Year: 2020

Mark your calendars now for an all-staff information meeting to be held virtually on Tuesday, November 10, beginning at 3:00 p.m. More details and the Zoom link will be included in November’s staff newsletter. 

The Central Rivers AEA board of directors has approved the early retirement notification incentive again this year in order to support a timely staff replacement selection process.

The proposed incentive would be administered as follows:

1. Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2020-21 work-year submitted by certified, NUSS, or administrative staff, and;
2. Notification of resignation or retirement received in the HR office before December 9, 2020, and
3. Accepted by the Board no later than the regular meeting on December 10, 2020,
4. Will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500, payable June 18, 2021,
5. Subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2020-21 work year. 

Classified staff and staff resigning or retiring prior to the end of the 2020-21 work-year are not eligible for the early notification incentive. For more information, contact Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Human Resources.

Every year the Human Resources department needs to communicate on a wide range of topics that all staff need to know.

Please review this document for specific board policies and mandatory training requirements.

Questions should be addressed to Shirley Horak, HR Coordinator (shorak@centralriversaea.org)

Be sure to check out the new Wellness Wave website this month where you will find resources and fun challenges, including: 

• Our monthly Flash Challenge 
• Halloween & Covid – family fun ideas that will make you forget we’re in the middle of a pandemic & safety guides
• Central Rivers AEA Wellbeing and Mental Health Resources
• Wellness Wall – where you can share a photo, story or inspirational quote with your CRAEA team
• Who is on top of the Wellness Wave Leaderboard

The Iowa AEA system 2020 Innovative Creator Award was recently presented to our own Shandra Meyer! Shandra serves as both the Lead Teacher for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing as well as the state leader for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing teachers. The Innovative Creator Award celebrates innovative and creative thinking and actions to enrich student learning.

Shandra was nominated by Anna Crenshaw and Melissa Schossow, who wrote:

“Shandra is a hard worker who supports so many different people and groups within and outside of Central Rivers AEA. She is the discipline lead for the Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing where she leads and supports her team with grace and dedication. Shandra directly serves students across multiple districts. She writes excellent IEPs and supports her team members in doing the same. Shandra also serves as the Co-Chair for Hearing State Leadership in Iowa. Even with all of these responsibilities, she always has time for a quick chat or problem solving session. Shandra goes above and beyond for everyone that she interacts with in all of her different roles and deserves recognition for this work.”

Congratulations, Shandra!

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness, it is a dynamic process of change and growth. It is a process of achieving a state of physical, mental, and social well-being.

Please, join us in helping you to make your wellness a priority! We made adjustments to this year’s program, and we hope the ease of use makes it painless to complete and submit your accomplishments.

Staff will have the opportunity to earn $200 (maximum) in wellness dollars for the 2020-21. The payout date will be June 18, 2021.

 Activities have been divided into five categories;

1. Financial Well-Being
2. Nutritional Well-Being
3. Physical Well-Being
4. Emotional Well-Being
5. Social Well-Being.

Ready to check it out? Each activity is worth $10.00. When you complete an activity, just enter in the date and mark complete and you will also earn the badge that’s attached to the activity. Earned badges will show on the top right of your screen so you’ll be able to visually see your efforts. The more badges you earn, the easier they will be to find!

Please join us in recognizing staff for their many years of service to children, families and educators. Staff members receiving recognition this month include those who have reached the major milestone of 45 and 35 years of service!

Contact Manager is a tool created to allow staff to send email messages for targeted groups of educators. The system uses data collected and housed in the Central Rivers AEA Lending Library system (Medianet). This is a great tool for promoting your professional learning opportunities or meetings that are targeted toward specific audiences.

How do I use Contact Manager?

1. Go to: http://contactmanager.centralriversaea.org
2. If you are not signed in, click the “Sign in with Google” Button and follow the prompts to sign in through Google.
3. Click “Search Contacts” to begin.
4. Select the criteria from the options on the page to narrow your search from all the educators our agency serves to only those in your desired group.
5. Click the “search” button at the bottom of the page.
6. Select individuals or all the members of this group to email (create labels for and/or export into a spreadsheet) by using the check boxes next to each name.
7. Then, click your desired action at the bottom of the page (Email Selected Contacts, Export Selected Contacts, Generate Labels).
8. Follow the steps on screen to finish!

Who do I contact for help?

• Beth Strike, Director of Communications & Creative Services
• Kristine Kienzle, Technical Support Manager for Media

Note: These directions are archived on the Staff Website>Communications>Contact Manager for future reference.

A few years ago, the agency unveiled a new blog called The Stream targeted specifically to region staff. The Stream is published on an as-needed basis by Regional Administrators and strives to provide news and information that staff out in the field need to best serve schools. Please don’t confuse The Stream with this publication, The Channel, which goes out monthly to all Central Rivers AEA staff members and shares more general agency-wide news and information. Both blogs serve a unique purpose and are important to review upon receipt in your in-box. You can find a live link, including archived information, to each publication on our staff website.

Want more information on the variety of ways the agency communicates? Check out this Agency Major Communication Channels doc to learn more about all our tools and how they are used to share news and information about Central Rivers AEA.