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
Heartland AEA is pleased to announce that Dr. Jadie (Meyer) Boens will be the new Director of Special Programs at the Agency. She will oversee our Shelter Care Educational Program classrooms (Rosedale, Youth Emergency Services & Shelter, Polk County Detention Center and prisons), STRIVE, STRIVE Academy and the therapeutic classrooms within the Agency, and she will provide leadership and support for our social, emotional, behavior and mental health programming.
Jadie brings a broad set of experiences both in districts and in the AEA system to Heartland AEA. She is currently the Director of Special Education and Student Services for the Mason City Community Schools, where she has had responsibility for the district’s special education programs, provided site administration for two district special programs, lead the district’s efforts for MTSS for behavioral services and coordinated the district's at-risk programs, including support of school counselors, district social workers and district behavior interventionists.
Prior to her time in Mason City, Jadie worked at Mississippi Bend AEA as a sector coordinator and Great Prairie AEA as a regional special education director. She’s also served in two districts in the Heartland AEA service area: Urbandale Community Schools as the special education coordinator and the Des Moines Public Schools as an educational program coordinator and special education teacher. She earned a Ph.D. in educational administration from Capella University, a master’s degree in special education from Drake University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Iowa.
Jadie will join Heartland AEA on July 2, 2018.
The Agency is looking forward to a third year of employee engagement through staff presentations at our All-Staff Meeting!
Save Sept. 28, 2018 on your calendar for a “most of the day” meeting that will again feature an afternoon of presentations from YOU! This year, we’ve decided to take a little different approach. The feedback you provided says you enjoy learning from your colleagues, but you want more flexibility in presentation format. So this year, you’ll have the opportunity to present in any format you’d like that fits within a 20-minute time slot. (Good, right?!?)
Some ideas to consider:
- PechaKucha or Ignite Talk: Maybe you liked the PechaKucha format and want to try it again. Go for it! Remember a PechaKucha includes 20 images shown for 20 seconds each for a total presentation of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Images – not words! Ignite sessions are even shorter with slides rotating every 15 seconds for a total of 5 minutes.
- TED Talk: Maybe you want to try a TED Talk-style presentation? Give it a shot! TED Talks are generally up to 18 minutes long and are just that—a talk—no other “stuff.” Get up there and tell us a great story!
- Your Choice: You need a little more time to explain some important points, you can do that. Having a little extra time might be a perfect solution!
Here are some quick tips for a great presentation!
How to Submit a Proposal
If you or a team of your co-workers are interested in presenting, complete this presentation proposal by June 15, 2018.
When planning your presentation, 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 annual graduation rates, Increase post-secondary gateways
- Wellness: Heartland AEA’s Five Elements of Wellness: Career, Community, Financial, Social, Physical
Topics can be almost anything that is inspiring within our work throughout the Agency as well as personal topics that don’t fall too far outside the wellness/volunteering categories.
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. These presentations showcase your expertise, your passion and your innovation. So don’t be shy—show your work, make an impact! Submit your presentation application by June 15, 2018!
If you have any questions, contact the Communications Department.
Heartland AEA’s fiscal year will end on June 30, 2018. In order for the Agency to close its books in a timely and accurate manner, the Business Office needs your assistance in returning date-sensitive items.
- For payroll-related work completed on or before June 30, turn in timesheets and submit addendum online forms with appropriate approvals to the Payroll Department by July 5, 2018.
- Review open Addendum Online assignments and close addendum assignments that will not have any additional hours logged.
- For travel, mileage and purchases occurring on or before June 30, turn in claim forms, expense claims, invoices for services or professional development/travel forms with appropriate approvals to the Business Office by July 11, 2018.
- Do not put dates from two different fiscal years on the same timesheet, vacation request or in-area travel form. In-area travel forms with two fiscal years will be returned for correction.
IMPORTANT: If extenuating circumstances cause a delay in submitting expenses related to fiscal year 2018, Aug. 31, 2018 is the last date the Business Office will accept and process any claims for expenses occurring on or before June 30, 2018.
A separate year-end communication was sent directly to budget managers and support staff. If you have any questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at ext. 14005 or Heng Fongkhamdeng, Accountant, at ext. 14417. Thank you for your assistance.
As many of you are transitioning to a well-deserved summer break, the Heartland AEA leadership team asks that staff who have time off during the summer check their agency email at least once a week during June, July and August.
The Agency relies heavily on email to communicate valuable agency and regional messages and timely responses are oftentimes requested. If you have any questions about this request, contact your supervisor.
If you are off contract for the summer months, we ask that you set your out-of-office messages accordingly.
Change Gmail Vacation Responder (Out-of-Office Message) (sample below)
Thank you for contacting Heartland AEA. I will be off contract and out of the office from June *** until Aug. ***, 2018. I will return your message as soon as I can. If you need immediate assistance, contact *****. Thank you.
Change Voicemail Greeting to Unavailable (sample below)
Thank you for calling Heartland AEA. You have reached Sally Smith. I am currently off contract and out of the office from June *** until Aug. ***, 2018. Please leave a message, and I will return your call when I am back in the office. If you need immediate assistance, contact ******. Thank you.
Tip: If you want to change your voicemail greeting from your home phone or cell phone, you may do so by calling either (515) 270-0405 or (515) 473-7450 and pressing # when you begin to hear the greeting. This gets you into your voicemail, and you can then follow the prompts to access your messages, change your voicemail greeting or set it to out-of-office. Please be mindful not to refer a customer to another staff member who is also scheduled to be out of the office. Check with that person to make sure he or she will be available and aware that you are forwarding calls to them during your absence.
- The deadline to enter leave requests for the 2017-18 year is July 2, 2018. Supervisors need to approve all 2017-18 requests by July 6, 2018. This will allow us to calculate and display actual, rather than estimated, leave balances for 2018-19 by the end of July.
- Calendar exchange requests for 2017-18 must be submitted and approved by June 29, 2018.
If you have any questions, contact Heather Rinderknecht, Human Resources Associate, at ext. 14427.
The agenda for the June 12, 2018 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting is available.
