The Exceptional Times

Newsletter

Pg. 1 From the desk of Sam Dempsey

Pg. 2 Fun day at the farm

Pg. 3 Alex lemonade stand at Southwest ES

Pg. 4 Adapted PE

Pg. 5 Au sm

Pg. 6 EC Data / So ware

Pg. 7 Professional Devel-opment

Pg. 8 EC Case Manager Spotlight

Pg. 8 Brain Teaser Contest winners

SUMMER TIME AND THE LIVING IS EC As the year winds down we are faced with a won-derful opportunity! Summer is coming and so is ECATS. This will be a significant transi on for our staff and schools. North Carolina is the first State in the country to build and provide comprehen-sive so ware for all schools. What we know as Ed Plan as well as the State CECAS systems will shut down not to be reopened in mid-June. Then all data will be migrated into ECATS which will go live in mid-July. The new system ECATS will cover EC, Service Doc-umenta on, and MTSS. In addi on we will con n-

ue to run the modules for 504, EL, progress monitoring, and AIG. WS/FCS is the only district in NC to have all these areas under one umbrella. Our district has played a large part in the effort to bring this change to frui on. We have worked on this for over 15 years! Our district in that me has been through mul ple changes and shi s in so ware and forms. Our staff are adept at deal-ing with transi ons. So we are be er posi oned than most to handle this one well! We will also see new EC forms this summer! This has been a ten year project. WSFCS again had a large role in assis ng in the development of these new EC forms. We did not get everything we wanted but believe that the new forms will be more efficient and reduce redundancy. With all this change coming please stay turned this summer! Check your email occasionally. We will offer training as soon as we are able. Anyone who can come in will be ahead of the curve for next year. Our plan is to use the RC days to offer more training for everyone. Thanks you for all you do for our children with disabili es and their families. In the mean me relax, enjoy the lazy hazy days of summer.

ECATS: Every Child Accountability & Tracking System

2018

Did You Know…. ECATS is comprised of three integrated modules accessed from a single user interface based upon role security: Special Educa on, Service Documenta-

on, and Mul -Tiered Systems of Sup-port (MTSS) modules. ECATS also con-tains a combined set of data or Opera-

onal Data Store (ODS) from the three modules, referred to as the “ECATS ODS”. ECATS will have direct data in-terface with the Student Informa on System (SIS) PowerSchool and other NCDPI enterprise systems. ECATS will also include modules for sec on 504, English learners and gi ed.

FunDayAtTheFarm

CasinoRoyal:CartersPROMNight

EC Pre-school students at

Clemmons Elementary visited

Smith Hollow Farms in Kern-

ersville.

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Thank you for the support in years past for our lemonade stand at South-west! I wanted to be sure you both had your official invite to a end again this year on Tuesday, June 5th. The ar cle in the May 2018, Forsyth Family Maga-zine highligh ng our kids at Southwest was great, so glad Brent Campbell helped us with that! Please share our lemonade stand with any of your

friends, as this is a community event. 😊 This year marks the 7th Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand, at Southwest Elemen-tary where the students in EC-PK, Readiness, Core 1 and Core 2 sell lemonade while working on their communica on skills. All the money raised then is donated to support pediatric cancer research. I would even consider this to be a form of project based learning. Win-Win! Kids helping kids! Our focus is community, character and communica on at Southwest! 1) Alex's Lemonade Stand T-shirt order form (a ached) $10 each, designed by SLP (Behavior Team) Claire Bonin 2) Direct link to donate & find out more h ps://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1394416 3) Na onal Recogni on from Alex's Lemonade Stand Founda on for being an ALL STAR Stand (link) h ps://www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/lemonade-days/featured/7th-annual-alexs-lemonade-stand-southwest-elementary 4) Link to like/follow/share 7th Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand Facebook Page h ps://www.facebook.com/SouthwestElementarySchoolSupportsALSF/

7th Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand Tuesday, June 5 Silent Auc on 8am-1pm Lemonade Stand 10:30am-1pm All money raised supports Alex's Lemonade Stand Founda on to fight pediatric cancer.

