Transcript NADSE

NASDSE Presentation
California Community of Practice
on Secondary Transition
Practicing Authentic Engagement
Leading by Convening
Fred Balcom,
Director, Special Education Division
California Department of Education (CDE)
Jill Larson,
Education Programs Consultant, CDE
Jennifer Bianchi, Education Programs Consultant, CDE
Sue Sawyer,
President, California Transition Alliance
Liz Zastrow,
Program Specialist, Lodi (CA) Unified School District
Vicky Shadd,
Director of SELPA/Student Services
Glenn County Office of Education
October 7, 2014
Our Challenge
How do we build a
community that
embraces what we’ve
learned from transition
research to improve
postsecondary
outcomes for students
with disabilities in our
community, our region
and our state?
2
The State of California: A Challenge
55,779 square miles
Mix of urban and rural issues
38,041,430 students
9,900 schools
212,573 transition age students with IEPs
(10% of all youth with disabilities in U.S.)
127 Special Education Local Planning Areas
3
Building a COP is Like Riding a Roller Coaster
1983
Work Ability I
MOUs
1987
Transition
Partnership
Programs
2005
COP
Second
Attempt
1988
Systems Change
Grant
SWITP
2004
Improving
Transition
Outcomes
Projects
1997
School To Career
All Youth
One System
2001
COP First
Attempt
Bridges
2010
COP Third
Attempt
2014 Growing
COP
4
Appreciation: We Value These Contributions
• Dr Fred Balcom, California Department of Education
Leadership, Willingness to Collaborate, Support with Staff
• Dr. Joanne Cashman, Shared Work / IDEA Partnership
Encouraging, Support, Guidance, and Persistent
• Dr. John Johnson,
Facilitator, Friend, Prodder, Challenger, Encourager
• The opportunity to engage with the National Centers for
technical assistance, research and informing our work.
Lessons Learned As We Worked to
Build the COP
Tried Top Down and Bottom Up
Both have worked to some degree
1985 Memos of Understanding led to a contract with
Department of Rehabilitation that has sustained support for
Transition Partnership Programs and PROMISE Grant.
Or not
Agency driven support is impacted by changes in
leadership, shifting agency priorities and political
challenges.
6
We Have Learned:
• The value of committed, but shared, leadership
• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• Allow “bubble up” effect
• Create sense of inclusion
• Shared purpose/vision/issue/intent
• Everyone brings what they can to the table
• Suspend turf issues
• Bring the right drivers to the table
• Grassroots approach works when it can leverage support
from essential partners.
7
A Leadership Team Is Essential
• Receive technical assistance from national experts
and researchers.
• Create a Statewide Action Plan
• Get Action Plan input from the COP at large
• Implement the Action Plan
• Include practitioners throughout the state
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the Action Plan
• Develop strategies to engage youth and their voice
• Develop strategies to engage business partners
The Intermediary System Works in CA!
Fred Balcom, CDE: Support, Leadership and Commitment
Sees Value of Dedicated Staff: Jill Larson, Jennifer Bianchi
• Current CA COP is supported by grassroots efforts that thrive
because of the relationship with agencies (CA Department of
Education, CA Department of Rehabilitation) which developed as
a result of CA administrators in Sacramento seeing action and
results from CA COP.
• The CA Transition Alliance plays the role of Intermediary or
Convener
Goal: Expand CA COP
• Are all the partners that should be involved
at the table?
• Who else do we need to invite?
• How do we engage parents? Youth?
Business?
• Can we improve communication with all
partners?
LEAs
CA. Dept.
Education
Local COP
DDS
CA
DOR
Community
College
Community
FAMILY
Youth
CECY
How Many Hats Do Each of Us Wear?
University
Are there any Hats that are missing for Your Table?
NEA/CTA
What hats do you partner with the most?
Teachers
CARS
CA Promise
What new opportunities are emerging in your state?
Adult ED
Mind
Institute
Diagnostic CA Transition
Center
Alliance
SELPA
CA Career
Resources
WorkAbility
FAMIL
The CA COP Action Plan- Year 4
1. Enhance the CA COP structure and sustain the COP
Transition Leadership Team. Focus efforts on local,
regional collaboratives.
2. Develop and implement a multi-faceted capacity
building strategy to identify best practices that lead to
successful student outcomes.
3. Analyze statewide data to document outcomes, and
identify successful models on a local, regional and
statewide level.
4. Increase youth and family involvement and shared
leadership in the implementation of evidence-based
transition practices (EBTPs).
Strategies to Build Connections
• IDEA Partnership / Shared Work
• Engage leadership team at COP/NSTTAC
• Invite all to join the CA COP
• Utilize conference calls as tools for communication
• Offer information and resources
• Be responsive to new, emerging issues
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships
Evaluate Our Efforts
• Are people engaged?
• How can we improve youth and family engagement?
Business?
