The Channel

Sam Miller

Area Education Agency 267 (AEA 267) is pleased to announce that Sam Miller, currently superintendent at Solon Community School District, has been selected as the agency’s new chief administrator.  Miller will succeed Dr. Roark Horn, who is leaving the agency to become Executive Director of School Administrators of Iowa (SAI), beginning July 1, 2015. Horn has led the agency since 2010. The board officially hired Miller at their regular meeting on Monday, April 6, 2015.

“We are extremely proud to offer the position to someone with the breadth and depth of experiences that Mr. Miller has,” said Dr. Debra Rich, AEA 267 board president. “Sam’s track record of exemplary leadership, along with his value for relationships and collaboration with stakeholders, are a perfect fit for AEA 267.”

Miller has previously held positions as Superintendent and Middle/High School Principal at Davis County Community School District in Bloomfield, Iowa; Vice Principal/Athletic Director at Knoxville High School, in Knoxville Iowa and Special Education Teacher at the Ottumwa Community School District. He has been with the Solon Community School District since 2010.

Miller earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in K-12 Physical Education from the University of Iowa; a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from Morningside College; a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration from Drake University; and an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Drake University.  Miller is in the process of earning a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northcentral University.

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Sam Miller to AEA 267!

Spring is just around the corner and the target date for open enrollment of benefits has been set for May 4. Please watch your email and announcements in the iVisions portal. All benefits-eligible employees must complete this process even if you are declining insurance, resigning or retiring.

Thank you to the 545 staff members who responded to the Des Moines Register Iowa’s Top 100 Workplaces survey. Recently, a sample of the results were shared with the AEA 267 Human Resources Office revealing the following:

Workplace statements asked on the survey were grouped around six factors including: “Alignment” (e.g. the agency is going in the right direction), “Execution” (doing things efficiently and well), “Connection” (feeling genuinely appreciated, reaching individual potential), “My Job” (training, expectations, flexibility, etc.), “My Manager” (cares about employees, helps me learn and grow, makes it easier to do my job, etc.); and “My Pay & Benefits”. The agency scored highest in the “My Manager” category. The lowest scored category was “Execution”.

Unfortunately, the company that administers the survey, Workplace Dynamics, has explained that in order for us to receive the full results, the agency would need to pay over $6,000 for even a basic report and over $17,000 for an expanded report. Given the fact that we already have data from our own internal continuous improvement survey, a decision was made not to spend the funds for the full results and to abandon our pursuit of the “Top 100 Workplaces” designation.

For many years, AEA 267 employees under the Master Contract between the AEA 267 Education Association and the Agency were issued contracts for the following year prior to the beginning of April even if negotiations between the Association and the Agency were not completed. The Agency was doing this in good faith so that employees would know their employment status. In discussions with the Association during the summer of 2013 it was brought to the Agency’s attention that this practice was in violation of Iowa State Code 279.13.

Iowa Code 279.13.1 states that contracts issued must contain the following information for them to be valid:

• They must be in writing;
• They must state the number of contract days;
• They must state the annual compensation to be paid;
• And, they must contain any other matters that are mutually agreed upon.

By issuing individual contracts that do not have the correct annual compensation, the Agency was violating the code. This became an issue when individuals attempting to be hired elsewhere were not released from their Agency contracts, preventing them from being hired by a new employer. The Association made the Agency aware that under 279.13.3 employees have 21 days from when they are issued a legal contract to either sign their new contracts or resign. Because the contracts that the Agency issued were in violation of the law they were not valid and therefore the Agency could not hold these individuals as it was within the 21 days from the date when the Association and the Agency came to agreement on the 2013-2014 Master Contract.

As was the case last year, the Agency has again this year agreed with the Association not to issue contracts until a settlement is reached for the 2015-2016 Master Contract. Under Iowa Code 279.15.1 the Agency must issue Reduction in Force (RIF)/Termination notices no later than April 30. Because “teacher” contracts continue, if you do not receive a RIF notice you will have a contract issued to you after the Association and the Agency settle the Master Contract.

Although issuing individual contracts after the Master Contract settlement is different from the past practice of the Agency, the Agency and the Association are working together to do what is best for the employees while also following the law. If you have any questions regarding this information please feel free to contact either Kathy Enslin or Jack Clement, ISEA Director (Hawkeye UniServ Unit).

Clarity is a service of Bright Bytes that all the AEA’s in Iowa offer to local school districts. It provides building and district-wide data regarding technology integration and implementation. The AEA system has been working closely with Clarity to design a survey for internal use with our own staff. Later this month we will ask AEA 267 staff to complete a 10-minute survey, which will give us insight into how we use technology with our educational partners, our level of access, current level of skill, and the environment including things such as agency policies.

