January 31, 2023

Is it the last day of January - already?

But now is the time (drumroll, please):

AESA Announcing New Membership Portal

That’s right, we have been working hard behind the scenes to implement a new membership portal and database using GrowthZone AMS. It includes a new website, but hopefully, your experience on our website has been seamless. There are still a few pages we are working on, but overall, hurray! It’s done, and we hope you didn’t even notice!

The membership portal is the news!

The exciting news is that we have a new membership management tool - one we hope you WILL notice as an improvement! Access to this AESA members-only portal called “My Membership” is a one-stop shop where you can:

• Register for AESA events
• Monitor your billing and payments
• Access the AESA Event Calendar
• Access the AESA Directory of member organizations
• Find a directory of AESA Business Partners
• Communicate with other AESA members using the “AESA Forum”
• Share resources such as key sites, documents, and other information to

help you thrive in our community. We will store members-only resources

in this area (work in progress!)

First things, first . . .

• Create Your Login HERE
• Login here and make sure your member contact profile is complete.
• When you get to the main dashboard of the portal, take a moment to watch the “Info Hub Tour” video.

Coming soon - The AESA Forum

AESA's previous member networking platform has sunset, and we are activating the AESA Forum. More news coming soon!

This is just the beginning. We hope to make your experience as easy as possible. As always, we are here to help. Please contact our super executive assistant, Ann Fiene at afiene@aesa.us.

Integrated Marketing Plans

When: February 28, 2023

Time: 2 pm Eastern (1 pm Central; 12 noon Mountain; 11 am Pacific; 10 am Alaska)

See registration and information below:

KEDC staff will share information on their integrated marketing plan that includes social

media initiatives intended to derive reputation branding, as well as efforts to build brand

ambassadors. Learn how they are using social media campaigns that allow them to be the

voice of their own story, and the role brand ambassadors can serve in expanding

marketing efforts.

Presenters:

Nancy Hutchison, Chief Executive Officer, Kentucky Education Development Corporation

(KEDC), Lexington, KY

Sam Atkins, Chief Business Officer

Carla Kersey, Project Development Coordinator

With over 70 member districts statewide and 50+ years of service, KEDC is Kentucky’s

oldest and largest educational cooperative. KEDC provides a broad range of local, state,

and national services including educational support, technology, and cooperative

purchasing.

If you aren't a member of this community and would like to attend this session, please contact AESA Executive Assistant Ann Fiene to register at a rate of $150.

$7.2 million Grant Helps Provide Mental Health Services to Montgomery County Students

MCIU selected as 1 of only 20 in the U.S.

The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $7.2 million four-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

This highly competitive Project AWARE grant, for which the intermediate unit will receive $1.8 million a year for four years, has only been awarded to approximately 20 entities across the United States. Project AWARE is a nationwide grant created to develop a sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs and services.

The MCIU is partnering with two other intermediate units on this project — Luzerne and Carbon-Lehigh County Intermediate Units — to proactively address students’ mental health needs.

Pricing is challenging, yet it is one of the most important and impactful decisions a

leader can make. The first step to pricing with confidence is to understand the

underlying principles that create a firm foundation upon which to build.

3-Part Virtual Series

This program provides the training and then has participants practice applying sound pricing principles. We will guide you throughout the sessions, helping you gain knowledge and skills to price with confidence in any environment.

Cost: Individual: $250 per person. Teams of 3 or more: $200 per person

Federal Advocacy Committee Recap

Forty-two members of the Federal Advocacy committee from 27 states met last week to be briefed on education policy issues and to set the 2023 Legislative agenda. House and Senate Education Committees Hill staff gave an update to about their bosses' respective priorities, what they think will be the hot topics in 2023, and what is likely to get traction. The committee then heard from Lauren Camera, Senior Education Writer from U.S. News, and Alyson Klein, Education Reporter for Education Week about reporting on education policy.

Annual funding bills were a hot topic as those are likely to be the ONLY bills that may get done next year and the potential for House rules that prevent an omnibus bill which would require individual bills to be passed. We appreciated hearing from Mark Laisch, Professional Staff Member, Senate Appropriations Committee, and Philip Tizzani, Professional Staff Member, House Appropriations Committee about the upcoming appropriations bill.

The highlight of the afternoon was hearing from Amelia Vance, Chief Counsel, Student and Child Privacy Project, and Jon Bernstein, President, Bernstein Strategy Group about Connectivity, Cyber, and Student Data Privacy. We had a lively discussion on three of the most significant policy discussions happening at the state level and increasingly spilling into federal policy conversations.

On day two the committee drafted the 2023 federal policy agenda. Once the federal policy agenda is approved by the committee, it will be sent to the AESA Executive Council for final approval. Look for the finalized agenda to be released by April 1.

Joan Wade, ED.D., AESA Executive Director, is in Washington D.C. this week, participating in USAC's Board of Directors meeting.

Among other work to be done, Joan serves on the School & Libraries and Rural Health Care Committees and chairs the Nominating Committee. As Nominating Committee chair, she will be making committee membership, including chair and vice-chair, recommendations to the board of directors. 

GOOGLE FORMS, More Than Just Surveys

Professional Learning Opportunity

Thursday, March 9, 2023

2 pm Eastern; (1 pm Central; 12 noon Mountain; 11 am Pacific; 10 am Alaska)

Creating and sharing forms created with Google Forms is simple and easy. While the first applications that come to mind are surveys, some of the most effective uses are for forms that we create for ourselves or for our teams. We will explore many of the capabilities and examine simple and practical uses. The best forms are easy to use and appealing to the eye. Data from a google form seamlessly port to Google Sheets, making it easy to organize and sort results. There are also many opportunities to use forms for collaboration between office staff and teams or an administrator.

Cost: $50 per person

Members of the AESA Executive Assistant to the CEO Community of Practice receive a 50% discount. Contact Ann Fiene for the discount code.

Meet the Presenter . . .

Jeff Olefson, President

Staff Development Associates

Jeff Olefson has designed and implemented training programs for Fortune 500 companies, not-for-profit organizations, governmental units, and suburban school districts in twenty states.

Mr. Olefson is a frequent speaker at statewide educational conferences. He has conducted organizational and systems studies with the aim of improving efficiency, service delivery, and customer satisfaction. He also functions as consultant for building-based initiatives in interdisciplinary instruction, differentiation, and effective use of technology.

Mr. Olefson is the former Dean of the Katharine Gibbs School and a former Trustee of the Mamaroneck School District.

The next meeting of the AESA Reading Leaders Book Club is scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central; 5 pm Mountain; 4 pm Pacific; 3 pm Alaska) time.

Below are the book selections for the next three months:

February: The Measure by Nikki Erlick

March: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

April: The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Happy reading!

TO JOIN THE BOOK CLUB, contact Ann Fiene, AESA Executive Assistant