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
In recent months, agency representatives and the staff Insurance Committee have been meeting with our employee benefits consultants to analyze the Agency’s medical insurance plans and the Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA).
As you may be aware, health care costs in Iowa and across the nation have continued to increase substantially. Despite these increasing costs, the Agency has managed to maintain consistent premiums since July 1, 2014, and offer comprehensive coverage while minimizing the financial impact on staff contributions. This balanced approach has been and will be, our philosophy as we approach our insurance planning every year.
The Agency has made only very minor changes to insurance plan designs over the past several years. However, in light of a significant increase in insurance claims this past year, we anticipate that we will need to make some changes to our insurance plans. Staff will be asked to share some of these additional costs. By making incremental changes to the insurance plans, we expect medical insurance premiums will increase by 2% or less next year. If no changes are made, premiums would increase by nearly 8%, effective July 1, 2020.
Agency representatives will present medical insurance plan design recommendations to the Heartland AEA Board of Directors at its Feb. 11 meeting. The recommendations will also include increases in the Agency’s contributions to the HRA. Educational articles and sessions will be provided to all staff in the coming weeks to help you evaluate and select the insurance plan that meets your needs and budget.
In the meantime, if you have questions, contact Kurt Subra, Chief Financial Officer.
Have a question, comment or concern? Grab a co-worker and join chief administrator Jon Sheldahl for a “Chat with the Chief!”
Region 1
March 13, 2020
8 – 9 a.m.
Guthrie Center Library, Guthrie Center
Zoom link
Region 2
May 12, 2020
8 – 9 a.m.
Adel Regional Office
Large Conference Room
Zoom link
Region 3
May 11, 2020
8 – 9 a.m.
Simpson College, Indianola
Kent Campus Center, 2nd floor
Zoom link
Regions 4 & 5 and Johnston Campus Staff
Feb. 14, 2020
Noon - 1 p.m.
Johnston REC
Conf. Rooms 107A/B
Zoom link
Region 6
March 23, 2020
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Johnston REC
Conf. Room 125
Zoom link
Region 7
Feb. 17, 2020
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Ames Regional Office
Conf. Rooms A/B
Zoom link
Region 8
May 7, 2020
3 – 4 p.m.
Newton Regional Office
Room 248B
Zoom link
Shelter Care Staff
May 20, 2020
3 – 4 p.m.
Johnston REC
Conf. Room 123
The Iowa Department of Education has released the latest editions of two annual reports with statewide data and information about Iowa’s schools and community colleges:
- The Condition of Education report includes data on preschool through 12th-grade student populations and demographics, student achievement results, teacher and school administrator salaries and characteristics, technology readiness and school financial information.
- The Condition of Iowa’s Community Colleges report includes data on programs and services, student enrollment and demographics, student success and completion, college costs and affordability, instructional staff salaries and characteristics, and financial information. The report also includes success stories that illustrate how community colleges impact Iowans and the economy.
Highlights from each of the reports are from the 2018-19 school year unless otherwise noted.
Highlights of the Condition of Education (PK-12) report:
- 487,652: The number of students enrolled in Iowa’s public schools, up from 486,264 the year before. This represents the eighth consecutive enrollment increase following a 17-year decline.
- 24.9%: For the first time, about one in four Iowa students is a minority student. Students of color make up 24.9 percent of the student population in Iowa school districts.
- 37,386: The number of full-time teachers in public schools, up from 37,035 the year before. There was an 11.2 percent increase in the number of full-time public school teachers from the 2000-01 school year (33,610) to 2018-19 (37,386).
- $57,463: The average regular teacher salary. Iowa ranks 21st in the nation for average teacher salary, compared to 22nd the year before.
- 6.5%: The percent of students whose native language is not English (English learners), up from 6.1 percent the year before.
- 47.9%: The percent of students from Iowa’s Class of 2019 who took higher-level mathematics, including calculus, statistics and trigonometry. This is up from 47.7 percent the year before.
- $10,536: The state’s total per-pupil expense in the 2017-18 school year, up from $10,203 the year before. Iowa ranks 30th in the nation for average spending per pupil and ahead of Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan and South Dakota.
