our Mission
To
improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth
by providing services and leadership in partnership with families,
schools and communities.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
Background Information
During the past three years, Heartland AEA has filled up to 192 vacancies in the Certified Union and Management staff categories. It has been to the Agency’s advantage to enter the recruitment cycle as early as possible.
To support a process for timely staff replacement of hard to fill positions and to assist in budget planning, the Heartland AEA Board of Directors has approved piloting a one-time strategy (Early Notification Incentive) to determine if it may result in increased accuracy for the purpose of recruitment and budget planning. The details are listed below, and the results will be re-evaluated to inform future actions.
Early Notification Incentive Process & Requirements
- Certified Union and Management staff that do not plan to return to Heartland AEA for the 2017-2018 school year submit early notification letters of resignation that are effective at the end of the 2016-17 work year.
- Early notification letters must be received in the Human Resources Department by 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2016.
- Heartland AEA’s board takes action on early notification letters no later than the regular meeting on Dec. 13, 2016.
- Departing staff must fulfill their individual employment contract obligations for the 2016-17 work year.
Early Notification Incentive
- A $1,500 early notification incentive will be paid on June 30, 2017 to employees fulfilling the requirements.
If you have any questions about the early notification incentive, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Human Resources Manager, at ext. 14534.
One member of the Agency Planning Council (APC) attends each regional and department planning council meetings, as one means of cross-agency communication. Planning council members are encouraged to exchange information and ask questions during these meetings. Responses to comments and questions of broad interest are provided in The Connection to support communication across the entire agency.
This week’s question is: Can you remind me of the purpose of our agency’s planning councils?
Our agency’s planning councils are representative structures intended to improve communication, planning and learning. A few of the key functions of the planning councils include coordination of joint learning among team members and members of local schools, integration of services throughout the Agency and coordination of service plan implementation. Our planning council structure is also intended to build members’ leadership skills, allow for flexible and responsive decision-making, increase capacity to improve outcomes for kids, increase democratic decision-making and engage all staff. Each member of the organization can participate directly or indirectly through representation in decision-making through planning councils.
For regional planning councils, membership rotates to allow for many staff members to serve on their councils. The regional planning councils have diverse representation across job-alike and district service teams. Department planning councils are typically comprised of all members of a department’s staff.
A visual representation of our planning council structure, which includes members of APC, LLPC and SSPC is available in the below reference document.
Planning Council Structure & Membership Chart
There’s still time to submit your pledge form for our 2016 United Way campaign! We still need to make up some ground to meet our participation goal, so please keep those pledges coming! Please contact Courtney Croatt or Samantha Perry, United Way Campaign Co-Chairs, today to get your pledge form.
We will be holding our online auction Oct. 24 through Oct. 28. You’ll have a week to bid on gift cards and other items donated by area businesses.
And remember what you heard at the All-Staff Meeting--our agency participates in a United Way campaign to support the education, financial stability and health of individuals in our central Iowa communities. United Way funds support programs and services to address central Iowa’s toughest issues.
We invite you to participate in this year’s 4th annual Heartland AEA Staff Photo Contest! The contest is open to all staff members, regardless of office.
It is our hope that many of you will take the time to share your photos with us. Our goal is to give whomever chooses to participate the opportunity to share your uniqueness and perspective of the world with your colleagues and our guests!
If you have any questions, contact Jim Verlengia, Director of Leadership Supports.
Entry Form
Important Contest Information
- You may enter a total of three 5x7 photos in the People, Places or Animals categories. You may enter only one photo per category, and photos may be black/white, sepia or color. Entries will be judged this year in just the three main categories, regardless of the color of the photos.
- A completed entry form must accompany each entry.
- All entries are due by 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2016.
- Photos and entry forms should be submitted to Connie Kellogg, Library Clerk.
- An electronic copy of the winning photos must be available so that prints can be made.
- Selected photos will be framed and displayed in both the Johnston Regional Education Center and Administration Center. A collage of winning photos will be displayed in all regional offices.
- Judges are not associated with Heartland AEA in any way and will judge photos with no knowledge of the photographer.
- Judging will occur in late November.
- All photos not selected for print will be displayed in the Johnston REC lounge for a period of time.
- All photos entered in the contest will be returned to the photographer.
Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise announced a new committee to help schools transition to new statewide assessments. The Statewide Assessment Advisory Committee met for the first time on Oct. 13.
Iowa recently put in place new statewide assessments for students whose first language is not English and students with significant cognitive disabilities. The state also is on track to implement new statewide assessments in English language arts, mathematics, and science in the 2017-18 school year. This school year, Iowa students will take the current Iowa Assessments in those subjects.
