Goodhue County Education District
  • About Us
    • Progress Newsletter >
      • Progress Oct. 2019
    • Contact Us >
      • GCED Directory
    • Governance
    • Career Opportunities
    • Extra Distance Honors
  • Programs and Services
    • Alternative Education >
      • Alternative Schools
      • Credit Recovery
      • Online, FuelEd
      • Targeted Services and Extended Year
    • Autism Spectrum Newsletter
    • Early Childhood
    • English Learners
    • PSEO Options
    • River Bluff Education Center
    • SE Perkins Consortium
    • Special Education
  • MTSS
    • Behavior Support Observation Referral
  • Parent/Student Tools
    • Student Resources
    • Advisory Council
    • Advocacy Tools
    • Student Assessment
    • English Learners
  • Staff Resources
Inside this issue
  • When Change Doesn't Require Change
  • SEA/Students Experiential Adventures: Feed My Starving Children
  • RBEC Science/Art Project
  • We are Grateful
  • ​​​In the Spotlight: Sonia Smith, Director of Special Education/RW
Important Upcoming Events/Meetings

November 4       RBEC PD/Workday
November 6       Social Worker Cohort
                        Birth - 3 Cohort
November 7       AT Cohort
November 12     EBD Cohort
November 13     Birth - 3 Cohort
November 14     Principals Meeting, including ACEs Training
November 15     MAG - MN Assessment Group
November 18     Special Education Leadership Team Meeting
November 20     Superintendent Council
                        Coaches PLCs
November 21     R180 Universal Cohort - PLC & PD
November 22     School Psychologist Cohort
November 28     Happy Thanksgiving
The Progress, November 2019:
​Volume 5, Issue 3

The Progress archive
Click here to view past issues from the current school year.
Comments? Suggestions for new articles?
Contact Jillynne Raymond, jraymond@gced.k12.mn.us


Picture


When Change Doesn't Require Change

Picture
by Weston Johnson

I try to find the humor in improvement efforts that are simply name changes for what is already known and should already be implemented by previous initiatives. Sure, there might be a little bit more to it but usually it’s not a lot more. The current name change I’m seeing in the area of literacy is going from “Balanced” to “Structured” literacy. Who comes up with these names?

Balanced Literacy.
  • Where did it come from? Balanced literacy came about after the Reading Wars and became prominent with the Common Core State Standards and the Reading Workshop framework (the Daily 5 and CAFÉ trend). Also, it was tied to gradual release of responsibility and explicit instruction.
  • What is it? At its core, balanced literacy is the instruction of balanced proportions of literacy elements based on the developmental needs of students. A quick list of literacy elements includes: print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, literature and informational comprehension, writing, language (and vocabulary), and speaking & listening. Instruction of these elements should be balanced based on the developmental needs of students. For example, kindergartners need instruction with print concepts while 5th graders do not. (See image to the right)
  • Problems? The Reading Wars of the past still echo today. Educators may not be aware of the evidence-based outcomes of this educational fight. Educators may still be fighting for what is effective. Educators may still disagree with the need to teach foundational reading skills using effective practices. Nonetheless, balanced literacy has been criticized for (a) focusing too much on reading skills isolated from the content of a text, (b) not emphasizing effective instruction of reading skills (i.e., allowing whole language to reemerge), and (c) when foundational reading skills are emphasized, they are not done so in a systematic (or structured) manner.

Structured Literacy.
  • Where it came from? Structured literacy appears to be emerging out of the disapproval of balanced literacy outcomes and lingering concerns that evidence-based skills are not being taught.  It is commonly estimated that up to 15% - 20% students having symptoms of Dyslexia. Based on this, it almost seems long overdue for Dyslexia to have the spotlight in education. The International Dyslexia Associate includes structured literacy as a part of its knowledge and practice standards.
  • What is it? It is the systematic instruction of literacy which teaches reading elements (i.e., phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax, and semantics) in a cumulative way that reviews previously learned skills and introduces new skills based on a developmentally appropriate progression. 
  • Problems? While not new, this specific approach is emerging more broadly, but I’d expect others to argue that (a) too much control over word recognition skills negatively impact generalization to less controlled texts and (b) too much attention to word recognition will negatively affect reading comprehension (the overall goal for reading).
    ​
What is my take?
Well, you’ve read this far, so you’re either bored or care about my opinions to some degree. My thoughts are that we need balanced literacy instruction that provides skill instruction for literacy elements based on proportions appropriate for students’ developmental needs, and we need to provide instruction that has a structured sequence for skills that is developmentally appropriate, cumulative, and systematic. You have to have it!