Highlights of the Condition of Iowa’s Community Colleges report:
- 128,624: The number of students enrolled in community college credit courses, down slightly from 131,144 the year before.
- 62,731: The number of students enrolled in online credit courses through an Iowa community college, up from 60,689 the year before.
- 50,587: The number of students who enrolled in college courses while in high school (known as joint enrollment), down slightly from 51,001 the year before. Jointly enrolled high school students account for 39.3 percent of total community college enrollees and 24.8 percent of total credits.
- 34.5%: The percent of students under the age of 18 enrolled in community college courses, the highest in the nation.
- 23.1%: The percent of community college enrollment from racial and ethnic minority groups, which represents a record high.
- 17,377: The number of credit awards earned (associate degrees, certificates and diplomas), up from 16,747 the previous year.
- 43,538: The number of noncredit program awards, up from 26,005 the year before. The majority of these awards (72.4 percent) were industry-awarded credentials designed to lead to or enhance employment opportunities.
Back for January…The Heartland AEA online store where staff can redeem their Wellness incentive for agency logo apparel is open for ALL employees through Jan. 31, 2020! Employees who have earned their $40 coupon towards logo apparel will receive a separate email with specific ordering information once Interactive Health has notified us.
But new this year—all employees can purchase any items in the store (and shipping) at their own cost during the two-week period when the online store is open monthly through June 2020. Important reminder: if you are not ordering apparel with your Wellness credit, you’ll need to pay for shipping using Spee-Dee Delivery or UPS or pick up your purchase at P&M Apparel in Polk City. Keep your eye on The Connection for the link and monthly online store order dates!
P&M Apparel Heartland AEA Online Store
If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist.
There are two important updates regarding our February Agency-Directed Learning scheduled in Johnston on Feb. 5, 6, 10 or 11, 2020.
1. Who needs to attend in February?
We continue to use feedback to enhance our Agency Professional Learning Cascade. In order to design differentiated and deep learning, we are continuing to narrow the focus of our learning by reducing the number of topics in each learning opportunity. This narrower, deeper focus results in a continued need to thoughtfully consider which job-alike groups' roles are aligned with the content and learning.
Therefore, only certain job-alike groups will be attending the morning portion of Agency-Directed Learning in February. Review this document to determine if your job-alike group will be participating in your assigned Agency-Directed Learning session.
Please note: All staff is asked to participate in the job-alike afternoon session of these ADL days in February. Details of these sessions will be provided by your Job-Alike Facilitator.
2. Requested Action Prior to Sessions for School-Aged Assignment Staff (School Psychologists and Special Education Consultants)
Please engage in two online statewide SDI modules PRIOR to your Agency-Directed Learning date (Feb. 5 or Feb. 6). These sessions will activate prior knowledge and ensure a common understanding and vocabulary for our face-to-face time together in February.
Modules are located in the AEA Learning Online training system. After logging into the system, search "SDI" and locate the Specially Designed Instruction (SDI): Overview and Specially Designed Instruction (SDI): Diagnose for Instructional Design modules. The completion of both modules should take 30-35 minutes.
If you have any questions, contact your regional director or Martha Condon, Director of Professional Learning.
While IEP teams are not required to use agendas for IEP meetings, there are many reasons why using a shared agenda would be useful, including:
- Helping the facilitator prepare for the meeting
- Ensuring all required topics are covered
- Encouraging attendee participation
- Helping with the flow of conversation to keep meetings efficient and timely
To that end, a new IEP meeting agenda tool has been created that follows the flow of the Iowa IEP and addresses the required components of an IEP.
Two different agenda samples are being provided.
Agenda 1: Is a customized agenda for the IEP meeting facilitator. The facilitator’s agenda includes specific discussion points such as setting the meeting purpose given the type of meeting occurring and actions to occur at the conclusion of the meeting.
Agenda 2: Is a team agenda for use by all members. It is important the facilitator consider the priorities of the team and age of the student when setting the order of agenda items.
While the use of an IEP meeting agenda is encouraged, we want to remind you that this tool is optional for use. If you have any questions, contact Sara Mercer, Special Education Supervisor.
