May 2015 / 1

The Exceptional Times

A publication for Exceptional Children’s personnel in

Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools

2015 Special Olympics

Inside This Issue

Special Olympics 1

Behavior Support 2-3

Brain Workout 4

TeachED—Got TED? 5-6

Professional Dev. 7

Autism 8

Grant Info 9

Easy IEP 10

Process 11

Parent Survey 12

May 2015

May 2015 / 2

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with disa-bilities and/or gifts and talents. There are many benefits to joining. You will gain access to evidence-based articles to broaden your knowledge. You will receive news and information to keep you up-to-date. You will have the opportunity to engage in conversations that will stimulate your

thinking. You will have the advantage of discounts to save you money. Most importantly, you will be able to make connections to expand your relationships. To learn more about CEC membership, click here. For more information about how to join and the benefits of joining CEC, you can contact Mary Todd-Allen at mtallen@wsfcs.k12.nc.us or Amanda White at amwhite@wsfcs.k12.nc.us.

Visit the CEC website at www.cec.sped.org!

In March, the NC DPI PRC-29 consultant conducted a validation visit with the Behavior Sup-

port Team (BST). The state consultant referred to our district as being a “model for the

state.” The consultant said, “This is the only visit I have made where I could offer no sugges-

tions for improvement, only praise what has been done.” In fact, the team was asked to pre-

sent at regional meetings about progress monitoring, data collection, and parent involvement.

Congratulations to the Behavior Support Team for all of your hard work!

Behavior Support Team

BST Help Sessions:

May 28, 2015 3:00-5:00

Validation Tool Success!

Remaining NCI Training:

May 4 Refresher Special Services

May 11-12 Initial Gathering Place

June 10 Refresher Gathering Place & CC

Join the

Council for Exceptional Children

TODAY!

Submitted by Shannon Dobson

May 2015 / 3

The Behavior Support Team and the PBIS Coaches frequently refer to The Tough Kid Book for practical class-

room management strategies. This book contains proactive, positive techniques to manage and motivate the

Tough Kids in your classroom. One example from this book is called The Chance Jar strategy, which uses a

group contingency and could be effective if peer encouragement would have a positive effect on specific

behaviors.

How to use Chance Jars…

The Chance jar strategy is a mixed group contingency that incorporates dependent, interdependent, and inde-

pendent group contingencies to reduce disruptive behavior and improve classroom rule-following. Variations

of the program have been used in both elementary and secondary classrooms. The steps to setting up and im-

plementing the program are as follows:

Step 1: Classroom rules must be in place

Step 2: Create three Jars and label them Group Jar, Student Jar, and Mystery Motivator Jar;

The Group Jar contains slips of paper with one of four group contingencies on them; Whole class, One

student, All who meet it, and Wild Card.

The Student Jar contains a slip of paper with the name of each student in the class.

The Mystery Motivator Jar holds slips of paper with various reinforcers (i.e. free time, homework pass,

or class game). You can ask students for suggestions of rewards that do not take a lot of time or

cost a lot of money.

Step 3: Create a Rule-Following Log with the names of all students and spaces to record/tally all rule infrac

tions.

Step 4: Explain that the class can earn rewards by complying with the classroom rules.

Step 5: Tell students that each time they break a rule you will place a tally mark next to their name in the Rule-

Following Log. Determine the criterion level for reinforcement – for example, three or fewer marks for

rule breaking.

Step 6: At the end of the day or class period, randomly draw a slip of paper from the Group Jar. If the slip

drawn says:

Whole class – the whole class has to meet the criterion for reinforcement to occur.

One Student – then you draw a name from the Student Jar and if that student met the criterion, the

whole class gets the reward. Note: this is a dependent group contingency. The name of the student

drawn should remain anonymous. The student’s name does not need to be revealed.

All who met it – Only those students who met the criterion will get the reward.

Wild Card – All students receive the reward!! This is used to help students who have had a bad day re-

main motivated.

Step 7: Randomly select a slip of paper from the Mystery Motivator to determine the reward.

