Superintendent's Report
CSDB Board of Trustees
October 2015
Page 6
CSDB BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
October, 2015
REPORTS FROM STUDENT PROGRAMS
Education Programs
· September 15-24, students from both schools completed MAP testing in writing, reading, math and science.
· Juniors from both schools participated in Colorado Construction Day, September 24, 2015. Students had the opportunity to explore a variety of careers available within the construction field. Students participated in engaging hands-on events, stationary equipment activities and technology demonstrations.
· Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) classes are in full swing, in the School for the Blind. We are now offering semester-long assistive technology, self-determination, and social skills classes to our secondary students. Our elementary students are participating in a social skills class, led by our school psychologist. She is utilizing the curriculum, Second STEP and I Can Problem Solve. Students participating in ECC classes will have pre-and-post assessment data documented in their electronic portfolios on SharePoint, by the end of each semester.
· Children’s author, Ronda Friend, visited the School for the Blind, September 23, 2015. Ronda shared stories, songs, life lessons, and laughs with our students. The students thoroughly enjoyed her heartwarming program. The Bulldog Band shared some of their talent with her as well.
· Middle school students, in the Contemporary Issues class in the School for the Deaf, have been learning about the election process. They have done research on each of the candidates and are monitoring the process.
· School for the Deaf, HS Art - This year, our theme focuses upon ‘Self Identity: Discovering and Celebrating Self-Expression and Communication through Art’. Students will explore ASL art and culture as well as deaf identity, along with a broad range of artists’ styles, historical art eras and movements, different cultures currently and historically.
Family-Centered Early Education Program
· The preschool students who are blind or have low vision and Deaf/Hard of Hearing worked on a collaborative unit focused on fruits and vegetables. The students also worked together and set-up a Farmer's Market outside where they pretended to grow vegetables then sell them to each other. The students were encouraged to be creative and role play. Though the students are in the same building, they are in separate classrooms. The groups plan to continue to engage in activities, they work on collaboratively, and continue to teach students how to work with each other.
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
· Growth goals, for winter and spring testing, will be developed for each student based upon their fall scores.
Student Services
· All of the OJT and BTL students have successfully been placed within either a work or college environment.
· Student Health Services has provided additional training, in emergency medication delegations, to School for the Blind and Student Life staff.
Student Life
· Cancelled Middle School football (not enough players for a team).
· Middle/high school volleyball and high school football season underway—student-athletes are showing good sportsmanship.
· Goalball practices started! The team is eager to play at Homecoming!
· Special Olympics bowling practices also started.
· Residential students love swimming at the YMCA and go every week.
· SRA had several guest speakers: Ralena McDevitt (how to prevent suicide), Trena Alexei (how to speak up against bullying), and DOVE representative, Kiley Peterson (unhealthy vs. healthy relationships).
· SRA visited the Independence Center to learn about their program and resources.
· Independence Center Fund has approved and provided a $10,000 grant to the CSDB Athletic Program.
· Student Life interviewed seven applicants for two HCT 2 positions.
· Annual Breakfast was a success!
Outreach
· CSDB teachers of the Deaf and teachers of the visually impaired are serving 106 students, ages birth to 21, through contracts with school districts, Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), charter schools and community center boards. Finding qualified personnel in these two professional areas as well as Orientation and Mobility has been at a crisis point, for several years. CSDB Outreach has been fortunate to hire staff who are committed to providing high quality services to babies and their families as well as students and their educational providers through direct and consultative services.
· American Sign Language (ASL) classes are underway on the CSDB campus for parents and community members. The requests for beginning sign classes necessitated adding another beginning sign language class. Sixty-three participants are taking classes this fall. After this eight week session, a winter session will begin in January.
· The Outreach TVIs/O&M teachers are planning a fall festival, on the CSDB campus in October, for families of children who are blind or visually impaired between the ages of birth to five. The activity is an opportunity for parents and their children to be involved with music, physical activities and craft activities with a variety of CSDB staff members as well as an opportunity to meet each other.
REPORTS FROM SUPPORT SERVICES
Finance
· The State Controller’s Office has delayed the closing of FY14-15 a few more weeks to allow many of the agencies to complete year-end entries. All of the year-end entries, for CSDB, have been completed at this time.
· The State Controller’s Office has not loaded the payroll expenditures for the current fiscal year into the financial system, at this time.
