behavior

Hey all

I found this fabulous behavior website!!!

http://www.sonomaselpa.org/content.php?PageId=410#2

It has amazing behavior intervention plan templates.

right or left brained

Hey guys

I thought you might enjoy this to determine if you are left or right brained and to see what that means!  By the way, I am way left brained...surprise!

http://thepremiertutors.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tpt-right-or-left-brain.jpg

We're getting there!

Hey guys
It's almost Christmas break...do you feel like this year is half way done? It feels like we just got started.

I have really been putting in a lot of time looking at folders lately and there are a couple of things I want to note to you...

1. Please refrain from using predictive language (The disability WILL  prevent the child from achieving...The committee WILL ask for your permission to test, etc...). These are no-no's. All matters are committee decisions, and we can't ever say what effect a disability will have. We can only say what is happening with the child TODAY.
2. Remember to look at the WHOLE CHILD. That means take into account documented behavioral, emotional, adaptive AND educational issues. We can never tackle one issue without programming for all. 
3. Be careful to use parent friendly language. We can't expect parents to understand Lexile and DRA scores. Relate that language to something the parent will know (age, grade equivalencies or qualitative language-average, above average, below average).
4. Be sure to be very specific on your due process paperwork. Remember, a naive reader should be able to pick up Student Profile pages, PLOP, EPCDF and Annual Review and be able to write lesson plans for the child. Simply stating the child has an A in Resource Reading does not give enough information about where the child is currently functioning. Write like you are presenting information to someone who knows NOTHING about the child. Tell specifically what the child CAN and CAN'T do relative to the curriculum. Know and use your Common Core Standards!

Overall the folders are great! I really appreciate all your hard work on them!

Have a great rest of the week!

Importance of Responsiveness

Hey guys!

How many more days until Thanksgiving break???

I still have not heard from Riverside, Westside Elem., Westside HS, BIC High School, BIC Jr. High or BIC West to set up times to meet monthly regarding Student Profile Sheets. Time is getting short. Please contact me this week to set up dates. I need one hour a month for group building meetings.

I will be coming by this month to check progress on portfolio's. If you need help, let me know and I will prioritize my visits!

This week I want to make you aware of a lawsuit in which the failure to recognize and create an appropriate plan for behavior resulted in the award of private school tuition (we don't want to ever be in that position). Council Rock School Dist. v. M.W., Civil No. 11-4824, 2012 WL 3055686 (E.D. Pa. 7/26/12). The student's behavior was noted in evaluation reports and emails between parent/teacher to be "worrisome", and it was suggested to the parent the child see a psychiatrist. However, the behavior was never addressed in a formal behavior plan OR the IEP.

The court saw this as a grievous error and determined the negative behaviors impacted the child's ability to learn and be with typically developing, same age peers. The behaviors should have been addressed on the IEP goals, present level of performance, and modifications as well as a behavior plan.

After determining the District was aware of the behavior problems, yet did not address them, the parents were awarded tuition for a private school that offered social skills and behavioral/emotional programming. I am confidant our three Districts are well prepared to offer any and all services to students in need. Be sure that when writing IEP's, EPCDF's, Annual Reviews and behavior plans you are addressing the "whole child". Let your paperwork always reflect your programming.

Have a fantastic week and let me know if you need anything!

Training Dates

Hey there...

Just a quick note to let you know to save the following dates as we will be meeting as one large team to do some training at CREC.

January 15-all day
February 6-8:30-11:00
March 1-8:30-11:00

We will make sure you are out on the half days in enough time to get back to relieve your half day subs.

On these days we will be learning about the Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses (Cross Battery Assessment) method of diagnosing Specific Learning Disability so all special education teachers need to be there. On the afternoon of the January 15 date we will be previewing the Sped Track due process management system (alternative to SEAS). I want EVERYONE there to provide input.

Have a fantastic week.

Vocabulary

Hi everyone!

I hope your week is successful so far! Thanks for everyone who filled out the Happy Happy survey! Those of you who haven't, please get that to me asap.

