The Channel

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met September 4, 2013 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 Web IEP. The presentation was delivered by Kimberly Crowe and Lisa Yoder, AEA 267 Speech Language Pathologists.

• Approved the 2013-14 Certified Annual Report.

• Selected Richard VandeKieft as the AEA 267 Board Member to attend the IASB Delegate Convention. Dr. George North will serve as the alternate.

• Approved the Reciprocal Transportation Agreements for LEAs.

• Held a public hearing to review Internet Policy/Regulation 101.4R2 and approved the Acceptable Use policy.

• Approved the 2013-14 agreement with Four Oaks Independence Shelter Program.

• Approved a second reading of Board Policy 504-Early ACCESS Policies.

• Accepted submitted bids and approved the sale of buses.

• Approved an agreement with the Center for Authentic PLCs.

• Approved an agreement with HSHMC.

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

The AEA 267 Foundation met immediately following the regular board meeting.

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Hello everyone and welcome back for those of you who are returning after a summer break! We look forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming sector meetings. Please remember that this is a required meeting for all staff (Note: Pinecrest and River Hills instructional staff will receive the information at a later date).

Although we are planning on each staff member attending their specific sector’s meeting, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to attend another sector meeting location instead, it is very important that you let your supervisor know in advance so that adjustments can be made by those in charge of logistics. We will have sign-in sheets at each location.

A social time will be held at 8:30 a.m. followed by the official start to the meeting at 9 a.m. We will break for lunch (on your own) at approximately 11:30 am. and return at 1 p.m. for breakout meetings by service area until approximately 3 p.m. (Note: Clerical staff, Info Tech staff not assigned to a sector, and central administrative team members who are not a part of a sector may be free to return to their work locations after lunch. Please check with your supervisor.)

• Monday, August 12:  NW Sector at the AEA 267 Clear Lake Office
• Tuesday, August 13:  NE Sector at the Waverly-Shell Rock High School (Rada Auditorium)
• Wednesday, August 14:  East Sector at the AEA 267 Cedar Falls Conference Center
• Thursday, August 15:  South Sector at the AEA 267 Marshalltown Office

Meeting materials:

Power Point presentation outlining our work for 2013-14

Years of Service awards

Peer collaboration information

AEA 267 peer collaboration log

Employee background check information

TEACH Iowa information

Update on Emergency Medical Leave request process

New AEA 267 staff for 2013-14

Core, supplemental and intensive resource (Learning Supports)

Learning Supports matrix example

Learning Support Team 2013-14

Check back in the coming weeks for an online photo album from this week’s meetings!

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are pleased to announce the launch of a statewide Pinterest site.

The Iowa’s AEAs Pinterest site is a collaborative project of Iowa’s nine AEAs. The site is maintained by AEA consultants from all over the state who specialize in different curriculum and instructional areas. The over 35 pinning boards provide a visual, dynamic forum which informs parents, educators and school administrators about AEA programs and resources, as well as other quality, credible ideas and resources relating to education.

Items posted to the site are reviewed by AEA staff with the intention of providing participants with quality ideas that can be used in the classroom and beyond.

Would you like to share your expertise and become a “collaborator” on one of the AEA Pinterest boards? Please contact Beth Strike.

Learn more about the value of Pinterest to educators in a recent article published by Edutopia.

Dr. Brad Buck

Gov. Terry E. Branstad named Dr. Brad Buck, 44, to be the next Iowa Department of Education director, calling him a visionary leader with the right skills to implement the landmark education reform package passed by the 2013 Legislature.

Buck has served as superintendent of the 1,300-student Saydel school district in rural Polk County since July 2011. He previously worked as a school administrator in the Waukee, Hudson and North Mahaska school districts from 1997 to 2011. Buck began his education career in 1992 as a science teacher at Parkview Middle School in Ankeny.  He is also a past president of School Administrators of Iowa.

Visit the DE website to access the complete news release.

Kathy Enslin

Area Education Agency 267 (AEA 267) is pleased to announce that Kathy Enslin has joined AEA 267 as the Interim Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Human Resources. Enslin replaces Dr. Anne Sullivan, who accepted a position with the Des Moines Public Schools.

Kathy has been the superintendent of Denver Community Schools for the past 11 years and prior to that served 18 years at North Kossuth as a teacher, principal and eventually the superintendent. Along with her extensive experience in the school districts, Enslin has been a member of the AEA 267 Information and Technology board and is currently serving on the AEA 267 Special Education board.

Enslin received her Bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, a Master’s degree in Special Education Administration and an Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Please join us in welcoming Kathy! The AEA 267 Board will be reviewing options for the Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Human Resources position through the next several months.

TeachIowa.gov is part of the Teach Iowa Initiative, a component of the new education reform law that aims to attract top talent into the teaching pipeline.

The system is managed by the Iowa Department of Education and the Board of Educational Examiners.

Hundreds of job openings at school districts and AEAs have been posted to TeachIowa.gov so far. The new education reform law requires public schools and AEAs to post all job vacancies to the system starting today. The system is optional for nonpublic schools.

For more information, please visit http://www.teachiowa.gov.

A new video provides visitors to the AEA 267 website with a descriptive tour of all the features and services available via this important electronic resource. The tour features information about how to access services, locate AEA 267 staff, order materials, register for a professional development opportunity, as well as utilize instructional content. The video will be shown at 21 opening day district kick-off meetings this month by members of the AEA 267 Administrative Cabinet and other administrative staff. To view the video, simply go to the agency’s website and click “play” on the video in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are pleased to announce the launch of a new website redesign at www.iowaaea.org. The new design better meets the needs of Iowa educators and families by making the site more functional, intuitive and appealing. Let us know what you think!

Mason City Community School District has changed the name of the Four Oaks instructional program to Pinecrest Center. The program, which contracts AEA 267 instructional and administrative staff, will reside at the same location in Mason City.