December
2016
Meetings
Resource Room Staff Meetings:
*December
20th Elementary
21th MS/HS
February
14th Elementary
23 MS/HS
May Articulation
15th MS/HS
22ndEle/MS
Ancillary Staff Meetings:
*December 19
*February 28
*May 30
8:00-9 SLP
9-10 Combined
10:00-11 OT/PT/SSW
Staff Meetings:*ECC staff on-going
*CI/EI on-going
*Post-High on-going /
December 2016 Already?!?
All of you have made it through curriculum nights and parent-teacher conferences, and before you know
we will be welcoming in a new year. Time is flying and we will be M-STEP-ing before you know it.
State Assessments Spring 2017
When developing IEPs, careful consideration should be made when listing accommodations for state testing. Please keep reviewing theMDE document so that you are properly identifying and listing in the IEP needed accommodations:
.
Special Education and Section 504
Should special education evaluations be deemed necessary or when it is expected that a special education staff member would evaluatea student, the child should be first evaluated for IDEA (IEP) not Section 504. In other words, if the identified concern is great enough
to require a formal evaluation involving special education staff, then our IDEA Child Find Obligation in triggered. Should the child not qualify for IEP, then a Section 504 evaluation could be initiated. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Special Education Staffing Updates
- Welcome to Jenna Cato - district physical therapist!
- .6 FTE Brummer ____(OPEN) interviews are currently on-going.
- ParaEducators – several openings, interviews are currently on-going.
Special Education IEP MANDATES
IEP Goals and Short Term ObjectivesAs mandated by law, all IEP Goals and STO must be measurable. This means that the progress on the goal can be quantified
and easily identifiable progress can be tracked. Goal language should also be specific so that the learning expectation is clear
to the entire IEP team (including the student when appropriate). The following must be included with every goal:
- Ending date;
- Identified target behaviors (verbs) that are observable;
- How progress will be assessed or documented;
- What conditions need to be present in order for the child to demonstrate the target behavior, degree to which the child will perform, or the level to which the child will perform the target behavior; and
- How progress will be assessed or documented.
If you have any IEPs in which the goals are not measurable, please complete an IEP or IEP Amendment to rectify immediately. More information is attached from Oakland Schools and MDE.
IEP BLOCK OUT DATES – no IEPs should be scheduled or conducted
/- Each year we have two count periods for the MDE data collection. During those count periods please refrain from conducting IEPs AND close all Work In Progress (WIPs) so that our data processors can properly submit our data. The Special Ed Office will also take the time to update our Skyward IEP forms. Changes you can expect to see on the IEP forms after the block outsinclude:
- Documentation identifying the attempts and results of inviting the parent(s)
- State Assessment to include state testing for all grade
- Next Block out dates areFebruary 7-9, 2017
Parent Corner
Parent Meetings 2016-2017
7-8:30 PM
- January 19, 2017 @ East HS
- April 13, 2017 @ CMS MS
As you may know, the South Lyon Community School District is overseen by Oakland County Intermediate School District (Oakland Schools). One of the many plans that Oakland Schools has involves the Plan for the Delivery of Special Education Programs and Services. This plan specifies that each school district in the county will appoint representatives for the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee. The parent committee members will each serve a three year term. Our current representatives are Kristine Atwell and Melissa Gury. At the end of the 2016-17 school year, Mrs. Atwell’s three year commitment will be fulfilled. We will be opening this position to our community members. If you know of a parent who has a child with an IEP who might serve well in this position, please encourage them to inquire about the position.
PAC Mission Statement
The mission of the South Lyon Parent Advisory Committee is to welcome, support and educate families who have children with different abilities. We collaborate within and beyond our school community to empower parents and others to advocate for all children to ensure the finest quality of educational programs and services through South Lyon Community Schools.
Building Liaison
A building liaison is a parent who will serve as a support to other parents who have questions about special education. They will help to provide networking for resources and information that will help parents. The parents in this group are dedicated to supporting our families and our District. Please take the time introduce yourself to your liaison.
Parent Meetings 2016-2017
On January 19,Thomas F. Kendziorski, Esq., Executive Director of The Arc of Oakland County, Incwill join us to discuss governmental financial benefits, wills & trusts, guardianship and the alternatives for persons with disabilities. This meeting will be open to neighboring districts in Oakland County – notice the location is at SL East HS beginning at 7:00 PM.
April 13, 2017 meeting topic has not yet been identified. We had a great turn out for the Love and Logic and a refresher course has been suggested. More information will be provided in the future.
Miscellaneous but Important – Keep reading…
REEDAll IEP Team members are required to participate in the REED process. Participation can take place in person or via phone, andincludes the general education teacher.
Medicaid
Medicaid Eligibility has been uploaded to MISTAR for the month of December, 2016. Our district receives thousands of dollars through this reimbursement. There is a Medicaid link under "Special Ed Forms" with useful mistar information located on the intranet. Thanks for completing your billings.
Plan Ahead
- Please remember to create an IEP that takes into account the grade that the child will enter next year. Example: If a fifth grade child currently has elementary resource room the durationshould state that it will end at the end of the 2016-2017 school year and write in secondary resource room documenting when this program will begin, beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.
- Review your caseload document. If you notice that a student is coming up for their re-evaluation and they have an IEP due before, try to complete one IEP not two separate.
Please be sure to document the use of the supplementary aids and services. It is expected that we use the data from the documentation to help identify the needs of our students. A record should be in place and made available when requested and should include the student’s name, date, person collecting the data, as the accommodation is being documented. Examples are on the Intranet.
Resources
Anxiety, Depression, and Self-Harm Among U.S. Teens
In thisTime Magazinecover story, Susanna Schrobsdorff reports that teen anxiety, depression, and self-harm (often cutting) have been on the rise in recent years, and are present in suburban, urban, and rural areas among students heading to college as well as those who aren’t. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 30 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys have had an anxiety disorder – that’s about 6.3 million teens – and those figures are probably on the low side because as many as 80 percent of teens who suffer don’t report. Girls are more than three times more likely than boys to experience depression. More information at:
Other Resources
Performance Assessment Resource Bank– This Stanford University site is now open to the public with a searchable database of curated performance assessments and associated resources for educators, schools, and districts.
Online music resources– Oakland, California 4th-grade teacher Cathy Robinson recommends several websites with music that can be used for instructional purposes:
- hip-hop to teach concepts K-12;
- K-5 music aligned to Common Core math and ELA;
- animations that help students visualize language concepts.
-“Stuck on a Concept? Try Music” by Cathy Robinson inEducation Update, November 2016