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
We look forward to a great day of connecting, celebrating and learning from one another, as this is our one opportunity during the year to come together as an entire Heartland AEA staff! Location Holiday Inn Des Moines - Airport 6111 Fleur Drive Des Moines, IA Time 9 – 3 p.m. We will again have a morning session, lunch, a Benefits & Wellness Fair and afternoon presentations from agency staff. 9 – 9:30 a.m. - Registration 9:30 – 11:45 a.m. - General Session 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. - Benefits & Wellness Fair, Lunch 1 – 3 p.m. - Staff Presentations Details General Session In the morning general session, we’ll be inspired by Shelly Vroegh, the 2017 Iowa Teacher of the Year, and we'll hear from agency leaders with a year in review and a look ahead as we enter a new school year. We’ll also have a chance to celebrate successes and honor our years of service award recipients. Food & Beverage Only coffee and tea will be served in the morning, so please plan to eat breakfast before you arrive. Lunch will consist of a turkey sandwich on a croissant, apple slices, mini carrots and a cookie. If you have special dietary needs, completethis form to let us know. Water stations will be available throughout the day if you’d like to bring a water bottle, and an afternoon snack will be served as well. Afternoon Staff Presentations Our afternoon will again be spent learning from one another during staff presentations. This year any kind of presentation is acceptable – whatever fits within a 20-minute timeframe. There are time slots for you to see up to four presentations from your colleagues. United Way We will kick off our annual United Way campaign again this year at the All-Staff meeting. We are counting on you to once again pledge record support to United Way, so they can in turn support communities through education, income and health initiatives! Watch your tables for pledge forms to begin pledging your support on Sept. 28. Everyone (whether you donate to United Way or not) will have the chance to fill out a form to get your name in a drawing for some cold hard cash! Benefits & Wellness Fair (Including Flu Shots) The Benefits & Wellness Fair will be held from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Many of our past vendors will again be on hand, including our flu shot nurses! The Fair will be held in the foyer outside of the Iowa Hall, where our general session will be held. A map of the hotel will be available for you at the meeting. If you're interested in getting a flu shot, fill out this consent formand bring it with you to the Fair so you're ready to go! Wear Agency Colors Wear your agency colors – purple or green – and proudly display your Heartland AEA pride! You are welcome to wear typical casual Friday attire and any agency-branded t-shirts you have. Fill in the Tables Please make every attempt to fill the chairs at every table. Please do not move chairs around from table to table, either. We would like to avoid having to scramble to find a place for everyone to sit. Parking The Holiday Inn has 400 spots on site, however, there is free street parking to the north, south and east, as well as paid parking on the north and south sides of the hotel. We encourage you to carpool to the meeting if possible. Grab some coffee and a donut, take some selfies and put yourself in a good mood for our annual gathering! More information about parking is below. Click images to enlarge.
As you all know, the past several years our country has seen an increase in school and workplace violence. As our agency learns more from the experts who have studied these events, our Emergency Response & Safety Team has made several recommendations that have been enacted across the Agency to help keep us safe in the case of an emergency. As Heartland AEA continues to make improvements in our agency’s safety and security, we are now asking that all staff complete the ALICE online training once a year. By the end of the 2018 calendar year, all Heartland AEA staff members should take the hour-long online training to become familiar with the ALICE program and the techniques it teaches in response to an armed intruder event. ALICE stands for:
Alert: Get the word out! “Armed Intruder in building” instead of “Code Red,” or “Bring the purple folder to the office.” Use clear, concise language to convey the type and location of the event.
Lockdown: Good starting point. We will continue to lockdown in secure areas.
Inform: Communication keeps the intruder off balance and allows for good decision-making.
Counter: Apply skills to distract, confuse and gain control.
Evacuate: Reduce the number of potential targets for the intruder and reduce chances of victims resulting from friendly fire when help arrives.
