The Channel

Summer office hours, 7:30 am – 4:00 pm, go into effect June 6 – August 5. Reminder that all Central Rivers AEA Offices will be closed Fridays during the months of June and July.

Join us in thanking our board members this month during School Board Recognition Month!   Serving almost 62,000 students, 5,000 educators and over 500 staff members, these nine dedicated volunteers are the backbone of the agency, setting the course for all we do!

• Nicole Lovik-Blaser,  Director District 1 – Districts represented: Central Springs, Clear Lake, Forest City, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, Lake Mills, North Iowa, Northwood-Kensett, St. Ansgar, and West Hancock.
• Dr. Debra Rich, Board President, Director District 2 – Districts represented: Charles City, Dike-New Hartford, Dunkerton, Nashua-Plainfield, Sumner-Fredericksburg, Tripoli, Wapsie Valley, and Waverly-Shell Rock.
• Kathy Enslin, Director District 3 – Districts represented: AGWSR, Alden, Aplington-Parkersburg, CAL, Clarksville, Eldora-New Providence, Grundy Center, Hampton-Dumont, Hubbard-Radcliffe, Iowa Falls, and North Butler.
• Dr. Darshini Jayawardena, Director District 4 – Districts represented: Belmond-Klemme, Mason City, Osage, Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock, and West Fork.
• Dr. Mary Stevens, Director District 5 – Districts represented: BCLUW, East Marshall, GMG, Marshalltown & West Marshall.
• Maureen Hanson, Board Vice-President, Director District 6 – Districts represented: BGM, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Grinnell-Newburg, Hudson, Montezuma, North Tama County, South Tama County, and Union.
• Dr. Tony Reid, Director District 7 – Districts represented: Cedar Falls, Denver, and Janesville.
• Bryan Burton, Director District 8 – District represented: Waterloo.
• Dennis Craun Jr, Director District 9 – Districts represented: East Buchanan, Independence, Jesup, and Waterloo.

We recently made the decision to change our accounting software this summer due to dissatisfaction with the support and cost of our current software. The new software is called Software Unlimited and is used by over 80% of Iowa schools and four AEA’s. The employee portal that we currently refer to as MyPortal, will be converted to Web Link, an accounting portal where items like mileage reimbursement, leave requests and paystubs/W-2’s will be located. Many other Business Office/Human Resources forms will be relocated to the staff intranet which will be given a face lift over the next few months.

Some key things to note with this new software:

• For the majority of you, there will be a slight change in how you request mileage/travel reimbursement, request leave, submit insurance enrollment and view things like paystubs and W-2’s.
• Many of our procedures and forms will be relocated as we are also in the process of “refreshing” our staff intranet site.
• The Time Clock will not change.
• You will receive a separate username and password to access Web Link.

Please be patient as we transition this summer and as always, know that our many support teams (Administrative Assistants, Help Desk, Business Office, Human Resources, etc.) are here to help when you need assistance.

Plan now to join your colleagues for the all staff virtual retirement celebration on Friday, May 27, beginning at 9:00 am. This is a wonderful opportunity to honor our retirees and recognize them for their dedication and years of service to the agency.

This year’s retirees are: 

• Chris Beumer, Special Education Consultant – 23 years
• Denise Child, Speech-Language Pathologist – 33 years
• Georgia Clark, Educational Assistant – 4 years
• Dee Crum, School Social Worker – 26 years
• Dea Ellen Epley Birtwistle, School Social Worker – 37 years
• Dawn Jaeger, School Social Worker – 22 years
• Angie Johnson, Occupational Therapist – 20 years
• Mike Lonning, Principal of River Hills, 35 years – retiring 8-31-22
• Kathleen Olson, Work Experience Coordinator – 5 years
• Diana Schuler, Teacher of Deaf/Hard Hearing – 33 years
• Pat Stenzel, Early Access Educator – 35 years
• Al Takes, School Social Worker – 27 years
• Deb White, Educational Assistant – 2 years
• Deb Wilson, Educational Assistant – 13 years 
• Tom Wise, Van Driver – 4 years

Zoom to join: https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/87124894173
Meeting ID: 871 2489 4173
One tap mobile +13126266799,,87124894173# US 

As a reminder, insurance open enrollment closes on May 15, 2022. All eligible employees (including those retiring/resigning) greater than a .50 FTE must complete the open enrollment process, even if you are declining coverage.  This is the only time per year you can make any changes without a qualifying life event.  The new rates and coverage take effect July 1, 2022. 

