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

Staff Who Complete Purchase Requests: New PR/PO Workflow Beginning Today

In order to streamline the Agency’s Purchase Request/Purchase Order (PR/PO) workflow, the Business Office is making changes. Beginning today, April 13, 2020, the end-user will no longer need to approve the PR on their task list. 

The end-user will now receive an auto-generated email containing the details of the PR submitted on their behalf. The email contains instructions on how to proceed if the PR has an error. Although there is no change in how a PR is entered, the end-user PEID will now be validated against active Heartland AEA employees. 

If you have any questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager.

More Than 500 School Districts and Non-public Schools Submit Plans for Continuous Learning

The Iowa Department of Education today announced that 506 school districts and accredited nonpublic schools submitted plans to offer continuous learning opportunities for students this week while their brick-and-mortar buildings are closed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Continuous learning encompasses a variety of approaches used to extend learning beyond brick and mortar district buildings — online learning, e-learning, distance learning, including paper packets, and virtual learning. 

“We want to commend our schools for their hard work in developing and now implementing continuous learning solutions that best meet the needs of their students, families and communities,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Ann Lebo. “These continuous learning options provide schools with much-needed flexibility while also ensuring engaging, high-quality experiences for students. We are committed to supporting our schools as they maximize learning for their students during these challenging times.” 

All 327 public school districts in the state submitted plans. Of those, 285 will offer voluntary educational enrichment opportunities, six will provide required educational services and 36 will offer a combination of the two. Of 179 accredited nonpublic schools that submitted plans, 73 will offer voluntary educational enrichment opportunities, 80 will provide required educational services and 26 will offer a combination of the two. 

For schools that provide required educational services, attendance will be taken and lessons will be graded. Under the voluntary educational enrichment opportunities option, student participation is voluntary and no grade or credit is given. Districts and accredited nonpublic schools that decide not to offer continuous learning must make up missed days of instruction. 

The Iowa Legislature waived the requirement for instructional hours and days through April 12 by passing SF2408. This legislation also gave Gov. Kim Reynolds the authority to waive requirements for instructional time past April 12 if necessary. The Governor has exercised her discretion to waive the instructional time requirement by waiving it if a school participates in one of the two continuous learning options — voluntary or required, or a combination of the two. Friday, April 10, was the last day for schools to report which method of continuous learning they will use from April 13 through April 30. 

For more information, visit the Iowa Department of Education’s COVID-19 Guidance and Information webpage.

Agency’s New Leave Online System Debuts Today!

The Agency’s new and improved Leave Online system is live and ready to be used! Remember that the purpose of this new system is to improve the user experience, reduce leave reporting errors and increase functionality for all staff. This new system has been under development for many months and has taken the hard work of many staff in the Human Resources, Information Systems and Business Office to see it come to fruition. 

Don’t Forget to Enter Leave from April 8-12 
Both Leave systems were unavailable from April 8 through April 12. If you took leave for this time period, you should enter the leave into the new Leave Online system now that it is available.  

Take a look at this short video tutorial and the system User Guide before you begin using the new system. 

Leave Online System Video Tutorial 
Leave Online System User Guide 

Questions? 
If you have any questions about the new Leave Online system, contact Britini Jones, Human Resources Assistant.

Benefits Enrollment Rolls into Week Three; Summary of Benefits Coverages Added with Common Medical Event Scenarios

Enrollment Begins: April 1, 2020 

Enrollment Ends: April 30, 2020 

Our annual benefits enrollment began April 1! 

Plan Information 

• 2020-21 Health Insurance Plan Choices 
• Summary of Benefits Coverage - $1,000 Deductible 
• Summary of Benefits Coverage - $2,000 Deductible 

The Summaries will help you decide between the two coverages by comparing the information provided in each Summary, as well as provide scenarios for costs of common medical events. 

Benefits Enrollment Module 
There is a new look to enrollment this year, as we have a new enrollment system in the Employee Online module of the Employee Dashboard. The below instructions will assist you as you enroll using the updated system this year 

Instructions for Using New Benefits Enrollment Module 

Questions? 
If you have any questions about the new plans or need assistance with enrolling, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, to set up a meeting.

April 14, 2020 Heartland AEA Board of Directors Meeting Agenda Available

The agenda for the April 14, 2020, Heartland AEA Board of Directors meeting is available.

Reminder: Self-Directed Professional Learning Opportunities

Extended Temporary Remote Workplace can present a unique opportunity for all of us to engage in meaningful, self-directed professional learning. The ability to engage in professional learning will vary by staff member, based on commitments at home, obligations at work and the need to take care of ourselves and our families. We’d like to share a variety of optional professional learning opportunities available to Certified and Classified staff during this time: 

Free Webinar and Digital Learning Opportunities from State and National Organizations (for Certified Staff): Agency PL Providers, Job-Alike Facilitators and leaders have pulled together a wide array of free learning opportunities hosted by a variety of national and state-level organizations, including AEA Learning Online. These free webinars and digital learning resources can be filtered by session title, area of focus or targeted audience. These offerings will also be shared with agency partners. 

