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	As a partner with families, schools, and communities, the Loess Hills Area Education Agency will provide visionary leadership and focused services for learner success.

During the 1999-2000 school year, Iowa's 15 area education agencies celebrated 25 years of service to Iowa's children, families, and school staff. AEAs are an important part of Iowa's educational system because they provide a variety of services that help all children succeed. AEA personnel work closely with local schools to develop programs based on their needs. A new statewide accreditation system assists AEAs in developing those programs.

The AEAs work as educational partners with local public and accredited private schools to help assure that all children reach their potential. The agencies provide special education support services, as well as media and technology services, a variety of instructional services and leadership to promote school improvement. In 1975, the Iowa General Assembly created Iowa's 15 AEAs which are widely regarded as the finest intermediate educational service agencies in the country.

Legislation in 1974 creating the AEA system placed Iowa among the nation's leaders in establishing regional, intermediate educational service units. The Iowa General Assembly established the system of area education agencies to "provide an effective and economical means of identifying and serving children from under five years of age through grade twelve who require special education." This mandate was later recognized and expanded by the U.S. Congress with the passage of federal legislation.

In addition to special education services, each AEA also maintains a media center containing a lending library of print and nonprint materials, a professional library, a curriculum laboratory, copy services, media production, and a means of delivery materials to and from schools. The AEA also provides instructional services to local schools, including curriculum and staff development, consultation in a variety of areas including language arts, early childhood education, science and math, and life skills. For more information about the services provided by the Loess Hills AEA, select "Our Programs & Services" from the menus above.

Most AEA services result from state or federal mandates and requests from local school districts. Budget allocations and delivery methods are the responsibility of each AEA's Board of Directors. The Loess Hills AEA Board of Directors establishes educational policy and administrative regulations which support and supplement requirements of the Department of Education. Each board member represents a director district, a geographic portion of the area which may contain one or several school districts. The number of director districts in each AEA varies from five to nine.

AEAs have no taxing authority; instead, the law provides for a legislatively-controlled amount of property tax and state aid to "flow through" local school district budgets to the AEAs. In addition, AEAs receive state and federal grants for specific projects. They also provide some services on a contract basis for which tuition and fees may be assessed.

The Loess Hills Area Education Agency's name comes from the loess (pronounced "luhss") soil found in Southwest Iowa. This soil is found in only one other region in the world, China. The loess soil is quartz silt produced by the movement of glaciers when the underneath rock was ground into powder and carried down river by summer snowmelt. In winter, as the water flow slowed, the silt was deposited in the floodplain. The Loess Hills were created over thousands of years by continuous loess deposition. Through the years, running water and erosion have formed the unique sharp angles and deep ravines visible today.