Early Retirement Incentive ends December 2, 2016

To support a timely staff replacement process and assist in budget planning, a retirement incentive is being provided for Certified and Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2016-17 work year.

The proposed incentive would be administered as follows:

Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2016-17 work year submitted by Certified or Administrative Staff, and received in the Human Resources Office between October 3, 2016, and December 2, 2016, and accepted by the Board no later than the regular meeting on December 7, 2016, will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500 to be payable June 30, 2017 subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2016-17 work year.

This incentive is only being offered to Certified and Administrative staff due to the challenge in securing replacement licensed staff in these categories.

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No Shave November raises awareness of men’s health issues

no-shave1 In an effort to raise awareness for men’s health issues, as well as have a little fun, 10 AEA 267 team members are joining with countless others by participating in No Shave November.

The rules are simple, on November 1st the men agree to shave their faces and then put down the razor for an entire month. At the end of the month, the women of Ad Cabinet, the Business Office, and Human Resources will be the judges as to who was able to grow the best beard.

The winner will be announced in the December edition of Intersections.

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Two week cut-off for class offerings beginning January 1, 2017

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Make sure you sign up for the “new” Iowa School Alerts

This summer, Iowa School Alerts (the weather notification system that brings you text and email alerts regarding office closings and professional learning cancellations) switched over to a new system. This means that everyone who wants to receive alerts must register to continue. 

Simply visit the Iowa School Alerts website to subscribe. You may choose email or text alerts from the drop-down menu; however, please note that in order to receive both, you must go in and subscribe separately for each preference.

The agency will continue to post office closures to the front page of our website and also using our alerts line at 866-923-1089, but it is important that you re-subscribe to the new system to receive an alert by email or text message.

In addition, please be sure that you take time to thoroughly review the information on the inclement weather page of our staff website. (Use your email login and password to gain access.)

This page provides all of the details you will need to learn about cancellations and office closures as well as updated procedures and answers to your most frequently asked questions about weather-related travel. If you have questions after reviewing this information, please visit with your supervisor. Stay safe and please exercise good personal judgement at all times!

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Here’s to Your health

Walking workstations are now in place at each of our office locations to help encourage more movement throughout the day and it is great to see staff taking advantage of their benefits.

Copies of Eat, Move, Sleep are available for check out to any staff member interested in reading the book. This book is full of great information on improving one’s health by taking small specific actions. Please contact Lori Thomas if you would like to check out  a copy.

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Agency “playbook” offers summary of strategic efforts, focus areas

screen-shot-2016-11-07-at-8-10-41-amWhen you think of a playbook, you typically think of a collection of high impact strategies or “plays” that a coach uses to direct his or her team to victory. The agency has put together our own playbook that guides where we will focus our efforts to yield the highest impact change for students. Very soon, copies of the playbook will be available to each team as well as conveyed through a laptop cling and other formats to communicate our strategic priorities to those we serve.

Watch for it!

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November Board Recap

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met Wednesday, November 2, 2016 in the Cedar Falls Conference Center. The board agenda and packet is available online and the minutes will be published online after approval at the next month’s board meeting.

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Embracing the future, honoring the past

Those of you who have been with the agency since the time of our merger know that our agency name has a storied and interesting history. For some, the name “AEA 267” is synonymous with the joining of three agencies into one. For many, the name is a constant reminder of separateness. This theme was reported by the Iowa Department of Education during previous site visits where both staff and our LEA partners voiced that our name was part of a larger concern around not yet fully uniting as one organization despite over a decade of efforts.

For those reasons and many others, the AEA 267 board took a bold step during their October meeting to change the agency’s name. The new name, Central Rivers Area Education Agency, is a nod to the many rivers that run throughout our 18-county territory, uniting us and flowing freely without regard to geography.

“The board rarely makes unilateral decisions, but in this case we felt it was appropriate to move ahead without a lengthy process that detracted from the important work that our staff and schools have to do ,” said Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson, AEA 267 vice president. “The timing is right given recent conversations around updates to facilities, the fact that our website is in the midst of a complete overhaul, and many of our building signs are in need of replacement. From a dollars and cents standpoint we had to make these improvements anyway. Why not take advantage of the timing and forge ahead?”

The new name will be phased in around the first of the year when the new agency website is launched. Supplies bearing the agency’s current name will be used up throughout the spring and the official changeover will take place on July 1, 2017.

Please help us embrace and celebrate this positive change!

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Staying safe during home visits

screen-shot-2016-10-05-at-7-21-01-pmRegardless of your role with AEA 267, safety should always be your top priority. For those staff who make home visits, staying safe requires extra vigilance and attention to detail.

The agency offers a “Home Visitor Safety” course each fall to anyone  who will be providing home visits or would like more information on working safe. To register for the class, please sign up online at ‘My 267’ for professional development course #15305 “Introduction to Coaching and Home Visitor Safety.” If you are interested and become aware of additional safety courses available in your community, please share your interest with your Regional Administrator.

