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
Over
the past several years our country has seen an increase in school and
workplace violence. As our agency learns more from the experts who have
studied these events, the Agency’s Emergency Response & Safety Team
(new name of the Crisis Committee) has made several recommendations that
have been enacted across the Agency to help keep us safe in the case of
an emergency. Examples include:
• Emergency Procedures Flip Charts in conference rooms and common areas • Increased signage in agency-owned buildings • ALICE Training offered to agency leaders and crisis responders • ALICE PechaKucha at All-Staff Meeting
As
our agency continues to make improvements in our agency’s safety and
security, we are taking the step to offer ALICE online training to all
staff. By the end of the 2017 calendar year, all Heartland AEA staff
members are asked to take the hour-long online training to become
familiar with the ALICE program and the techniques it teaches in
response to an armed intruder event. Even if you completed the in-person
training, you are asked to complete the online training, as there are a
few items of new learning not included in the live training. ALICE Overview ALICE stands for:
Alert:
Get the word out! “Armed Intruder in building” instead of “Code Red,”
or “Bring the purple folder to the office.” Use clear, concise language
to convey the type and location of the event.
Lockdown: Good starting point. We will continue to lockdown in secure areas.
Inform: Communication keeps the intruder off balance and allows for good decision-making.
Counter: Apply skills to distract, confuse and gain control.
Evacuate:
Reduce the number of potential targets for the intruder and reduce
chances of victims resulting from friendly fire when help arrives.
In
short, using the ALICE method, we will give you more tools to use in
the event of an armed intruder/active shooter. We want to provide you
with the knowledge that if faced with a life or death situation there
are methods that can be applied to greatly enhance your chance of
survival.
Again, you are asked to complete the ALICE online training by the end of the 2017 calendar year. To access the training:
Login with your Google username and password by clicking on the Google logo if you’ve never been to the site before.
If
you've taken an online course from AEA PD Online in the past two years,
login with the username and password you created to take the course.
Once
in the site, find the banner named "Individual AEAs and Partners" and
look for the Heartland AEA logo. Click on the logo, and you'll be taken
to a page where the ALICE logo is shown.
Click on the ALICE logo to be taken to a screen where you can then click the "Enroll me" button to be enrolled in the training.
If you need any assistance with accessing the site, contact Shelley Christensen, Registrar/Licensure Assistant, at ext. 14668.
If you have any questions about the training or the ALICE program in general, contact Dustin Gean, Operations Manager, Emergency Response & Safety Team Lead and Certified ALICE Trainer.
Teachers, teacher leaders, mentors and administrators will gather April 6 from across the state to learn and plan for students' future successes and achievements. The 3rd Annual Educator Quality Conference will be held at Simpson College and will engage and unite educators from administrators to the classroom teacher. Topics covered include a focus on unifying educators, and examine the roles of positions from Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) to English language learner teachers (ELL). First- through third-year teachers are also invited to attend and schools are encouraged to bring teams. Learn more about the conference in this flyer. Register today, deadline is March 17.
Des Moines Public Schools and Drake University are co-sponsoring the conference "Transforming Systems through Standards-Based Learning" on June 22. The conference will have an emphasis on secondary buildings and educators and will consist of a keynote in the morning, two breakouts in the morning, lunch on site, teacher highlight speakers over lunch and two afternoon breakouts. The breakouts will be facilitated largely by DMPS teachers and leaders, as they lead learning over how DMPS has implemented standards-referenced learning, including grading and reporting, at a large district.
Conference organizers hope to draw in Iowa educators who are looking at how to start authentic standards-based learning (including grading and reporting), help teachers who are trying things on their own and support secondary educators who are looking for new ideas to try. Registration will open some time in March.
As a reminder, most Certified Union staff and some Classified Union staff are on the August payroll cycle, which means new pay rates will be effective as of the Aug. 31, 2017 pay check. For Certified and Classified Union staff on the July payroll cycle, new pay rates will be effective on the July 15, 2017 pay check. If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of waking up refreshed after a good night’s sleep. You feel recharged, rejuvenated and ready to take on the day. So why do so many of us consider sleep a luxury rather than a necessity? The Seize the Zzzz’s Sleep Challenge aims to help you make sleep a priority, which can help make you both happier and healthier. You’ve probably heard of beauty rest, but the benefits may not stop there – getting enough shut eye might just help you:
Boost overall wellness
Reduce pain
Lower risk of injury
Improve your mood
Control your weight
Concentrate better
Improve your memory
Boost your immune system
Join the Seize Your Zzzz’s Challenge and get tips and advice on how to stay on track and get a better night’s sleep!
Registration: Employees who have created and/or logged in to their Wellmark account in the past 60 days should receive more information from Wellmark via email about the challenge and how to register. Reminder on how to login to Wellmark.com: Review these instructions on how to login. If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman or Katie Streff, Wellness Leads.
Stressless Challenge incentives are being delivered. We hope you enjoy your stretch band! Here are some exercises to help you relax and de-stress.
Just as a reminder, you need to complete two challenges in order to finish the Wellness program and earn your final incentive -- $200 for returning staff and $100/Fitbit Flex for all new staff. The last two challenges are Seize the Zzzz’s, which begins on March 13 and the Hydration Challenge, beginning on May 8.
Heartland AEA is pleased to announce that it will hold its third annual Education Career Fair in March!
March 8, 2017 2:00-5:30 p.m. Heartland Area Education Agency Johnston Regional Education Center The
job fair will be an opportunity for teachers and other education
professionals to meet with central Iowa school districts at one location
to apply for jobs for the next school year.
School districts recruiting on-site
Interviewing, job searching, technology and career fair success classes
Participants can have their resume critiqued before the event at Goodwill Career Connections Center – find them on Facebook
Free gift!
Visit the Career Fair page on the agency’s website for all the info! Pre-registration is encouraged, but the fair is again free of charge.
From tips on saving for an emergency to paying back your student loans or sticking to a budget, LifeWorks has resources and tools to help you get a handle on your money worries and build financial wellness. Contact one of our certified financial consultants for information and support and to learn about strategies to help improve your financial well-being.
Also check out these financial resources:
Listen to our new podcast, Managing Your Money in a Changing Economy, featuring Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, a personal finance expert and author of numerous books, including Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom. She shares tips for students, those nearing retirement, and for everyone in between, on how to manage your finances in a fast-changing world.
Use our Income and Expense Worksheet to track your budget and spending habits and see where you may be overspending.
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 and John Pederson.
Did you know there’s an easy way to set up recurring meetings in Zoom? Check it out in this week’s Tech Tip of the Week. Remember, let us know your tech tip ideas at techtips@heartlandaea.org.