The results of the survey will be reviewed with the intention of creating an action plan that will focus on identified needs and designing and implementing training and support to build our internal capacity.

Brent Siegrist

Submitted by Brent Siegrist, Iowa AEA Executive Director

A fortieth birthday is an important milestone in a person’s life. Amid the joke about approaching middle age is the comfort of being a little wiser than a person was just a decade ago. As Iowa’s Area Education Agencies reach this celebrated milestone we have the opportunity to reflect on the past four decades of service to Iowans.

Regional education in Iowa took a giant step forward in the spring of 1974 when Senate File 1163 transformed the jigsaw maze of 52 county or joint county school systems into 15 area education agencies with the same service areas as community colleges.  The AEAs, as they came to be called, began operating July 1, 1975.

This legislation erased the division and eased the discrepancies that existed between Iowa schools. Iowa’s AEAs collaborated to improve the education opportunities for our most valuable asset: our young people. Prior to that time, only about seven to eight percent of the handicapped children in the state had educational opportunities in their home communities. Similar discrepancies existed in general education classrooms: only 30% of the children in the state had access to current media materials, and the availability of resources varied greatly between Iowa’s schools urban, rural, large and small.

Today, due to voluntary mergers across the state, there are nine AEAs that are widely regarded as one of the finest intermediate service systems in the country, and we continue to evolve to ensure we’re meeting the educational needs of our next generation of leaders. The demands of today’s learners are much different than those that were acknowledged and supported 40 years ago.Today our specialized teams provide support and resources in the areas of autism, brain injury and crisis response. Children can access resources at their schools that were loaned from our lending libraries, ensuring educators and students have access to thousands of resources to support reading and hands-on learning.

We offer support through the Family Educator Connection, a free program promoting partnerships between families and schools in order to provide the best educational opportunities for children with special needs.  We are cooperative purchasing that saves schools 40-70 percent off list price on media equipment and materials, paper and art supplies. math, science, and numerous other content areas. We are an educator’s resource for professional development, offering courses for graduate credit or license renewal, both face-to-face and online.

Yes, a lot has changed in the 40 years that have passed since the inception of our organization, but today we celebrate each of these 14,600 days in which we’ve made a difference in the life of an Iowan. Our staff members are in lock-step with your local school administrators, teachers, counselors and librarians to ensure that Iowa’s learners have the most opportunity of any state in the nation. And we have no intention of slowing down now.

Brent Siegrist is the Executive Director of Iowa’s Area Education Agencies. He can be reached at bsiegrist@gwaea.org. Iowa’s Area Education Agencies work as partners with public and accredited, non-public schools in Iowa to help students, school staff, parents and communities meet educational challenges. The system was established in 1974 by the Iowa legislature.

Start planning now to attend the upcoming retirement open houses which will be held on May 12th in Cedar Falls, May 13th in Clear Lake, and May 14th in Marshalltown. All celebrations will be from 3:30-5 p.m. In keeping with tradition, the open houses will feature remarks from supervisors, retirees and a chance to socialize. Watch for next month’s issue of Intersections for the list of retirees.

The AEA 267 Facebook page is a great place to keep up with news regarding the agency, monthly features about our awesome staff, and to see fun photos of your colleagues. Here are two posts we recently shared that you may have missed:

Throwback Thursday featuring Judy Moser, one of our 40 year staff members 

Meet Judy Moser, AEA 267 Special Education Coordinator. Hired in 1975, Judy is celebrating her 40 year work anniversary along with Iowa’s Area Education Agencies.

When asked what notable changes she has seen over the years, Judy said technology has been a huge and ever-changing part of the way students learn. Her best memories are centered around people … students, teachers, parents, administrators, and her AEA colleagues.

One reason Judy shared for her long tenure at AEA 267 is that, “Even after all this time, I still believe our work is important and that we are all able to make a positive difference.” Her hope for the future is that the AEAs will continue to make student outcomes a priority.

The AEA 267 Team Representatives (school social workers, special education consultants, and school psychologists) met this week for their annual Spring Fest. A number of special education administrators were also in attendance. The keynote presenter was Dr. Nicole Skaar from the University of Northern Iowa who spoke on childhood mental health. The afternoon featured multiple break-out sessions.

The AEA 267 Administrative Cabinet recognized St. Patrick’s Day by dressing festively for the occasion!

If you are considering retirement at the end of the 2014-15 year, please let the Human Resources office know as soon as possible. This will help to ensure that plans can be made for future staffing and also to celebrate your years of service with the agency. Please contact Shirley Horak for more information.

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met on Monday, April 6, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. for a joint board meeting with Hawkeye Community College, Iowa Valley Community College District, and North Iowa Area Community College at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo.