Personnel
· Two (2) positions have been filled since the last update; to date, a total of twenty-four (24) positions have been filled for the 2015-2016 school year. Currently, there are twenty-one (21) vacancies: two (2) new vacancies funded effective 7/1/2015; five (5) vacancies for Non-Classified positions; fourteen (14) vacancies for Classified positions.
· A variety of schoolwide Professional Development activities occurred September 18:
- All-Staff Meeting;
- Team Meetings;
- Family-Centered Early Education (FCCE) Program: READ Act Training;
- Employability Center: Collaboration with Dorms; Job Coach Training;
- Outreach Programs: Strategic Plan Action Steps;
- School for the Blind: READ Act Training; Dorm-School Collaboration (MS/HS); Medication Delegation Training;
- School for the Deaf: Dorm-School Collaboration; Curriculum Maps Review;
- Student Life Programs: Dorm-School Collaboration; Customizing Dorm Environment to meet needs of Students with Visual Impairments; Technology Training; Weightlifting Training / Use of Machines;
- Student Services: Triennial IEP Training / Review of Criteria for Related Services;
- CollegeInvest (Colorado’s 529 College Savings Plan) Lunch-n-Learn
- Administrative Assistants Group Meeting;
- Class Sponsor Meeting;
- Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NCI) Restraints Training;
- Work Area Prep / Work Time
· Monthly New Employee Orientation (NEO) occurred September 14-15, for permanent and substitute employees.
Facilities/Security/Technology
· The schematic design for Jones Hall was approved. We have held user meetings and are looking at systems design.
· Capital Construction and Controlled Maintenance requests were completed, and the number one priority request is the renovation of the gym locker rooms.
· We are looking at the next phase of the Safety Project. This includes window protection, additional card access locations and fencing on the west side of campus.
· The Stone HVAC designs are finalized, based upon code review comments.
Public Relations
Media
· KRDO presented a short segment on the CSDB football team playing against LaVeta.
Events
· CSDB program information was presented at the Vision Coalition meeting and at the Southern Region Low Vision Evaluation Clinic.
· Dack Virnig, an enthusiastic storyteller who is Deaf, entertained an audience of all ages, Friday night before the homecoming activities. Dack also taught storytelling, drawing and performing workshops during the academic day, in the School for the Deaf.
· CSDB Homecoming
- Alumni members gathered for their general business meeting and the CSDBAA Hall of Fame Awards celebration.
- The goalball, football, and volleyball teams competed throughout the day. The stands were full of attendees watching the competitions. During the football game, twenty agencies attended the Resource Fair to distribute resource information benefiting attendees. After the games, students attended the Homecoming dance.
· The Pikes Peak Early Years, Northern Colorado Early Years and the Early Years Toddler programs kicked off the year connecting families of children who are Deaf/hard of hearing through literacy with the books, The Cow That Went Oink and Spots, Feathers, Curly Tails.
Other
· Constant Contact is a new product used to push information out to stakeholders. Event responses have been very good after using Constant Contact for ASL Community Class registration and Resource Fair registration.
· CSDB broadcasts on Comcast TV Channel 20 (also found on the CSDB YouTube Channel) tell the stories of people who are Deaf/hard of hearing and blind/visually impaired, provide American Sign Language lessons to community members, and keep the community informed about CSDB activities. The 30-minutesegments can be seen,Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.
IMPORTANT DATES
October 8 Board of Trustees Meeting
October 8-9 Parent-Teacher Conferences
October 9 Professional Development
October 15 National White Cane Day
November 12 Board of Trustees Meeting
STUDENT SERVICES
As of September 25, 2015
Total Number of Students Currently Served Statewide / 588Total Number of Students Served on Campus since August 2015 / 205
Current Campus 3-21 Enrollment / 204
School for the Deaf / School for the Blind
Preschool / 5 / 4
Elementary / 38 / 16
Middle School / 20 / 14
High School / 50 / 16
Bridges to Life / 32 / 9
Dually Enrolled Students / 0 / 0
TOTAL / 145 / 59
Day Students / 126
Residential Students / 78
Parent Option / 7 (3 unknown)
District Option / 194
Teacher: Student Ratio / 1:5
CHIP (Deaf) / 279
CHIP (Deafblind) / 10
Blind: Birth – 3 / 16
Direct Outreach / 79
ELDI Programs / 86