Assessment tools to address behavior concerns

Please make sure you respond to the information sent to you on 12/10 (email) prior to Christmas break regarding current assessment tools and practices in your zone for evaluating preschool age children with behavior concerns.

Reactions to Deployment

Infants, toddler's and preschooler's (0-5 years):
Infants sense or absorb emotions from their parents. Young children can often feel more than they can explain or understand. This article tells about the reactions to deployment and the developmental needs in understanding development.


For more information on deployment and it's impact, please check out Linda Linn's 12/14 email - ICNs for Educators

Literature Resources for Military Families

Please note that there are several children's books about military families; this list should be shared with teachers, families and other community members who may want to purchase or access them through local libraries. (attached to email)

Military Families

I've attached an article that might be helpful to share with some families that addresses trauma events such as deployment, death, and homelessness, sad but realistic situations for some.

Copied with permission from The ZERO TO THREE publication
Hope and Healing: A Caregiver's Guide to Helping Young Children Affected by Trauma

Data Collection for Behavior Problems

We have just finished teaching the Positive Behavior Supports class to area preschool teachers and associates. Two of our department staff attended the training as well - Cheryl Peterson and Becky Buckridge!

There are several data collection sheets that you might be able to revise to use with teachers as you work with children with behavior concerns. I will attach them to the email.

Please don't forget about all the great behavior strategies and handouts that were given to you at the August department meeting as well. (Thanks to Marlene, Pat, and Denise)

EC/ECSE Preschool/ Zone Meetings

The Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education Preschool Meetings have now occurred in all zones. 50% of the districts attended the meetings and good discussions resulted.

A document entitled, "Preschool Responsibilities - AEA and LEA" will be distributed in the near future to all districts and our department. Gale and I meet with Jerry on Thursday of this week to get final approval.

The most profound statement made at these meetings, "Beginning in the fall of 2010, the AEA will discontinue case management of IEPs for preschool children due to capacity, equity and labor distribution."

Toy Chest

At this time of year I want to remind you of the TOY CHEST brochure that is designed to help families make good choices on appropriate toys for children. The toys are listed by age category and there are also tips on "how to encourage your child's development! If you do not have any brochures in your office, contact Gale at the Storm Lake office and she can van mail you the copies you request!

Cleaning Toys

What are you using to disinfect toys that you use with children - or have you done away with the toy bags ??? (Ha -Just checking!)

At a recent secretary meeting, a discussion occurred about ordering hand sanitizer and cleansing products for our home teachers. Right now each office is requesting their own product and running to Dollar General, etc. to pick it up. There is a possibility of ordering in bulk if we could agree on a "recommended best product" to use. Think about that and get back to me if you have a preference!

Online calendars and caseloads

Thank you to those that have submitted their updated caseloads! Please make sure that you also have your online calendar up to date and have allowed access for Gale and I to view your calendar. Here are the directions:
Go to AEA manager
Click 'edit my profile'
Click 'calendar permission'
Drop down box for 'permit staff member'
Click assign

Teacher Quality Documentation

The following information is from Sandy Spangler:
"The only time logs Teacher Quality wants submitted is through Basecamp. We do not want any paper copies of any time logs. Let's try to keep this simple and use minimal explanations when reporting time. Teacher Quality pay is for work outside the work day. In the time log in the Department's Basecamp, have each staff member put in the hours they worked outside the work day and in the Explanation column record such things as:

Read chapter 5 of IIIIIIIIII-TQ
Completed assignment-TQ
Worked on Grid of Services-TQ
Individual Coaching via Phone-TQ

All documented time must be in the logs and is due April 30th!

Central File Records

A question has been raised about the uniformity in the EA records going into the AEA central file for a child entering Part B services...

Please review Section 7: Early ACCESS Procedural Manual: Procedural Safeguards
Since Early ACCESS is legislated through IDEA, the records are considered educational records. Any information admitted to the record, including health information becomes part of the educational record and is protected under FERPA. Personal notes are not considered part of the educational record if they are not shared in any way. Once someone else has knowledge of the personal notes, they cease to be private and are part of the educational record.