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Contact: mev-eron@wsfcs.k12.nc.us for tee shirt orders.

Any and all support is

appreciated! Many thanks!

Southwest SLP Team

***Right click opens hyperlink***

AdaptableYESProgram

The OCS students par-cipated in the Adapta-

ble first Leadership Academy held at Salem Lake on May 18th. The students were engaged in various ac vi es such as: advocacy skills, team building exercises (trail obstacle game, BOLO or ladder game, corn hole), independ-ent living skills, and the history of Special Edu-ca on.

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Mt.TaborandNorthForsythHSOCSStudents

5

Thank you from the Autism Team

“Absolutely Amazing Advocates for Autism” …. that’s how we describe all of those who supported our classroom materials collection during the month of April! Simply put, our hearts are full of gratitude for the many donations we re-ceived from Central Office staff in response to our April Autism Awareness Month bulletin board and easel displays. Please know that the items will be put to good use in classrooms serving students with Autism Spectrum Disorders throughout our district.

Maintaining Skills this Summer

Worried that your students will lose newly learned skills while not at school this summer? Why not send home some ideas for “homework” to help get the whole family involved in maintain-ing their student’s progress. Some simple yet effective ideas to share with parents as home-work practice include: Summer chores – Establish daily routines at home - pulling blanket up on the bed, getting

dressed mostly independently, brushing teeth, setting the table (this can be to match out-line of plate and spoon and fork on a placemat), helping water plants or pick up sticks in the yard etc.

Family game night - practice turn taking and following directions through playing games

like Connect 4, Red Rover, Simon Says (give student a chance to give directions), or Bin-go. Don’t worry about following the rules of the game exactly. The idea is to practice turn taking and engagement through practicing social language and following directions.

Unplug – remember to practice setting boundaries with preferred activities such as iPad or computer time. While these resources serve as wonderful reinforcements, remind parents that they can present their children with other fun options to expand their repertoire of liked items. Instead of iPad time, offer a choice of engaging toys or a walk/time on the play-ground. Continue to intersperse fun time with less fun or work time so students do not lose the ability to transition from schoolwork to play time and back again!

The Autism Team would like to wish you a very

happy, healthy and relax-ing summer!

From the EC Data/So ware & Process teams…

By the end of the day Friday, June 8th:

Finalize all completed mee ngs in EdPlan Finalize and print all 4th quarter IEP Progress Reports from EdPlan Upload all suppor ng documenta on to EdPlan Enter all therapy notes and/or service documenta on into the EdPlan Logging

Wizard EasyFAX all DEC 5 signatures and mee ng minutes EasyFAX Medicaid Billing Consent forms and send the original to Carol Stuart at the EC Division Finalize a Progress Monitoring Summary Document for students who have data points in EdPlan

Progress Track Print any dra s of mee ngs that will be completed on paper during the blackout period

Do not log in to EdPlan a er Friday, June 8th. The tenta ve blackout period is June 16 - July 11.

We will not have access to EdPlan or ECATS during this me.

*Contact Amy Snyder if you have a special situa on that requires EdPlan access between June 8 and

15th.

A er June 8th, any mee ngs held must be completed on OLD PAPER FORMS.

You may choose to handwrite or type on these old paper forms:

To type on documents, use the typable DEC forms located on the NCDPI website:

h ps://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/policies/forms/statewide-forms

To handwrite documents, use copies of the paper DEC forms that were provided for each school

at the February Case Manager mee ng or print the forms from the NCDPI website.

A er the paper mee ng is completed:

1. Make a copy of all documents and mee ng minutes. 2. Send this copy of paperwork via confiden al interoffice mail to Lynise Birch at the EC Division,

Administra ve Building. File the original documents in the student’s EC folder at the school.

