The Channel

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met February 8, 2012 at 6 p.m. for a public hearing on the 2012-13 AEA 267 proposed budget. The regular board meeting was held immediately following.

During the meeting the board:

• Heard a program review from Dr. Carol Sensor, Special Education Coordinator for Special Projects and Services Improvement, regarding the Learning Supports Team, including information on the team’s structure, goals, and the content areas supported.
• Approved resignations, employments and retirements. (See related post on Educational Services Director position.)
• Approved the 2012-13 AEA 267 budget.
• Approved the Second Reading of Board Policy 204.12 – Consent Agenda.
• Discussed how to proceed with a name change for our agency. The board discussed a list of “top 10” names from the previous process of naming and decided to give further thought over the next month to other options for a name.
• Reviewed the mileage reimbursement rate. Voted to keep the current rate at $.37/mile.
• Approved seeking quotes for the nutrition programs.
• Heard Dr. Roark Horn’s recommendations for satellite offices. Voted to close the Tama and Iowa Falls offices of AEA 267.
• Set a date for the deadline for filing objections to petition for reorganization of the Woden-Crystal Lake and Forest City Community School Districts (March 30 at noon) and set the date for hearing on objections filed (April 4).
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

Immediately after the regular meeting was adjourned, the AEA 267 Foundation Meeting was held.

What’s happening with our agency’s budget? What can we expect for next year? Dr. Roark Horn, Chief Administrator, files this report. (Be sure to click the play button.)

Everyone wants to present the most professional image they can in the work place; and now more than ever, we want our educational partners (and our colleagues) to view us as the “leaders in learning” that we truly are. Still, most of us value the opportunity to be more casual occasionally. Although it is has been customary in some offices to enjoy a norm of “casual Fridays” we’d like to extend that approach agency-wide. Thus, if you are someone who enjoys dressing more casually, please feel comfortable doing so on Friday (and yes, this includes dressy jeans for those that enjoy them). Please use your professional judgment in choosing “casual professional” choices. On other days, the expectation for dress is “official professional” which does not include jeans. Thanks for your cooperation!

Note: Exceptions to casual Friday attire would include presenting to outside partners, following the dress norms or policies of the district you serve, participating on an interview committee, and/or other circumstances which warrant more formal attire.

How can we structure our agency to provide administrative support to our AEA staff and local school districts so we can optimize our effectiveness in positively impacting children, families and educators? How can we work to ensure that even in times of declining resources and enrollment, we can still maintain high quality services? An important part of the answer to these questions is in a plan to redefine Special Education sector boundaries.

In this important podcast, Dr. Mary Stevens discusses the restructuring of the AEA 267 Special Education sectors, providing explanations and rationale behind the decision. (Be sure to click the play symbol.)

Download Mary’s Powerpoint presentation here. Download the new sector map here.

Citing a need to move from the past to the future, the AEA 267 Board of Directors took steps to begin the process of renaming the agency during a discussion at their meeting held earlier this week.

The issue of renaming is not a new one and has bubbled up many times both internally and with groups the agency serves over the years. Although clearly renaming presents some additional cost and effort, the board believes firmly that doing so is a strategic and important move at this time.

An expedited process will be used in developing a new name. Board members will review a list of the most popular names originally suggested and are expected to make a final selection so that the new name and brand can be in place by July 1, 2012.

Did you know that even if you don’t regularly check out resources from the agency’s Lending Library system that we still need you to update your Medianet profile? Medianet, the database that houses all of the AEA 267 employee contact information for resources checkout is the same database that the AEA Contact Manager (login: aeastaff/password: aea267ia) system uses for sending important emails to staff.

If you haven’t already, please take five minutes to follow the simple directions below for updating your profile!

Directions for updating your profile for AEA Contact Manager:

From our Get Media page – http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/media/ – click on the link in the right column – Job Assignments-AEA 267 Staff. Log into Medianet using your client number and password. (If you have questions or need help with your Medianet login, please contact a member of the library staff in either Cedar Falls, Clear Lake or Marshalltown.) In the top section of the page, please check all of the appropriate boxes that relate to your AEA 267 job assignment (the lower section is for our LEA clients). Please do not check areas that you are not truly affiliated with or that you simply have an interest in. When done, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the green submit button.

