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
It’s your chance to spend a little time with chief administrator, Jon Sheldahl! Come meet Jon and have a conversation with him about anything and everything! (Click the image below to enlarge.)
In order to better serve you, the Business Office would like to help you get to know its staff members a little better. Learn some of the major responsibilities of the staff, how long they’ve worked for the Agency and why they choose to work here every day. Steve Jordan(Senior Payroll Specialist/JO) Years of Service to Heartland AEA: 10 Some of the Things I Do… • Process deductions, direct deposits, paychecks, W-2s and W-4s • Provide employment verification for loans, mortgages, etc. • Process and respond to questions about IPERS and 403(b)/457 plans • Process timesheets and addendums • Process unpaid leaves and vacation payouts • Respond to jury duty questions What are you passionate about? My family and doing excellent work for Heartland AEA staff. What do you enjoy most about working at Heartland AEA? The opportunity to work with great people. What’s one word you’d use to describe the Business Office team? Cohesive Heather Rinderknecht(Accounting/Human Resources Associate/JO) Years of Service to Heartland AEA: 1 Some of the Things I Do… • Process new employee paperwork • Process accounts receivable/cash receipts • Respond to leave balance questions • Provide support to Human Resources • Provide State ID cards • Respond to questions about licensure and Mandatory Reporter training notifications
What are you passionate about? My family, travel and fitness. What do you enjoy most about working at Heartland AEA? I love the people and our mission to support kids! What’s one word you’d use to describe the Business Office team? Teamwork
When delivering presentations on behalf of Heartland AEA, staff are encouraged to use presentation templates that carry the Agency’s logo and colors. This helps reinforce our agency brand and present information in a professional manner. We now offer templates for Google Slides as well as the templates for PowerPoint. You can find template examples and information on the Intranet > Communications > Templates > Presentation Templates. Not sure how to access the template gallery for Google Slides? Here is a quick screencast demonstrating how.
If you have any questions about these templates, contact the Communications Dept. If you have technical questions about using Google Slides, Google Drive or accessing the templates, contact Mande Gamble, Technology Training Specialist.
Heartland AEA has policies and procedures in place to protect staff and prospective employees from discrimination. Board Policy 101: Educational Equity, Non-discrimination, and Affirmative Action covers these topics. The Agency also has a non-discrimination statement that is linked our website and appears on all formal print and non-print documents produced by the Agency. Non-discrimination Statement It is the policy of Heartland AEA not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetics, pregnancy, disability, military or veteran status, parental, family or marital status. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy please contact the Human Resources Director, 6500 Corporate Dr., Johnston, IA 50131-1603, the Director, Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-1004 or Director, Office for Civil Rights, Kansas City, MO 64106.
Since the launch of the redesigned staff directory, there have been some questions about the personal contact information (home address and phone) that is available in the directory. Please be assured that as in the past, only Heartland AEA staff are able to view that information. Staff must be logged into the Employee Dashboard to view personal contact information. The public is NOT able to access personal information when they search our directory. If you have any questions about the staff directory, contact the Human Resources Department.
Example of what the public sees:
Participate individually or on a Heartland AEA team in an organized event and receive a $20 reimbursement for your registration fee! Send the registration fee receipt and a photo of you doing any of the below activities to Juliette Houseman to receive credit for the event.
Marathon/Half marathon
Holiday Streakers
Swimming event
Biking event
Mud Run
Iron Man
Triathlon
5K/10K walk/run
P.S. One hundred twenty-five Heartland AEA staff participated in the Holiday Streakers event. Since Streakers isn’t an official part of the Wellness Program, it will not show up on the Wellmark Wellness site as a completed activity – it is an extra credit option event, and your reward is the $20 reimbursement if you submit the proper documentation. Thanks!
Districts or buildings are encouraged to attend an overview workshop on the topic, "Standards-Based Learning including Grading and Reporting." This session will explore a framework authored by Heartland AEA and designed as a diagnostic tool to identify gaps, growth areas and help you to determine focus and priority areas for your district. District Guiding Teams are encouraged to attend, as the majority of the time together will consist of self-diagnosis, conversation and action planning for next steps. Workshops will be held in March, April and June. Registration is currently open for the March and April sessions. June registration information will be coming soon. For more information, contact Amy Wichman, Regional Director. March 2, 2018 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Registration April 5, 2018 (Select the morning or afternoon session) 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Registration 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Registration June 6, 2018 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Registration 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Registration
Ames Transition Fair March 6, 2018 5 - 7 p.m. Heartland AEA Ames Regional Office Region 2 Transition Fair April 16, 2018 5:30-7:30 p.m. Waukee Innovation and Learning Center 295 S.E. Ashworth Road, Waukee Parents, students ages 14+, school administrators, AEA staff, counselors and educators who are preparing individuals to transition from high school to post-secondary pursuits are invited to attend either event. Tables will include representatives of agencies serving students with disabilities in the areas of living, working and learning. Topics will include the following: • Vocational resources • Assisted living • College opportunities • State and county resources • Assistive technology • Camps and leisure pursuits • Finances • Disability support resources
Take a sneak peek at the updates to room conferencing gear that have been added to the meeting spaces at the Johnston campus. Find out what’s been added and see how you can take advantage of the new cameras and microphones for a better Zoom meeting experience.
We have more than 60 laptops available for bidding on the GovDeals website. See those items plus more Heartland AEA items on the Heartland AEA GovDeals listing. Reminder about GovDeals: The Agency periodically sells surplus/obsolete equipment on GovDeals.com, an online public auction site. Anyone, including employees, can bid on the items up for sale. As a public agency, we cannot sell items outright to employees. Please note that bidding should be done on personal time using personal computing devices, and item inspection should be done on personal time as well.