Couple of things:

1-Many people have had SEAS questions for Phyllis lately, so I just wanted to clear it up for you guys: APSCN and SEAS aren't related in any way, so if your Alpha and your SEAS roster don't match, don't be alarmed. APSCN we handle, but we need you to manage your SEAS account.

2-Upon review of Requests to Evaluate I am noticing there are some documents that you guys aren't sending. These documents should be available to send to us when you send consent, as you should be reviewing them in your referral or reeval conferences. The information on these documents is vital to any decision you are making in the conferences.

Most notably, these documents are:
Hearing and Vision
Social History
Current Grades
CBA
Group Achievement Scores

All of these documents should be weighty in any decision making process. My big worry is not that you aren't sending them to us right away, but that perhaps they aren't available for review in the conference.

Please make sure you are reviewing ALL information when analyzing what data we need to collect in order to properly serve each child. These documents are not just needed for the report, they are needed in order to make thoughtful decisions.

Today I wanted to bring to your attention an intervention clearinghouse http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ Check this site out for tons of ideas on how to adapt our teaching style, curriculum and interventions to best match each kiddo's learning style.

I hope you have a wonderful end of the week and weekend. Please post questions, comments or ideas here for us all to share!

Behavior (ugh)

Hey guys

Several of you have been asking about behavior interventions...this is a great site for all types of behavioral and reward systems...

Hope it helps! Have a great weekend!

http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions

SLD--Hold on to your seats!

Hey guys

Lori, Nichole and I spent 2 days last week learning the very latest on how to best determine eligibility for Specific Learning Disability. We learned so much about Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses and Cross Battery Assessment, I think it will take me a long long time to process it all. We will be having several trainings in the spring to get you guys accustomed to this new way of thinking. It's really exciting and I feel you will be much more comfortable with it than the current model.

I would like for you guys to talk with your principals and determine a time for building level special education teams to meet with me on a monthly basis. Each month I'd like for you to bring one or two Student Profile (PLOP) pages in preparation for full implementation of Standards Based IEP's. This will give you some time to practice using the new system and when we reach April, you will just need minor editing and you'll be ready to roll. :) Let me know what the available times/days are and I will pencil you in my schedule!

I wanted to share with you guys an interesting fact I heard recently "The 30 Million Word Gap"-Betty Hart and Tod R. Risley (1995).

• Given a 100 hour week (14 hour working day)
• Average child in professional families: 215,000 words of language experience
• Average child in working class families: 125,000
• Average child in welfare families: 62,000
• Given a 5,200 hour year
• Professional families: 11.2 million words
• working class families: 6.5 million words
• Welfare families 3.2 million words
• In 4 years of such experience, an average child in a professional family would have accumulated experience with almost 45 million words
• Working Class: 26 million
• Welfare: 13 million
• Children in professional families are exposed to over 30 million more words/language experience than children in welfare families.

What can we do? Plan activities for these children that enrich their vocabulary, teach morphology, develop activities to build listening skills and explicitly teach listening strategies. Give these kiddos opportunities to be exposed EARLY ON to rich text and conversation. Use everything at your disposal to shrink the gap!!! Just knowing it exists is half the battle!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Common Sense...Finally

Hey guys

I hope you are having a great week so far!

I wanted to share some good news that came across my desk. I know we all struggle with the fact that sometimes we may not meet the IEP to the exact minute. This is stressful as we all know the importance of the "contract" that guides the child's programming. However, in our lives, things may happen: People get sick, we have assemblies, pep rallies, etc... So we suffer over every second we are not in our rooms or able to provide those services.

This morning I was reading a court case (Corpus Christi Independent School Dist. v. C.C., No. 2:11-cv-00224, 2012, WL 2064846-SD Tex. 6/7/12) centered on this very issue. The parents were upset with the school because the student left class 10 minutes early several times a week. However, it was documented the student was making "meaningful academic and social progress". The court found "the IDEA does not mandate an all or nothing educational program for disabled students". The school is to offer a continuum of services and small deviations from the IEP weren't grounds for finding "failure to provide an appropriate education". The court stated Districts face such issues as school, budgets, staffing issues, illnesses and other day to day realities. It held, "school districts will not always be able to provide disabled students with the best possible education". Remember FAPE is free and APPROPRIATE public education.

