The Channel

Phishing is the act of sending malicious emails that are designed to manipulate people into divulging sensitive information or installing harmful software. Statistically, phishing emails are the leading cause of data privacy incidents, so it’s more important than ever to equip yourself with the knowledge to identify these malicious messages.

Phishing is the preferred method of criminals because it is cheap, easy and effective. Central Rivers AEA holds a large cache of sensitive and confidential information, and that data is worth a lot of money on the dark web.

Recently, we launched a phishing campaign to help educate and train staff on how to identify and report phishing attempts.

• This is part of an educational initiative of simulated phishing attacks to help staff take appropriate action and minimize organizational risk in a safe environment.
• The phishing campaign will give Central Rivers AEA an opportunity to test all staff members and gain valuable metrics to assist with reducing failure rates.
• Threats are evolving and becoming much harder to detect, so there is absolutely no shame in falling for a simulated phishing attack!
• The goal is to empower our staff with the knowledge and confidence in identifying and reporting phishing messages.

Let’s take a look at our most recent phishing campaign and some common “red flags.”

1. Do you know the sender? Is the name spelled correctly? Does the email address look strange?
2. Does it urge you to take action? Are there spelling and/or grammatical errors?
3. Did you hover over the link? Does it take you to known and/or expected content?
4. Should there be an official agency signature here?

Now, let’s take a deeper look at the details of the email message…

1. Double-check the sender’s name and email address.
2. Double-check the sender’s reply-to email address.
3. Double-check the mailed-by provider address.

If you happened to click the link, you would have been prompted to enter your credentials:

The fake message web address also included “secured-login.net”, not the actual Google-affiliated address “accounts.google.com” when hovering over the links.

Let’s break down the statistics…

Take some time to review the message and search for any of the five common red flags:

1. Message is unexpected or oddly timed.
2. Message contains odd spelling or grammatical errors.
3. Message urges actions like clicking links or opening attachments.
4. Message appears to be time sensitive or threatens consequences for inaction.
5. Message is requesting money or personal information.

When you receive any suspicious communications: Stop and think before you click! If you suspect a phishing email, please contact the Help Desk at 319.273.8231 or helpdesk@centralriversaea.org to verify the email’s validity.

A reminder that staff have the opportunity to personally choose and purchase a “Thank You” Central Rivers AEA branded apparel item until December 31. There are two storefronts set up for this promotion; One site is preset with $30 items only and will be charged straight to the agency for each order. The second site will allow those who want to shop for little higher-end merchandise to use the $30 “THANKYOU” code voucher and your own credit card to make a purchase. Instructions to access the storefronts can be found below:

1. Visit the CRAEA staff intranet.
2. Go to the Business Office/HR page.
3. Select the Central Rivers AEA “Thank You” Storefront page.
4. Choose one of the two catalogs to shop from (read the page for web store details e.g. – tax-exempt vs. non-tax-exempt).

For more information, please see the FAQs for CRAEA “Thank You” storefront document or contact Jenny Young, (jyoung@storeykenworthy.com) our apparel account representative.

INspired Leadership Staff Survey
Thank you to the over 300 Central Rivers AEA staff who have shared your needs and preferences regarding INspired Leadership opportunities. If you haven’t yet been asked or had the opportunity to respond to this brief survey, please do, as it will shape the content and delivery of future learning options.

As a reminder, the purpose of INspired Leadership is to increase our self-awareness of how we are “showing up” so that we can make conscious choices that help us achieve our personal and professional goals.

INspired Leadership Insights
With high self-awareness and intention, we can experience fear-based catabolic energy (which is totally normal and typical) and yet respond in ways where we lead with a more conscious anabolic energy. When we notice and become aware of our own energy, it’s more likely we will pause and make choices that serve us in that moment. Remember, catabolic energy isn’t good or bad, it just is. It may lead to emotions we’d rather not feel, but emotions are data, and what we do with them is up to us. Awareness helps expand our options for action!

Don’t forget to change your voicemail greeting and schedule an “away” message to your email during the Christmas holiday break so that callers and/or e-mailers will know when they can expect to hear from you. All Central Rivers AEA offices will be closed on December 26-January 2 for the holiday break.

Voicemail example:
“Hello, this is (your name). Our office will be closed beginning Monday, December 26 and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3. Please leave your name, telephone number and a brief message and I will return your call on the third. Thank you and have a safe and happy holiday season from all of us at Central Rivers AEA.”

Email “away” message example:
Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office beginning Monday, December 26 and will respond to your email upon my return when offices reopen on Tuesday, January 3. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season!

If you need assistance with either task, please contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@centralriversaea.org or 319-273-8231.

*(If you are already signed up, you do not need to do anything.)
With winter almost here, be sure you are signed up to receive Central Rivers AEA weather alerts via text, call or email regarding office closings or professional learning cancellations.

Staff members can contact Shirley Horak, Human Resources Coordinator, for assistance with signing up.

Anything created by Central Rivers AEA employees should follow branding, copyright and accessibility guidelines, including using the CRAEA approved fonts. The approved fonts are:

• Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold and Arial Narrow when possible.
• You can also use Times, Open Sans or Garamond.
• *Do not use “cute” or decorative fonts like Chalkboard, Papyrus, calligraphy or handwriting fonts for brochures, newsletters, calendars or email signatures.
• You may use decorative fonts for flyers or materials for extracurricular activities.

