The Channel

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.

The 2019-20 Educational Directory is available online and can be accessed on the staff website under Communications and also on the main agency website under About. If you need a printed copy, please speak to your region’s administrative assistant. 

Stay in the know whenever there’s a professional learning cancellation or office closing! Sign up to get Central Rivers AEA weather alerts via text, call, or email. Staff members can contact Shirley Horak at shorak@centralriversaea.org for info on signing up. 

Our first icy pavement conditions were already experienced this week and the agency wants to remind everyone to be mindful of the ice and snow when venturing out. Be sure to wear weather-appropriate footwear and walk with caution. Shoes and boots should have a flat bottom and your entire foot should make contact with the ground. For more information on staying safe this winter visit the CDC’s website. 

Chief Administrator Sam Miller, along with agency directors, visited each of our three offices in October and provided updates on a variety of topics including the new strategic plan, health insurance, well-being, Ed Services, Media and Creative Services. A recorded version is available for those who were not able to attend in person or via Zoom.