The Channel

As many of you are aware, the Central Rivers AEA office calendar recognizes many important holidays throughout the year. We recognize that our districts each follow a unique school calendar that may or may not align with our office calendar.  That being said, we request that all staff honor the AEA holidays/office closed days.

In the event a district specifically requests our staff to attend or provide district led activities or services, staff have the personal choice to participate and/or deliver those district directed services.  Events cannot be held at any of our closed offices. Any requests for office or remote office work will be denied on closed days.  Regional Administrators will oversee work being carried out on office closed days to ensure it is purposeful, serves our LEA partners, and aligns with Agency Procedures.

We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.  Further questions or clarifications should be directed to your regional administrator or direct line supervisor.

Having your personal information compromised is a very stressful situation and the agency, along with Madison National Life Insurance Company is offering free identity theft assistance services to staff.  

Further information can be found on the Portal under Benefits. Staff can also call 855-860-3727 24/7 for assistance. 

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met Wednesday, October 4th in Cedar Falls for the annual organizational meeting. Four district representatives were up for re-election this year.  Congratulations to Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson on being re-elected as Director District 1; Dr. Debra Rich, Director District 2; Richard Vande Kieft, Director District 7; and Bryan Burton, Director District 8. The Board unanimously re-elected Dr. Debra Rich to serve as Board President and Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson to serve as Vice-President.

A huge thank you to the entire Board of Directors for leading the agency through another successful year of operations!

It’s that time again! Flu shot clinics are being held in all three Central Rivers AEA locations on October 6th from 6:30-8:30 am.

Employees and their families covered by Central Rivers AEA health insurance will not have to pay for the flu shot but will need to bring their insurance cards that day.

All information, including costs for those without agency insurance and how to sign up, can be found on this downloadable flyer

In addition, please refer to these individual flyers linked here about the 0ptional Biometric/Wellness screenings taking place that you can take advantage of. Please note costs related to each as these will need to be paid for on that day by check or exact cash. The provider will provide you with a receipt to file for reimbursement.

Clear Lake Flu Shot & Biometric Screening Information & Costs

Cedar Falls Wellness Screening Information & Costs

Marshalltown Wellness Screening Information & Costs

Please direct all questions to Betty Beauregard at 319-273-8202.

Please help us welcome the newest members of the Central Rivers AEA staff, most of whom are pictured here. Want to know more about our new staff? Check out their personal photos and bios in this fun slide deck created by Human Resources!

A few reminders from the Human Resources (HR) office. September 15 is the deadline for notifying HR of intentions to change lanes on the salary schedule (This applies to Certified staff only). Also, all professional licenses must be kept current. If you renew your license, just send an email to the HR office that it has been renewed. Our staff will look up your license on the BOEE website and update our records accordingly.

We would like to extend a big thank you to Lifetouch for being part of our opening day in Cedar Falls. They graciously took over 400 photos of our staff and, from our point of view, did an excellent job. They have also supplied us with courtesy photos for everyone who had their picture taken.  These will be distributed, along with new ID badges, in the next couple of weeks.  If you were not able to get your picture taken on the opening day, your previous photo will be used or you may stop in one of the main offices to have your picture taken.

As a service to our Central Rivers AEA staff, we have once again invited an IPERS representative to offer individual counseling sessions at each office. Due to limited IPERS resources, we will not be having a group presentation. Also, due to the popularity of this service by IPERS in previous years, we were not able to accommodate all staff who were interested; therefore we ask that only those who are planning on retiring in three to five years schedule an appointment with priority given to those retiring within three years.

Please contact the AEA contact person in the linked flyer if you desire to schedule an individual counseling session with IPERS. Please allow one-half hour per session. After scheduling an appointment, a form will be sent to you from the contact person below to be filled out and returned to the contact person before the individual counseling session. Please see this flyer for specific dates and locations.

Cedar Valley Cyclists (CVC) will host Ride For A Cause on Saturday, September 23 to support IHOPE. IHOPE is the local chapter of AMBUCS, a national nonprofit charitable organization with the mission of creating mobility and independence for people with a disability. IHOPE stands for Iowans Helping Others Participate Everyday. IHOPE focuses specifically on the AmTrykes program of AMBUCS which helps provide adaptive tricycles for children and adults that can be individualized to meet the needs of almost any rider.

There are currently five local children on the IHOPE wish list waiting for their very own AmTryke.

Proceeds from Ride For A Cause will go towards the purchase of an AmTryke for one or more of these children and Cedar Valley Cyclists will match all funds raised up to $1000.

The ride will begin at Key West Fitness, 2325 Crossroads Blvd., in Waterloo. Registration begins at 9:30am and the ride leaves at 10:00am. Riders can collect punches at local Waterloo stops along the route (Briqhouse Bar & Grill, Jameson’s Public House, SingleSpeed Brewing, Smitty’s Bar, and Waterloo Bicycle Works). The first 30 people to register will receive a free gift from CVC and there will be a prize drawing at 2:00pm at Waterloo Bicycle Works.

All abilities of riders are welcome. The route is 20-25 miles total on paved Waterloo bike trails. The event will occur rain or shine. Helmets are required. Registration is $25 for CVC members and $30 for non-members. For more information, contact Eric Penning, president, Cedar Valley Cyclists, at 319-239-1208 or eric@ridecvc.org.