The Channel

Quantum Workplace has become a valuable tool for recognizing our colleagues for their efforts. This year, a handful of regions will be piloting the use of Quantum Workplace for goal setting, one-on-one progress meetings, and other professional growth activities. Please visit with your Regional Administrator for specifics in your region! Also, Quantum now has an app for those interested.

Google Groups and email lists are maintained as a means of facilitating electronic communication between CRAEA and its stakeholders. Groups and lists are established and maintained by the Director of Communications & Creative Services in cooperation with other staff members. The Director of Communications & Creative Services and/or Chief Administrator has sole responsibility for authorizing individuals and offices/departments to post to these lists and will provide information to departments on the approval process for using distribution lists.

Individuals may create subsidiary distribution lists as desired using their individual Google or email accounts but should not duplicate efforts to solicit email addresses from local schools. Use of Contact Manager is the preferred method for reaching individual teacher groups vs. maintaining individual lists.

Agency e-mail distribution lists are not available to non-agency entities.

General guidelines for All-Staff and Superintendents Google Groups:

1. Administrative staff will forward to the Executive Assistant/Board Secretary for review any email that he/she is requesting be distributed, and will identify the list(s) to which they wish to send the message.
2. The Director of Communications & Creative Services will either approve the utilization of the distribution list (or lists) for the message or will inform the representative of the reason(s) why such utilization is denied.
3. Material sent to distribution lists must be related to the specific group to whom the mail is being sent. Email will not be sent to superintendents and principal groups to promote professional learning for teacher audiences except at the discretion of an Executive Director.
4. Use of plain black text, links and PDF attachments are encouraged. Prepare the email message exactly the way it should be sent out. Keep messages brief and to the point.
5. Each message must contain the intended recipient(s), a meaningful subject line, and signature block with sender, sender’s agency affiliation, office telephone number and email address. Emails should be edited carefully for content before being sent for review.
6. Repeat emails and corrections will be sent on a very limited basis.
7. Messages should be sent to the Executive Assistant/Board Secretary two days in advance of the requested send date to allow adequate time for review whenever possible. Requests for same-day event messages are not guaranteed to be reviewed in time for the desired distribution.

Phew! That’s a lot of “stuff” to know. If you have questions, please contact Beth Strike.

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 Communications & Creative Services
• Deb Culp, Technical Support Manager for Media
• Kristine Kienzle, Technical Support Assistant for Media

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

Starting July 1, 2019 Central Rivers AEA staff who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) and who have regular contact with students in kindergarten through grade 12 must complete Suicide Prevention and Postvention and ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) training annually. Further guidance can also be found on this document from the Iowa DE. 

These trainings can be accessed through the Iowa AEA PD online mandatory trainings. Detailed information can be found in the Portal > My Toolbox > Mandatory Trainings.  If you are a staff member required to take these trainings, please have the trainings completed by October 30th, 2019. Suicide Prevention and Postvention and ACES are separate trainings. When completed, please print the two certificates and submit them to the Human Resources office. 

 If you have questions, contact your regional administrator or program administrator if you are assigned to River Hills School or a Detention/Shelter program. 

Business cards are available through the Staff Website > Resources > Ordering Business Cards. Click on the business card order form and fill out all necessary information.  Contact Creative Services with any questions.

Thanks to those who responded to the evaluation of our all-staff meeting day held last month. Here are the results and some common themes:

• 80% of respondents viewed the meeting and activities as a good use of their time. We do understand that we have a wide variety of staff with different roles that we ask to attend. We don’t do it often, but getting everyone together, and celebrating the return of all the staff and the beginning of the school year is important. We will keep working to continue to improve the experience for all staff.
• Over 80% of our staff found Tamara Konrade’s keynote message relevant to either their personal or professional lives (and in many cases) both.
• Over 95% of staff indicate that they plan to participate in the new Navigate wellness program.

Over 200 team members shared a commitment for the 2019-20 year. It was exciting and inspiring to read them. Check them out for yourself!

Ideas shared for future consideration or common themes:

*Include a coffee truck

*Consider raising the temperature in the room

*Earmark more time to be in our disciplines

*Add more food trucks during lunch

*Project the speaker on all screens

*Consider a later start date 

Again, thanks for your feedback!  Although we can’t make it a perfect experience for everyone, we will use the feedback to make continual improvements.

If Tamara and Halee’s keynote inspired you last month, stay INspired by signing up to “Get INspired Weekly,” a short provocative email to keep the ABC’s of a healthy life and culture in front of you. Yes, I want to Get INspired Weekly!

A new expense reimbursement form is available on the portal under My Toolbox > Expense Reimbursement > Reimbursement Req Spreadsheet. You may have to click on “Enable Editing” at the top of the spreadsheet when opening. You will submit both Educator Quality (EQ) and regular travel expenses on this form and enter them as one expense reimbursement request. Expense reimbursement requests should be submitted monthly. View the new “how-to” video for more detailed instructions. For more information, contact the Business Office.

Internal job openings will be posted on the main announcement page of the iVisions Portal as jobs become available for transfer within the agency. External job postings will be available on both the website under Careers and through the TeachIowa system. The Human Resources department will no longer be sending emails regarding open positions to help cut down on the amount of email staff receive.  

For those coming back on contract from summer break, as well as our year-round staff, welcome back! The August 13 all-staff meeting is quickly approaching and there are several important details you need to know.

Social time and registration will begin at 8:30 am with the meeting set to begin at 9 am. Please review the agenda for the day, which includes details on the featured speaker and the afternoon Regional and Department team meeting locations. 

Other pertinent information is detailed below:

Carpooling

As in past years, we ask that you please carpool with other employees to defray mileage expense and help to ease parking concerns. If you are in the Clear Lake or Marshalltown Office, please reach out to either Dr. Carol Sensor, Clear Lake Site Superintendent or Kim Swartz, Marshalltown Site Superintendent to sign-up for ride sharing if you have not already received information. See your supervisor if you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from carpooling as reimbursement for travel will be limited.

Dress for the day

Dress for the day is casual (shorts, flip flops, polos, etc. are all acceptable). If you would like, bring a pair of walking shoes to enjoy the trail.

Lunch/time clock

Lunch will be “on your own” this year with plenty of time provided for you to get to/from downtown locations.  Carpooling is highly encouraged. We have also secured Chick-fil-A’s mobile food truck which will be on site and available for quick and easy walk-up service. Credit, debit cards and cash are all accepted. Hourly staff do not have to punch in/out for lunch. (Please adjust your schedule for the day or week to stay within scheduled weekly hours. Clear Lake or Marshalltown staff members can be given extra time beyond their normal work day hours for travel time.) Questions should be directed to your supervisor.

Afternoon Regional/Department meetings

Regional and department meetings will be held from 1:15-3 pm in various locations throughout the building. Please refer to the agenda for details and locations. Please bring your computer or device. 

Get ready for a great day!