The Tough Kid Book, 2nd

Edition by Ginger Rhode, William R Jenson, and H. Keaton Reavis

Submitted by Laura Camp

Behavior Support Team - The Chance Jar Strategy

Group

Jar

Student

Jar

Mystery

Motivator

May 2015 / 4

May Brain Teaser

Kindness is the language

which the deaf can hear

and the blind can

see……

Mark Twain

Quote of the

Month

The most difficult tongue twister in the

English language is:

“sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick”

Approximately one new word is added to the English language every two hours and around 4,000 new words are added to the English dictionary every year

There is no word in the English language that rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple

The word ‘hundrath’ in Old Norse (old lan-guage from where English language origi-nated), from which word ‘hundred’ de-rives, meant not 100 but 120.

Different names for the number 0 include zero, nought, naught, nil, zilch and zip

1. Each of the following groups of

letters can be anagrammed into

at least two words. Unscramble

the letters.

EFIRSSU---EEMPRSU---EENPRST

2. One word among the following is

the odd man out. Which one, and

why?

CORSET--COSTER--SECTOR--

ESCORT--COURTS

Email submissions to:

hjsurratt@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Due to the high number of submissions, we

need to make some changes to our guide-

lines. Entries will be accepted through the

second Friday of each publication month.

All submissions will be entered into a draw-

ing whereas three winners will be randomly

selected! These winners will receive recogni-

tion in the EC Times as well as a special

prize! Good luck to all!

Do we all have “attention deficits”? Or is there some-thing else going on?

Let’s try this little experiment, conceived by Si-mons and Chabris for their clas-sic study on sus-tained in-attentional blind-ness (1999).

Click picture to the right to watch a brief video clip, and your chal-lenge is to count the total num-ber of times that the bas-ket-balls change hands OR go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

May Brain Teaser Did You Know…..

Test Your Attention

May 2015 / 5

LaRhona Williams and Ms. Lovell Sims’

readiness class at Caleb’s Creek Elemen-

tary School is an exciting and fun place to

be. On this particular day, the students

were completing some subtraction prob-

lems using Touch Math. Mrs. Williams

taught the numbers and the touch points to

mastery. Now, students will draw touch

points on numbers as needed to add or

subtract then fade them as they no longer

need them. The students are excited and

are learning! Please take a moment to

view this short video.

Alicia Clement, EC Resource Teacher at Walk-

ertown High School, is an amazing asset to the

students, families, and staff. She goes above and

beyond every day. Ms. Clement is willing to

help students and co-workers in any way possi-

ble. If asked to help, there is no doubt it will be

done and done well! Ms. Clement spends hours

outside of work continuing to share her passion

for educational excellence. She has an uncanny

ability to help her students understand academic

concepts and apply them to their schoolwork

and post-secondary goals. Her enthusiasm and

energy are infectious and help keep the atmos-

phere at Walkertown High positive. Both stu-

dents and staff know, without a doubt, that Ali-

cia is always ready to lend a helping hand and

offer support. We are so grateful to have Ms.

Clement at WHS!!

LaRhonda Williams and

Lovelle Sims Love

Touch Math

Walkertown HS is Grateful

for Alicia Clement

TeachED– Growing One Idea and One Story at a Time!

WS/FCS VI Staff: Donna Hunt,

Jessica Eichfeld, Shannon Pruitt

Submitted by Tracy Pittman

May 2015 / 6

Margarita Murden is an EC Teacher Assis-

tant at Hanes Middle School. Her duties include but are not limited to: Resource

Para Professional (Science, Trans Math, ELA and Social Studies), support students

(social /academic / behavior), maintain daily documentation, asssist EC teacher with

guided practice teaching, trained Trans Math and Corrective Reading, teaches 2 Cor-

rective Classes Daily, provide General Ed support (Science) and assist with bus du-

ties afterschool etc.

Margarita Murden aka “Mama Murden’s” impact is amazing as she has a special, nat-

ural gift that makes the difference not only among EC students and teachers but the

Hanes community as well. She wears many hats and her willingness and dedication

are unconditional, regardless of the need and people involved. Her calm nurturing

mannerism in dealing with students’ academic, social, and/or at-risk behaviors is

astonishing. Her experience encompasses various disabilities and ability levels in-

cluding the MAP program. Her quality time with students and adults leaves a golden imprint which is unforgetta-

ble. One person can make a difference, and Margarita Murden “Mama Murden” does!

