The Channel

Ella Mae Gogel, a longtime board member of AEA 7 and later AEA 267, passed away on Monday, May 31 at the age of 82. Ella Mae was one of the original board members of AEA 7 when it was formed in 1975. She served AEA 7 and AEA 267 as a board member until her retirement from the board in April of 2008. Ella Mae worked tirelessly throughout her career as an advocate for all students–including those who were talented and gifted as well as those with special needs. She volunteered countless hours of service to a variety of causes in the Cedar Valley and was a well-known figure at both state and national conferences.  Services will be June 26 at 2:30 pm at St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center, 1019 West 23rd Street, Cedar Falls.

The June 7 Waterloo Courier featured a special tribute to Ella Mae. Read it here.

Greg Ehrig and Laurie Hayzlett are two AEA 267 staff members known to be riding in RAGBRAI this year. Are you? If so, let your colleagues know by posting a comment to this post so that they can support you! While the effort is informal and done on personal time, some staff members in InfoTech are already planning to cheer Ehrig and Hayzlett on along the RAGBRAI route. They invite everyone to get into the spirit and support our biking colleagues!

Get RAGBRAI route information and more here!

Summer hours officially began on Monday, June 7. Office hours will run from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Summer hours end Friday, August 13.

Are you retiring or resigning the end of this month? Please turn in all professional materials and AEA 267 owned equipment to your immediate supervisor before you go.

All mileage and expenses for July 1, 2009 thru June 30, 2010 must be submitted to the Business Office by Friday, July 2 to be paid on the July 15 mileage check.  This will be the final scheduled mileage check run for the 2009-10 fiscal year.  Please contact Kelly Johnson 319-268-7612 or Angela Graves 319-268-7633  in the Business Office with any questions.

Congratulations to Belmond-Klemme teacher, Don Dye, who has been voted “Top Teacher” on Live with Regis & Kelly! Don was chosen from a pool of five finalists for the honor which includes a $20,000 gift certificate from Staples for his school and a 2011 Ford Mustang convertible. Watch Don’s reaction as he learns he has won. We are proud of you!

Ninety-one percent of educators who responded to the 2010 Iowa Department of Education survey say that Area Education Agency 267 (AEA 267) services meet their professional needs. The survey, which has 13 basic questions about AEA services, yielded nearly 1,880 responses or about 37.6 % of the educators served by the agency.

Other results include:

• 85% of educators say that AEA 267 staff maintain good working relationships with them
• 85% of educators indicate that AEA 267 staff have the knowledge and skills needed to have a positive impact on their school
• 85% of educators say that AEA services have assisted in improving their classroom instruction and/or job-related practices
• 80% of educators believe AEA 267 is responsive to their local student learning needs
• 80% of educators indicate that AEA 267 delivers current and timely services.

“In the midst of an economically-challenged time for both the schools we serve and our agency, our staff are unwavering in their commitment to excellence,” said Dr. Dean Meier, chief administrator. “I continue to be incredibly proud of our staff members and the quality work they do.”

The 2010 Customer Feedback Survey data will be analyzed in a variety of ways including by district, sector, and educator group. Areas for growth and improvement will be identified and discussed as part of the agency’s overall action plan.

The Iowa Department of Education AEA customer feedback survey is administered to all Iowa educators annually.

Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are celebrating 35 years of service to children, families, educators, and communities. In 1974, the passage of Senate File 1163 established 15 area education agencies (AEAs) with the same service areas as community colleges. The AEAs began operation on July 1, 1975. Area Education Agency 267 will honor 17 staff members who have been with the AEA system all 35 years at each of our retirement celebrations:

• Becky Anderson
• Joanne Broadston
• Janice Dykstra
• Catherine Edwards
• Dennis Ford
• Carol Hunchis
• Bruce Jensen
• David Kobes
• Marjorie Krull
• Linda Martin
• Judy Moser
• Georgine Myles
• Mary Nichols
• Rick Pearce
• Dennis Sinclair
• Christy Schmitt
• Kathleen Walker

Through voluntary mergers in recent years, Iowa’s AEAs currently total 10, and will become a total of nine with the merger of Green Valley and Loess Hills AEAs on July 1, 2010.

With the establishment of the area education agency system, Iowa became a national leader in providing regional, intermediate educational services. The Iowa system continues to be among the most comprehensive and highly respected in the country. Over the years, various legislative initiatives have added new and changing roles for AEAs. In 1996, the legislature approved an accreditation process under which AEAs must demonstrate they meet the standards as defined by the Iowa Department of Education. The scope of services of Iowa’s area education agencies expanded to include, “leadership and services in school improvement to schools and school districts so every learner may perform at higher education levels.”

Iowa AEAs are supporting the Iowa Department of Education and local school districts with implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum.

Congratulations to the AEA system and our 35-year employees for establishing a legacy of service and excellence that will live on for years to come!

Final details are being handled for the upcoming spring retirement open houses. Please make plans to attend to honor our retiring colleagues. Below please find a list of those retiring who will be honored at each open house.

May 18–AEA 267 Cedar Falls Conference Center: Mary Bing, Cindy Brown, Claudette Butler, Beth Cole, Stan Hanus, Marjorie Krull, Jean Meehan, Ramona Moeller, Michele Murphy, Oletha O’Donnell, Terry Reed, Dr. Dean Meier and Dr. Ralph Bartelt.

May 19–AEA 267 Clear Lake Office: Joanne Blake, Louise Cameron, Robert Coates, David Kisilewski, Sandy Klaudt, Brenda McKee, Liz Wenger and Chris White. Dr. Dean Meier will also be honored.

