The Channel

If you are new to Central Rivers AEA or need new CRAEA-branded clothing added to your closet, we have a branded clothing storefront through Iowa Sports Supply. Browse the store and check out all of the items that are available for purchase! For more information, check out the storefront page on our staff website.

The 2023 All-Staff Kickoff Meeting will be held at the Cedar Falls office on Friday, August 18, beginning at 9:00 am (please consider arriving before to enjoy social time, purchase a smoothie bowl and find your seat in time for kick-off)! This is going to be a wonderful opportunity to get to know our new Chief Administrator Joel Pedersen and connect with your various teams and colleagues!

This year’s theme is, Let’s Partner Together to Tell Our Story. Did you know that we are going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of Iowa AEAs? For nearly 50 years, agencies have been providing services for children, families and educators! As part of our advocacy work this coming year, we are going to be finding some of those students, families and educators we have helped over the past 50 years and celebrate the partnerships we’ve created to ensure student success. We cannot share these stories without you! Check out our CRAEA student success story page on the staff website for details and a Google Form to submit an alumni story.

Some important details:

• From 7:30-9:00 am, Big Açaí will be offering a variety of delicious bowls and smoothies for individual sale in Central Perk.
• A wide assortment of sandwiches, chips and cookies will be provided for lunch. If you have dietary restrictions (gluten-free or vegetarian), please contact Lori Thomas, Executive Assistant by August 11 to ensure lunch is set aside for you at the front desk.  
• The meeting agenda and room locations for the afternoon sector and discipline meetings will be available on the morning of the meeting.
• Just for fun, from 1-3 pm, Cedar Valley Pitbull Rescue will be outside the main entrance with a couple of their foster dogs. Take a break from your meeting and de-stress with some sweet dogs! Cash or online donations are much appreciated for this organization – check out the flyer for more details.
• The quick links document is now available for all staff to view. Important resources and links that will be needed for the day can be viewed at any time.
• The day wraps up at 3:00 pm after the sector and discipline team meetings. 
• Support staff that are not assigned to a sector or discipline will be able to return to their offices after enjoying lunch. 

We look forward to seeing everyone on August 18 and kicking off another great year at Central Rivers AEA!

Beginning July 1, 2023, HF 672 will eliminate renewal credit requirements for licensed educators who have completed a master’s degree or higher and have at least 10 years of licensed experience in education. Requirements for eligibility can be found below.

• Completed a master’s degree or higher.
• Served at least 10 years in education.
  • Any PK-12 education experience in which a BoEE license is required.
  • Can also include out-of-state or out-of-country education experience.
  • Education experience does not need to be after a higher degree has been earned.

• Requirements at the time of application for renewal:
  • Valid Mandatory Reporter for Child Abuse and Dependent Adult Abuse certificates.
  • Verification of degree. (official transcripts from college/university).
  • Verification of 10 years or more of education (letters on school letterhead from current/previous school districts).
  • Administrators and evaluators will also need to include verification of Evaluator Training less than 10 years old.

Use the following link to log into the BOEE system: https://boee.force.com/s/login. Directions can be found below:

1. Start a “New Application.”
2. Choose “Renew Existing License.”
3. Select your Master Educator license and then select “Renew License or Authorization – Advanced Degree and 10 Years Experience.”

Check out the new, refreshed Central Rivers AEA public website! If your team has pages or information that needs further editing, please reach out to Phil Hendricks or Contessa Van Buskirk for support. There will be a fall training for all designated site authors/editors to learn WordPress block editor. More information is coming soon.

As we enter the month of August, we wanted to send a reminder that all staff must complete the mandatory AEA-required trainings. Certified staff are allowed to use one of your 2023-2024 contract days to complete the training. Simply indicate on your Google calendar, “AEA Mandatory Training Day.”

Please note, the following courses are no longer available so you can disregard any reminders you receive from the AEA Learning Online system:

• R2L: Health & Safety for Teachers & Staff 

• R2L: Health and Safety – District Leadership Teams

If you have any questions, contact Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of HR.

The employee cell phone reimbursement is for the necessary use of a personal cell phone in order to perform the responsibilities of the employee’s position, per Central Rivers AEA Board Policies 401.27R1 and 401.27R2. Staff approved for reimbursement will receive up to $120 annually and have their personal cell phone number listed in the Central Rivers AEA cell phone directory, which is published only on the internal staff website.

