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Inside this issue
Important Upcoming Events/Meetings
September 7 Special Education Directors' Forum @ MDE September 12 Late Start @ RBEC (PLCs) September 17 Special Education Leadership Team AT Cohort September 24 SE MN CTE Meeting; Mark Perna, Keynote Speaker September 26 ADSIS Orientation @ MDE September 26 EL Team & Instructional Coach PLC |
The Progress, August/September 2018:
Volume 4, Issue 1 The Progress archive
Click here to view past issues from the current school year. Comments? Suggestions for new articles?
Contact Jillynne Raymond, Editor, The Progress, jraymond@gced.k12.mn.us 
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GCED Day 2018
Once a year GCED has the honor of hosting our own staff members and the special education staff members from our member districts for one day of collaborative learning. This year was no different. Over 150 educators participated in professional development at River Bluff Education Center. The focus is designed to continually make us better at what we do. Highlights from 2018 included:
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Lighting Round Sessions:
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Large Groups:
All County Nurse Meeting EL Teachers Writing Title III Grant Special Education Teachers:
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Keynote Speakers:
Tom Cady & Willow Sweeney Top 20 Engaging Disengaged Students |
The EL Team collaborates to write their Title III grant.
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Keynote speakers introduced the term, Kaizen. Its meaning resonated an ongoing message of continual improvement...an important status for public education.
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Willow Sweeney and Tom Cady, of Top 20, inspire all to help our students change the narratives they have in their heads to re-engage them in education.
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2018-2019 MTSS - The Framework of our Work
Our work implementing MTSS continues; MTSS is the framework of all we do. From an individual student standpoint, it is the framework we use to ensure all students' needs are met in order for each student to be proficient with expected academic and behavioral learning targets. From a system lens, MTSS is a framework that helps us allocate resources in a sustainable manner. In order to sustain our programming, it is important for us to reach at least 80% of our students' intended outcomes with first best instruction.
Just as we use a 5 step problem solving model for individual student problem solving, the same process can be used to evaluate our implementation. This will be the focus of our work with the principals cohort during the 2018-19 academic school year. This group, along with our school psychologists will identify and evaluate districts' MTSS implementation.
The principals meeting on August 13, 2018 also included instructional coaches and began with a review of the problem solving model. The problem solving model is followed in the MTSS Problem Solving Team Packet, which begins with the first team of problem solvers: teacher, student, parent. All districts will go back to using the same documentation this year. The documentation for the MTSS process is now in one packet rather than multiple forms. This MTSS Problem Solving Team Packet is available as a word document and a Google doc. Nothing is changed in the MTSS process, we are simply helping users walk through the problem solving process in order to become fluent in the work. GCED Executive Director Cherie Johnson uses learning how to drive as an analogy to explain the need. When you first learn how to drive you have to intentionally think through each step, how to turn on your blinker, when to turn on your blinker, where to begin to turn and so forth. After years of driving experience most of us can arrive at our destination without any thought to those individual steps because our learning has been firmly established. As we learn and continuously improve, we need to exert more energy into the process itself.
To help support that learning, we are pleased to offer specific problem solving training through CAREI, U of MN"s Center of Applied Research and Educational Improvement. Although we can't take all the principals (you know...limited resources plus districts can't have all of the administrators gone), we can take some team members from each district. Those individuals have received invitations to participate in this professional development.
And now for a random side comment....if you are reading this, act now to possibly win a fabulous grand prize for reading the September issue of The Progress. All you need to do is to email Jillynne (jraymond@gced.k12.mn.us) with the phrase "MTSS Teams" in the subject line. The first responder WINS!
Just as we use a 5 step problem solving model for individual student problem solving, the same process can be used to evaluate our implementation. This will be the focus of our work with the principals cohort during the 2018-19 academic school year. This group, along with our school psychologists will identify and evaluate districts' MTSS implementation.
The principals meeting on August 13, 2018 also included instructional coaches and began with a review of the problem solving model. The problem solving model is followed in the MTSS Problem Solving Team Packet, which begins with the first team of problem solvers: teacher, student, parent. All districts will go back to using the same documentation this year. The documentation for the MTSS process is now in one packet rather than multiple forms. This MTSS Problem Solving Team Packet is available as a word document and a Google doc. Nothing is changed in the MTSS process, we are simply helping users walk through the problem solving process in order to become fluent in the work. GCED Executive Director Cherie Johnson uses learning how to drive as an analogy to explain the need. When you first learn how to drive you have to intentionally think through each step, how to turn on your blinker, when to turn on your blinker, where to begin to turn and so forth. After years of driving experience most of us can arrive at our destination without any thought to those individual steps because our learning has been firmly established. As we learn and continuously improve, we need to exert more energy into the process itself.
To help support that learning, we are pleased to offer specific problem solving training through CAREI, U of MN"s Center of Applied Research and Educational Improvement. Although we can't take all the principals (you know...limited resources plus districts can't have all of the administrators gone), we can take some team members from each district. Those individuals have received invitations to participate in this professional development.
