The Channel

Did you know that as an AEA 267 employee you are eligible for discounts through the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC)? Discount products include cellular phone plans, digital cameras and camcorders, health and wellness, office supplies, software and technology. For more information, contact Jamie Albertsen, jalbertsen@iec-ia.org or 800-255-0405, ext. 12346.

In an effort to keep all Area Education Agency employees and board members informed of statewide initiatives and matters of importance, a new electronic AEA newsletter, The AEA Advocate, has been developed by the AEA Communications Committee for distribution to all AEA staff on a monthly basis. The most recent issue of the newsletter can be viewed here while the January edition will be sent directly to your email in box.

The AEA Communications Committee is very interested in your feedback about this first issue along with your suggestions for information that you would like to see provided in future editions. Please feel free to comment on this post and/or share your feedback with Beth Strike.

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 Wednesday, December 24 and will reopen on Monday, January 5, 2015.  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 Wednesday, December 24 through January 4 and will respond to your email upon my return. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday!”

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

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met Wednesday, December 10 at 5 p.m. via conference call from the AEA 267 Cedar Falls Administrative Building. During the meeting, the board:

• Approved a first reading of the following board policies:
  • 401.27R1 – Employee Use of Cell Phones & Other Communication Devices Regulations
  • 401.27R2 – Agency Cell Phone & Reimbursement Procedures/Request Form
  • 405.1 – Sick Leave
  • 405.3 – Bereavement Leave
  • 405.4 – Medical Emergency Leave
  • 405.7 – Jury Duty
  • 405.8 – Personal Leave
• Accepted a donation to the agency of a Zippie Wheelchair
• Voted to elect James Green of Grant Wood AEA to represent Iowa’s AEAs on the Iowa Association of School Boards
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members

The AEA 267 Foundation meeting was held immediately following the regular board meeting.

Watch your van mail during the week of November 16-22 for a special token of the agency’s appreciation for all you do on behalf of children, families and educators! Your efforts to help all students reach their greatest potential are truly remarkable. While we wish we could do more to show our gratitude, we hope you will enjoy the special treat coming your way nonetheless. Many thanks to Wells Fargo for underwriting the costs of this effort.

One of the new laws created during the 2014 legislative session focused on dyslexia. The legislation defined this as an educational diagnosis and so it was added to Iowa Education Code. Dyslexia is defined as “a specific and significant impairment in the development of reading, including but not limited to phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension that is not solely accounted for by intellectual disability, sensory disability or impairment or lack of appropriate instruction.”

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies created these resources for school leaders:

• Details of the dyslexia legislation and how Iowa’s AEAs support struggling readers;
• Learn more about dyslexia; and
• Early Literacy Guidance Dyslexia Checklist – resources and talking points.

At AEA 267, Dr. Carol Sensor and Kim Swartz have been designated as your resources when you receive a request for support for a student struggling with dyslexia. Please contact either Carol or Kim to discuss the request so that together you can decide how best to respond.

Do you lead or facilitate an internal meeting? Last month, the all-agency Leadership Team approved an official Meeting Agenda & Minutes template for use agency-wide. Please use this template for building agendas and maintaining minutes whenever you work with an AEA 267 team. Simply click “use this template” and Google will make a copy of the template and place it in your Google Drive. From there, you can rename it and begin making changes for your specific group. (Tips: 1. Choose a logical naming protocol such as “Special Education Administrators” vs. “Agenda” when renaming your document; and 2. If you have not used the bookmark function in Google, you may want to contact  Beth Strike for help.)

A critically important aspect of the template is the column related to communicating the decisions made during the meeting. Please do not shortchange this step as you facilitate meetings! Feel free to rate the template or email Beth with your feedback!

The state has launched a new website, IowaCore.gov, to help teachers across the state put the standards into practice in their classrooms and to help increase public understanding of our statewide academic standards.

Please take time to explore the new website, which includes:

• The Iowa Core standards in a format that is searchable by grade level (K-12) and subject (mathematics, science, social studies, English language arts and 21st century skills, such as financial literacy).

• A collection of optional education resources that teachers may use to implement the Iowa Core. More than 8,000 resources are available at no charge in a central, searchable online location called IowaLearns.org, which is accessible through IowaCore.gov. The materials are adaptable to fit the individual needs of local classrooms.

• Parent guides to the Iowa Core that parents and other Iowans can use to understand what the Iowa Core is, what students are expected to know and how parents can help at home. The guides were developed in partnership with the National PTA and Iowa teachers.

November is upon us and that means that the potential for severe winter weather is increasing. Please be sure that you have taken time to thoroughly review the information on the inclement weather page of our staff website. (Use your email login and password to gain access.) This page provides all of the details you will need to learn about professional learning cancellations and office closures as well as updated procedures and answers to your most frequently asked questions about weather-related travel. If you have questions after reviewing this information, please visit with your supervisor. Stay safe and please exercise good personal judgement at all times!

Sector meeting dates for next year are now set. Please mark your calendar now for the appropriate meeting date for your sector and plan to attend!

• Instructional Programs: August 10, 2015 (location to be announced)
• NE Sector: August 11, 2015 (AEA 267 Cedar Falls Office)
• East Sector: August 12, 2015 (AEA 267 Cedar Falls Office)
• South Sector: August 13, 2015 (AEA 267 Marshalltown Office)
• NW Sector: August 14, 2015 (AEA 267 Clear Lake Office)