March 19, 2019

AESA Opens its China Office!

Joan Wade and John Bass toured the Zhangjiagang Experimental Primary School as part of their recent trip to China to open AESA's China Office. Meeting in the Shanghai office are left to right: Annie Wu, manager of the AESA Shanghai office, Joan Wade, AESA Executive Director, and John Bass, Chief Operations Officer.

Last week, AESA officially opened an office in Shanghai. AESA Executive Director, Joan Wade and AESA Chief Operations Officer, John Bass traveled to China to meet with Annie Wu, who will manage the AESA office in Shanghai. They also toured several primary, middle and high schools. The purpose of having an office in China is to support the growing demand for relationships between United States and Chinese school districts. ESAs have a critical role to play in developing and sustaining those relationships. In the past few years, there has been limited success for USA and Chinese school districts to work directly together to set up three-week Summer Camps, F1 High School tuition-based students, and teacher exchanges. However, these exchanges have had limited participation and growth in the USA. One of the reasons for that is the lack of resources at the US school district and school level. Setting up these programs takes a great deal of staff time, which most school districts simply don’t have! AESA has been working with Chinese government officials to develop a new service for interested ESAs for international partnerships. The processes and procedures continue to be developed; however, the vision is that the ESA would staff the international partnerships between Chinese and US schools. There are currently programs running in Wisconsin school districts. We are working with Region 12 in Waco, Texas to pilot a new program where the ESA will support the international work for one if the school districts in their regions participate. We will be looking for other ESAs that are interested in developing this program for school districts in their region. We hope that you will consider having an international relationship program in your ESA!  Please contact me if you are interested. Sincerely, Joan Wade Ed.D Executive Director

With our condolences It is with great sadness that we share with you a message from Jon Ziehl, President and Chief Executive Officer of PlanMember Services, an AESA Business Partner. Jon writes to us about the untimely passing of Richard Ford, PlanMember's Chief Marketing Officer. Richard was a wonderful friend to AESA and many of our members. He will be truly missed. FROM: Jon Ziehl, President & Chief Executive Officer It is with tremendous shock and sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague Richard Ford. Richard suffered unexpected complications from surgery performed last week and tragically passed away this morning (March 14, 2019) at Cottage Hospital. There are no words to express the sorrow and how much we will miss Richard. Richard was the very first employee of PlanMember in 1985 and held numerous positions in the Company. He was most recently the Company’s Chief Marketing Officer. As CMO he successfully managed our Employer Group Development efforts and our Print and Digital Marketing Departments. More importantly, Richard was a great person, kind, caring and loyal and a pillar in the community. Richard was beloved by everyone at PlanMember and much more broadly across our industry. Richard the person will be missed far beyond the doors of PlanMember. The family appreciates all the support, both in-person and in your thoughts and prayers, however they ask that their privacy be respected at this time. We of course will keep you informed as the details regarding services and remembrances become known.

Summer Leadership Conference

Registration Now Open! Hear stories, like Prosper Waco, where working groups are achieving goals to improve the lives of the people who live there. Make An Impact! Come to the Summer Leadership Conference. Learn from experts. Explore impactful community engagement models. Amplify your ESA’s role in building stronger communities.

AESA's Annual Conference Update: Call for Proposals Now Open!

Our member ESAs have plenty of expertise and experience to share. This year's annual conference theme is "20/20 The Vision Ahead." We'd love to hear from you! We invite you to submit a proposal for the 2019 annual conference in Phoenix, AZ. Breakout proposals will be accepted March 5-April 23, 2019. Find the application form and related information on the website. Thank you!

Applications are being accepted for the Executives In Residence Program

AESA's  Executives in Residence Program  is a leadership development program for aspiring Educational Service Agency (ESA) leaders. The program is a year-long, performance-based opportunity that: Includes a strong mentor. Provides components developed by CEOs on the AESA Executive Council and host organizations. Enables easy access to a variety of leadership experiences. Works in a cohort model providing national networking and communication. All staff members of AESA-member ESAs may apply. Find the application here .

Social Media Kit Public Education Week March 25-29

Can your organization spread the word about the good work done every day in the nation's public schools? Please share this social media kit with your social media manager and/or communication director. Join others around the nation in celebrating Public Schools Week, March 25-29, 2019.

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