I hope this helps you all breathe a sigh of relief. Of course we always try our best to fulfill every commitment in the IEP to the letter, it just isn't always possible EVERY DAY. It's nice to know the courts are providing some common sense answers out there.

I'd love to hear any comments or questions any of you have on this or other matters!

Have a great rest of the week!

Rainy Monday

Hello everyone!

Happy rainy Monday. I hope everything is well with you all. I was in Classroom Walk Through training for 2 days last week and will be performing CWT in many of your classrooms in the upcoming weeks. Let me know if you have any questions about this process. It's really interesting.

I also wanted you all to know of upcoming Dyslexia 101 training in October at CREC as many of you have been asking for info on this topic.

Today I'd like to discuss behavior plans. Our behavior plan is very simple and almost cookie cutter. The IDEA does not contain a provision regarding form or content of BIP's. Districts have been left to their own devices in developing the structure of these plans. The standard of appropriateness for these plans is whether it is "reasonably calculated to allow the student to benefit for his or her educational program in the least restrictive environment, without unduly disrupting other students" Eric J. v. Huntsville City Bd. of Education (1995).

Many educators recommend using a narrative style instead of the checklist we currently use. I am attaching the web address for the Diana Browning Wright Behavior Support Plan for you guys to look at and see if you like it. If you do, please feel free to begin using it. If not, I encourage you to seek out or create a new form as the old one is simply not descriptive enough.

http://www.sccoe.k12.ca.us/depts/selpa/docs/BehaviorSupportPlan.pdf

Have a GREAT week.

Yay it's Friday!

Just checking in to be sure everyone has had the modification conferences with your reg. ed. teachers and have had all regular education teachers sign off on mods. I hope they were able to have any questions regarding these modifications answered. Be sure to make yourselves available to our regular education friends. Sometimes our language is foreign to them.  :)

Since we are talking about modifications, I'd like our tip today to focus on the age old question of what is the difference between accommodations and modifications. "Accommodations are intended to help your child work around the disability and demonstrate what he has learned." They don't change a test or assignment in a significant way. The child is expected to learn the same material as his classmates. An example would be if a child with fine motor issues would be allowed to type answers on a test.

Accommodations are meant to "level the playing field".

Modifications, however, change the nature of an assignment or test. They make assignments and tests "easier". For example, a modification may require a child to answer half the questions on a test.

Common accommodations:
provide a tutor
assign a note taker
permit computer use for a child with illegible handwriting
tape recording of lectures
extra time to complete tests
taking tests in a quiet room

Common modifications:
shortened, modified assignments/replacing assignments with "easier" assignments
reducing work to what is relevant to a child
omitting higher math facts, simplifying other tasks
reducing number of concepts taught
giving different tests

I pulled this information from Wright's Law All About IEP's p. 54-55. This is a wonderful book and well worth your read!

Please keep up your fantastic work!

"There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties or you alter the way you meet them." (Phyllis Bottome)

First Day Jitters-We've all got 'em

Hey guys
Happy first day! I hope it is off to a wonderful start. Be sure to get your ARMAC training done today if it isn't already. I'll be trying to make contact with those of you that have not gotten it done yet.

Let me know if anything interesting happens this week!

Today's tip is about transportation. Be sure to establish written guidelines in case of a bus emergency. All transportation personnel should be familiar with the content of the plans and understand their roles and responsibilities in implementing them.

Be sure that you include your bus drivers. I think a lot of times we forget to include them and assume they know and understand the needs of our kiddos! We need to have them sign off on emergency plans for individual students.

Welcome back!

Well...Most of you are back at work. I know in-service week was always my favorite (NOT). Except the food is great! Had lunch today with Riverside staff at Refuge Baptist Church and it was amazing (I ate 3 desserts). I hope you are all learning tons and getting to spend some time in your rooms preparing for the little darlings to come back on Monday!

I hope to see you all at some point this week. If you need me, please let me know. I had misplaced my work cell, but it has been replaced. Or, you can always email me.