Digital Learning Offerings from Heartland AEA (for Certified and Classified Staff):  Heartland AEA staff have created and are scheduled to facilitate digital learning activities through April for staff and leader use. Check back as additional offerings may be added throughout the month. Most offerings will be hosted by our colleagues via live or recorded Zoom. 

All of these offerings can be accessed from this webpage: 
Free Digital Professional Learning Resources

Heartland AEA Professional Learning (for Certified and Classified Staff): 

• Professional Learning resources are available on the Heartland AEA Professional Learning site and Heartland AEA Professional Learning Systems Resources page.  
• Certified staff will find a variety of professional learning opportunities aligned with the Agency’s eight areas of learning connected to our Professional Learning Profiles. While these vetted professional learning opportunities are aligned with the Certified competencies, ALL staff and leaders are welcome to explore and engage in learning supportive of their agency role(s) and/or professional curiosities.  
• Repository of recorded Technology and G-Suite "lunch and learn" sessions.
• Future technology and G-suite sessions will continue to be offered through Zoom. To review the session schedule and register for upcoming learning opportunities, review the G Suite for Education Professional Learning document.    

As a reminder, these learning opportunities are optional for staff. Our agency continues to emphasize the importance of taking care of yourself, your family and your well-being. 

Jessica Minahan to Repeat Reducing Anxiety in Students Webinar on April 22

Heartland AEA is excited to bring back Jessica Minahan to lead a unique professional learning opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heartland AEA staff*, LEA and community partners are invited to participate in this 2-hour REPEAT webinar meeting with Minahan from 1 - 3 p.m. on April 22, 2020.



This is a repeat of Minahan's webinar on April 10. If you attended on April 10, know that there will not be any new information presented on April 22. Please allow others to attend who may have missed Minahan's earlier webinar.



Session Description
With up to one in three children struggling with anxiety in this country, overwhelmed adults require a new approach as well as a practical and easy-to-implement toolkit of strategies that work. In the time of COVID-19, and the subsequent societal changes, anxiety has become ever-present in students of all ages.

Through the use of case studies, humorous stories and examples of everyday challenging situations, participants will learn easy-to-implement preventive tools, strategies and interventions for reducing anxiety, increasing self-regulation, accurate thinking and self-monitoring in students. Virtual classroom and traditional classroom examples will be shared.



Registration

Registration using Course #189671



Participants will receive Zoom meeting connection information via the email address used during registration.



About the Presenter

Jessica Minahan, M.Ed., BCBA, is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst, special educator, as well as a consultant to schools internationally. Jessica has over 17 years of experience supporting students who exhibit challenging behavior in urban public-school systems. She is the co-author of The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (Harvard Education Press, 2012), and author of The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students with Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (Harvard Education Press, 2014).

*Heartland AEA staff who participated in a full day of learning with Jessica during the 2018-19 school year are welcome to participate in this 2-hour session, however should know the session will likely have similar content and areas of focus.

Questions: Contact Jadie Boens, Director of Special Programs, or Martha Condon, Director of Professional Learning with Heartland AEA.

Logo Virtual Backgrounds for Zoom are Here!

Wish you had a different background to display when you’re using Zoom? 

Take a look at the six different options with the Heartland AEA logo we have for you to choose from! 

Agency Logo Zoom Backgrounds 

Instructions on Adding Virtual Backgrounds to Zoom

Reminder: Read the Latest About Zoom Privacy & Security

As our agency use of Zoom continues to grow in order to work from home, we wanted to share a Zoom Blog post directly from Zoom regarding “How to Keep the Crashers Out of Your Zoom Event.” This post provides tips you can use to help make sure your Heartland AEA Zoom meetings are secure from these unwanted interruptions. 

Zoom has become the go-to video conferencing app around the globe as people are staying at and working from home. With that fast popularity comes magnified scrutiny - especially when it comes to privacy. 

Zoom has been addressing these issues, almost daily, and providing information and tips for ways to manage those concerns. The Heartland AEA Internal Technology Department is monitoring these updates and changes daily and making sure we are equipped to continue our work over Zoom from wherever we are. 

First and foremost, it is important that all staff operate the most recent version of the Zoom app to take advantage of all the safety and security patches that Zoom releases. Instructions to update your Zoom app through Self Service are found in this document. 

News reports are also spotlighting “Zoombombing,” which is when someone comes into your Zoom meeting uninvited. While concerning, there are many security features that you can enable on the user level that will prevent this from happening, including implementing a password for your meetings, locking your meetings and creating a virtual waiting room for people who are joining your meetings. Zoom has released this article on these options and how to turn those on for your account. 

This graphic also illustrates 10 things you can do to increase the privacy and security of your Zoom meetings. 

If you have any questions or concerns about Zoom, contact David Hammer, Multimedia Specialist.