“We have set clear statewide standards that outline expectations for what Iowa students should know and be able to do, and these new assessments measure how students are progressing toward those standards,” Wise said. “This is a critical part of our work to prepare all students for success in school and beyond, and it is a significant change. The Statewide Assessment Advisory Committee will help identify issues and needs that naturally arise with a transition to new assessments.”
The following statewide assessments are new in Iowa:
• 2017-18: Iowa students will take the Smarter Balanced Assessments in grades 3-11 in English language arts and mathematics.
• 2017-18: Iowa students will take a new statewide science assessment that has not yet been adopted.
• 2015-16: English language learners took the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) for the first time. ELPA21 replaced the Iowa English Language Development Assessment.
• 2014-15: Iowa students with the most significant cognitive disabilities took a new alternate assessment called Dynamic Learning Maps, which replaced the Iowa Alternate Assessment.
The Statewide Assessment Advisory Committee will meet at least four times throughout the 2016-17 school year. Meetings are open to the public.
Local and AEA members of the Statewide Assessment Advisory Committee are Austin Beer, Grant Wood AEA; Leigh Bellville, Indianola CSD; Kathy Brenny, Prairie Lakes AEA; Mariann Culver, Heartland AEA; Lowell Ernst, Pella CSD; Sherry Huffman, Green Hills AEA; Jan Jensen, Norwalk CSD; Marcia Kruse, Keystone AEA; JoEllen Latham, Southeast Polk CSD; and Evan McCormick, Great Prairie AEA.
For more information on the Statewide Assessment Advisory Committee, visit the Iowa Dept. of Education website.
Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise today released a draft of revised statewide standards for social studies and announced members of a new state team who will conduct a public review of the draft standards.
The draft standards, developed over the past year by an Iowa writing team, outlines what students should know and be able to do in social studies from kindergarten through 12th grade. The draft represents the first statewide effort to update Iowa’s social studies standards, which were adopted in 2008. A recent survey showed many Iowa teachers want clearer, more specific expectations than those outlined in the current social studies standards.
According to their writers, the new draft social studies standards:
- Go beyond content that students should master, emphasizing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that students need to be successful in postsecondary education and training and to compete for today’s most rewarding jobs.
- Weave in Iowa history and financial literacy, which are not reflected in the current social studies standards.
- Outline what students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through eighth grade, rather than being organized by spans of grades. In grades 9 through 12, the draft standards are organized by content area within social studies.
- Embrace new research on best practices.
“We worked together with the goal of improving Iowa’s social studies standards in a way that challenges students to think critically, that connects learning to real-life situations, and that prepares students to be engaged citizens,” said Kim Heckart, a College Community School District teacher who participated on the writing team.
The Social Studies Standards Review Team will convene Tuesday, Nov. 8 to begin a public review of the draft social studies standards. Local and AEA members of the review team are Amber Davison, teacher leader, Des Moines Public Schools; Beverley McPherson, teacher, Des Moines Public Schools; Holly Glade, teacher, Dallas Center-Grimes CSD; Linda Linn, consultant, Prairie Lakes AEA; and Greg Dufoe, superintendent, Adel-Desoto-Minburn CSD.
For more information on the Social Studies Standards Review Team, visit the Iowa Department of Education’s website.
As a reminder, the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (BoEE) is no longer printing and mailing licenses as of July 1, 2016. With this new process, you will need to notify the Human Resources Department once your license has been approved by the BOEE (typically by receiving a confirmation email from the BoEE).
Once your license has been approved, visit the BOEE website and click “search for a license” to view your license. Please take a screen shot of the updated information and email that screen shot to Heather Rinderknecht or Katie Streff for confirmation of your renewed license.
If you have issues with the BoEE website or have any other questions about the license process, contact the Human Resources Department.
If you’re thinking of retiring and want to know what insurance options are available to you, read below for more information.
The option available to retirees is 509A, which is a state law that allows employees to pay 100% of their health insurance premium with a bonafide retirement. So, if you retire and draw IPERs, you can continue your health insurance coverage through Heartland AEA at 100% of your cost until the month prior to which you turn 65. You must have family coverage at the time of your retirement in order to be eligible for family coverage, and if you ever drop your family coverage or choose not to cover your family, you aren’t able to add family members back at a later time. Likewise, if you retire and don't take the 509A option, you are no longer eligible to receive it.
If you have any questions about this topic, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at ext. 14315.
