WI Budget Repair Bill update by SAA

Dear SAA Members:

Please use the link below to view a video update on the Governor's Budget Repair Bill, the State Budget and other legislation.

http://vimeo.com/wasda/saaupdate22511

Also, below is a link to Senate Bill 22 (Charter School Reform Bill).

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/data/SB-22.pdf

Thanks for listening and thanks for all your efforts on behalf of Wisconsin school children.

John D. Forester
Director of Government Relations
School Administrators Alliance(SAA)
4797 Hayes Road
Madison, WI  53704
608-242-1370
608-242-1290 (fax)
www.wsaa.org

 

Mandated Child Abuse Reporting

Don Everhard presented on Mandated Child Abuse Reporting for staff. Please contact him at 715-678-2600 for more information. Here is a video link that talks further about this topic:

http://www.wcwts.wisc.edu/related-training/mandated-reporter/

Wisconsin Child Welfare Professional Development System | Related Training | Mandated Reporter

Twitter: @Joseph_Greget

You can follow me on twitter for regular updates on social media, web 2.0 tools, facebook, twitter, educational technology, apple iPads, online teacher resources, iphone, websites, blogs, wikis, special education and more.

Facebook for High School Students

I was part of a discussion today that focused on Facebook at the High School.  There was discussion for and against the use of Facebook.

Positives
We discussed how teachers could use Facebook in their classroom.  Reviewed Jeff Thomas blog on Complete Facebook Guide for Educators (available on my blog). There were handouts on A Teacher's Guide to Using Facebook, A Parent's Guide to Facebook, 8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched a First Grade Class, 50 Useful Facebook Tips for Teachers, and 100 Ways You Should be Using Facebook in Your Classroom. Cited Administrative Team discussion that Facebook should be available for students. Majority of students already have a Facebook account.  Excellent way for students with disabilities to develop social skills.

Concerns:
Should students be allowed to use Facebook while in the library or a classroom if not as part of an educational class? Concerns were raised about policing students on Facebook, distractions, is it against Board policy, cyberbullying, not a safe place, and whether as a building and district we are ready for Facebook and social media to be opened up for students.

Discussion
We discussed gathering more information from staff in terms of a survey and staff meeting.  Building administration viewpoints to be gathered.  What could be a best practice plan for teaching staff on how to use and implementing appropriately?

What are some of your thoughts?

Weekly Newsletter for Special Education and Student Services

Our weekly Special Education and Student Services Newsletter is now posted at:
https://sites.google.com/a/medford.k12.wi.us/specialed/home/special-education-and-student-services-newsletter

In this weekly newsletter:
1. Moment of Reflection
2. Staff Collaboration
3. World Math Day on March 1
4. World Spelling Day on March 3
5. Certified and Support Staff Summative Evaluation
6. Facebook Discussion
7. Taylor County Interagency Communications Committee on Feb 28
8. Apple iPad Overview meeting on Feb 28
9. Taylor County Adult Literacy Council on Feb 28
10. Transition Advisory Council on March 3
11. Taylor County Early Childhood Sub-Committee on March 4
12. Special Education Advisory Council on March 7
13. IEP availability for staff
14. SLD Power Point updated

Taylor County Early Childhood Sub-Committee meeting agenda

Here is our agenda for our next Taylor County Early Childhood Sub-Committee meeting on Friday March 4th from 1:30 to 3:30.

1. Week of the Young Child
2. Child Development Days in Taylor County
3. Child Passenger Safety - Booster Seat Law
4. Preschool Planning Mini-Grant Training for Community
5. Early Childhood Outcomes B-6 information
6. Autism Trainings for Caregivers
7. Pre-Kindergarten Blogs
8. Roundtable Updates

Special Education Advisory Council meeting agenda

Our next Special Education Advisory Council is scheduled for Monday March 7. It will be held from 4:00 to 5:30 in the District Office.