And now for a random side comment....if you are reading this, act now to possibly win a fabulous grand prize for reading the September issue of The Progress. All you need to do is to email Jillynne (jraymond@gced.k12.mn.us) with the phrase "MTSS Teams" in the subject line. The first responder WINS!
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Reminder: The fall FAST assessment window is open through September 21, 2018. |
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Secondary Principals' Book Study
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When we use the term MTSS, we are not looking at one data point. We are looking at multiple areas that would indicate our students reaching their full potential. Student engagement is essential in doing so. At the secondary level student engagement can present unique challenges. Programming can help. It helps so much that considerable resources are put into CTE (Career Technical Education) to help engage students.
Our CTE point person, Brian Cashman, will lead a book study with secondary principals as a part of our principals meetings this year. The book's title sums up the work and the need: Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations. Author Mark Perna will be speaking at a Perkins sponsored event to "unveil the groundbreaking innovations that are making the difference for students nationwide." The event is funded by SE Minnesota's Carl D. Perkins grant. There is no fee to attend, but registration is needed (click here to registration link on GCED's website). Event details: Mark C. Perna Monday, September 24, 2018 8:00-10:00 AM *Book signing immediately following* Chatfield High School, Potter Auditorium 401 Main St. South, Chatfield, MN 55923 |
The Importance of Home - School Connections
by Kristin Kirk, School Psychologist assigned to Cannon Falls
The 2018-2019 school year is beginning! Students fill our hallways with their energy and stories from the summer. We will have some familiar faces in our classrooms, but new faces as well. With these new students are their families who support them.
Research shows that a strong parent, child, and educator relationship helps boost student achievement and outcomes. Parent-teacher relationships are built over time through consistent communication, collaboration, creative problem solving, a common goal and, most importantly, trust. In our busy day of juggling papers, lesson planning, and managing students, we can easily forget the group that could lend significant support -- parents and families. Here are some helpful tips to start building those home-school connections:
The 2018-2019 school year is beginning! Students fill our hallways with their energy and stories from the summer. We will have some familiar faces in our classrooms, but new faces as well. With these new students are their families who support them.
Research shows that a strong parent, child, and educator relationship helps boost student achievement and outcomes. Parent-teacher relationships are built over time through consistent communication, collaboration, creative problem solving, a common goal and, most importantly, trust. In our busy day of juggling papers, lesson planning, and managing students, we can easily forget the group that could lend significant support -- parents and families. Here are some helpful tips to start building those home-school connections:
- Smile When You See Parents
- Invite Parents to Share
- Communicate Often and in Various Forms
- Make Positive Communications to Home
- Lead with the Good News
- Actively Listen to Parents
- Thank Parents
River Bluff Education Center meets its 2017-18 Q-Comp Goals
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RBEC's 2017-18 Q-Comp Goals
CONGRATULATIONS on the awesome learning, RBEC Staff and Students! |
Red Wing Public Schools - Re-Building PBIS
Every child has a set of social skills. They may not match what we are expecting, but it is our job to help them practice and assess their progress. Embrace the logic of good, effective instruction, teaching social skills just like academic skills. Multiple resources are available for PBIS teams.
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Teachers and administrators from Sunnyside Elementary School, Twin Bluff Middle School, and Red Wing High School attended PBIS Tier 1 training in August at RBEC. All three schools have gone through the formal PBIS training in Mankato, but over time team members change. With changes in teams and staff members, programming efforts can use a boost from time to time. This 1 day refresher course allowed teams an opportunity to review all essential components of PBIS and to work out action plans for individual site work and transitions between sites within the district.
Spending part of their summer on this important collaboration allows the district an opportunity to jump start their Winger Pride. 
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Nicole Jack, GCED Director
of Special Education
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Rapid Round of Nicole's Favorites
Book - Serena (This book is about a girl growing up in a logging community in 1929, bought on recent trip to Tennessee; it helped her connect even more to the area she visited.) Movie - It's a Wonderful World TV Show - Drain the Lakes/Drain the Rivers Exercise/Sport - I love to walk. Disability - EBD Age Group to Teach - 8 to 12 year olds Food - Fresh veggies from the garden this time of year Veg out Activity - Watching mindless TV, any stupid show on Bravo |
We are happy to introduce and welcome Nicole Jack to Goodhue County. Nicole is GCED's new Director of Special Education, assigned to Red Wing Public Schools. Although new to GCED, she is not new to the area.
Her most recent position was here in Red Wing as the principal for Walter McGinnis High School, located on site at the Red Wing Correctional Facility. That position may sound a bit scary for some, certainly not for Nicole. She loved that job and enjoyed working with the students. She was able to witness their growth through building strong relationships. It is certainly a part of her professional why - to help students see the value in themselves.
