National Inclusion Institute

1. National Inclusion Institute Iowa's Collaborative Projects Supporting Public Awareness and Inclusion

2. Presenters • Ann Bailey, Education Specialist, North Central Regional Resource Center • Tom Rendon, Iowa Head Start Collaborations Director • Mary Schertz, Educational Consultant, Iowa Department of Education

3. State Performance Plan With the advent of IDEA 2004, Section 616 stipulates that states must develop a State Performance Plan (SPP).

4. State Performance Plan According to Section 616 of IDEA 2004, the State Performance Plan: • Must include broadstakeholder input. • Requires the collection of valid and reliable information as needed to report annually. • Requires the use of “rigorous and measurable targets” to analyze the performance of each Local Education Agency (LEA) and Early Intervention Services program. • Requires widespread public dissemination through annually reporting performance of each LEA, i.e. school district. • Must be reviewed every 6-years—Annual Performance Reports (APR) will report on SPP progress.

5. State Performance Plan • Facts about the State Performance Plan (SPP): • Each state must submit an SPP to the Secretary of Education by December 2, 2005. • The SPP must set “rigorous and measurable” targets to address monitoring indicators. • The SPP must be developed with broad stakeholder input and public dissemination. • States are to annually report to the Secretary and the public on the performance of each Local Education Agency (LEA).

6. State Performance Plan OSEP has identified 20 performance indicators for Part B in the following monitoring priorities: • Free and Appropriate Public Education in the Least Restrictive Environment (i.e., FAPE in the LRE) • Disproportionality • General Supervision Part B • Child Find • Effective Transition • Effective General Supervision

7. Expanding Opportunities Expanding Opportunities is a Federal interagency collaboration among the Head Start Bureau, Child Care Bureau, and Administration on Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Health and Human Services; the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP ) in the Department of Education.

8. Expanding Opportunities • Arizona, Iowa, Florida, and Montana were the first four states chosen to participate in this program. • Delaware, Idaho, Tennessee, and Wisconsin have been chosen to participate this year.

9. Expanding Opportunities • State-level staff from each of the federal agencies/programs were invited to attend the day and a half meeting, prior to last year’s Inclusion Institute. • Programming for the day and a half focused on collaborative action planning between the different agencies.

10. Expanding Opportunities • All states were provided with multiple opportunities for technical assistance from NECTAC, their Regional Resource Centers, Head Start T&TA Network, and the Child Care T&TA Network.

11. SPP Indicator 6 Percent of preschool children with IEPs who received special education and related services in settings with typically developing peers (e.g., early childhood settings, home, and part- time early childhood/part-time early childhood special education settings).

12. Iowa’s LRE 3-5 Trajectory • 2010-2011: 75% • 2009-2010: 65% • 2008-2009: 55% • 2007-2008: 50% • 2006-2007: 45% • 2005-2006: 45% • 2004-2005: 42%

13. Strategies • Research statewide, AEA, and LEA specific issues • Planning related to statewide, AEA, and LEA specific issues • Professional development and implementation • Evaluation and progress monitoring • Revision to practice

14. To Reach Our Goal • Partnerships • Quality early childhood programs • Staff development

15. Expanding Opportunities • Team from Iowa went to North Carolina in August of 2005 • Team represented Department of Education, Head Start, Department of Human Services, Child Care Resource & Referral, and Center for Disabilities and Development • Developed action plan, including a communication plan

16. OTHER ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING LRE IN IOWA • Iowa’s Quality Preschool Program Standards • Natural Allies • Every Child Reads – 3-5 • LRE Workgroup

17. Iowa’s Quality Preschool Program Standards • Based on the NAEYC standards • Funded through a State Improvement Grant (SIG) and Community Empowerment Areas • Coaching model

18. NATURAL ALLIES • Working with community colleges and their partners to prepare personnel to provide quality services for ALL young children in inclusive environments • Natural Environments and LRE Environments brochure • Distribution plan for brochure

19. Every Child Reads – 3-5 Years • Statewide Initiative to expand capacity of early care & education providers to enhance literacy development of preschoolers • 3 Modules: language, reading, & writing • Principles supported by Iowa’s Early Learning Standards & Benchmarks

20. LRE WORKGROUP • Outcomes: • To identify system barriers to LRE for preschoolers at the state and AEA levels • To determine steps to take to address those barriers • To develop training for revised ECSE setting codes • If needed, to make revisions to present policies & procedures, such as “3-4-5 Thrive” • To identify training needs • To assist in the development of needed training

21. Iowa’s Future • Preschoolers with IEPs will have access to quality, inclusive environments and will therefore enter school ready to learn.

