SWOL Pnrcnt Support Group

NOTES: November 21, 2014

by

Deborah Hermalyn, ACSW, LCSW, Parent Support Group Facilitator

NEXT MEETING: Holiday Potluck Brunch

December 12, 2014 from 9:15 am to 11:30 am

Lake Villa Township Office (132 & Fairfield Rd.-Red Caboose)

Guest: Nancy Nedland, M.A., E-RYT, RCYT, Yoga Teacher

Relax with friends & take time out of your busy life, just for you!

Stress-Less Strategies and Simple Yoga Moves that Calm

FUTURE PARENT SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS/ SAVE THE DATES

January 23, 2015

February 20, 2015

March 20, 2015

April 17, 2015

May 15, 2015

ATTENDANCE:

Attendance today: 10 Curriculum Fair Presenters; 10 Parents; 4 Other SEDOL Staff. Autism Families FB and electronic mail lists: 225 families

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Thanks to the Lake Villa Public Library and to Donna Barnes for making arrangements and providing delicious treats. Thanks to Peggy McCarthy for bringing extra treats. Thanks to parents who brought an abundance of clothing, toys, games, books for the recycle-reuse exchange. All items not exchanged will be donated to the SEDOL Bare Essentials Program.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. The next meeting of the Parent Support Group is our Holiday Potluck Brunch on Friday morning, December 12, 2014, at the Lake Villa Township Office (Rte. 132 & Fairfield Rd. by the Red Caboose), NOT THE LIBRARY. We will meet at 9:15 am for brunch and conversation. At 10:15, Yoga Teacher, Nancy Nedland, will join us. Nancy has many years of experience teaching yoga and healthy ways to relieve stress for children, parents, and families. Nancy has given instruction in several SEDOL classes. She has an active private practice, but has graciously offered a special program just for us! Plan to come for a festive, fun, and relaxing stress-less morning. Take a few moments out of your busy schedule, just for you!

2. The next FAN Program is December 8, 2014, at ETHS. Claude Steele, Ph.D., will speak on "How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do". He is the Vice Chancellor and Provost, University of California, Berkeley, and former Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. If unable to attend, you can still view the program on the FAN website after the presentation by going to familyactionnetwork.net (most past FAN programs can also be viewed on this website).

3. SibShop at Laremont School is going great! The next SibShop is Saturday, November 22, 2014. A group for teens, as well as, for children K-8, is now offered.

A waiting list exists for new participants. For the first time, SibShop has reached maximum capacity: 20 children. SibShop, in its third year, is a collaborative project of the Parent Support Group and Laremont School and is funded by the SEDOL Foundation.

PRESENTATION:

The idea to host a Curriculum Fair came from discussions of parents at the September Parent Support Group meeting. Parents admitted that the terms "Common Core" and "Core Vocabulary" were confusing. Interest was expressed in knowing more about the new initiatives with the "STAR" program and the Social Emotional Curriculum. Positive

parent evaluations of the program offered by the Parent Support Group last April on the topic of "Puberty, Sex Education, and Relationships" provided a level of comfort with the topic, as well as important information. Parents expressed an interest in knowing more about what their children are being taught in SEDOL programs.

The Parent Support Group is pleased to welcome Gail Lantvit, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Curriculum, and members of the SEDOL Curriculum Department. We also welcome back Laura Wojcik, SEDOL Assistant Sector Supervisor, who presented a Crisis Management Training for Parents for the Parent Support Group last January Also joining us today, are Assistant Sector Supervisor, Anna Panagakis, and Therapeutic Services Coordinator/Grandparent Support Group Facilitator, Linda Amundsen. The depth and breadth of knowledge and wisdom in the team assembled at this curriculum fair is impressive. Parents are encouraged to take advantage of having these knowledgeable individuals with us.

Cathy McThenia introduced the Curriculum Fair with a brief power point presentation about the many new educational initiatives currently in place.

Cathy provided an overview about Accountability Assessments in the State of Illinois. In Illinois, there are two new assessments that are offered. The standard assessment, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is given to approximately 98% of all children in a district. The assessment is given in two separate sessions, March and May, to combine for one total score. These new assessments are unique in that they are able to measure much higher order thinking skills through problem based tasks, rather than multiple choice. The alternate assessment, Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM), is given to approximately 2% of children in a district. In this school year (2014-2015), the DLM assessment is given once between April and May. After the first year of implementation, the DLM has the potential to be given throughout the year, so that it can be used to inform instruction on a more immediate basis.

