2013 Special Education Teacher In-Service Training “Prescriptive IEP’s”

1. 2013 Special Education Teacher In-Service Training“Prescriptive IEP’s” Lisa Hampe

2. Welcome…. • Amber Hileman- Dunbar Twp Elementary • Maria Shumar- Dunbar Boro Elementary • Erica White- South Side Elementary • Kelly Kriznosky- Speech (CNP, Springfield, Jr High) • Marissa Shimshock- Speech (CTC, Boro, New Directions)

3. Teacher Effectiveness Tool NEW • Teacher evaluation process in changing in PA and CASD!! • Danielson Framework: • Planning/ Preparation • Classroom Environment • Classroom Instruction • Professional Responsibilities

4. Paperwork…. Ask any special education teacher and they will likely tell you that the most challenging part of their job is not the students…..it’s the paperwork!!!

5. Paperwork… • Regardless of how tedious and time consuming it may be to keep up with federal and state mandated special education paperwork, remember the importance of the IEP Process.

6. Importance… • Think of it this way…would you want to go to a doctor that never looked at your charts or never ran any tests of their own on you for a diagnosis or treatment? • Special education teachers need to practice “Prescriptive Teaching”

7. Prescriptive Teaching • Diagnostic-prescriptive teaching - American Education • A teaching strategy designed to meet the individual needs of students with learning or behavioral problems. The diagnostic segment of the program begins with psychological and academic achievement tests and a complete review of the student’s case history. Depending on the evaluation that follows, the prescriptive segment may draw on a wide variety of teaching resources and professional and nonprofessional services. At the classroom level, simple physical rearrangement of the classroom to promote more intimate student-teacher interaction, for example, often spurs some children to perform more effectively. Others may require behavior modification, mastery teaching or other specialized teaching methods. In almost all diagnostic-prescriptive teaching, the teacher depends on a large team of cooperative professionals and nonprofessionals to work with each individual, including other school staffers, the school or a nonschool psychologist, remedial and resource teachers, and parents. • Encyclopedia of American Education

8. Prescriptive teaching… How do we become a prescriptive teacher??? * We start with an IEP that is current and meaningful to the child’s individualized strengths and needs!

9. The Meeting Style… Adapted from the book: Transformational Leadership in Special Education By Kirby Lentz

10. The Lion…. • The lion leads the meeting with little thought to what others might have to say. They come in with a detailed plan, may even spout off verses from Chapter 14 regulations to intimidate others on the team • “My way or the highway” • “Let’s Git’R’Done!!!” • May neglect to even invite some members and just expect them to sign off later

11. The Fox.. • Much like the lion, the fox has a predetermined agenda • They are bit more of a smooth talker but they still lack a true spirit of collaboration • The fox may try to slip by with last year’s data copied / pasted into this year’s IEP.

12. The opossum…. • The opossum is disengaged from the IEP process • They offer the bare minimum of information and hope that no questions come up • They may also decide to “read the team to death” by reading every word of the 50 page IEP in a monotone way with no explanation of information

13. The Rat-in-the-Cage…. • This person makes it clear that they hold no value in the IEP meeting • They may be more caught up in their own “whoah is me- I don’t have time to be here” to really focus on the student • May focus more on negative feelings about other team members than the child • They may even try to avoid the meeting altogether

14. What style are you????

15. Transformational IEP Team… Motivates and moves forward with good ideas Exhibits a spirit of collaboration Presents positive and meaningful information about the child Defines true needs to focus on for the child Uses “prescriptive teaching” and planning

16. The Invite… THE INVITE

17. IEP Invitations…. • Remember you must make at least 3 documented separate attempts to invite the parent • Send invite home with student • Call • Mail invite or send with home/school officer • Get the invitation out in advance so the parent will have time to let you know if they need a different date/time • DO NOT let the IEP fall out of timeline compliance because you do not hear back from a parent

18. Meeting participation Q&A… • Can I hold the meeting if the parent or student do not attend? • Yes, but you must have reasonable documented attempts to invite them. • Remember, while the IEP invitation meets regulatory compliance and must be issued, it is not the most friendly looking document in the world

19. Add a personal touch… Hi Mrs. Smith, Looking forward to talking about the progress Bella is making this year! Hope to see you at the meeting  Mrs. Hampe

20. The Meeting…. • Be sure to have (at the minimum) the required members of the IEP team present: • Parent • Student (mandated to invite if age 14 or older) • LEA (Local Education Agent) • Special Education Teacher • Regular Education Teacher

21. Meeting participation Q &A… • Who is eligible to act as “LEA”? • This is a person in the district who is able to make decisions that may commit district resources (ie: spend money) • School districts can decide who they allow to act as LEA • In most districts, this role is filled by the Special Education Director, Building Principal, or Lead Teacher • Be sure the team is aware at the beginning of the meeting who the LEA is. • Mark “LEA” next to their name on the signature page

22. Meeting participation Q &A… • Do all members need to stay for the entire meeting? • No, there is no requirement that all members must be present for the entire meeting • However, having an unannounced revolving door at the meeting can be very distracting and make for an unorganized meeting. • Plan ahead with each member. Often times a regular education teacher or therapist may have time constraints that do not allow them to stay the entire meeting. Ask the parent if it is ok that we start with this person’s information if they need to leave.

