Author: Beth Strike

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
• Deb Culp, Technical Support Manager for Media
• Kristine Kienzle, Technical Support Assistant for Media

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

Starting July 1, 2019 Central Rivers AEA staff who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) and who have regular contact with students in kindergarten through grade 12 must complete Suicide Prevention and Postvention and ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) training annually. Further guidance can also be found on this document from the Iowa DE. 

These trainings can be accessed through the Iowa AEA PD online mandatory trainings. Detailed information can be found in the Portal > My Toolbox > Mandatory Trainings.  If you are a staff member required to take these trainings, please have the trainings completed by October 30th, 2019. Suicide Prevention and Postvention and ACES are separate trainings. When completed, please print the two certificates and submit them to the Human Resources office. 

 If you have questions, contact your regional administrator or program administrator if you are assigned to River Hills School or a Detention/Shelter program. 

Business cards are available through the Staff Website > Resources > Ordering Business Cards. Click on the business card order form and fill out all necessary information.  Contact Creative Services with any questions.

Thanks to those who responded to the evaluation of our all-staff meeting day held last month. Here are the results and some common themes:

• 80% of respondents viewed the meeting and activities as a good use of their time. We do understand that we have a wide variety of staff with different roles that we ask to attend. We don’t do it often, but getting everyone together, and celebrating the return of all the staff and the beginning of the school year is important. We will keep working to continue to improve the experience for all staff.
• Over 80% of our staff found Tamara Konrade’s keynote message relevant to either their personal or professional lives (and in many cases) both.
• Over 95% of staff indicate that they plan to participate in the new Navigate wellness program.

Over 200 team members shared a commitment for the 2019-20 year. It was exciting and inspiring to read them. Check them out for yourself!

Ideas shared for future consideration or common themes:

*Include a coffee truck

*Consider raising the temperature in the room

*Earmark more time to be in our disciplines

*Add more food trucks during lunch

*Project the speaker on all screens

*Consider a later start date 

Again, thanks for your feedback!  Although we can’t make it a perfect experience for everyone, we will use the feedback to make continual improvements.

If Tamara and Halee’s keynote inspired you last month, stay INspired by signing up to “Get INspired Weekly,” a short provocative email to keep the ABC’s of a healthy life and culture in front of you. Yes, I want to Get INspired Weekly!

A new expense reimbursement form is available on the portal under My Toolbox > Expense Reimbursement > Reimbursement Req Spreadsheet. You may have to click on “Enable Editing” at the top of the spreadsheet when opening. You will submit both Educator Quality (EQ) and regular travel expenses on this form and enter them as one expense reimbursement request. Expense reimbursement requests should be submitted monthly. View the new “how-to” video for more detailed instructions. For more information, contact the Business Office.

Internal job openings will be posted on the main announcement page of the iVisions Portal as jobs become available for transfer within the agency. External job postings will be available on both the website under Careers and through the TeachIowa system. The Human Resources department will no longer be sending emails regarding open positions to help cut down on the amount of email staff receive.  

We are excited to announce that we have contracted with a company called Navigate for our agency health and wellness program for this year. A committee of staff vetted various vendors and selected Navigate as the best third-party provider to help us achieve our health/wellness goals. Representative staff then worked with Navigate to develop the web and mobile-based platform of activities.

Navigate plays off the popularity of challenges (we had a great response to “wellness bingo” last year) but through a more tailored and efficient format. It also gives staff greater control over customizing the types of challenges that help them meet their own personal goals. 

More information about Navigate and related initiatives will be shared during our All-Staff meeting next week. Get ready to “navigate” your way to greater wellness!

Mark your calendars now for the all-staff meeting being held on Tuesday, August 13 at the Cedar Falls Conference Center. Registration and social time will begin at 8:30 am with the meeting to begin at 9:00 am. The keynote presenter in the morning will be Tamara Konrade from INspired Leadership.

Regional and departmental meetings will take place in the afternoon and lunch will be on your own. A food truck from Chick-fil-A will be on site for your convenience or you can enjoy one of the many nearby restaurants.

More information and a detailed agenda will be sent closer to the date. Be sure to check your email.