This morning I worked with Brandy Ivy and Dan Qualls at Riverside laying a floor...do you believe that? We were actually doing manual labor!!! It is a really neat fall-safe flooring, but not so fun to install. The school nurse Holly (I have 3 school nurses named Holly!) helped. So today's tip will be about school nurses as IEP team members (in honor of the Hollys).

For students who take prescription medication to treat their disabilities, or who are limited in certain activities due to health-related concerns, including the nurse in the IEP process can help ensure the appropriate use of medical procedures. Including the nurse on the IEP team allows all of the individuals involved in the student's education to receive correct and up-to-date information on the child's medical needs. IDEA rules authorize anindividuals possessing knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related service providers, to be members of the IEP team, at the discretion of the parent. The hope is always that the nurse's presence on the team will help guarantee medial concerns are taken into account when his or her program is developed and implemented.

We are all a team!

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." (Albert Einstein)

love, love, love

Thanks to all of you who came to the in-service last week. I appreciate your presence and participation so very much. I think I learned more from you guys than you did from me, AND I should only have about 15 people to train in the fall, so that will be much less disruption for your kiddos.

Only 2 more weeks of summer (boo) so I am taking off some this week. I will be gone Tues, Weds and Friday. If you need me, you will have to contact me through email or my personal cell because my work cell is temporarily misplaced (I hope).

Since we are having so many issues with Prior Written Notice, today's tip will deal with Prior Written Notice and Suspensions.

Please note that even though short term (less than 10 cumulative days) suspensions do not constitute a change in placement, Goss v. Lopez (1975) requires Districts to provide the suspended student with "some kind of notice" and "some kind of hearing". Specifically Districts are required to: 1) Proide the student with oral or written notice of the charges; 2) Explain the evidence that supports the charges in circumstances where the student denies the allegations; and 3)Offer the student an opportunity to present his or her side of the story.

Be sure to keep your ear to the ground regarding discipline. Many times, our administrators may not have the rules of IDEA in mind when imposing discipline. Be sure to share all information with them, including updated alpha lists to make sure we are all on the same page.

Enjoy yourselves the rest of the summer! See you soon!

PS Please have your ARMAC video training done prior to August 17th!

Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is the big day! I am still working on our inservice materials. There is so much I want to share with you guys. We may not have enough time.

Inservice is tomorrow and Thursday 9:00-3:00. We will have lunch brought in. We will be meeting at Westside Middle School in the Special Events Room. If you guys need directions or have any other questions, please give me a call!

Looking forward to seeing you.

Upcoming Training

Whew! Getting ready for the training we will have next week has been hectic. Big huge thanks to Bryan Bullard and Amanda Kirby for coming today to help me with the binders we are putting together for you guys. They sacrificed their day for me and I really appreciate it!!!

I'm getting nervous about the training next week because the State Department has not released the Power Point about Standards Based IEP's in the correct format yet, and SEASWeb does not have the goal sheet in its correct format yet. But we will work with what we have, right!

This will be a big year of changes for us, so everyone just hang in there with me (again!).

Today's tip to boost your Special Ed. IQ is about Surrogate Parents...
Did you know that Districts have to ensure a properly trained surrogate parent is appointed for each child with a disability for whom no other "parent" is available. This surrogate may represent the child in all matters relating to identification, evaluation and educational placement and the provision of FAPE. However, this appointment in no way negates the natural parent's rights.

I am the chosen person for the Districts that is responsible for appointing surrogate parents. If you have a child who you feel needs one, please contact your principal or me!

I hope you guys are having a great summer. I will see you all next week!

AASEA

Hi everyone

I can't believe it's July already...Summer is flying by!

I just got back from AASEA...which was pretty pitiful. I had never been to the Special Education Administrator Conference before and really was expecting great things...sad :)

I did come away with a few good things I am going to share with you when we get together on the 25th and 26th. Those of you who can't make it on the 25th and or 26th, let me know and we will find a separate time to meet.

I am still looking at folders and collecting information to give to you guys so we know how to work smarter (not harder).

