The Channel

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met May 1 at 6 p.m. in the AEA 267 Conference Center for their regular meeting. During the meeting, the board:

• Heard a program review regarding the Special Education Compliance process presented by Justin Stockdale, Dennis Sinclair and Greg Koppes.

• Approved a resolution to participate in the Iowa School Cash Anticipation Program (ISCAP).

• Approved an agreement between River Hills School and the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing (IAEP) for meal arrangements.

• Approved a cooperative agreement for pre-service clinical placement with the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).

• Approved membership with the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) for 2013-14.

• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

United Way’s focus is on education, income and health—the building blocks for a good quality of life. We recruit people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done in our community. It takes a village to strengthen a community—to make sure everyone receives a quality education, can meet their basic needs and has the tools needed to build a financially stable future. One person or agency can’t do it alone.

Your gifts, along with your friends and neighbors’ gifts, are making a real impact. In the last six months, you helped a child with previously undiagnosed heart problems get care. You provided a pregnant teenager counseling and support as she placed her newborn baby up for adoption. You helped first grade students read better. You provided nutritious meals for thousands in the Cedar Valley. You helped a young man stay clean and sober, get a part-time job and enroll in college. You helped a family overcome the loss of their home by fire. You helped moms and dads become better, more engaged parents. You provided transportation to doctors’ appointments. You gave a second grade girl the strength to speak up and tell someone she and her sister were sexually abused. You fixed a senior citizen’s wheelchair. These are just a few of the people YOU helped in the last six months.

Please help by giving to United Way. You can do so online with your local United Way. There you will also be able to find information on your local United Way and its funded partners and programs, as well as other ways you can be involved in making your community stronger.

Cedar Valley United Way: www.cedarvalleyunitedway.org
Marshalltown United Way: www.unitedwaymarshalltown.org
United Way of North Central Iowa (Mason City): www.unitedwaynci.org
Waverly-Shell Rock Area United Way: www.wsrunitedway.org

As you learned in an article in last month’s Intersections, the agency Continuous Improvement Team (CIT) has been voluntarily working through the phases of the Schools in Need of Assistance (SINA) process. The result of this work has been the development of action plans to address each of three priority areas identified. Action plans have been completed and recently peer reviewed by the Continuous Improvement Team.

Please take some time to watch each of the screencasts below to learn more about the three action plans developed. Share your comments or ideas directly in the “Leave a Comment” section of this post.

Early Literacy and Numeracy: (presented by Barb Shafer)

Learning Supports: (presented by Jay Colsch)

Implementation: (presented by Jackie Gray)

Further details regarding the Continuous Improvement Team SINA process are available on our website.

For more information, contact Dr. Jon McKenzie.

Please take time to review the AEA 267 Culture/Climate action plan. Share your thoughts and ideas via the “Leave a Reply” section of this post!

Please be sure that in setting your summer calendar, you are making plans now to attend your sector’s August meeting. As a reminder, these meetings will be devoted both to sector-related business as well as agency updates. All meetings will be held from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Dr. Anne Sullivan

Governor Terry Branstad has appointed Dr. Anne Sullivan, Area Education Agency 267 Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Human Resources and Andy Pattee, Superintendent of Charles City Community School District, to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) works to establish and enforce rigorous standards for Iowa educational practitioners  to effectively address the needs of students. The Board develops rules for educator licensure that maintain high standards, are research-based and provide flexibility in attainment.

Congratulations to both Dr. Sullivan and Mr. Pattee for this prestigious honor!

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met April 3 at 6 p.m. in the AEA 267 Conference Center for their regular meeting. During the meeting, the board:

• Heard a program review regarding the Schools in Need of Assistance (SINA) process at AEA 267.
• Approved and authorized AEA 267 Administration to purchase computers for the 2013-14 school year.
• Accepted the quote and approved the purchase of a phone system for AEA 267 Cedar Falls campus.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies have pooled resources to create an app that includes directory information for all of Iowa’s schools and AEAs. (Think of this as our Educational Directory in app form.) This free download is available in the iTunes Store or the App Store by searching for Iowa AEA. The search will also locate the AEA Legislative Guide, which is free and can be downloaded for personal use and shared with those who may wish to advocate on our behalf.

