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
Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise announced he’s seeking public input on fine arts standards that are under consideration in Iowa.
Wise announced public forums throughout the state on April 25 and April 27, as well as an online survey open through May 12, following a state team’s recommendation to get feedback on the National Core Arts Standards. These standards were developed by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, an alliance of national arts and arts education groups.
Wise convened Iowa’s Fine Arts Adoption Team earlier this year in response to public support for offering statewide standards that go beyond the mandatory subject areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and 21st century skills.
Fine arts standards serve as a guide for educators to provide a high-quality arts education for students in preschool through 12th grades. Fine arts include visual art, music, theater, dance and media arts.
“While the adoption team’s members have a varied background in the fine arts disciplines, we feel it is important to seek feedback from all interested Iowans in order to create a set of fine arts standards that meets the needs of all students in Iowa and serves as a framework to guide fine arts educators in all types of classrooms and school settings across the state," said Ronda Sternhagen, a member of the Fine Arts Standards Adoption Team. Sternhagen is a visual arts educator at Grundy Center Middle/High School and a visual arts consultant at Area Education Agency 267.
Feedback from the public forums and online survey will be used to provide guidance to the Fine Arts Standards Adoption Team, which is expected to submit a final recommendation to the State Board of Education later this year. If adopted, fine arts standards would be optional for school districts.
Iowans also are encouraged to provide feedback at the April 25 and April 27 public forums, with locations listed on the Department's website.
Iowa’s high school graduation rate has increased for the fifth year in a row while dropout rates edged up for the first time since the 2009-10 school year, according to figures released last week by the Iowa Department of Education.
State data show 91.3 percent of students in Iowa’s Class of 2016 graduated within four years, up from 90.8 percent for the Class of 2015. Iowa’s annual dropout rate was 2.8 percent in the 2015-16 school year, up from 2.5 percent in the 2014-15 school year. The state’s 2015-16 dropout rate represents 4,154 students in grades 9-12.
Graduation rates and dropout rates can increase simultaneously because they measure different groups of students. The four-year graduation rate follows one class of students over time – for example, students in the Class of 2016 starting with their enrollment as first-time freshmen during the 2012-13 school year – while annual dropout rates represent the number of students who dropped out of grades 9-12 during one school year.
“Graduation is a critical milestone in every student’s path to success,” Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said. “While we’re proud that Iowa continues to lead nationally in high school graduation rates, we have work to do. We must ensure all Iowa high school students not only graduate, but do so with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and training.”
Four-year graduation rate
Iowa’s four-year graduation rate climbed among African American students, Hispanic students and white students, but decreased among Asian students, Native American students, students in special education, students from low-income backgrounds, and students whose native language is not English.
Overall, Iowa’s four-year high school graduation rate has climbed 3 percentage points over a six-year period. Iowa also has seen a nearly 2 percentage-point increase in the graduation rate for students who took an extra year to finish high school.
The following graphic shows a comparison of Iowa’s four- and five-year graduation rates over time:
The following chart shows a comparison of the four- and five-year graduation rates of the districts in the Heartland AEA service area. One of our agency goals is to "increase annual graduation rates," so these data show a positive trend toward meeting that goal. Thanks for the work you do each day to improve student learning and well-being that influences to our students to stay in school and graduate! And thank you to Berrett Rice for his skills in quickly compiling this data.
- Paula
Visit the Iowa Department of Education’s website to read more.
Delta Dental of Iowa is introducing an updated payment process for orthodontic claims to align with industry standards and provide efficiencies. For any new orthodontic claims that Delta Dental processes after April 1, 2017, claims will be paid every three-months based on the date the member has their braces put on (banding). Members currently in treatment will continue to have claims paid monthly.
Below are a few frequently asked questions about the updated orthodontic claim process.
FAQ
Q: I thought orthodontic benefits were paid monthly. What is changing?
A: Claims for orthodontic treatment will be paid every three months, providing dentists and members with one larger payment, rather than three separate smaller payments.
Q: Are there any changes to the orthodontic benefit?
A: There are no changes to your orthodontic benefit.
Q: Will this affect me if I currently have a child in orthodontic treatment?
A: No, members who are currently in treatment will not have any changes. These claims will continue to be paid monthly according to your orthodontic treatment schedule.
Q: My child had braces put on at the end of March. How will this change affect me?
