ADVISORY GROUP MEETING SUMMARY
ADVISORY GROUP: State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children
LIAISON: Johnny Collett / MEETING DATE: January 16-17, 2014
NOTE-TAKER/CONTACT: Johnny Collett
ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS PRESENT:
Casey Allen
Mike Armstrong
Ryan Beard
Stella Beard
Debra Katie Bentley
Deanna Brangers
Marinell Brown
Justin Cooper
Anita Dowd
Paula Goff
Barry Goley
Leisa Smith Hutchison
Mary Marshall
Randy McCallon
Brent Merritt
Vickie Nicholson
Ronnie Nolan
Connie Pohlgeers
Vickey Reilly
Martha Slemp
Donnalie Stratton
Natalie Malone (Interpreter for Deaf/Hard of Hearing)
Dot Stallard (Interpreter for Deaf/Hard of Hearing)
Agenda Item: Executive Committee Meeting
Discussion/Action: Meeting was called to order at 12:45. Panel members made introductions. New members Katie Bentley and Anita Dowd were introduced.
Mr. Beard requested to share a few minutes sometime during the agenda to share good news going on in Casey County and a new program being implemented. Motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. Motion passed.
Mr. Armstrong made a motion to approve amended agenda. Mr. Nolan seconded. Motion passed.
Ms. Slemp made a motion to alter our schedule for the April meeting in Louisville to include an extra night of lodging on April 23rd and to gather at 9:30 a.m. for a tour and educational presentation of the Kentucky Correctional Institute in Pee Wee Valley. Following the tour of the facility, Panel members will return to the ARC of KY Conference. Mr. Armstrong seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Agenda Item: General Business Session I
Discussion/Action: Meeting was called to order at 1:20 pm.
Introductions were made by Panel members. New members Katie Bentley and Anita Dowd were introduced.
Agenda amendment reviewed. Mr. Beard will speak after Mr. Nolan on Friday, January 17 at 3:30 pm or Friday, January 17 during the morning time slot. The next SAPEC meeting will be held in Louisville, Kentucky at the ARC of KY Conference, not Kenlake State Resort Park as specified on agenda.
Motion made by Mr. McCallon, seconded by Ms. Hutchison to approve the amended agenda.
Mr. Armstrong made a motion, seconded by Mr. Cooper to approve the minutes with the spelling change of Mary Fehrenbach on page 1. Page 5, Kenlake should be 1 word.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Agenda Item: Due Process Hearing Update – David Wickersham, Assistant General Counsel
Discussion/Action: There have been twenty (20) total requests for dispute resolution. Ten (10) formal complaints were resolved by agreement, settlement, mediation, and withdrawal or otherwise. Three (3) matters were adjudicated. The Seven (7) cases remaining are pending before hearing officers.
Twenty-four (24) requests were received for mediation between July 1, 2012 and January 7, 2014.
Mediation Requests:--Fayette, (5), Henderson, Bullitt, Kenton, Floyd (2), Boone (5), Ashland, Independent, Oldham, Leslie, Scott, Bracken (2) Anderson, Covington Independent, Walton-Verona and Christian. Fourteen (14) of the mediations cases resulted in full or partial agreement where issues were resolved.
Mr. Wickersham gave details regarding cases currently pending.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Panel members had general questions regarding the dispute resolution process.
Agenda Item: Presentation on the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children (KECSAC) by Ronnie Nolan, Director
Discussion/Action: KECSAC is a collaborative model to provide services to state agency children by coordinating the efforts/services through the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Kentucky Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), and the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (Kentucky DBHDID). All agencies are brought together under one umbrella to provide services.
Alternative School – A district operated and district controlled facility. Students are placed in alternative education programs by the school district.
State Agency Program – School district teachers assigned to teach at a program for state agency children. Youth are placed into the program by a state agency.
Status offender – offenses that would not be a crime if the child is 18. (truancy, etc.). KECSAC does not put status offenders in residential facilities. 30% of students in DJJ fall in this category. Some students have needs beyond the scope of what the school district can provide.
KECSAC’s Mission: To ensure that all state agency children receive a quality education by establishing and maintaining collaborative partnerships with public and private agencies throughout the Commonwealth.
KECSAS Serves 93 programs across 52 school districts. The program serves approximately 13,000 children annually. KECSAC assesses students’ academic achievement within the first 30 (thirty) days of enrollment in the program. Most students are functioning below grade level upon enrollment, but 69% of children enrolled increased their academic achievement in reading between one and two grade levels within 90 days, and 72% of children enrolled increased their academic achievement in math a grade level or more within 90 days.
