April 7, 2020
Make an IMPACT: America Needs 3D Printers
The world has changed a great deal since our time together at the 2019 Summer Leadership Conference. The theme for that conference was "Collective Impact," and one of the things we highlighted was the critical role that ESAs often have within their communities. ESAs are in a perfect position to make a positive change on social issues. That has never been truer than it is today. 
 
One AESA member, CSIU in Pennsylvania, is making an impact and they invite you to join in. 

They worked with schools in their region, leading a big part of an effort to make personal protective equipment (PPE) using 3D printers that are otherwise sitting idle in schools. They invite your ESA to get involved!

According to Jeffrey C. Kay, Special Projects Technology Manager, CSIU, they went from prototype to production of protective devices in less than 48 hours. Right now, the 3D printers are used to print headbands for face shields and masks. As this article is being written, doctors and universities in their region are working around the clock to develop an N95 Respirator that can be 3D printed. Once the final design is tested and approved, it will take three to four hours to print one respirator. 3D printers are needed to produce these items as quickly as possible!

“The ideal plan would be for ESAs to replicate what we are trying to do here, that way they can help places in their own back yard,” said Kay.

“The biggest thing needed to get this started in your ESA (other than the printers) is to assign someone that will handle all of the logistics and communication between the people who need the equipment and your team of printers,” he said.

According to Kay, many local organizations are in need, such as nursing homes, home
health, emergency responders, even service industries such as restaurants and grocery
stores who have limited or no PPE equipment.  
 
We are in a race against time.

If you are willing to participate in this national effort, Kay is willing to provide information to get you started. Please reach out to the schools in your region to coordinate the work with the 3D printers and local healthcare systems to meet the needs of your region.

AESA and the National Association of Media and Technology Centers (NAMTC) are working together to support this effort.

If your ESA wants more information on how to get started contact Geoff Craven, NAMTC at geoff.c@craventech.com !
Coronavirus Survivor Story
Nic Brown is an ESA staff member from one of our member ESAs. He was in a Cleveland ICU with Coronavirus. He went home last Friday and found a unique way to express his gratitude to his healthcare team who helped him survive.

There is hope. Read his story here.


Tweet:
From SWWC to AESA Members
EvalEase is FREE for you!
Greetings AESA Colleagues!

EvalEase, created by Southwest West Central Service Cooperative (SWWC), Minnesota is a website that streamlines the behavior assessment process. EvalEase analyzes, graphs, and summarizes data and information into a polished behavior assessment report using information easily entered by the customer.

Functional Behavior Assessments During Distance Learning: EvalEase is Your Solution
Does your district need a solution for continuing evaluations while providing distance learning or during school closures? SWWC is here to help.

Caregivers can track their child’s behavior using EvalEase, an online resource based in behavioral science, to conduct your functional behavior assessments.

We will host office hours to answer questions that caregivers may have on using EvalEase. Get free access to EvalEase for evaluations during distance learning! Access can be obtained by emailing evalease@swwc.org and providing a list of evaluators (include first and last name along with email address).

Get started at https://evalease.swwc.org
Call for Action: Congress Must Grant Narrow, Temporary IDEA Flexibility NOW
We urge you to make your advocacy more impactful by personalizing the sample email below. Add a paragraph describing the issues your ESA and districts you serve are specifically facing in complying with IDEA.

In light of the hardship that regional educational service agencies (ESAs) and the districts you serve are experiencing in trying to educate all students during a pandemic, we call on Congress to provide practical, narrow flexibility in how to meet some of the requirements under IDEA.

If your ESA and districts are struggling to meet IDEA mandates, we urge you to take a moment to email Education Staff on Capitol Hill and ask them to ensure the next COVID-19 relief package contains sensible flexibility for IDEA.

Please send an action alert to your full Congressional delegation today!

You can download a list of all the education staffers for your Congressional delegation and email them individually.
E-Classrooms: Managing a Remote Workforce
NEXT Session: Thursday, April 9 @ 3 pm Eastern

And I Would Work 300 Miles Away: Managing a Remote Workforce

Presenters:
Jason Dybesetter and Amber Bruns, SWWC, Marshall, MN

NEW CEO AFFINITY GROUP MEETING
In followup to the responses received regarding availability to meet in April, a meeting
of the New CEO Affinity Group has been scheduled for Friday, April 17, 2020. This meeting will be conducted through Zoom videoconferencing beginning at 10 AM Pacific, 11 AM Mountain, 12 PM Central, and 1 PM Eastern. The meeting will last approximately 60-90 minutes.

Options for participating in the meeting are as follows:


Zoom conference call:
1-669-900-6833 or 1-646-876-9923
Meeting ID: 637 226 895
Password: 025393

A meeting reminder with the agenda will be forwarded to you closer to the meeting date. In the meantime, please feel free to contact any of the following individuals with questions:
Jada Rupley - Lead Facilitator: jrupley@clackesd.org ; Donna Gaffney - Co-Facilitator: dgaffney@micu.org ; Shelly Merlino - Support Staff: smerlino@clackesd.org
Business Partner Spotlight:
SLA Management - Keeping Families Fed
We know many of you are already supporting these efforts in various ways, and we sincerely thank you. Out of appreciation for our own team, we created this video to highlight the amazing work they are doing on the front lines.

Emergency Feeding Webinar

SLA will work with its school districts to keep as many of its emergency feeding locations open for as long as possible, but we want to do more. We invite you to join our free webinar on Thursday, April 16 at 3:00 p.m. EST to learn more about emergency feeding. Use this link to Register .

Our goal is for you to walk away with a better understanding of how to make meals accessible to families while schools are shut down. Please join us and this incredible movement!

Basics of Emergency Feeding:

  • Program is available to 18 and under.
  • Children do not need to be enrolled at a school with emergency feeding to receive meals from that location.
  • Recommend all meals to be “grab and go” style to make delivering easier.
  • Guidelines provided by CDC must be followed if you work or volunteer at an emergency feeding location.
  • Meals should be distributed in a curbside drive-thru or delivered locally by school bus to allow both parties to practice safe social distancing.
Emergency Feeding: Keeping Families Fed

As COVID-19 continues to impact many across the nation, SLA Management, your AESA business partner and K-12 school foodservice management company, is proud to be among the many agencies currently operating emergency feeding locations throughout the United States. This national movement is providing communities with access to food who might otherwise be without it.

We touched on the basics above but there are many aspects, operationally, that go into creating a well-functioning emergency feeding location. Whether it’s transporting ingredients in trucks, preparing food, or handing out “grab and go” bags, every role is essential to the process. Our top priority is, and always will be, the safety and protection of both the team members serving and the families receiving the meals. When an emergency feeding location is equipped with the proper knowledge, training, and tools, it has the ability to provide tremendous support to its surrounding community. Representing only a fraction of the emergency feeding movement, we have already helped tens of thousands of people get access
to free meals – and this is just the beginning.
AESA Upcoming Events
Summer Leadership Conference
July 20-23, 2020
Hilton Nashville Downtown
Registration open.
Educators' Call to Action Conference
September 28-30 2020
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
AESA Annual Conference
December 2-5, 2020
Hilton Orlando, Florida