The Channel

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. 

Within our shelter schools our goal is to provide opportunities for students to learn and use skills that will build their employability goals and be future ready when they leave our programs. To provide those opportunities, we have teamed together with our Work Experience Coordinator to begin to build a school based enterprise within the shelter school setting.

Recently we were awarded the McElroy Excellence in Education Enrichment Grant. With that grant we were able to purchase the items we needed to begin our Woofhaven Barkery business at our Woodhaven Youth Shelter Classroom. The students will be making homemade dog treats to sell within the community.

Our students are excited to begin this venture and would love to get some help from within our agency as they prepare their business plan. Part of that plan includes market research to determine what types of treats they should make. We would love your help in completing a survey that our students will use to further their business plans. This is a short 10 question survey that will be used within our shelter classroom to research product interests. We have also included our initial plan proposal for you to see our vision for our students. 

“The goal of this project is to create a school-based enterprise for our students to operate in collaboration with our educational staff. Students will transfer the 21st-century employability skills and grade-level math, reading, and writing skills from in the classroom to the school-based enterprise. Students will write up a plan and calculate costs and a budget for the enterprise.

Once a plan has been developed, students will then research and purchase the needed materials to create dog treats. Students will create marketing campaigns in the local community to promote their products. Students will create samples of the dog treats and distribute them to local community members and dog daycares. Students will work on building relationships with local businesses in order to create a steady stream of customers to sell their products. 

Timeline -Create a written plan and budget by 12/20/21. Purchase materials by 1/30/22. Make samples to hand out to local community members and businesses by 2/20/22. Have an operational school-based enterprise with a steady stream of customers by 5/20/22.” 

Please complete the Woofhaven Barkery Questionnaire by April 10, 2022. Thank you for supporting our students!

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on our survey! We learned a lot from the data and responses. Below, you will find a few things we learned across the whole organization. Your feedback will help us get better at what we do.  

2022 Survey Stats
513 employees were invited and 458 responded (89.3%).
We received over 1600 comments as well.

What three words best describe Central Rivers AEA?

1. Supportive
2. Positive
3. Collaborative

Top Scores 

These three areas were identified as the most encouraging:

1. Execution – At Central Rivers AEA, we do things efficiently and effectively.
2. Appreciation – I feel genuinely appreciated at Central Rivers AEA.
3. Values – Central Rivers AEA operates by strong values.

Bottom Scores

These three areas have the most room for improvement:

1. Meetings – Meetings at Central Rivers AEA make good use of my time.
2. Inclusion – I feel included at Central Rivers AEA.
3. Clued-In Leaders – Administrators understand what is really happening at Central Rivers AEA.

Getting your feedback on the survey was the first step and we loved hearing about what you appreciate, and also what concerns you. Our data indicates that the Culture and Climate is very positive, and we are performing well in comparison to our peers. However, we know we do have some opportunities for improvement, that can make us even better.  

We are in the process of reviewing the comments that we received to gather a deeper understanding as we look to create plans for improvement. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, we look forward to taking the necessary steps to improve.