Need a replacement or additional health care card? Information on how to order online can now be found on the staff website. Look under “Resources to Make your Life Simpler” then “Benefits Forms and Information.” The Business Office is working on a similar resource for ordering dental and vision cards.
Questions? Contact Betty Beauregard, Benefits Specialist.
The AEA 267 Board of Directors met at 4:00 p.m. on September 2, 2009 in the AEA 267 Conference Center for their regular meeting.
During the meeting, the board:
Read a recap of the board meeting in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.
As nearly everyone is aware, on June 24 the Aplington-Parkersburg Community School District was struck by tragedy again when well known coach and teacher Ed Thomas was gunned down in the high school weight room. As many as 20 students and a handful of adults were witness to the event. Hundreds, if not thousands of others in the community have been impacted by his death.
Within a short time after the incident took place, the AEA 267 crisis response team, led by Stan Hanus, AEA 267 School Psychologist, was assembled and dispatched to assist. AEA 267 staff members stayed on site for two days providing crisis response assistance to students, faculty, administrators, and parents. Efforts were coordinated with mental health professionals from other crisis intervention organizations who were on the scene.
“I’m so impressed by the response I received from our staff when I put out the call for help,” said Hanus in reporting to the AEA 267 Board of Directors. “Obviously this happened when school was out and many staff were already gone and yet people quickly responded to help.”
The AEA 267 crisis response team also provided assistance to the Ventura Community School District later this summer when a student was killed in a car accident.
“We are there when districts need us,” said Hanus.
As we enter the 2009-2010 school year, we are also entering the first Stimulus year for our agency. At this time we have far more questions about the amount and guidelines related to Stimulus funding than we have answers. The agency is cautiously moving forward with plans for the use of the funds while at the same time ever mindful of the fact that the funds–and the programs and services we are able to utilize them for–will last at the most two years.
Here is the progress to-date regarding how the money is being put to use:
The federal stimulus program is providing us with a unique opportunity to provide more services than we otherwise could have. The rules, procedures and reporting requirements are demanding. We will proceed with caution, focus on the federal mandated goals, and do our best to build the internal and external capacity of educators so even after the funds are gone, our ability to positively impact student achievement remains high.
Please note that summer hours will end on August 14. Normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. will resume on Monday, August 17.
Plans continue to move ahead to begin upgrading the Clear Lake office facility in early fall. Remodeling is slated to begin in early October and be concluded by April 1, 2010 if not before. Over the summer months, Jan Alger, AEA 267 Secretary to Communication/Administration began the process of finding outside locations for all AEA 267 events previously booked in the affected conference rooms. If you have not heard from Jan about your event and believe you should have, please contact her.
If you are scheduling new meetings during our remodeling and need suggestions for locations, please contact Jan. A directory is also available on the staff website although not all locations and information are listed. (To clarify, for new meetings being scheduled, your service area is responsible for ordering and taking care of all food needed and using your service area account code to pay for the room.)
The new rooms under construction will be labeled A, B & C. If you need to schedule a room after April 1, 2010, you may do so as the new rooms are now online (with descriptions) and available for reservations. Events that need to be scheduled in September can be held in the Community and Federal rooms. Please schedule them directly through Leah Peters, AEA 267 Receptionist in the Clear Lake office.
Questions? Contact Dr. Sara McInerny, Service Area Director at 1-319-273-8260.
Betty Westmeyer, a long-time advocate for students with special needs, is stepping down from the AEA 267 board when her term ends in October. Westmeyer has been a member of the AEA board since 1982 when her son was a student at River Hills.
When asked about the highlights of her tenure as an AEA board member, Westmeyer cited her advocacy for a formal graduation ceremony at River Hills School. “Prior to that, there had not been a ceremony,” she said. “I’ve attended every ceremony since 1984 when they started and I’ve shed tears every time. It’s a very moving experience.”
Westmeyer was also instrumental in the transition from three Area Education Agencies (AEAs 2, 6 & 7) to one in 2003. “It was a time of great uncertainty and fear of the unknown. I feel very good about how things have turned out.”
Although her accomplishments are many, Westmeyer feels a tinge of regret about the fact that her advocacy for lengthening the school year has not resulted in real change in the state. She has been a long-time proponent of a longer school year to retain and advance student learning. Still, she feels the time is right to step down.
“The friendships I have made while on the AEA board have been wonderful,” said Westmeyer. “This closes an important chapter in my life. My advice to any new board member is to speak up and let people know how you feel…being a board member is very rewarding.”
In her capacity as an AEA 267 board member, Westmeyer has represented Director District 4 which includes the school districts of Charles City, Denver, Janesville, Nashua-Plainfield, Sumner, Tripoli, Wapsie Valley, and Waverly-Shell Rock. A search for a candidate to fill Westmeyer’s vacancy is pending.
The AEA 267 Board of Directors met at 6 p.m. on August 5, 2009, in the AEA 267 Conference Center for their regular meeting.
During the meeting, the board:
Nine AEA 267 staff members will represent the agency throughout the day on August 13 at the state AEA booth in the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fair. Staff members will give out AEA logo tattoos to children, talk about AEA services and gather AEA success stories from those who stop by.
This is the second year the AEA system has had a booth at the State Fair. Last year’s booth was a huge success resulting in thousands of contacts with Iowans throughout the state.
