Month: September 2011

We would once again like to thank everyone for attending our August Kick Off meetings!  There are never enough opportunities to meet and speak to everyone face-to-face.  We hope you found the meeting helpful, informative and a chance to meet our new staff members.  If you have any feedback, please feel free to pass it on to your service area director or email at asullivan@aea267.k12.ia.us

Have a great school year!

Did you miss attending one of the all-staff meetings? Watch recorded segments below! (Recorded from the Cedar Falls meeting.)

Dr. Roark Horn’s presentation:

Dr. Anne Sullivan’s presentation:

In order for our AEA Contact Manager system to remain current and viable, each year, AEA 267 staff members are asked to go in and update their profile in the system. This ensures that you will receive information customized to your interests and in line with what those you serve are also receiving via email. (It also ensures that your MediaNet profile is current for ordering and receiving Lending Library materials.) Updating your information (including location) takes merely a few minutes. Please take time today to take care of this important step.

Directions for updating your profile for AEA Contact Manager:

From our Get Media page – http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/media/ – click on the link in the right column – Job Assignments-AEA 267 Staff. Log into Medianet using your client number and password. (If you have questions or need help with your Medianet login, please contact a member of the library staff in either Cedar Falls, Clear Lake or Marshalltown.) In the top section of the page, please check all of the appropriate boxes that relate to your AEA 267 job assignment (the lower section is for our LEA clients). When done, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the green submit button.

Questions? Contact Deb Culp at 641-844-2492.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met September 7, 2011 at 6 p.m. in the AEA 267 Conference Center for their regular meeting.

During the meeting, the board:

• Heard a review of the agency finances and Maintenance of Effort (MOE) from Dennis Scudder and Dr. Roark Horn.
• Motioned to accept a variety of resignations, retirements and hires.
• Appointed David Giese as the AEA 267 Board delegate and Charlotte Upah as the alternate for the IASB Delegate Convention to be held on November 16, 2011.
• Approved the 2010-11 Certified Annual Report (CAR).
• Approved the contracts with Project Child Care and Head Start Programs with North Iowa Community Action.
• Approved the agreement with Mercy Medical Center in Mason City for Educare Instructional Programs.
• Approved the renewal of Partner Contract with Exceptional Persons for provision of Early ACCESS services.
• Approved the renewal of Memorandums of Agreement between NEICAC, Tri-County Child & Family Development Council Inc., NICA and AEA 267.
• Approved the reciprocal transportation agreement between Forest City and Garner-Hayfield and between Garner-Hayfield and West Hancock.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

Please remember to update your voice mail greeting daily! Scripts, tip sheets and more are available on the staff website (username: aeastaff/password: aea267ia). If you have questions, please contact your administrator or supervisor.

Darrel Lind, longtime board member and advocate for the AEA system has retired from the AEA 267 board. Darrel has served the AEA system as a board member since 2000 when he was sworn in on the Northern Trails AEA board.

Darrel’s wisdom, kindness and incredible respect for AEA staff members will be sorely missed. We wish him well and thank him for his tireless and gracious years of service.

Recently, Governor Terry Branstad announced a plan to make Iowa the Healthiest State within five years as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®.  The Healthiest State Initiative is a community and business-led, government-endorsed statewide effort that will engage citizens throughout the state to improve their overall health and well-being.

Iowa’s 2010 overall Well-Being Index rank is 19th compared to all other states. The goal is to become number one in five years. While Iowa scores well in many areas, there is a significant opportunity for improvement in healthy behavior and work environment. Branstad also noted that addressing comprehensive lifestyle changes could allow the State to redirect as much as $16 billion* over the next five years to grow the state economy [versus being consumed by health care ($11 billion) and lost productivity ($5 billion)]. The success of this initiative is critical to the economic viability of the State and translates to a healthier Iowa and better quality of life for all its residents.

As a first step on the road to becoming the Healthiest State, all Iowans are encouraged to take part in a Start Somewhere Walk on Friday, October 7. At noon that day, communities, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, churches and other groups across the state will gather to walk one kilometer (0.62 miles, or about 7-8 blocks) as a way to demonstrate their support for the Healthiest State goal. AEA 267 staff members are encouraged to participate!