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

Heartland AEA COVID-19 Dashboard for the Week Ending Jan. 15, 2021

We will provide you with COVID-19 case and quarantine data each Monday in The Connection. The numbers will fluctuate on a weekly basis, and our report will show what is current as of the previous Friday. If you have any questions, contact Nia Chiaramonte, Director of Human Resources.    

Thank you for your continued cooperation and flexibility as we work together to support children, students, families, educators and each other throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.    

Heartland AEA COVID-19 Dashboard

2020 W-2s Are on Their Way!

Your 2020 Form W-2 has been mailed to your home address. A help document of tips to better understand your W-2 can be found on the Heartland AEA Intranet > Business Office > Payroll Forms & Information. This help document provides an explanation of certain boxes on your W-2.  

Your 2020 Form W-2 is also available in Employee Online. Login to your Employee Dashboard and click on the Employee Online application. Once in Employee Online, click on Menu > Payroll Information > W-2 under Annual Tax Statements > W22020. This will open a PDF copy of your W-2. 

If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at ext. 14908.

Staff Encouraged to Add Pronouns to Their Email Signatures

It is important to our agency to foster an inclusive work environment. One small doable way to proactively accommodate all genders in the workplace is to add gender pronouns to employee email signatures.  

Some reasons why using pronouns in your email signature can make a difference: 

• It’s an easy way to inform people you communicate with of your pronouns and normalizes this process for everyone.
 
• Cisgender people can lead the change by sharing their pronouns. Again, it normalizes the process, has little risk and makes for a safer environment for everyone.
 
• Normalizing the usage of pronouns is a concrete, impactful way to show your advocacy for LGBTQIA+ individuals. It takes some practice to transform the unfamiliar into the familiar. 
 

For more information on pronouns, read “Why Sharing Gender Pronouns at Work Matters,” from the Culture Amp blog. 

Examples of How to Use Pronouns in Your Email Signature 

Going forward, feel free to use one of the examples below to add gender pronouns to your signature. (Remember to use the logo and the social media buttons in your signature. This is just an example of the text.)

   

Jane Smith 

Speech-Language Pathologist 

Heartland Area Education Agency 

6500 Corporate Drive 

Johnston, IA 50131 

Phone: (515) 270-9030/(800) 362-2720 ext. XXXX 

www.heartlandaea.org


Pronouns: She/her/hers  

Jane Smith (she/her/hers) 

Speech-Language Pathologist 

Heartland Area Education Agency 

6500 Corporate Drive Johnston, IA 50131 

Phone: (515) 270-9030/(800) 362-2720 ext. XXXX 

www.heartlandaea.org

  

Jane Smith 

Pronouns: They/them/theirs 

Speech-Language Pathologist 

Heartland Area Education Agency 

6500 Corporate Drive Johnston, IA 50131 

Phone: (515) 270-9030/(800) 362-2720 ext. XXXX 

www.heartlandaea.org

Reminder: Polk & Jasper County Reunification Response Teams Launching; Staff Can Express Interest in Participating by Jan. 15

An essential component of school emergency response is the reunification of students with their parents or primary caregiver after an emergency has taken place. A well organized and timely reunification process is critical to reducing emergency-based trauma in children and is often the only mental health crisis intervention needed following an emergency. The sooner children are reunited with caregivers, the less likely they are to exhibit traumatic stress.     

As schools across Iowa develop and exercise reunification plans, they have discovered that most lack the resources to effectively and efficiently complete the associated tasks. This is especially true in instances involving significant trauma such as active shooter, weather, chemical and other emergencies. In these types of events, research indicates that children are best left under the supervision of their teacher, who they trust and seek for safety. This leaves very limited school and district staff available for carrying out the reunification plan. This also requires school personnel directly impacted by the emergency to carry out complex reunification tasks that they may not be able to emotionally manage.     

Heartland AEA is in a unique position to assist schools in Jasper County (Baxter, Colfax-Mingo, Lynnville-Sully, Newton and PCM) and schools in Polk County (Bondurant-Farrar, Des Moines, Johnston, North Polk, Saydel, Southeast Polk, Urbandale, West Des Moines) by establishing a response team to reunify children with caregivers in an emergency. Should an emergency requiring reunification of children occur, Heartland AEA staff would deploy to the identified reunification site and assure the school that families are quickly and accurately reunified.  

A variety of individual skills sets are needed to fill the roles and responsibilities associated with the reunification team:  

• Logistics staff is needed to see that the necessary equipment, signage and supplies are delivered and set up at a reunification site should the team be requested for deployment.  
• Administrative staff must carry out accurate record collection and verification of identification to assure students are safely reunified with the proper caregiver.  
• Mental health services and support staff is needed to assure that both children and adults receive assistance in a supportive and empathetic environment while they await reunification.  
• Security staff is needed to assist law enforcement by identifying potential areas of concern and assuring the safety of everyone seeking reunification services.  