In short, using the ALICE method will give you more tools to use in the event of an armed intruder/active shooter. We want to provide you with the knowledge that if faced with a life or death situation there are methods that can be applied to enhance your chance of survival. Again, you are expected to complete the ALICE online training by the end of the 2018 calendar year. To access the training:
Click on AEA Sign in with AEA Login and enter your email and password you use to log into the AEA Learning System (Mandatory Reporter, Bloodborne Pathogens, etc.).
Once in the site, enter kp79hf in the Course Code field and click the Enroll button.
On the ALICE Certification Training page, click Enter.
If you need assistance with accessing the site, contact:
If you have any questions about the training or the ALICE program in general, contact Dustin Gean, Operations Manager, Emergency Response & Safety Team Lead and Certified ALICE Trainer.
The Creative Services Department will lead another Lunch & Learn about the new Creative Services Online system – this time to share tips and tricks for using the new system as well as preparing files for printing and/or design. Preparing your files properly enables Creative Services to complete your job efficiently and correctly. During the session you’ll learn about deleting and extracting pages from a PDF, scale and proportion, multi-up files and which file types are best suited for uploading.
Creative Services staff will also review basic print options including how to change paper color and type, how to print files in color or black and white and other common printing options. Please bring any questions you have as there will be time for Q & A. About Creative Services Online Going forward, you are asked to place orders for printing, lamination, custom graphic design and binding using Creative Services Online. You should log in using the same email and password you use for the AEA Learning Online system. You can browse the site before logging in, however, you will not be able to place an order until you have logged in. The new system will take the place of the fillable PDFs that were previously being used to place orders. You will also be able to check the status of your orders, select account codes from a dropdown list and browse all the fantastic items that Creative Services has to offer!
If you have any questions about how to use Creative Services Online, contact a member of the Creative Services team. Also note that Creative Services Online will be available to schools in the Heartland AEA service area later this school year. Creative Services Online Lunch & Learn: Tips & Tricks Sept. 12, 2018 12-1:30 p.m. Johnston REC, Room 152A All staff are invited to attend!
A new early literacy blueprint for teachers will help support this work. For the third year in a row, Iowa has made progress in improving the reading skills of students in kindergarten through third grade, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today, along with a new early literacy blueprint to strengthen teachers’ skills in reading instruction. The share of Iowa students in kindergarten through third grade who met or surpassed benchmarks used to measure statewide progress in reading increased from 69.7 percent to 70.5 percent from fall 2017 to spring 2018 – and has climbed nearly 7 percentage points since 2015. “We must prepare all students for success beyond high school so they can pursue rewarding careers, and their success starts with the ability to read,” Reynolds said. “I’m proud that Iowa schools are seeing steady progress in their efforts to catch and address reading problems in children as early as kindergarten.” Iowa school districts and nonpublic schools screen K-3 students in reading three times a year as part of a 2012 law that focuses on making sure all students are reading on grade level by the end of third grade. Through an early warning system developed by the Iowa Department of Education, area education agencies and school districts, teachers screen children’s reading skills, adapt instruction individually for students identified as at risk, and monitor their progress. Schools also work with parents to help students at home to improve reading skills. “Early literacy is essential because students who struggle to read early on are more likely to drop out of school, less likely to pursue postsecondary education and training, and less likely to earn a living wage,” Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said. “If our schools can maintain steady student growth in reading, we will see a dramatic shift in Iowa’s reading results over time and our students will have a better chance of success in school and in life.” Reynolds also announced today that Iowa will build on its early literacy progress with a new blueprint to help teachers improve the quality of their reading instruction. Iowa legislators this year set aside over $300,000 for the blueprint, which equips teachers with effective literacy practices, strengthens their instructional skills, and provides schools a starting point for evaluating literacy plans and ensuring developmental milestones are met. The initiative, led by the Iowa Reading Research Center, includes professional development delivered through a training-of-trainers approach. The blueprint also leverages Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) System because many of the literacy leaders who have been trained to deliver professional development to teachers in their home school districts or area education agency regions this school year are also teacher leaders in the TLC system. “We know that improving students’ literacy proficiency starts with the instruction they receive in the classroom from their teachers,” said Iowa Reading Research Center Director Deborah Reed. “The blueprint will equip teachers with the knowledge, evidence-based literacy practices, and support necessary to teach their students to become better readers during this crucial early period.”
