GHAEA Voice

Congratulations to Tina and Jonathan Skarin (microcomputer/network specialist, CBRO) on the birth of their daughter, Lucina Nicole. She was born May 17, weighing 8 lbs., 12 oz. and 20.5" long. 

It's  Better Hearing and Speech Month  and this year's theme is Communication Takes Care .      GHAEA speech-language pathologists provide services to children, birth to 21, who have been identified as having delays in the area of communication. These delays may include difficulties in the areas of speech sound formation and production (articulation), language, voice and fluency.        The GHAEA hearing department employs audiologists, audiometrists and teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing. Audiologists  provide diagnostic and rehabilitative services for students with hearing impairment. Services include hearing evaluation and monitoring, middle ear analysis, determination of amplification needs, evaluation of effectiveness and monitoring of amplification, advocating for children/students with hearing loss, and consultative support to teachers, school districts and parents. Audiometrists are trained hearing technicians responsible for the hearing screening programs in loc

Are you a kayaker? Then I have a deal for you! I am selling two Thule Hull-a-Port Pro Kayak racks that fit standard factory crossbars. Excellent condition with universal mounting hardware, load straps, and bow and stern safety tie downs. Retail is $150 each; asking $75 for one or $140 for both. Contact Denise Fricke , 402-650-4320. 

Sallie Lund (left) and Pat Perkins will be missed. Best wishes to you both! Earlier this month, the agency's audiology and teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing team wound up the last meeting of the year by recognizing  Sallie Lund (educational audiologist, Red Oak) and Pat Perkins (audiometrist, Red Oak). Both are retiring this year after each dedicating 31 years to education! 

Melanie Thomas (audiometrist, CBRO) and three other women will be riding RAGBRAI  (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) this summer. This year's route begins in Glenwood and ends in Muscatine.       Melanie and her fellow riders are looking for a place to sleep and shower on the following dates:     Mon., July 25 in Creston     Tues., July 26 in Leon     Wed., July 27 in Centerville     Thurs., July 28 in Ottumwa     Fri., July 29 in Washington If you or your friends are willing to host a group of four, contact Melanie at 402-681-8819.  

Stay in touch with agency news and information all summer long. The Voice will be delivered via GHAEA e-mail during June, July and August. In the June issue, we'll share photos from end-of-the-year and retirement celebrations. Remember, you can always share your news, information and story ideas here ! 

5-24  . . . Mollie Frazier 5-25  . . . Molly Masat 5-25  . . .Renee Prochaska-Keenan 5-30  . . . Gloria Hansen 6-3  . . . Sheryl Bald 6-3  . . . Linda Gelbowitz 6-5  . . . Steve McPhillips 6-5  . . . Julia Hood 6-8  . . . Nancy Nelson 6-13 . . . Sarah Esser 6-15  . . . Kari Olson 6-16  . . . Angela Williams 6-16  . . . Lynsi Perkins 6-18  . . . Patrick Rabbitt 6-18  . . . Lynn Thompson 6-19  . . .Cynthia Juhl 6-20  . . . Staci Emerton 6-20  . . .Joanne Farmer 6-21  . . .Maureen Lonsdale 6-26  . . . Meagan Ross 6-27  . . . Nancy Sudmann 6-27  . . . Julie Williams 6-27  . . . Meghan Wilson 6-29  . . .Mary Dick 6-30  . . . Linda Streicher

The start of summer, Memorial Day, is just around the corner! The agency will have a 2:30 p.m. early dismissal on Friday, May 27. 

Casey Abler . . . May 1, 2012 Marsha Guttau . . . May 13, 1977 Lori Kinyon . . . May 15, 1991 Dennis LaMasters . . . May 5, 1986 Sondra Laughlin . . . May 28, 1974 Vicki McGlade . . . May 15, 1989 Tim Perrin . . . May 9, 2005 Cindy Wohlenhaus . . . May 19, 1997

May is School Board Recognition Month! Green Hills AEA is joining Iowa AEAs and school districts in thanking AEA and school board members for their commitment to public education. School Boards Matter and we thank the GHAEA Board of Directors for their dedication to making a difference for Iowa's students!

