Author: Beth Strike

Summer hours officially began on Monday, June 7. Office hours will run from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Summer hours end Friday, August 13.

Are you retiring or resigning the end of this month? Please turn in all professional materials and AEA 267 owned equipment to your immediate supervisor before you go.

All mileage and expenses for July 1, 2009 thru June 30, 2010 must be submitted to the Business Office by Friday, July 2 to be paid on the July 15 mileage check.  This will be the final scheduled mileage check run for the 2009-10 fiscal year.  Please contact Kelly Johnson 319-268-7612 or Angela Graves 319-268-7633  in the Business Office with any questions.

Congratulations to Belmond-Klemme teacher, Don Dye, who has been voted “Top Teacher” on Live with Regis & Kelly! Don was chosen from a pool of five finalists for the honor which includes a $20,000 gift certificate from Staples for his school and a 2011 Ford Mustang convertible. Watch Don’s reaction as he learns he has won. We are proud of you!

Ninety-one percent of educators who responded to the 2010 Iowa Department of Education survey say that Area Education Agency 267 (AEA 267) services meet their professional needs. The survey, which has 13 basic questions about AEA services, yielded nearly 1,880 responses or about 37.6 % of the educators served by the agency.

Other results include:

• 85% of educators say that AEA 267 staff maintain good working relationships with them
• 85% of educators indicate that AEA 267 staff have the knowledge and skills needed to have a positive impact on their school
• 85% of educators say that AEA services have assisted in improving their classroom instruction and/or job-related practices
• 80% of educators believe AEA 267 is responsive to their local student learning needs
• 80% of educators indicate that AEA 267 delivers current and timely services.

“In the midst of an economically-challenged time for both the schools we serve and our agency, our staff are unwavering in their commitment to excellence,” said Dr. Dean Meier, chief administrator. “I continue to be incredibly proud of our staff members and the quality work they do.”

The 2010 Customer Feedback Survey data will be analyzed in a variety of ways including by district, sector, and educator group. Areas for growth and improvement will be identified and discussed as part of the agency’s overall action plan.

The Iowa Department of Education AEA customer feedback survey is administered to all Iowa educators annually.

Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are celebrating 35 years of service to children, families, educators, and communities. In 1974, the passage of Senate File 1163 established 15 area education agencies (AEAs) with the same service areas as community colleges. The AEAs began operation on July 1, 1975. Area Education Agency 267 will honor 17 staff members who have been with the AEA system all 35 years at each of our retirement celebrations:

• Becky Anderson
• Joanne Broadston
• Janice Dykstra
• Catherine Edwards
• Dennis Ford
• Carol Hunchis
• Bruce Jensen
• David Kobes
• Marjorie Krull
• Linda Martin
• Judy Moser
• Georgine Myles
• Mary Nichols
• Rick Pearce
• Dennis Sinclair
• Christy Schmitt
• Kathleen Walker

Through voluntary mergers in recent years, Iowa’s AEAs currently total 10, and will become a total of nine with the merger of Green Valley and Loess Hills AEAs on July 1, 2010.

With the establishment of the area education agency system, Iowa became a national leader in providing regional, intermediate educational services. The Iowa system continues to be among the most comprehensive and highly respected in the country. Over the years, various legislative initiatives have added new and changing roles for AEAs. In 1996, the legislature approved an accreditation process under which AEAs must demonstrate they meet the standards as defined by the Iowa Department of Education. The scope of services of Iowa’s area education agencies expanded to include, “leadership and services in school improvement to schools and school districts so every learner may perform at higher education levels.”

Iowa AEAs are supporting the Iowa Department of Education and local school districts with implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum.

Congratulations to the AEA system and our 35-year employees for establishing a legacy of service and excellence that will live on for years to come!

Final details are being handled for the upcoming spring retirement open houses. Please make plans to attend to honor our retiring colleagues. Below please find a list of those retiring who will be honored at each open house.

May 18–AEA 267 Cedar Falls Conference Center: Mary Bing, Cindy Brown, Claudette Butler, Beth Cole, Stan Hanus, Marjorie Krull, Jean Meehan, Ramona Moeller, Michele Murphy, Oletha O’Donnell, Terry Reed, Dr. Dean Meier and Dr. Ralph Bartelt.

May 19–AEA 267 Clear Lake Office: Joanne Blake, Louise Cameron, Robert Coates, David Kisilewski, Sandy Klaudt, Brenda McKee, Liz Wenger and Chris White. Dr. Dean Meier will also be honored.

May 20–AEA 267 Marshalltown Office: Damon Lamb and Beverly Spence. Dr. Dean Meier will also be honored.

All open houses will be held from 3:30-5 p.m.

Last month we shared with you that AEA 267 is now communicating to our constituents via Facebook and Twitter.  Many of you are becoming “fans” and “followers” and we want to share some important information with you to help you avoid time-consuming repairs to your computers.

Facebook, a popular social networking tool, is becoming more prevalent as it is used by businesses and education agencies to advertise their services. Because staff may be accessing Facebook from agency computers, it is important that you are familiar with basic security concerns surrounding this site.  While Facebook itself is not problematic, certain links and applications that work along with the site can infect your computer with malware (spyware) and/or viruses.

Consider the following when accessing Facebook from your computer:

• Be cautious of suspicious messages or links posted to your wall which ask things such as “Have you seen this video?” or “Is this you in this photo?” If you click such a link, you run the risk of your computer being infected by malware or a virus.
• Be wary of clicking on a link in Facebook and downloading software. One computer worm, “Koobface”, spreads by delivering Facebook messages to people who are ‘friends’ of a Facebook user whose computer has already been infected. Upon receipt, the message directs the recipients to a third-party website, where they are prompted to download what is purported to be an update of the Adobe Flash player.
• Be wary of advertisements listed within Facebook.  While you may assume them to be harmless, some contain malicious links.  Others may launch pop-ups, which indicate your computer is infected with a virus, asking you to download software to remove the virus.  Unfortunately, the end user ends up downloading something infected with malware or a virus instead of the helpful software it claims to be.
• Installing non-Facebook games, quizzes and utilities can also place malware and/or viruses on your computer.  The basic Facebook interface is said to be safe but third-party options are not and can cause you and your computer grief.

From a related security standpoint:

• Be sure you are not opening your account to people you do not actually know.  Hackers create fake profiles, which can be used to access your account.
• Be mindful of security settings for your account.  Leaving your account wide-open in regard to privacy settings can leave you open to cyber-stalkers or others, which you may not wish to have access your information.
• Think before posting certain information such as the fact that you may be out of town or away from home for a certain period of time.  While your friends may be interested to know you are on vacation, there are others who may be very interested to learn you are away from your home.
• Remember, any information you post online is accessible and can be accessed in one way or another.  Even if your privacy settings are secure, data that you post can still be shared by word-of-mouth.
• While the agency does provide some of the best anti-virus and malware software, in some cases it can only catch the virus after it infects your computer.  Infected machines need to be cleaned immediately and this may result in time away from your computer while the infection is removed.

To ensure that you do not end up with an infected machine, please be mindful of computer security when accessing any sort of social networking site or publicly available online tools.