KECSAC is a state-created program and funding comes from a line item in the KDE budget.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Agenda Item: Ryan Beard – Dean of Alternative Education, Casey County High School
Discussion/Action: Ryan Beard discussed a pilot program focusing on industry-related classes for Casey County Schools. Classes in Industry skills instruction are often as beneficial to students as academic classes.
The pilot program would involve the Tarter Industry in the Casey/Adair county area. It is a global company. Tarter is in need of quality workers who can be dependent and pass the drug test.
The pilot class would be a production class. The first step is to identify students who may be interested. This may involve students who may be leaving or dropping out of school. Identified students may also include students with IEP’s who may not be career-ready.
In the pilot class, students will produce a product the industry can use in their company. Additional classes may be added the following year. Eventually, it is hoped that industry classes will be offered at all levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced. Students will use a time-clock in the industry class, and there will be a foreman in each class. Students must pass drug tests while enrolled in classes.
The pilot program hopes to begin with a welding class. The program hopes to add two (2) diesel mechanic classes, Commercial Drivers’ License (CDL) instruction, and robotics classes.
Key Questions/Concerns: Mr. Beard asked for the Panels thought/input about this pilot program. Mary Marshall stated that there is a Robotics for GE (Western High School) class at Western High School in Jefferson County. Casey Allen added that vocational students are also not career-ready in Ballard County. A Panel member shared that industry has gotten involved in Grant County and it is working positively for the students. A Panel member shared that the high schools in Kenton County offer a work-study program involving a coffee bar where students receive credit.
Agenda Item: Senator Robert Stivers II , Kentucky Senate President, addressed Panel
Discussion/Action: Senator Stivers has spent the last 18 years in the Legislature. In July 2014, Senator Stivers will become the acting Chair-Elect for the Southern Legislative Conference. Senator Stivers provided the Panel with an overview of important information regarding the Legislative session. Discussion occurred regarding taxes, expanded gaming , creating new jobs and stimulating economic growth for Kentucky.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Panel members had many questions and concerns related, specifically, to the budget and impact on education. Senator Stivers was very generous with his time and addressed each question/concern.
Agenda Item: General Business Session II, February 17, 2014
Discussion/Action: Meeting was called to order 8:40 am.
Discussion occurred regarding the Public Forum and the people who shared comments.
Johnny Collett explained how the Kentucky Department of Education responded to the speakers’ comments from the November 2013 Public Forum.
Ms. Slemp asked the Panel members to plan to meet at 10:00 am at Pee Wee Valley on Thursday, April 24, 2014 in April.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Agenda Item: KDE Upate, provided by Johnny Collett
Discussion/Action: In mid-December, 2014 KDE met with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to discuss Kentucky’s participation in piloting a State Systemic Improvement Plan. Beginning in 2015, all states will be required to submit a State Systemic Improvement Plan. Kentucky wishes to be involved in the front end of this important project as it is developed. As part of the plan, Kentucky will focus on how to improve achievement and learning outcomes for students, aligning resources, etc. At this point, the State Systemic Improvement Plan is in the discussion/planning stage.
Associate Commissioner Felicia Smith will be leaving the Kentucky Department of Education in March 2014. She has taken a position with the National Institute for School Leadership in Washington D.C.
The Commissioner is committed to “closing the gap” for all students, including students with disabilities. The focus on KDE’s work is transitioning to more of a “systems way of thinking”.
Gretta Hylton has taken a position with KDE focusing on Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports (PBIS) activities and trainings.
Johnny thanked the Panel for all their important contributions and expressed appreciation for the services the Panel members provide in advising the Kentucky Department of Education.
Key Questions/Concerns:
Agenda Item: Presentation on Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES) by Cathy White and Amanda Ellis
Discussion/Action: Cathy White and Amanda Ellis spoke to Panel members about Kentucky’s Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES) which is also part of the waiver Kentucky has received from No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The focus on PGES is in helping teachers grow professionally and about providing an effective teacher for every student. PGES requires multiple measures of evaluation, a focus on continuous improvement, student growth goals, classroom observations , etc.. The MET project (Measures of Effective Teaching) funded by the Gates Foundation includes partners and stakeholders in order to provide an evaluation framework which will be consistent, fair, and assess the important components that impact student achievement.
Key Questions/Concerns: There was much discussion among Panel members regarding the Student Voice component of PGES. While the Panel expressed that listening to student feedback and using it to inform teaching is important for teachers to do, there are concerns about ways to measure this fairly, validly, and reliably (especially for students who have disabilities that have regularly and frequently experienced failure in the classroom). Cathy White and Amanda Ellis explained that the Student Voice questions do not include open-ended response items, and the questions are on the PGES website under “Student Voice Toolkit”.
Other Items (can include items not on formal agenda, action to be taken, next steps, food for thought):
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