A: If Delta Dental processed the claim after April 1, 2017, your claim will be paid every three months based on the date your child receives their braces. In most cases, you will receive the initial payment once the claim is processed and then claims will be paid every three months.
If you have additional questions, contact the Delta Dental customer service team at (800) 544-0718.
The Heartland AEA Board of Directors approved a total package increase of 1.0% for Certified Non-Union staff. This group includes regional directors, managers and other certified leadership positions within the Agency. Additional information will be provided to the CNU employees at the April 18 Leaders meeting.
Our “Shaping Heartland AEA” program through Tuel Shed Training (TST) is off and running! If you haven’t checked out the Shaping Heartland AEA Facebook page yet, you’re missing out! Even if you aren’t part of the pilot program, you can still follow along with the workout portion of the program and get tips about nutrition and meal planning.
Challenge Added!
Attention! One more challenge has been added to this year’s Wellness Program: participate in the Shaping Heartland AEA one week challenge!
Logon to the Shaping Heartland AEA Facebook page and follow the TST trainers’ guided workout videos for one week. After you’ve completed the one week challenge, let us know by filling out this form. You can choose any week to do this between now and May 31.
And remember, you need complete two challenges along with the other areas to earn your wellness money!
Acts of violence, whether they hit close to home or far away, may increase feelings of stress, worry and anxiety. Even if you were not directly impacted by these events, you or family members may be experiencing difficult or painful emotions.
If you or someone you love is struggling with feelings of stress, worry or anxiety, remember that the LifeWorks program can help. Their professional consultants can provide guidance, resources and support. Visit their website for more information.
Website: heartlandaea.lifeworks.com
Username: heartlandaea
Password: lifeworks
As
a reminder, mentors must submit mentor logs to Katie Streff in Human
Resources no later than May 1, 2017. The logs can be shared through
Google Drive or emailed directly. If you have any questions, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Human Resources Manager at ext. 14534.
We’re halfway through our benefit enrollment period! If you haven't already, take a moment to complete your enrollment.
Our annual benefit enrollment is open to all full-time and 96-day employees from April 1 through April 30, 2017
at 4:00 p.m. for the 2017-18 year benefit year, which begins July 1,
2017. Full-time employees may enroll in health and dental insurance and
medical flex spending plans, while part-time staff (96-day) may enroll
in the medical flex spending plan. We will need your enrollment selections even if you choose not to make any changes to your benefits for next year.
This is the time that you can add and/or drop family members to your
health and dental plans without a life event or change of status. You
can also change your health insurance deductible at this time.
Enrollment
can be completed through the Employee Online tab on the Employee
Dashboard. If you are having trouble enrolling, log out of the Dashboard
and log in before you start the enrollment process.
During our annual benefit enrollment, employees who didn’t opt for additional life insurance coverage through VOYA can also enroll. Complete the enrollment form and
submit it to Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist. Existing employees
who are enrolling for the first time will be required to fill out an Evidence of Insurability form.
Existing employees who are already enrolled but who want to increase
their coverage may also do so at this time. Existing employees may
increase their coverage, but if they choose to increase it over $10,000,
they will be required to fill out an Evidence of Insurability form.
Enrollment will be during April but will be effective on July 1, 2017.
If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at ext. 14315.
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.
The Agency is preparing to upgrade all of its Mac computers to Apple’s current operating system, macOS 10.12. Having all staff using the same operating system will enhance our security and simplify the process of providing support.
Later this week, you will receive an email with detailed instructions about how you will perform this upgrade. This will be a fairly simple process, but it will take some time. For example, if a new computer is being upgraded in our Johnston office, the process could take as little as 35 minutes. If an older model is being updated using home wifi, it might take 2-3 hours. So you’ll want to plan your time according to what computer you have and what network you’ll be using.
Included in the email you’ll receive later this week is a short video we encourage you to watch prior to doing the upgrade so you know what to expect. You will also want to do a Time Machine backup on your external hard drive just prior to performing the upgrade.
For those of you who upgraded your operating system as part of the pilot group, thank you for your willingness to help us test the process. If you were part of the pilot, there’s no need for you to do any additional upgrades at this time.
The Internal Technology Department asks that you complete the upgrade to OS 10.12 by May 12, before the rush of the end of the school year.
If you have any questions, contact the Internal Technology Team.
