Ultimately our mission at AEA 267 is to support educators, parents, and the communities we serve as we work together toward one ultimate goal–to improve student learning. As we think about this mission, we want our staff members to work as efficiently and productively as possible and we feel that Gmail and Google Calendar provide opportunities for our staff that they may have not had before. Therefore, the agency has decided to move forward and begin implementing these tools with all staff yet this spring. This decision is aligned with all the other Area Education Agencies (AEAs) in the state of Iowa and a majority of the schools we serve.
In order to support staff, AEA 267’s transition team has identified early adopters. These early adopters will be working with the tech integrationist team to support the transition. These individuals were moved over on April 10th while all other users will transition to the new system on May 15th.
Communication will be key during this transition, including opportunities for staff to ask questions before the move and access an FAQ page. We will communicate when this process begins and when it is complete, you will also be informed of any implications you may encounter during this transition. In addition, we will provide multiple opportunities to learn the new system through face to face, virtual, and online tutorials given by our experienced instructional technologists. A number of those opportunities have already been scheduled and you can take advantage of as many of these opportunities as you would like! Check out the offerings! Keep an eye out for additional information about this move in the coming weeks.
Our goal is to ensure a smooth transition, and provide the necessary support so that any issues or bugs are worked through by the end of the year. This will enable us to return from summer ready to focus our time, attention, and energy on providing excellent services to our students, teachers, and families.