Aside from the Home Visitor Safety course, there are some basic guidelines that you can use in your daily work to help reduce your risks. Please take a minute to review these important reminders:

  • If you ever feel unsafe, the agency supports you in driving by or leaving a home immediately. Always follow-up with a call to your Regional Administrator to report the incident.
  • Always be aware of what is going on around you. Stay alert.
  • Contact the family in advance and do some research if you need to. Plan your route and know your surroundings.
  • Wear your AEA identification badge, have your cell phone charged, and be sure your online calendar is current so that your whereabouts are clearly known.
  • Park in a well-lit area with access to an easy exit. Keep your keys handy and leave your purse (covered) in your car or trunk.

If you have some ideas on how to improve staff safety, feel free to share them with your Regional Administrator.

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Flu Shots Offered

Flu season is right around the corner and the agency is offering a flu shot clinic at each of our office locations on Wednesday, October 19th.

  • Cedar Falls: Conference Center Lobby, 6:30-8:00 A.M.
  • Clear Lake: Room D, 7:00-8:30 A.M.
  • Marshalltown: Room A, 6:30-8:00 A.M.

Sign-up by Friday, October 14 by calling (319-273-8246) or emailing Kathy Barfels in Human Resources. Employees and family members covered by AEA 267 health insurance can fill out a form at the time of the shot and the clinic providers will file the form with our insurance company. All others will need to pay at the time of the shot. *The clinic is not limited to AEA 267 employees.

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Department of Education site visit to take place in May

AEA 267 will receive an intensive, “differentiated accountability” site visit by the Iowa Department of Education (IDE) in May. The department will first complete a “desk audit” around AEA standards including a focus on closing the achievement gap and early literacy. The audit will be followed by a formal visit from an IDE-assembled team including representation from schools we serve as well as staff from the other AEAs. Data will be collected around the healthy indicators rolled out by the Department last year.

The visit is a welcome chance for the agency to collaborate in an almost professional learning community environment to look closely at what’s working and not with regard to the impact of our services. We have already self-identified many areas for growth and are in the midst of implementing several new approaches including the Regional Administrator model.

Watch for more information to be shared at a future date!

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SWIVL device for video recording now available in media center

The AEA 267 media center has a new video recording device available called the SWIVL that staff can use to record instructional content such as presentations or trainings.

The SWIVL is essentially a robotic mount that can hook up to a variety of tablets and smartphones. The kits available for checkout do not come with a tablet or smartphone so staff members must have access to one and be able to download the SWIVL App to their device. The app accesses the camera on your tablet or phone to record video content while the robotic platform holding your device “swivels” back and forth to track the movements of whichever individual is wearing the kit’s tracking “marker” around their neck.  From the app you can then easily upload your recorded clips to the internet.

Currently SWIVL kits are available for checkout only by AEA 267 staff intending to capture video for instructional uses.  The media center has six devices available.  Just contact any AEA 267 media center location to request and reserve a kit.  Also, please keep in mind that you may need to have individuals you’re recording fill out an AEA 267 media release form which is available on the staff website under Communication & Technology> “Digital Resources.”  If you have questions or need copies of the media release please contact Tiffany Schmitt. Also, please be mindful of copyright when considering your subject matter. This resource (also on the staff website) should be reviewed in advance.

Included in each kit is an instructional booklet to walk you through the process of setup and usage.  For further information and training on how to use the SWIVL, staff are encouraged to contact either Sarah Lalk or Cari Teske.

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Flex Room training available

The Flex Room contains resources and technology that require special training in order to use them to their full capacity, beyond the basic projecting of one computer screen to all monitors.  This training will provide participants with the capability or projecting multiple devices at the same time, choosing multiple input and output selections and wireless presenting.  Participants can attend these half-day trainings for one, two, or three hours depending on their needs.  You can sign up for the Flex Room Training (Course # 15399)  through our professional learning system.

  1. October 26 – 1:00 P.M.
  2. December 13 – 1:00 P.M.
  3. January 4 – 9:00 A.M.
  4. April 25 – 1:00 P.M.
  5. June 22 –  1:00 P.M.

If you have any questions about trainings, please contact Michelle Cowell.

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October Board Recap

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met Wednesday, October. 5, 2016 in the Cedar Falls Conference Center. The board agenda and packet is available online and the minutes will be published online after approval at the next month’s board meeting.

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Board approves early retirement incentive

To support a timely staff replacement process and assist in budget planning, a retirement incentive will be provided for Certified and Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2016-17 work year.

The proposed incentive would be administered as follows:

Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2016-17 work year submitted by Certified or Administrative Staff, and received in the Human Resources Office between October 3, 2016, and December 2, 2016, and accepted by the Board no later than the regular meeting on December 7, 2016, will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500 to be payable June 30, 2017 subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2016-17 work year. This incentive is only being offered to Certified and Administrative staff due to the challenge in securing replacement licensed staff in these categories.