The child's official educational record is maintained by the AEA due to the Regional Grantee responsibilites for Part C. AEAs maintain active and inactive files for Part B (3-21) and C (birth to 3). Once inactive, the official educational file, including all IFSP documents is maintained by the AEA. A child that leaves EA and is eligible for Part B, then .... EA record continues as the child's official ongoing educational record, and is maintained as an active Part B record. Child leaves EA and is not eligible for Part B, then ... AEA treats it as inactive file for 5 years after the child's 3rd birthday.

ECO MAPS and More

I'm interested in feedback from the Friday zone meeting structure. What went well? What would make it better?

I have had some eco-maps faxed or scanned to me from Ft. Dodge and Webster City office and will be looking forward to other zones responses as well.

Basecamp also worked as a way for me to view the SMART goals for BABES (Zone 2)and IFSP QUEENS (Zone 5 & 6)! Once basecamp training is completed in all zones, hopefully all groups will be able to upload their zone work into basecamp.

I'm still checking on "teacher quality" money and how it can be used. I have submitted my questions to the team and they meet this week. There are some additional TQ dollars for purchasing books or materials that may assist or promote our learning on our dept. topic. (See Fri. news from Oct 16) . That money is on and beyond the original TQ dollars, so stay tuned.

Early Learning Webinars

Visit the ISU Extension Early Learning Webinar Web site: www.extension.iastate.edu/childcare/earlylearning

The following webinar topics will be presented over the next months:
Science and Nature with Young Children
Children's Friendship Skills
Dramatic Play
Blocks
Math More than Numbers
Learning through Cooking
Sand and Water Play

2 hours credit for each webinar for DHS licensed or registered child care programs or for those working on CDA credential. Please share the information with sites that you visit!

Process over Product

I'm still learning about this BLOG stuff and quite frankly don't know how to attach a document to the post, so if anyone has some words of wisdom, please advise.

So I've attached a handout designed by an Iowa Lakes Community College Early Childhood student that really describes the product oriented "turkey" project vs. the process oriented "turkey" project.

I don't know about you, but as I go around to preschool classrooms, I am puzzled at some of the projects that are "all alike". This may be a brochure to share with early childhood providers as you wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. It may give them something to "gobble about!"

Technology

Several of the Basecamp trainings were rescheduled because Tonia VerHelst had sick children. Do try and attend a basecamp training as basecamp is where you will log your hours for teacher quality money. More to come on that topic!

Skype is another way for us to communicate with one another. Perhaps at the zone meeting you can teach each other how to use Skype and could try and Skype someone from another zone. Give it a try!

And did you know that you can check out video flip cameras from Ed Zimmerle in the Pocahontas office? The cameras are really handy for video taping a home visit, a classroom lesson, an interesting center or activity that may be happening. It records voice and picture. What next?

Zone Meeting

On Friday, Nov. 13 zone meetings will occur. It is my understanding that there will be time at each zone meeting for us to get together and extend our learning from our department meeting topics/priorities. Therefore, I've attached several documents for you to print prior to the meeting.

Each zone will need to determine a faciitator and proceed through the materials provided. Please contact me prior to the meeeting if you are unclear about what is expected during your time together.

It would be appropriate for a speech pathologist or OT or PT to join the zone meeting discussions, especially if they attended Dr. Robin McWilliam's presentation.

Tuesday

It is unfortunate that the department will NOT be able to meet in Storm Lake on Tuesday to support one another, make and take, and provide energy and laughter for all!

Guess this gives you an office day to reschedule missed appointments, complete mileage and medicaid for October, update caseloads and submit to Denise, finish IFSP/IEPs, etc. etc. We all need one of those unplanned dates to catch up!

Looks like the meeting has been rescheduled for November 30!

FINESSE

The Families in Natural Environments Scale of Service Evaluation (FINESSE) scale was completed by all home visitors prior to our Oct 2 department meeting with Dr. Robin Mc William.

Remember the 17 questions you addressed on the scale, focusing on your program's typical and ideal practices in providing quality, family-centered services to children with special needs birth to 5 years old? Each item was scored from 1 to 7. The top row number described a "typical" response. The bottom row number described where you would like your program to be (ideal) on this dimension.

