M-SPEC COMMITTEE MINUTES
January 31, 2012
A meeting was held to present a program to the community. The meeting was held at the Millburn Education Center on January 31, 2012 at 7pm.
Attending:Kim Moore, Co-President, M-SPEC
Caroline Updyke, Co-President, M-SPEC
Natalie Hiott-Levine, VP Programming and Outreach
Sharon Cohen, VP Operations
Simon Westfall-Kwon, VP Growth and Development
Julianna Kusz, Director of Special Services
Terry Santora, Supervisor of elementary schools
Dawn Geannette, Supervisor of secondary schools
Candace Stout, Transitions Coordinator
The purpose of the meeting was to make general announcements and to present a program to the community.
Topics discussed:
- Kim Moore introduced herself and the Executive Board. She made several announcements about upcoming events, such as support coffees, transition meetings, and diagnosis specific support q and a’s.
- Caroline Updype circulated copies of the latest mspecial edition newsletter.
- Natalie Hiott-Levine talked to parents about Come Together.
- Helen Danto addressed the group about the specifics of Come Together.
- Natalie Hiott-Levine addressed the parents about Kids to Kids.
- Caroline Updyketold the group we are gathering a panel about and ADHD workshop.
- Caroline introduced Julianna.
Follow up:
- M-SPEC will follow up with parent concerns re: the transition process.
These minutes will be distributed to the M-SPEC Executive Board. The meeting adjourned at 7:15pm.
Julianna Kusz, Director of Special Services, presented the program: Transitions: Using your IEP to plan ahead.
Sharon Cohen
M-SPEC VP of Operations
Presentation by Julianna Kusz, Director of Special Services
Transition Age 14
Transition Age 16
Every 5 years every school district is monitored. This cycle is targeting transitions. There are many layers of oversight to ensure the district is in compliance with the law.
Timeline of DOE transition compliance: The DOE gets a list of every student age 16 or older. 16 is when transition starts on the federal level. In NJ, we start looking at family and student intent at age 14. Records are sent out and the district met with the DOE about the elements of transition that need to be address. Records get destroyed after the monitoring cycle. We send list of names, then the DOE does a random sampling of students’ transition records. They do an audit to see if Millburn is compliant. Once records are reviewed, they may come back to the district with questions. If the district is not compliant in certain areas, the district must write a corrective action plan. The district has one year to get compliant. DOE is looking at the transition element of the IEP in every district in NJ over the next 5 years.
The DOE used to contact parents. Typically they do not contact parents anymore. Millburn will be doing an internal audit. We will randomly select IEP’s for the internal audit.
Indicator 13 is the part of the code that refers to transitions in the IEP. A copy was handed out. The audit applies to students age 16 and up.
In 2008 Millburn had to contact every graduate who had an IEP and follow up on how they were doing and what they were doing. 84%of those that responded were in some kind of higher education. 74% were competitively employed. 45 % were in college.
Elements of Transition:
Section of the IEP re: transitions. At age 14 in NJ we start the process of moving the focus of the IEP to what are you doing after you leave high school. You really have to force yourself to start thinking way ahead. Parents need that much time. It is very challenging for parents to predict what a child will do as an adult. There are many aspects of moving forward that must be considered as family.
Before age 14, the IEP is driven by activities in school. What does the school do for your child? At 14, it becomes a shared responsibility. Where are they going to live, going to college, trade school, working, guardianship. There is a shift to shared responsibility driven by the student. The area of non compliance cited most is that the student did not decide thepost secondary outcome. This is a long range plan.
What is the students’ goal? What would the student like to pursue after they leave high school? These answers drive what happens in the rest of the IEP. In MMS, we start to have students think about careers. Parents must have conversations with their kids about making a living and functioning in life. It’s the beginning of the conversation about life after high school. Millburn has a career fair and career games in MMS to expose kids to the kind of jobs that are out there. The career game is one of the first assessments the district does. It’s a questionnaire about what the student likes to do. That is the interest part. There is a written piece that goes along with it. This is the beginning of planning. At 14 you need to seize the moment and start talking to your child about what they want to do. Expose your kids to areas they are interested in. A record is kept of the interest inventory.
At age 14 the first thing we do is start talking about: is the student thinking employment, career, education? Parents are being exposed to alternative opportunities post high school. We can expose our kids and expand their thinking. It’s not just college. Trade schools, vocational programs are also options of our students. The focus on jobs now is on production, trade and supports: electricians, plumbers, supports and services. Don’t just limit your thinking to college.
At 14 the whole purpose is to start thinking and investigating possibilities.
What do I want to do in the community? What will make my life full? What can you do as a family to achieve those goals?
Independent living: This section does not necessarily need to be filled out. Does the child see themselves living on their own? Livings in a dorm at school? A group home?
