Special Education Future Planning

1
Special Education Future Planning

• A Modest Proposal
• Scott Hare, GCED Director of Special Education
• Stan Nerhaugen, Red Wing Director of Special
  Education
• Cheryl Johnson, Red Wing Special Education
  Coordinator

2
Factors that Influence the Future

• Classroom Factors
• Increase in General Education Class Size
• Increase in Referrals and Testing
• Staff Feeling More Pressure
• More Students with Complex Needs
• Transient Student Parent Population
• Complex Time Consuming Paperwork

3
Mandated Requirements

• Legal Mandates
• Federal State Laws
• Due Process
• Functional Behavior Assessments

4
Minnesota Department of Education -State Standards

• MN CIMP
• Monitoring
• Child Count Results
• State Standards
• Special Education General
• EBD
• ECSE
• DCD

5
Minnesotas CIMP Process

• Parent-Staff Surveys
• Transition
• Monitoring - Results of State Validation
• Improved from high number of non-compliance areas
  to
• Low number of non-compliance areas
• Transition
• Evaluation Plans
• Progress Reporting

6
State Standards Continued

• Manuals with Prescriptive Guidelines
• EBD
• SLD
• OHD

7
Elementary Secondary Education Act or No Child
Left Behind - NCLB

• District AYP Performance Data
• Attendance
• Graduation Drop Out Rates
• Highly Qualified Teachers
• Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals
• Achievement
• Participation
• Achievement Scoring

8
Minnesota Areas of Emphasis

• Transition
• Paraprofessional Training
• Specialized Instruction

9
Transition

• Ed OLeary training and file review
• Transition Leadership Team developed
• Transition program improvement implementation,
  Fall of 2004

10
Paraprofessional Training

• Leadership Team developed outline and goals for
  training (NCLB)
• Coordinators set up training on competencies (2
  year time frame)

11
Specialized Instruction

• Leadership Team embraced Norena Hales message
  shared it
• Directors gave overview to Leadership Team and
  PAC on Mary Ruprechts MASE Best Practices, 2003
  Presentation
• Directors and coordinators use the language daily
  with staff and administration
• SIMS (Kansas Strategies)
• 3 strategy sessions offered to staff
• Quality indicators for special education programs

12
Specialized Instruction, continued

• Education for principals on effective special
  education programs
• Observations of staff implementing effective
  programs
• Eliminating generic study halls
• 5 and 1 minute observations

13
GCED Red Wing District Initiatives

• Staff development - 400 increase
• Curriculum developed and aligned
• Behavior Intervention Plan training
• Improve skills and supports for inclusion
• Transition
• Autism
• Staff observation and feedback

14
Use of the Pathwise Framework Observation
Program(Danielson, 1996)

• The framework identifies aspects of a teachers
  responsibilities that have been documented
  through empirical studies and theoretical
  research as promoting improved student learning
• The aspects define what teachers should know and
  be able to do

15
Purpose of the Framework(Danielson, 1996)

• Designed to meet the needs of beginning teachers,
  who are concerned with day-to-day survival
• Designed to meet the needs of experienced
  teachers, who want to improve their effectiveness
  and help their colleagues do so as well
• Designed to meet the needs of highly accomplished
  teachers, who want to move toward advanced
  certification and serve as a resource to
  less-experienced colleagues

16
Features and Benefits of the Program(Danielson,
1996)

• A common language to describe teaching
• Understandable observation criteria shared
  between teachers and observers
• Identifiable levels of performance
• Ongoing support opportunities
• Increased interaction between teacher and
  evaluator
• Fosters reflection on practice

17
Process Steps

• Teacher completes
• Teaching Profile
• Class Profile
• Planning Questions
• Pre-observation meeting
• Observation
• Post-observation meeting

18
The Components of the Framework

• The complex activity of teaching is divided into
  22 components clustered into four domains of
  teaching responsibility
• Planning and preparation
• Classroom environment
• Instruction
• Professional responsibilities

19
The Fifth Domain

• To more fully recognize the unique components of
  special education our district will utilize a 5th
  domain
• Special education professional practice
• 6 component areas are included in this domain
  area
• Other areas will be incorporated as they are
  developed

20
From Initiatives to Activities

• SIMS (Kansas Strategies)
• Initial Training
• Follow-up
• CCBD Conference - Implementing Ideas
• Multiple BIP Trainings
• Autism - ECSE Structured Classroom
• Snow Day in-service for all staff
• High School and Transition
• Course of Study for each student
• All resource rooms will have a syllabus

21
Next Steps - Planning for the Future

• March through May 2004
• Building/Department Level
• Review of standards and data areas of emphasis
• Establish goals for next two years
• Identify activities to complete in 2004-2005
  including person involved, timelines, and what
  data will be used to show goals were met
• May through June 2004
• GCED and Red Wing District Level
• Establish Funding Priorities and Budget for
  2004-2005
• Confirm activities, persons involved resources
  needed
• Coordinate with GCED and Red Wing District
  Curriculum

22
Next Steps Continued

• June through August 2004
• Implement program and curriculum plans
• Summer curriculum writing
• Finalize program plans and staffing
• September 2004 through February 2005
• Collect data for February 2005 review
• February through March 2005
• Review data, progress toward goals, and start
  planning process for 2005-2006