The scores are important to look for "group consensus." Our target is to reach a score of 5 or greater for typical practice implementation in all areas. As a group, the areas we need to increase are: 1) Assessment for Intervention Planning - The ideal states: Routine-based interviews that focus on family functining, child engagemet, social relationships, and independence are used for intervention planning. 2) Family Outcomes/Goals - Family goals unrelated to the child are included in the IFSP along with child goals.

Vision camera

I've been told that the vision camera in Ft. Dodge is not working properly so I have been seeking information from our audiologist and vision specialist regarding the use of the camera. Here are the results:
MTI Photoscreener Condition:
Spencer– Good Condition
Storm Lake – Camera is working, battery is dead, must keep it plugged in all the time
Ft. Dodge – camera is not working properly

Film:
Spencer - 2 boxes on hand (40 pictures) Expiration date: 1/2009
Storm Lake – 1.5 boxes on hand (30 pictures)
Ft. Dodge – 2 boxes on hand (40 pictures) Expiration date: 1/2009

Do the home intervention teachers regularly request vision pictures?
Spencer – No, they only refer if they have vision concerns, if they have vision concerns it might be better to just refer them to an eye dr. for exam
Storm Lake – I screen all 0-3 referrals
Ft. Dodge – For new referrals, maybe, not consistent with all teachers

Is the process effective for making referrals for a vision exam with the local eye doctor or an ophthalmologist?
Spencer – Several referrals have been made for children to get their eyes examined
Storm Lake – Have had a handful of kids identified by screening, I tell them to call the eye dr. of their choice
Ft. Dodge – Jean Lemberg reads the results, no process in place for us to know the results


So now it's time to hear from you! Do you feel the vision screening checklist tool is sufficient? We can no longer purchase the current MTI photoscreener as it is outdated. The recommended replacement camera cost $4500, is that a good use of funding? I will be taking recommendations to Jerry Stremel and would appreciate your input.

Priorities Determined

It has been almost 30 days since Dr. Robin McWilliam presented research based information to our department regarding home based services. I have compiled the information regarding the top priorities that you were willing to implement.

Tammy Berger invited Wendy Barnard to join her for 2 home visits last Wednesday. The Routine Based Interview was conducted and several family based outcomes resulted. Thank you Tammy for being a leader!

More information coming at our Nov. zone meeting, but do feel free to "jump in" and try some new things when you are comfortable. Wendy can be reached by email wbarnard12@gmail.com

Caseloads due Nov. 6!

The end of the first quarter is quickly approaching. This week your priority is to complete IFSP and IEPs by Friday, the count date. After you've completed that important task, please take the time to update your caseload and email me a copy by Nov 6.

Remember, your caseload is a "snapshot" of what is currently on your plate. At any given time it may be low or high. This information helps me to know if there are folks out there that are "drowning" and if so, how we might be able to rescue them.

I'm not sure how the new general education problem solving process has affected your workload. You are no longer expected to submit the Intake/Referral form to me for 3-5 referrals. However, it is your responsibility to add those children that you are involved with onto your caseload. Remember, if you need to be gone for a length of time, I want to be able to look at your caseload and know how to "reassign" children that are on IFSP, IEPs, problem solving, or in the evaluation process.

.

You've got van mail!

Each office should be receiving van mail that includes the following documents from the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD):

• Disability Resource Library brochure (University of Iowa Health Care)
• Referral Guide to the Center for Disabilities and Development Services
• Centerlines Front and Center with Useful News for Familiies Newsletter
• All Services Flyer for Center for Disabilities and Development

The newsletter is the Summer 2009 issue. The newsletter is published four times a year and is available to subscribers at no cost. There is a postage paid postcard with each newsletter. Anyone interested in being added to the mailing list to receive the newsletter can submit their request by returning the postcard.

There are limited copies for each office, so please SHARE!