Will You Serve on a Reunification Response Team?  

At this time, regional reunification response plans are being organized in the counties of Jasper and Polk. If you have the desire to join a reunification team, complete this Google form. Once volunteers are identified, we will be scheduling reunification exercise(s) to train and practice the Reunification Response process. All Agency staff in any role are invited to volunteer.  

**If you previously indicated your interest in serving on a response team, please sign up again. This call for volunteers will be conducted on an annual basis.

Frequently Asked Questions about Senate File 2360: Safe Classroom Learning Environments

The Iowa Department of Education has released Frequently Asked Questions and additional guidance related to Senate File 2360: Safe Classroom Learning Environments. 

This resource answers common questions from educators regarding Senate File 2360 and state guidance. The DE anticipates this document will expand as it works through the rules-writing process, the Therapeutic Classroom Grant and the development of standards and guidelines for response to classroom behavior. The document represents the most current official position of the Department related to these questions and supersedes previous Department guidance on this topic. The Department will continue to review previous and new FAQs to ensure complete alignment with these responses. If your question is not answered in this resource, email your question to Barb Anderson and the DE will update this list regularly.

Reminder: All Certified Staff: Complete Revised Chapter 103B Training by the End of January

 The Chapter 103B online training covering seclusion and restraint has been revised to cover new rules and is available on the AEA Learning Online training system for staff to complete. The training can be found under the name Overview of State Requirements Regarding Seclusion and Restraint: Chapter 103 (2021 Revision). The training should take about 45 minutes to complete.



What's new in the training?


Among many things, the training has updated information on: 

• Room clears (SF 2360 legislation passed in June 2020) 
• New changes in the rules from November 2020 
• Seclusion room requirements, as well as requirements for supervision of students 
• Debriefing meetings and notification requirements 
• Time limitations for seclusion and restraint and the process to extend time if more is needed 

Who needs to be trained and by when? 

• The law states that employees engaging in seclusion or restraint must be trained prior to engaging in seclusion and restraint. 
• The new requirements go into effect on Jan. 20, 2021. Heartland AEA staff are encouraged to complete the training before Jan. 20 but have until Jan. 31, 2021, to complete the training. 

Questions 

If you have questions about whether you need to complete the training, contact Britini Jones, Human Resources Assistant.

Clarification About What Happens When You Call LifeWorks EAP

When you or your family members call LifeWorks, you will initially speak to one of LifeWorks’ Client Care Representatives (CCRs). CCRs will first speak to the caller and assess their situation for risk and urgency. They ask a series of questions and also confirm that the caller is not at risk of harm to themselves or others. 

If the caller is presenting a risk, they would be immediately routed to one of LifeWorks’ Client Care Counselors for an immediate support consultation. 

Review the document below to learn more about what happens when you contact LifeWorks EAP. 

How to Use the Employee Assistance Program

A Little Bit More Information About the New Human Resources Application System

In conjunction with the Iowa Department of Education and Teach Iowa, the Human Resources Department has begun using a new system for applicants to apply for job vacancies, including internal positions.    

You will need to create an account in order to VIEW as well as apply for internal openings. We expect that all staff will want to create an account to view openings. To create a new account to VIEW and apply for internal openings, follow these instructions.    

Please note: when creating your account, be sure to select ALL applicant types to ensure that you will see all open internal postings.   

    

Once you have completed the set-up of a new account, you will be able to apply for internal vacancies that are posted in the Career Opportunities notice each Wednesday and Friday.    

If you have any questions, contact Britini Jones, Human Resources Assistant or Heather Rinderknecht, Human Resources Associate.

Reminder: Registration is Now Open for Your Next Group Challenge – Minute of Mindfulness!

Turn self-care into self-improvement during this four-week holistic health challenge! Each week focuses on a new topic: daily mediation, increasing activity, stress reduction for introverts and extroverts, and tips for daily self-care. 

Join to learn more about lowering your daily stress and improving your long-term happiness.  

Registration is Open

Jan. 11 - Jan. 29, 2021 

Challenge Begins

Jan. 25, 2021  

Sign-up today! 

Have You Checked Out the High-quality, Age-appropriate Resources Available Through the Agency’s Digital Resources Collection?

This is a reminder about the email that was sent to staff on Jan. 13. See that email for all the pertinent information. 

Did you know Heartland AEA provides access to high-quality, age-appropriate digital resources for students and educators (including you!) in our service area? These digital resources offer a number of options for learners and educators.  

Find resources with copyright compliant audio and images, literacy supports, research supports, streaming video and supports for your own research.  

How to Access


The Digital Resources/AEA Scout page of our agency website lists the digital resources by grade span and provides a description and link to each resource. You can access the resources through the website or through the Employee Dashboard > AEA Digital Resources. If you are working with students or educators and start at the agency website, the individual resources require a username and password.    

Check out the Jan. 13 email for the credentials and more details!