Some of you have had questions about how to access the LifeWorks app once you’ve downloaded it. LifeWorks says: “when you download the app, you will have the option to sign up or log in. Since you (Heartland AEA) are using a shared login to access the platform, you should click on “log in.” Users will be prompted to enter the shared username and password. You do not need to enter an invitation code – this is specific for when you’re registering with a personal account (your email address).”
October 17 is here, which means the reshaping of the agency library is moving full steam ahead! You’ve read the past Connection article about why the library is going through this transition. Now, the Library Planning Council wanted to share some of its excitement as it changes to meet the needs of new programs and services. Let's take a walk with this map.
1. iBooths are coming: Our visitors will now have a private place for phone calls, webinars and quiet work. Journals were along this wall.
2. Collaboration area: This unique space will have a large screen monitor, a table for four plus an "upper level" for more seating.
3. Lower shelves: This allows our visitors and staff to have a better sightline so assistance is readily available.
4. Collaboration area: This collaboration and teaching area is easily movable for our visitors. It will include a wall-mount touch screen TV, soft seating and tables (existing), table and chairs, portable whiteboard and glass wall board.
5. Copier remains.
6. Work area: For Breanna, Lisa and Nichole.
7. Collaboration area: With power and portable whiteboard.
8. Journals: You'll find fewer paper titles because most of them are now available to be sent directly to your email.
9. Work area: For Brenda, Connie, Gina and Melanie.
Just a reminder that the library will remain open during the construction phase of our project. We can’t wait to show you the finished product in a few weeks!
The two-day Iowa Science Standards Module 2 workshops are a continuation of the work that was begun last year with the Iowa Core Science Standards Overview (Module 1). Participation in Module 1 (or something equivalent) is a prerequisite for Module 2. The focus this year will be on unpacking the standards and developing coherent science lessons/units. This will include identifying "the right" (scientific) phenomena to use in a lesson/unit, using portions of the EQuIP Rubric to measure the alignment to the NGSS and overall quality of lessons/units and bundling standards in a lesson/unit. All workshops are scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Educators have the option of taking the Iowa Science Standards Module 1 from AEA PD Online. This can be used as a review or as new learning for those who were unable to take the PD last year. If you choose to take the online Module 1, we encourage you to take this session as a group, so you have meaningful group conversations. To access Module 1 Online visit the AEA PD Online website, click on the "Catalog" button and search for "science standards." Participants will need to login (or create a login) in order to take this online module.
All Module 2 workshops and registration links can be found on this page of our website.
Correction to last week’s article about logging in to the AEA PD Online Learning System to access technology training:
Please do not contact Shelley Christensen if you have trouble with your Online Learning System account password. Shelley no longer has access to password information. It is important that you do not create a second account within the system, as that can cause lost training records and issues logging in. If you believe you have created a previous account, first try to reset your password, and then check with your district contact person found in the HELP! area if needed.
Reminder:
In last week’s Connection you read about the plan for technology professional learning for Heartland AEA staff for 2016-17, and the first course offering -- Zoom Basic Training -- is ready to begin!
Remember there is a pre-assessment with this training, so you may be able to test out of this first offering.
To begin the process and access the training on the AEA PD Online Learning System, follow the steps below:
First, you will need to have an AEA PD Online account.
If you haven’t created an account, follow the steps below:
- Begin on the AEA PD Online Learning System.
- First time user??? Click on Register here.
- Enter your first and last name.
- Enter your email address.
- Enter your BoEE folder number.
If you don't know this number, you can look it up at the BoEE Website.
If you don't have one, indicate N/A.
- Click Yes to indicate that you are an AEA or District Employee.
- Locate Heartland AEA from the district list.
- Enter the District Password - aea11
- You may complete the other fields, but they are not required.
- Click on Submit Registration Info.
- The screen will not appear to change, but you will see a Continue button under the Submit button.
- Click on Continue.
- Once logged in to the AEA PD Online Learning System:
- You will choose the catalog link in the upper left hand sidebar.
- Then, click on district modules, and all of Heartland AEA’s content for our capacity building training will be listed.
- Begin by clicking on the course you want to take. The pre-assessment will be the first screen.
- If the pre-assessment demonstrates proficiency, you will be notified and can print a certificate of completion.
- If more leaning is indicated, you will move on to the online learning module for the current Zoom Basics Training module.
When you finish the Zoom Basic Training, keep watching The Connection for news about when new training modules will be released. If you are interested in learning more about Zoom, we expect the Zoom Advanced Training module to be available in November. The Digital Literacy Security and Privacy module will be available in early December.
If you have questions about the learning system, contact Lynn McCartney, Instructional Technology Consultant, or Mande Gamble, Technology Training Specialist.
