Transcript Our Solution

Special Education
Program Study
2006-2007
Our Special Education Team
“Thirty years ago, Congress announced that
more than half of American children with
disabilities were not receiving appropriate
educational services. Today, American
Schools have a world-class system for
differentiating instruction for all students,
regardless of cognitive, emotional or
physical limitations. That’s quite an
accomplishment, and something about
which educators should be proud.”
-- Pamela Wheaton Shorr, District Administration, May 2006
Special Education at LSH
The Program Study
• 1st study since 1991-92
• All staff surveyed April 06
• June 2006 administrators and teachers
identified expectations
• Summer 06 all worked on “chapters”
• During year worked with team of 5 reps
Special Education at LSH
Highlights of Study:
 Program description defines job
responsibilities of SpEd teachers
 Due Process Flow Chart
 Comparison to Other Districts
 NWEA Results … beginning steps to
data analysis; Viewpoint is needed!
Special Education at LSH
Data from MDE tells us:
 Higher percentage (nearly 10%) of SpEd
students graduate from LSH than State
 Fewer SpEd students drop out from LSH
compared to State
 Avoidance of racial bias in Special Ed
Identification
Special Education at LSH
STRENGTHS:
 Over 90% GenEd staff is willing to modify
instruction
 SpEd staff provides services to nearly all
special needs within the district
 We made AYP in 1st year of plan
 Collaboration between SpEd and GenEd
is valued and practiced
Special Education at LSH
After a year of study, we are here to
offer the top ten special education
challenges that affect schools
in Le Sueur-Henderson,
with our solutions for each.
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #1
(not in priority order)
STANDARDS - a Two-Fold Challenge:
 SpEd teachers deliver Academic Standards
at many grade levels and in many content
areas -- for students with different
disabilities and widely divergent needs
 Find texts and tools to meet the standards
while matching and/or accommodating
individual student learning needs
Our Solution
 Meet with General
Education teachers
to brainstorm ideas
and resources
 Evaluate possible
resources
 Order materials
 Use materials with
students
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #2
(not in priority order)
 Following legal protocols for mandated
DUE PROCESS PAPERWORK
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Assessment, conducting student evaluations
IEP reports
Progress reports
Maintaining files
Team meeting preparation and follow-up
Third Party Billing
 Prep time for instructional planning and
collaborating with GenEd gets eaten up
with paperwork and compliance
Our Solution
 Meet with district
administrators to
develop solutions
 Implement the
recommendations
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #3
(not in priority order)
TECHNOLOGY
 Develop student skills in technology to
prepare for life
 Getting the equipment that works with
current tech requirements into the Special
Ed classrooms
 Purchasing software that will have the
greatest impact on student achievement
Our Solution
 Work with district tech
team to determine needs
 Request software funds
to “catch up”
 Review needs and make
recommendations
annually
 Be part of the technology
rotation
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #4
(not in priority order)
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
 Addressing Assistive Technology use is
required as part of the IEP process
 Our staff needs to learn more about
assistive technology and how it benefits
our students
Our Solution
 Invite outside experts
 Thanks to Closing the
Gap!
 Request Assistive
Technology evaluation
of needs (MVED)
 Select and purchase
 Access training on
selected technology
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #5
(not in priority order)
TEAMING WITH GENERAL ED
Continued need to communicate and
collaborate with general ed staff for
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Student Programming
Modifications
Accommodations
Progress
Differentiating in the classroom
Our Solution
 Include special ed rep
on all curriculum area
reviews
 Expand co-teaching
pilot
 Continue participation in
Time for Teams
 Continue August
collaboration meetings
for SpEd and GenEd
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #6
(not in priority order)
 Information Overload!
