Educational Service Unit # 13
SERVING THE PANHANDLE OF NEBRASKA
February, 2019 Newsletter
Scottsbluff Site
Scottsbluff, NE 69361
Phone: (308) 635-3696
FAX: (308) 635-0680
Chadron Site
Crites Hall
Chadron State College
Chadron, NE 69337
Phone: (308) 432-6495
Sidney Site
1114 Toledo Street
Sidney, NE 69162
Phone: (308) 254-4677
FAX: (308) 254-5371
Mission Statement
Educational Service Unit #13...
Achieving educational excellence for all learners through strong partnerships, service and leadership
By . . .
- Collaborating with schools, families, and communities
- Serving with equity, efficiency, and integrity
- Communicating effectively
- Leading with innovation
ADMINISTRATION
Federal Advocacy Committee Recommends Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) 2019 Federal Advocacy Agenda.
As I have shared with readers in the past, I had the privilege of serving as the Chair of the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) Federal Advocacy Committee back in 2017. AESA members from 21 states recently gathered in Washington, DC to develop AESA’s 2019 Federal Advocacy Agenda.
AESA’s federal legislative agenda is premised on equity in education and educational opportunity, the appropriate role of the federal government to support and strengthen public education, and the focus on ensuring that a high-quality public education should be a viable option for all students and all communities.
Equity in Education and Educational Opportunity
· While federal funding represents, on average, roughly 10 percent of a school district’s operating budget, it is a critical share of education investment. As an entity committed to equity, federal funding must be allocated to school districts and, as appropriate, educational service agencies, via formulae. Continued reliance on competitive allocation is inherently inequitable and reiterates/exacerbates a system of winners and losers.
· Given that a child is more than a test score, federal supports (both funding and policy) as well as federal accountability must include both academic and non-academic factors, including (but not limited to) physical health, mental health, student engagement, and counseling.
· Equitable access to affordable Internet (broadband) connectivity is an important building block for education and learning. AESA supports the E-Rate program, for its role in providing in Internet to schools and libraries, and the Lifeline program, for the work it does in providing Internet access in low-income homes, an important step in addressing the “homework gap”.
The federal government’s role is to support and strengthen the nation’s public schools.
· Educational service agencies (ESAs) and the districts they serve are not liable to use state and local funds to cover federal mandates.
· Congress must meet its commitment to provide 40% of the additional cost associated with educating students with disabilities. AESA supports this push for ‘full funding’ of IDEA in both the short-term (through annual appropriations) and in the long-term (through stand-alone legislation providing a path to meet the 40% commitment).
· AESA supports a long-term coordinated campaign to grow (phase-in) federal IDEA funding (goal: full funding).
· All entities receiving public dollars will be subject to the same transparency, reporting, and accountability requirements.
· AESA supports state and local education leaders exercising the flexibility and authority returned to them in ESSA. ESAs are uniquely positioned to support state and local education agencies in the implementation of the new law.
· ESAs and the schools they serve may provide Medicaid eligible services and, as such, receive reimbursement. Protect Medicaid in schools.
· Federal policy must support the unique opportunities and obstacles facing our nation’s rural schools and communities, including the REAP, Forest Counties, and Impact Aid programs.
· Ensure new data collection requirements, burdensome regulations and new guidance and policies issued by the U.S. Department of Education must be examined in the context of what is statutorily required of districts and with consideration of current federal, state and local education funding levels.
· In expanding and delivering early education, ensure public schools are a core partner in all stages of planning, implementation and evaluation.
Ensuring high-quality public education is a viable option for all students and all communities.
· Access to robust early education opportunity—particularly for students in high- need/low-income situations—is a critical component to building a strong education continuum.
· ESAs have a unique role to play in supporting expanded and effective implementation of the Carl Perkins (career/technical) education program, relating to fiduciary, professional development and stackable credential responsibilities.
· Equitable access to effective teachers is a critical element for educational opportunity. o ESAs can support teacher preparation and licensure, and supports policy that ensures candidates are eligible for student grants/loans.
· ESAs must be eligible entities for grants that relate to teacher training/certification/development.
SOAR (Sharing Opportunities and Achieving Results)
Educational Service Unit #13 is hosting its 33nd annual Mid-Winter Conference, Monday, February 18, 2019. You should have received an email confirming that you have registered. If you have not, please double check with Perla or Teresa in the SOAR department to be sure that we have you on the list.
In 1965, Units were established “In order to provide supplementary educational services to local school districts.” (LB No. 301) ESU13's mission is to achieve educational excellence for all learners through strong partnerships, service and leadership.
For over 30 years, the ESU13 Mid-Winter Conference has endeavored to meet this mission.