TeachED– Growing One Idea and One Story at a Time!

Pizza = Motivation! Submitted by Diane Sperber

One incentive I use to keep the Re-source students on track and moti-vated, is as they complete a level in

Corrective Reading or Number Worlds we have a pizza party!

It is time for celebration this week!

3 students completed Number Worlds level C

1 student completed Number Worlds level D

3 students completed Corrective Reading level A

Allison Wilson

Cash ES

Sandra Johnson

Carter High

School

Aaron

Snyder

KMS

Talib Free-

man with

Dr. Cone!

An EC Stu-

dent from

Paisley was

another

March

Brain Tease

Winner!

Jay Jones

Walkertown

HS Carter

Our very own Sherry Stancliff has received her school specialty

certification from the American Occupational Therapy Associa-

tion (AOTA). She is one of a few distinguished Occupational

Therapists in the country, actually one of twelve. She is the

very first OT in our state to receive the school specialty certification. This certification was initiated

by the AOTA in the Fall of 2013. This is a very rigorous process of self-examination along with sub-

mission of writings to show your knowledge and interpretation of assessments and treatments of

students. Congratulations to Sherry!!! She can now add these credentials to her professional signa-

ture, SCSS. Submitted by Loretta Bumgarner

National OT School

Specialty Certification

“Mama Murden”

@ Hanes Middle A

pril W

inn

ers!

May 2015 / 7

Professional Development Team

Submitted by Doria Sullivan

End of Year Procedures

It’s that time of the year again! As we prepare to close out another successful school year,

please look over the following list. We want to make sure our students’ instructional needs

are taken care!

Students in Fifth Grade: Please fill out an instructional profile card noting their strengths,

weaknesses, suggestions and/or concerns as it pertains to program implementation. Then

write the students’ name on the front, top-right corner of their workbook. Please send

these to the case manager at the Middle School they will be attending 2015-2016. If you

are not sure which middle school they plan to attend, contact your case manager and/or

guidance counselor for this information. Please have the IP card and workbook in the in-

ner-office mail by June 15th. (Your instructional coach will provide IP cards to you soon!)

Students in Eighth Grade: Please fill out an instructional profile card noting their

strengths, weaknesses, suggestions and/or concerns as it pertains to program implementa-

tion. Then write the students’ name on the front, top-right corner of their workbooks.

Please send these to your case manager. They will send these on to their middle school

case manager. Case Managers– Please have the IP card and workbook in the inner-office

mail by June 15th. ( Your instructional coach will provide IP cards to you soon!)

Inventory– Our EC Inventory System is up and running! In an effort to barcode and enter

all EC Materials into this database, we need your help! If you have materials YOU DO

NOT NEED, please box these items up and send to : Bookroom / Special Services Center.

For all other materials, we are asking our teachers to fill out an Inventory Sheet. This

sheet should include ALL EC MATERIALS IN YOUR POSSESSION! We are finalizing

next steps and will communicate our plan to you soon! This is a GREAT time to clean out

those cabinets and get rid of materials you don’t use. Remember, one man’s trash is an-

other man’s treasure! We look forward to restocking our bookroom with materials that

another EC teacher will use next year! ( Your instructional coach will provide Inventory

Sheets to you soon!)

Teaching and Testing– Steve Oates, Assistant Superintendent over Elementary Schools

recently send an email to all principals that said, “ Just a reminder that we can’t ask EC

teachers to cancel services to assist with testing ”. We thank him for his support!

May 2015 / 8

Impacts 1 in 68 children

5 times more common in boys than in girls

Commonly co-occurs with other developmental, psychiatric, neurologic, chromosomal and genetic diagnoses

About half of children with ASD have above to above average intellectual ability

Occurs in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups

Local Resources for Families impacted by ASD:

Forsyth Chapter of the Autism Society of North Carolina

http://chapters.autismsociety-nc.org/forsythcounty

iCanHouse of Winston-Salem

http://www.icanhouse.org/about/

Celebrating Autism Awareness!