22. Iowa’s Inclusion Efforts Communication Plan

23. “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

24. Is our low LREa failure to communicate?

25. 1. Turning all eyes outward the customer as the cause of change 2. Enabling people to connect with change 3. The pitfalls of reactive communication 4. Market-based strategic communication 5. Aligning individual effort with organizational goals 6. Telling and retelling: the leader's communication role 7. Communicating coherently among audiences 8. The importance of trust Communicating for ChangeD’Aprix’s Principles From Communicating for Change, Roger D'Aprix

26. “Communication is an essential tool for accomplishing change, but it is a tool organizational leaders use poorly or thoughtlessly.  When it is used poorly, it confuses people.  It also makes them angry and feeds their skepticism and cynicism, making them evermore resistant to change….There is a far better way, which I call market-based strategic communication.” --John D’Aprix, Communication for Change

27. Full Inclusion Classroom • Head Start • State PreK • QPPS • Child Care • Private Preschool Early Care, Health, Education System Communication Targets AEA SPED Dir + Staff Superintendents Principals ECSE Classroom Full Inclusion Classroom School Bldg LEAs AEAs

28. Creative Executions Ads, etc. Creative Strategy Big idea, images, words Advertising/IMC Strategy Media Strategy & Creative Brief Communications Strategy Marketing Strategy Organization Mission, Goals and Strategies Strategic Foundation of a Communication Effort

29. Tactical Executions Brochures, Presentations, Meetings, Conferences Iowa’s Strategic Alignment COMMUNICATION PLAN AND TACTICS COMMUNICATION GOALS Increase Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action within target audiences to change behavior so more children with disabilities are served inclusive settings. MARKETING GOALS & STRATEGIES: Create the atmosphere, incentives, capacity and desire to change practice so more children with disabilities are served inclusive settings. MISSION: Expand Inclusive Opportunities for children with disabilities in Iowa through statewide, interagency efforts. GOAL: Change the thinking among AEA and LEA staff and administrators, Early Access staff, community based early childhood staff and administrators, and parents need to change thinking from delivery of services in ECSE classrooms to integrated classrooms.

30. supports supports Communication Strategy TARGET AUDIENCE What would I like them to think? What do they think now? Message Desired Attitude Current Attitude

31. Communicate about the six-year plan – explicit about repercussions. WIIFM: Want to do what is best for kids, can fit into time constraints, research shows this is best for kids, can make this work, others have, early interventions can save them. Research shows that inclusive works (also quality issues). We’ll provide tools and TA to help them. (incentives to implement.) Mini grants? Praise for implantation of ECSE models; ID and use champions A way to address CSIP issues EXAMPLE Communication Strategy Superintendents Current Attitude Desired Attitude • Inclusion requires more staff and different staffing patterns. • Think they are meeting inclusion now. • Inclusion is too expensive. • Outside of my control means more expense • ECSE is less expensive • Lack of quality and early childhood settings. • Why change? • ECSE kids do better • ECSE classrooms are higher quality. • Partnerships benefit to all settings • Children have a civil right to be in settings with other children • Aware and know six-year plan - must happen • Inclusive better outcomes for kids – not necessarily more expensive, better for bottom line (no busing). • If inclusion provides support (role of LEA/AEA). • Many Models: Unique to community and child • Must change – important to be a leader.

32. Communication Planning Matrix • 1. Create Awareness: Share details about SPP • 2. Create Interest with Embedded messages:-This is our LRE Vision • -This is research-based and good for children. • -Your role is crucial. • 3. Create Desire • -Provide examples of partnership benefits • -Develop action steps to address concerns that arise. • 4. Spur Action • -Provide a list of recommended actions • -Provide success stories from other district School districts and AEA do not recognize community inclusion models as viable options. • CCR&R • Childcare Association meetings • QRS standards • Flyers • Emails to Center Directors • Licensing Consultants • Healthy Childcare Consultants Child Care Help childcare directors and staff become confident with their instinctive response to support children with disabilities within their childcare settings. See next slide

33. Message Pointsfor school administrators • Our vision is that inclusive settings for children with disabilities will be the norm: the common and expected practice in serving all children 0 to 5. We need your partnership to help us realize this vision. • Research and practice show that inclusion works, is best practice for programs and for children, and is possible for every district (school) 3. The responsibility for increasing children served in full inclusion early childhood settings is one shared by the state, the AEAs and local districts. We will work together to make this happen.

34. Tactics • Utilize data base from EC system to identify centers with quality practices and share this information with local school districts. • Disseminate Inclusion brochures through CCR & R trainings and Childcare Association Meetings. • Develop and distribute flyers that show case examples of successful partnerships between school districts and childcare centers.

35. Tactics • Develop and fund brainstorming sessions to help childcare centers, community partners and local school districts to discuss how they can build successful inclusive settings. • Re-do LRE maps to convey LRE percentages by CCRR levels. • Build Inclusion outcomes into the QRS standards and reimbursement rates. • Develop and implement training sessions for childcare providers on consultative supports and imbedded supports for the child (make use of curriculum)

38. For More Information • Mary Schertz: mary.schertz@iowa.gov • Tom Rendon: tom.rendon@iowa.gov • Ann Bailey: baile045@umn.edu • North Central Regional Resource Center: http://www.rrfcnetwork.org/ncrrc