Dr. Robin McWilliam

Gale, Wendy Barnard, and I had a conference call this week with Dr. Robin McWilliam. We have ordered the Routine Based Interview video so that we can view an example of how the interview process works. Plans are being arranged for viewing the video during our zone meeting scheduled for Nov. 13.

If you are ready to try the RBI, feel free to do so. You may interview alone, or ask Wendy to accompany you and take notes for you. Either way is ok. You don't have to wait to see the video, if you are ready to start. If you are hesitant, it certainly is ok to wait and try the interview after viewing the video.

He did suggest that you plan to spend a minimum of one hour interviewing. If the interview doesn't last an hour, you probably haven't went deep enough and won't be able to write functional outcomes. At least 6 outcomes should be evident from the interview; and then you can help the family prioritize them.

Race/Ethnicity Letters

Remember, are required to collect the signed letter for any newly identified children ages 0-5. The letter can be found at http://www.aea8.k12.ia.us/en/programs_and_services/early_childhood/ifsp_templates/ and is labeled "Re-identification letter".

Once the letter is filled out and signed then you should turn in a copy of the letter to Tonia or Lisa.

You are not required to get this letter on any previously identified children that were already in the IMS system unless you have been contacted by Tonia or Lisa letting you know who they are still in need of.

There were 447 letters sent out for the already identified children and out of those there are only approximately 150 to collect yet. This number changes on a daily basis because everyone has been GREAT about following up with families.

If you have specific questions please feel free to contact Lisa Lohman

AEPSi -interactive

Many of you are familiar with the AEPS - Assessment, Evaluation, Programming System. Now there is an AEPSi - interactive version. The new online version generates child progress reports, raw scores, elgibility cut off scores in each curricula area, OSEP reports, group assessment, etc.

Some of the AEAs are considering purchasing the AEPSi together to receive a special coop rate.
If you want to look at the website for more information, you can check it out at http://www.aepsinteractive.com/

There will be a chance to attend a webinar in November to learn more about the capabilities of the new program. If you are interested in attending a webinar, please let me know and I will inform you of the date and time of the informational session. As you may know, you are able to join a webinar at your own computer, in your own office space. Joining the webinar does NOT commit us to being part of the system, it simply will give us more information to determine if this is a time saver tool that will help meet our assessment needs.

Zone District Meetings Scheduled

Jerry Stremel has scheduled Early Childhood & Early Childhood Special Education Preschool meetings in each zone. The zone coordinator and I will be joining Jerry to discuss:
What's changing? What's the role of the district? What's the role of the AEA? What are the quality indicators for preschool programs? (Information will be shared with you at a later date.)

You are welcome to attend, but certainly not required -!!!

WHEN: Wednesday, October 14, 9:00-12:00 WHERE: Fort Dodge AEA Office
WHEN: Wednesday, October 14, 1:00-4:00 WHERE: Trinity Lutheran Church, 1229 Kathy Lane, Webster City
WHEN: Monday, October 19, 9:00-12:00 WHERE: Pocahontas AEA Office
WHEN: Wednesday, November 11, 9:00-12:00 WHERE: Storm Lake AEA Office, Drive
WHEN: Wednesday November 11, 1:00-4:00 WHERE: Spencer Library, 21 East Third Street
WHEN: Tuesday, November 24, 9:00-12:00 WHERE: Algona AEA Office

Certified enrollment count and SPED count

Not sure if this makes sense or if you'll ever need this information, but Jerry Stremel asked me to pass it on to you, guess in case a district has questions???

Age for inclusion on the Certified Enrollment (Oct 1st) is that the youngster must be 3 by Sept 15th. The child needs to be 3 by that Sept date to be included in that certified enrollment.

Inclusion on the Weighted count for special education fund generation (last Friday in October) is having and IEP and of course the IEP prescribes special education services that would require assigning a weighting of 1.72 2.21 or 3.74.

A youngster not yet 3 on Sept 15th would not be included in the Oct 1st count, but could be included on the last Friday in October count for special education. No different than a child requiring a special education instructional (weighted) service moving in on October 21st.