Again, in 2019 we’ve increased the partnership opportunities to support district leadership by having several sessions presented by local educators.
The conference is held at various sites in Scottsbluff, Gering, and Chadron including: The Harms Advanced Technology Center, the Gering Civic Center, Scottsbluff High School, the Hampton Inn, and Chadron State College. It is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
ESU’s professional learning and special education departments contract with nationally-known presenters who offer a variety of workshops for area school administrators, certified, and classified staff members. This year we have local teachers and Department of Education staff as well. We have over 40 sessions from which to choose. Some topics are for specific content areas while others fit a wider audience like how teacher efficacy affects student learning, getting students positively engaged in their learning, and how best to use technology to improve learning.
The 21 school districts served by ESU 13 as well as area private schools attend the conference. Over 1600 people are registered for the conference.
The annual mid-winter conference is an opportunity for educators to enhance their knowledge, learn from content experts, and add to their tool boxes of skills and ideas. It is designed to be a day which will increase teacher skills and thus impact student learning across the region.
Technology Department
Did you carefully read the user agreement and information that is being shared last time you connected to an application through Google or Facebook? The tech department has shared information in the past about personal privacy when you are online, especially on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. This is also a very important topic, specifically for educators when students are accessing online applications and resources.
There are three federal acts that guide decision making around this topic.
- Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) : protect students against harmful content
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) : limits the ability of commercial companies to collect personal information from children under 13
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) : protects the privacy of student education records
More information on CIPA, COPPA, and FERPA can be found at, https://insidetheclassroomoutsidethebox.wordpress.com/2013/12/01/cipa-coppa-ferpa-oh-my/
Protecting Student Privacy video from U.S. Department of Education
Special Services Department
New Staff!
Brayden Ryan-Meridian Paraeducator
Sarah Cordona-Meridian Paraeducator
Sarah Preston-Teacher of the Deaf
Spotlighting our programs:
Early Childhood Special Education
We provide early childhood special education services for children with disabilities, birth to five and their families. Informal & formal resource development & advocacy, tailored around individual family's needs.
Meridian School
Meridian Classrooms provide services to children age 5-21 on a contractual basis with local school districts as part of the continuum of services available to students with disabilities. The goal of the classroom is to provide a high-quality learning environment where all students are given opportunities to excel. Functional academics provide the ability to assimilate and apply essential academic concepts in academic and natural settings across contexts. Environments in school such as the cafeteria, gym, as well as community access (such as the swimming at the YMCA and visits to the local library) along with work experience that offer natural opportunities to teach and access functional academic skills. Although students attend Meridian School, they remain enrolled in and are identified with and included in any required state reports of their home school district.
Head Start/Early Head Start
Head Start would like to welcome the following members to our team: Jessica Campbell Assistant Teacher Sidney Katy Stauffer Assistant Teacher CDC 4
Head Start classrooms are busy with Kindergarten readiness. Providing the public schools with the names of the children who will be attending at the location next year to ensure that children get signed up at the appropriate Kindergarten Round Up. Classrooms invite Kindergarten teachers to come and talk with the preschoolers about the exciting new adventures they will be experiencing next year. We will have approximately 140 children transitioning to Kindergarten.
We have started taking applications for Early Head Start and Head Start for the 2019-20 school year.
Psychology Department
I was recently forwarded a link to a news article in the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper regarding a proposed legislative bill (LB 147) that would authorize school employees to physically restrain students who become violent. I’ll include that link at the bottom of this opinion piece, and this is just that, my opinion. However, I hope my opinion will spark interest in the topic.
As I understand it, the proposed bill would allow all school employees to use physical restraint in order to give teachers and other school employees the authority to maintain order in the classroom and protect themselves and students from violence. This bill defines physical restraint as “holding the hands, wrists or torso of a student.” It also prohibits the use of any mechanical objects and binding students to an object; and, it allows teachers to have administrators or school resource officers remove a student from class for unruly, disruptive or abusive behavior. Principals wouldn’t be allowed to return the student to the classroom without the teacher’s permission unless a special education plan required it.
Having worked with violent adults and youth in several settings, and having worked with a variety of staff who were trained in one of three techniques (all approved by government entities and the employing agencies), the use of “restraint” will depend largely on the skill of the employee. Not the skill of the employee in applying the restraint techniques; but their skill in building relationships with students; recognizing if, when, and how to intervene with a student in a volatile situation; recognizing and managing their own emotions; and, seeking help when needed.