I know everyone is working on in-service so my Tip of the Day is about inservice for our transportation personnel. Many times students will require transportation as a related service. As in-service is being offered this fall, consider meeting formally or informally with your transportation team to explain issues that arise with these children. Maybe if a better understanding is gained regarding "our" students, transportation will become less of an issue (particularly in the behavior realm). A comprehensive training program can help districts avoid possible liability in the event a child is injured on or removed from the bus.

Here are a few training issues that should be considered:
 1.  Operation of specialized equipment
 2.  General special education training
 3.  General first-aid training
 4.  Specific training for medically fragile students

You may need to work in conjunction with your principals and nurses to ensure proper trainings are held.

On a side note, if you are having difficulty commenting on the Blog, just sign in with your gmail account when prompted and it will be smooth sailing after that. If you have problems, let me know.

Have a great 4th!!!

Standards Based IEP's

Hi Everyone!
I just got back from State Department training on Standards Based IEP's. They unveiled the new IEP forms and process for us...it was really interesting. It looks a little daunting, but in the end I think it will benefit our kiddos AND us so much. I can't wait to get with all of you and share this information. I hope all of you can make it July 25-26. If not, please let me know and we will have to schedule a separate time to meet in a smaller group.

We will also be discussing eligibility and paperwork issues that are important.

In order to be ready for Standard's Based IEP's please familiarize yourself with the Common Core Standards and how to "unpack" these standards.

Here are some websites to help with that:

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/acre/standards/common-core-tools/#unpacking

http://www.imarksweb.net/book/tennessee+common+core+unpacking+the+standards/

There are about a million if you just want to google common core standards unpacked you will find a bunch!

Some of your Districts may have already done this...if so, you can get the unpacked standards from them and start (with your math and literacy coaches/reg ed teachers/administrators) to begin to identify those POWER STANDARDS for each grade level so we will know how to plan our IEP's next year.

I hope you all are having a great summer! I miss you.

Ugh...

I hate working when you are all off and having a great time...

I am getting a lot done though. I have been looking at some folders and these are some concerns:
1.  Still not enough data on the PLOP and annual review (should be able to take those two documents and write lesson plans, remember).
2.  Need more record of parent participation. Remember, this has to be "meaningful participation" not just that they were present and participated.
3.  Need much healthier transition plans and goals.

I hope a bunch of you high school guys are going to Teresa's Transition Toolkit 1. I think it will be much stronger than it has been in the past. I am also going to try to get Teresa to come and spend time working with us in small groups next year. Nettleton was just monitored this spring and thanks to Teresa's guidance, the monitors bragged and bragged about their Transition. We all want to make sure we meet that same standard.

So today's tip will be on Transtion!!!

The law says "Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect after age 16, a student's program must contain appropriate, measurable post secondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills" 20 USC 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII).

At age 16 we (surely) should have a good idea about which way our kiddos are heading, and we should begin the awesome responsibility of guiding them in that direction. There's a lot to think about when it comes to our students' futures. We should encourage parents to begin to allow us to invite in agencies as early as possible. If the agencies don't wish to meet with our students until senior or junior year, we need to document their statements as to such. The important thing is that we are continually advocating for our students, and we can document this every step of the way.

As my own child's 16th birthday is looming only 2 months in the future. I understand the pressure our parents must feel to have a "plan" in place. Our assessments and thoughtful transition plans/goals should help to ease some minds!

Hey guys

I hope everyone had a very happy Memorial Day and a great start to summer.

I am going to start checking folders next week, so don't be surprised if you come back to some sticky notes. I am going to try to email you a note about each of your folders I check letting you know big things that need to be fixed and any patterns I see that are in need of correction. Hopefully we will have a lot of time this coming up year for discussions about due process issues and any and all questions can be answered. Generic issues that I see across the paperwork will be addressed on the blog.

Today's tip:
When we come back to school in the fall, I'm sure there will be several students who walk in with Independent Evaluations from outside providers. I get a lot of questions about how we are to deal with these evaluations.