Use the MyPortal iVisions application in Classlink and go to My Benefits > Benefits Enrollment. Please use a Chrome or Firefox browser and be sure to go through each step carefully.

The zoom meeting recording (Passcode: ws1=VOR.) and PPT are available in The Portal > My Benefits > 2022-23 Insurance Information. 

The agency Equity Committee continues to meet regularly to complete the steps in the audit process. Much of the committee’s work has centered around conducting a root cause analysis to better understand the current status of our equity efforts and identifying “safe to fail” experiments designed to test practices that may move the agency forward toward a desired state. Safe-to-fail experiments are often used when dealing with complex problems (e.g. equity challenges) that often require experimentation to discover promising solutions that cannot be known in advance.

The current working themes from the audit work include:

• Leadership Communication – Central Rivers AEA leadership has an opportunity to make values and actions more visible that support the organizational priority of equity. Two-way communication (e.g. we all have our roles in working toward equity) must be strengthened. We all have to support and engage in the work together to solve problems. 
• Courage and Candor – How might we continue to grow our culture and climate to include more understanding, transparency (marketing & hiring processes), learning and building skills sets in culturally responsiveness and build upon the ability to lean into conversations to deepen people’s comfort level to increase our authenticity in being an equitable and brave work space and carry these mindsets into the systems we serve?  (How do we make these terms explicit?)   
• Professional Learning – We have a current structure for meetings and learning that often creates barriers to deeper learning and progress. There are no structured intentional spaces for discourse that support this learning and the discomfort that comes with growth.  We are lacking clear public articulation of why equity, diversity and inclusion matter to our agency from our leadership. Our focus within the three big rocks does not include much intentional room for diversity, equity and inclusion.   
• Staff Diversity – We need a system that fosters and develops the recruitment, retention, and support of marginalized groups. We need to ensure that all staff (administrators, Certified, NUSS, and Classified) explore their biases and implement a system to address biases, language used, and microaggressions at all levels. We need to be intentional in our interview process to ask questions that address DEI. Questions that ask about beliefs, experiences, practices. 

Work toward developing an action plan will take place in the near future and updates will continue to be provided through The Channel. We are also working toward an organizational definition of equity.

Questions? Please contact Karl Kurt.

Looking for some relaxed social time with your colleagues? Many thanks to Sarah LeClair-Jones, Speech-Language Pathologist, for her efforts in organizing a four-person best shot, 18-hole tournament at Prairie Links in Waverly on Thursday, June 23. The cost to participate is $50 per person and includes golf, cart, lunch, and prizes! Shotgun start is at 8:30 am. Please indicate your interest in attending by completing this Google form. (Note that participation is completely voluntary.) Deadline to register is June 16. Please reach out to Sarah directly if you have questions. While this is not an agency-sponsored event, we are happy to pass the information along!

Due to the accounting software conversion, we are asking that you submit your travel as soon as possible on the iVisions MyPortal after you complete your contract days. You can combine May and June travel on one request.

For those of you that travel throughout June, submit your June mileage on iVisions MyPortal by July 5. We plan to begin using Web Link to submit July expense reimbursement by the end of August.

Adobe Acrobat DC can be your default PDF file reader

Microsoft Edge is the current default program for opening PDF files on Windows 10. You can change the default program for PDF files to open in a program that’s more suitable and feature-rich, such as Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC.

