AEA Update for Iowa School Administrators #2
IEC Saves Schools Money; Iowa AEA Online Offers Solution for Student
IEC Saves Schools Money
Iowa Area Education Agencies created the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) about a decade ago to help schools pool their purchasing power through a group buying cooperative. Last year, the IEC handled purchases of about $54 million with estimated savings to schools of over $9 million dollars.
Schools participating in the food coop usually receive rebate money. For the past five years, the IEC has issued rebates based on sales to schools totaling at least $100,000. In September 2009, schools received $250,000 in rebates from the food coop.
Power of Group Purchasing
The Iowa Educators Consortium was formed as an independent, tax-exempt, nonprofit institution supporting the mission of the Area Education Agencies. The primary function of the IEC is to provide a voluntary purchasing program for K-12 schools by bringing all AEA statewide school purchasing programs under one legal umbrella and one fiscal management group. The IEC purchases allow schools to take advantage of aggressive pricing based on the purchasing volume of many Iowa schools on a variety of product categories:
- AEA Contacts
- Athletics & PE
- AV & Computer
- Buildings & Grounds
- Classroom Supplies
- Food
- Furniture
- Health & First Aid
- Janitorial
- Media & Technology
- Office Products
- Paper & Copiers
- School Administration
In addition to aggressive pricing, the IEC frees valuable LEA staff time in researching and procuring products. Advisory committees work with vendors, manufacturers, product reviews and product literature to determine the best product/cost value for schools. The IEC is self-supported by a minimal administrative fee already built into the pricing and paid by vendors. Our clients (you) do not pay any annual dues or extra fees to participate.
Iowa AEA Online Offers Solution for Student
School can be very frustrating when you are unable to read proficiently. Heather Cary, a special education teacher at Denison Community School District, knows this very well. She devotes much of her time each day trying to engage students who have learning difficulties.
You can imagine how thrilled she was to learn about World Book Web Online from Debby Berthelsen, media technology specialist at Northwest AEA. The Iowa AEA Online program has a “read text aloud” feature that Cary introduced to a high school class, including a student who was often disengaged and frustrated because of a reading disability.
The student has great listening comprehension skills but reads at a kindergarten level. Once she showed the student how to use this feature, the student was not only inspired but also wanted to stay after class to complete work.
“With AEA Online this student is now able to complete research with peers because the text is read at lower reading levels,” Cary stated.
Berthelsen says she wishes more teachers in northwest Iowa knew about AEA Online and other technology resources.
“There are so many outstanding resources available through Iowa AEA Online to help engage students in their learning,” said Berthelsen. “We love having the opportunity to show teachers the keys to unlocking student potential.”
To enable the read-aloud feature, Bethelsen says to first choose an article. Then click on the box at the top that says, “Tools.” In the bottom right-hand corner of the box click on “Enable read-aloud toolbar.” A box will appear that allows a person to select faster or slower, or to stop when finished. Use the mouse and then place the cursor in front of the article and click. The text will turn yellow and in a few seconds the audio will begin.
We invite you to share your success stories with us! To share success stories or experiences, please email them to: gheld@aea10.k12.ia.us. Visit our Web site at: http://www.iowaaea.org/
During 2010, Iowa Area Education Agencies are celebrating 35 years of service to children, families, educators, and communities. For information, contact your AEA.
