January 7, 2020
New Decade Ahead: Refresh, Reset, Impact!
Summer Leadership Conference
New Decade Ahead: Refresh, Reset, Impact!

AESA's Summer Leadership Conference is a one-of-a-kind professional development event focused exclusively on ESAs and their leadership needs.

At this year's conference:

Refresh: Effective management skills for ESAs: Tackle today’s toughest leadership topics – together!

Reset: Leadership for the Future: Breakout sessions will explore the skills you need to lead the new workforce for impact. Let’s talk about how to reset culture to inspire engagement and respect diversity.

Impact: Launch your ESA into the new decade!

Get ready to light the path for your schools to address today’s hottest topics at the AESA Foundation's Summer Leadership Conference.

July 20-23, 2020
Nashville, Tennessee

Registration Opens in March 2020.
AESA Executive Council Elections
CEOs . . . Please VOTE!
The CEO from each member organization is encouraged to participate in the AESA 
Executive Council Annual Election.

The election period expires on Monday, January 13, 2020 at 11:55 pm . Please don't wait until the last minute to cast your vote! 

In order to make it as easy and secure as possible for our members, we are using an online voting service, ezVoteOnline.com. This voting system is secure, authenticating the CEO as an eligible voter and verifying that only the CEO can cast the ballot for your organization. CEOs were sent a Constant Contact email with the link to vote. If you don't have that email, contact AESA Executive Assistant Ann Fiene .

There are three open seats in the annual election process. There was one nomination in the Eastern Region and one nomination in the Southern Region; no election process is needed for those two regions this year. The Western Region does have two candidates who were nominated to serve. This year’s ballot reflects the biographies for those two candidates. 
Meet the Candidates:
Dr. Kristen Benson
Executive Director
Fremont County BOCES
(Board of Cooperative Education Services)

Dr. Kristen Benson was a teacher, administrator, author, college instructor and is currently the executive director at Fremont County BOCES (Board of Cooperative Education Services).  She was a math/science teacher for 10 years and a middle school administrator for 3 years before relocating to beautiful Wyoming. She was teaching at Central Wyoming College when she was recruited by Fremont County BOCES to run their career and technical program at the time. She received her bachelors of education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1995. She then attended the University of Virginia where she received her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction in 2002 and doctorate in Education Leadership in 2008. Dr. Benson serves on many boards. She is the chairman for the Suicide Prevention Taskforce, Fremont County Prevention Coalition, and the Northwest BOCES. She is the clerk for Fremont County School District #6 and Secretary for Help for Health Hospice.  
Pat Sublette, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Columbia Gorge ESD

The need for strong education service agencies has never been greater. Maintaining and expanding the influence of ESAs requires strategic innovation and bold new collaborations. Bringing groups together to create actionable solutions is vital to our work.

As your Western Representative, I will leverage prior experience (20 years at ESAs in multiple roles, 11 years in public and 9 in private schools and universities) to serve you through partnerships and results that represent your interests.
As Superintendent of Columbia Gorge ESD, I serve on several committees that support my region and ESDs e.g., Oregon Association of School Executives, the Children Systems Advisory Committee and the Oregon Association of ESDs Finance Committee.

I also enjoy standing in rivers with a fly rod and waders as fish pass by unconcerned.
I hope to earn your vote.
Legislative Update: Appropriations Act for FY20
Before the holiday break, the President signed H.R. 1865, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY20, into law. The bill and its provisions fund the federal government for FY20 which runs from Oct 1, 2019 thru September 30, 2020. FY20 dollars will be in schools during the 2020-2021 school year.

Business Partner News
AESA and ClassLink recently announced a partnership designed to support educational service agencies and districts across the country interested in adopting ClassLink. 
 
ClassLink empowers your students and educators with instant access to their learning resources and so much more:

  • ClassLink LaunchPad - End the painful student login process. Save time and cut confusion with single sign-on to a library of 6,000+ connectors.

  • ClassLink Roster Server - Deliver class rosters to all of your digital learning resources instantly and securely using open data standards.

  • ClassLink Analytics - Make informed purchasing and training decisions with access to usage data for all of the digital resources in your district.

  • ClassLink OneSync - Reduce the time it takes to create and manage student and staff accounts with secure, automated account provisioning.

With these supports in place, students and teachers can focus on what really matters – teaching and learning - while schools can ensure educational resources are properly used to support better outcomes for students.

“ClassLink’s mission is to eliminate barriers to learning for every student,” says Michele Moore, Director of Instructional Technology & State Initiatives for ClassLink. “Partnering with AESA helps us achieve this vision and provides an avenue to improve how students and educators interact with and use technology across the country.” 

For more information contact:
Michele Moore
ClassLink
Director, Instructional Technology & State Initiatives 
862.295.1606 Direct
512.560.2564 Cell
Plan Member Legislative Update:
Pitfalls of a single provider 403(b) plan
Industry-leading 403(b)/457(b) consultant Ellie Lowder discusses the pitfalls of 403(b) plan sponsors moving to a single investment provider arrangement. You will also find a comprehensive listing of the 2020 retirement plan contribution limits.

 
For more information, contact:
Jen Rossignol 
Marketing Director
Phone: (800) 874-6910 x2323
Fax: (800) 614-8522
Save the Dates: Upcoming AESA Events
Summer Leadership Conference
July 20-23, 2020
Hilton Nashville Downtown
Educators' Call to Action Conference
September 28-30 2020
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
AESA Annual Conference
December 2-5, 2020
Hilton Orlando, Florida