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The
A Message from Dr. Bell
Connector April 2016
There is nothing better than a freaky little spring snow storm to slow things down enough to catch up with assigned tasks like writing a Connector article. The verdict is still out on my March Madness bracket this year but things are not looking good. You will probably get my sad results next month unless Dr. Roy Williams comes through for me. At least I can fight through my grief and focus on the wonderful ESU 10 mission: “To partner with stakeholders to meet changing needs through professional expertise in providing services, learning opportunities and support.” It appears after almost all of the school visits that the ESU 10 staff is doing their usual outstanding job of meeting school district needs. It appears that next year will also be a staff reloading year because of the number of new employees approved by the ESU 10 Board of Directors over the past few months. It is always sad to lose quality, dedicated staff members. It is also heartening to discover new, talented individuals who will continue to drive the ESU 10 mission forward. The budget adoption cycle for 2016-17 is picking up steam. Whisper in a staff member’s ear if there any programs or services you would like to see happen at ESU 10. We already have some good suggestions that are being considered. ESU 10 recently got involved in the AESA (Association of Educational Service Agencies) Student Loan Forgiveness Program. I’m waiting for the latest figures, but as of March 7th , 277 employees from across the ESU 10 region have contacted the company. Of those, 176 met all of the criteria and are qualified for the program. This is exciting for us to help so many people deal with student loan debt. I can’t wait to see the final numbers for the year.
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I am also happy to report that another national AESA sponsored company, Citelighter, is moving forward in the ESU 10 region. This product is designed to make stronger writers, faster. It is purported to be the complete digital writing tool for more confident writers. Six ESU 10 school districts have expressed interest in the program and school district staff members will soon be trained as the initial Pilot School participants. More information will be shared later as we get reports from Burwell, Elm Creek, Litchfield, SEM, Shelton, and Wood River. I will end this article with a random quote that I read this week that makes sense at this time of year. I don’t know who to attribute it to but it is said that there is only one time of the year where it is safe to put all of your eggs in one basket. I hope you had a Happy Easter!
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ESU 10 Workshops
April 04 Special Education Quarterly Meeting 05 NWEA - Nebraska Regional Partner Meeting 06 PowerSchool - PowerScheduler Prepare to Load 07 Teaching in a Digital World 12 Art Teachers’ Networkshop 12 LAN Manager Meeting 13 Title I Cooperative Spring Meeting
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20 Title III Program Review Technical Assistance 27 Invention Convention 28 Suicide Prevention
May 10 Perkins Program of Study Data Reporting 24 Structured Teaching (2 days) 24 PowerSchool-End of Year Process 26 NSSRS Workday 27 Introduction to High Functioning Autism
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Multi-Tiered System of Supports While most ESU 10 schools applying Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) work to improve academic outcomes, some schools are working to improve students’ social/emotional/behavioral learning outcomes. According to Elias et al. (1997), social and emotional learning (SEL) is “the capacity to recognize and manage emotions, solve problems effectively, and establish positive relationships with others, competencies that clearly are essential for all students.” A 2015 cost-benefit analysis was completed by Teachers College of Columbia University which concluded, “ ‘for every dollar invested [in SEL]…there is a return of eleven dollars, a substantial economic return’ as measured by school and community benefits such as enhanced educational outcomes (e.g., attendance rates, test scores, graduation rates), reduced crime, lowered substance abuse, and decreased teen suicide attempts.” Given this information, the benefit of this type of MTSS work is obvious.
by Patrice Feller, MTSS Facilitator/Coach
on this during the 2016-2017 year. Schools recognize that academic outcomes are supported when social/emotional/ behavioral outcomes are developed in an integrated manner. References Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Frey, K. S., Greenberg, M. T., Haynes, N. M., Kessler, R., Schwab-Stone, M. E., & Shriver, T. P. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning: Guidelines for educators. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Kansas State Department of Education. (2015). Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports: MTSS Integrated Structuring Guide. Topeka, KS: Kansas MTSS Project, Kansas Technical Assistance System Network.
According to an MTSS model, SEL is systematically taught universally to all students in Tier 1. Schoolwide behavioral expectations are established and taught across all environments. Once a solid foundation is developed, schools can more easily focus on intervening with students who have not yet learned social/emotional/behavioral skills. The intensity of support to students matches their level of need in Tiers 2 and 3.
