In This Week's Edition

New! We're trying some new things with the format of the Bulletin Board. You can read the full edition in a web browser, or continue reading the full content from this week's edition in this email below.

Statewide Curriculum and Instruction  Updates

2019-2020 FAST Norms and Benchmarks Updated
The developer of the FAST assessment measures has updated their norms and benchmarks. These updates go into practice starting fall of 2019.

Why the update?
Norms and benchmarks were updated to more accurately represent national performance. This was done by using their available user data to more closely represent the national school population based on gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status. More closely matching national demographics will increase assessment accuracy across the range of abilities (e.g., struggling students, high performing students). This update is also intended to increase norm and benchmark stability, leading to less frequent updates in the future.

What should we expect?
Adjustment to fall, winter, and spring benchmarks for FAST measures including: earlyReading, earlyMath, CBMreading, aReading, and select math measures. Generally, the “High Risk” benchmarks lowered somewhat (i.e., fewer students identified as “High-Risk”) with “Some-Risk” benchmarks varying slightly, depending on the measure and screening window. There will also be adjustments to default growth rates that auto-populate when setting up progress monitoring graphs. Read more.

Introducing "Panorama"

Grant Wood AEA sent school improvement and literacy representatives the week of Aug. 19 to be our cadre of trainers for Panorama. The IDoE is partnering with Panorama Education to provide their Student Success product as Iowa’s new Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Data System. The initial features of the system will be ready for use in Fall 2019 and will be provided to schools, districts, and AEAs at no cost.

To introduce you to the future of our new MTSS Data System, here is a video from Panorama. Iowa’s implementation of Student Success will be custom developed to capitalize on these features over the next few years and may look and feel slightly different from what you see in the video.

Welcome to our Team!

Welcome to the Newest Members of the GWAEA Team

Let's welcome the following new staff who are beginning their careers at Grant Wood AEA! New staff who provide permission for their photo and/or bio are introduced in our weekly issues of The Bulletin Board. This feature will continue next week and throughout the year as staff joins our GWAEA team.

Let's welcome the following to Grant Wood AEA:

Rose-Angele Mizose, GWAEA Early ACCESS Service Coordinator, joins Grant Wood AEA after a position with HACAP as a family support worker for three years, assisting low-income families with children under age three who were participating in the early Headstart program. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from Eastern Michigan University.

Hallie Jetter is a GWAEA audiometrist. Hallie has held positions as a preschool teacher assistant with Regina Early Childhood Center, and as a paraeducator with the Iowa City Community School District.

Angie Lyness joins Grant Wood AEA as an evening and weekend receptionist. Angie currently holds a position with the Surgery Center of Cedar Rapids.

Welcome to Grant Wood AEA, Rose-Angele, Hallie and Angie! Watch for more new staff features in The Bulletin Board throughout the school year.

Information for GWAEA Staff

Notice to Employees from Iowa PERB
(Public Employment Relations Board)

There are two bargaining units at Grant Wood AEA that are represented by the Grant Wood Education Association - one unit is Contracted Staff and the other is Classified Staff.  The Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has provided for each bargaining group a Notice to Employees of the intent to conduct a recertification election.  The purpose of each election is to determine whether Contracted Staff and Classified Staff wish to retain the Grant Wood Education Association as their exclusive bargaining representative.

PERB's Notice to Employees for each group is linked below:
Employee Notice for Contracted Staff
Employee Notice for Classified Staff

The notices are physically posted in each Agency Center and will remain posted through 9/18/19.  The notices will also continue to be published in the regular weekly issues of The Bulletin Board for the next 3 weeks through 9/12/19.

Each notice includes the bargaining unit description for who is eligible to vote. Please be aware the unit description in the PERB notice does not reflect all current and existing job categories, however the Agency and Association have mutually agreed the unit description concerning who is eligible to vote in the upcoming election includes all current and existing job categories that are covered by each Master Contract agreement. 

Emails were sent by Jackie Schreder, Director of Human Resources, on Thursday, 8/27/19, to those staff in positions that are represented by one of the bargaining units.  Staff who received an email are currently on the list of eligible voters.  If you did not receive an email from Jackie on 8/27/19 and you believe your position is represented by the bargaining unit, please contact Jackie (jschreder@gwaea.org).

