Approximately 50 new staff members will begin work at the Agency and have orientation at the Johnston Regional Education Center (REC) on Monday, Aug. 4.
We are rolling out the welcome mat for new staff, so we will have parking spaces reserved for them in the center row of the REC parking lot on Aug. 4 only. New staff will also be attending other trainings through Aug. 8.
Current staff members are asked to please park in the Administration Center parking lot if needed during this busy week. Thank you for helping to create a positive experience for our new staff members’ first days at Heartland AEA!
During the Agency’s transition to Google Mail and our new “heartlandaea.org” email domain, it was recommended that staff add the statement “Please note that my email has changed to jdoe@heartlandaea.org” to their email signatures. It’s been over a year since the Agency transitioned to Google Mail, so now is probably an appropriate time to begin to remove those statements from your email signatures. Thanks for doing a little housekeeping!
The Newton and Twin Cedars school districts have new email addresses.
Newton: lastnamefirstinitial@newtoncsd.org
Ex: doej@newtoncsd.org
Twin Cedars: firstinitiallastname@twincedarscsd.org
Ex: jdoe@twincedarscsd.org
Name Changes
Misty Nay from Misty Baker
Kathryn Ward from Kathryn Mehlbrech
New Employees
Michael Boneshefski (School Psychologist/JO)
Jennifer Burns (Reading Recovery Teacher Leader/JO)
Shari Butler (Special Education Consultant/AM)
John Butz (Curriculum Consultant-Mathematics/IN)
Melissa Emanoil (Instructional Coach/JO)
Kristine Engler (Audiometrist/IN)
Gwen Fecht (School Psychologist)
Tracy Gappa (School Psychologist/IN)
Brenda Gerdes (School Social Worker)
Rachael Gettes (Speech-Language Pathologist/GC)
Alex Glade (Instructional Technology Consultant/AD)
Janet Eichenberger Hiatt (ESL/Diversity Consultant/JO)
Brooke Hamann (Hearing Teacher Assistant/JO)
Victoria Heisterkamp (Speech-Language Pathologist/AM)
Rebekah Hereth (School Psychologist/AD)
Jessica Ihrke (Special Education Consultant/AD)
Rachel Jones (School Psychologist/AD)
Jodee Jorgenson (Special Education Consultant/NE)
Kimberly Kennedy (Physical Therapist/AM)
Judson Kuffel (School Psychologist/AM)
Terra Kurovski (Speech-Language Pathologist/NE)
Erica Lea (Instructional Technology Consultant)
Jenny Merk (School Psychologist/NE)
Kristyn Nobiling (Early Childhood Special Education Consultant/AM)
Ashley Panno (Speech-Language Pathologist/NE)
Jennifer Pearson (Speech-Language Pathologist/JO)
Jane Peterson (Speech-Language Pathologist/KN)
Angela Platner (Special Education Consultant/JO)
Cari Poock (Special Education Consultant/NE)
Diane Royer (Curriculum Consultant-Mathematics/GC)
Kari Shane (School Psychologist/JO)
Kelly Sigler (Curriculum Consultant-Reading/CA)
Jessica Stumme (School Psychologist/IN)
Janelle Thompson (Curriculum Consultant-Reading)
Erica Thorson (Speech-Language Pathologist/AM)
Zachary Toben (Computer Software Engineer/JO)
Shalee Torrence (School Social Worker/IN)
Megan Tucker (Speech-Language Pathologist/AM)
Ethan Van Norman (School Psychologist/AD)
Annalise VandeHaar (School Psychologist/NE)
Kelli Waldorf (Early Childhood Special Education Consultant/JO)
Audrey Walker (Speech-Language Pathologist/GC)
Danielle Wanninger (Speech-Language Pathologist/CA)
Stacey Warren (School Social Worker/JO)
Tracy Weber (Itinerant Teacher/Hearing)
Caleb Wiegmann (Speech-Language Pathologist/CA)
Paige Wintz (School Psychologist/JO)
Tyler Youngers (Instructional Technology Consultant)
Office Changes
Kathryn Bohlender to IN from AD
Sheri Haupert to AD from GC
Nicole Patton to JO from NE
Anne-Michelle Pedersen to JO from AD
Position Changes
Laura Howell to Shelter Care Teacher from Shelter Care Teacher Associate
Births
Congratulations to Claire Sowder (Communications Specialist/JO) and her husband, Eddie, on the birth of their first child, son Charles Edward Sowder. Charles was born July 25 and weighed 7 lbs and was 18 3/4 inches long.
HeartBeat will return in September!
Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve
the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
The Agency has a new life insurance carrier, effective July 1, 2014—VOYA. Although the new company will honor the beneficiary forms of our former carrier, Madison National Life, we would strongly encourage employees to fill out the new VOYA beneficiary form. The completed form, with hand written signatures, can be mailed or emailed to Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org. Remember; always have your beneficiary information up-to-date!
During our April regional meetings, we continued our agency discussions around the Early Literacy Implementation/Chapter 62 requirements for elementary schools across the state of Iowa. Below you will find registration information for one support that will be provided to AEA staff this fall. All targeted AEA staff need to register and participate in one session this fall.
Course Title
“Early Literacy Progression, Supporting MTSS, Understanding the Dyslexia Bill and Implications for Our Work in Educational Systems for AEA Staff Serving Elementary Partners”
Target Audience
All AEA staff in the following job-alike groups who serve elementary school partners:
• instructional coaches
• math consultants
• professional learning generalists
• reading consultants
• school psychologists
• school social workers
• special education consultants
• speech-language pathologists
• and others as directed by regional directors
Sessions
Aug. 18
Adel
IN061692111501
Aug. 19
Ames
IN061692111502
Aug. 20
Johnston
IN061692111503
Aug. 22
Knoxville
IN061699991501
Sept. 2
Johnston
IN0616921115
Identified staff members only need to participate in one session.
If you are uncertain if you need to participate in this professional learning opportunity, contact your regional director.
If you have any questions regarding the sessions, contact Martha Condon, School Psychologist, at mcondon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 18147.
On Sept. 4, 2014, representatives from MJCare will be on site to provide training updates and answer Medicaid billing questions for Heartland AEA staff.
While the training is not mandatory, it is highly recommended that staff members who do Medicaid billing attend in order to hear updates to billing practices. Additionally, new staff who will likely begin billing Medicaid should also plan to attend. Two sessions will be offered, and both will be offered electronically. More information regarding the electronic connection will follow in a future Connection article.
Please join us for one of these sessions by registering through the online course catalog using the following activity numbers:
Session 1
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Johnston Regional Education Center
Conference Room 107A (formerly 13A)
Activity Number: IN061792111501
Session 2
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Johnston Regional Education Center
Conference Room 107A (formerly 13A)
Activity Number: IN061792111502
If you have any questions, contact Sara Mercer, School Psychologist, at smercer@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14312.
