St. Croix River Education District
2010-2011 Annual Service Report
Presented to the Superintendents Operating Committee on October 11th, 2011 and the SCRED Governing Board
on November 1st, 2011
By Dr. Kim Gibbons
Kim Gibbons, Education District Executive Director
Jamie Nord, Special Education Director
Kerry Bollman, Instructional Services Coordinator
Kindle Perkins, Outcomes Manager
Valorie Arrowsmith, Adults with Disabilities Service Manager
Sally Welsh, Adult Basic Education Service Manager and Project SEEK Coordinator
The Annual Report to School Boards
of the
St. Croix River Education District
School Year 2011-12
Introduction
The 2011-12 school year marks the 20th year since the organization known as the St. Croix River Education District (SCRED) was formed. SCRED continues to provide a broad and deep array of services to its member districts. It also is selling services to former member Willow River. Among the state’s Cooperatives and Education Districts, SCRED is unique in its significant involvement with improving classroom instruction, which is so important because that is where learning occurs. This annual service report to governance summarizes the SCRED 2010-11 activities. Some of the years’ more significant events are listed below.
SCRED’s largest program, Unique Learners, manages the special education programs in the districts but does so in a manner so as to work as closely as possible with “regular education”. This was the second year with a Director of Special Education who provided on-site services in North Branch and general oversight of all six SCRED district special education programs. Two Unique Learners’ Managers provide supervision and supports for all special education programming. The 2010-11 school year was marked with a significant amount of change and planning in the area of special education at SCRED. Decisions made during the 2010-11 school year ranged from reconfiguring positions to expanding the use of SpEd Forms, from selecting a Language Arts alternate core curriculum to the development of new special education programs. A quality review of IEP’s across SCRED districts (CIMP Process) indicated that on a scale from 1-4 with 4 being the highest, the SCRED-wide average rating was 3.43 for IEPs and 3.63 for Evaluation Summary Reports (ESRs). Our special education teachers continue to meet expectations for high quality due process paperwork. This year, there was one complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights; the outcome is still pending. In addition, there was one complaint filed with the Minnesota Department of Education. The district has taken the necessary corrective action steps in response to the final decision. Parents in two cases requested mediation services. An agreement was reached in one of the mediation meetings, while the other mediation meeting has yet to occur. The Director of Special Education and Unique Learners’ Managers facilitated a handful of other conciliation meetings across the SCRED districts, but all the issues were resolved successfully without needing to proceed to a due process hearing.
The Outcomes Service at SCRED provides a variety of services related to data-driven decision making. While the system of accountability related to statewide testing is certainly the most influential of these data, there is a wealth of related information on student performance that can provide critical assistance to member district teachers and administrators as they make decisions about curriculum and instruction. The outcomes service is focused on helping both to provide decision-makers with easy and efficient access to these data, and to provide assistance with interpreting the data. The mission is to help all staff to make decisions based on accurate and timely information. The 2010-11 was a year of transition with a new Outcomes Services Manager who had to clean up many problems and databases. Data did not get into the webportal in a timely fashion due to a variety of factors. The “outcomes crisis” did result in a positive change of all districts switching to the TIES Student Information System (SIS). Having all districts on the same SIS will create a much more efficient platform for getting data into the webportal in a timely manner!
The Instructional Services team at SCRED, led by Kerry Bollman, had a productive year! The2010-2011school year was characterized by high quality intensive training activities designed to prepare teachers to better meet the academic skills needs of all students, to fully implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act reauthorized in 2005, and to begin the study of the 2010 MN ELA standards which will be first tested in 2013. The instructional services team supported districts in their study of the new MN ELA standards and in early implementation planning. The grade level team facilitator project and problem solving training provided support tostaff in using data for ongoing decision-making. The eighth year of training and support for AmeriCorps members working in age 3 to grade 3 classrooms in SCRED schools and around the state was provided. Specific support to general education teachers on strategic interventions, and to LD teachers and School Psychologists was offered in the area of special education entitlement decision making under the LD category in compliance with newly revised state legislation, and specific training to School Psychologists to increase their skills in facilitating within a Response to Intervention model was provided. Finally, the team implemented a Math Corps project for Grades 4-6.
All SCRED districts continued their fourth year of an Age 3-Grade 3 Initiative. Each district has individualized goals. At the end of this year, all districts were continuing with benchmarking using IGDIs (Individual Growth and Development Indicators) for early literacy and PNIs (Preschool Numeracy Indicators) for early numeracy. During the 2010-11 school year, the early childhood teachers met regularly through the curriculum review cycle to study best practices in programming, data collection, technology, and standards. The teachers spent time last summer doing curriculum mapping to standards.