The election will be held Oct 15-Oct 29, 2019.  More details on when and how to vote will be distributed to staff in mid-September.

iPad App Order is OPEN and the form Closes Sept. 12!

The agency app order is open. Please be sure to select no more than 7 apps, be responsible and only order apps you will need. The order form will close on Sept. 12 at 12 p.m. The more expensive apps are on devices in the SDC for you to check out and try and then you may contact us for us to purchase it for you. Once the order closes, we will purchase the needed apps and push them to you remotely. You will be emailed when apps have been distributed, so you know to look for them in the App Store under your Apple ID.

You must be signed in with your GWAEA Google Account in order to view and fill out the Agency App Form.

Universal Precautions/Bloodborne Pathogens

To promote a safe working environment and prevent and control the transmission of communicable diseases, employees are to use universal precautions in the delivery of services. Universal precautions are identified in the Agency’s exposure control plan for bloodborne pathogens, which is reviewed on an annual basis. Key components of the plan are summarized here for employee information and reference.
 
Wallet-sized cards outlining these procedures have previously been provided to all staff.  If you need additional cards, have questions or would like more information, please contact the Human Resources Office, ext. 6703.  Thank you.

Reminder: Mandatory and non-mandatory training

Oct. 1 is the completion deadline unless an earlier due date is noted

Staff who have required mandatory and non-mandatory training requirements for this year have been emailed reminders of these training sessions from the Grant Wood AEA Professional Learning office. Staff will need to complete the required training(s) identified in the email(s) you received by Oct. 1 or as indicated in the email. Please submit certificate(s) of completion in the Google Form associated with that email. Staff records in Human Resources will be updated when the HR office receives a certificate of completion for the training sessions. Staff are welcome to review any training that is current if anyone would like a refresher on other trainings.

See the complete story in The Bulletin Board, Aug. 22, 2019.

Image "365/7" by teachingsagittarian is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

Health and Wellness News from GROW

GWAEA Fight the Flu

Register at this link. Two dates are available:

Wednesday, Sept. 25
Sixth Street facility
7:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Grant Wood Room

Thursday, Sept. 26
Coralville facility
7:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Room 500

The Visiting Nurses Association will administer the flu shots and will submit the paperwork to bill your insurance, so be sure to bring your insurance card. For information, contact Connie Dvorak, cdvorak@gwaea.org.

GWAEA Professional Learning

Courses are being added daily as the new school year gets underway. Look at upcoming sessions and register now for the new courses available with Grant Wood AEA Professional Learning. Below are just a few of the sessions coming soon:

TQ Information

2019-2020 TQ Dates
Sept. 9, Nov 11, 2019; Feb 10 and May 11, 2020
Visit the TQ Google site to access the proposal template and direction. A link to the TQ site is available on the GWAEA Staff Portal under the Teacher Quality Committee link. Please submit your proposal electronically to Sherry Sines at ssines@gwaea.org by the dates listed above.

Other Staff News & Information

August is Concussion Awareness Month

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury. Concussions are the result of a blow or a jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Just like people, every concussion is unique.

The Grant Wood AEA Brain Injury Resource Team is here to support students and educators with transitions back to the classroom following a concussion. Resources on concussions and traumatic brain injuries are available on the BIRT website. Contact Jessica Knudson to access the BIRT team resources.
 

The Iowa Concussion Consortium (ICC) program also offers reliable information for Iowans about concussions. Visit their website to learn more.

IPERS Travel Schedule

Hiawatha
Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2019 at Kirkwood Community College
Coralville
Oct. 14-17, 2019 at Kirkwood Regional Center
Cedar Rapids
Dec. 16-19, 2019 at Linn County Offices

Individual counseling sessions teach members about their retirement account, including possible retirement dates, benefit payout options and service purchase options. Schedule your 30-minute counseling session today! Contact IPERS at 800-622-3849. Preregistration is required. Appointment times fill quickly, so call today. 800-622-3849 | ipers.org | info@ipers.org

Additional Staff Links

Changes to The Bulletin Board

Grant Wood AEA Communications is exploring changes to the weekly issues of The Bulletin Board. Communications will make changes behind the scenes each week, and wants to hear your feedback on the format and delivery.