The Channel

Letters of advocacy from staff, LEA partners, parents, and even students to local legislators are always encouraged, especially letters of support regarding our AEA legislative priority areas for 2015.  We have created a flyer that lists legislators serving AEA 267 school districts. You can search by senate, house representative or by school district. This is a convenient way to find a particular legislator and his or her contact information.

Please remember when sending messages to legislators that it is important for you to personalize emails or letters and send them from your personal email account or stationary. It is against the law for us to lobby the legislature using agency email or stationary. Also, do not send any such messages during agency work hours, as that would also be a violation of the law.

Need help drafting an advocacy letter or have questions? Contact, Dr. Roark Horn, AEA 267 Chief Administrator.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors held a Public Hearing regarding the proposed AEA 267 Conference Center remodel on Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 6 p.m. in the Cedar Falls Conference Center. Immediately following, the board held a Public Hearing on the AEA 267 proposed budget for 2015-16.

The board held their regular meeting immediately following the budget hearing and during the meeting, the board:

• Heard a program review from Dennis Muyskens, Hogan-Hansen Auditor, regarding the 2013-14 Audit Report.
• Accepted and approved the Audit Report for 2013-14.
• Discussed and approved the process to hire a new Chief Administrator for 2015-16. (See related article.)
• Approved the 2015-16 proposed budget for submission to the State Board.
• Reviewed and approved the current mileage reimbursement rate.
• Approved the office calendar for 2015-16.
• Approved the lease renewal with North Iowa Community Action Organization for the Charles City sector office for 2015-16.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

Starting February 1, and lasting throughout the month, AEA PD Online kicks off its brand new OLLIE online community for teachers. Part of their Online Learning for Iowa Educators (OLLIE) series, the community provides educators resources, live events, discussions, sharing and networking with other educators. It is the perfect learning place for teachers looking to add blended or flipped learning to their classroom.

Featured during 28 Days of OLLIE will be daily events, activities and even contests with prizes to help acclimate educators to the community.

Educators at all levels and those who support them are invited to participate. The first step is to join the community, which can be done in seconds at http://bit.ly/1wWps6k . Once you’re signed up, you’ll receive regular updates about:

• Webinars and other real-time events
• Forums on topics related to teaching and learning online
• Activities that you can be part of
• Resources that are available
• Badges you can earn
• And much, much more!

To learn more, visit http://www.aeapdonline.org/2015/01/coming-soon-28-days-of-ollie.html

In a nod to good customer service, most of us have been changing our voicemail greetings on our phone daily or at least weekly. However, given everyone’s busy schedule and the itinerant nature of our roles, for many, this was a challenge. Thus, please adopt this new approach: Your voicemail greeting should contain a standard greeting that indicates that you will return calls within a 24-hour period and the name (including the extension) of the person the caller can reach for immediate assistance. During times when you are not able to return calls within the 24-hour window, please change your greeting to reflect this. Here are two examples of scripts to use:

Standard greeting:

Hello, this is Dr. Roark Horn, AEA 267 Chief Administrator. I am away from my office or on the phone right now but your call is very important to me. Please leave your name and number and the best time to reach you and I will return your call within 24-hours. If you would like immediate assistance, please contact my assistant, Kerri Wilson, at extension 8201. Thanks and have a great day!

Greeting for when you are not able to return calls within 24-hours:

Hello, this is Dr. Roark Horn, AEA 267 Chief Administrator. I am away from my office until (date) but your call is very important to me. Please leave your name and number and the best time to reach you and I will return your call when I return. If you would like immediate assistance, please contact my assistant, Kerri Wilson, at extension 8201. Thanks and have a great day!

Just a friendly reminder that voicemail guides for all three offices are available on our staff website under Communications & Technology>Voicemail Guides (use your email username and password to access).

AEA 267 has recently completed an upgrade to the Marshalltown office telephone system. This upgrade, along with upgrades to the Clear Lake and Cedar Falls office telephone systems that occurred over the last several years, have allowed the agency to integrate the individual systems at each of the three main offices into one system. This integration allows four-digit dialing between the offices, as well as the ability to use the phone book feature to look up telephone numbers in all locations.