Please be aware that we are still working out some bugs and cleaning up data in the program. However, the app is operational, functional and ready for you to take for a test drive. Your feedback about either app is appreciated and can be shared with Beth Strike.

The annual AEA/DE Customer Feedback Survey, which provides educators we serve with an opportunity to share feedback about our services, launched on Monday, March 4. Traditionally, our agency has enjoyed an enviable return rate on the survey (typically around 40%), which makes the data very useful.

Please encourage teachers and school administrators you work with to respond to the survey, which will close on Friday, April 5. (As a reminder, AEA staff members are not eligible to take the survey.)

As you may be aware, over the past several months, AEA 267 has been involved in conversations with each of the school boards of the “resident” school districts where we operate special schools on their behalf. (Specifically, we are operating Castle Hill School on behalf of Waterloo CSD; River Hills School on behalf of the Cedar Falls CSD; Bremwood School on behalf of Waverly CSD; Four Oaks Schools on behalf of Mason City CSD; and the Learning Center on behalf of Clear Lake CSD.) Last summer, AEA 267 and these districts learned that changes at the federal level required that the school districts either formally contract with the agency to operate the schools or make a decision to take ownership of the programming independently. Last year, every school elected to continue to contract with AEA 267, but as part of that agreement each school district had until March 1 to make a final decision about next year’s programming.

This past week we learned about two significant changes:

The Waterloo CSD has made a decision to assume the programming for the Castle Hill School. Thus, the school will close effective at the end of this school year. Students from Waterloo CSD who attended this program will receive services and programming from Waterloo CSD at sites within the district while students attending Castle Hill School from surrounding school districts will have an opportunity to take advantage of extended programming at the Bremwood School. Our AEA 267 staff members who have worked at Castle Hill will have an opportunity to apply for open positions with Waterloo CSD or potentially work in other AEA 267 program sites; however, change is unavoidable. Staff members are to be applauded for the grace and professionalism with which they have handled this challenging situation. It is evident through comments from parents that the AEA 267 staff who have worked in this program are highly respected and appreciated.

Secondly, some changes are on the horizon for the Four Oaks program. Mason City CSD will assume some elements of the program including transportation and “specials” instruction such as art and physical education. This change will impact those staff members who have provided these services in the past and individual conversations are taking place regarding next steps. The remainder of the Four Oaks programming will remain somewhat the same as in years past.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in this process including both union groups (Communication Workers of America and the AEA 267 Education Association), staff, administrators, and the news media for their patience, respect and desire to ensure that partnerships with our local school districts remained at the fore of these important decisions.

Let’s hope that the old saying that when March “comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb” is true! The past two weeks have brought significant snowfall, ice, wind, and fog causing multiple cancellations of professional development opportunities and even some office closures. Recently, some cell phone users have experienced delays in receiving the text messages shared via Iowa School Alerts. U.S. Cellular customers have been especially impacted by the delays. If you are experiencing delays in receiving messages, please contact your cell service provider. Delays are typically not the fault of the Iowa School Alerts system but have to do with how individual service providers handle and relay the messages.

Iowa is making a renewed commitment to promote early literacy results across the state.  This issue has generated much support and interest from a cross-section of education stakeholders, including the Governor’s office, the Legislature, the Iowa Department of Education, community groups and businesses, higher education, Area Education Agencies (AEAs) and schools.

Over the next few years, stakeholders from across the system will work together to support implementation of the most effective early literacy practices in all Iowa schools.  To this end, the Department, AEAs, and schools have formed a collaborative to support and scale up the implementation of evidence-based early literacy practices across the state.  As part of this collaboration, high-quality tools, resources, and supports will be identified and made available to Iowa schools and teachers.

Read the entire letter from David Tilly, Deputy Director of the Iowa Department of Education here.