Agenda items will tentatively include:
1. Moment of Silence
2. Special Education Enrollment
3. Review of New Special Education Programs and Initiatives in 10-11
4. Review of ARRA Stimulus Funds
5. Health Care Assistant at MAMS update
6. MAMS and MAES Special Education Room Remodeling Costing
7. Significant Learning Disability Rule Change update
8. Autism Trainings for First Responders and Caregivers
9. Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment Review Cycle
10. Duties of the Responsible LEA for Children placed in Residential Care Centers
11. Review of Special Education Website
12. Other business

Taylor County Transition Advisory Council

Our next Taylor County Transition Advisory Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday March 3rd from 12:00 to 1:30.

Agenda will include:
1. Brad Gingras will be speaking on CREX conservation camp
2. Wisconsin Disability Documentation Guide: Helping People with Disabilities Prepare for Post-Secondary Education and Training
3. Taylor County Reality Fair
4. Statewide Transition Conference update
5. Roundtable updates

World Maths Day on March 1

 
    World Maths Day is the world’s largest education event where students (aged 4-18) compete in real time against other students from around the world playing mental arithmetic games on the World Maths Day website (www.worldmathsday.com). World Maths Day encourages students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to have a go at maths in a fun, interactive and accessible way. Best of all participation in World Maths Day is free – all you need is internet access. This year there are 4 age categories: 4-7, 8-10, 11-13 and 14-18.  Students and schools can join in whenever they like throughout the 48 hours, although only 100 games will count towards a student’s individual or class points score.

Autism Society of Wisconsin Press Release on Budget Repair Bill and Medicaid

http://www.asw4autism.org/ASW%20Press%20Release%2002%2018%202011.pdf

Official Press Release
The Autism Society of Wisconsin: Sweeping shift of authority for setting Medicaid policy threatens Medicaid Programs, including autism services.....

Rural Virtual Academy for Four Year Old Kindergarten

Our consortium Rural Virtual Academy school is considering adding four year old kindergarten. They would need a Medford teacher with a license to teach 4K to help teach those students. I have forwarded Charlie Heckel – the RVA principal information on 4K and charter schools.  http://www.ruralvirtual.org/

  

SLD Power Point

DPI posted the PowerPoint for the new WI SLD Rule on the SLD website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/ld.html.

MAMS Special Education Classroom Remodeling

We are still looking at remodeling the current special education classroom (Wieman) by adding a wall to create two classrooms – one for independent living/autism use.  The other side of the room could be used for additional pullout special education classrooms.  If you have any recommendations, let me know.

Health Care Assistant at MAMS

It appears the final decision on whether to add a new position and/or transfer an existing paraprofessional to this position will not be made until June due to uncertainty with the budget.  This will reduce the amount of time for transition purposes for the students and staff to 11-12 and summer school. This may mean a current special education assistant from MAES will need to transfer to MAMS for 11-12 along with students for transition purposes.

Reading Assistant Program

Mrs. Lundy has contacted Reading Assistant for potential expansion of this program in our elementary schools and high schools.  They no longer offer the $67.00 per computer license.  The cost for 11-12 is the following: $900 for individual workstations or $9000 for unlimited workstations in a building.  We continue to look at options for MAES and SES.  We will need one license at MASH per an IEP. We were able to pay for the MAMS site license through stimulus funds last year.

SLD Rule Change Q & A:

Question:  May a district use significant discrepancy to determine insufficient progress for students from non-public settings being evaluated for suspected specific learning disabilities, even if all buildings in the district are using Response to Intervention (RtI) for identifying students with specific learning disabilities (SLD)?

Yes.  Districts, even when all buildings are using RtI for identifying students with specific learning disabilities, may use significant discrepancy to identify students with SLD for students for whom the district does not have FAPE responsibility in non-public settings (for example, parentally-placed private schools and home-based private educational settings).

Taylor County Interagency Communications Committee meeting on Feb 28

This is our annual meeting from 9:00 to 11:30 of countywide school districts, law enforcement, Judge Knox Bauer, and District Attorney Kelz.  Agenda will include:

Traumatized Children and Services

New Drunk Driving Laws

Body Piercings and Tattoos

Rights of Noncustodial Parents

Autism Alert inc Training for First Responders and Caregivers in the Community

Teen Court

Outpatient Services in the Schools

Youth Risk Behavior Survey

MAES Restroom Remodel

We have received a quote from MAES North Wing Restroom remodel from boys/girls to a unisex special needs restroom.  Cost including all demo, construction, plumbing, electrical, would be $19,000.00.  I would encourage staff feedback on this project and whether we need it for our upper elementary grade students with significant disabilities.

