The Channel

Last month’s ice and snow reminded all of us that winter is not over yet! Staff members responsible for carrying out the weather procedures met in February and helped generate a list of frequently asked questions about procedures. Questions and answers can be found on the AEA 267 staff website (username: aeastaff and password: aea267ia).

The annual AEA/DE Customer Feedback Survey will launch on March 9 and be open for responses until April 9. The survey link will be sent to all AEA 267 educators in both public and non-public school districts. Last year, over 1,900 educators served by the agency responded to the survey—the best response rate in the history of the survey’s administration. The data from the survey are used to help inform agency continuous improvement efforts. Please encourage those you serve to respond

The Black Hawk Gaming Commission has granted $100,000 to the AEA 267 River Hills Foundation to help fund a major playground improvement project. The commission funds programs, projects and activities for organizations and communities in the Cedar Valley.

“We are thrilled by this incredible gift,” said Rod Ball, AEA 267 Assistant Director of Special Education—Instruction. “This will go a long way toward meeting our goal of establishing a modern playground facility for our AEA 267 River Hills students.”

Students at AEA 267 Bremwood will host an art show on April 8 from 12:30-2:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. The public is invited to attend.

“This is one of the bigger events for our students and staff,” said Justin Stockdale, AEA 267 Bremwood principal. “Our kids were all smiles last year during the show when seeing the community members ‘oohing and ahhing’ over their work.”

The agency has purchased three automatic defibrillator units to be installed in each main service delivery center conference area (Cedar Falls Conference Center, Marshalltown office and Clear Lake office). The purchase was part of the agency’s recently completed Emergency Response Plan which includes ensuring that all offices are equipped with emergency first aid kids, flashlights and staff members trained in basic first aid, CPR and defibrillator use. The conference centers were selected for the defibrillator installation because of the high traffic they receive.

Deb McGowan, AEA 267 Program Specialist, died of a sudden illness on February 24. Deb was a 17-year veteran of the Area Education Agency system and was deeply respected and well liked by her co-workers. Deb treasured her family, especially her grandchildren, friends, singing, scrap booking, and following Iowa Hawkeye basketball and football. Support and sympathy are extended to her family, friends and co-workers.

Students at AEA 267 Devonshire provided a helping hand to naturalists at Hartman Reserve Nature Center during the recent maple syrup production process. Their efforts were featured in the March 3 edition of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. on March 4, 2009 in the AEA 267 Administrative Conference Room for a Board Retreat session on collective bargaining. Afterwards the Audit Committee met from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.

The Board reconvened at 6:00 p.m. in the AEA 267 Conference Center in Cedar Falls for their regular meeting.

During the regular meeting, the board:

• Watched a presentation by Marc Groen, Special Education Support, on Naturally Speaking, an assistive technology device.
• Accepted with regret the retirements of Mary Heber, Teacher of Mental Disabilities/Severe & Profound (River Hills), effective 01-12-09; Liz Wenger, Speech-Language Pathologist (Sector 3, Iowa Falls), effective 12/31/09; and Mary Beshir, Speech-Language Pathologist (Clear Lake); Pam Bottorff, Teacher of Multi Disabilities/Resource (New Hartford Elem.); Phoebe Drape, Teacher of Mental Disabilities (Tripoli Middle/High School); Al Hodapp, School Psychologist (Clear Lake); all effective end of 2008-09 school year.
• Authorized Administration to seek bids for a school bus and van for next year.
• Approved recommendations from AEA 267 Information Technology Service Area Director Jerry Schnabel for computer purchases.
• Reviewed the 700 and 800 series of board policies: General Public Relations and Division Operations.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

It is no secret that the Governor’s across-the-board cuts, declining enrollment, federal funding issues, and now a likelihood of a partially funded allowable growth rate will all have an effect on our Agency. Staff reduction will be a necessary result of these changes as we prepare for 2009-2010. It is hoped that normal attrition (i.e., retirements and voluntary resignations) will cover most, if not all, of the necessary reductions.