To dial someone within the three offices, rather than dialing the entire number, i.e. 319 273-8227 you can simply dial the last four digits of their number. In this example it would be 8227. Because there are some duplicate numbers between the Clear Lake and Cedar Falls offices, to dial any Clear Lake number that starts with a 4 you must change that first digit from a 4 to a 2. For example, 4280 becomes 2280 for four-digit dialing purposes.

To use the phone book feature on your telephone, simply press the “phone book” button, type in the last name of the person whose number you are looking for and press the “Lookup” button. With that process you can look up the number of any user within the three offices. If you have questions you can always contact Greg Ehrig, Terry Davis or Dave Schaefer and they will be glad to help.

Thank you to everyone who donated both cash and prizes for the 2014 Food Bank Drive. Together, we were able to raise $2,241 to help stock food pantries in Iowa. What a great accomplishment! Special thanks to Dyan Johnson, Morgan Frederick, Beth Strike, and Lori Thomas for their support and assistance with this process.

On December 19, a random number generator was used to pick the winners of the prizes donated by our administrative staff. The winners were:

Do you love working at AEA 267? If so, feel free to nominate us for the honor of one of Iowa’s Top 100 Workplaces! Earlier this year, Prairie Lakes AEA and Grant Wood AEA received this honor. We think we have a lot to be proud of as well.

If you plan to complete the nomination form, please note that:

• We have approximately 615 employees
• Kathy Enslin, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of HR should be listed as the contact at 319-273-8245.

Did you know that 88% of Iowans filed their income tax returns electronically last year? Filing electronically or “e-filing” is easy, safe, and decreases the time it takes to receive your refund. Those individuals who are 25 or younger, 65 or older, or in the military may qualify to efile for free. For more information, visit www.iowa.gov/tax  The Business Office will be mailing W-2’s to all employee’s homes toward the end of the month. They will also be available through the iVisions portal.

The Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) website offers a convenient feature called “My Account” which offers individualized information about your IPERS benefits. This feature allows you to view a record of contributions, keep your contact information up-to-date, estimate your benefits, and update beneficiary information. For more information, visit www.ipers.org

“Meet the Team Monday” #MTM was a huge success and gave everyone a chance to learn a little about some of our newest staff members! We introduced you to the first half  of our new team members in November’s issue of Intersections, and here are 18 more we would like you to meet:

• Jennifer Anderson: Jennifer is a Special Education Consultant and earned her degree from Cornell College. Jenn has a wide range of teaching experience, having taught kindergarten as well as college students.
• Stephanie Collins: Stephanie is a Special Education Consultant and received her degree from the University of Iowa. She taught for eight years in Marshalltown and Iowa City before coming to AEA 267.
• Michelle Cowell: Michelle is an Instructional Technology Consultant and worked at Grant Wood AEA before joining us. She earned a M.Ed from ISU and is also a Google Education Trainer.
• Kelly Gallagher: Kelly is a Consultant for School Improvement with AEA 267. She received her degrees from UNI and the University of Wisconsin. Prior to joining AEA 267, Kelly spent 13 years teaching fourth grade.
• Shannon Graves: Shannon is an Educational Assistant at Pinecrest Center and worked for 10 years as an Assistant Preschool teacher before coming to AEA 267.
• Christopher Hamilton: Chris is teaching art at Bremwood and earned his degree from UNI. He has worked as a graphic designer as well as coaching soccer in the Cedar Valley.
• Angela Harvey: Angela graduated from Missouri State University with a Doctorate in Audiology and worked at Hearing Associates in Mason City before joining AEA 267.
• Molly Johansen: Molly is finishing her internship requirements for an Ed.S degree in school psychology with us. She holds double majors from Buena Vista University in human services and psychology.
• Hannah Korcuska: Hannah joins us as a School Psychologist and is working on completing her specialist degree from Minnesota State University- Moorhead.
• Caitlin Lauritzen: Caitlin is a recent graduate from UNI with a B.A. in English and is our newest Lending Library Coordinator,
• Audrey Putz: Audrey earned her degree as a School Social Worker from Wartburg and the University of Iowa. Before coming to AEA 267, she worked at Mississippi Bend AEA.
• JR Trembly: JR received his degree in Management Information Systems and previously worked at McFarland Clinic in Ames. He is one of our two Special Education staff members overseeing data entry.
• Jessica Sexe: Jessica comes to us from Humboldt County Memorial Hospital, where she started her career as a SLP. She earned her degrees from Truman State University in Missouri and UNI.
• Diane Volkman: Diane recently graduated from Morningside College. She taught at BGM, Newton and Grinnell Community School Districts before joining AEA 267 as a Special Education Consultant.
• Jennifer Waterman: Jennifer earned her degree from St. Cloud State University and is currently attending UNI to obtain her Ed.S. as a School Psychologist.
• Kami Wenzel: Kami obtained her degree from Drake University and expects to receive her Ed.S as a School Psychologist in May 2015.
• Sara Wiley: Sara recently graduated from UNI with her master’s degree and did her internship with us before being hired full time as a SLP.
• Dawn Williams: Dawn earned her degrees from BVU and Morningside. Before joining AEA 267 as a Special Education Consultant, Dawn worked at Osage Community School District.