• Do we connect with economic and workforce
development? One Stop/WIOA
• Families and youth: Can we do a better job of
addressing their needs?
Emerging Opportunities
CA Promise
Adult Ed
Senate Autism
Committee
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Industry Sectors
Student Success Act
Employment First
Goal 2: Capacity Building - Current Efforts
• Build A Bridge to the Future Institute
• Transition Planning: The Basics
• Transition Planning: The Essentials
• Webinars
• Local and regional workshops
• Challenges:
• Evaluating effectiveness: Did our efforts have a
positive impact? Have we changed behavior?
Have outcomes improved?
• Seeking new opportunities – cross-agency training
16
New Efforts for 2014 - 2015
• Transition Planning: The Basics is our training resource.
• Secondary transition is not an IEP, but a process.
• Outlines mandates and corresponding best practices that have the
greatest likelihood of leading to successful outcomes.
• Subsequent training incorporates the booklet.
• Transitioning Planning: the Essentials
• Certifying trainers is required to assure a common message.
• California Transition Nuggets is an effort to capture good ideas,
tips and best practices being implemented throughout the state.
Create Strategies to Build Connections
Opportunities
Career Pathways Trust
Student Success Act
AB 86 Adult Education
ROP/Career Technical Ed.
Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act
(WIOA)
Bridge to the Future II
Statewide Secondary
Transition Institute
Events
Projects
Resources
Capacity Building
Opportunities
Transition Planning: The
Essentials
Train the Trainer Model
Certification
Meetings, Webinars, Website
Challenges
Data Collection
Focus on Documenting
Outcomes
Implement Employment First
Policy
Support, Sustain, Grow Local /
Regional Community
Collaboratives
CA
Focus on
Outcomes
Transition
Alliance
CA
COP
Employment
Postsecondary
Education
Independent Living
New Partners
Community College
Chancellor’s Office
California Career
Resource Network
Transition Essentials
Trainers 19
Are We Making a Difference?
Our Criteria
Do we have an impact on improving transition?
Are we impacting learning? Changing practice? Changing
attitudes?
Which capacity building efforts are the most effective?
What measurement should we incorporate in training?
Can conferences make an impact? Feedback from
Institute:
20
Factors: How did the Institute Impact
Transition Locally
Yes
No
My knowledge and skills have increased.
93%
7%
There will be a positive impact on my
professional work.
94%
6%
My ability to advocate for transition age youth 92%
increased
8%
I expanded my networking with individuals
doing similar work.
90%
10%
I would recommend that the COP and CA
Transition Alliance continue this type of work.
96%
4%
How Do We Know the Value
of Our Work?
Transition Planning: The Essentials
(a Train the Trainer Program)
• Participant knowledge increased by 33%
• Participants found the training useful - average 4.68 on a
5 point scale
• 73% rated the usability at 5 out of 5.
• Overall, the training was also highly rated -average of 4.57
• 66% rated the event overall 5 out of 5.
Nothing About Us Without Us
Who is the VIP at the IEP
YLF is an annual five day leadership program that provides
information and resources about employment, education,
independence and assistive technology. In addition, students
have the opportunity to interact with students their own age
and staff with various disabilities to develop long lasting
friendships. YLF is held in Sacramento. Students will get to
stay in the dorms on campus at California State University,
Sacramento.
Engage Families
“My adults are my parents, friends, and
co-workers who I work with now at DHSS.
When I need help I can go to my adults
allies.
They help me with problems. They also
believe in me”.
Adult Allies – Characteristics
Family Empowerment Centers
Parent Training/Information
Fiesta Educativa
Shares Genuine
Interest &
Values Young
People
Asks Probing
Questions
Open
Opportunities
for Youth to
Fully Express
Themselves
Secondary Transition Planning: The Basics
From Mandates to Practices that Lead to Successful Outcomes
Write IEPs that meet the legal mandate!
Compliance+ Effective Practice = Positive Outcomes
CalSTAT Technical Assistance: http://www.calstat.org/ta.html
To find a qualified trainer in your local area, please contact the
California Transition Alliance
Contact person: Sue Sawyer, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
California Transition Nuggets
We are kicking off a campaign to collect tips, strategies,
resources and programs that transition practitioners
throughout California recommend as an effective tool to
prepare youth with disabilities for successful transition.
Nuggets will be submitted through the
www.catransitionalliance.org website. They will be vetted by
the CA Transition Alliance to verify they meet the standard
of an effective transition best practice.
Reflection
• Sustain and Grow the Statewide COP
• Encourage, support and train to develop local/regional COP
• Many parts of the state are geographically large and sparsely
populated
• Continue to engage individuals in effective transition training
• Fine tune the way we evaluate our CA COP efforts
• Keep up with Change!
• Embrace new and emerging trends and legislation as
Coming together is a beginning…
Staying together is a process…
Working together is success!