1. Always date stamp the report so we can prove when it was received. These reports must be addressed in a "timely" manner.
2. The District must "consider" the evaluation when making decisions concerning the provision of FAPE (programming and placement). Failure to "consider" the independent evaluation violates the paren't right to have the opportunity to participate. So, we will need to hold (at least) a separate programming conference to acknowledge the report and review the new information. Any placement or programming changes (IEP- PLOP, goals, mods, etc...) based on the new report should be documented.
3. Add the new information to the Evaluation Programming Conference Decision Form.
4. Also, do an Existing Data Review to determine if any additional information is needed.

Remember, the IEE does not have to drive the decision of how to provide FAPE. That decision is the committee's! However, we need to be sure we can document the parents had "meaningful participation" and the new report could possibly hold some valuable information.

If the student is not already placed in special education, clarify with the parent if the Independent Evaluation should be considered a referral. If it is, the District must deal with it as any other referral.

As always, if you have any questions about this, please comment or email me!

:) it's ALMOST summer!

Hey guys
Some questions have come up regarding where to put Speech on the front page of an IEP. I spoke with Lisa Haley to clarify this today and here is her answer: If a child is receiving speech only, the speech is required to be in both places on the front page--Schedule of Services and Related Services. If a child receives it in conjunction with other services, it's a good idea to have it in the schedule and related service area even though it is only required for Medicaid in that instance. It is appropriate to place more than one regular education class on a line together if you need more space :) I hope this clears that up for those of you who needed the information. If you have questions, give a shout!

Quick Tip Today: IDEA 2004 set very high and strict standards for Special Education Students to participate in statewide testing. This all has to be reported to the State Department of Ed. Since this reporting issue could cause a lot of last minute scrambling when it comes time for Benchmark, it's a good idea to set up an Excel spreadsheet, and as you have annual reviews, add these modifications for students. As new students are placed or changes are made, adjustments can be made and SHAZAM! you have your list all ready for the counselor when it comes time! :)

I trust everyone is ready for summer. I'm very jealous, as I'll be working away while you guys are getting tans and sleeping in!

Have a wonderful day and a great Memorial Day weekend...be careful out there.

Blogs are fun (when you can see them)!

Ok guys. I am working with technology people to get the filter situation corrected so everyone can view the blog while at school. In the meantime, I hope you will read and respond at home.

I bought several new books when I was at the LRP conference (which was AMAZING)! I am reading one now called Quick Tips to Boost Your Special Education IQ. I thought I could share a tip from this book each day until we are all genius level...lol. Jump in if you have any questions or issues and we will discuss them!

Today's tip is ACCOMMODATIONS DON'T MEAN GRADE ADJUSTMENTS. I know sometimes we struggle to help our regular education teachers feel ok with the accommodations they give special education students. It all goes back to the fairness issue. This book brings up a great point. It said in most cases special education students should be graded "in accordance with the district's generally applicable grading policies" when in the regular classroom. To apply a different grading system strictly based on the fact the student has a learning disability (for example)  implies special education students are being treated differently on the basis of their disabilities.

I think the important thing to remember when it comes to grading (and all things regarding our students) is that each child's strengths and weaknesses should be looked at on an individual basis. All decisions regarding these students should be made based on individual needs. No blanket decisions for all students who receive special education services, right?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Those of you that don't know, Lori Pruitt will be back with our office next school year! We are very excited! I know you are all busy packing your rooms for your summer vacation. I hope you have a fantastic, restful, peaceful summer.

Keep in touch over the summer!

Yay!!! A blog...I'm so excited!

This blog is dedicated to all of the wonderful special education teachers, speech therapists and paraprofessionals that fill up my life (in a good way). Daily I see and hear things that make me think of you or that I want to share with you...I am learning all the time. Special education seems to change as the wind blows. I'd like this blog to help us all keep track of changes as they happen. I hope you guys enjoy this format, but rest assured, I will still be sending weekly (when I can) newsletters. I'd appreciate any and all feedback...send me questions and I will try to get them answered and share them with everyone. I want you all to know that no matter how much or how little I see you, I respect the job you do so much and even if it feels like I am far away (and out of touch), I am there with you each day. -CK