Human Resources has again received various questions asking for clarification around the one-hour agency holiday leave that is granted to employees prior to official agency holidays. As a reminder:
This hour of agency-provided leave applies to employees who are at work at the end of the day prior to a holiday.
This leave does not apply to staff who are not scheduled to work or who have taken other forms of leave (sick leave, vacation, OPL, etc.) that day.
We recognize the hour of holiday leave does not apply to all staff all the time, but we hope it is recognized as a goodwill gesture for those who have not used other forms of available leave. If you have any further questions, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Director of Human Resources, at ext. 14534.
With the launch of the Wellness Program this year, it's also a great time to think about benefits! Full-time staff members with benefits are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete the 2018-19 Benefit Survey. Completion of the survey is also a required baseline item for completing this year’s Wellness Program. The survey will be open from Sept. 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019 and results will be posted after the survey has closed. The Agency’s Insurance Committee uses this information when considering employee benefits, so be sure to complete the survey and let your voice be heard!
The 2018-19 Wellness Program is now officially underway! Your Wellmark Wellness Center awaits you, and it's almost time to sign up for the first challenge! Incentives Returning staff: Earn $250 when you complete the entire 2018-19 Wellness Program, as well as a $40 coupon towards Heartland AEA logo merchandise when you complete the baseline activities! August new hires: will receive an email this week from Juliette Houseman outlining the new hire options/details, but everyone can find out about the program now! New Challenges This Year! Check out the new challenges for this year! Registration is open for our first challenge – the Invitational! Registration will be available through your personal Wellness Center, or if you are signed up to receive emails from Wellmark, you will be emailed a registration link along with program highlights. Check Out the Wellness Pages on the Intranet Check out the Wellness Program link on the Intranet for all the details! If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist.
Registration for The Invitational Challenge is now open in the Wellmark Wellness Center! This is the first of the six challenges that will be offered during this year’s Wellness Program. The timeline below provides an overview of key dates within the challenge. Credit will show on your Rewards page on Oct. 25th – those that tracked 5 of the 7 days for a minimum of 3 of the 5 weeks during the challenge will show credit at that time. How It Works
You will be part of a five-person team that competes against a new team each week for five consecutive weeks. The team that walks the most steps each week wins! The challenge begins on Sept. 19. Team matchups are based on performance for more fair competition. Weekly rounds start each Wednesday. Be sure to enter your steps for each round by the following Tuesday to count towards the previous round. You can sync your fitness device or enter your steps manually.
Click image to enlarge.
Join us for these upcoming wellness lunch and learns! Medicare 101 Sept. 24, 2018 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Johnston REC, Room 152B Zoom Access, Will be recorded as well We will attempt to clear up any confusion about Medicare and answer questions you may have about your
options and coverage when you become eligible for Medicare. Presenters Joel LeLaCheur, Agent Manager, United Healthcare Kurt Randel, Independent Insurance Agent Long-Term Care 101 Sept. 26, 2018 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Johnston REC, Room 152A Zoom Access, Will be recorded as well We will educate you on what long-term care is, how it works, what your options are and what might be a good fit for you. When you think about “extended care” or “long-term care,” what comes to mind? You might think about wasting away in a nursing home, isolated from friends and family, with no hope of improvement in the quality of your life. The grim image tends to be our immediate association with long-term care, which is one reason why we don’t want to think about or prepare for what will happen to us or our families if we become unable to take care of ourselves. Today’s Reality Children typically have their own family and career obligations. Adding the role of caregiver to an already hectic day can take a toll—physically, financially and emotionally.
It’s not unusual for caregivers to ignore their own health, often becoming ill themselves.
