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 The "study" has been withdrawn by its publisher.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
Friday, October 29, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
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
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
Friday, October 15, 2010
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?
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?
Friday, October 8, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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.
Has anyone else had troubles? and if so, have you solved them?
Ann L.
Friday, September 24, 2010
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
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
Thursday, September 16, 2010
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)