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
The following release was posted on the Agency’s website and social media accounts and sent to the media last week.
The Heartland AEA Board of Directors is pleased to officially announce the selection of a new chief administrator for the Agency. Dr. Jon Sheldahl, who is currently the chief administrator of Great Prairie AEA in Burlington, will succeed Dr. Paula Vincent when she retires after an almost 40-year career in education, including the past seven years as chief administrator at Heartland AEA.
“The Board and I are excited to have Dr. Sheldahl join the Heartland AEA family,” said John Kinley, president of the Heartland AEA board of directors. “He brings a depth of experience with the statewide AEA system and has tremendous passion for the work that Iowa’s AEAs do across the state. We are confident he will continue the great work and positive culture of our agency and will bring a level of experience that will help us further enhance the services we provide to students, children, families and educators in our area.”
As the chief administrative officer of Heartland AEA, Sheldahl will oversee over 660 full and part-time staff members who provide special education services, instructional services, professional learning, library and digital resources, technology support and more to over 150,000 students and 9,300 educators throughout the 11 central Iowa counties the Agency serves.
Sheldahl has been the chief administrator at Great Prairie AEA since July 2011, and prior to this position, he was the superintendent of the Ottumwa Schools for five years. His career also includes experience as associate superintendent in Ottumwa, superintendent of the Stuart-Menlo Schools and West Central Valley Schools in Stuart and principal at Oak Street Middle School in Burlington. Sheldahl earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Northern Arizona University.
Sheldahl was selected for the position after the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates conducted a nationwide search. The two-month search yielded 25 candidates for the position, and two rounds of interviews were held in April. Sheldahl will assume the responsibilities of chief administrator on July 3, 2017.
“I have great respect for Heartland AEA,” Sheldahl said. “In my experience, Heartland AEA staff members have a sense of clarity about their work and a commitment to their mission. I have a deep appreciation for the strength and talent of staff and leadership at Heartland, and I’m excited to join the team and get started.”
The
Agency is looking forward to a second year of employee engagement
through PechaKucha presentations at our All-Staff Meeting!
Save Sept. 15, 2017
on your calendar for a “most of the day” meeting that will again
feature an afternoon of presentations from YOU! The feedback from last
year’s meeting told us that you enjoyed the PechaKucha presentations and
the opportunity to learn from your colleagues. Presentations will again be in the spirit of a PechaKucha,
during which speakers give quick presentations that include 20 images
shown for 20 seconds each for a total presentation of 6 minutes and 40
seconds. Topics can be almost anything that is inspiring within our
work throughout the Agency (should we ask for presentations that are job
related as well as non job related), including but certainly not
limited to: • A successful project • A pilot project that didn’t reach its target • Team-building strategies, • A story of collaboration, • Technology integration that improved a process or project or • An initiative that made a positive impact on kids, teachers or families
Here are some quick tips for a great presentation!
How to Apply If you or a team of your co-workers are interested in presenting, complete this presentation application by June 1, 2017. When
planning your Pecha Kucha, think about whether it reflects, educates,
touches on or celebrates areas that we’ve emphasized as an organization,
such as:
Core Values: Caring - Proactive - Collaborative
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.)
Goals: Increase learning growth, Decrease gaps in achievement, Increase in annual graduation rate, Increase post-secondary gateways
Wellness:
Heartland AEA’s Five Elements of Wellness help promote the total
well-being of agency staff: Career Wellness, Community Wellness,
Financial Wellness, Social Wellness, Physical Wellness
This
approach to learning during our All-Staff meeting gives us a unique
opportunity to feel the pulse of the Agency in just a few hours, to
celebrate together, learn together and get re-connected. More than a
PowerPoint slideshow, Pecha Kuchas generate discussion and innovation,
so don’t be shy, show your work, make an impact! Submit your
presentation application by June 1, 2017!
As you are aware, for the past four years the Iowa Department of Education has provided an early warning system in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade to all interested public and non-public schools in the state. Through two separate requests for proposals processes, the vendor we chose to provide the state-purchased universal screening and progress monitoring assessments in literacy was FASTBridge Learning (FBL). The Iowa TIER data system vendor we selected was Technology and Information Educational Services (TIES).
This fall, we experienced an unacceptably problematic screening window. As a result of these problems, the Department commissioned an independent technology audit to review the Iowa TIER data system and provide information about the sustainability of the system. We have received the final report from that audit and it is available upon request.
Due to the audit findings, which raised questions about the system’s long-term sustainability, the Department will terminate the contract with TIES effective June 30. Our commitment to continuing to build a comprehensive statewide data system remains, and we will re-issue a request for proposals in the future to continue this work. This change will not affect the spring screening window that is currently underway or the availability of reports using spring data. Use of the system for summer 2017 may be affected, and we will follow-up with details as soon as possible.
To ensure continuity of service to districts and schools and, most importantly, to the students of Iowa, for the 2017-2018 school year, we will be transferring all district and nonpublic school users directly into the FASTBridge data system. Key components of this transition will include: • Continuing use of the approved literacy FAST assessments as our state-purchased universal screening and progress monitoring assessments. Districts may also continue to use any other assessments on the approved list; • Comparable assessment administration and scoring, which will not require new training for teachers; • Student, district, and state-level data that will remain comparable over time; • Manual creation by the Department of some system-level reports that were a part of the Iowa TIER; • Reports in the FASTBridge data system which will include the same information but may be formatted differently, in addition to new reports; • Uploading rosters to get student and staff data into the FASTBridge system, as well as new processes for logging into the system, which will require limited training.
Please know that the Department will do everything it can to minimize the impact that this transition has on schools and districts. Throughout this transition, the Department will continue to be the first line of communication and support for districts.
As of July 1, 2017, the Agency will have a new administrator for its medical flex, dependent care flex and HRA benefit plans—121 Benefits. 121 Benefits was selected as the new administrator after a review of optional vendors. More information about 121 Benefits and the transition to their services will follow in the coming weeks.
There will be a blackout period in June as the transition from Kabel to 121 Benefits takes place, so you are encouraged now to go logon to your online account, review your balances and pull any historical information you might want available to you so that you have records prior to the blackout period.
If you haven’t set up or logged into your Kabel account since the merge last October, you will need to follow these instructions:
Don't
forget you have until May 31 to complete the 2016-17 Wellness program!
Many of you are so close to completing the program and earning your
incentive! If you need help finding out what you have left to complete
or you need ideas on how to complete the program, let Wellness leads
Katie Streff or Juliette Houseman know! It just takes a little time to
see what you have done and what else you can do before the end of the
program. Complete the program and the incentive will be yours! $200 for
returning staff and $100 and a Fitbit Flex for all first year staff who
complete the program!
Are you familiar with the legal services provided by LifeWorks? It’s not just wills they can help you with - they can refer you to an attorney based on your legal needs, and if you use their referral, your initial consultation could be free!
This week’s Tech Tip details the process of performing an iPad backup via iTunes. Backing up your iPad is an important step in protecting the data contained on your iPad in the event of an accident or if your iPad is ever replaced.