Questions? Contact Deb Culp at 641-844-2492.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met January 4, 2012 at 6 p.m. in the AEA 267 Cedar Falls Conference Center for their regular meeting. During the meeting, the board:

• Accepted the 2010-11 Audit Report. It was noted that the AEA 267 Business Office is doing excellent work and the agency had zero citations in the audit report.
• Approved the 2012-13 proposed budget for publication.
• Heard a report from Dr. Anne Sullivan on the remote worksite program. The board gave approval to continue the program and commended staff members involved in the pilot for their participation.
• Heard a proposal from Dr. Mary Stevens on restructuring the sectors. (See related post and podcast.)
• Approved retirements/resignations.
• Approved the first reading of board policy 204.12 – Consent Agenda.
• Approved the 2012 Extended School Year Calendar.
• Approved the 2012-2013 Office Calendar.
• Approved the Professional Development agreement with Drake University.
• Increased the depository bank limit with Wells Fargo Bank.
• Approved an agreement with Timberline Billing Services.
• Approved an agreement with Marshalltown Community Schools for the Ladders to Learning Program.
• Discussed a change to our agency name. (See related post.)
• Discussed changing the date for the April meeting with the community colleges. The board decided to stay with their regular meeting on April 4 but also hold a special meeting with community college representatives on April 19 (time and location to be announced).
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

A strategy session for collective bargaining was held after the board meeting.

While thankfully these comments are fairly infrequent, occasionally a local school superintendent or principal might complain that the district s/he serves would be better off “keeping” the funding that goes to support the AEA rather than receiving our services. Most of us know that this is an almost laughable idea given the breadth and depth of services provided, but prior to now it doesn’t appear that anyone had ever actually researched what would happen if AEA services ceased to exist.

Dr. Roark Horn and Dr. Bob Stephens, a professor and originator of the AEA concept back in the 1970’s, recently did just that. They have co-written a “white paper” to be used to help various stakeholders understand the value of the Iowa AEA system. Download and read the entire white paper here or simply watch Roark discuss the main points in this important podcast. (Be sure to click the play symbol to begin.)

Your response to the all-agency food pantry drive was incredible! Staff donations totaled nearly $2,500 which was delivered prior to Christmas to the Food Bank of Iowa and Northeast Iowa Food Bank. When you consider that for every $1 donated these two organizations are able to purchase $11 worth of food at a reduced rate, our contributions ensured that many, many struggling Iowa families have or will benefit. Thank you for your generosity!

Winners of the raffle prizes are noted below.

DES MOINES, IA – Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today released their final recommendations for restoring Iowa’s standing as a leader in education and preparing all students to compete for jobs in a global economy.

The document represents an overview of proposed education legislation that will be presented by the Governor and Lt. Governor in the 2012 session.

The recommendations stay true to three key areas outlined in a blueprint for education reform released by the Branstad-Reynolds administration in October: highly effective teachers and leaders, high expectations for all students with fair measures for results, and innovation that boosts learning.

“Iowans have played a critical role as we’ve worked to elevate the conversation about improving our schools,” Branstad said. “These proposals will put us on the path to make Iowa schools among the best in the world.”

World-class schools are one of four top priorities set by Branstad and Reynolds. The administration has worked for the past year to carve out a long-term, reform-minded policy direction that builds from Iowa’s strengths and adopts improvements with lessons learned from the highest-performing systems in the world.

In July, the Branstad-Reynolds administration convened an education summit to discuss ideas about what it takes to lead the world in education.

As part of the summit, the Iowa Department of Education released a report, “Rising to Greatness: An Imperative for Improving Iowa’s Schools.” The report documented Iowa’s stagnation in math and reading competency compared to other states and nations.

The education blueprint released in October was a starting point for meaningful change. Members of the Branstad-Reynolds administration traveled the state last fall to listen to ideas at dozens of town hall meetings.