May 20–AEA 267 Marshalltown Office: Damon Lamb and Beverly Spence. Dr. Dean Meier will also be honored.

All open houses will be held from 3:30-5 p.m.

Last month we shared with you that AEA 267 is now communicating to our constituents via Facebook and Twitter.  Many of you are becoming “fans” and “followers” and we want to share some important information with you to help you avoid time-consuming repairs to your computers.

Facebook, a popular social networking tool, is becoming more prevalent as it is used by businesses and education agencies to advertise their services. Because staff may be accessing Facebook from agency computers, it is important that you are familiar with basic security concerns surrounding this site.  While Facebook itself is not problematic, certain links and applications that work along with the site can infect your computer with malware (spyware) and/or viruses.

Consider the following when accessing Facebook from your computer:

• Be cautious of suspicious messages or links posted to your wall which ask things such as “Have you seen this video?” or “Is this you in this photo?” If you click such a link, you run the risk of your computer being infected by malware or a virus.
• Be wary of clicking on a link in Facebook and downloading software. One computer worm, “Koobface”, spreads by delivering Facebook messages to people who are ‘friends’ of a Facebook user whose computer has already been infected. Upon receipt, the message directs the recipients to a third-party website, where they are prompted to download what is purported to be an update of the Adobe Flash player.
• Be wary of advertisements listed within Facebook.  While you may assume them to be harmless, some contain malicious links.  Others may launch pop-ups, which indicate your computer is infected with a virus, asking you to download software to remove the virus.  Unfortunately, the end user ends up downloading something infected with malware or a virus instead of the helpful software it claims to be.
• Installing non-Facebook games, quizzes and utilities can also place malware and/or viruses on your computer.  The basic Facebook interface is said to be safe but third-party options are not and can cause you and your computer grief.

From a related security standpoint:

• Be sure you are not opening your account to people you do not actually know.  Hackers create fake profiles, which can be used to access your account.
• Be mindful of security settings for your account.  Leaving your account wide-open in regard to privacy settings can leave you open to cyber-stalkers or others, which you may not wish to have access your information.
• Think before posting certain information such as the fact that you may be out of town or away from home for a certain period of time.  While your friends may be interested to know you are on vacation, there are others who may be very interested to learn you are away from your home.
• Remember, any information you post online is accessible and can be accessed in one way or another.  Even if your privacy settings are secure, data that you post can still be shared by word-of-mouth.
• While the agency does provide some of the best anti-virus and malware software, in some cases it can only catch the virus after it infects your computer.  Infected machines need to be cleaned immediately and this may result in time away from your computer while the infection is removed.

To ensure that you do not end up with an infected machine, please be mindful of computer security when accessing any sort of social networking site or publicly available online tools.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met May 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the SCMT High School Media Center in Sheffield for their regular meeting. The board met in Sheffield to facilitate a public hearing of the proposed reorganization of the SCMT and Rockwell-Swaledale school districts (now whole grade sharing as “West Fork Schools”).

During the meeting, the board:

• Accepted with regret the retirement of Joan Lentz, Speech-Language Pathologist (Cedar Falls), effective January 5, 2011.
• Accepted with regret the resignations of Deb Zebill, Special Education Consultant (Sector 3), Emily Lucas, Teacher of Multi Disabilities/Special Class with Integration (Waverly-Shell Rock Jr. High), Janeal Lyons, Teacher of Multi Disabilities (Dysart Elementary) and John McEwan, Teacher of Mental Disabilities (Mason City High School), all resigning effective end of the 2009-10 school year.
• Approved Chief Administrator’s recommendations to terminate licensed staff contracts (due to staff reduction needs).
• Approved renewal of instructional coaching contracts with AEA 267 districts using remaining ARRA funds.
• Renewed one-year extension on the lease with North Iowa Community Action Organization for Charles City sector office.
• Approved an agreement with Jester Insurance for Agent of Record agreement for AEA 267’s Workman’s Comprehensive Insurance Program.
• Approved the EMC Insurance Program for 2010-2011.
• Approved the contract amendment with FMC Decat for Coordination Services.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

At  7:00 p.m. the board members attended the public hearing on SCMT and Rockwell-Swaledale Reorganization.

School Board Recognition Week is May 9-15, 2010. Our agency Board of Directors and the board members of the local school districts in our area volunteer countless hours of their time each year to serve their communities and schools. Please consider sending a note of thanks to the quality people who serve on the AEA 267 Board of Directors. (Click on the link to access email and home addresses of board members.) With two administrative searches and a variety of other board obligations, this year our AEA 267 board members have truly gone way above and beyond!

Do you love coming to work and getting home a little earlier? Summer hours are just around the corner! The official start to summer hours will be Monday, June 7 and last through August 13. Summer hours will again be 7:30 a.m. through 4 p.m.

Sherry Becker, administrator at North Iowa Vocational Center Services, and Beth Petersen, special education instructor at Rudd, Rockford, Marble Rock Community Schools have been selected as recipients of Arc of Iowa Awards for 2010.

Becker will receive the Administrator of the Year Award, and Petersen, the Educator of the Year award for the state. The awards will be presented at the 57th annual Conference of the Arc of Iowa, May 13-14, at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center in Cedar Falls.

As administrator, Becker supervises a staff of 42 people that teach, train and then find and provide meaningful employment  for over 340 clients a year, with disabilities and employment barriers in North Iowa.

Petersen is described as an outstanding teacher who brings real world experiences to her classroom, and is a tireless advocate for her students’ success in school and in life.

Congratulations Sherry and Beth!