October 2024

Director's

Corner

Happy Halloween Everyone,

I can’t believe we are already through October and on the cusp of November. While it has been a whirlwind, we have loved supporting all of you. While many things are on our agenda, I thought I would briefly update you on our ECKCE Strategic Plan. We are committed to providing the resources you need to ensure an inclusive and supportive environment for all our students. Our strategic plan reflects this commitment. Thank you for your feedback. Our final goals and objectives are below, and action steps and timelines will be added by the end of this month. 

Goal 1: Within the 2024-2025 school year, the ECKCE Administration will actively work to increase their understanding and support of overall student and staff wellbeing. 

Strategy #1: Provide training and resources for staff to increase their effectiveness in addressing the social-emotional and behavioral needs of students.

Strategy # 2: Provide additional opportunities for staff to increase their wellbeing. 

Goal 2: Within the 2024-2025 school year, the ECKCE Administration will improve organizational efficiency and impact through data-driven decision-making. 

Strategy #1: Implement staffing procedures to ensure overall efficiencies and effectiveness of services to our students with disabilities while maintaining fiscal responsibility. 

Strategy #2: Implement systems to review program efficiency and effectiveness frequently. 

Strategy #3: Implement transparency, collaboration, and reporting systems to ensure fiscal responsibility. 

Goal 3: Within the 2024-2025 school year, ECKCE administration and staff will improve communication and strengthen stakeholder relationships. 

Strategy #1: Improve visibility and relationships between our ECKCE organization and cooperating districts. 

Strategy #2: Provide opportunities for collaboration on effective strategies and supports for students with disabilities and their families. 

Goal 4: Within the 2024-2025 school year, the ECKCE administration will improve staff recruitment and retention strategies. 

Strategy #1: Seek to understand ways to support certified and classified staff in their work with students. 

Strategy #2: Maintain competitive salaries for staff recruitment. 

Strategy #3: Create clear, consistent, and efficient onboarding practices between ECKCE and cooperating districts. 

Goal 5: By the end of the 2026-2027 school year, ECKCE will procure targeted instructional resources. 

Strategy #1: Procure social-emotional and behavioral instructional resources. 

Strategy #2: Procure reading instructional resources. 


Switching gears, please ensure your progress reports have been completed for the first quarter. Upon completing our recent IDEA and Gifted File review as mandated by KSDE, we discovered progress reports that had not been completed and submitted to the case file.  This was concerning as it's a required component IDEA. If you struggle to complete these or upload to the system, please feel free to reach out, and we can assist you.

In closing, as always, thank you for all you do. We have been impressed with your efforts to ensure our students are learning and appreciate being part of the ECKCE team. Self-care is equally important to the care you give our students. In a world where we are being asked to do a million things, remember…………….

YOU ARE A PRIORITY!

Lee Hanson

Reminder

The Parent Rights Notice must be given to parents, at a minimum:

(1) Only one time in a school year; and

(2) Upon initial referral or parent request for evaluation;

(3) Upon receipt of the first formal complaint to the State in a school year;

(4) Upon receipt of the first due process complaint in a school year;

(5) Upon initiation of a disciplinary change of placement; and

(6) Upon parent request.


Always document instances where parent rights have been provided.

Announcing the Launch of ECKCE's Digital Resources

We are excited to announce the rollout of new digital resources designed to make your work easier and more efficient. These tools will reduce the time and effort you spend searching for or creating forms and resources—allowing you to focus more on supporting students. Throughout the year, we’ll continue expanding these offerings, and will highlight additions in upcoming newsletters.

Due to copyright and access restrictions, some items can't be made available on a public website. To access them, click the "Access" link then enter our Interlocal number (614) for your answer, and you’ll receive immediate access to the materials. Once you gain access, bookmark the URL if you'd like and won't have to go through the form again.

To kick things off, here are two key resources now available on the Tools and Resources Page:

Help Us Build and Improve the Resource Library!
Our Behavior Specialist Amy Hickman, Autism Consultant Abbey Vieux-Revell, the school psychologists and the specialist team will work throughout the year to determine priorities for our resources and help curate the best options.  But we need your input, which we'll gather systematically later this fall.  

And what we're hearing as a priority is that you'd like access to a digital IEP goal bank, which we're investigating!

In meantime, as you go through these two resources, you will have ideas for other things you'd like to see or think of something you already have that should be shared.   At the bottom of the Tools and Resources page is a Google form to submit these suggestions or upload resources. You can also email any ideas or resources directly to jpersinger@eckce.com.

Stay tuned for more updates in future newsletters!

Resource of the Month

Each month we'll highlight resources you won't want to miss.

The "all in one" behavior graph is ready to track frequency, duration or intensity data, or analyze interval data.  Save it to your own drive, then you can easily edit it with the names of behaviors you're tracking and as you plug in your data it will automatically graph it.

Also, check out this great "Mindful Interventions in Special Education resource.  With extensive examples and case studies, it has sections connecting mindfulness skills to learning disabilities and conduct disorders, detailed discussion of how it can be used to increase attention or address motivation concerns, and more.  You'll find in the library an extensive collection of mindfulness resources including curricula for youth of all ages and abilities.

Adaptive Movement and Music

Please share this opportunity with families and friends!  Though this is held in Baldwin City, it's open to residents of other communities.

This is a four week class for students with developmental disabilities (particularly those with autism) to experience the joy of music and movement in a space designed to meet their individual needs. Join Tyler Simcoe who is a musician, artist, and behavioral support assistant working at a special school and completing his degree in special education. He will be joined by Amelia Murray who is BCCA Assistant Director.

Details and a link to enroll are here, just scroll to the bottom of the page.  Email angela@bccreativearts.com with questions!, 

It's time to sign up!

Notice the options are for either the initial course or a refresher course!  Contact Dave Powers dpowers@eckce.com with questions.

Other Upcoming Trainings

Email jpersinger@eckce.com with details of other free, low-cost and/or local opportunities

Many of these are free but require registration

Delivering Uncomfortable News: How to Talk with Parents & Teachers

Instructor(s): Dr. Tammy L. Stephens & Georgene Moon, M.Ed.

Date: 11-01-2024 (12-1pm CST)

https://riversideinsights.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dbat2pduTRu3ng8Adkfo2ALinks to an external site. 

What to Do With a DNQ?

Instructor(s): Dr. Tammy L. Stephens & Georgene Moon, M.Ed.

Date: 11-08-2024 (12-1pm CST)

https://riversideinsights.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qTFiGI9cQfCUmg5w90lCRALinks to an external site. 

Report Writing: Organizing Your Data

Instruction(s): Dr. Tammy L. Stephens & Georgene Moon, M.Ed.

Date: 11-15-2024 (12-1pm CST)

https://riversideinsights.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vz_hQ3fUQqiExKbh69KdEQLinks to an external site. 

Behavior Intervention Protocol Training from Kansas MTSS & Alignment 


Click for more details on an in-person, no cost training session to learn a 5-step research-based behavior intervention protocol to implement across classroom environments.

Date:  11-19-2024 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. CST, Hilton Garden Inn, Salina.