Unlike the State's former Alternate Assessment (lAA), the DLM assessment is adaptive or able to present questions and tasks that are appropriate for each student's needs and abilities. The DLM uses a learning map of the Essential Elements to support the design of these individualized experiences. For example, after the student completes a 5-8 question testlet, the computer will issue the next testlet based on how the student responded to the first assessment. What is measured is a link to a grade level standard, not an alternative to the State Learning Standard. This is a much different approach, based on individual student needs, to meet the same standard. Students benefit from participating in the DLM instructionally relevant assessment in three ways: enables the child's school to document academic growth; supplies the educational team with information to build on successes; and is used to gauge student progress in relation to state academic standards.

Cathy then explained the link between the Common Core Standards and the Essential Elements (Alternate Standards). The Essential Elements are links within a learning

map toward meeting grade level standards, rather than alternate standards. All lEP goals should be linked to a Common Core Standard directly or through an Essential Element.

On every lEP, when the child's chronological age and grade level requires participation in a state assessment, this is what is referred to as "Essential Elements" (Alternate Assessment). Information from these assessments provides students with a similar instructional and assessment experience; provides teachers and parents with information about a student's performance; and is used to make appropriate instructional decisions. For more information about the DLM and Essential Elements go to http://dynamiclearningmaps.org

Core Vocabulary (different from Common Core) is tied to the English Language Arts Speaking and Listening Strand of the standards. Core Vocabulary are words we have in common. A bank of 400-500 CORE words comprise 80% of what we say throughout the day. These words are what we use and teach in many situations. They give more meaning to nouns so that others have to do less guessing about what is being expressed. Fringe words comprise the other 20% and are a bank of thousands of words.

SEDOL Educators participate in frequent professional development and trainings about Assessments and use of Tools. Many hours, after work, are spent by educators in these trainings. It is in these professional learning communities that tools and approaches are explored in order to work with specific student needs. For example, A Guided Reading professional development series is being offered to help teachers analyze the types of errors students make when reading text. Programs and tools are available based on student abilities and needs which are routinely assessed. Teachers learn to use different tools through these trainings and in consultation with the Curriculum trainers and each other. • • , r - r.

Cathy introduced the tools of the SEDOL Curriculum as a way to meet state Learning Standards for all students and to guide what should be taught, as well as how it should be taught. At each of the five tables or stations are the tools (not the curriculum) that educators use to help students meet standards. . . : •

Parents were invited to tour the tools and materials used in class rooms after a brief description of each station was provided.

Lyn Edwards and Anna Panagakis described the STAR Program for Autism Support. This comprehensive program teaches students with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities the critical skills identified by the National Research Council. It is based on Discrete Trials, Pivotal Response Training, and Social Emotional Training. Materials are developed and customized for three levels: 1, 2, or 3. This program is currently being introduced in SEDOL Early Childhood class rooms in Sector classes and at Gages Lake School (LASSO 3). STAR Autism Support also provides training DVDs with video examples and discussion of lessons taught in the STAR Program for Levels 1, 2, and 3.

More information about tlie STAR Autism Support Program can be found online at www.starautismsupport.com ; . . . 1 . ; .

Sandra Callahan and Laura Wojcik described the CORE Vocabulary Program. There are three CORE Boards: Core Boards of Words; Teacher and Student Boards to expand vocabulary skills; and Student Boards to provide opportunities for students to comment, request, and ask questions. Samples of each board were made available for parents to view. Later, through the Pixon Project, beyond the 400-500 Core words, fringe words will be taught. Once nouns are known, integrating words that communicate and connect to the reading curriculum will help to teach the where and what words.

Michelle Carlson described some of the tools available to meet Social Emotional 1 Learning Standards. She described the work of the Social Emotional Learning Committee which included training teachers and social workers. Videos, worksheets, and books were available for viewing. From Early Childhood Programs through High School, materials available include: methods and tools for emotional regulation; materials and tools on health, growth, and development; tools for teaching about puberty, sex education, and relationships.

Brooke Crowley Simone Oslage, and Gail Lantvit reviewed the English Language Arts tools at SEDOL. Tools to view included reading, writing, speaking and listening, and foundational language skills across a wide range of levels and abilities.

Cathy McThenia was available to discuss the Math tools in current use. The SEDOL Math Curriculum Frameworks have been revised this year to align with the Common Core State Standards. In addition to student tools, Cathy shared a wealth of professional development tools that have been used to prepare groups of teachers on how to implement the new state standards. (See 8 Standards for Mathematicia Practices.)

Parents in attendance had the opportunity to view the range and depth of curriculum tools used by educators in SEDOL class rooms and programs. Many of these tools are used in member District Special Education programs and class rooms, as well.

Thank you to the SEDOL Curriculum Department for sharing expert knowledge, resources, and materials with us. We hope that materials and handouts from this presentation will be posted on the SEDOL website in the near future.