A child may have to take time off or quit a job altogether in order to care for a parent.
Children may not live close enough to provide day-to-day care.
Family conflicts can arise when one child assumes a greater share of caregiving duties.
The Solution A long-term care policy can provide funds to help people get the care they need. And that can free their children from the responsibility of becoming a caregiver. Presenter Rhonda Vry-Bills, CLTC, Long-Term Care Strategies Stay tuned for details about other lunch and learns!
The agenda for the Sept. 10, 2018 Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting is available. Note that the Board will meet at the DMACC campus in Ankeny on Sept. 10 instead of the usual date of Sept. 11 for its annual joint meeting with DMACC.
Please note that most of the Teacher Quality (TQ) courses and study groups are set-up in the new AEA Professional Learning Registration System that won’t officially launch at Heartland AEA until October. Instructions for accessing the new system are included at the end of this article. We will all need to extend grace during this process as the Professional Development Office works with us on this new system. Registration Registration for Teacher Quality (TQ) courses and study groups ends Sept. 14, 2018. The list of courses and study groups being offered is available here. TQ courses and study groups are offered as an optional format for professional learning for our Certified staff. TQ courses meet for 15 hours off contract time, and participants are eligible for a stipend upon completion of the course. All Certified staff members are eligible to register for these opportunities. Heartland AEA has a strong commitment to time spent in service to our partners. With this commitment in mind, beginning in 2018-19, TQ courses will be offered at times when service to children, educators and families when service is least impacted. TQ courses and study groups will be offered between Oct. 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 outside of contract hours Monday through Friday or on weekends, except for a few exceptions. A popular option offered in 2017-18 will again be offered in 2018-19—the ability for you to develop your own study group proposals. Study groups must have at least four participants, and one participant must agree to be the study group facilitator. The content must align with Heartland AEA’s four goals and/or support a specific job-alike function.
Anyone who wants to form a study group needs to fill out this this form to indicate their interest in forming a study group. If you want to request the syllabus from a study group offered last year, here is the list of study groups offered in 2017-18. Study group proposals can be turned in Aug. 20 – Sept. 14, 2018. The Professional Development Office will work with interested participants in writing their study group proposal and support them in entering the proposal in the new registration system. Study groups can begin Oct. 1. This allows time for books to be ordered if there is a need. Those who complete a TQ course or study group and meet eligibility requirements will be provided a stipend. The amount of the stipend is established after registration closes, as the stipend is determined by the number of participants. For reference, during the 2017-18 school year, eligible participants received $655 for completing a course/study group, and facilitators received a $705 stipend for facilitating a course/study group. TQ Timeline for 2018-19 TQ registration open: Aug. 20 - Sept. 14, 2018 TQ proposals for study groups due: Sept. 14, 2018 TQ courses and study groups held: Oct. 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 FAQ Document Here is a frequently asked questions document that will help answer questions about Teacher Quality. Questions If you have any questions about TQ pay or guidelines, contact Kevin Fangman, Chief Academic Officer. If you have questions about courses or study groups, contact Brandie Gean, Licensure and Conference Center Manager.
As a reminder, the Internal Technology Department has enabled the new and improved Gmail interface for you to begin using. Google has updated several of the email features you already use and added new tools and apps to help you work more efficiently. If you haven’t already begun using the new interface, you can do so now by following the instructions below. As a reminder, the Gmail interface will be automatically enabled for Heartland AEA staff on Sept. 18, 2018. If you have not switched to the new interface by Sept. 18, the next time you sign in, on or after Sept. 18, you will be immediately presented with the new Gmail interface and features. To enable the new Gmail interface: 1. Sign into your Heartland AEA Gmail account. 2. Select the “Gear” icon to display your settings. 3. Select the “Try the new Area Education Agency 11 Mail” option.
This short slide presentation shows you some of the features that are new to Gmail with this latest update. If you have any questions, contact: Marquis Jones, Technology Support Specialist Tim Weets, Network Specialist