Be sure to “like” AEA 267 on Facebook and look for our new featured series coming soon!

Kris Colwell, AEA 267 Graphic Artist

Please welcome back Kris Colwell, Graphic Artist working out of the Marshalltown office! Kris accepted the position upon the retirement of Tracy Voss, our Graphic Artist in Clear Lake.

There are some important changes to keep in mind when sending in print requests:

• Print ready color copies and posters should be sent to either the Cedar Falls print shop or the Clear Lake print shop, not a Graphic Artist.
• PODD & Board Maker services should be sent to Judy Schuler in Cedar Falls.
• Graphic jobs should be sent to a Graphic Artist, Lindsay O’Regan in Cedar Falls or Kris Colwell in Marshalltown.  Any questions regarding Digital Store Front should be directed to Dave Johnson, Print & Production Supervisor.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met Wednesday, January 7 at 6 p.m. via conference call due to inclement weather. During the meeting, the board:

• Approved the 2015-16 proposed budget for publication
• Approved the final plans of Phase 1 for the remodel of the Cedar Falls Conference Center
• Heard a second reading and approved the following board policies:
  • 401.27R1 – Employee Use of Cell Phones & Other Communication Devices Regulations
  • 401.27R2 – Agency Cell Phone & Reimbursement Procedures/Request Form
  • 405.1 – Sick Leave
  • 405.3 – Bereavement Leave
  • 405.4 – Medical Emergency Leave
  • 405.7 – Jury Duty
  • 405.8 – Personal Leave
• Approved the agreement with Drake University to offer credit through Professional Learning
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members

The AEA 267 Foundation meeting was held immediately following the regular board meeting.

Thank you for your amazing response to this year’s food pantry drive. Donations have already surpassed last year’s total with one week left to donate. A huge thank you to AEA 267 administrative staff for generously donating prizes which include multiple gift cards, handmade items, baked goods and more. What a fantastic team effort!

Just a friendly reminder that for every $1 you donate, five meals can be provided to needy families in our area. Take your monetary donation to Dyan Johnson in Cedar Falls, Lori Thomas in Clear Lake, Morgan Frederick in Marshalltown, or any satellite office or special school secretary. For every $1 you donate, your name will be entered into the raffle for prizes.

Let’s work together to make an even bigger impact this holiday season!

While so far our winter has been fairly mild, poor weather conditions are likely in our future at some point. Be sure to read through the updated frequently asked questions and answers related to weather. Several clarifications have been made regarding how to handle office closed and early dismissal days in terms of work time.

Example of customizable PowerPoint template now available!

For those that use PowerPoint frequently in their work, templates with the agency’s colors and logo have been added to the staff website for your use. (Use your email username and password to log in.) Use of these templates ensures a consistent image for the agency and takes the guesswork out of design. More templates will be added in the future!

Did you know that as an AEA 267 employee you are eligible for discounts through the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC)? Discount products include cellular phone plans, digital cameras and camcorders, health and wellness, office supplies, software and technology. For more information, contact Jamie Albertsen, jalbertsen@iec-ia.org or 800-255-0405, ext. 12346.

In an effort to keep all Area Education Agency employees and board members informed of statewide initiatives and matters of importance, a new electronic AEA newsletter, The AEA Advocate, has been developed by the AEA Communications Committee for distribution to all AEA staff on a monthly basis. The most recent issue of the newsletter can be viewed here while the January edition will be sent directly to your email in box.

The AEA Communications Committee is very interested in your feedback about this first issue along with your suggestions for information that you would like to see provided in future editions. Please feel free to comment on this post and/or share your feedback with Beth Strike.