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

Federally-Funded Staff: First Semester A-87 Certification Email Coming Dec. 8

Semi-annually, Heartland AEA must comply with the federal grant rules identified in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-87 pertaining to documentation needed for federal expenditures. For employees who are funded 100% with federal funding, there are Circular A-87 audit requirements we need to meet in order to document appropriate expenditures. If you are in the fully-funded group, on Dec. 8, 2021, you will receive an email from heartlandworkflow with the subject A87 Certification Notice - Action Required with a link to the certification page. The process is very simple and is the same as in previous years. 

If you are new to this process or need a refresher, here is a 3-minute video that explains the background for Circular A-87 and the steps Heartland AEA takes to meet the A-87 requirements. As the video will explain, employees who are fully funded from one grant will need to certify every six months that they are performing duties allowed under the federal grant. 

If you have any questions, contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager. The Business Office appreciates your prompt completion of the certifications and your assistance in helping us comply with this reporting requirement.

Here’s How You’ll Find Out About 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 11:16. 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. 
 

Communicating Office Closures 



 

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

• Text and email: We will send text and email messages through a 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.

Safety First! Do You Have a Rolling Cart for Carrying Your Materials?

Did you know that carrying too many materials is a common way Heartland AEA staff trip and fall while on the job? Be like the guy in the second photo and get yourself a rolling cart to haul your materials from place to place. Any staff member can get one!

DON’T try to carry all your materials in your hands.

DO contact your administrative assistant or Colleen Miller in Operations to get a rolling cart!

Winter 2021 School Leader Update Available

The Dec. 2021 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is now available.

Gym Discount, Anyone? Check Out Blue365 Through Wellmark

The Blue365® program through Wellmark takes you beyond your health care coverage by offering easy access to trusted health and wellness resources 365 days a year. As a member, you can take advantage of discounts and savings on health care resources, healthy living programs, recreation and travel. A link to the Blue 365 website is always available on the Intranet > Wellness > Discounts. 

Now through the end of December, you can join Blue365’s Fitness Your Way program without paying the $29 enrollment fee. 

• $29 enrollment fee waived through Dec. 31 only. 
• Only $29 per month, plus local tax. 
• Experience live classes including boot camp, yoga, dance, strength training, cardio-interval workouts and more! 
• Visit any of the participating fitness locations—anytime, anywhere — as often as you like.
• Locations include select Anytime Fitness®, Curves® and Snap Fitness®. A limited number of Gold’s Gyms and YMCAs in certain areas are also participating. Use the Fitness Your Way gym locator to locate gyms near you.

Last Call for Early Notification Incentive!

Last year, Heartland AEA filled 60+ vacancies in all employee groups. It has been to the Agency’s advantage to enter the recruitment cycle as early as possible.

For 2021-22, the Heartland AEA Board of Directors has approved an Early Notification Incentive for staff who notify Heartland AEA of their intent to resign or retire after the fulfillment of their current contract or employment term (for Classified staff) by Dec. 10, 2021. Details are listed below.



 

Early Notification Incentive Process & Requirements 

• This year all staff, including Certified, Classified and Management staff, may take advantage of the early notification incentive. 
• Certified Union and Management staff who do not plan to return to Heartland AEA for the 2022-23 school year must submit early notification letters of resignation that are effective at the end of the 2021-22 work year. 
• Certified Union and Management staff must fulfill their contractual obligations to be eligible. 
• Classified staff must serve the full number of days as identified in their employment notifications or through June 30, 2022, if no days are specified, in order to be eligible. All early notification letters must be received in the Human Resources Department by 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2021. 
• Heartland AEA’s Board of Directors acts on early notification letters no later than its regular meeting on Dec. 14, 2021. 
 

Early Notification Incentive 

A $1,500 early notification incentive will be paid on June 30, 2022, to employees fulfilling these requirements. 

If you have any questions about the early notification incentive, contact Nia Chiaramonte, Director of Human Resources.

Coming This Week: Access to FastBridge Learning and Panorama Student Success System

Great news! The programming work on the Iowa Education Portal has been completed, and you will have access to student-level data for the buildings you work in early this week. The Iowa Department of Education has a new process for submitting AEA Specialist User role requests. This new process will replace the manual entry of roles with an automatic batch file upload that will provision the roles to the users. This will result in a much quicker turnaround time in the request and setup process. All nine AEAs submitted the names of staff and the buildings they serve to the DE at the end of last week. If all goes as planned, staff in all AEAs should have access to both data systems this week. At this point, there is nothing else you need to do. 

Once you have access, you may find there are some errors or schools you need access to that are not listed for you. No worries! All you need to do is fill out the following FastBridge and Panorama Student Success Access Request, and we will get those buildings submitted for you. Now that the process is automated, there should be very little delay. 

If you have any questions, contact Wendy Robinson, Director of Instructional Services.

Reminder: Leave a Message for Terri Graeve, Our December Retiree

Terri Graeve (Executive Assistant/JO), who has spent 23 years with Heartland AEA, will be retiring at the end of December. In lieu of a retirement reception, please record a short video message for Terri to wish her well on her retirement! 

(Click on the link below and sign in with your Google account to access the Flipgrid site.) 

Terri Graeve

This Week’s Mission Monday: Write a “My Why” Letter to Yourself

Mission Monday is the creation of Mark Johnson and Sam Stecher. As teachers, coaches and leaders, they desired a way to consistently create connections and a sense of community in their school buildings. 

Heartland AEA and our Development Team for Safe, Supportive, Welcoming Environments want to bring this idea to our settings. Use the “Mission Accomplished” form to indicate when you have accomplished a mission, and you’ll be put in a monthly drawing for cool prizes! 

Mission for Week of Dec. 6: Write a “My Why” letter to yourself. Reflect on your “why” for doing the work you do. Consider sharing it with a trusted colleague or friend.

Mission Accomplished Form