The Channel

Charles Vaughn, who has served the AEA system as a board member since 1999, has retired from the board. Charles was a tireless supporter of staff, educators and most of all, children.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met on Wednesday, September 5 at the AEA 267 Cedar Falls Conference Center. During the meeting, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda
• Heard a program review by Dennis Scudder, Director of Finance regarding the Certified Annual Report and agency finances.
• Approved all contracts and agreements. (See the official “board book” for specific details.)
• Made the following appointments: Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson to the IEC Board of Directors; Dr. Debra Rich, IEC Management Committee; Dr. Roark Horn, IEC Management Committee and IAEP Executive Committee; Jerry Schnabel, IEC Operations Committee and Oversight Committee.
• Accepted the Excellence in Education Enrichment Grant from the R.J. McElroy Trust.
• Accepted the resignation of longtime board member Charles Vaughn.
• Held a public hearing to review Internet Policy/Regulation 101.4R2 and approve Acceptable Use Policy.

Did that headline catch your attention? Many of us have laughed over the years about the lack of understanding people still have about what the AEA system is and does. We have been confused with many groups–including “AA” or Alcoholics Anonymous”. The next time someone asks you, “what’s an AEA?” here are some helpful words to use in your response!

Congress enacted the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) in 1974, and Iowa developed Area Education Agencies (AEAs) to provide support services required by the act. Though 75 percent of the AEA budget is tied to special education, the Iowa legislature assigned many other responsibilities to the AEA to provide support to schools. Some of the most frequently used of these services include:

• Media (books, videos, on-line Websites and curriculum materials)
• Professional Development
• Technology (email and access to the Internet)

The AEA system assures families that each child will receive quality educational services and materials regardless of where they live – in a large district or a small one.

The AEA provides specialists who work in the schools in support of teachers and students. These special roles include, but are not limited to:

• Speech-language pathologists
• School Social workers
• Physical and occupational therapists
• School psychologists
• Audiologists
• Special Education Consultants

In smaller districts, the student caseload may require less than a full-time person. AEAs hire these specialists and provide these services to multiple schools and districts.

In larger districts, the AEA provides many behind-the-scene services in addition to providing these same services. The AEA helps districts meet the requirements of public mandates such as No Child Left Behind, the Individuals with Disability Education Act, Common Core, and the Iowa Teacher Quality Initiative.

Currently, Iowa is divided into nine service areas with each one served by an AEA. All public and accredited nonpublic schools receive AEA support services. State law also requires the AEAs to provide services to parents home-schooling their children.

Iowa’s AEAs are impacting lives. Visit http://aeas4iowa.wordpress.com/ to read the “Impacting Lives” blog newsletter, which is a statewide effort to communicate AEA success stories and services across the state. If you have a story to share, contact Beth Strike, Site Superintendent/Director of Communications or Lori Thomas, Secretary to Site Superintendent/Director of Communications.

As part of overall efforts to update the agency’s Emergency Response Plan, fire and disaster drills will be conducted on each of the agency’s main campuses (Clear Lake, Marshalltown and Cedar Falls) sometime between September 11-18. Please consult the Emergency Response Plan so that you are prepared to act if you are in one of the impacted buildings when a drill is conducted. (Special schools conduct their own drills and are not included in these plans.)

September is National Emergency Preparedness month. Plan ahead today to ensure you are prepared in a crisis situation!

The popularity of Google Sites has lead to an increase in sites authored by AEA 267 staff. The agency now has approved AEA 267 Google Sites Guidelines to ensure the appropriate use of this great tool both internally and with those we serve. Please review the guidelines and ensure that you understand them if you are a Google Sites user. Questions? Please contact Deb Versteeg, Digital Teaching and Learning Coordinator.

Please make special note to let Gus Delamore, Lead Maintenance, and Dyan Johnson, HR Secretary/Central Services Receptionist, know if you are cancelling a room you had previously reserved on the AEA 267 Cedar Falls campus, if the cancellation is within three days of the event. This will help to avoid unnecessary room setup and preserve the efforts of our custodial staff.