Families Being Involved Workshop

February 25 at Sports Page Bowling Alley from 8:00 to 11:00. We hold these parental outreach activities on a monthly basis for our families and students in our early education program.

Co-Sponsoring our Autism Training for First Responders and Caregivers on May 17

Memorial Health Center, Medford Morning Rotary Club, Parent Resource Center, Project Lifesaver, and Taylor County Sheriff’s Department have all volunteered to help co-sponsor these trainings by covering some costs related to our training.

Eating and Feeding Evaluation: Children with Special Needs

There is an updated Eating and Feeding Evaluations: Children with Special Needs form that can be completed on children with disabilities who have food allergies or other special dietary needs. Please contact our school nurse Jill Koenig or for more information.

Child Abuse Reporting training On Feb 17

Don Everhard will be training staff on Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting. Anyone who is interested can attend today Feb 17 from 4:00 to 5:15 at MAES.

Mike Sherwood Funeral

Funeral services for Michael Sherwood are this Saturday at 5:00 pm with visitation from 3:00 to 5:00 at Hemer Funeral Home. Prayers are sent out to Mike's family, friends, and teachers.

Down Syndrome Resources

Listed are recommended resources on Down Syndrome:

 

My Great Story

http://ndss.org/index.php?view=article&com=com_content&id=252&option=com_content&Itemid=146s

 

"If People with Down Syndrome Ruled the World"

http://www.nads.org/pages_new/news/ruletheworld.html

 

Wikipedia extensive information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

 

Teaching Students with Down Syndrome

http://specialed.about.com/od/disabilities/a/downs.htm

 

Tips for Teaching Students with Down Syndrome

http://www.ndss.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=83&limitstart=2

 

National Association for Down Syndrome

www.nads.org

Appropriate Use of Seclusion and Physical Restraint

Here is a link to our district resources on the Appropriate Use of Seclusion and Physical Restraint that has been distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

https://sites.google.com/a/medford.k12.wi.us/specialed/home/appropriate-use-of-seclusion-and-physical-restraint

WI Model Early Learning Standards alignment with WI Common Core Standards

A newly revised Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards Alignment with the Wisconsin Common Core Standards has been posted on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Website at:

http://dpi.wi.gov/cal/doc/wmels-alignment.doc

You will also find the document posted on the webpage entitled "Wisconsin Standards-All Subjects." On the page under the heading of Resources, is the resource Aligning Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards with the Common Core Standards. If you "click" on the link it will take you to the source of the alignment. The website for this page is:
http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/index.html

(email from DPI WMELS coach Arlene Wright on February 14, 2011

WI Disability Documentation Guide: Helping People with Disabilities Prepare for Post-Secondary Education and Training

A WI Disability Documentation Guide: Helping People with Disabilities Prepare for Post-Secondary Education and Training (updated January, 2011) has been posted at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/transition.html. This is a guide, not state policy or set of mandated procedures. The guide and an information sheet will be available on the WTCS, WSTI, DPI, and UWS websites for downloading and dissemination.

SLD Rule Change Q & A:

SLD Rule Change Q & A:
Question: May a district use significant discrepancy to determine insufficient progress for students from non-public settings being evaluated for suspected specific learning disabilities, even if all buildings in the district are using Response to Intervention (RtI) for identifying students with specific learning disabilities (SLD)?

Yes. Districts, even when all buildings are using RtI for identifying students with specific learning disabilities, may use significant discrepancy to identify students with SLD for students for whom the district does not have FAPE responsibility in non-public settings (for example, parentally-placed private schools and home-based private educational settings). (from Wisconsin DPI)

Autism Training for First Responders

I would like to invite all of our Police, Fire, EMS, 911, Medical Staff, and Other First Responders to attend this training by Autism Alert Inc.

This will take place on Tuesday May 17th from 10:00 to 3:00 with an hour lunch break on your own to be held in the Red and White Theatre at MASH. Register with Luanne at 715-748-4620.

