TO: Board of Education
FROM: Ann Roy
RE: March BOE Update
Date: March 11, 2016
It’s been a busy and productive month for students and staff alike. Welcome the rush of spring!
Special Education: Child Development Day was held March 2nd, and for the first time at the Elementary School! It was a very positive experience for all, with great feedback from the parents and community members that attended this years’ child find event.
We again amassed a large amount of publicity and community communications well in advance of the event. The total number of students screened this year matched last year’s total of 55. From that, we have 7 students who are identified for further evaluation.
Once again, we are indebted to the many hands that make this possible, including the Peggy Schulz and the custodial staff at the Elementary school and the following individuals: Heather Ertel, Liz Grosskreutz, Nancy Pfankuch, Melanie Salzman, Sheila Kloepping, Emilie Dahm, Fay Rusch, Karen Shircel, Shelley Haas, Jessica Barry, Cassie Adelman, Shawn Schliewe, Evan Perkovich, Sarah Brotz, Megal Specht, Katie Clemens, Britne Stanke, Nikki Humski, and Nicole Knaus. We’re so fortunate to have the enthusiastic and professional expertise on a day like this.
We will be participating in Indicator 14 Special Education Post-Secondary Outcomes surveys for students with disabilities this summer. Typically, we only need to do this in our procedural compliance self-assessment (PSCA) cycle every five years. However, a new Wisconsin Special Education Transition Grant program was recently announced that would grant $1000 payments to districts for every eligible student survey completed. This is the only opportunity to receive the grant money, thus we have volunteered to conduct our surveys out of cycle this year and become eligible for grant funding in the 2016-17 year. Two high school learning strategists, Mason White and Caitlin Gillespie, have volunteered to complete the training to complete our surveys between June and September of 2016.
PSCA and RDA – Just when you thought you’d heard all of our special education acronyms, I’m going to introduce you to two more. This information is important for you to know as our schools will all be working to shift our thinking from the past process; that is, from ensuring we were “following the rules of special education and taking certain school actions” to now including the assurance that students with disabilities make measurable learning progress. This part is RDA: Results Driven Accountability. RDA is aimed at helping schools identify how to close the achievement gap for students with disabilities.
New for all WI schools this coming year is a change in how our performance will be judged. The U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) will now be monitoring each state’s compliance with IDEA by both procedural compliance (how we fare in the 17 Indicators) along with educational results and functional outcomes for students with disabilities.
In WI, the focus is on literacy and has been referenced as Reading Drives Achievement (Wisconsin’s RDA). Wisconsin's implementation of the RDA initiative, which is expected to begin with the 2016-17 school year, will focus on improving the percentage of students with disabilities who score advanced or proficient on the state reading assessment.
For our schools and teachers, a first shift will be coming with changes in new IEP forms being released in May for use next year. The new forms will document what we are doing in the area of literacy and the impact of that reading support, along with delineating results from reading interventions and services. The process is expected to be more collaborative overall with parents with their input being important in identifying needs, goals and services. I’ll be updating the Board as we move forward with this major shift in identifying and documenting student special education services.
Very Special Arts: If you haven’t logged into the District webpage lately, you’ll want to do so to read all about the efforts of elementary Art teacher Rocky Hoes and Learning Strategist Kristin Vogel with some of our special needs students. The result of their commitment is seen in the faces of the students as they revel in their art projects – and the submission of a special project to the Very Special Arts exhibition in Madison. The show, "Visual Expressions: A Call to Art Exhibition" will be on display April 18 - May 7. Join me in congratulating our special young artists and their teachers who support them every day.
Autism Awareness Month: April is on the horizon and with that comes our school wide recognition of Autism awareness. Our Allies in Autism teams have a myriad of school based activities planned for all students and staff to highlight the unique contributions of students with autism to our school community as well as partner to bring awareness and appreciation. We are looking forward to an Autism Walk on April 22nd at all of our schools. Watch our Facebook page and media for more announcements and your chance to join with us in supporting Autism Awareness month!
Allies in Autism Parent Education Night: Our Elementary and Middle School AAE teams provided a second successful parent education night on February 29th, with 12-13 adults present. The effort provided additional tools, strategies and networking for parents to assist them in being more successful with their children at home and in the community. Supervised social activities for their children were also provided. Hats off to Lisa Wisse, Liz Grosskreutz, Sheila Kloepping, Erin Higgins, Jodie Miles, and Linda Henry in planning and delivering the experience. Parents have been very enthusiastic about these opportunities this year. One more parent evening is being planned in April, with a date to be announced next week.
School Counseling: This month marks our 3rd annual Make a Difference Week, being celebrated this year the week of March 21st. In addition to many learning activities and announcements in the schools, there will be a thank you project at the Elementary School, dress up days, cooperative community appreciation projects with the 5th and 6th graders working with the 11th and 12th graders, and the 9th and 10th graders working with elementary students. We are very excited that this year’s efforts have resulted in a community wide effort through the Strengthening our Community – Supporting our Heroes fund raising campaign. Truly, we can all make a difference in our greater community, for all.
9th grade TEAM TALKS begin this week at the High School. This is an important element in our students’ long term planning and post-secondary success, for college, career or military involvement. Likewise, it is an important time for partnership with parents in this effort.
School Health: I’m very pleased that we have completed our search for a highly qualified individual to fill the retirement spot by our school nurse, Mary Raml. Mary will be with us through the school year, but a new face will be joining us in August. Join me in welcoming Lisa Hackbarth to our school health services team. Lisa comes to us with great expertise in emergency care at St. Nicholas hospital, a wide array of patient care and community involvement. She has ably demonstrated our shared commitment to the community and to the whole child in her work. I look forward to sharing more about her with you.
Smiles 4 Lifehas been back with us this week at all three buildings. Remember that they first joined us in October of this school year, providing cleanings, screenings, fluoride varnish and sealants to participating children at all three schools. 57 children were seen this week at the Elementary School alone, with more students at the MS and HS. This has been a great service to our families and exceptionally supportive of children’s oral health.