Author: cvanbuskirk

As we enter the month of August, we wanted to send a reminder that all staff must complete the mandatory AEA-required trainings. Certified staff are allowed to use one of your 2023-2024 contract days to complete the training. Simply indicate on your Google calendar, “AEA Mandatory Training Day.”

Please note, the following courses are no longer available so you can disregard any reminders you receive from the AEA Learning Online system:

• R2L: Health & Safety for Teachers & Staff 

• R2L: Health and Safety – District Leadership Teams

If you have any questions, contact Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of HR.

The employee cell phone reimbursement is for the necessary use of a personal cell phone in order to perform the responsibilities of the employee’s position, per Central Rivers AEA Board Policies 401.27R1 and 401.27R2. Staff approved for reimbursement will receive up to $120 annually and have their personal cell phone number listed in the Central Rivers AEA cell phone directory, which is published only on the internal staff website.

Apply for reimbursement by submitting the 2023-2024 Cell Phone Reimbursement Form before September 8, with all requests subject to the approval of the AEA Regional Administrator and Executive Director. Payment will be made on September 20. Changes to a staff member’s phone number must be promptly reported to Laura Rinnels at 641-329-4244.

New employees hired after the start of the year have 30 days from the date of hire to submit a request for reimbursement for a prorated amount. Mid-year separation from the Agency will result in a payroll deduction from the employee’s final pay for the unearned portion of the reimbursement ($10/month).

Central Rivers AEA is offering adult first aid/cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/automated external defibrillator (AED) training at each of our offices at no charge to the first 19 Central Rivers AEA employees who submit a PD request and register for the training. Space is limited to 12 participants per location and open to those outside Central Rivers AEA. The training will be held from 8:30 am – 1:30 pm on September 29 at the Cedar Falls office.

Check out the Adult First Aid CPR AED Training flyer for more information.

Welcome back to a new school year! Did you move over the summer? Admin assistants/HR would like to remind everyone to update their information! Please go into Web Link and update the following:

• Telephone Number
• Van Mail Delivery Location (this is very important; you can receive van mail in a location of your choice – meaning a school you serve or one of the AEA offices).

Contact your administrative assistant to help with any of these changes.

As a reminder for those new to the agency, Central Rivers AEA has three primary communication channels used to reach staff with agency news, decisions and relevant resources. The three major channels we use frequently are:

The Channel: a monthly blog designed to keep staff informed about all major internal news.

• How do I access The Channel? – the front page of the staff website (note that you will need to login to access the staff website) or access it via the Employee Dashboard.
• Who is The Channel for? – All Central Rivers AEA staff; typically sent electronically on behalf of the Chief Administrator 1-2 days following the monthly board meeting.

The Stream: a monthly blog used to keep regional staff updated on initiatives, deadlines and opportunities.

• How do I access The Stream? – the front page of the staff website (note that you will need to login to access the staff website) or access it via the Employee Dashboard.
• Who is The Stream for? – All staff serving schools as part of a Region; typically sent out twice a month.

Agency Staff Website: an internal website used to archive timely and relevant resources to enhance productivity and communication.

• How do I access the Agency Staff Website (Staff Intranet)? Bookmark the staff website on your browser or access it via the Employee Dashboard.
• Who is the Agency Staff Website for? – All Central Rivers AEA staff

To better serve you, we are using a new room reservation system! The easiest way to access it is through Classlink, but it can also be accessed via https://rooms.centralriversaea.org/.

All previous events have been moved over. As part of this new system, if you are the event organizer, you will receive a calendar event invite. Please accept this invite as a reminder of the upcoming event. Please note, if you decline or delete an event from your calendar, it does not delete the event reservation. All modifications to the event should happen in the system.

You will receive a reminder to confirm your event 10 days before the date it takes place on. This is your opportunity to make changes and or remove the event if it’s no longer needed. 

If you need a room or space to work in and would like to use one of the rooms that are part of the reservation system and haven’t made a reservation, please check in at the front desk when you arrive so that we can point you in the direction of a room that is available for you. As always the glass rooms in Central Perk are available as a workspace, on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you have any questions, please contact the Professional Learning Team.