The Channel

The Central Rivers AEA Media Team is excited to announce a new resource that is now available to the schools we serve—PebbleGo/PebbleGo NEXT! PebbleGo is a database that is used for research distinctly customized for our students in grades K-3rd. It’s intuitive and easy to use for our teachers and learners and helps students practice foundational research skills.  

PebbleGo also provides support such as audio voice-overs, the ability to highlight text, and complete scaffolding to support differentiated instruction. With the click of a button, PebbleGo has a full Spanish option as well. It’s perfect for ELL students or Dual Language programs to enhance content and increase language development.  PebbleGo NEXT is for our upper elementary students. The text is specifically engineered for students in grades 3rd -5th  and provides articles and activities that meet the curriculum unique to those grades.  

Another added benefit is both databases include features such as lesson plans, activities, videos,  as well as reproducible for our educators to use. PebbleGo and PebbleGo NEXT are available now on our Digital Resources page. 

Check out PebbleGo/PebbleGo Next using these sign-in credentials. For more information, contact Cari Teske, Director of Media.

• Username:  crmedia
• Password:  craea

Contact Manager is a tool created to allow staff to send email messages for targeted groups of educators. The system uses data collected and housed in the Central Rivers AEA Lending Library system (Medianet). This is a great tool for promoting your professional learning opportunities or meetings that are targeted toward specific audiences.

How do I use Contact Manager?

1. Go to: http://contactmanager.centralriversaea.org
2. If you are not signed in, click the “Sign in with Google” Button and follow the prompts to sign in through Google.
3. Click “Search Contacts” to begin.
4. Select the criteria from the options on the page to narrow your search from all the educators our agency serves to only those in your desired group.
5. Click the “search” button at the bottom of the page.
6. Select individuals or all the members of this group to email (create labels for and/or export into a spreadsheet) by using the check boxes next to each name.
7. Then, click your desired action at the bottom of the page (Email Selected Contacts, Export Selected Contacts, Generate Labels).
8. Follow the steps on screen to finish!

Who do I contact for help?

• Beth Strike, Director of Creative Services/Communications
• Kristine Kienzle, Technical Support Manager for Media

Note: These directions are archived on the Staff Website>Communications>Contact Manager for future reference.

A few years ago, the agency unveiled a new blog called The Stream targeted specifically to region staff. The Stream is published on an as-needed basis by Regional Administrators and strives to provide news and information that staff out in the field need to best serve schools. Please don’t confuse The Stream with this publication, The Channel, which goes out monthly to all Central Rivers AEA staff members and shares more general agency-wide news and information. Both blogs serve a unique purpose and are important to review upon receipt in your in-box. You can find a live link, including archived information, to each publication on our staff website.

Want more information on the variety of ways the agency communicates? Check out this Agency Major Communication Channels doc to learn more about all our tools and how they are used to share news and information about Central Rivers AEA.

In an effort to mitigate risk due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases, a decision has been made to meet regionally rather than everyone attending in the Cedar Falls Conference Center for our all-staff meeting on Wednesday, August 18.

Staff from Regions 1, 2, and 3 will meet in the Clear Lake office.  Staff from Regions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and the youth shelters will meet in the Cedar Falls office.  Regions 9 and 11 will meet in the Marshalltown office. Please note that Region 10 is included with the Cedar Falls group. Staff members not assigned to a region (Information Technology, Creative Services, Business Office, etc.) will report to the office where they are primarily based.

The overall agenda for the day will remain the same with the presenter in the morning and regional and discipline meetings in the afternoon.  An overview of the afternoon’s agenda will be provided at each site. 

Social time begins at 8:30 am and our keynote speaker Kristen Anderson of the Brilliance Project, will begin promptly at 9:00 am.  Those attending in the Clear Lake and Marshalltown offices will be able to view the presentation via live stream.

Lunch is on your own and there will be a coffee truck on-site in the morning and La Calle food truck on-site for lunch at the Cedar Falls office, as previously arranged.  Unfortunately, due to the situation, we do not have time to secure food trucks for the Clear Lake and Marshalltown offices.  However, both areas have many wonderful restaurants to choose from and staff will be given plenty of time to enjoy lunch together. 

While wearing a face covering is not mandatory, it is encouraged in order for everyone to feel at ease when social distancing is not possible. Also, if possible, please consider wearing unscented products for the comfort of those with allergies. 

Even though the entire agency will not be all together in-person this year, the day will still be a wonderful opportunity to reconnect and network with your regional teams as we prepare for another incredible year of service!

