Texas School for the Deaf CEASD Exit Conference

1. Texas School for the DeafCEASD Exit Conference November 2, 2011

2. CEASD Team Members • Ed Bosso, Chair • Clark Brooke • Joseph P. Finnegan, Jr. • Joan Forney • David Geeslin

3. Accreditation Process • Voluntary planning process of self-evaluation • Internal and external scan of the school environment • Analysis of critical issues impacting the school • Analysis of strengths and areas of need • Development of action plans to achieve school improvement

4. What did the CEASD team do? • Reviewed the self-study prior to the visit • Analyzed the 12 standards in the self-study • Reviewed the action plans and a variety of evidence • Interviewed staff • Conducted meetings with students, parents and community • Observed classrooms and programs at TSD

5. Kudos to TSD Staff! • Superintendent: Claire Bugen • Internal Coordinators: Twyla Heslop Russell O. West • Committee Chairs and Members • TSD Staff

6. CEASD Report • Concluding the visit with an exit report today providing commendations and recommendations for the 12 standards • A final written report will be sent to the Superintendent within the next 4 weeks for review of facts. • A final written report will be sent to TSD and CEASD within approximately 6-8 weeks • A recommendation will be made to the CEASD Board regarding the accreditation of TSD.

7. Standard 1: Philosophy and Mission Commendations: • Inclusive and collaborative process engaging a diverse and representative stakeholder group • Vision, mission and beliefs are prominently displayed throughout campus • Ongoing communication and engagement with the TSD community promoting the mission.

8. Standard 1: Philosophy and Mission Recommendations: • Prominently display their Vision, Mission and Beliefs on the TSD website.

9. Standard 2: Governance and Leadership Commendations: • Committed, supportive and involved Board • Dedicated, committed and caring Superintendent who demonstrates outstanding and progressive leadership and fully engages in the community. • Inclusive process for the establishment of an interim organizational structure in the absence of two key positions in which all leaders have assumed additional responsibilities.

10. Standard 2: Governance and Leadership Recommendations: • CEASD visiting team commends the TSD Governing Board for working to establish an appropriate salary range for the Superintendent position and recommends that the Governing Board establishes a strong implementation plan, particularly when searching for the next superintendent • The Superintendent should continue to engage leadership team and appropriate stakeholders in a structured dialogue about organizational structure and succession planning.

11. Standard 3: School Improvement Commendations: • The SGT reported that they were given full equity and access in decision making with regard to the Strategic Plan development. The use of a facilitator also allowed the Superintendent to fully participate as part of the team.  • Integration of Strategic Goal items into the professional evaluation/appraisal process. • There is transparency with budget decisions. Department heads are encouraged to submit a new budget form consisting of unique needs within their department that would need funding to achieve strategic goals.

12. Standard 3: School Improvement Recommendations: • Revisit and consider reducing the scope of the 24 objectives to a manageable number • Revisit the structure and organization of all leadership clusters (SGT, ELT, ILT, LPA, and so forth) to avoid duplicity and maximize efficiency.

13. Standard 4: Finances Commendations: • TSD is aggressive in the pursuit of "other" funding sources, such as grants, and the expansion of the TSD Foundation will greatly assist with this strategy • TSD successfully invests time and energy in maintaining positive relationships with the individuals and governmental entities that can impact its state budget allocation.

14. Standard 4: Finances Recommendations: • Explore multi-year resource allocation planning • Pursue a closer relationship between the Strategic Plan and resource planning

15. Standard 5: Facilities Commendations: • TSD maintenance and facilities department is commended for a beautiful campus and well-maintained facilities • TSD utilized the comprehensive condition study (2006) to guide budget development

16. Standard 5: Facilities Recommendations: • Continue to optimize opportunities for campus usage by the community while balancing this with indirect costs • Update the facilities condition study and continue to use as a source document for budget development

17. Standard 6: School Climate and Organization Commendations: • TSD’s dedication to provide a school climate that promotes high expectations for student achievement. • TSD makes communication a priority with parents and other stakeholders regarding results of the strategic plan. • TSD provides sign language classes for staff who have not met their prescribed level and developing a Sign Language Activity Plan to assist staff in developing their skills. • The TSD HR department is commended for establishing a HR Facebook Page and for offering its employees a quarterly HR newsletter and “Legal Ramblings” on legal topics.

