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

Reminder: Chats With the Chief Coming to a Location Near You; Region 2 Chat Rescheduled

Have a question, comment or concern? Grab a co-worker and join chief administrator Jon Sheldahl for a “Chat With the Chief!” 

Note that the Region 2 Chat has been rescheduled to April 30 from 8 - 9 a.m.

Date	Regions and Location
March 6, 2019          3 – 4 p.m. Zoom option	Region 8 Newton Regional Office Room 248B
March 7, 2019           3:30 – 4:30 p.m.	Region 3 Smokey Row Coffee House Pleasantville
April 26, 2019                   2:30 – 3:30 p.m.	Region 1 Lake Panorama Conference Center Panora
April 17, 2019       3 – 4 p.m.	Shelter Care Program Johnston REC Conf. Room 125
April 30, 2019                8 – 9 a.m.	Region 2 Adel Regional Office Large Conference Room
May 6, 2019                3 – 4 p.m.	Regions 4 & 5 and Central Support Staff Johnston REC Conf. Rooms 107A/B
May 7, 2019                  3 – 4 p.m. Zoom option	Region 8 Cross Creek Fellowship Hall Altoona
May 13, 2019                8 – 9 a.m.	Region 7 Ames Regional Office Conf. Rooms A & B
May 20, 2019                3 – 4 p.m.	Region 6 Johnston REC Conf. Rooms 152 A/B/C

Your Help Is Needed: Guidance on Turning in Receipts for Reimbursement

With the Agency’s new policy of providing receipts for all work-related expenditures, comes some new challenges. The Business Office requests your assistance with the following: 

• Ask for separate receipts for alcohol purchases, as alcohol is not reimbursable. 
• When traveling with family, ask for separate receipts for costs incurred by family members, as they are not reimbursable. 
• When traveling with a group of staff, ask for separate receipts for costs incurred by individual staff members, so everyone’s items can be accounted for. 
• Scan meal receipts into separate PDF files for each day of travel. 
• Reminder: Meal expense limits apply to each day. Actual costs are reimbursed up to the daily limit, and no amounts carry over to a subsequent travel day. 

We realize this requires some pre-planning and follow-up work on your part, but following this guidance will make the Business Office’s task of reviewing dozens of receipts each week a bit easier. We appreciate your efforts to help us get your reimbursements to you efficiently and quickly. 

Reminder: Take the “Mission: My Community” Challenge -- We Promise, It’s Not Impossible!

Next up in our Wellness Challenges: Mission My Community. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to learn more about your community. What do you know about the community that you live in? What year was it established? Where can you volunteer? This challenge asks you to make it your mission to know your community better! 

To successfully complete this challenge, you will select from a variety of actions to help you learn more about your community. Once you complete an action, you will simply track your completion in the Wellness Center. It’s that easy! Don’t wait – register today! 

Registration
Feb. 6 - 27, 2019 

Duration of Challenge
Feb. 13 - March 12, 2019

Reminder: Bummer! The Financial Fitness Assessment & Courses Are No Longer Active

For those of you who have not yet completed the Financial Fitness Group Assessment and/or Courses, we regret to inform you that they are now inactive. If you completed your Assessment and were working on your Courses, please go ahead and enter a January date for completion. 

This financial activity was offered through a grant program, and we are currently attempting to determine whether or not the program has ended. There are plenty of other offerings under the Financial section, so it shouldn’t affect anyone’s ability to complete three Financial activities. 

If we find out more information, we will let everyone know via The Connection. Wellmark will be unable to delete this offering from the Wellness Center, so it will remain visible through the remainder of this year’s Wellness Program. 

What is the Financial Course & the Financial Assessment?

AEA Legislative Update Available

Each week during the Iowa legislative session, we will bring you an AEA Legislative Update from the Iowa’s AEAs legislative advocacy team. 
 

Feb. 16, 2019 Legislative Update

Reminder: To Do: Read Trauma-Sensitivity Resource to Build Background Knowledge on Topic

“Growing awareness of the prevalence and impact of childhood trauma has prompted educators to consider their roles in addressing this public health issue...Consensus is growing among educators that universal, whole-school approaches are needed to address the magnitude of trauma affecting youth.” -Trauma Sensitive Schools Training Package Implementation Guide, National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments; June 2018   

Heartland AEA recognizes the need to support our partners in building trauma-sensitive schools. A trauma-sensitive learning environment is safe, healthy and caring, and trauma sensitivity is integral to building relationships and providing emotional and physical safety. This is represented within the foundation (bricks) portion of Heartland AEA’s MTSS - Social Emotional Behavior Mental Health (SEBMH) pyramid, and as with all the bricks, is crucial for the additional tiers to be implemented effectively.   

Our agency is planning to provide learning opportunities to schools in this area, and we want to make sure you are aware of this information in order to partner most effectively.   

We ask that all Certified staff read this foundational “Understanding Trauma and Its Impact: E-Resource for Educators” and share your questions via this Google Form. We anticipate this task will take approximately an hour to complete. Your questions will be compiled and addressed during future agency learning opportunities.   

At this time, you are not being asked to change practice. We are sharing this resource with you to provide common background knowledge for future learning sessions. Please review the resource and provide the SEBMH Leadership team with your questions by March 1, 2019.   

If you have any questions about this resource or filling out the form, contact your regional director.