One change made as a result of input from Iowans: Doing more, beginning in preschool, to help students read by the end of third grade. At that point, most students go from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Students who finish third grade without meeting basic literacy requirements across a broad set of measures would be retained and provided intensive reading assistance.

Another change adds state standards for music and other fine arts, applied arts, physical education, character education and entrepreneurship education.

“We all share a common goal of giving our students a first-rate education,” Reynolds said. “We look forward to engaging Iowans in this ongoing discussion as we work together to find the best solutions for our state.”

Key proposals include:

1. Be more selective about who can become an educator by requiring a 3.0 grade-point average to gain admission into teacher preparation programs.
2. Candidates for teaching licensure must pass a test demonstrating content-specific and teaching knowledge.
3. Evaluate teachers annually instead of every three years, which is the current requirement. Principals and superintendents also would be evaluated each year.
4. Widen the pathways to alternative teacher licensure with a number of quality assurance checks.
5. Make seniority a minor factor in deciding which teachers are laid off by a school district faced with reducing the workforce. Annual evaluations based on performance should be the main factor.
6. Establish state task forces to study important long-term issues, such as teacher leadership, compensation and questions about extending the school day or school year.
7. Give all preschool students and enrolled 4-year-olds a kindergarten readiness assessment to determine early literacy and numeracy skills.
8. High school students will take end-of-course exams in core academic areas of algebra, English, science and U.S. history to make sure they have a solid foundation before they graduate and to better align high school courses to the Iowa Core.
9. All 11th grade students take a college entrance exam as a way to provide one of the keys needed for postsecondary education. Phase out the current 11th grade assessment, the Iowa Tests of Educational Development.
10. Eliminate requirements around seat time for academic credit to accommodate school districts that choose to adopt a system of competency-based education, which advances students based on their mastery of subjects.
11. Widen the pathway for starting charter schools by giving the State Board of Education authority to approve charter applications from universities, community colleges and nonprofit organizations, as well as collaborative efforts of all these groups. Iowa’s current charter school law is restrictive in that it only allows existing school districts to establish charter schools.
12. Give school districts greater flexibility to meet state requirements so that public schools can better apply innovative ideas to improve learning. School districts would have the same flexibility that charter schools have.

For more information, please visit www.educateiowa.gov

The Educator Quality Committee determined at their December 1, 2011 meeting the number of days available for additional pay for the 2011-12 school year. There will be three days available as in the past for staff professional development (2.0 days available for Educator Quality and 1.0 day available for Iowa Core Curriculum).  In addition to previous years, a subcommittee will be formed to review data from the all-staff professional survey collected earlier this fall to create additional PD opportunities.  We anticipate there will be up to two more days made available to you as these additional PD opportunities are developed.  Some examples may include summer diversity workshops, low voice training, sending staff to expert speakers, bringing experts into the AEA, etc. Staff will be notified of these additional opportunities as they are determined (please watch for future emails).

Due to the late date in getting information out to staff, EQ/ICC funds for PD activities will be made retroactive to the beginning of the 2011-12 school year. 

A communication with more information is being sent to all certified staff members via the AEA 267 van delivery service and email.  The communication is also on the staff website under the Educator Quality section at http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/staff/index.php?page=eq_comm

In his latest video message to staff, AEA 267 Chief Administrator, Dr. Roark Horn, talks about focusing internally on the organization, the agency audit, job shadowing, and reflecting on your achievements over the holidays.(Click on the play symbol below to start.)

Please change your voice mail greeting and set an away message to your email during the holiday breaks so that callers and/or e-mailers will know when they can expect to hear from you.

Voice mail example:

“Hello, this is (your name).  Our office will be closed beginning Friday, December 23 at 3:30 pm and reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.  Please leave your name, telephone number and a detailed message and I will call when I return.  Thank you!”

Email “away” message example:

Thank you for your email.  I will be out of the office beginning Friday, December 23 at 3:30 pm and return Tuesday, January 3 and will respond to your email upon my return.

If you need assistance with either task, please visit with your administrator.