AEA 267 will change name to Central Rivers

Citing a desire to present a more unified image and take advantage of timing, the AEA 267 board of directors made a decision during their Oct. 5 meeting to change the agency’s name from Area Education Agency 267 to Central Rivers Area Education Agency.

“The board rarely makes unilateral decisions, but in this case we felt it was appropriate to move ahead without a lengthy process that detracted from the important work that our staff and schools have to do,” said Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson, AEA 267 board vice president.  “The timing is right given recent conversations around updates to facilities, the fact that our website is in the midst of a complete overhaul and many of our building signs are in need of replacement.  From a dollars and cents standpoint we had to make these improvements anyway. Why not take advantage of the timing and forge ahead?”

Previous site visits from the Iowa Department of Education echoed the sentiment that others have had about the agency’s current name for years--that it honors the past three organizations that merged back in 2003 but doesn’t project an image of one organization.

“In my many conversations with staff and the educators that we serve, the name conjured up images of “AEA 2-6-7” rather than one or

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ganization,” said Sam Miller, AEA 267 Chief Administrator. “Given our limited resources, if we were going to make this change, now was the time.”

The new name will be phased in around the first of the year when the new agency website is launched. Supplies bearing the agency’s current name will be used up throughout the spring and the official changeover will take place on July 1, 2017.

Area Education Agency 267 serves over 65,000 students. In addition, over 5,000 educators rely on AEA 267 for services in special education, school technology, media and instructional/curriculum support. The agency’s service area reaches 18 counties and nearly 9,000 square miles.

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