The regular board meeting was held immediately following and during the meeting, the board:

• Approved the contract for Sam Miller, the new AEA 267 Chief Administrator.
• Approved the purchase of cyber insurance.
• Approved the purchase of computers for the 2015-16 school year.
• Approved the purchase of Internet and aggregation services.
• Approved the 28E Agreement with Iowa Association of Area Education Agencies.
• Approved the Bylaws of Iowa Association of Area Education Agencies.
• Appointed Dr. Debra Rich, AEA 267 President, to serve on the Iowa AEA Board.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

A decision has been made to hold an all-staff meeting on August 12 at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center (GBPAC) in Cedar Falls. (Please note that this is a change from previously announced sector meeting dates for August.) The reason for the change is twofold: 1.) meeting together as one group will provide our new chief administrator with an important opportunity to address and meet staff; and 2.) everyone will participate in a common equity training which is required as part of our equity plan. It is anticipated that service area meetings will take place in the afternoon following the all-staff meeting. Logistics and actual times are still being finalized. In addition to the August 12 all-staff meeting, please note these other important dates, as appropriate:

• August 10: New Staff Orientation (full day)
• August 10: Mentoring, Day 1
• August 11: New Staff Orientation (Special Ed, Info Tech and Ed Services staff are meeting separately)
• August 14: Mentoring, Day 2

Please mark your calendars now for the all-staff meeting and release previously announced dates that pertained only to your sector. We look forward to a great day of learning together in August!

This past month, focus group participants, including representatives from all four of the agency’s employee groups along with local superintendents, created a “leadership profile” which details the type of leader the agency is looking for to replace Dr. Roark Horn. Among the attributes sought in candidates are excellent people skills, strong ethics and morals, and a collaborative and inspiring approach. In addition to the leadership profile, focus group participants worked on interview questions.

AEA 267 board members will meet in closed session on March 24 to select four or five applicants for initial interviews. The interviews will be done by the board two days later, also in closed session. Candidates will then be narrowed down to two finalists to be interviewed on March 31 and April 1 by focus groups. It is hoped that the board will be able to announce a new leader by April 2.

A sincere thank you to all those participating in the process!

Many thanks to Dennis Sinclair who narrated a special video designed to remind legislators and other key audiences about the important contributions of the AEA system over the past 40 years. Have a few minutes? Turn up the volume, sit back and see if you recognize any of these images from the past.

Before your meeting:

• Dress professionally. Dress for your video conference the way you would for an in-person meeting.
• Practice hosting. Zoom is easy to use, but you do not want to explore it’s features during a live conference. Practice scheduling and inviting people to meetings. Learn how to mute, unmute and how to re-assign the host role.
  • Check “enable join before host” in the schedule window. Otherwise, let your invitees know they will not be able to join if you have not yet started the meeting.
• Check your internet connection. If possible, choose wired over wireless for video conferencing.
• Plan for the meeting to be in a quiet location.
• Adjust your lighting. Do not sit directly in front or beside a bright light source, or all your audience will see is the bright light and a shadowy figure.
• Think about your background. If you are at home, you do not want your audience to see distracting personal effects.
• Know what documents you plan to share. Zoom prioritizes the shared item to the bandwidth. This can reduce the other video feeds’ quality, so share only as necessary. If you plan on using the “Share your Desktop” feature, remember that everything on your desktop will be visible to your audience, including every pop-up email and private message. Be sure to log-out of your email or any other application that you may not want seen by your audience.
• Make sure to let your audience know if you will be recording the session. See this section of the staff website for specific guidance about recording sessions. (Use your email username and password to access.)
• If you are inviting someone to Zoom and he/she is new to Zoom, it may be helpful for you check “enable join before host” in the scheduling section of Zoom.

During your meeting:

• Mute your microphone when necessary. Zoom has a “Mute Microphone” option that cuts down on ambient feedback. When there is a lot of discussion going on, you will turn this off. Mute yourself when listening to a presenter.  Keep in mind that if your mic is on, everyone will be able to hear what you are doing, whether it be typing or chewing.
• Turn off your camera at appropriate times. Many people don’t realize that you can and should turn off your camera during times when you don’t want fellow meeting attendees to see you. Unless you are eating lunch together as a group, turn off your camera when you are eating, engaged in sidebar conversations at your local site, taking care of personal needs (such as blowing your nose) or anything else that may be distracting to others. When you click off your camera, Zoom will automatically replace your video image with the profile picture that you uploaded to your account. Otherwise, stay still and look attentive.
• Use Zoom’s chat function. Send a question to everyone or make it private to another participant.
• Speak to the camera and not the screen. Look at the camera when you speak, our tendency is to look at the person on the screen.