1. Right-click the PDF file, then choose Properties
2. In the Properties window, select Change
3. Choose Adobe Acrobat DC and select OK
4. In the Properties window, select Apply then OK

Chrome Omnibox offers helpful features

That little box at the top of Chrome is called the Omnibox, and it isn’t just for website addresses.  It’s also a calculator, currency/unit converter and more. Type in your query and the Omnibox will immediately provide the answer in a pop-up window.

Kay Schmalen

Kay Schmalen, Consultant for Educational Services, has been named Director of Professional Learning. Kay will provide direct oversight of all aspects of professional learning including the development of a continuum of supports that include asynchronous and synchronous, blended, face-to-face and virtual options matched to the needs of adult learners. Kay will replace Amy Moine who will be moving closer to the work of school improvement.

Kay has served as a consultant with the agency since 2004 when she first worked in the areas of literacy and technology integration. Prior to that she was a middle school teacher and teacher leader in South Dakota. 

“Kay is a perfect fit for this role,” said Jen Sigrist, Executive Director Educational Services.“ She has vast experience in the areas of teaching and learning and has earned a reputation for customer service and excellence in serving our local school partners. Her technology background, combined with her professional learning experience, will also help to propel our new Learning Management System forward.”  

Please join us in congratulating Kay on her new role!

The Open Enrollment period for insurance changes will begin April 25 and ends on May 15.  There are no changes to premiums this year and very minimal changes to the plans. Even if you do not take insurance, you must go through the open enrollment process, which can be found on the Portal under My Benefits > Benefits Enrollment. Please use a Chrome or Firefox browser and be sure to go through each step carefully.

An insurance presentation for all staff will be held on Thursday, April 28 at 3:30 p.m. The Zoom information to join is below:

• Join Zoom Meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2022, 3:30 p.m.
• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/84638752831
• Meeting ID: 846 3875 2831
• One tap mobile: +1-646-558-8656 

Need support? Contact the CRAEA Tech Help Desk at 319-273-8231.

Dr. Leslie Moore

Last month, we shared with you that we will begin to take steps to ease away from working with ESSDAK and begin to fold the INspired Leadership efforts in-house. Specifically, we communicated that we would have a 1.0 FTE in-house staff member who is responsible for providing training opportunities, LMS content, and individual, group, and mentoring coaching conversations beginning in 2022-2023.

It is with much excitement that we welcome Dr. Leslie Moore to this role beginning July 1st. Leslie currently serves as a School Improvement Consultant. She will be trained and earn certification through iPEC to be in a position to help staff become more aware, build resilience, and lead consciously. 

As we embark on this new journey, we are hopeful that we can use the framework to positively impact our team members both professionally and personally. We also have an eye on the potential to provide some of these opportunities to our LEA partners, as we have consistently heard about how powerful the work is and believe that this could be value-added support that we provide to our school partners in the future. 

Please join us in welcoming Leslie to her new role and we embark on the journey to provide additional support and opportunities for our team members!

IPERS is still not scheduling any local face-to-face meetings or individual appointments. You may contact member services at (800) 622-3849 to schedule an appointment or visit the IPERS website for resources. A Retirement Tools and Resources page is available for additional assistance.

Plan now to join your colleagues for the all staff retirement celebration on Friday, May 27, beginning at 9:00 am. Due to the great response after last year’s event, this year’s celebration will be held virtually with a similar format. Look for a complete listing of our retirees in next month’s staff newsletter.

Zoom to join:

• May 27, 2022, 9:00 AM
• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/87124894173
• Meeting ID: 871 2489 4173
• One tap mobile +13126266799,,87124894173# US 
• Need support? Contact the CRAEA Tech Help Desk at 319-273-8231.

A new INspired Leadership Toolkit site is now available for everyone who wants to further their training. Filled with resources, it’s a great place to learn more about:

• The 7 Levels of Energy
• Decision Making
• Communication
• Reflection
• Problem-Solving
• Mindset

Staff who were unable to join Chief Administrator Sam Miller on April 1st for the latest agency update can view the recording online. Use the passcode +b2hDYTQ.

Please reach out to your direct supervisor if you have any questions.