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

We Can’t Wait to See You Friday as We Connect, Celebrate and Learn Together! (New Info Added!)

We look forward to a great day of connecting, celebrating and learning from one another on Sept. 24, as this is our one opportunity during the year to come together in person as an entire Heartland AEA staff! 

Location 

Hy-Vee Hall, Located in the Iowa Events Center 

730 3rd Street, Des Moines

 

Parking 

The Agency is paying for parking in the north lot of the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. Tell the parking attendants you are there for the Heartland AEA meeting. Enter Veterans Auditorium/Convention Center and follow the signs to Hy-Vee Hall, Hall C. 

Map of Parking Lot/Venue 

COVID Mitigation Efforts 

Through our vaccination survey, of the 622 staff who completed the survey, 97.25% of respondents reported being fully vaccinated. We are still planning a number of social distancing measures during the All-Staff meeting to help with COVID mitigation. Please be cognizant of these efforts and help do your part for the health and safety of yourself and your colleagues. 

Food & Beverage 

Only coffee and tea will be served in the morning, so please plan to eat breakfast before you arrive. A boxed lunch will consist of a smoked turkey wrap, chips, fruit, dessert and beverage. Water stations will be available throughout the day so bring a water bottle. An afternoon snack will be served as well.

Agenda 

7 – 9 a.m. - Biometric Screenings (if registered)

7:30 – 9:15 a.m. - Staff informational tables 

7:30 – 9:30 a.m. - Pick up your name tag

9:30 – 11:45 a.m. - General Session 

11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. - Lunch 

1 – 2:30 p.m. - Staff Presentations 

Biometric Screenings, Managed by Hy-Vee 

Hy-Vee staff will be onsite to offer a limited number of biometric screenings from 7 - 9 a.m. Hy-Vee will administer the screening program as well as the health protocol required to receive a screening. 

Staff Informational Tables 

Staff will be on hand at several informational tables to showcase information or just have fun! 

Descriptions of Staff Morning Tables 

General Session 


In the morning general session, Mitch Matthews and the BIG Dream Gathering experience will inspire you to think about your own dreams as well as encourage others within your organization to pursue theirs! It’s a powerful, fun, inspiring, collaborative and life-changing event! Mitch Matthews and the BIG Dream Gathering We'll also hear from Chief Administrator Jon Sheldahl with a year in review and a look ahead as we enter a new academic year. Get your cheer on as we celebrate successes and honor our years of service award recipients. 

 

Keynote Session -- Download the Dream Together App 

Download the Dream Together app for the keynote before you arrive Sept. 24: 

• STEP 1: Download the “Dream Together” app 
• STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: “HeartlandAEA” 
• STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams there and encourage other dreamers in the group 
• STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams too Invite others to join you in the app and keep dreaming together long after today’s event! 

Flu Shots 

Flu shots will be provided by EveryStep. 

VACCINATION CONSENT & INSURANCE FORM – 2021-2022 

Print, complete and bring the consent form with you. EveryStep requires that individuals receiving the flu shot are masked. Review EveryStep's Infection Control Update and be prepared to answer the two Covid Screening Questions for Clients. 

Sit With Your Region or Department 


Seating is limited to five people at tables during the morning session in an effort to social distance. You’re invited to sit with the region or department in which you spend the most time in person. Identify your region or department in the registration link above. A map will be provided onsite to find your region or department. Do not move chairs from table to table. 

Staff Breakout Sessions 

Our afternoon will again be spent learning from one another during staff presentations.

Staff Afternoon Sessions

Wear Agency Colors
 

Wear your agency colors – purple and/or green – and proudly display your Heartland AEA pride! You are welcome to wear typical casual Friday attire and any agency logo t-shirts you have. 

United Way
 

We will kick off our annual United Way campaign again this year at the All-Staff meeting. We are counting on you to once again pledge record support to United Way, so they can in turn support communities through Essential Needs, Early Childhood Success, Education Success, Economic Opportunity and Health & Well-Being – the 5 Elements of a Thriving Community! Watch again this year for an email to be able to pledge your support online. (Yay, no paper!) Supporters will be entered in a drawing to win cash prizes! 

Benefits & Wellness Fair 

Canceled for 2021 as we could not get enough of our vendors to participate due to restrictions from their employers. 

See you on Friday!!

Learn More About Drake’s Master’s in ABA Program at Open House; Grants Available to Those Attending School to Become BCBAs

To help meet the growing need for behavior analysts across Iowa, Drake University launched a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program in 2017. The program is now in its fifth year and is currently recruiting students to join its Fall 2022 cohort. 

Degree Options

The Master of Science in ABA at Drake is a comprehensive program that offers the coursework and the supervised practicum requirements for students to be eligible to take the exam to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs®). Completion of the ABA program requires a total of 45 credit hours completed over five semesters. Students accepted into the program register for nine credit hours each semester (includes two content courses and a practicum course). Part-time options are available. Drake also offers a certification in ABA to students who already have a master’s degree. In addition to offering coursework, Drake University also coordinates and provides supervision for practicum experiences. The pass rate data from the BACB indicates Drake has a pass rate of 90% (compared with 60% as the average). 