During their regular board meeting on July 28, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors approved a contract with The Leadership Academy, a nationally-recognized nonprofit organization, to perform an equity audit for the agency. 

The purpose of the audit is to gather broad input on the current state of equity within the agency, which will surface learning needs for our organization and engage leadership in collaborative action planning and shared development of metrics for tracking process. This will take place from September 2021 – February 2022 as part of Phase 1.

Once learning needs are identified, personnel from The Leadership Academy will help the agency develop an internal definition of equity and a multi-year professional learning plan, focusing on what learning will need to be offered over the next two to three years to help us build capacity to strengthen our support for diverse populations and improve culturally responsive practices. In addition, we will use our awareness and experience to provide future support for our district partners. This work is considered Phase 2.

The work of the audit, and subsequent steps, will be guided by the agency equity committee, which is made up of staff representing a variety of service areas.

It’s important to note that this initiative is not about prescribing a set of beliefs that staff must adhere to but rather collectively developing a definition and accompanying learning to further our goal of being a respectful and inclusive organization that values diversity. All aspects of the project fall under the scope of HF 802 and adhere to all components of the intent of the law. Please note that this has been a sensitive topic statewide and we take our responsibility to adhere to the law very seriously.

All staff should know and understand the language and intention of HF 802. These FAQs provided by School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) serve as a helpful resource that staff are asked to review.

For more information, contact Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of HR.

We recognize that employees may from time to time experience stress, trauma or other life events that affect both their personal and work lives as well as their overall quality of life.  Our EAP offers confidential professional assessment and referral assistance for employees to help them address such challenges.  

Examples of the major life issues for which you may receive support from an EAP professional include: 

• Depression, anxiety and other mood disorders
• Relationship or family problems, including divorce and abuse
• Substance abuse (e.g., drugs, alcohol) and other addiction problems
• Job-related stress or anxiety

Information regarding the EAP is provided below:

• Central Rivers AEA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 
  • You have access at no cost
  • EAP advisor services 24/7, 365 days a year
• Phone:  1-866-451-5465 
• Online: workhealthlife.com 
  • (We are listed as: AREA EDUCATION AGENCY 267)
• App: QR Code
• Electronic ways to access your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Virtual Fitness opportunities

Also, a reminder that other programs exist for Employees with concerns regarding their mental health.  Please contact your direct supervisor or Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Human Resources for further information or support.

• Personal Health Care Provider (as part of your insurance package)
• Dr on Demand (as part of your insurance package)

As working from home and providing virtual service become a greater part of our work lives, please take time to review these parameters that will be followed agency-wide. If you serve in a Region, your Regional Administrator will be reviewing these with you during your upcoming meeting next week.

Questions? Please contact Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of HR or your direct supervisor.

This is a reminder that 2020-21 COVID accommodations/modifications have expired. The  agency took multiple steps this past school year to mitigate the risk of infection from COVID for our staff and provided increased flexibility based on individual needs and circumstances.

As we move into the 2021-22 school year, we anticipate a more normal year with consistency around our established policies and procedures. If you have specific needs or requests based on documented medical needs, we would ask you to contact the HR department to discuss possible modifications or accommodations.

Updates relating to the agency insurance and wellness programs for the new year are listed below. Please contact Human Resources with any questions.  

• Medical Plan
  GymPass is the rebranding of the Healthways wellness benefit through Blue365 – no changes from the current program other than the name. 

• Delta Dental
  Teledentistry for emergency situations are now available. Please view this flyer and FAQs for more information. 

• Wellness
  The Wellness program is paused for this year, in an effort to decrease expenditures as we continue to manage insurance costs.  Stay tuned for 2022-23.

• Quantum Workplace
  The Quantum Workplace program was discontinued last year and is not being used by the agency.

The 2021-22 all-staff kickoff meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 18 in the Cedar Falls conference center, beginning at 9:00 am.  If you are not able to be in attendance for the meeting, please notify your supervisor/HR.  Be sure to submit the appropriate leave.

Social time begins at 8:30 am and Natural Grind coffee truck will be on site with delicious coffee drinks & assorted pastries available for purchase before the meeting.  

The morning will feature an inspiring and informative presentation by Kristen Anderson of the Brilliance Project.  Regional and discipline meetings will be held in the afternoon. 

Lunch is on your own with a wide variety of restaurants close by in both Cedar Falls and Waterloo.  La Calle food truck will also be on site for those who wish to grab some great Latin American food!  Treats provided by Farmers State Bank will be available through-out the day.

We look forward to seeing everyone face-to-face for the first time in well over a year and having the opportunity to reconnect, network, and prepare for another incredible new year of service!