Educational Equity and Access

April showers bring May flowers so let's all hold tight as we may see some rain this month. Speaking of rain, we have been raining down great opportunities and support for our wonderful students and staff in Rockwood. Please see what we have been up to in this edition and catch our newest podcast with our very own Director of Human Resources, Dr. Kelly Sollberger. She gives us an inside look at HR, it was a very interesting and informative interview! Have a wonderful month.

~Dr. Cassandra Suggs

Hosted by Dr. Cassandra Suggs and Emily Walshaw, each podcast episode inspires to engage, educate, and entertain. This episode we spoke with Kelly Solberger, Director of Human Resources. We hear about all things HR and what the department does for Rockwood School District staff, students, and future employees. Please visit Rockwood School District on YouTube to view and listen to all past podcasts.

During the month of April, we celebrate the Arab American heritage and culture that pays tribute to the contributions of Arab Americans and highlight the successes of Arabic-speaking Americans.

Below is a list of books in which the main protagonist is from an Arab country! We want to thank one of our middle school librarians for sharing these.

Wishing Upon the Same Stars

The Turtle of Oman (and the sequel The Turtle of Michigan)

Other Words for Home

The Shape of Thunder

Shad Hadid and the alchemists of Alexandria (and sequel)

The Red Pencil

The garden of my Imaan

Escape from Aleppo

Boy in the Back of the Class

Love from A to Z

You can learn more about this national celebration on the Arab America Foundation website.

Over the last two months the EEA Department was able to provide funding for students to purchase books at their respective school book fairs. One of the staff members at Chesterfield Elementary recently stated "thank you so much and the kids were over the moon with their books!!". We had the opportunity to grant over $1,800 to 9 different elementary and middle schools.

During the month of March many of our schools also hosted events for "Spread the Word" Inclusion Day. We were able to provide some students with stickers, purchased from the Special Olympics site. You can check out what all they have to offer here!

Applications are now being accepted for this scholarship opportunity and the deadline is May 1st, 2024.

Eligibility Requirements:

• African American High School Senior
• Cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale)
• Attending a four-year college in the 2024 fall semester
• A resident of the St. Louis metropolitan area (must reside in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, or St. Charles County)

Please use the flyer to scan the QR code to submit your application.

If a student banged on his desk once after recess for a few minutes, a teacher may be annoyed, but not on alert.

But if a student banged on his desk every day after recess for 10 minutes for a few days in a row, the teacher may notice something is amiss. If the student then proceeded to shout and pull his peers' hair, noticing and addressing the frustration that spurred the banging may be crucial to understanding the behavior.

"You don't have to be super trained to identify a pattern if you're looking for it," said Amanda Kelly, a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst in Orlando, Fla. "I would just start writing down what came before and what came after the behavior. We can look at lower-level versions of the challenging behavior that are not harmful and try to see what's going on."

Frustration pattern-finding is a critical part of functional behavioral analysis for students with behavior challenges. The IDEA neither defines an FBA nor explains the steps required to complete one. Further, FBAs are not required under the law except when the team determines a student's conduct that gave rise to a change in placement was a manifestation of her disability. 34 CFR 300.530 (f). In some situations, however, IEP teams' failure to conduct an FBA has been viewed as impeding the development of an appropriate IEP to the extent that it denied FAPE. For example, in C.F. v. New York City Department of Education, 62 IDELR 281 (2d Cir. 2014), the court held that the lack of an FBA led to an inappropriate behavioral intervention plan and ultimately an inappropriate placement option offered for the student. The failure to conduct an FBA would not have resulted in an IDEA violation if the student's BIP had adequately addressed the behavioral problems, the court found.

To avoid denial-of-FAPE claims, it's important for administrators, special educators, and related service providers to learn how to document student frustration patterns so the data is ready to support an FBA or BIP if needed. Explore appropriate ways to better understand behaviors before they interfere with student learning. Peruse these five tricks to uncover patterns of frustration and equip your team for action.

• Look at what occurs before behavior. A student may offer clues to his frustration before engaging in challenging behavior, Kelly said. Look for a pattern of antecedent behavior that is more subtle and allows you to predict when the inappropriate behavior may occur. For instance, the student may put his head down before getting out of his seat and shouting to disrupt the class. A paraprofessional, teacher, or related service provider can notice if it happens every time the class is about to read together or engage in another group activity. "When you look for those types of behaviors, we don't want to wait for the big challenging one; we can find the more subtle one," she said. That will enable the team to say, "In these conditions, [the behavior is] more likely to happen."
• Consider what takes place after behavior. Separate out what the main behavior is that needs to change, Kelly said. For example, a young student may call out and interrupt her teacher and peers during circle time or jump out of her seat and run around the classroom during an independent activity. Look at what happens after that behavior. For instance, maybe the student gets a lot of attention from her teacher or her peers that she seems to enjoy. Or her peers may laugh at her, and she becomes upset because of the negative attention.
• Collect, review data. Write down information about these behaviors to uncover a pattern, Kelly said. Note on a simple data sheet what a behavior looks like and when it happens. For example, record that a student interrupts his teacher after lunch. Or mark on a calendar with a highlighter or pen when a behavior occurs. "It would just tell you when something happened and how often, but that can be really informative for looking at patterns as well," she said. "It can be a good starting place."
• Go from low to high-impact strategies. Depending on the frequency or intensity of the behavior, you may not need to go several weeks collecting data before implementing some simple strategies to address a student's frustration, Kelly said. For example, you may want to try changing where the student sits to see if that makes a difference. Then if it doesn't, continue to collect data. "We're usually looking for 10 to 12 occurrences of the behavior, but that can happen in one day or three days, or it can take five months, where the behavior is intense, but not frequent," she said. "The idea is not to let the behavior go on for a long period of time. We don't want anyone in distress."
• Stay flexible. If you create a BIP to address a student's frustration and include goals and accommodations related to his behavior on his IEP, don't wait until the next annual IEP meeting if they're working, Kelly said. Monitor the student's progress and convene sooner to make revisions. For instance, a student may no longer need noise-canceling headphones as an accommodation if he adjusts to the noise in the classroom. "Don't be afraid to call a meeting," she said.

Please note that specific dates were left off on purpose, as many of these change year to year based on the calendar.

Did you know the Department of Educational Equity and Access has a public group in ParentSquare?

Parents, guardians, staff members, and students have the option to join public groups in ParentSquare.

To join our group on ParentSquare, follow these 3 simple steps:

1. From the home screen on ParentSquare, click "Groups" in the left sidebar under the "Participate" section.
2. Look for "Public" groups with the people icon.
3. 3. Click "Join Group" next to the group that interests you.