If you are planning a retirement or voluntary resignation at the end of the 2008-09 school year, please let us know as soon as possible by contacting Shirley Horak. The more we know and the sooner we know, the easier it will be for the Agency to plan for 2009-2010 without disturbing the lives and plans of others. Thank you for helping if this applies to you.

Many unknowns still exist regarding 2009-2010. What will be the number of retirements and voluntary resignations? Will the Governor’s proposed budget be approved? What decisions will the legislature make regarding school and AEA funding? Will the federal stimulus package have an impact on our AEA? What will be the cost of health insurance for next year? All of the above will have an impact on 2009-2010.

The Area Education Agency 267 (AEA 267) Francis Lauer Youth Shelter is one of over 56,000 schools and public libraries across the nation awarded the Picturing America program. Picturing America is a free initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that helps teach American history and culture by bringing some of the country’s great art directly to classrooms and libraries.

“We applied for this as a way to enhance our curriculum,” said Eve Marie Zimmerman, AEA 267 Francis Lauer Youth Shelter teacher. “We try very hard to include things that connect learning to the real world and get students interested in learning. I think that bringing in the humanities often can reach some students who otherwise think history and culture is boring.”

The shelter was awarded 40 large, high-quality reproductions of great American art and a comprehensive teachers resource book to facilitate the use of the works of art in core subjects. Picturing America’s resources are designed to allow each work of art to enhance the study of American history, social studies, language arts, literature, and civics.

“The Endowment is delighted that so many students and citizens across the nation will be benefiting from Picturing America,” said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. “Picturing America helps us understand our democracy by bringing us face to face with the people, places, and events that have shaped our country. It provides an innovative way to experience America’s history through our nation’s art.”

First piloted to 1,500 schools in January 2008, the program was launched nationally in February 2008 and awarded to over 26,000 schools and public libraries across the country in the first application period. During the second application period from August 4 through November 14, 2008, over 29,000 schools and public libraries received Picturing America awards. In addition to schools and public libraries, through a partnership with NEH, the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Head Start has made Picturing America available to the 20,000 Head Start centers across the nation. To date, over 76,000 schools, public libraries, and Head Start centers nationwide have been awarded this free education resource.

Picturing America recipient schools and public libraries are located in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories. District-wide applications during both application periods have brought Picturing America to major public school districts in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and San Francisco, as well as to school and library districts in Washington, DC.

The comments in this article are focused on one of the little things we can do to serve our customers well. I was reminded of this as I visited a local retailer and noticed all the employees’ cars parked at the back of the lot, leaving the best parking spaces for the customer. It is one of those little things, but a nice thing to do as we serve our partners at AEA 267. I’m not suggesting we always need to use the parking space that is farthest from the building but to at least allow the first few rows for those that come to the AEA as our customers and partners. Are there exceptions? Of course. When you are arriving just to run in and out before you are on the road again, taking advantage of a great parking space only makes sense. When you are arriving with a load of easels, boxes, stacks of books, etc. it is easier to park close to the door. But when you are arriving to stay for the day, combine a healthy walk with a courtesy to our customers.

As you arrive for work in the morning, park in the lot assigned or designated for your building, and leave the best and closest spaces for our guests.

The Iowa Department of Education (DE) will begin AEA 267’s accreditation visit on March 10-11, 2009 with a document review. The DE team will follow up with LEA and AEA interviews on April 14-16 and on May 12-13, the team will conclude follow up activities. All activities will take place on the Cedar Falls campus.

The DE accreditation team will be comprised of staff from the DE, other AEAs and our local districts. The accreditation process is based upon a triangulation of evidence that includes written documentation and interviewing a representative sample of local district and AEA personnel around our three goals specific to the standards. The standards represented are school community planning, professional development, curriculum, instruction and assessment, special education/diverse learning needs of all children, multicultural gender-fair, media services, information school technology, and leadership. Accreditation cycles for AEAs are on a five-year schedule.

A special section of the AEA 267 website has been established for accreditation documents and information. Use the pull down menu under “About Us” on the front page of the agency website and go to “accreditation.”