If a student needs help with ADL skills the IEP can shift to reflect those needs.
Millburn has been cited as a model program for CBI – community based instruction.
This first part starts the ball rolling.
The biggest part of transition is getting a high school diploma. The next part of IEP reflects that. This is the course of study section of the IEP. Interests can come into play in this section as well. Club or activities can be reflected in this section of IEP. The most important piece is to make sure child has all requirements to get a diploma.
This topic is often met with fear and resistance by parents. This is not just a CST thing. This is a family process. Self advocacy is the goal. This is a multi year process. Children are invited to the transition meeting but don’t have to come.
The more exposure a student has to this process, the better. Expose them to colleges, schools, working.
How do you mesh your child’s self advocacy with actual abilities? Guidance can help but it is not an easy thing to do. Some of the assessments can help determine these things. It’s a challenge to try to match up interest, ability, and financial reality.
Related strategies and activities: What will my child need when they leave the school district? Continuing counseling? Transportation training? Are they going to drive? Services as an adult? This is a planning tool.
At age 16: You must identify the secondary outcome.
At this point we must identify what they are intending to do once they leave school. It must come from the student. You must put something in the IEP. That decision or goal will then influence the rest of the IEP.
Discover: an online tool that asks questions and helps the child identify where strengths, weakness and interests are. What kind of jobs line up with those answers. It focuses the students thinking. There are the colleges, vocational programs, jobs, etc. that link up to this online tool.
Sophomore and juniors use Discover. Some students know what they want to be. Use it as home. Once they have picked something, such as college, what majors link up with this.
Different tools are used based on ability.
In 8th grade – positive student profile. This gives information to MHS about the interests and abilities of students.
Adult schools – another educational opportunity instead of college that may include travel training, being in a group of new people, and experiencing a lecture.
Work: competitive employment, supported employment (DVR assists child in getting a job and keeping the job), sheltered workshops – extremely supported and supervised constantly.
You should visit all these places.
Way Center – expanding opportunities through the arts.
Trade schools and vocational schools are other options to explore.
Multi Year Plan – promote movement from school to the students post secondary desired goals.
This is a shared. Process and is based on the interest of the child. Responsibilities are shared among student, parent, and district. This is a commitment. This is not just the schools responsibility. It is a shared responsibility.
Some typical language you might see in the post secondary section of an IEP: After high school, your child will enroll in ……drivers ed classes, 3 month training course for computers, DDD funded special needs program, on the job training through dvr.
This is not the districts responsibility. This is the families’ responsibility. You are getting your child ready for life after high school.
Transfer of rights at 18. At 18 you are legally in charge of yourself. Parents can assume guardianship. Start that process very early.
If you child wants to go to work, and is offered a job, take it. Don’t have your child refuse the job to keep your child in district until 21. Taking the job is the best thing you can do.
Suggested activities for parents and students:
Make sure you know who does what.
Look into post secondary education and training.
Learn about 504 and ADA.
Enrolling in SAT prep course
Visit colleges
Know your timeline
Investigate living arrangements
Look at college applications and know the process.
If your child has testing accommodations in the IEP, you can request accommodations on the SAT’s. The district does not test for SAT. The SAT administers will ask for testing to show processing speed. There is a 7 week turnaround for accommodations.
Are some colleges better than others for special needs kids? Yes. The district offers college nights and information. New opportunities for special needs students are always expanding.
Functional vocational evaluation: It’s not all or nothing. The district exposesstudents to work experiences and community based interests. One way is by going to job sites with a job coach. We try to increase the opportunity and exposure to the work world and build endurance to the work environment.
Vocational evaluation: takes a look at a students’ capacity for work. Fine motor skills, reading skills, ability to take direction, ability to work. What can I do?
Students go on field trips to different kinds of jobs. They can spend part of their day is in the work world.
When students are out in the work world, twice a month there must be a checklist by the job coach. The job coach keeps a log of the childs’ work experience. This is an ongoing assessment.
Freshman and sophomore year students can go to a mock IEP meeting to learn how to participate in a meeting.
Senior year -students learn: what are your rights, preparing job applications, college applications.
Q &n A
Are transition services available for 504? No
Is the IEP meeting annual? Yes
Is there a progress report? No
If parent doesn’t follow through on their responsibilities there is no accountability to the district.
Is it easy to transition your plan if student gets worse in their disability? When children are at this age, they have to be invested to get them to graduate.
If things go south, can you make changes to IEP? Yes, but the later you make changes, the less the district can do.
If a vocation route is the way to go, can a child take college prep courses? They can. The academic course will be college prep.
What happens to the students that are going to work? Do they get a diploma? Yes. Every student gets a diploma.