The Channel

The open enrollment for benefits will close on May 12 and all benefits-eligible employees must complete this process even if declining insurance, making no changes, resigning, or retiring.

To enroll, access the Portal and go to My Benefits > Benefits Enrollment. The insurance plans for the 2019-2020 plan year remain the same as last year.

• The agency is providing $745 per month to support your insurance needs. This funding level is between the $1,500 and $2,500 deductible single plan premium cost. For additional choice, there continues to be a $3,500 High Deductible Health Plan with an AEA contribution to your Health Savings Account (HSA).
• The total cost of the family coverages only increased by $10 this year.
• Once again this year we have access to the Alex tool to help guide your decision making. We encourage you to use this tool as a guide to your recommended plan. Please remember that after using Alex you still need to take the necessary steps to be enrolled.

If you have any questions regarding your benefits or open enrollment, please contact Betty Hesseling at bhesseling@centralriversaea.org or 319-273-8202

May is set aside as School Board Recognition Month and is the perfect time to thank our volunteer community members who govern Central Rivers AEA! Serving over 62,000 students, 5,000 educators, and almost 500 staff members, these nine committed individuals are the backbone of the agency, setting the course for our work.

Dr. Debra Rich, Board President, represents Charles City, Dike-New Hartford, Dunkerton, Nashua-Plainfield, Sumner-Fredericksburg, Tripoli, Wapsie Valley, and Waverly-Shell Rock.

Deb and her husband have three grown children and five grandchildren. 

Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson, represents Central Springs, Clear Lake, Forest City, Garner-Hayfield- Ventura, Lake Mills, North Iowa, Northwood-Kensett, St. Ansgar, and West Hancock.

After working for the AEA for 25 years as a school social worker, Roberta now uses her AEA experience to further our mission.

Dr. George North is the representative for AGWSR, Alden, Aplington-Parkersburg, CAL, Clarksville, Eldora-New Providence, Grundy Center, Hampton-Dumont, Hubbard-Radcliffe, Iowa Falls, and North Butler.

With over 50 years in dentistry, Dr. North has also been involved in education and volunteerism his entire life.

Dr. Darshini Jayawardena represents Belmond-Klemme, Mason City, Osage, RRMR, and West Fork.

Darshini and her husband have three grown children and a granddaughter.

David Giese represents the districts of BCLUW, East Marshall, GMG, Marshalltown, and West Marshall.

Now retired, both David and his wife were educators for many years.

Maureen Hanson, Board Vice-President represents BGM, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Grinnell-Newburg, Hudson, Montezuma, North Tama County, South Tama County, and Union.

Maureen and her husband have three daughters and three granddaughters.

Dr. Tony Reid represents Cedar Falls, Denver, and Janesville. He and his wife have four children and several grandchildren.

Bryan Burton represents the Waterloo school district and is also the Director of Operations for the Boys & Girls Club of the Cedar Valley.

Dennis Craun, Jr., represents the districts of East Buchanan, Independence, Jesup, and Waterloo. He and his wife have two children.

Please join us in honoring the work of these dedicated people who donate countless hours of personal time to help ensure a quality education for all of Iowa’s students.

A new policy (401.33) “Drug and Alcohol Testing Program” was approved by the Board at the April meeting. A notice regarding the policy has been added to each of the Administrative Guidelines. For your reference, here is a complete copy of the policy and the notice. This policy is a replica of another AEA, and will be used only if there is reasonable suspicion of impairment at work. If you have any questions regarding the drug and alcohol testing requirements, please contact Human Resources.

Example of Business Casual

In an effort to ensure that we present ourselves and the agency in the most positive light, here are are a few reminders about the expectations for professional dress.

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, 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.

Some general rules of thumb:

• Please, no t-shirts.
• No Flip-Flops. (Flip Flops are not the same as open-toed shoes.)
• Athletic shoes are fine when you are going to/from a walk on your break but shouldn’t be worn on a daily basis around the office.

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.

The majority of the 2019-20 district calendars are now available online on the staff website under Resources > District Calendars. Continue to check back as the remaining calendars are submitted.

Congratulations goes to Kathy Olson, Work Experience Coordinator who was the lucky winner in the drawing for the Carlos O’Kelly’s gift basket in honor of Cinco de Mayo!

Each of our sites have added a space to practice mindfulness or to take a couple minutes to recalibrate your energy.  Please feel free to use on your break as your schedule allows within the parameters of your job and responsibilities. Should you have questions, please ask your supervisor. Be healthy, happy, and zen!

Locations:

• Marshalltown – room 137
• Clear Lake – near the mother’s room
• Cedar Falls – lower level, near the mother’s room

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met on Wednesday, May 1. Board agendas and minutes can be found online. The next scheduled meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 5 in the Cedar Falls Conference Center.

Sam Miller, Chief Administrator

Hanover Research, a global market research and analytics firm, recently released results of an independent survey of Iowa’s educators regarding the services of Iowa’s Area Education Agency (AEA) system.

Over 8,000 responses were generated from an invitation to general education teachers, special education teachers, superintendents, principals, and other professional staff working in more than 300 public schools and over 100 non-public schools. The data was collected over a period in the late fall of 2018.

Central Rivers AEA had 1,229 respondents fill out the survey. Key findings for our agency revealed that educators are extremely pleased with AEA services overall in the areas of special education; educational services; and instructional media, Creative Services, and technology. Many services received over 95% customer satisfaction rates (defined as meeting or exceeding expectations), including audiology/hearing services; vision services; due process-mediation support; science support; support for teacher-librarians; teacher leadership support; math support; literacy support; licensure support; early childhood support; media services; and Creative Services.

Two areas of growth indicated by the survey were behavioral help services and mental health services, which are growing concerns in schools statewide. As you know, these are two areas where we are continuing to bolster our support and advocate for additional funding.

Thank you for your commitment to Central Rivers AEA and providing excellent customer experiences! We should all be extremely proud of how highly our agency is regarded by those we serve. We already knew you were doing a great job…and the data agrees!

Please feel free to review the Hanover Research executive summary regarding the survey.

The agency will be holding the spring update meeting during the all-region meeting on May 22 in Cedar Falls. For those not required to attend the all-region meeting, a Zoom link will be made available. Please check May’s issue of The Channel for the time of the update, Zoom link, and details for the rest of the day.