Again, if we only take these two approaches (i.e., balanced and structured literacy) on the surface level, we will be stuck with the “problems” and be calling for something new in 5-10 years. What we need is “effective” literacy instruction. This name never changes! Yet, it still allows for literacy instruction to improve overtime.

Lastly, if schools (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) are going to have effective universal learning supports (Tier 1) with a guaranteed and viable curriculum (Core) that is aligned across increasingly intensive support (Tier 2-3), they will need to (a) know what to teach developmentally and in proportion to other skills, (b) develop a structured sequence, and (c) provide explicit instruction of those literacy skills. If you don’t have it, you’re going to keep looking for it when change doesn’t require change for those who have it. 


SEA/Students Experiential Adventures: Feed My Starving Children



 RBEC Science/Art Project: Mummy and Sarcophagus Science

Picture
RBEC middle school teacher Pam Hellsten's mummy and sarcophagus science/art project.
sar·coph·a·gus
/särˈkäfəɡəs/
Learn to pronounce
noun
noun: sarcophagus; plural noun: sarcophagi
  1. a stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece.
GCED special education teacher Pam Hellsten is no stranger to embedding multiple standards into a project. Her students may be in multiple grades, thus have multiple grade level standards, and have varying degrees of skills; this is the world of special education.  The standards are important to her; she wants all of her students to be successful and designing projects that connect the learning dots help her and them.  

The photo above represents students' work, but I wanted to know more so I went to the source - our students, the learners. The first question was so obvious, but it had to be asked - what does sarcophagus mean? Three of Pam's students answered and then 2 of those 3 students went further and demonstrated their knowledge. Without prodding, Kellann Stachowski and Mason Howe were able to recall their learning and that:
  • Sarcophagi is the plural for sarcophagus.
  • A sarcophagus is like a coffin, but different. Both hold a dead body. The sarcophagus is more to keep the body preserved. Sometimes a sarcophagus would go in a coffin before burial.
  • In ancient times they emptied the brains of the body (before it becomes a mummy) with homemade tools. A hammer and stone could create a hole in the head, plus the insides came out of their noses too. To help get to the brains, they had a little hook for a tool that they pushed up the nose to pull the brains out.  This empty space would be filled with sawdust. 
  • In addition to the brains, they would take all of the guts and organs out. They preserved them in separate jars with salt. The heart was the only organ not removed because it was so special. 
Pam's experience has been that connecting the disciplines helps connect the dots for her students' learning. The boys would possibly agree; they surprised themselves how much they could recall from the unit. 


We are grateful.

Picture
RBEC teacher Stephanie Schiltz is grateful for the love and support from her family. She and her husband Lance welcomed Malcolm to the family on 10/27/19; he joins big sister Aria.
RBEC Students and Staff Members are grateful for...
  • ​Pizza Parties
  • My Uncle who is helping my Dad get it together
  • Being accepted
  • Having Mondays off
  • My Mom's doctor's prediction being wrong...my mom does NOT have cancer
  • My life and being a part of society 
  • Being in the fast lane
  • Having new winter tires
  • A family, good health and a job I enjoy

I am very grateful to work for a district that supports my continuing education as an occupational therapist!  Thanks to GCED, I've taken a variety of worthwhile courses that have helped me learn skills and best practices for working with families and children with special needs.  I'm also thankful to GCED for ordering the OT supplies and books that help me in my job with children of all ages - thanks Cherie & Cindy!

Plus, I'm thankful to work on teams with many caring, smart, creative, and supportive co-workers. Plus thankful that I get paid to play with kids and help them develop their skills!                                                                                                - Mary Testen
Picture
We are grateful to welcome another GCED baby, Berkely Quinn Mattson. Her mom, Tess, is one of our school psychologists.
Picture
These witches are grateful for ALL of our ghosts and goblins.
Picture
I am grateful for so much! Just one of the things that I am grateful for is that you are reading our newsletter. To help show my appreciation, send me an email with the words "Jillynne is grateful" in the subject line. If I receive yours first, I will send you a "fabulous" prize. You rock - thanks!  - Jillynne, jraymond@gced.k12.mn.us

Step Students are Grateful for Crafting 

We are Grateful for Collaboration

​On Tuesday, November 12, Student Support Services Night was held at Lincoln High School in conjunction with parent-teacher conferences.

Parents had an opportunity to meet with representatives of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, SE Minnesota Center for Independent Living, and Ugly Dog Therapy. Also, they met with educators associated with the PAES (Practical Assessment Exploration System) Lab, and STEP
(Secondary Transition Education Program), which are both housed at the River Bluff Education Center in Red Wing.