Also, the colors we use matter! The approved colors are:

• Primary blue (#001e5f)
• Primary orange (#fa9e0d)
• Primary green (#94d500)
• Primary gray (#666366)
• Secondary blue (#45637a)
• Secondary orange (#c68627)
• Secondary green (#638f38)
• Secondary gray (#e2e1dd)

*Important to note: The exception to the rule would be if colors were following the branding of another purpose or organization (ie. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or The New Teacher Project (TNTP). Check out and bookmark this slideshow for everything on Copyright, Branding and Accessibility. Please contact Beth Strike, Director of Creative Services/Communications or Contessa Van Buskirk, Communications Specialist, with any questions.

Ben Collins, Google Developer Expert & Data Analytics Instructor teaches Google Sheets and Google Docs tips. This paste special tip works for Google Docs, Slides and Drawings.

Google Sheets Tip #229: Paste Special

You’re probably familiar with the copy-and-paste shortcuts (Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V). Paste Special takes that a step further by letting you perform an operation as you paste the data. Majority of the time, paste data as values only is used, which removes any underlying formulas and the formatting. To paste as values, use the shortcut keys:

• Ctrl + Shift + V on PC/Chromebooks
• Cmd + Shift + V on Macs

It’s a universal shortcut that works elsewhere too. It’s useful when copying from one place to another, for example, if you want to copy a table from a website into a Google Sheet without all the formatting issues.

Other Paste Special Operations
Paste special is more powerful than just pasting values. Right click in Google Sheets to bring up the menu. Hover over “Paste special” and you’ll see the different operations you can perform on data you’ve copied to the clipboard:

For more weekly Google tips, sign up for Ben Collins’ newsletter.

Our agency’s annual review of mandatory policies and procedural items are now available! For viewing, please visit the document as there are important updates to read. A few examples include:

• Agency Operations (such as our vision, values, equity updates, etc.)
• Navigating and understanding the important items in your Weblink portal
• Quick links available on our new staff intranet

There is plenty of information to go through, please contact Shirley Horak or Robin Billerbeck, in HR with any questions.

In Iowa, more than 300,000 Iowans experience food insecurity at any given time. Food insecurity happens in every town, every community and in every school! Low-income and fixed-income families do not have the money needed to spend on nutritious food and sadly, hunger impacts children the most. One-third of those considered food-insecure in Iowa are children. 

This holiday season, Central Rivers AEA is supporting the Food Bank of Iowa and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in order to provide meals to families in need. Between them, the two food pantries cover our entire service area!

Between Thanksgiving and December 21, your donations will go directly to support needy area children and their families!  And, as a way of thanking you, every dollar you give gets you entered into a raffle for prizes, generously donated by the CRAEA administrative team. Prizes include gift cards to places such as Casey’s, HyVee, Target and Walmart, along with other great items!

To participate, send a check to Lori Thomas, Executive Assistant/Board Secretary in the Cedar Falls office, made out to the food bank of your choice (Food Bank of Iowa or Northeast Iowa Food Bank). Donations by credit card will need to be made directly to your chosen food bank and you can send a screenshot or actual copy of your receipt to Lori. If you prefer to give a cash donation, be sure to designate the food bank and Lori will send you a receipt.

Together we can help ensure that no child in Iowa experiences food insecurity!

Plan now to join the Chief Administrator, Sam Miller, on Friday, November 18, at 8 am for a virtual update on agency events and current trends in K-12 education. This is a great opportunity to get any questions or concerns you have answered. So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite morning beverage and join us!

Join via Zoom:

•  https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/87609674396
• One tap mobile +16469313860,,87609674396# US
• Meeting ID: 876 0967 4396

*Meeting link can also be found on the CRAEA Master Calendar.

The Everyday Inclusion App delivers diversity, equity and inclusion solutions that support inclusive values, create daily behavior change and embed inclusion in culture in a digital and scalable format on your cell phone. The app is available for all Central Rivers AEA staff to download and use. View the DEI+Belonging Resources page on the staff website for download details and to view account creation instructions. Please reach out to Gina Weekley, Coordinator of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, with any questions.

Join us from 11-11:30 am on November 28 for the first Courageous Conversations meeting. Courageous Conversations will be a space, either virtual or in person, for staff to gather for 30 minutes to have guided conversations, ask questions and learn about DEI topics.

Want to submit questions or comments anonymously to discuss during the bi-monthly meetings? Do you have general thoughts or questions about DEI+belonging that you would like to submit anonymously? Fill out the “Courageous Conversations” Google survey. Meeting information can be found below:

• Join the Zoom Meeting: https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/86262411246
• Zoom ID: 86262411246

More information can be found on the “Courageous Conversations” page on our staff website. Please reach out to Gina Weekley, Coordinator of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, with any questions.

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging page is available on the staff website and provides various resources for all staff to create awareness, educate and reinforce policies that support diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

As a reminder from what was released from the Equity Audit, the “APA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Inclusive Language Guide” is an optional tool available to all staff to enhance learning and awareness of DEI terms and concepts.

Did you know… A minority group is a population subgroup (e.g., ethnic, racial, social, religious or other group) with differential power than those deemed to hold the majority power in the population.

• The relevance of this term is outdated and has changed as the demographics of the population change.
• You should avoid using the term “minority” and use the specific name of the group or groups to which you are referring.
  • E.g., say people of color or communities of color vs. ethnic and racial minorities

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors’ search for a new Chief Administrator continues with the recruitment effort led by the executive search firm GR Recruiting. The application period closes on November 7. Other important dates to note in the search process:

• Board meeting to review candidates November 21 (closed session)
• First round candidate interviews November 28 (closed session)
• Second round candidate interviews November 29 (closed session)
• Interview Finalist Candidates December 12 – 14 (closed session)

For more information about the Chief Administrator search process, please reach out to Lori Thomas.