Nicole grew up in River Falls, Wisconsin and attended the University of WI - Stout for her undergraduate college years. She knew she always wanted to be a teacher and Stout offered a vocational rehabilitation program; she worked with adults and students with TBI (traumatic brain injuries). After college she taught in public education, working at first with DCD (developmental cognitive delay) students. Until then, she had not been working with young children and found that she loved the young students and the work. She was hooked. She taught in Spring Valley and Boyceville, Wisconsin before moving to Illinois for 5 years. In Illinois she worked mostly with 11th and 12th graders in work study programs. At that time she was working on her administrative degree and ended up as an assistant principal. All was fine until her sister had a baby in the Lake Elmo area; Auntie Nicole knew it was time to “come home.” She continued her career in the Midwest as a transition coordinator for the Chisago Lakes School District, a special education supervisor at SCRED (St. Croix Education District) and then principal at Walter McGinnis High School.
Her career began with a focus on DCD, which is admittedly her second favorite disability to work with her. Those students know so much about others, yet they are not given that credit in Nicole’s experience. Although not licensed in the area, her favorite students are those served for EBD (emotional behavioral disorder). Nicole believes strongly that “the EBDers are truly the students that need help in seeing the value in themselves.” This is a challenge that can look differently for the Es and Bs. Nicole would like to see more recognition between the two and believes that someday the disability category may change to recognize that an emotional disorder can look much different than a behavioral disorder.
This summer Nicole was able to recharge before the school year. She recently returned from a week in Tennessee, where she enjoyed the Smoky Mountains. It brought back a happy memory of her last visit to Tennessee; she and her grandmother attended the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1992. Now hard at work for GCED and RWPS, Nicole is hopeful of a positive upcoming school year. Her greatest hope is that by working together she can help meet tier 1 needs; she hopes that more and more students get their academic and behavioral needs met prior to a referral for special education evaluation.
Equally so, she understands the challenges facing special education teachers today. They have abundant responsibilities with paperwork, data, student goals, and writing compliant IEPs that meet kids’ needs. Through this intensive work she offers this advice to all, “keep communicating with team members! No matter what, we need to keep talking about things. We need to keep having the tough conversations.” It is through those tough conversations that problem solving on our common goals can be strong.
Join us in welcoming Nicole to the team!
Her most recent position was here in Red Wing as the principal for Walter McGinnis High School, located on site at the Red Wing Correctional Facility. That position may sound a bit scary for some, certainly not for Nicole. She loved that job and enjoyed working with the students. She was able to witness their growth through building strong relationships. It is certainly a part of her professional why - to help students see the value in themselves.
Nicole grew up in River Falls, Wisconsin and attended the University of WI - Stout for her undergraduate college years. She knew she always wanted to be a teacher and Stout offered a vocational rehabilitation program; she worked with adults and students with TBI (traumatic brain injuries). After college she taught in public education, working at first with DCD (developmental cognitive delay) students. Until then, she had not been working with young children and found that she loved the young students and the work. She was hooked. She taught in Spring Valley and Boyceville, Wisconsin before moving to Illinois for 5 years. In Illinois she worked mostly with 11th and 12th graders in work study programs. At that time she was working on her administrative degree and ended up as an assistant principal. All was fine until her sister had a baby in the Lake Elmo area; Auntie Nicole knew it was time to “come home.” She continued her career in the Midwest as a transition coordinator for the Chisago Lakes School District, a special education supervisor at SCRED (St. Croix Education District) and then principal at Walter McGinnis High School.
Her career began with a focus on DCD, which is admittedly her second favorite disability to work with her. Those students know so much about others, yet they are not given that credit in Nicole’s experience. Although not licensed in the area, her favorite students are those served for EBD (emotional behavioral disorder). Nicole believes strongly that “the EBDers are truly the students that need help in seeing the value in themselves.” This is a challenge that can look differently for the Es and Bs. Nicole would like to see more recognition between the two and believes that someday the disability category may change to recognize that an emotional disorder can look much different than a behavioral disorder.
This summer Nicole was able to recharge before the school year. She recently returned from a week in Tennessee, where she enjoyed the Smoky Mountains. It brought back a happy memory of her last visit to Tennessee; she and her grandmother attended the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1992. Now hard at work for GCED and RWPS, Nicole is hopeful of a positive upcoming school year. Her greatest hope is that by working together she can help meet tier 1 needs; she hopes that more and more students get their academic and behavioral needs met prior to a referral for special education evaluation.
Equally so, she understands the challenges facing special education teachers today. They have abundant responsibilities with paperwork, data, student goals, and writing compliant IEPs that meet kids’ needs. Through this intensive work she offers this advice to all, “keep communicating with team members! No matter what, we need to keep talking about things. We need to keep having the tough conversations.” It is through those tough conversations that problem solving on our common goals can be strong.
Join us in welcoming Nicole to the team!
Remember that you have access to free resources through Infinitec.