Video Self Modeling for Instructional Purposes

Hello!

There are so many new and exciting ways to integrate technology into the instructional school day. I know several of the Linn Mar staff have asked about using flip videos for recording appropriate student behavior. The key work here is appropriate! Hot off the press coming your way via an AEA staff person is a parent permission form to be used when doing any video self monitoring of a student for instructional purposes. This form will be shared with building principals during a Leadership meeting this week. Please note that there are several important facts to remember when using video modeling:

• Parent permission is a must! Parents must sign the form and understand the purpose for the use of the videotaping.
• Only positive appropriate social skill instruction is to be videotaped.
• Videos should never be used to show a negative behavior or to show others a negative behavior.

There are some more facts and information that is available through the AEA staff. Please contact your building consultant, psychologist, or social worker for more information. This staff will have the form available to you as well. Middle school and high school staff will have this information shared via their monthly social skill meeting with Kelly Trier. Please feel free to contact your AEA staff or myself if any questions arise.

Stay warm out there!

Julie

Thankfulness

Hello,

It has been a week or two since I have been able to write a new post. I could certainly give a lot of reasons or 'excuses' to the delay, but I would rather give a list of items that I am thankful for in celebration of our upcoming Thanksgiving Break:

I am thankful for:

-a successful move to Student Services new office area. Please feel free to stop by and see Karen and myself in Room 210 at the LRC!

-AEA staff that support our students, teachers, and building administrators. Did you know the AEA staff are working on a group project with elementary buildings to support students on the autism spectrum in all of our buildings?

-all of the student support teachers that keep our students focused on learning and designing unique ways to deliver instruction!

-guidance from our Department of Education and Ron Peeler, our district attorney to help with supporting families and students by making sure we follow procedures and legal "stuff" in our programming.

-for a Thanksgiving break! May you all enjoy some well deserved time and rest during this Thanksgiving break....(we will get back to more 'technical' messages next week!)

Take Care,
Julie

Testing Accommodations and more....

Hello!
Ok....this is the second post of the day...the first one was not meant to go out....did you know if you hit the tab button too many times...your blog post will be sent out?! :-)

It is a Friday afternoon in November and I am still able to get by with a light coat....Iowa weather is amazing! Last year at this time I believe there was snow on the ground and the mittens were already on the hands!

One thing that does stay steady is ITBS/ITED testing! Whew! The week is over and unless I hear something in the next half hour, everyone made it through without too many accommodation challenges! Please do note that when an IEP meeting is held, it is always good to review the testing accommodations that are defined for district wide testing. A few areas to clarify include:

Extended time....please define what extended time means...the best guideline is to use 1 1/2 times the set time for a test. (This gets extremely important in middle school and high school programming!)

Scribe vs. writing in the test booklet.....the rule of thumb is to offer a scribe rather than writing in the testbook. We can't copy the test booklet pages (illegal!) and writing in the booklet means the booklet can not be returned!

Small group setting.....hard to define what is a small group...by definition a small group can be two people or up to...a smaller number than the class size....pretty grey area.

Testing accommodations are always a challenge for us, especially this time of year. But as many of you hear me say almost daily...."The beauty of special education is that it is individualized.....the challenge of special education is that it is individualized!!"

From the myths of special education by Thomas Mayes:
Myth: "All this compliance [garbage] is getting in the way of improving student performance." Thomas' reply: Compliance is the road to improved performance. Each compliance 'issue' has a demonstrable link to achievement.

May you enjoy this compliance free weekend with any accommodations that you find helpful!

Have a good one!
Julie

Congratulations on Count Day!

Hello!

Wow! What a great student support services staff at Linn Mar!! Thank you all for your professionalism and timeliness in completing all district IEPs in a timely fashion! By 1:00 this afternoon, Karen Wilson assured me everything was turned in and complete. Congratulations! As I have shared with AEA staff and other special education administrators across the state, I believe our system of keeping IEPs current month by month helps us to not feel like the end of the world when October comes around....kudos to all of you, building administrators, and to Karen Wilson for sending out those friendly monthly reminders!

Here are two more Myths in Special Education as presented by Thomas Mayes:

"Little Johnnie has Level 3 weighting. Therefore, Little Johnnie goes to the Level 3classroom, where he takes 'Level 3 Math,'....Thomas's response: "Levels" 1,2, and 3 are finance mechanisms, based on a child's need. They do not determine a child's programming or placement. Basing a child's programming or placement based on a child's "level" or "weightedness" is illegal!

"Vaccines cause autism." Thomas's response: There is no scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism. The "study" has been withdrawn by its publisher. The author lost his medical license. The court cases have also concluded this is a myth.