New Child Find Procedures

By now we all should have had the opportunity to attend training on the new Child Find Procedures. For those of us that have been in the field for a number of years, it may have felt like a pendulum swing. The message sounded familiar to the "old way of doing business." If we suspect a disability we get consent for a full and individual evaluation. There are still unanswered questions and more training to come...

Since many of us also work in Early ACCESS, we are familiar with "looking at the whole child"and evaluating all areas of development. Now for IEP children, we need to consider all domains, but we do not need to evaluate all domains.

Change occurs over time. Hang in there!

Who Moved My Cheese?

Have you ever read the book, Who Moved My Cheese?

It's a book that talks about how each person reacts differently to change - some embrace change and move forward easily, others don't. That's sorda how I felt after the Friday workshop with Dr. Robin Mc William.

I would like to acknowledge the quality relationships and the child focused strategies that have been occurring at each and every home visit. As we continue to explore the research and new practices and perspectives, remember, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. For example, you wouldn't want to stop bringing a toy bag to a home that you've used your toy bag with for the last 6 months. As you get a new referral, be thinking about what new research based strategies you would like to apply. We will continue to refine our skills throughout the year.

What do I send on for IFSP Records

I've had some recent questions from both ends - the home teacher sending IFSP records on to the LEA and the classroom teacher wondering what records need to be sent, kept, etc.

So, I went to the EA procedural manual:
"Since Early ACCESS is legislated through IDEA, the records are considered educational records. Any information admitted to the record, including health information becomes part of the educational record and is protected under FERPA. The child’s official educational record is maintained by the AEA due to Regional Grantee responsibilities for Part C.

Most districts do NOT want all that info as they have no where to store it and don't use it. So, we are typically sending the last/most recent IFSP to the district and AEA discipline reports. Please have conversations with your receiving teacher, legally, they can have a copy of the entire file, but through discussion come to an agreement of what records they need/want. No release of information is needed to exchange between AEA and LEA, but you do need a release to share files/records with private programs.

Buddy Walk coming soon

4TH ANNUAL
BUDDY WALK
Sunday, October 11, 2009
John F. Kennedy
Memorial Park
1415 Nelson Ave.
Fort Dodge, IA
(Located 4 miles North of Fort Dodge
on county road P56)

Each year, parents of children with Down Syndrome have a "buddy walk" to raise awareness and support for children with down syndrome. Please encourage and invite new families that have children with down syndrome to participate in this wonderful networking activity. You as a teacher and advocate for children are also invited to attend. I've attended 2 of the past 3 years and found the experience valuable. I'll attach the brochure for details!

Email from Pat

"I had my 3 month check-up at Mayo yesterday and they don't find anything wrong with me!!! Physically-they won't vouch for mentally!!!! Guess I won't have any excuses to slough off now! "

Yeah Pat, glad to hear that things went well at your check-up!

Head Start Partner Meeting

Jerry Stremel , Gale and I had a meeting with our Head Start partners this past week
(UDMO, YOUR, INC., New Opportunities, and North Iowa Community Action Org.)

As we discussed some of the new statewide IEP procedural manual changes and the child find system, the following conversations occurred.

1) Do you know all the required components that Head Start must collects on each student in their program?
Head Start does home observations, slow start observation, parent nights, gathers parent input on child goals, informal screens (ASQ), collects work samples, portfolio info, Creative Curr. data, hearing, vision, health, SSIS, release of info, etc. etc.

As we complete the Disability Suspect form and the new Consent for Eval form please ASK for the information they have already collected. rather than coming in and requesting and doing "lots of stuff on your own"; that may be a duplication.

Did you also know??? Head Start must have the entire IEP file on a child, not just the goal page. They must have the consent for eval, consent for services, prior written notice, mtg notice, etc. etc in order to be in compliance. And they want the IEP in a timely manner... It's our responsibility to get the IEP information to them as they do not have access to the WEB system!

We had very good conversations and thought our discussions were worthy to share with others.

#6149 Research to Practice

I am happy to see that some of you have already registered for the department work "Research to Practice, #6149" through our online Avatar system. All staff are expected to register and complete the requirements whether or not you desire the credit for the work completed.