David VanHorn, associate administrator Have you heard? Green Hills AEA is going through an accountability visit  this school year. The visit is happening this week -- May 10-13. This is no ordinary accountability visit. This is a differentiated accountability visit and 2015-16 is the first year for this kind of visit. As stated by the Iowa DE, “beginning with implementation of a pilot in 2015-2016 and full implementation in 2016-2017, the DE is leading the state to a new system of differentiated accountability and support. Iowa’s new system is founded on seven basic concepts: 1. Tiered support 2. Healthy Indicators 3. Earned autonomy 4. Collaborative Inquiry Questions 5. A single continuous improvement process 6. Streamlined reporting 7. Emphasis on results for Iowa learners.”   Green Hills AEA is the only AEA involved in this type of accountability this year. It was decided to volunteer for this type of visit because it was the pilot year for th

Several GHAEA staff had an opportunity to attend Iowa School for the Deaf's (ISD) Sound Futures luncheon on May 4. This annual fundraising gala provides scholarships to Iowa School for the Deaf college-bound students and the general ISD Foundation. The event, emceed by John Cool, asst. administrator, ISD, included presentations from the three scholarship beneficiaries. The family of Austin LeRette, a student in the 4PLUS transition program, spoke about their son's experience at ISD.  Austin's father, Scott, spoke about the challenges Austin faces, living in pain most every day from a brittle bone disease that led to Austin's hearing loss. He also spoke about his book, The Unbreakable Boy,    that is going to be made into a movie. But it was his mother, Teresa, whose message tugged at the hearts of audience members. "I just knew this was where my son was suppose to be," she said.  Austin is working at HyVee in Red Oak and will be doing an internship in culinar

It's that time of year when we say farewell to staff who are ready to retire (imagine that)! To date, these are the announcements for retirement parties: . Red Oak Regional Office is hosting a retirement party for Paula Brownlee, Sallie Lund and Pat Perkins at the office on May 20, 2 to 4 p.m. . Atlantic Regional Office will host a party for Cindy Koll on May 20, 3 to 6 p.m., at the office. . A retirement party will be held for Jackie Luther on May 25, 1:30 p.m., at the Creston Regional Office. Other retirees are David Henry, Deb Johnsen and Jan Norgaard . All retirees will be recognized at their respective end of the year celebrations. Thank you to this year's retirees for your service. 

The 2016 GHAEA Graduate Recognition is now available. Everyone who submitted information will soon be receiving a hard copy. Congratulations to all our graduates!  

GHAEA secretarial and support staff gathered for their spring meeting on April 28 in Glenwood. The day included group and individual professional development presentations, including a book study of Marshall Goldsmith's Triggers (pictured) with Joanie Finck, Pam Sargent, Gloria Hansen, Wendy Rodriguez and Marsha Guttau; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome by Faith Bessire and   Google's Awesome Tables by Debbie Hayes. Other individual and group presentations included  Fierce Conversations, Adobe Acrobat XI Pro, a grammar quiz  and a book study on Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work , among others. The day was made extra special with lunch prepared by  Pam Sargent and a tour of the Glenwood Regional Office. The afternoon, as always, was reserved for staff who work with IEPs. 

Recently, students and staff at Red Oak Middle School celebrated their second annual Diversity Day with activities that spread the word about the diverse needs of individuals. Students participated in activities to help them gain perspective into physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges. They also took part in the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign which aims at ending the use of the "R" word.   Staci Emerton , school psychologist, Red Oak, helped with creating a video of the day's activities. View the video here . 

The GHAEA van, a.k.a. the Blue Bomb, that was assigned to the East region and housed at the Osceola Regional Office, was "put out to pasture" last month. Michelle Hicks shares this photo of what may have been it's 'last hurrah' as they returned from a meeting in Red Oak. Pictured with Michelle (far right) are Nancy Boswell, Stacy McWilliams and Paula Godwin.

The campaign season has yet to reach its peak. Have you ever wondered what happens to all those yard campaign signs when it's all said and done?       Denise Young (consultant, special education, Avoca) has learned of a new way to repurpose campaign yard signs after attending a presentation by Therese Willkomm (a.k.a., Assistive Technology McGyver) at the Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) Spring Conference, April 21-11 in Omaha.       "Willkomm has created thousands of solutions for individuals with disabilities using everyday materials," said Denise. One example is creating various stands with corrugated plastic. "With this being an election year, there is a lot of corrugated plastic in yards that will probably end up being thrown away in the months to come," Denise said. "If anyone has any campaign signs they will be throwing out, please send them to me at Halverson!"       Willkomm is the director of ATinNH, the New Hamphsire

5-8  . . . Martin Mulligan 5-16  . . . Lora Hight 5-18  . . . Lois Hartje 5-20  . . . Laura Danforth 5-22  . . . Silina Branson 5-24  . . . Mollie Frazier 5-25  . . . Molly Masat 5-25  . . .Renee Prochaska-Keenan 5-30  . . . Gloria Hansen

Joan Holmes  (teacher, alternative programs) welcomed grandson  Alan James Larson born on April 11. Parents are Luke and Lydia (Holmes) Larson.