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

Process for Communicating Inclement Weather Office Closings & Course Cancellations; Ensure Your Phone Number is Current in Employee Online

As we approach winter, we want to remind you of how our agency communicates about inclement weather office closings and course cancellations (in addition to any other type of emergency situation).



Inclement Weather 
Heartland AEA offices will typically remain open unless all schools in a region are closed and travel is not recommended—which we know does happen. In preparation for the possibility of office closings and professional learning course cancellations, read below for the process the Agency uses to communicate about closings, cancellations and delays.



 

• First, read the Agency’s Inclement Weather Policy, which can be found in the Staff Handbook in Section 11:15. If you have any questions about the Inclement Weather policy, contact Nia Chiaramonte, Director of Human Resources.



 
• Second, remember that the Temporary Remote Workplace Program can be used in extraordinary circumstances with supervisor approval. More information about the program can be found in the Staff Handbook in Section 3:4. In an inclement weather circumstance, staff members who complete timesheets have the option of taking unpaid leave, even if they have other leaves available.  

 
• Third, make sure your phone information is up-to-date in Employee Online, so you will be notified of office closings. If you are a new staff member or have a new phone number, you will receive a message from the short code 67587 asking if you’d like to opt-in to receive messages from SchoolMessenger. Reply “Yes” to receive those messages. 
• We will send out a test message from SchoolMessenger next week. 

 

Communicating Office Closures 



The Agency uses the following methods to notify staff members of office closures due to inclement weather or another emergency.   

• SchoolMessenger: We will send text and email messages through SchoolMessenger (an online notification system) to only those staff members who are assigned to offices that close.    
• Website: We will post closing information on the front page of the Agency’s website.   
• Social Media: We will post closing information on the Agency's Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

Communicating Professional Learning Class Cancellations  

If a professional learning class or activity is canceled, the cancellation will be communicated via the agency website and social media.  



If you have any questions about inclement weather communications, contact Courtney Croatt, Communications Specialist, at ext. 14474.

Ice and Snow are on the Way -- Nov. 7 is Winter Weather Awareness Day

Each year, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the National Weather Service sponsor Winter Weather Awareness Day. Winter storms can bring heavy snow, ice, strong winds and freezing rain. Winter Weather Awareness Day is an opportunity to remind Iowans that there are steps they can take to be prepared for winter. Because it's a matter of when, not if, winter weather will occur. Advance preparation is key to preventing injuries and death during the winter months. For more information on preparing for winter weather, visit the Ready Iowa Winter Weather webpage.

Don’t Veer for the Deer!

With so many of our staff on the road during their workweeks, we wanted to pass along these tips for avoiding hitting a deer. 

From GEICO
We know many car/deer accidents are unavoidable, especially this time of year, but these are good reminders for anyone who lives in Iowa.  

Nov. 2019 School Leader Update Available

The Nov. 2019 School Leader Update is available from the Iowa Department of Education.

Reminder: Are You Paying Too Much on Your Student Loans? Fiducius May Be Able to Help Lower or Eliminate Your Payments

Heartland AEA is partnering with an advisory company, Fiducius (formerly 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.  


Fiducius 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 loans. If you want to take the relationship further and use Fiducius 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 reported positive reviews. Heartland AEA has partnered with Fiducius since 2017. 

Your education colleagues nationwide already working with Fiducius have reduced their monthly payments by an average of 84% and are projected to receive an average of $72,338 in tax-free loan forgiveness.   

It’s easy to get started with this benefit. You can determine your eligibility and potential savings in just a few minutes and then talk with an advisor on the phone at your convenience, by using the following link:   

Visit Heartland AEA 11 + Fiducius to register. 

Fiducius will fully educate you about all available options and provide a personalized Student Loan Financial Wellness Plan at no cost before you decide whether or not to use their services. As with other voluntary benefits, like life insurance, you only pay Fiducius when you choose to use their services.    

Questions or trouble logging in? Call (513) 645-5400, email or visit their website for more information and success stories.

Agency Years of Service Awards: If You’ve Left the Agency and Come Back, We Need Your Help!

As you know, we recognize staff with service awards at our annual All-Staff meeting. For the past nine or so years, we have counted previous employment at Heartland AEA to determine the total years of service for a staff member. Previous employment with Heartland AEA hasn't always been counted in determining service awards, and we're finding that throughout the years, with HR system/software changes, we have missed some staff who worked at the Agency, left and have returned to work here. 