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To help schools with this process, four members of the ESU 10 MTSS team attended the training “5 Social and Behavioral Interventions in 1 Day” in Salina, KS, on February 10. Patrice Feller, Nicole Langrud, Stacey RomickImig, and Jennifer Rumery prepared to lead schools in developing five focused classroom strategies which support classroom management at all Tiers. These research-based strategies include Behavior Specific Praise and Feedback, Opportunities to Respond/Explicit Instruction, Active Supervision, Instructional Choice, and Pacing and Active Engagement. Development of these strategies will align with ESU 10’s current Academic Literacy Project. The team also prepared to bring back information to share with ESU 10 schools on research-based Tier 2 and 3 interventions such as Check-In/Check-Out, Behavioral Contracts, Behavior Specific Praise, Self-Monitoring, and Mentoring. There are two MTSS teams currently structuring up to implement the social/emotional/behavioral model of MTSS: Ravenna Public Schools and Broken Bow Public Schools. Several other districts have expressed interest in working CC0 Public Domain
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Academic Quiz Bowls
by Dallas Lewandowski, T & L Coordinator
The 27th Annual Academic Middle School and High School Quiz Bowls sponsored by ESU 10 were held in March at the University of Nebraska Kearney. The purpose of the quiz bowl competition is to encourage higher order thinking, recognize outstanding achievement, and promote academic excellence among participating High School and Middle School students. 32 schools participated in the both High School and Middle School Quiz Bowls. Congratulations to the winning teams!
Middle School (Grades 6-8) Team Results
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1st Place - Kearney Sunrise
2nd Place - Kearney Zion Lutheran
3rd Place - Grand Island Westridge
4th Place - Broken Bow
76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
Academic Quiz Bowls (cont.) High School (Grades 9-12) Team Results
1st Place - Kearney High
2nd Place - Grand Island Northwest 5
3rd Place - Grand Island Public
4th Place - Gothenburg Public
Ron Cone, Director of Network and Information Services at ESU 10, has been elected to the board of National Association of Media and Technology Centers as a Region at Large representive.
76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
Teaching and Learning Workshop
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76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
“Just in Time” Training One of the frustrations I experience in my role as a school psychologist is encountering a student for whom my experience or expertise is inadequate. This frustration is occasionally increased by learning that there was training on a particular needed topic that occurred just days or a week prior to my recognizing I would need it. Similarly, I have been exasperated in my role as the coordinator of the Central Region Autism Spectrum Disorder team when, immediately after having hosted or presented training which I believed to have been well advertised, I have a teacher or administrator approach me to request support in learning about a topic that was just addressed. In the past, my response has been to use my self-regulation tools to remain calm and then provide the person making the request a list of books, authors, video or links to access. Now, however, I am relieved to have an alternative option. The option is a result of the joint efforts of the Tri-State Autism Network Collaborative which includes the Colorado Department of Education, the Tertiary and Autism Behavior Support Network (TASN) in Kansas, and the Nebraska ASD Network. This collaboration has resulted in invaluable resources that support what I am calling, due to their accessibility at any time, “just-in-time” trainings. These “just-in-time” trainings are, in reality, relatively short webinars that can be accessed at any time on the internet. The Tri-State Autism Network Collaborative provides training on a wide variety of topics that address the needs of students with autism, their teachers and their administrators. For example, does your district have a need, due to a student moving in mid-year, to provide a paraprofessional some basic information about autism or highfunctioning autism? If so, accessing the Nebraska ASD Network website’s list of webinars at http://www.unl.edu/ asdnetwork/webinars reveals a solution. There are webinars on both topics. Perhaps, your music, art or physical education teacher would like to increase the participation of individuals with autism in their classroom. They can watch “Including Students with ASD in Specialist Classes” (Art, PE, Music, Computer, etc.). If you are a resource teacher looking to increase the predictability and success of individuals for whom you provide programming for much of the day, consider utilizing the five-part series on “Elements of Structured Teaching.” As a school psychologist considering verification of a student on the spectrum, accessing “Educational Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders” or the two part series on “Catatonia and Autism: Hidden in Plain Sight” with presenters Ruth Aspy and Barry Grossman
by Dawna Sigurdson, ESU 10 School Psychologist
may be just what you need. Administrators may want to check out, “Administrators and ASD: What You Need to Know.” If you are a general educator who bemoans the lack of organization, planning, and prioritizing skills demonstrated by students, both those with and without autism, the series on executive function, especially those by Sara Ward “Executive Functioning Skills: STOP” and “Job Talk - Developing Independent Executive Function Skills” are not to be missed. You may think, “That’s fine, I work with young children.” The TriState Autism Network Collaborative has considered the needs of teachers of children of all ages. “Every Second Counts: Embedding Functional Learning throughout the School Day” provides information and video examples of using routines to teach functional skills to young children with autism. However, these same principals are helpful for learners of all ages. If you are a teacher of a student transitioning from one school building to another or from one classroom to another, consider “Transitions: Class to Class and Building to Building” as a support to your student. Information on working with older students who may be making a transition to other environments will also be addressed. This article has included many, but not all, of the topics addressed in the webinars available on the NE ASD website. They are accessible without charge and vary in length from about 30-60 minutes. Each webinar has an accompanying PowerPoint handout of the slides which generally include resources. Many webinars have additional information. There are currently 42 titles that accessed “just-in-time” to meet your needs as an educator who is eager to learn about autism. Take a moment to consider the topics; right now might be the right time for a “just-in-time” training.
