1 st Annual High School Summit

1. 1st Annual High School Summit Presented by: Susan Thibodaux Special Education Program Administrator Christina Ritter Special Education Program Effectiveness Liaison Raecheal Vizier Special Education Program Effectiveness Liaison

2. Agenda • Introduction • Transition • Current Performance • Writing IEP Goals • Word Alert • Closure

3. Why is Transition Important? • You with disabilities often face special challenges that can impeded their transition to adulthood. • Helping youth to make successful transition is important not only to individual families but to the U.S. economy. • In fact, ensuring that all students leaving high school prepare for post-secondary education, productive employment, and satisfying lives is a national priority. Institute of Education Sciences at http:ies.ed.gov/ncee/nlts

4. Impact of Transition 48% 35% 2% Newman, Wagner, Knokey, Marker, Nagie, Shaver…. Schwarting, 2011

5. Student Behaviors Associated with Post School Success • Refer to Handout • Transition Education Fast Facts Center for Exceptional Children Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment, 2011

6. Stats from District Monitoring Ritter, Vizier 2011

7. Top Ten Violations 10. Field trips are now listed as community experiences. 9. Avoid saying as needed or the family should…use family will • Not documenting Bridging the Gap, Application Pending…. 7. Missing Signed Graduation Plan 6. Missing one or more transition assessments

8. Continued…. 5. NO goal targeted for transition 4. School Action Steps – target deficit areas and impairments; list related services. 3. IEP letter with agency representative and transition checked off. 2. Measureable post-secondary goals “I will” 1. Do not use the same words for all transition plans. Vary your wording

9. Best Practices for Transition Goal Writing • Training/Education • After graduating from high school, I will attend Fletcher Community College to study nursing to earn credits to transfer to a four year college to earn an associates degree. • Employment • After graduating from high school, I will work part at Wal-Mart while attending college. After earning an associates degree, I will work full time as a LPN at a nursing home. • Independent Living • After graduating from high school, I will continue to live with my parents while I attend college. • Assessments • Student, teacher, parent questionnaires, five year graduation plan, interest inventories, work samples

10. Your Turn…. Use the handout…Use Key Postsecondary Goal Phrases to write: Training/Education Goal Employment Goal Independent Living Goal When? What? for What Purpose?

11. Let’s refer to the IEP itself… • Current Performance • Writing IEP Goals

12. Current Performance Best practices include… Should include a strength Should include data (3 forms in applicable) Should include area of difficulty

13. An Example…. Raecheal can identify the basic story elements including setting and characters. She scored 17 on the frustration level on isteep benchmarking. She reads on a 4.1 grade level with a lexile score of 700. She has difficulty with reading comprehension and grade level vocabulary.

14. Your turn…. • Using the white dry erase board, write a current performance for one of your students. • Share with peers at your table. • Share with the group

15. IEP Goal Writing • For Academic/Cognitive goal • Include student’s name • Include data reflecting current performance • Include data point reflecting targeted growth • Include intervention programs and/or instructional strategies used • Include time frame-- “one IEP year”

16. Best Practice… Goal Writing Using a reading intervention program and literacy strategies, Raecheal will increase her lexile level from 700 to 810 in one IEP year.

17. Word Alert • Always spell check… too many spelling errors • Avoid abbreviations LTC.. not everyone knows what it is • Avoid using “field trips”, use community experiences • Avoid using as needed, when needed, shall, might, wants to, would like to,

18. Closure • Q & A, Comments • Follow up Assessment • Survey