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A few reminders about professional dress

The topic of professional dress has recently been discussed at our Regional Administrators’ meeting in an effort to ensure that we present ourselves and AEA 267 in the most positive light.  Our dress code was last clarified back in 2012, but with the beginning of the year, we felt it was important to remind everyone of the expectations to ensure consistency.  

The “spirit” of our expectations around professional dress is to represent our agency in a professional light and underscore the important work that we do.  We hope to present ourselves as an organization that takes their work and roles seriously and dress in a way that is parallel to the responsibilities of our jobs.

Here are some general reminders:

Monday-Thursday: Business casual (khakis/polos, dress pants, tops, etc.) to business professional (skirts, pant suits, etc.) depending on who your audience is for the day. If you are giving a presentation, you would probably choose business professional.  If you are simply working  in the office, then business casual is probably just fine (as well as a minimum expectation).

Friday: Jeans are welcome (with a business professional top).  However, again, please remember who your audience is for the day and dress appropriately given your audience.

Example of business casual

Example of business casual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday casual

Example of “Friday casual”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Example of professional dress

Example of business professional

Some general rules of thumb:

  • Please, no t-shirts.   
  • No Flip-Flops. (Flip Flops are not the same as open-toed shoes.)

If you have compelling reasons for requesting variance to the expected attire, please speak with your supervisor. Our hope is that we don’t have to spend a lot of time or energy on dress code issues as we all have much more impactful priorities that desire our attention!  Thanks for your cooperation. Questions? Contact your supervisor.

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Reminder: New accountability and safety procedures began July 1

Safety and accountability are important values for all AEA 267 employees. To ensure that all our staff are safe and accountable, beginning with the 2016-17 school year, we are asking all staff to check into and out of the facilities they support. While most school buildings have a sign-in area, AEA 267 administration has asked that all do by the start of the new school year. Not only is this an important accountability step, it will also ensure that your whereabouts are always known in the event of an emergency.

In addition to signing in at buildings, starting July 1, all staff are asked to ensure that their online calendars are kept current and detailed as follows:

(Deviations from these expectations can be made at the discretion of the supervisor.)

(Category 1) “Full” Calendar: Calendars will indicate on a daily basis using the “busy” designation where the staff member is physically located at the approximate times. In addition, other meetings may be listed on the calendar that the staff member may want to be conscious of or attend if time allows and are indicated using the “free” or “tentative” designation. All leave types should also be noted (i.e. sick, personal, EQ, etc.) using the “out of office” designation.

Staff who fall into this category: Administrative Team, direct service providers such as ECSE, Early Access, itinerant hearing, itinerant visually impaired, orientation & mobility , OT/PT, work experience/transition specialists and coordinators, audiologists, audiometrists, COTAs, SLPAs, Family Educator Connection staff, technology consultants, consulting staff, teacher librarians, and technology staff who serve multiple locations or districts.

(Category 2) “Repeat” calendar: Calendar shows the physical location where the staff member is located each day as well as the actual times they are in each location. Use the “busy” designation.  (If you deviate from your assignment, that deviation should be noted on your calendar.) All leave types should also be noted (i.e. sick, personal, EQ, etc.). Use the “out of office” designation.

Staff who fall into this category: Staff members who have a consistent schedule at multiple locations (e.g. Special Ed Team Reps, consultants, social workers, psychologists, SLPs,  and support staff assigned to River Hills.)

(Category 3) “Minimal” calendar: Calendar indicates when the staff member is out of the office for a meeting, vacation or other leave. Use the “out of office” designation.

Staff who fall into this category: Staff members who have a consistent schedule at one location including secretaries, HR & Business Office staff, custodians, print room staff, lending library staff and shelter/detention staff. All leave types should also be noted (i.e. sick, personal, EQ, etc.).

(Category 4) No online calendar completed

Staff who fall into this category: Van drivers.

Questions? Contact your supervisor.

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Congratulations to AEA 267’s Melissa Ford

mfordMelissa Ford, AEA 267 School Social Worker was selected by the Iowa School Social Workers Association (ISSWA) as the 2016 Iowa School Social Worker of the Year.  Melissa will be honored at the annual ISSWA Conference in Des Moines on November 11. She will also be recognized at the Midwest School Social Work Conference in Chicago on October 27.

Melissa has been with AEA 267 since 2008 and serves in the Grinnell Community School District. Nominated by several staff members at Grinnell High School, her nomination letters highlighted Melissa’s work there and in the community with the Poweshiek County Dental Coalition.

Heidi Durbin, Dean of Students summed up the reasons why she recommended Melissa for this prestigious award: “In addition to all the day-to-day responsibilities Melissa performs, it is her willingness to jump in and make things happen and her wealth of knowledge about school and community resources that is unparalleled and makes her most deserving of this award.”

Please join us in congratulating Melissa on this well-deserved honor!

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