Copyright has become an important topic in recent years–especially for educators! A helpful guidebook has been created with answers to your most frequent questions.

As the date of our all-staff kick-off meeting quickly approaches, please be aware of some final details to ensure a successful day. We are looking forward to seeing you!

• Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Coffee, water and light snacks will be available in the lobby. Lunch will be provided.
• Parking at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on the UNI campus is limited. Please reference the information on parking before venturing to Cedar Falls. (Watch for signs!)
• Those that signed up for agency-sponsored transportation have been notified via email regarding departure times and locations. Please check your email if this applies to you. The transportation sign-up is now closed.
• Dress for the day is professional casual. Please note that the building is sometimes chilly so please dress accordingly!
• The agenda for the day includes keynote speakers from members of Administrative Cabinet, Ron Steele (KWWL-Channel 7) and Dr. Jason Glass (Iowa Department of Education). We will end promptly at 3 p.m.
• Please come with an open mind, positive attitude for learning and patience as we work together to make the day a success!

An updated AEA 267 Director District map was approved by the AEA 267 Board of Directors this month.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met at 6 p.m. on August 1, 2012 at the AEA 267 Cedar Falls Conference Center.  During the meeting, the board:

• Heard a program review from Dr. Jon McKenzie regarding EdInsight, a web-based statewide educational data warehouse that gives educators consistent, reliable and accurate quality data about Iowa education.
• Approved the mileage rate at $.37/mile for 2012-13.
• Approved purchase of a financial and human resources software, which will give staff members 24/7 access to human resources records, leave data, pay stubs, and other information beginning July 1, 2013.
• Approved a contract with Pruckler Physical Therapy.
• Approved the 2012-13 transportation contract with EPI/Northland Regional Transit.
• Renewed an agreement with Eldora-New Providence Schools for 2012-13.
• Approved the E-Rate management proposal for 2012-13 with Let Me Help You with That, LLC.
• Took action to close the AEA 267 Hampton office effective July 1, 2013.
• Approved agreements with Statewide System for Vision Services.
• Approved a revised Director District map.
• Approved a contract extension for Dr. Roark Horn to run from 2013 through 2016. Roark is in his last year of his current three-year contract.

Effective July 1, 2012, there will no longer be morning snacks and/or candy provided by AEA 267 for professional development offerings and/or meetings.  The cost of morning snacks and candy have been a tremendous expense which the agency can no longer afford to offer.  Vending machines will be available for purchase of snack items.

Instructors may request coffee and/or water by completing the Food Request form. If a light lunch is to be provided, the cost of the lunch will be included within participant registration.  Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions – Food Requests for further clarification or feel free to contact the AEA 267 Professional Development department, Jackie Gray.

A change in how mileage start points are calculated should ensure fair reimbursement for professional travel for staff in light of some new assignments. The contract states that the distance from an employee’s home to “the nearest assigned place of employment” is the mileage subtraction for determining mileage reimbursement. This week in Administrative Cabinet, the group made a decision to interpret “nearest assigned place of employment” as one of the following, whichever is the most advantageous for staff:

1. The distance from home to the current assigned office; or
2. The distance from home to the mileage start point from last year; or
3. The distance from home to a building in a current assigned district.

Every employee will have the same mileage subtraction or less than last year. Every day the subtraction will be the same most advantageous subtraction regardless of whether you are heading to that site or not.

All mileage and expenses for July 1, 2011 thru June 30, 2012 must be submitted to the Business Office by Friday, July 5 to be paid on the July 13 mileage check.  Please contact Cindy Fry at 319- 268-7612 in the Business Office with any questions.

Summer has arrived and with the warm weather comes new office hours.  Beginning Monday, June 11, AEA 267 hours will be 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  These hours will stay in effect through August 10.  Enjoy your summer!