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Inside this issue
Important Upcoming Events/Meetings
September 5, 2017 Welcome back Students in CF, GD, KW, LC & ZM! September 6, 2017 Welcome back Students in RW! September 7, 2017 GCED Day - Make-up September 13, 2017 RBEC Late Start September 15, 2017 ADSIS/Coaches PLC September 20, 2017 Superintendent Council September 25, 2017 SPED Leadership Team October 5, 2017 Principals Meeting October 10, 2017 Sonday I Training @ RBEC 
Fall Assessment Window September 6-26, 2017 |
The Progress, September 2017: Volume 3, 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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The New School Year: It Takes all of Us!
By Cherie Johnson
Welcome to the 2017-18 academic school year! At this time of year it is only natural for me to reflect on the 11 years that I have been in this position. I am quite fortunate for my position because I love my job, honestly. I love working with you, working to clear things out of your way so that you can do your job. This collaborative problem solving brings me great joy; it fills my bucket!
It is estimated that educators make up to 35,000 decisions in the course of a day. The majority of those decisions come from problem solving one situation or another. I encourage you to think with your head and your gut as you problem solve this year. We are all going to fail multiple times, and that is okay; it is a part of the process. Some of you may have an evaluation that doesn't go quite right. Some of you will design a beautiful lesson and it will flop. Some of you may struggle as you learn SpedForms. It's okay. Own the failure and pick up the pieces; it is all a part of the learning process.
What is important to remember is that we have each other. You may need to lean on a teammate or you may need to step in and let a teammate lean on you. It truly takes all of us and we are in good hands with YOU on the team.
As I collaborate with each of you, I learn so much about you. The words you use and the areas you emphasize when you advocate for your students helps me understand your why, or your purpose for doing this important work. I am so glad that you chose this work. Public education is a challenging field. It is also a field in which we have great opportunity to make a difference in others' lives. I continue to be in awe with your commitment to make those differences. Thank you...it takes all of us. Together, it's going to be an awesome school year!
Welcome to the 2017-18 academic school year! At this time of year it is only natural for me to reflect on the 11 years that I have been in this position. I am quite fortunate for my position because I love my job, honestly. I love working with you, working to clear things out of your way so that you can do your job. This collaborative problem solving brings me great joy; it fills my bucket!
It is estimated that educators make up to 35,000 decisions in the course of a day. The majority of those decisions come from problem solving one situation or another. I encourage you to think with your head and your gut as you problem solve this year. We are all going to fail multiple times, and that is okay; it is a part of the process. Some of you may have an evaluation that doesn't go quite right. Some of you will design a beautiful lesson and it will flop. Some of you may struggle as you learn SpedForms. It's okay. Own the failure and pick up the pieces; it is all a part of the learning process.
What is important to remember is that we have each other. You may need to lean on a teammate or you may need to step in and let a teammate lean on you. It truly takes all of us and we are in good hands with YOU on the team.
As I collaborate with each of you, I learn so much about you. The words you use and the areas you emphasize when you advocate for your students helps me understand your why, or your purpose for doing this important work. I am so glad that you chose this work. Public education is a challenging field. It is also a field in which we have great opportunity to make a difference in others' lives. I continue to be in awe with your commitment to make those differences. Thank you...it takes all of us. Together, it's going to be an awesome school year!
L to R: RBEC Teacher Emily Grobe and RBEC Social Worker Matt Rodgers with keynote speaker Willow Sweeney.
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Living above the line.
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Keynote Speaker Willow Sweeney addresses all educators on GCED Day 2017.
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MTSS Assessment Framework: FastBridge Learning
All of our member districts are using FastBridge Learning with the 2017-2018 GCED Assessment Framework. Below are materials to help the continued work including: (1) 2017-18 GCED Wide Assessment Window, (2) GCED Assessment Framework, (3) Training Modules aligned with Framework, (4) Benchmark Planning for Screening, and (5) 2016-17 Summary of Effectiveness Data.
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Life Space Crisis Intervention Training at RBEC
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Many Minnesota schools including most of our member districts' schools, and schools country-wide, have implemented PBIS in their districts with the support of the MN Department of Education (MDE) and the US Department of Education; these schools have felt the impact of explicitly teaching the behaviors expected of students. MDE recognizes that PBIS works well for most schools; they also recognize that there are additional behavior challenges for federal setting IV programs. Because of that, MDE offered a competitive grant to help build staff capacity to work with students that have extreme behavior challenges. GCED applied for and was awarded such a grant.
One part of the grant has been to consult and work with Danielle Theis, a licensed Psycho Therapist and Setting IV Principal. Her consulting work is helping us build a trauma informed paradigm. One aspect of that paradigm is the use of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI); from the LSCI website: Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) is an internationally recognized, professional training and certification program. It offers advanced, interactive therapeutic strategies for turning crisis situations into learning opportunities for children and youth with chronic patterns of self-defeating behaviors. LSCI views problems or stressful incidents as opportunities for learning, growth, insight, and change. This non-physical intervention program provides professionals and parents with a road map through conflict, using crisis as an opportunity to teach and create positive relationships with youth. It is essential that the adults' communication - verbal and nonverbal - is nonjudgmental as they work with students through the 6 stages of LSCI:
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LSCI Institute's Mission: The Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute trains staff to turn crises into learning opportunities and build trusting relationships with children and youth. "My hope for implementing LSCI is that through effective usage of this strategy we improve our ability to turn crisis situations into learning opportunities for children and youth with chronic patterns of self-defeating behaviors." - Maggie Helwig, RBEC Principal |
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Research blah, blah....does the word "research" make you tune out? I get it. Perhaps you are on research overload, perhaps you are tired of research based interventions; whatever your perhaps, hang in there another few moments. When it comes to YOU, the teacher research tells us a great deal. Thanks to educational research we know....
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