SCRED’s community education programs WE‘R’ABLE and Adult Basic Education continue to serve those unique populations. WE’R’ABLE held 67 classes and served 2633 total participants! In addition, a Chisago County support Group served 576 participants throughout the course of the school year. Jeannette Kester retired in May and was replaced by Valorie Arrowsmith. Project SEEK was offered again for the 18th year, and 191 students participated. Results of the parent evaluation of the project remain very positive, with 96% indicating they were very satisfied with the program and 100% of parents indicating they would enroll their child again in the program. In the area of Adult Basic Education, 622 students were served (513 served in previous years), and these students logged in 7,457 hours of learning. The merger with Metro East Consortium continued to increase revenue and resulted in hiring more teachers and serving more students.
Finally, SCRED experienced a number of facility issues during the 2010-11 school year. Issues began in the city-owned building with a leaking roof in December that went unrepaired resulting in a significant mold problem.By June, the roof was not fixed, the mold problem was becoming more severe, and many employees were sick. A decision was made to vacate the building until it was safe to inhabit. Subsequently, the Rush City council decided not to fix the building. Rather, they will demolish the building and sell the land to SCRED for $1. At this time, SCRED is beginning the process of building a new building in Rush City.
In summary, the Education District completed another year of providing services to its member districts in areas in which the members determined the need for cooperation and focus. The Unique Learners area is the single program with the most services and resources and so remains the centerpiece of the Education District’s efforts. However, the other programs all compliment and contribute to the range of educational opportunities available in the districts for East Central Minnesota students.
Unique Learners
Executive Summary
The 2010-11 school year was marked with a significant amount of change and planning in the area of special education at SCRED. Decisions made during the 2010-11 school year ranged from reconfiguring positions to expanding the use of SpEd Forms, from selecting a Language Arts alternate core curriculum to the development of new special education programs. The purpose of this executive summary is two-fold: (1) to highlight the changes made during the 2010-11 school year, as well as plans for 2011-12, and (2) to review progress toward the 2010-11 goals, as well as set goals for 2011-12.
2010-11 Changes / 2011-12 Plans
Reconfiguration of Positions
In 2009-10, a Reintegration Specialist position had been added at SCRED to support the Federal Setting III and IV programs. After evaluating this new position in the spring of 2010, the decision was made to discontinue the position, and instead split the Social Behavior Collaborative Planner position into two positions, one serving Chisago County and one serving Pine County. The Social Behavior Collaborative Planner positions continue to provide reintegration support for the Federal Setting III and IV programs in their assigned districts.
Due to changes in personnel for the 2011-12 school year, the Director of Special Education position will provide on-site support and supervision to the Chisago Lakes School District and the Rush City Public Schools, while continuing to perform SCRED-wide duties. The two Unique Learners Manager assignments will be split between the North Branch Area Public Schools and the Pine County schools districts (Pine City, Hinckley-Finlayson, and East Central).
Expanding the Use of SpEd Forms
Starting last fall, SCRED made the switch to completing all MA Billing through the SpEd Forms database. Trainings were conducted across the SCRED districts for staff to learn the ins and outs of this new documentation system. Overall, the transition went smoothly, in part due to the greatly appreciated understanding and patience of district staff. Note: North Branch Area Public Schools had already been using SpEd Forms for MA Billing prior to the 2010-11 school year and East Central will be making the switch during the 2011-12 school year.
During the 2010-11 school year, the Instructional Services Team and SCRED administration began a collaborative project with SpEd Forms to design a user-friendly database for tracking students in the Problem Solving process. The goal was to make the forms on the database as similar to the hard-copy SCRED Problem Solving forms as possible. A pilot group of district Problem Solving Team (PST) members was established in the spring of 2011 to provide feedback on the new database, informing changes to the system prior to the SCRED-wide release. Our appreciation goes out to those staff that participated in this pilot group. Specialized training will be conducted for PST members to learn how to use the new database in August 2011.
Special Education Curriculum Reviews
As a result of the 2010-11 Special Education Language Arts curriculum review, the majority of SCRED schools will be implementing Reading Mastery Signatures Edition as their elementary alternate core curriculum and Language! as their secondary alternate core curriculum to start the 2011-12 school year. Thank you to those staff that volunteered to participate in this review process. Intensive training and coaching opportunities will be available during the course of the 2011-12 school year for teachers implementing these new curricula.