Happy Halloween to All! May you and your families stay safe out there!!

Have a great weekend,
Julie

Exciting Teacher/Parent Advisory Group and....

Hello!

What a wonderful parent/teacher advisory meeting we had this past Wednesday. It was a great group of parents, teachers (special education and general education), associate representative and AEA staff! Thank you for those who attended and for those of you invited and want to make sure and come next time! The group completed a survey helping to set goals for the group and agendas for next meetings. The group also set group norms for the meetings. I believe the first step for this group is to learn about the "Best Buddies" program for helping students with IEPs and general education students to connect and support each other. This social program has been started in several middle school and high schools across Iowa including some in our local area. We will be having another meeting the beginning of December...so stay tuned!

As promised...I want to share some of the myths that Thomas Mayes (Department of Ed attorney)shared at the I-CASE conference this Fall. Here is number 1: "The goal of the IEP team is to reach consensus" Thomas's reply: The goal of the IEP team is to write an IEP. Number 2: "My doctor suggested a service in a report. The school has to provide it." Thomas's answer: Decision are made by teams, not individuals. The report is important, but not binding.

Finally......yes it is October and yes....this is the absolutely last week to make sure all IEPs in the district are current! Look out.....if we don't have good information on the status of any noncurrent IEPs we will be calling!!

Have a great week!
Julie

Coming Down the Wire....

Hello!

I hope this Fall weather continues right up to our special education count day!!! Although it does make it hard to stay inside and finish up IEPs! Please note starting next week, you will be receiving friendly email reminders from Karen and me concerning any overdue IEPs that may not be completed. We understand there are times that families can not make it to a meeting. Please remember if we get down to the wire, annual reviews can be sent home without a parent meeting. All of you are so conscientious about knowing best practice is to have parent attend. Thank you for your professionalism!

Upcoming events next week in Student Service Land:
Monday October 18th....Middle School/High School staff meet at 1:30 in the Upper Commons at the High School. (Elementary...payback time from meeting in August.)

Wednesday October 20th....first ever Teacher/Parent Advisory Panel 4:30 at the Learning Resource Board Room. This is an exciting adventure with parents and staff coming together to work on some exciting inclusive activities!

Thanks for all you do! Have a great weekend!
Julie

Next week: What are some myths in the special education world these days?

Another "Friendly" Reminder and....

Hello All!

Wow! What beautiful Fall weather has come our way! Most definitely a challenge for all of us to stay inside and do the ever popular IEPs due this month! Please note that I am aware of your busy schedules this month and know that you all know the need to have all IEPs current by the end of this month. We are trying for October
15th as our target date!! Friendly reminders will be coming from our office in the upcoming week or two to find out how things are going...thank you for your hard work and professionalism in completing these tasks to keep our special education budget in line. Speaking of budgets....our special education budget results from last year indicate that our deficit was only around $400,000 this past year. That is $200,000 less than last year! Congratulations! Although it's hard to believe that $400,000 deficit is good news..it really is when our budget is only funded 40% by federal monies. Ok...enough talk about money!:-)

Last week I had an opportunity to attend the Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education. This is a twice a year meeting of special education directors across the state of Iowa. Two great presentations included information on video self modeling and a presentation from a parent's perspective on 10 Things Everyone Can do Tomorrow for Students with Autism. I hope to have this parent come speak to us next school year...she has a background in education and consulting and really was a dynamic speaker from the eyes of an educator! I would be happy to share more news from the conference if anyone is interested.

Have a great weekend!
Julie

I am having difficulty with my Vizzle printing. When I print (black and white or color) all of the icons do not print. I have asked support, and the they have suggested I try printing one page at a time (I have), and saving to my desktop (I have), and I have sent them my pages. They are actually getting my things to print for them. And they have suggested that my printer 'brain' is not up to par.

Has anyone else had troubles? and if so, have you solved them?

Ann L.

Teacher Advisory, Professional Development Plans, What an October 1st Count Day?

Happy Friday Everyone!

As promised from last week here is a little update on our newly formed Teacher Advisory work group:

We met on September 16th and discussed plans for the upcoming professional development days especially for October 18th. The elementary teachers will not be meeting in a student support group but rather meet with their individual building teams. The middle school and high school teachers will be meeting in the Upper Commons of the high school to hear the updates and information on transition plans for students.
The advisory group will be expanding to include a high school representative. Special invitations have been sent!:-)

What is there a new "count day"? Please note that October 1st is the official count for all students enrolled in the district. Some people call this the general education count day...however our students need to be sure they are on that count as well. If you could just make sure all students on your roster are on the Power School database we are good to go...that will make our district enrollment accurate from the land of Student Services!:-)

Please enjoy a safe and refreshing upcoming weekend!

