The Channel

Please change your voicemail greeting and set an away message to your email during the holiday breaks so that callers and/or e-mailers will know when they can expect to hear from you.

Voicemail example:

“Hello, this is (your name). Our office will be closed beginning Monday, December 23 and will reopen on Thursday, January 2. Please leave your name, telephone number and a detailed message and I will call when I return. Thank you and happy holidays 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 23 through January 2 and will respond to your email upon my return. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday!”

If you need assistance with either task, please visit with your supervisor or administrator.

Gloria Hill, Linda Decker, Georgine Myles and Rhonda Gleason pictured with the items they coordinated to be donated to the House of Hope.

Are you involved in a Navigate wellness initiative such as Charmed by Charity? The Channel is the place to share what you are doing and invite others to help! Check out what Rhonda Gleason in Creative Services was able to accomplish with the help of others in the agency as part of her Navigate challenge. Rhonda coordinated a food drive to benefit the House of Hope in Waterloo.

Get ready for the next team challenge getting kicked off soon! Sign-up for “Healthy U” is already underway and is bound to keep everyone on track with healthy eating and habits through the holiday season!  

Holiday giving opportunities

The Cedar Falls, Clear Lake and Marshalltown offices will once again be sponsoring a holiday giving event in December.

• The Cedar Falls office will be adopting four families from the Boys and Girls Club in the Cedar Valley once again this year.
• The Clear Lake office will be honoring the charitable contributions and actions of staff by having staff identify at the December 19 meeting which charity they have contributed to and what town.
• The Marshalltown office will be sharing a food advent calendar with staff to collect canned goods to give to the local food bank.

Watch for more details with specifics on these great events to help those in need this holiday season.

Contacts:

Cedar Falls Office – Barb Schroeder bschroeder@centralriversaea.org

Clear Lake Office – Laura Rinnels lrinnels@centralriversaea.org

Marshalltown Office – Carolyn Wanatee cwanatee@centralriversaea.org

One Sock at a Time

Wear your crazy socks for a $2 donation to the Northern Lights Alliance for the Homeless in Mason City, Iowa. Northern Lights Alliance for the Homeless has been in operation since 1999 and have increased the program from helping men to now helping women and their children, families and veterans. Donation buckets will be available at each location.

Details can be found on this flyer!

Fun with Frosty event

Central Rivers AEA has committed to serving our community during the holiday season by supporting the Boys and Girls Club “Fun with Frosty” event. This event will take place on Tuesday, December 17 from 4:30-6:30 at the Boys and Girls Club (515 Lime Street, Waterloo). 

Volunteers will help serve dinner and assist with crafts and games. We need 12-15 volunteers who will commit to helping make this event a wonderful night for the kids. Sign up by Monday, November 25. Contact Lori Thomas (lthomas@centralriversaea. org) with any questions. 

Do you have four minutes? Check out the latest edition of Agency Update to learn more about a new challenge being launched through Navigate as well as agency supports for mental health.

Resource: Employee Assistance Program details

Do you ever wonder how your other Central Rivers AEA co-workers spend their work life? On the Job @ Central Rivers AEA is a monthly series we’ve just launched to give you a peek into the work of others in the agency. Each month, Chief Administrator, Sam Miller, will spend time with a Central Rivers AEA employee and learn more about the work involved in their position. These highlight videos will also be shared on our website and social media sites to help educate the public about the work of an AEA.

This month? Angie Dickey and the crew in Media.

American Education Week is a great time to celebrate the amazing work that each and every one of you do for the children, families, and educators that our agency serves. Simply put, you make a tremendous positive difference! On November 15, everyone will receive a small token of appreciation from the agency. Take time during American Education Week to reflect on your many contributions…and thank you!

Are you a veteran? Please get in touch with Human Resources so that we can honor you for your service on Veteran’s Day! Contact Robin Billerbeck.

The Business Office is excited to announce that Pam Morrissey has accepted the accounting manager position.  Pam has over 25 years of school finance experience, most recently as the school business official for Van Buren County Community School.  Prior to working for Van Buren, she worked for Great Prairie AEA, Council Bluffs, and Riverside schools. Pam will begin her new position on November 11. Please join the Business Office in welcoming Pam to Central Rivers AEA!  

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) have solidified their commitment to all of Iowa’s 500,000 K-12 students, 327 public school districts, 182 accredited, non-public schools and thousands of children birth to age 3 with its updated strategic plan. The plan, which builds on the work outlined in the AEA Compact, reflects our renewed commitment to the priorities and actions that Iowa’s nine AEAs will take to meet the needs of those we serve.

The work outlines the essential functions of Special Education, Media and Educational Services that were identified when the AEAs were established in 1975. It also incorporates recent efforts to maximize efficiencies and align equities in services, such as children’s mental health and well-being and real-world, in-depth work experiences into schools (i.e., Future Ready Iowa).

Central Rivers AEA has staff members represented on the teams to support the work outlined in the action plans including Sam Miller, Dr. Julie Davies, Amy Knupp, and Jen Sigrist. We are also aligning our priorities and focus areas with the Iowa AEA Strategic Plan. 

While each AEA may differentiate its services slightly according to the needs of its districts, the state-wide system is committed to uniting all of our essential services with this common plan.  We believe we’re stronger together, and our state-wide system is grounding the equitable, efficient, and effective experience of our districts with this strategic, system-wide plan.

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) will offer a lunch and learn on November 19 from 11:30 -12:30 via Zoom. Join the meeting if you would like to learn more at https://zoom.us/j/374789348.

The FAQs for Inclement Weather Procedures were revisited and revised due to the multiple office closed days in 2018-19.  The changes reflect the following: 

1) For 260 day full-time staff, if the office is closed or has an early out due to inclement weather, the time will be paid but employees may be required to work or choose to work, for all or part of the day, based on their role, responsibilities, supervisor and deadlines.  

2) For 260 day full-time staff, scheduled leave will not be granted back to you during inclement weather, except in extraordinary circumstances.  

3)  Hourly staff do not need to clock in/out when working remotely during inclement weather, except for maintenance/custodial staff.

As a reminder:  You may arrive up to an hour late for work without using leave time or making up the time within the week if you find yourself in a unique weather circumstance that causes your delay. It is expected that you will make contact with your supervisor to let him/her know your situation immediately upon knowing that you will be delayed so that s/he is assured that you are safe and an adjustment to your day can be made if necessary. For further guidance or clarification, please contact Human Resources.