Author: lthomas

The All Staff Meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, August 14th. Please be sure to change this date on your calendars. A calendar of important dates for 2018-19 can be viewed and downloaded from the staff website.

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met Wednesday, March 7th at 6:00 p.m. in the Cedar Falls Conference Center. The agenda can be viewed online and minutes will be posted after approval at the next board meeting.

Congratulations to Heather Gould, Consultant for School Improvement who will be stepping in as Regional Administrator for Region 9, effective July 1. Heather has been with the agency since 2009, serving primarily in the areas of literacy, teacher leadership, and school improvement.  Prior to that, she taught middle school English Language Arts at East Marshall.

Heather earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Northern Iowa, with an English Major and a Reading Minor.  She then received her Master’s Degree from Viterbo University in 2008, Literacy Coaching Certification from Iowa State University in 2015,  and an Administrative License from Morningside College last year.

Heather and her husband, Chad, live in rural Marshalltown with their three children:  Gabe (15), Carli (14) and Mya (8). She enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending her children’s activities, and traveling.

With our strong focus on literacy and math, the agency has restructured to create a Director of Instruction position beginning with the 2018-19 school year. Kim Swartz has been selected for the new position given her knowledge and experience in reading and math instruction. Congratulations, Kim!

Kim has been a professional educator since 1984 teaching elementary students. She joined the AEA system in 2000 as a literacy consultant before becoming a Regional Administrator.  She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Educational Technology, both from UNI.

Kim’s family includes her husband Kevin and children Ryan, Austin, and Spencer and their spouses. She has two grandsons and her interests include spending time with family and friends, as well as biking, hiking, gardening, and singing in the church choir.

The Central Rivers AEA literacy conference is scheduled for June 13 & 14 to be held in Cedar Falls. A powerful roster of speakers is scheduled including Timothy Rasinski, Antonio Fierro, Deborah Reed, Barbara Golub, David Kilpatrick and Jim Burke. Important topics such as foundational skills, fluency, word study, vocabulary, the reading-writing relationship, and reaching English learners will be addressed. Staff is encouraged to attend. Fill out a travel request in Ivisons and register now!   

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Richard Dickerson. Richard passed away on Friday, February 23. He was a valued member of the Central Rivers AEA team and will be greatly missed.

Richard first came to us as a special education teacher and then worked as a transition specialist. Following retirement, Richard worked part-time as a van driver for the Media department.

Please keep Richard’s family and friends in your thoughts as they go through this difficult time.

Welcome back to another exciting year for our agency as we are now “officially” Central Rivers AEA!  

The purpose of this communication is to provide you with some important details as you prepare for Monday’s all-staff meeting at our new location at 1521 Technology Parkway in Cedar Falls. (Please be sure to read the following carefully as hard copies of this information will not be provided.)

Please review the agenda for the day, including details for the afternoon’s meetings. Note that while sign-in begins at 8:30 am, we are asking that all staff have their photo taken before our 9 am start time or during the morning break. Thus, staff members within the Cedar Falls region are encouraged to come as early as 7:30 am to have their photo taken early and help alleviate congestion.

Carpooling with other employees to defray mileage expense and help to ease parking concerns will be critical. If you are in the Clear Lake or Marshalltown Office, carpooling arrangements have been organized by either Chad Pinkston (Marshalltown) or Dr. Carol Sensor (Clear Lake). Please reach out to one of these individuals if you have any further questions. Parking at 1521 Technology Parkway is available in all of the main building lots (upper and lower) along with both sides of the street on Technology Parkway.

Plenty of staff members will be available to help guide you at our new site. In addition, floor maps will be available on several monitors for you to refer to throughout the day. Lactation rooms are available for those who may need them on the lower level. Maps of both the upper and lower levels are available to download for your convenience. 

Dress for the day is professional casual (shorts, flip flops, polos, etc. are all acceptable). If you would like, bring a pair of walking shoes to enjoy the trail. We hope you will look forward to learning, great food, team building, and door prizes. It’s going to be a great day!

Cell phone reimbursement applications for the 2017-18 school year will be accepted now through September 15, 2017. The request form can be found on the Staff Website. Payment will be made to employees on September 29, 2017. Cell phone reimbursement requests are approved when the use of cell phones are appropriate and necessary in an employee’s role to provide effective and efficient operations of Central Rivers AEA.

Please remember to submit applications 6-8 weeks prior to an expiration date (or prior to when a new license is needed). Background checks can take 4-6 weeks, in addition to the time the Board of Educational Examiners office needs to process the request. Educators cannot remain on the job, even if their materials have been submitted if their license expires.