Take care,
Julie

Elementary Co-Teaching and Parent Advisory

Hello!

I am excited to let you know about a couple of great opportunities for the elementary student support service teachers to learn more about co-teaching strategies and programming within the Linn Mar community! Carrie Manternach and Leisa Breitfielder have gathered information and also had an opportunity to observe an elementary school setting that has been doing co-teaching for a number of years. Carrie and Leisa would love to show anyone interested the key components of how to set up co-teaching models, schedule, and a possible implementation plan. There are two dates set for you to get more information. Please feel free to attend and bring along a general education teacher that might be interested as well! The times and dates are to accommodate both our buildings with different start times:

October 20th at Novak 3:00p.m.
October 21st at Echo Hill 7:45 a.m.
Please feel free to contact Carrie or Leisa with any questions that may arise!


Our first parent advisory group will be sending out invitations to Linn Mar staff and parents that have volunteer to serve on this advisory group. We will be notifying individuals via email/phone calls and have a meeting near the end of October. Watch for updates and information on our gatherings!

Next week: More information on the newly formed teacher advisory group!

Have a great rest of the week and even better weekend!

Julie

Field Trip Information

Hello All!

Kim Meyers asked a great question about field trips. At this time the Linn Mar district will continue with the practice that was implemented last Spring. Fieldtrips will be approved for competition purposes. In Student Services land this means Special Olympics events will continue to be funded. If any of you had other community activities that were a part of a student's IEP and was funded last Spring the same will occur this Fall. The good news is that this practice will be reviewed in January to determine if the same parameters will continue to be followed or if changes can occur.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable three day weekend last week...and it's already Friday tomorrow!:-)

Take Care,
Julie

New School Year!

Hello All Student Support Teachers!

Woo Hoo! We have a three day weekend coming up and more than two weeks of school under our belts! I have had the opportunity to walk through all buildings within these last two weeks and have seen exciting programming going on for students. Thank you to all of you for your professionalism and support to students and families in the Linn Mar district!

I will be posting various 'newsy' items to this blog through out the school year with scheduled updates happening at the minimum of 2 times a month. (My goal would be for once a week, however as we all know sometimes other 'goals' might get in the way!:-)

May you all enjoy this three day weekend and I look forward to working with you all during this school year.

Take Care,
Julie

What other technologies are you using?

I really enjoyed our brief session on Bookshare yesterday and am very excited to check out all of the sites provided to us when I get a moment.  It made me wonder though: what other technologies are you (as student support staff) using with your students?  What technologies do you wish you were using?

At Excelsior, in the 8th grade, we have begun using iPod touches with students.  There are some incredible apps available that aid students in everything from practicing their multiplication facts to dictating five paragraph essays for printing.  I'm still a novice with the device, but the kids have been MORE than happy to assist me in my learning!

One technology I haven't used but am looking at trying is the use of the SmartPen.  My thought process is to buy one for myself and use it in the general education classes to take notes for the students, then have them utilize the notes/audio during a direct studies time.

What about all of you?

IEP Tip Number 3:

Let's keep talking about progress monitoring....did you know that to help with decision making on a student's goal area,you may either use the 4 point decision making rule (4 points above or below the aim line) to help determine if instruction on the goal area needs to change or you could use a trend line analysis (this means that after 7 data points a black trend line will appear on the graph) and you analyze that as to progress that is being made toward the goal area. Feel free to contact your AEA staff with any questions on progress monitoring!

Unique learning

Thanks for sharing the Power Point and the helpful hints regarding Unique Learning Curriculum. I have been using this curriculum with three students and we enjoy all of the activities...and how they relate to the classroom work.

IEP Tip Number 2:

Did you know....

Did you know that when you (as the teacher responsible for the IEP) write a goal on an IEP that you become responsible for setting up the graph for progress monitoring? As an example if you are writing an IEP at the end of the school year you would still need to set the graph with the baseline information that you have for writing the goal. It is almost impossible for the next year's teacher to set up a graph with no baseline data available. Best practice is to have the graph set up prior to submitting the IEP.

IEP Tip Number 1:

Did you know?

Did you know that progress monitoring is a required component of the IEP process? Each IEP goal needs to have a graph with data that is collected and entered twice a month? You can always do weekly collections(this might happen more on behavioral goals) but the charting only needs to happen twice a month on the web IEP program.

The graphs have been a wonderful tool to show students, families, and staff the progress being made on a goal area. Congratulations to all of you who have succeeded in charting and graphing this year!