• New mandates / IDEIA
• Statewide Testing Requirements
HELP
WANTED
 Need site, district, Ed District support
• Knowledge of SpEd teachers’ responsibilities
• Current Best Practices and Good Job Design
• Access to specially designed instructional resources
 Without this help, we do it ourselves and:
• We Lose student contact time
• Our energies are focused on program management
Our Solution
 Request MVED leadership
attend our Child Study
meetings
 Frequent classroom visits
 Centralized training from
MVED for districts
 Centralized speakers
 Monthly 1/2 day Info
meetings with school reps
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #7
(not in priority order)
ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES
 IDIEA reauthorization requires
• research-based assessments
• accountability for achievement and recording
progress
 District initiatives
• using Formative Assessment
• Using Data to Inform instruction
Our Solution
 Request District Staff
Development Team
include training in
formative
assessments in 07-08
 Learn how to use
Sagebrush for
tracking and analyzing
student achievement
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #8
(not in priority order)
New IDEIA
(Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act)
also requires that instruction in
special education program and related
services provided in the IEP
must be
research-based
Our Solution
 Reach out to MSUM
partners
 Teachers investigate
tools & strategies this
summer
 Seek training on new
tools & strategies
 Request subscriptions
to professional
journals
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #9
(not in priority order)
DISTRICT-WIDE COMMUNICATION
Special Educators often work alone, in isolation.
They need:
• Time to collaborate with each other about
strategies and tools
• Time to engage in meaningful conversations
about their job and job stress
• A forum for thinking through and discussing
conflict, confusion, and the demands of their jobs
Our Solution
 Meet as a K-12 team
in August retreat
 Meet consistently
throughout the year
with agendas set by
the team
Special Ed’s Greatest Challenge #10
(not in priority order)
EFFECTIVE STAFFING DECISIONS
Challenge presented by administrators in
June 2006:
• Can we describe the Special Ed
workload in quantifiable terms?
• What is an objective way to determine
assignments and staffing in SpEd?
Our Solution
 Develop a workload
analysis based on services
and responsibilities of each
teacher based on a design
in place in Hastings
 Create a spreadsheet to
calculate workload ratios
which could be easily
revised
 Work with administration to
interpret data and refine the
model as needed.
Special Education at LSH
The Mission of Special Education
at LSH is to
empower students
with complex social and educational
challenges
to recognize and optimize
their full potential.
Special Education at LSH
Questions?
Special Education Student Percentages
2006-2007
(Not including Speech-Language)
23.26%
15%
22.22%
18.50%
20%
18.18%
15.31%
13.79%
12.70%
11.70%
12.84%
11.86%
10.81%
11.48%
10.28%
10%
7.87%
5%
Grade
GR 12
GR 11
GR 10
GR 9
GR 8
GR 7
GR 6
GR 5
GR 4
GR 3
GR 2
GR 1
District
Ave
0%
State
Ave
# of Students
25%
Special Education Student Percentages
2006-2007
(Not including Speech-Language)
25%
22.22%
20%
18.50%
18.18%
15.31%
15%
12.70%
12.84%
11.86%
10.81%
10%
11.48%
10.28%
7.87%
5%
Grade
GR 12
GR 11
GR 10
GR 9
GR 8
GR 7
GR 6
GR 5
GR 4
GR 3
GR 2
0%
GR 1
# of Students
23.26%
Percentage Breakdow n by Disability
(Not including Speech-Language)
OTHER
ASD
DCD
OHD
EBD
SLD
80%
60%
40%
Grade
GR 12
GR 11
GR 10
GR 9
GR 8
GR 7
GR 6
GR 5
GR 4
GR 3
GR 2
GR 1
0%
District
20%
State
Percentage
100%
Special Education Students by Disability
1
2
3
6
1
3
5
2
Grade
2
2
OTHER
ASD
3
2
1
1
2
6
5
DCD
4
2
6
1
4
1
GR 12
10
4
1
1
4
GR 9
4
1
1
1
GR 8
3
GR 2
GR 1
K
0
2
7
3
2
2
GR 4
5
7
GR 3
12
1
1
1
3
1
GR 5
5
4
1
1
GR 10
5
4
10
3
GR 7
1
1
1
GR 6
3
15
4
1
GR 11
1
1
1
20
ECSE
# of Students
25
OHD
EBD
SLD
Speech/Lang.
Dev. Delay