So, we need your help! If you have ever worked at Heartland AEA, left for other employment and have come back to work at the Agency, please let us know. Email Whitney Wolf, Human Resources Generalist, and she will confirm what we have on file for you in order to correct any errors. If you have any general questions about years of service, contact Nia Chiaramonte, Director of Human Resources. Thank you for your help in making sure we properly recognize our staff!

Reminder: All Eligible Staff Must Enroll in or Waive the Dependent Care Flex Plan for 2020 – Nov. 1-30

Enrollment/Waiving Begins: Nov. 1, 2019

Enrollment/Waiving Ends: Nov. 30, 2019

Online enrollment for the 2020 dependent care flex benefit plan will be open to eligible employees on Nov. 1, 2019. If you are a full-time employee or a Certified Union employee working a 96-day contract, you are eligible to participate.   


All full-time employees will need to either enroll during this period or waive participation through the enrollment process. For eligible part-time employees, due to system configurations, it is assumed that you automatically waive the benefit; however, if you wish to participate and are a CU employee with a 96-day contract, contact Juliette Houseman to enroll via paper.



The dependent care benefit allows you to pre-tax child, spouse or elder care expenses that you incur in order to allow you (and your spouse, if married) to work. If married, both spouses must be working to claim dependent care expenses. A dependent is defined as:  

• A dependent of the employee who is under 13 years of age 
• A dependent or spouse who is physically or mentally disabled 

The maximum amount your family may flex per calendar year is $5,000. All claims must be incurred by Dec. 31 and submitted for reimbursement within 60 days of the end of the plan year (March 1).



The deadline for enrolling in or waiving the dependent care plan is Nov. 30, 2019, at 4 p.m.   

As a reminder, all dependent care expenses for the 2020 plan year must be incurred by Dec. 31, 2020, and must be submitted to 121 Benefits for reimbursement by March 1, 2021.



To Enroll

First, go to your Employee Dashboard and go to the Employee Online Tab. On the left-hand side of the screen, click on the ENTER Your Dependent Care Deduction. 

Next… 

• Click Dependent Care Coverage Type.  
• If you want to waive Dependent Care and not have this benefit for the upcoming year, enter 0 under the New Change Request column. 
• If you elect to enroll in the plan, your maximum deduction per pay period can be $208.33, which equates to $4,999.92 ($5,000) total for the year. 
• Click Save to complete your Flex Dependent Care. (In clicking Save you agree to the Terms and Conditions.)  

NOTE: IF YOU ENTER AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN “0” IN EMPLOYEE COST PER PERIOD, THEN THAT AMOUNT WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM YOUR PAYCHECK PER PAY PERIOD. 



If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at or ext. 14315.

Reminder: Have You Created Your New Account With Our EAP Provider, LifeWorks, Yet?

Our EAP program provider, LifeWorks, has articles and webinars that you can access, participate in and/or review in order to get certain credit for Wellness Program activities. All employees have received LifeWorks invites via email because you need to sign up for an individual account in order to access these useful tools. And you have to use the invitation code sent to you within the email to get started with LifeWorks. (Once you sign up, you will stop receiving the invitation emails.) Look for your email invite tomorrow if you haven't already signed up!

If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist.

Reminder: New Timelines for Entering Wellness Challenge Information

With a new program, there’s always a learning curve, right? We’ve learned that with the Agency’s new Wellness Program, there are new timelines for entering challenge information into the Interactive Health portal. The posted last day of a challenge is also the last day to enter required information (e.g., steps) into the portal. This is different than our previous Wellness Program that allowed entry of information up to a week following the end of the challenge. But the good news!? We have four more challenges left for you to participate in, so all is not lost! 

If you have any questions, contact Carol McDaniel, Human Resources Assistant.

Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education Presents Webinar Series About Special Education Topics

The Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education (iCASE) is presenting three great learning opportunities for district and AEA staff who are looking for more information about special education issues. 

The iCASE Webinar Series will be held from Nov. 2019 - April 2020 and provides information about school finance, advocacy, legal issues, mediation and more. Any Heartland AEA staff member can view the webinar series if the topic is of interest to them. You don't have to attend all three either -- you can choose the ones that are relevant to your work. 

Sessions will be Zoomed at each Heartland AEA office. No registration needed to attend!

You may view the Informational Flyer here.

Overall questions about the series can be sent to Kristi Upah, Chief Student Services Officer. If you have any questions about attendance, contact your regional director.