For addi onal guidance with summer mee ngs and using paper forms, please contact the EC Pro-

cess team.

Do not a empt to log into ECATS or use the new EC forms un l you have a ended the required

ECATS/New EC Forms training. Informa on regarding ECATS/New EC Forms training is forthcom-

ing. Watch your school email this summer for more informa on!!!

North Carolina School Improvement Project (NCSIP) Co-teaching modules have been revised and are being

prepared for presenta on in the 2018-19 school year. Thank you to all co-teachers who par cipated in snap-

shot observa ons over the past two weeks, and to all who have provided us with much needed feedback on

what inclusion teachers need to help students grow! The EC Professional Development Team is sharing this

informa on with stakeholders as first steps in determining our current co-teaching models and building strong

support for research based inclusive educa on training & coaching to benefit all students.

from NCSIP Connect Spring 2018

The revision of Co ‐teaching: Calling All Administrators and Co‐teaching: Beyond the Basics for Teachers

began last spring and the revised modules contain new content which includes the following:

Li ga on and Law

What Does the Literature Say?

What Should Administrators Look for When Observing Co-teaching?

Evalua ng the Effec veness of Co-teaching

Lesson Planning Which Includes UDL and SDI Components

Day 1 of the two day session is for building level administrators and staff that support teachers.

Day 2 of the presenta on is for Co-teaching teacher teams. At the conclusion of Day 2, the building level ad-

ministrator returns to collaborate with the Co-teaching teacher teams to discuss next steps in a 90 minute

trainer & coach facilitated session.

WSFCS EC Services is looking forward to partnering with schools to bring prac cal strategies for inclusive

services to support all levels of learners.

RevisedCo‐TeachingModulesareOnTheHorizonfor2018

Coach’s Corner: Summer Caregiver Engagement t’s that time of the year! Break out the flip flops and slather on some SPF, because summer is almost here. While you are moving toward the last push to vacation, we know that many of you are seeking reliable sources of summer engagement resources for parents and care-givers. We’d like to offer you a quick tool box of “go to” documents and sites to help parents battle summer slide and prepare their children and themselves for a successful fall upon re-turn from a much needed break. You can find all of these and more on our EC Professional Development Team Power School Learning Page. If you have some resources that you think others would find valuable, contact your EC Instructional Coach and we’ll see if we can share the wealth. Have a great summer!

Questions Parents Can Ask About Reading Improvement & Dyslexia

NCSIP Parents Resources

A Checklist for Cooperative Behavior from ECAC 7

Krishauna Rolle is a veteran teacher of twelve years who s ll comes to

work with a posi ve a tude every day with a smile on her face and

the belief in her heart all students can learn. Krishauna received her

Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005 from Winston Salem State University

and her Masters of Art degree in Special Educa on from Grand Canyon

University in 2009. She began her teaching career Ashley IB Magnet

Elementary where she taught students with special needs for seven

years. Krishauna has taught in the state of Florida as a resource teach-

er then returned back in November 2015 to our school district where

she became an EC Case Manager in middle school. Krishauna Rolle

loves teaching and guiding teachers through the special educa on pro-

cess. She balances being a wife, mother, teacher, and caregiver to her

mom on a daily basis. She also acknowledged that every day is chal-

lenge but is steadfast on changing others’ lives daily through her dedi-

ca on and personal beliefs. Krishauna Rolle collaborates well with her

coworkers and is good at establishing rela onships with students, par-

ents, teachers, and everyone with whom she comes into contact.

ECCaseManagerSpotlight

BrainTeaserContestWinners

The winners of the May

brain teaser contest is

Tracey Fulps from Child

Nutri on and Kathleen

Fuerst, Physical Therapist.

The two part answer is B

and B.

There are new NC Extended Content Standards coming for the 2018

school year. Teachers do not forget to register for the training that will

be held June 15th at the Ed Bldg. room 233 from 8:30-11:30am.

Next Contest will be in the September 2018 newsle er