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To access the webinars, visit http://www.unl.edu/asdnetwork/webinars.
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Danielson Framework for Teaching
by Susan Evans, Teaching and Learning Coordinator
Charlotte Danielson is the author of Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. This book is being studied by our schools who wish to adopt this framework for instruction and other areas of teacher responsibilities. I had the honor of attending the Danielson training of trainer series at ESU 3 in Omaha. This is a six-day series over the course of the 2015-16 school year. In the Danielson framework the complex job of teaching is divided into four domains. These domains are further divided into 5 or 6 components which are divided into elements that describe a specific feature of each component. For example, Domain 2, The Classroom Environment contains five components. Component 2a is Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport, which consists of two elements: “teacher interaction with students” and “student interactions with other students.” Below you will find what we call the Smart Card that serves as a reference to the framework. Every profession has developed a language of practice. This specialized language of practice allows educators to communicate about teaching and learning excellence. When conversations about effective practice are organized around a framework like Danielson’s they become focused and lead to better instruction. There are several great reasons to have professional conversations based on a framework for teaching, two of them are important to improving instruction and learning. First, the framework should be used for self-assessment and reflection. Even though we think of self-assessment and reflection as individual activities they are enhanced when we are able to discuss our individual practice with colleagues using a common language of instruction. Not only do we need to self-assess but this is a new era of education where teachers are being expected to watch other teachers and provide each other with productive feedback. Next we must think about improving our practice each year we teach. Using a framework for teaching allows every teacher to consider their individual growth. We don’t all need to work on the same aspect of teaching at the same time or in the same way. The older methods of evaluation didn’t allow for growth. All teachers were evaluated in the same manner. With this framework the person in charge of evaluations can focus on improving instruction one teacher at a time. This framework provides a road map for novice teachers and guidance for experienced teachers. The continuous school improvement process can be enhanced using the framework. It can help identify where a school system can focus their efforts. These conversations focus on the means not the ends and are conducted in an environment that is safe and respectful.
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Danielson’s Framework for Teaching can help professional educators to improve our complex practice. Teaching is physically, emotionally, and cognitively demanding but with the use of a framework that defines effective practice we can all improve our instruction to improve the lives of all our students. 76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
Regional Science Olympiad
by Dianah Steinbrink, Teaching and Learning Coordinator
On March 21, 2016 we had 470 competing students from 22 Nebraska schools attend the Regional Science Olympiad competition held at the University of Nebraska, Kearney. Students competed in active, hands-on group events that range from robot arm to elastic launched gliders and forensics – all of which tests the students’ science knowledge and engineering skills. One of Science Olympiad’s main goals is to bring academic competition to the same level of recognition and praise normally reserved for athletic competitions. Much like a football or soccer team, competitive Science Olympiad teams prepare throughout the year for tournaments. Students, teachers, coaches, principals and parents bond together and work toward a shared goal. Participating schools from Middle School or Jr. High and Senior High levels included Adams Central, Alma, Axtell, Brady, Cambridge, Central Valley, Centura, Elba, Elm Creek, Elwood, Grand Island Northwest, Gothenburg, Loup City, Ogallala, Ord, Paxton, Ravenna, SEM, Hastings St. Cecilia, St. Paul, Walnut Middle School in Grand Island, and York. Division B (grades 6-9) Team Results 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 4th Place 5th Place 6th Place
Paxton Hastings St. Cecilia Ord SEM Alma Cambridge
Division C (grades 9-12) Team Results 1st Place Ord & Ogallalla 3rd Place Adam Central 4th Place Ravenna 5th Place Cambridge 6th Place Gothenburg
Ord High School
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Paxton Middle School
Ogallalla High School
76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
Write Tools Summer Workshops
WRITE TOOLS
SUMMER WORKSHOPS REGISTER ON ODIE Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
June 14
June 15
June 16
Informative & Explanatory Writing
Multi-Paragraph & Compare/Contrast Writing K-12 teachers/ Administrators
Primary Level Writing
K-12 teachers/ Administrators
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K-2 Teachers ESL Teachers Special Ed Teachers
Contact: Dallas Lewandowski dalewand@esu10.org
76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
Teaching and Learning Workshop
ENSURING
MATHEMATICAL
SUCCESS FOR ALL PRESENTED BY
DANIEL J. BRAHIER ENSURING
PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS EDUCATION BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY IN OHIO
MATHEMATICAL
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JUNE 13, 2016
8:30 AM TO 3:30 PM ESU 10 ROOMS B&C 76 PLAZA BOULEVARD KEARNEY, NE 68845
7‐12 GRADE TEACHERS
For more information and to register:
https:odie.esu10.org > Workshops
76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org
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76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org