18. Standard 6: School Climate and Organization Recommendations: • Re-index/title TSD policies to make it easier for staff to locate them. • Expand employee recognition program. • Aggressively explore ways to raise the pay of non-certified staff.

19. Standard 7: Health and Safety Commendations: • TSD devotes significant resources to insure that a safe environment is provided for students and staff

20. Standard 7: Health and Safety Recommendations: • Continue with efforts to integrate the extensive resources of the Student Health Center with educational and residential programs.

21. Standard 8: Educational Programs Commendations: • TSD employs a comprehensive strategic planning process in terms of school wide curriculum development. • TSD adopted the CSCOPE curriculum that will provide a rigorous curriculum for the core academic subjects. • TSD provides a wide range of state of the art technology for its classrooms. • TSD has developed an extensive array of outreach services and programs

22. Standard 8: Educational Programs Recommendations: • Curriculum Specialists continue to provide on-going support to teachers as they implement the CSCOPE curriculum in all core academic subjects. • Curriculum Specialists and principals provide coaching to teachers to ensure they are comfortable using a team teaching approach in the Elementary School. • Explore options for serving students with additional disabilities that would provide these students with a more inclusive environment.  • The outreach team continues to seek unique funding streams, however, at some point TSD will need to allocate additional state funds for this department if there is a serious commitment to outreach

23. Standard 9: Assessment and Evidence of Student Learning Commendations: • TSD is to be recognized for their effort in centralizing academic performance data by creating and purchasing data systems (Eduphoria) that will be used in the near future. • In addition to CSCOPE, TSD is using two widely used assessment tools in their academic programs. The Developmental Writing Assessment and Developmental Reading Assessment are being used to evaluate student present performance levels. • Teachers at TSD are constantly preparing students for the state-wide assessment system by exposing them to the format of the assessments throughout all content areas.

24. Standard 9: Assessment and Evidence of Student Learning Recommendations: • Create opportunities for teachers to analyze, interpret academic data that are collected from local academic assessment tools. • Utilize school-based assessment data to inform decisions and change practice.

25. Standard 10: Student Services Commendations: • The ongoing and extensive training offered to the Student Support Services Team is impressive.  • The annual New Student Family Orientation program (NSFO) provided each August is an excellent activity with a high percentage of new families and students participating.  • TSD is committed to the development of a strong transition program and has an excellent cadre of staff.

26. Standard 10: Student Services Recommendations: • Establish a second NSFO program during the school year to include all the new families and students who enroll after the beginning of the school year. • Continue to expand transition services with increased ownership in the high school program and continued engagement of students in the development of plans.

27. Standard 11: Student Life, Student Activities, Residential Programs Commendations: • Quality after school programs for elementary and high school • Implementation of incentive programs for residential students, SPICE curriculum, and SPARK program • The new residential operations manual. • Successful creating more competitive salaries for residential educators leading to a reduction in staff turnover.

28. Standard 11: Student Life, Student Activities, Residential Programs Recommendations: • Review after school programs for special needs and middle school students incorporating the concepts of SPICE from elementary to high school. • Consider opportunities to make the SPARK program inclusive of special needs students. • Create the opportunities for residential advisors to access their students’ data via PowerSchool to assist with their IEP academic goals.

29. Standard 12: Information Resources and Technology Commendations: • Implementation plan for Winter 2012 for installing new network equipment including cabling, VOIP phone system, wireless environment and distance learning equipment. • Plan for adoption of new technology such as Apple iPad for classroom use through a pilot program. • Classroom standards for technology are made possible through planned budgeting with involvement of teachers and staff who are primary users. • Technology mentors in departments are a great support to teachers.

30. Standard 12: Information Resources and Technology Recommendations: • Develop guidelines to ensure that hardware acquired through grants is compatible with the current infrastructure of technology at school. • Consider centralizing the budget allocation for each educational department to maximize the opportunity to address needs in priority order.

31. Accreditation Recommendation • At the next CEASD Board of Directors meeting, our team will make the following recommendation for TSD:

32. Accreditation Recommendation FULL ACCREDITATION Note: The Certificate for Accreditation will be awarded at the Annual CEASD Conference in April 2012

33. Thank you!