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
Meet Mikeesha Perry, a HOPE Initiative participant, who is making a better life for herself thanks to support from United Way.
The HOPE Initiative (Health, Opportunity, Prosperity and Education) strengthens families by setting goals, removing barriers and connecting them with education, income and health resources through United Way and partner agencies in our community.
Last year, HOPE worked with 42 families with 104 children and saw the following outcomes:
100% of families maintained their income while working toward their goals and 60% increased their income through work.
45% of families started HOPE experiencing homelessness and now 86% have stable housing.
63% of parents attended degree or certificate programs to improve family income.
All school-aged children passed all their classes with a C or better and are advancing to the next grade.
HOPE works with single-parent families on a pathway out of poverty toward self-sufficiency. Through a multi-generational, integrated and comprehensive approach, HOPE provides case management to families and connects them with education, income and health resources. United Way provides funding for case management, job training, child care, transportation, rent and utilities, food assistance, legal services, mental health services, soft skills training and fees related to high school equivalency testing.
To participate in HOPE, families must meet the following criteria: single parent, children living in the home, within income guidelines (30% of median area income or 100% of poverty level; for a family of four, that's about $24,000.) HOPE works to improve the following measures in all participating families:
Increase in income and monthly resources; reduction in debt
Quarterly Temperature Check: self-assessment of how each family is doing and the progress they are making
In collaboration with agency case managers, families identify 3-5 additional goals relative to each family's needs from a menu of success indicators in the areas of education, income and health.
If you haven’t donated yet, please consider doing so. This simple act can make a big difference for so many people in our communities. Contact Courtney Croatt or Whitney Anderson for your pledge form.
Heartland AEA is partnering with an advisory company, IS Loan Solutions, to help school employees improve their student loan situations and overall financial well-being. All full-time Heartland AEA staff and school district staff (regardless of position) with student loans are encouraged to find out if this voluntary benefit can help them. They may qualify for loan forgiveness and refinancing to help lower or even eliminate loan payments. IS Loan Solutions has helped others reduce their monthly payments on average by 81%.
ISLoan Solutions is a student loan advisory firm (not debt consolidator) that offers a voluntary student loan relief benefit that may be able to help staff with federal student loans, including Parent Plus Loans, reduce their monthly student loan payment and overall obligation. This benefit provides information to you about their potential for significant savings on student loan debt. This is a free, voluntary, no obligation review and consultation for staff with student loan. If you want to take the relationship further and use ISLoan Solutions to implement a loan relief program on your behalf, there will be a fee to implement all of the necessary steps. The fee is based on the complexity of the student loan forgiveness strategy.
This program was first introduced to educational service agencies, such as AEAs, across the country through the Association of Educational Service Agencies’ (AESA) national consortium. Grant Wood AEA piloted the program in Iowa in 2016 and has reported positive reviews. In April 2017, superintendents in the Heartland AEA service area reviewed the program and suggested moving forward. Visit the IS Loan Solutions website and enter registration code AEA11 for more information.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) may be able to: • Immediately lower monthly student loan payments • Reduce student loan obligation • Significantly lower costs to earn additional degrees • Receive a personalized 10-year loan forgiveness plan outlining projected tax-free savings
Some may be able to lower their payments through the program, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF is not Teacher Loan Forgiveness). If you choose to work with IS Loan Solutions, there will be a fee for their services. For those who won’t benefit from PSLF, refinancing may work for you. For those who registered with ISLoan Solutions in the past and were told you would not benefit from PSLF, login to your MyISLS portal, and you will be directed to the refinancing option.
Contact IS Loan Solutions at (866) 831-5564 or visit isloansolutions.com for more information and success stories.
Registration began Oct. 4, 2017 for this year’s first wellness challenge -- Ready! Set! Move!
Through
your Fitbit, track a minimum of 450 minutes of movement, which is, on
average, 30 minutes a day for 20 days of the 30-day challenge. Ready!
Set! Move! will be held from Oct. 18 through Nov. 16. Registration for the challenge is available on the WebMD wellness portal.
If you have any questions, contact Katie Streff, Human Resources Coordinator, at ext. 14614.
Dr. Aaron Rector and Dr. Gary Bowman of Active Wellness & Chiropractic & Rehabilitation will present a lunch and learn about sleep and performance. You’ll learn more about the stages of sleep; how sleep relates to situational awareness, memory and emotional stability; injuries and injury prevention; and how sleep relates to pain, weight management, energy and metabolism.
See this document for an update from Iowa’s AEAs on a FastBridge Learning expansion, the introduction of AEA PREP college and career readiness resources and a save the date for the AEAs’ legislative advocacy event in January. This information was shared with superintendents around the state last week.
Heartland AEA is hosting three Instructional Practices Inventory (IPI) workshops this winter for teachers who want to enhance their practice of collecting and collaboratively studying student engagement. Both workshops will be facilitated by Jerry Valentine, IPI Developer and Lead Trainer.
Instructional Practices Inventory Level 1 Workshop Dec. 12, 2017 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Gilbert Schools Registration Instructional Practices Inventory Level 1 Workshop Dec. 13, 2017 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Location: To be announced at a later date. Registration Instructional Practices Inventory Technology Workshop Dec. 14, 2017 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Gilbert Schools Registration