23. The meeting…. • The special education teacher should come to the meeting with a DRAFT • Have a hard copy for the parent and LEA at least or • Project on an interactive whiteboard so the entire table can see

24. Meeting Do’s and Don’ts • Do: • Come to the meeting prepared with current and relevant information on the child • Explain the data in the IEP and what that means for the student • Don’t • Copy and paste all the information from last year’s IEP just to fill up space • Read a 50 page IEP to the team word for word

25. THE IEP

26. Present Educational Levels…. • This is the groundwork you will lay in order to develop a meaningful plan for the student • Be very cautious of the “Cut and Paste” option! • Remember, we are looking for CURRENT data that is relevant to the child. • If you are simply cutting/pasting last year’s levels, it proves the child has made no educational benefit.

27. II. Present Ed Levels of Academic Performance… • Start with some introductory information… • Student name • Current grade and school they attend • What type of special education services they receive • Other pertinent information

28. Present Educational Levels of Academic Performance… • This section includes….. • Present levels of academic achievement (e.g., most recent evaluation of the student, results of formative assessments, curriculum-based assessments, transition assessments, progress toward current goals)

29. Present Ed Levels of Academic Performance…. • Results of most recent evaluation • Again, you do not need to cut and paste an entire ER or RR into this section. • Summarize what is relevant • Full Scale IQ Score • Grade Equivalent achievement levels • If there is a report from a psychiatrist you may want to include the Axis Diagnosis • What are the strengths and needs indicated in this testing? • What disability category does the child qualify for special education services under?

30. Present Ed Levels of Academic Performance…. • Results of formative and/or summative assessments: • Results of most recent state testing such as PSSA / Keystones. Also include the individual strengths and weakness areas on those tests. • Benchmark testing results • Academy of Reading / Academy of Math Scores • Study Island Data • San Diego Quick Assessment • Brief WRAT Math Assessment

31. Present Ed Levels of Academic Performance…. • Curriculum Based Assessments… • Current grades (Grades alone do not tell us much) • What are the specific skills they have mastered and what do they need to work on: • IE: Cindy is able to read 62 WPM at the third grade reading level with less than 2 errors. • Eric has mastered double digit addition and subtraction. He

32. CBA… • Curriculum based assessments do not need to be long and arduous to collect • Many great apps for the Ipad can provide quick and easy data to gauge the student’s level of functioning

33. Teacher Input… • Include teacher input if they are in general education or co-taught classes • (Try to ensure that a positive tone is set)

34. Teacher Input.. • Jess’s Science teacher reports she does not come to class on time, bothers other students, does not complete work, and is in danger of failing the course • Jess’s Science teacher reports the following accommodations are useful with Jess: extended time, tests read, reminders to keep on task. He reports that Jess needs to work on improving organization skills, work completion, social skills, and reading comprehension skills.

35. Present Levels of Academic Performance… • You should also include a summary of progress the student has made on last year’s IEP goals (if applicable) • We need to determine if these goals need to be changed based on how far the student has come to mastering them. • *Many teachers forget to do this when getting the draft together- this becomes very important when determining if the child has made educational benefit!

36. Present Levels of Functional Performance…. • Present levels of functional performance (e.g., results from a functional behavioral assessment, results of ecological assessments, progress toward current goals • Behavior info • Look at areas such as organization, work completion, etc. • Progress toward any behavior, social, or organization goals

37. Present levels related to transition… • Present levels related to current postsecondary transition goals if the student’s age is 14 or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team (e.g., results of formative assessments, curriculum-based assessments, progress toward current goals)

38. Transition… • Remember to update transition surveys. • You do not need to cut and paste the entire survey with all questions and answers- you can summarize.

39. Parent Input… • Parental concerns for enhancing the education of the student: • This can be updated at the meeting • If parent does not attend or return attempts to get input, make a statement regarding attempts that were made. • Summary of a phone conversation can be used if they do not fill out the written input forms

40. Strengths and Needs…. • This is the place where we really look back at the present ed levels and determine what our true focus areas need to be. • Remember, try to list as many strengths as needs. • If you are unable to think of strengths, then you need to dig deeper!

41. NEEDS…. • NEEDS MUST MATCH GOALS • You don’t need to put specially designed instruction or related services in the needs section. • Only exception: PCA (must be listed in needs section for ACCESS billing purposes)

42. NEEDS • Pinpoint the true focus areas • Must be based on your data in the present ed levels

43. Is it a need??? • Extra prompting

44. Improve math calculation skills

45. Initiate and maintain appropriate conversation

46. Extended Time

47. Personal Care Assistant

48. IV. State/ Local Assessments • Any accommodations we are giving for the state and local tests must also be provided in the SDI • Those accommodations should be used for curriculum based assessments as well.

49. Goals and Objectives… • Goals need to be MEANINGFUL and MEASURABLE! • Must be related to their identified needs • Be specific

50. Be specific…. • Given math instruction at her level, Kristen will solve a worksheet of math problems with 90% accuracy on 4 out of 5 trials over a nine week period. • Given a mixed probe of math problems, Kristen will add, subtract, divide, and multiply different kinds and forms of rational numbers including integers, decimals, fractions, and percents with 90% accuracy on 4 out 5 trials over a nine week period.