Autism Safety Training for Caregivers

I would like to invite parents, school staff, human services, family, child care providers, and community members to attend this training by Autism Alert Inc.

This will take place on Tuesday May 17th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm to be held in the Red and White Theatre at MASH. Register by calling Luanne at 715-748-4620.

Medford Area Public School District Special Education and Student Services Website

Here is our website link: https://sites.google.com/a/medford.k12.wi.us/specialed/home

Medford Area Public School District Special Education and Student Services Facebook Page!

We now have 21 people who have liked our Medford Area Public School District Special Education and Student Services Facebook Page!

Packers - Steelers Superbowl Party at MAES!

Pretty exciting at Medford Area Elementary School today!  There was a major Packers and Steelers Superbowl Party which featured all of our students, 8th grade band, local media, and "Aaron Rodgers" even stopped by. 

Snoball Dance 2011 Pictures

Here is the link to see some pictures from the 2011 Snoball Dance in Ladysmith. Club Energy was the DJ and has the pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Club-Energy/105260649515608
I thank the Ladysmith School District for having Medford School District students participate again.

Families Being Involved Workshop on Feb 25

Our next Families Being Involved Workshop for pre-kindergarten students and parents has been rescheduled from Feb 11 to Feb 25. We will be bowling at the Sports Page from 8:00 to 11:00. Contact a pre-kindergarten teacher for more information.

DPI LGBT SITE

DPI  LGBT  SITE UP AND RUNNING

DPI is working to help create safe and supportive school environments for all youth, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT).  Visit DPI’s new lgbt page for information and valuable links.    http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/lgbt.html

Toolkit for Trauma Sensitive Schools

DPI has created a toolkit with a variety of resources to help schools become more trauma sensitive. More information is available at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sspw/mhtrauma.html

Parent Permission for Evaluation for Special Education

It is always required to honor a parent’s written request for a special education evaluation.  If a parent makes a verbal request for a special education evaluation, under WI DPI’s complaint violation rulings, it is a district’s obligation to educate and inform parents how to make an official request for an evaluation (i.e., written, child’s name, reason disability suspected).  The district’s once-a-year legal announcement does not meet the district’s child find obligation in the case of a parent who has made a verbal request.  However, in the case of a verbal request for an evaluation, many requests do indeed include that needed education about how to make an official request.

Especially in the case of an evaluation in the area of Specific Learning Disability (SLD) , it may also include education about what is immediately available through a multi-leveled system of support (and RtI), which may be available through a regular education process.  Parents who have made a request for a special education evaluation, when given an opportunity for immediate, intensive intervention in a regular education setting, may chose to postpone the beginning of a special education evaluation so the results of the intensive intervention can be obtained.  In such a case, parents may chose to begin a special education evaluation in the area of SLD or may chose to postpone their decision until more information is known. It’s their choice (from DPI WI School Psychology News)

Sharing Information Across Systems Bulletin

Sharing Information Across Systems (2010) is available at http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/pdf/sharing.pdf .  This was updated by the WI Department of Public Instruction in December 2010.

Student Records and Confidentiality Bulletin

Student Records and Confidentiality (2010) is available at http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/pdf/srconfid.pdf  This was updated by WI Department of Public Instruction in December 2010.

Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment Cycle for next 5 years

Here is the link to the information on the Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment Cycle for the next 5 years:  http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/xls/selfassmt-cycle-2012-2016.xls

Significant Changes for all Initial LD evaluations as of Dec 1

We have posted a memo on the SLD web page, http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/pdf/ld-3-significant-chgs.pdf  that describes the significant changes effective December 1, 2010 for all initial evaluations where Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) is considered, whether or not LEAs have begun using RTI to determine insufficient progress

Special Education and Student Services Newsletter for Week of February 7 is now posted

Each week I write a Special Education and Student Services Newsletter primarily for staff or for others who are interested.  You can find these at:
https://sites.google.com/a/medford.k12.wi.us/specialed/home/special-education-and-student-services-newsletter

Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Training on Feb 17

Medford will be having a training on Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting. Our trainer will be Donald Everhard who is our Associate Elementary Supervisor and a former social worker and police officer. The training will be held on Feb 17 from 4:00 to 5:30 at Medford Area Elementary School.