Audrey White
Aimee Hospodarsky
The Monticello Express reached out to two local residents who work for Grant Wood Area Education Agency (AEA) regarding recent proposed legislation in Iowa.
The Q&A below offers direct answers from Aimee Hospodarsky, a school counselor consultant, and Audrey White, an occupational therapist.
Some of the answers to my questions were a collaboration between Hospodarsky, White, and GW AEA Director of Communications and Creative Solutions Renee Nelson.
Q: How long have you worked for GW AEA (or other AEAs)?
A: Two years for Hospodarsky; nine years for White.
Q: Can you share your reaction to hearing the governor’s proposal during her Condition of the State address regarding drastic changes to Iowa’s AEAs?
A: “I was dismayed to hear about the proposal,” stated Hospodarsky. “For most of my career as a school counselor in a building, I desperately wanted support for my unique position and had trouble finding it. The school counselor consultant roles (I serve elementary, and Debra Brokaw serves secondary.) at the AEA were created to give school counselors the support that we always had wished we had as school counselors, and provide equitable services and support to school counselors throughout GW AEA. One of the comments that we often get from school counselors is that they appreciate having a trusted ‘go-to’ with experience in the field to provide support through difficult situations and provide tailored learning that helps them grow professionally and in turn, provide better support to students. My concern was how any potential changes might impact the support and services we can provide, as well as the services and support my other colleagues at the AEA can provide.”
“When the details were revealed in January, I was completely devastated,” stated White. “The proposed plan has the potential of limiting the tools and resources that I utilize in my daily practice. I rely heavily on our accessible equipment, van mail for deliveries, the interdisciplinary collaboration with professionals who specialize in education, just to name a few, in order to fully serve my teachers and students. These potential changes could impact the breadth of support and services that I can provide within my districts.”
Q: Would the services you provide through GW AEA be in jeopardy at all (in the current proposed bills in both the House and Senate)?
A: “It’s hard to fully appreciate the potential impact of the changes proposed in the two versions of the bill because each version proposes vastly different ideas,” stated Nelson. “We continue actively engaging with legislators in both chambers and in both parties to identify ways we can protect the system of support that is already available to students, families and districts while allowing opportunities to update our system to address legislative concerns. Our work is far from done.”
Q: What have you heard from the schools and families GW AEA serves in terms of possibly losing AEA services?
A: “The feedback I’ve heard from schools within GW AEA’s service area has been marked by deep concern,” stated White. “Administrators, teachers, parents, and community members alike have expressed worry over the potential loss of AEA services. Such a scenario would have significant ramifications for children aged birth to 21 in our community. It could lead to a reduction in essential services such as professional development opportunities and access to a range of educational equipment, from low-tech to high-tech, utilized in both general and special education classrooms. Moreover, I believe the absence of AEA support would leave our educators and teams without a vital support system they heavily rely on, impacting their ability to effectively meet the diverse needs of their students.”
“I agree with Audrey’s answer, and would add that we have seen these concerns evidenced in social media posts, attendance at community legislative forums, public comments on legislative bills, and reports from legislators about high volumes of mail from their constituents,” stated Hospodarsky.
Q: How many school districts does GW AEA serve?
A: 32 public districts, 15 state-accredited non-public schools, and 10 independent accredited non-public schools.
“My role is agency-wide, so I serve all districts within GW AEA,” stated Hospodarsky.
“I currently serve Monticello, Springville, and Linn-Mar,” stated White.
Q: How many employees does GW AEA have?
A: Approximately 500 employees who support 250 school administrators; 5,800 teachers, counselors, teacher librarians, and paraeducators; and 74,000 students in a seven-county area.
Q: How many families/children within the Monticello district does GW AEA serve?
A: “It would be reasonable to say that GW AEA services impact all students in the district,” stated Hospodarsky. “While the AEA is best known for its work in special education, the AEA services support all students in a district. There are many services that also impact students in general education, including curriculum consultants (math, literacy, science, social studies), digital learning consultants, the GW AEA CISM team, school counselor consultants, Future Ready consultants, gifted and talented consultants, school improvement consultants, PBIS consultants, and SEBH consultants. GW also supports educators through technology services, a wealth of resources available through the media center, van delivery to buildings, and professional learning opportunities, which indirectly impact students.
Our special education services actually start in infancy. GW services are not just for school-age students who have IEPs (special education). Early Access services impact infants and toddlers, so some services begin before students even get to school.”
“Some students have access to services until they are 21,” added White.
Q: If the services provided through GW AEA were in jeopardy, how would you see that impacting the students/families?
A: “Students, educators, and families would lose access to the services listed above, as well as other services not specifically mentioned,” stated Hospodarsky. “One unintended consequence might be that we would not be able to use cross-disciplinary collaboration to help students. For example, for the past year and half, both school counselor consultants have been part of a cross-disciplinary team which included a regional administrator, school social worker, and school psychologist. We collaborated to research and develop a course entitled, ‘A Systematic Approach to Suicide Prevention.’ Over the last two weeks, we’ve delivered this course to 11 districts and 66 participants. I also want to point out that GW employees often live in or near the communities in which they serve, which means they have intimate knowledge of how the schools in their area work; they have cultivated relationships with staff, families, and students within those buildings. That works to our advantage.”
“Occupational therapy services will continue to be available to students and families, as it is a service that falls under FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education),” stated White. “The FAPE provision ensures that students with disabilities receive necessary support services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy if they are deemed eligible for special education services. These services are protected under federal law to ensure that students with disabilities have access to the resources they need to succeed in their education.”
Q: If the Monticello district chose to use its special education funding elsewhere, other than GW, how would that impact GW AEA?
A: “We can’t project what may or may not happen in the future,” stated Nelson. “What we can say is that, when looking at the limited available funding used to fulfill the AEAs’ mandates around special education, it paints a true picture of efficiency. No other agency, private vendor or consortium, can deliver the depth and breadth of services for the same funding.”
“As far as support services go, if the district would choose to use its funding elsewhere, I would be concerned about the practitioners having the specialized training required for educationally relevant services,” stated White. “As a school-based therapist, I look at students’ functional needs within the educational environment, and collaborate closely with teachers and other school staff to support students’ academic success and participation in school activities. It involves specialized training in education, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), special education law, and promoting inclusion in the least restrictive environment.”