This is just a reminder that there are only two ways licensed staff can access Teacher Quality monies. One is through the PD Strands and the other is through the Department Meetings, especially around the Coaching professional development. Teacher Quality pays per diem for staff to complete the work for this professional learning outside the work day. Since many of us decided to opt out of the PD strands (coaching, faciliation, and differentiated instruction), with permission, it is likely that the only way to get your "teacher quality" money is through our department work.

Therefore, prior to the start of our work on Oct. 2, please register, even if you are NOT taking the work for credit. All departments will have a workspace created in Basecamp and your hours will be documented in the log in Basecamp. See Friday news for more information!

"Families" book

Have you had time to deliver copies of the "Family book" to various locations in your county that are possible Early ACCESS referral sources?

Remember to complete the sheet indicating where the books were delivered, and fax it to me at 712-335-4600 or scan and email it prior to our Oct. 2 department meeting. (If you've lost or misplaced the sheet, let me know and I'll email you another one.)

If you have extra books, please indicate "how many" on your sheet and bring them to the Oct. 2 dept. meeting. If you need extra books, please indicate "how many" and we will try and get more to you. Thank you!

Publications

I have ordered a copy of the publication "Zero to Three" for this school year. The September issue is all about the importance of play.I also get "Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children." The September issue is all about Families.Take advantage of some great professional articles! You may request to "borrow" them at anytime, just send me an email.

Julie Curry, State Coordinator for Early ACCESS

Julie Curry, State Coordinator for Early ACCESS, Iowa Department of Education plans to join us on Oct. 2 for Robin McWilliam's presentation to our department.

She would like to extend an invitation for service coordinators/providers to visit with her informally about Early ACCESS. There will be coffee and rolls from 8:00-9:00 outside of North and South Twin Lakes Room prior to the presentation. Please try and arrive early, introduce yourself to Julie and take some time to visit with her about the work that you do!

Register online for Professional Development Credit

Please take the time to go online to our AEA home page, click media, and search the course catalog registration system for #6149, Research to Practice: Early Intervention in Natural Environments. On Friday, October 2, from 9:00 am - 3:30 pm, Robin McWilliams, Ph.D. with Siskin Children's Institute, Chattanooga, Tennessee will join the ECSE department as he presents "Research to Practice - The Five Component Model of Early Intervention in Natural Environments." Siskin Children's Institute strives to be on the cutting edge of educational programming for children with disabilities. He will help us find solutions to barriers along with prioritizing decisions about home visiting practices. 0-3 service providers (slp, ot, pt, hearing, vision) have also been extended the invitation to join us that day as we learn together. Wendy Barnard has been hired as "on-site coach" to facilitate the learning of concepts, skills and procedures presented by Dr. McWilliams. As coach, she will work directly with the ECSE teachers to ensure the learning continues to be rigorous, relevant and engaging. Collaborative time will be provided at department meetings, one-on-one home visits with coach, and small group time as needed.

Web-based IFSP training

Oh what a week! Thanks to everyone for being patient and cooperative as the web-based IFSP training started. It was exciting to see some of the new time saving elements built into the system. A big thank you to Tonia and Lisa for all the time and effort they have given to the training and plans for ongoing support in each of the offices. We are truely fortunate to have secretarial staff that make early childhood one of their number 1 priorities!!!

DE website

Did you know you can click on the Department of Education website from our AEA homepage? There is a document on the site entitled "IEP Requirements for Children Ages 3 Through 5". The easiest way to find the information is to click on the left side of the DE home page under Special Education, then click on Iowa's Guidance for Quality IEPs and then you'll see the document in a box entitled :IEP requirements for children ages 3-5.

Summarizing the highlights of that article:
A teacher may serve as the special educatio teacher and general education teacher if the individual holds the appropriate endorsements.

For preschool children who require special education, an early childhood program (general education environment) is the environment where appropriate activities occur for children of similar age without disabilities. The early childhood program must include at least 50% of children of similar age without disabilities.

The general education curriculum for preschool children is a research-based or evidence-based written framework.

The Iowa Early Learning Standards serve as a guide for learning and development of young children across various environments.