Teacher Siri Vollan coordinated guests so that students and parents learn about things such as:
  • the many aspects of acquiring a job;
  • procuring a driver's license;
  • conservatorship;
  • finding places to live after graduation;
  • the job exploration lab and how it prepares students with job skills and gives them a glimpse into real job situations; and
  • how STEP supports 18 to 21-year-olds continuing to work on transition goals.
Thank you to Alicia Bonner, Allen Chandler, Jenny Langness, Earl, Albert and Betty, Liz Diggins, Abby Wiley, and Stacey Anderson for lending their expertise for the evening.
Picture
Picture
Picture


Picture


​In the Spotlight:  Sonia Smith, Director of Special Education/RW

PictureSonia Smith, Director of Special Education/RW
Have you heard? We have a new Director of Special Education assigned to Red Wing; help us welcome Sonia Smith.

Sonia is “a California Girl! I was born and raised near Los Angeles, California,” graduating from Morningside High in the 1980s. She grew up in a strong church family and participated in many youth activities that helped shaped the woman that she is today.  

“I am a multi-degree college grad, which is code for I was searching for what I really wanted to do.” During that search she earned the following degrees:
  • Bachelor of Science and Master’s of Art in Organizational Leadership and Development from Biola University
  • ​Master’s of Science in Special Education from the University of North Texas
  • Master’s of Science in Professional Counseling from Grand Canyon University
Sonia pretended to be a teacher when playing as a child and always loved education. Her true ambition
was to help people become the best version of themselves; “I naturally went into teaching with the hope to make that type of difference.”


That love of education and learning continues. Sonia is currently completing her last semester of Law School. She is earning her J.D. with ADR certification from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. The degree,
J.D. is a Juris Doctorate (law) and ADR stands for Alternative Dispute Resolution. With a doctorate, there
​is usually a dissertation involved. With a J.D. degree candidates write a paper equivalent to a dissertation. Sonia’s paper focused on the “pipeline-to-prison” concept and wrongful convictions. She was interested in studying the connections between the students served in special education and those of that population that also found themselves in jail or prison later.


My background and strong interest in helping to address the needs in special education led me to this journey. My hope is that my law degree and alternative dispute resolution certification, coupled with my other degrees and experience will help me to be a more well-rounded participator and voice at the table of discussion that is designed to make the best decisions on behalf of kids. 

It is easy to see Sonia’s professional why when you get to know her. To expedite that process, when asked about her professional why - why this job, why this challenging work, why now? - her own words say it best:

          I am all about making a difference. I worked hard to be a valuable player in an area that I believe has been overlooked or misunderstood            for some time, special education. I accepted various roles that I thought would give me the best opportunity to make a difference. I was            an elementary, middle, and high school teacher by choice. I was a campus and district administrator, and I’ve even worked at the state              level to support students and special education departments. At this point in my career, I felt that I was ready to narrow my focus on                  one district, as opposed to many, and join a team that has the same goal as I do, which is to make a difference for students. The work              of education, in any role, is a challenge. I chose the one I thought best aligns with my current skills and allows me to possibly make the              greatest difference.

This certainly aligns with her personal why as well; she enjoys watching others become their best self. “I do what I do because I want to be a contributor to the change I’d like to see.” She sees the value added to her life when she is able to help a student or family. 
The value does not come without challenges. From Sonia’s lens, the greatest challenge in public education today is “making the right choices for students we don’t fully understand and making decisions that have a lasting impact with limited resources.” Alongside that is the greatest opportunity in public education - to meet the “challenging needs of our students of today and making a difference for future generations.”

Sonia has a personal investment in those future generations as well. The shining stars of her life are her own children. Son Albert, 19, is a sophomore at Bethel University and daughter Soniya, 15, is a sophomore at EastView High School.


Red Wing is in good hands; welcome Sonia!



“The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.”
                                      –Edward Buller-Lyton
Picture

         


​​Remember that you have access to free resources through Infinitec. 
        


Privacy/Disclaimer Statements
District Policies
Goodhue County Education District, 395 Guernsey Lane, Red Wing, MN 55066         651-388-4441      
Goodhue County Education District is a group of six southeastern Minnesota school districts: Cannon Falls, Goodhue, Kenyon-Wanamingo, Lake City, Red Wing and Zumbrota-Mazeppa. Working  together, the districts provide effective and efficient educational services and funding for special education programs, staff development, extended and alternative summer school services.