The ABA program prepares students for careers working with children and adults, including individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Drake’s coursework and supervised practicum experiences include opportunities for students to assess and treat severe problem behavior, develop and implement programming to teach communication, social, academic, independent living and vocational skills, supervise and train school personnel and caregivers and collaborate with colleagues and other professionals. Individuals who are employed with ABA providers can complete their practicum hours at their places of employment with Drake support. 

Grants Available

The Iowa Department of Public Health currently has funds available to help support students who are attending school to become BCBAs. Interested individuals can obtain more information regarding grant opportunities by going to the Iowa Grants website. 

Open House on Oct. 20

Additionally, Drake’s ABA program will be hosting a Virtual Open House on Oct. 20, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. This will be a great time to connect with faculty and current Drake students and to ask questions about the opportunities Drake’s ABA program has to offer. 

Open House Registration 

More information about the program can also be found in this document.

Reminder: Interested in Participating in a Professional Learning Conference? See Below for How to Make a Request

Heartland AEA has a strong commitment to professional learning focused on enhancing skills and knowledge to impact the delivery of equitable, high-quality services to our district and community partners. At times, professional learning conferences provide unique opportunities to support individual staff, job-alike, regional/departmental or agency priority services group learning to impact services. 

Heartland AEA’s process for receiving and reviewing professional learning conference requests is intended to increase clarity, equity and consistency of decision making across the Agency. We are continually working to improve efficiency and effectiveness with thoughtful alignment and integration of our learning opportunities across the Agency. Data will be collected to help guide our decision-making about professional learning in the future. 

Who? 

Any Certified staff member may submit a request. One person may submit a request on behalf of multiple requested participants. Prior to submitting a request, requestors need to first discuss their conference interest with their supervising director. 

How? 

The request form is completed for all conference requests, regardless of type of request: regional, job-alike or agency directed. The requestor will use the Common Conference Request Form found below to submit any type of request. 

When? 

Staff is encouraged to submit requests well in advance of a conference (~60 days). If air travel is required, the request must be submitted at least 90 days prior to the conference to ensure adequate time for the review process and for the Business Office to make travel arrangements. 

Request Form 

Complete the Heartland AEA Conference Request Form. Your request will be reviewed in 2-3 weeks following submission. 

What happens after a request is submitted? 

Notification of Decision

Requestors will be notified of the decision, typically via email. 

Approved Requests

Staff discusses the conference with their supervising director to confirm participation and plan for any impact on service. Staff will then need to complete estimated costs on the Travel/Professional Learning Request System on the Employee Dashboard indicating the type of request/ funding source. This request will include details such as registration fees, out-of-area mileage, meal, lodging and other associated fees. Each employee is responsible to follow our agency’s Out-of-Area Travel guidelines. 

If the conference has no associated costs (no registration fees and travel is within the Heartland AEA geographical area), no Out-of-Area request is required and mileage can be claimed on your typical expenses. 

After the Conference

Staff will apply and share their learning with others in the manners described in the conference request. Individual staff is responsible for completing and submitting actual expenses incurred on the Employee Dashboard. 

Denied Requests 

If a request is denied, no further action related to the request is required by the staff member. 

If you have any questions, contact Martha Condon, Director of Internal Professional Learning.

Action Needed: Update Your Computer & iPad Operating Systems

You may have recently heard in the news about a security issue with Apple’s macOS and iOS operating systems. While the Heartland AEA Internal Technology Department has a monthly macOS (operating system) update policy to apply important macOS updates to agency computers, we wanted to alert you to the importance of installing the latest security updates on your Mac and iOS devices. The updates often include a restart of the device and an installation phase that can take up to 30 minutes to complete. 

This monthly macOS update policy becomes active on the 3rd Friday of each month at 8:00 a.m. It automatically installs any macOS updates starting at 9:00 a.m. on the 4th Friday of each month. The policy is automatically disabled on the last day of the month at 11:59 p.m. If any of the updates installed require a restart, you will be notified with a message. A video of the process can be seen here. 

Computer 

Check For and Install OS Updates 

Note: Please be sure to connect your power cord and do a Time Machine backup before installing any updates. 

You can check for and install macOS updates any time by going to the Apple Menu, choosing System Preferences and clicking on Software Update. If there are updates needed, they will be listed there, and you can install them from there. A video of the process can be seen here. Due to the severity of the security issue, we ask that you manually run the update as soon as possible. You will probably see the following updates listed, and you need to install both. 

It’s important not to interrupt the update process by pressing and holding the power button. Once the process begins, you need to let it complete on its own. Sometimes these updates require special firmware updates that will cause the computer to turn off for a minute or more. You should not press the power button when this happens. All updates require the computer to access the Internet, so don’t disable Airport or disconnect from ethernet during the installation. 

iPad 

To update your iPad to the latest version 14.8 of iOS, locate and tap Settings > General > Software Update. It will automatically check to see if there are any updates. You may be presented with iPad OS 14.8 as an option to install. Tap the Download and Install button. Enter in your passcode to confirm. The update will be downloaded and installed on your device. You may need to connect to power if your battery doesn’t have sufficient power. 

If you have any questions or need assistance updating your Mac or iOS devices, contact the Internal Technology Department at itsupport@heartlandaea.org with the subject of "OS Update Request." We would be happy to schedule a Zoom or in-person appointment if you need assistance.