During the 2011-12 school year, a similar review process in the area of Math will occur, but as part of a much larger curriculum review. In addition to looking at alternate core special education math curricula, districts will also be evaluating their core and supplemental math curricula and instructional strategies.
New Special Education Programs
Due to the need for a continuum of special education services and supports in the areas of Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the Chisago Lakes School District is planning to open a new K-5 Federal Setting III program at Taylors Falls Elementary School starting in September 2011. This new program will offer intense social behavior and academic support for students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorder and high functioning Autism.
In addition to the new program in Chisago Lakes, Hinckley-Finlayson and Pine City School Districts have partnered to develop a new K-12 Federal Setting IV program in Pine City that will open its doors to start the 2011-12 school year. Smaller class sizes, a mental health component, and a structured social skills program incorporating the Boys Town Model will help students learn the skills they need to be successful in the traditional school setting.
The overall goal for both programs is to prepare students to return to their regular mainstream settings. Thanks to all the district staff and administration that worked diligently over the course of the 2010-11 school year to develop these new programs to better meet the needs of our students!
Additional Special Education Updates
SCRED continued its Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process (CIMP) to assist districts with maintaining high standards for quality and compliance. As part of this annual process, one student file per special education case manager was randomly selected for review of the IEP and most recent Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) using a Likert-type rubric. On a scale from 1-4 with 4 being the highest, the SCRED-wide average rating was 3.43 for IEPs and 3.63 for Evaluation Summary Reports (ESRs). Our special education teachers continue to meet expectations for high quality due process paperwork.
Once again this year, many SCRED districts/buildings found themselves not meeting AYP due to the special education subgroup in math or reading or both. This brought local district administrators, curriculum directors, teachers, SCRED staff and others together on teams to write AYP plans. In these plans, teams reviewed and identified areas for refinement of RtI implementation efforts especially for learners at-risk for being identified as needing special education or those already receiving special education.
Overall, SCRED districts continue to have the lowest LD child count in our region (2.4%), as well as comparably low overall numbers of special education students K-12 (9.3%). These data speak to the success of SCRED staff efforts to intervene early and thoughtfully with high quality instruction to address learning needs before special education services are needed.
This year, there was one complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights; the outcome is still pending. In addition, there was one complaint filed with the Minnesota Department of Education. The district has taken the necessary corrective action steps in response to the final decision. Parents in two cases requested mediation services. An agreement was reached in one of the mediation meetings, while the other mediation meeting has yet to occur. The Director of Special Education and Unique Learners Managers facilitated a handful of other conciliation meetings across the SCRED districts, but all the issues were resolved successfully without needing to proceed to a due process hearing.
2010-11 Goals
Progress was made toward all goals for 2010-11 in terms of meeting objectives. Please see below for a summary of progress toward goals.
GOAL 1: To increase program development around the Age 3 to Grade 3 concept by establishing a consistent measurement system, instruction and philosophy across the whole age range.
1)Increase Early Childhood Problem-Solving Teams (PSTs) application of a problem-solving model to data for decision-making.
Starting in the fall of 2010, all SCRED districts collected IGDI progress monitoring data for students attending district-sponsored early childhood programming. In addition, most Early Childhood programs had Problem-Solving teams in place that were trained in the five step SCRED Problem-Solving Model (CL, PC, and RC are trained; NBAPS, EC and HF will be trained in 2011-2012). These problem-solving teams met one time per month during this school year. During the 2010-11 school year, the Early Childhood Collaborative Planner attended 1-2 team meetings in each district to provide feedback on the fidelity of implementation. Observational data indicate that teams are meeting and discussing individual student cases. Areas for growth include refining the fidelity of implementing the problem-solving process during PST meetings, as well as when viewing school-wide IGDI and PNI data.
2) Increase use of Preschool Numeracy Indicators (PNIs) for informing math instruction, and progress monitoring.
PNI data collection occurred three times across the majority of SCRED districts during the 2010-11 school year. Two workshops were provided by Robin Hojnoski to enhance Early Childhood teacher’s use of PNIs for early numeracy instruction and intervention. These training opportunities helped Early Childhood teams start using PNI data as part of the problem solving process for students. Given the lack of research-based Early Childhood math interventions, the main focus for teachers during the 2011-2012 school year will be to analyze and enhance their Tier 1 instruction through intentionally embedding mathematics into their daily schedules. The data analysis to establish benchmark targets for PNIs will be a collaborative effort between SCRED and Robin Hojnoski in the fall of 2011.