ECSE and early childhood programs serving children on an IEP must implement one of the following Preschool Program Standards: NAEYC, Head Start, or QPPS.

It is essential to support the development, implementation and ongoing monitoring of a child's IEP. Early childhood staff need frequent and ongoing assistance from ECSE teachers, which involves observing the classs, providing suggestions, showing the teacher how to use interventions and giving feedback, regular time to consult, and to monitor the child's progress frequently.

Access to calendars and caseloads

Please make sure that Gale and I have access to your online calendar. Keeping calendars updated helps us know how to best "find" one another.

The updated department list will also be sent today so that you have everyone's contact information. Remember the list serve address is at the bottom of the page; feel free to make contact with the department through that means.

Also thank you for sending in your caseloads, if you haven't done so, please do so THIS WEEK as Tonia and Lisa will need that information to enter names in the web based IFSP system. We will update caseloads quarterly; I will send a reminder to do so. Please remember that you are adding the 3-5 year old intakes to your list rather than sending them to me for entry. If you are working with a child for more than one visit or one contact with the teacher, I'd suggest you enter the information. Remember, if you are gone for an extended time, I need to be able to pick up your caseload and know who to contact and where to contact them and why! Thank you so much!

Technology here I come!

The time is here - I plan to blog "Monday Matters" instead of the traditional newsletter! A big step for me, but having 3 young, computer savvy daughters, they have encouraged me to facebook, blog, twitter, or just do something to get with the times...

Every Monday I will send you an email with the blog address http://www.ecsedepartment.blogspot.com/ until we get in the habit of checking it on your own and have bookmarked it as a favorite!

What is my role in the preschool programs, especially the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Programs?

The following districts within AEA 8 are part of the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program.
Year 1:(07-08) Alta, Storm Lake, Estherville, Eagle Grove, Gilmore City, Pocahontas,Stratford
Year 2 (08-09): Fort Dodge, Webster City, SE Webster, Twin Rivers, Okoboji, Harris Lake Park
Year 3 (09-10): Algona, North Kossuth, Graettinger Terril, Newell Fonda, Greene County (Paton Churdan, Jefferson, East Greene), Humboldt

This year the state DE team will be providing verification visits to the Year 2 schools that have selected QPPS as their program standard. Becky Berg, private consultant will assist Ft. Dodge, and Twin Rivers in the process. Wendy Barnard, private consultant, will assist Okoboji and Harris Lake Park and Becky Coffelt will assist Webster City and SE. Webster.

• Year 3 schools will begin the verification process by completing the QPPS self assessment, creating an action plan, developing a classroom portfolio and a district program portfolio. Becky Berg and myself will provide the assistance to Algona, Humboldt, and N. Kossuth Bancroft. Wendy Barnard will assist Graettinger Terril and Becky Coffelt will have Greene County Consortium and Newell Fonda.

So, what is your role?

• Make sure that all classrooms that are ECSE only are also working on Quality Preschool Program Standards - a new state requirement!
• Support districts and community based preschools in your zone that serve 3 and 4 year olds and DO NOT have quality programs or are NOT part of the SWVPP grant.
  
• Collaborate with district ECSE teachers in IEP goal development and writing of IEPs.
  

Evolving IEP Practices for Preschoolers

At a state department meeting last week, the following points were emphasized for preschool age children (3-5) on instructional based IEPs:

• Preschool age children on instructional IEPs MUST be placed in programs that are using: Head Start Standards, or Quality Preschool Program Standards (QPPS) or National Association Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards.
• The teacher in the program MUST have an Early Childhood License.
• Instructional services MUST be provided by an ECSE teacher.
• IEP instructional services are beyond monitoring.
• Instruction is no longer just consulting and monitoring monthly.
• ECSE teachers need to be instructing WEEKLY. (co-teaching, modeling, small group practice, consulting, monitoring,etc).
• Are the goals IEP worthy if they only need monitoring 1x/month?

Please don't go out and "amend" every IEP you are involved in, however, as we move forward, more attention needs to be given to the above points so that we will be in compliance with the state recommendations.