Apply for reimbursement by submitting the 2023-2024 Cell Phone Reimbursement Form before September 8, with all requests subject to the approval of the AEA Regional Administrator and Executive Director. Payment will be made on September 20. Changes to a staff member’s phone number must be promptly reported to Laura Rinnels at 641-329-4244.

New employees hired after the start of the year have 30 days from the date of hire to submit a request for reimbursement for a prorated amount. Mid-year separation from the Agency will result in a payroll deduction from the employee’s final pay for the unearned portion of the reimbursement ($10/month).

Central Rivers AEA is offering adult first aid/cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/automated external defibrillator (AED) training at each of our offices at no charge to the first 19 Central Rivers AEA employees who submit a PD request and register for the training. Space is limited to 12 participants per location and open to those outside Central Rivers AEA. The training will be held from 8:30 am – 1:30 pm on September 29 at the Cedar Falls office.

Check out the Adult First Aid CPR AED Training flyer for more information.

Welcome back to a new school year! Did you move over the summer? Admin assistants/HR would like to remind everyone to update their information! Please go into Web Link and update the following:

• Telephone Number
• Van Mail Delivery Location (this is very important; you can receive van mail in a location of your choice – meaning a school you serve or one of the AEA offices).

Contact your administrative assistant to help with any of these changes.

As a reminder for those new to the agency, Central Rivers AEA has three primary communication channels used to reach staff with agency news, decisions and relevant resources. The three major channels we use frequently are:

The Channel: a monthly blog designed to keep staff informed about all major internal news.

• How do I access The Channel? – the front page of the staff website (note that you will need to login to access the staff website) or access it via the Employee Dashboard.
• Who is The Channel for? – All Central Rivers AEA staff; typically sent electronically on behalf of the Chief Administrator 1-2 days following the monthly board meeting.

The Stream: a monthly blog used to keep regional staff updated on initiatives, deadlines and opportunities.

• How do I access The Stream? – the front page of the staff website (note that you will need to login to access the staff website) or access it via the Employee Dashboard.
• Who is The Stream for? – All staff serving schools as part of a Region; typically sent out twice a month.

Agency Staff Website: an internal website used to archive timely and relevant resources to enhance productivity and communication.

• How do I access the Agency Staff Website (Staff Intranet)? Bookmark the staff website on your browser or access it via the Employee Dashboard.
• Who is the Agency Staff Website for? – All Central Rivers AEA staff

To better serve you, we are using a new room reservation system! The easiest way to access it is through Classlink, but it can also be accessed via https://rooms.centralriversaea.org/.

All previous events have been moved over. As part of this new system, if you are the event organizer, you will receive a calendar event invite. Please accept this invite as a reminder of the upcoming event. Please note, if you decline or delete an event from your calendar, it does not delete the event reservation. All modifications to the event should happen in the system.

You will receive a reminder to confirm your event 10 days before the date it takes place on. This is your opportunity to make changes and or remove the event if it’s no longer needed. 

If you need a room or space to work in and would like to use one of the rooms that are part of the reservation system and haven’t made a reservation, please check in at the front desk when you arrive so that we can point you in the direction of a room that is available for you. As always the glass rooms in Central Perk are available as a workspace, on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you have any questions, please contact the Professional Learning Team.

With summer upon us, this is my last opportunity to bid farewell to this incredible organization that has been my professional home for the past eight years. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your chief administrator and witness the remarkable growth and achievements we have accomplished together.

When I first joined this team, our vision was clear: to provide the highest quality services and support to the communities we serve. And I can confidently say that we have done that and so much more. Together, we have transformed our agency into a lighthouse of excellence and innovation among the nine AEAs in Iowa.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished together over the past eight years:

• Rebranded our agency to firmly establish us as one organization vs. three separate regions. The move to “Central Rivers Area Education Agency” has given us a fresh and modern identity, enhanced our visibility, and captured the essence of who we are—dynamic and forward-thinking.
• Created the role of Regional Administrator. Not only has this strategic move empowered our agency to better serve the diverse needs of our school districts, but we have also signaled that while Special Education is our signature service, we are integrated and serve the whole child.  
• In our pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness, we consolidated physical locations, streamlining our operations and saving money. Satellite offices were closed and our Cedar Falls operations were consolidated into one building that showcases our commitment to professional learning for educators and pride in the work we do.
• On the heels of physical office closures and recognizing the evolving landscape of work, we embraced the concept of remote work site. We leveraged technology where it made sense, created more balance in our work lives, and found ways to provide more service to students and our LEA partners. 
• Recognizing the relevance to our future, we are focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. We’ve “planted a flag” that signals internally and to those we serve that this work is here to stay. If we are to serve all children and educators, we owe it to them and ourselves to understand our biases and seek opportunities to unite.
• Perhaps one of our greatest achievements is the implementation of INspired Leadership well-being programming. We understand that the success of our organization depends on the well-being and happiness of our staff. By prioritizing their mental and emotional health, we have created an environment where everyone feels supported and empowered to make a difference. Whether you are embracing coaching, taking the Energy Leadership Index (ELI) to learn more about which energy level you are most frequently operating from, or making changes to improve your physical and mental health, I encourage you to take advantage of all the agency has to offer. It’s a gift to you that I hope you’ll open.

I am confident that our agency will continue to thrive. I wish Joel the best in his new role and I’m excited to watch from afar.

As I bid farewell, I am filled with gratitude for the support I have received from you. I am leaving with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I have been a part of something truly remarkable. The impact we have had on the lives of students, the relationships we have built, and the shared experiences we have had are the true legacies of our time together.

So, let us celebrate the bonds we have forged, the milestones we have achieved, and the bright futures that lie ahead. Thank you for being a part of my life, for believing in me, and for making my time here unforgettable.

-Sam

Last week, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier interviewed Sam Miller, Chief Administrator, about the potential impact of additional funding cuts to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies. The story helped amplify our message to legislators that continuing to cut funding is not acceptable and has great potential to impact services. Shortly after, Governor Reynolds signed the bill that moved the proposed cuts forward for next year’s funding.

To ensure that Central Rivers AEA staff members continue to feel informed as the issue progresses, we wanted to also share the following key messages with you.

• We can’t continue to sustain funding cuts. In addition, receiving notice of a cut in late May when February is our budget deadline and contracts must go out to staff for the coming year in April doesn’t make good business sense.
• We will rely largely on reserves to resolve the budget shortfall this year; however, this is not a sustainable solution.
• It is necessary to maintain healthy reserves so that we are able to make payroll in August and early September (since AEAs are funded on a 10-month formula); thus, depending on the time of year that the reserve amount is reviewed, it may look artificially high. At Central Rivers AEA, our reserves are primarily due to the concerted efforts we have made to create efficiencies through the closure of several satellite office sites, consolidating operations in our Cedar Falls site, and negotiating fair settlements with staff. Being critical of healthy reserve balances is like punishing us for being fiscally conservative, something the majority of legislators value.
• The true impact of the cuts will likely be felt next year when the board and new chief administrator will have to make decisions about making up the shortfall should cuts continue.
• The services that Iowa’s AEAs provide are often behind the scenes but provide foundational support to students and schools. When those supports aren’t there, Iowans will begin to feel it – not only now, but down the road when those students become adults and we see the impact of what they didn’t receive during their K-12 educational career.
• Historically, we have provided direct services without cost to accredited non-public school districts. This includes support for students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) which includes services such as speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. While no funding comes to AEAs for these services, AEAs provide the services because it’s the right thing for students. One solution is to change the funding formula to include accredited nonpublic students for special education services similar to how it works for public schools – we see this as an equity issue that will only be more difficult to overcome given school choice legislation.
  • Gained traction legislatively by legislators in both parties.
  • Was not included in this year’s budget.
  • So rather than funding services delivered to students with IEP’s the special education funding is cut. We are going in the wrong direction.

By code, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) training requires both an annual update and annual completion for staff who hold a BOEE license and have regular contact with students in K-12. The 2023 version was released on June 2. Follow the link for the updated version staff need to complete during the 23-24 school year. For additional information on mandatory trainings, please visit the Central Rivers AEA mandatory trainings list.

The May celebration can be viewed online. Congrats to our retirees!