The most successful employee I know of at de-escalating a potentially violent situation was perhaps the smallest in stature. Let’s call her JS, JS was maybe 5 feet tall and couldn’t have weighed 90 lbs; but she was so insightful. She was a master at appearing non-threatening (imagine that!) so she could quietly reach out to students who then responded in a positive way. Contrast that with her male colleague who was physically much larger, and frequently was involved with student restraints. JS had far better insight into student needs and was blessed by being less threatening in stature than her male colleague. To my knowledge JS was never involved in a student restraint while her colleague was often involved. As he gained experience, the male colleague also became very skilled at de-escalating potentially explosive situations and did not rely on his size and strength when intervening. (BTW - Both individuals are now very successful Licensed Mental Health Practitioners.)
I tell of that instance because with training and expertise one can reduce or eliminate the use of restraint. I say let’s focus on training and building our skills, let’s focus on building expertise in developing relationships with students, let’s refine our ability to identify when students are in crisis, let’s refine our ability to intervene in a positive way, let’s be sensitive to the needs of our students, and, let’s restrain students only when there is imminent danger to themselves or others! Let’s build OUR skills.
One district who has implemented extensive staff training report out-of-school suspensions have been reduced by 75% and expulsions for assault on staff reduced by over 60%. Another district reports that there have been zero restraint episodes for more than 5 years.
The link to the Lincoln Journal Star article is https://journalstar.com/legislature/teachers-back-bill-authorizing-physical-restraint-administrators-disability-advocates-oppose/article_26a94a2b-9359-5795-85b6-37a5a0564c10.html.
Behavioral and Mental Health
8 ‘Rude’ Things People Do That Are Actually Caused By Anxiety
When we first meet someone, we can be quick to judge them. First impressions can have a lasting impact, but even if it’s someone we’ve known for a while, when we make a judgment we usually stick to it.
Often, if we find that a person is impolite, we write them off as “not raised right,” “weird,” or just plain “rude.”
Many people who suffer from anxiety have coping mechanisms and side effects that may come off as rude, but in reality, are caused by their anxiety disorders.
We wanted to share what some of these ‘rude’ and ‘impolite’ gestures those with anxiety often do but are misinterpreted completely. Maybe this will remind us to be less judgy and more understanding.
1. We happily agree to meet, go out, make plans and have fun. But at the very last minute we will find an excuse not to go, or 100 reasons why we shouldn’t. When we finally cancel, we feel both relieved and terrible at the same time.
2. Sometimes,we get snappy with people, have an abrupt or harsh tone, or blow up over something that seems small. We understand it makes us seem rude, and we really don’t mean to do it. Our anxiety just makes us feel always on edge that, sometimes, the slightest thing can push us over.
3. We interrupt people during conversations. Sometimes it’s simply because we know we won’t remember what we wanted to say two seconds later. We see how much it irritates other people but we can’t help it, and always feel bad afterwards.
4. We sometimes don’t make eye contact with people when they talk to us, or we look down at our hands, phone, or anything other than the person talking. It’s not that we’re rude, it’s that we can’t always handle looking someone in the eye when we’re anxious.
5. We might be seen on our phones a lot in group settings. We know it’s not polite. We dislike when other people do this. But if we’re having a bad anxiety day, it’s an easy way to keep our mind busy and keep it from escalating into an attack.
6. We tend to distance ourselves from people because we want to “focus on us.” We don’t want to waste someone’s time and energy if we’re not in our ideal state, because then it just won’t be fun for them to be around us.
7. We might intentionally avoid someone we know out in public. It sounds rude and it’s never because we don’t want to see them or hear how they’re doing. It’s insecurity on our own part – the fear of saying something stupid, or being weird, or them not wanting to talk to us.
8. We can get very sarcastic and defensive when anxious… Sometimes we really just want to be left alone and it’s our feeble attempt of pushing people away to create some space.
Alternative Education
Migrant Education
News from the Wellness Committee- February Is Heart Health Month
American Heart Month 2019:
Let’s Talk About Cholesterol
Did you know that nearly 1 in 3 adults in the United States has high blood cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke? High blood cholesterol can be hard to detect, as it often shows no signs or symptoms.
Preventing Heart Disease: Healthy Living Habits
Choosing healthy meal and snack options can help you avoid heart disease and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
By living a healthy lifestyle, you can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar normal and lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack. A healthy lifestyle includes the following:
- Eating a healthy diet.
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
- Getting enough physical activity.
- Not smoking or using other forms of tobacco.
- Limiting alcohol use.
Healthy Diet
Choosing healthful meal and snack options can help you avoid heart disease and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods.
Eating foods low in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol and high in fiber can help prevent high cholesterol. Limiting salt (sodium) in your diet also can lower your blood pressure. Limiting sugar in your diet can lower you blood sugar level to prevent or help control diabetes.
For more information on healthy diet and nutrition, see CDC’s Nutrition, Physical Activity website.