Submitted by AU Team

Statistics about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from the CDC:

AU Teachers at Southwest Elementary School Go Above and Beyond! Submitted by Anne Parra

Awareness of children with Autism Spectrum

Disorder was certainly increased during the

month of April at Southwest Elementary

School due to the efforts of Beth Dodson,

Claire Bonin (speech pathologists), Courtney

Fischer (PreK teacher) and the entire EC staff.

Each week during April, Beth, Claire and

Courtney introduced a theme and provided

presentations and handouts to the faculty that

centered on the challenges that ASD children

present and effective classroom strategies.

These weekly themes included Sensory/

Behavior Challenges, Communication Chal-

lenges, Academic Challenges, and Social Inter-

action Challenges. Thanks to the entire EC

staff at Southwest Elementary for increasing

Autism Awareness! Click the link below!

Local WS/FCS Elementary Teachers Celebrate Autism Awareness Month http://www.camelcitydispatch.com/local-elementary-

May 2015 / 9

1. Carrie Anazia - Ibraham Elementary School - $2,090 to attend the Singapore Math Grade Level

Workshop Series

2. Cynthia Greer - Parkland High School - $1,390 to attend the Wired Differently national conference

3. Nela Hawley – Union Cross Elementary School - $2,265 to attend workshops through Jensen

Learning

4. Miranda Jones – Hanes Middle School - $1,500 for the International Literacy Association confer-

ence

5. Robert Oaster – Paisley Middle School - $1,285 to attend the Council for Exceptional Children Na-

tional Conference

6. Angela Penny – Walkertown Middle School - $1,074.49 for training in working with students who

need social and behavioral skill training

7. Cassie Robacker – Middle Fork Elementary School - $2,200 to attend the International Conference

on Learning Disabilities

8. Elia Spencer – The Special Children’s School - $2,280 for the TEACCH professional certification

program

9. Alisha Taylor – Diggs-Latham Elementary School - $1,325 for a workshop on project-based learning

10. Oneica Westmoreland – Hospital Homebound Education Center - $1,000 to attend the Council for

Children with Behavioral Disorders conference

11. Amanda White – Lowrance Middle School - $1,530 for the TEACCH professional certification

program

So are you ready to write your first (or second or third etc.) grant proposal? The NC Bright Ideas

Grant program is sponsored by North Carolina's Energy Cooperatives and provides grant funds

for innovative classroom ideas. Energy United in Statesville is the sponsoring cooperative for

the WSFCS. Teachers in K-12 may apply for grants of up to $2,000 for their classroom projects.

You may apply online and must do so before the deadline of September 30, 2015. But don’t wait

until the fall, because the early bird gets the worm. You may begin submitting your grant appli-

cations now by visiting their web site at http://www.ncbrightideas.com and click under "apply

now" and then the link you need to get your process started. The site has a sample application

for you to view as well. This is an example of a funder with a focus on general classroom ideas.

EC Grant Winners & More Grant Opportunities!

Submitted by Program Managers

May 2015 / 10

Child Count

Thanks for your assistance with April Child Count.

Remember to continue to let Ginger Haynes or Lynise Birch know when a student withdraws

to go to another state or district.

Cleaning Up Records

If you finalize something by mistake, please email Ginger Haynes with the student name, ID #

and the Doc ID for the document that is incorrect.

The Doc ID is listed to the left of the document on the student’s Documents screen.

Finalizing Documents

Remember to finalize all documents for a meeting within a day or two of the date the meeting

was held.

The information in EasyIEP for all final documents should match what is on the hard copy

placed in the student’s folder.

Contact the EC Division if you have questions regarding this.

Related Services

For therapists to be able to document screenings, evaluations and/or services, the related

service must be added to the Service Delivery screen.

After documentation has been completed, the service may be removed from the service deliv-

ery screen if the student will not be receiving services in that area.

The related services provider will enter the sessions and time, if the student will be getting

services.

Contact the EC Division if you have questions regarding this.

Additional Modules

As additional modules are rolled out, you may see some screen changes.

Continue to complete all EC work under the EC Process as usual.

Submitted by Ginger Haynes

EASY IEP UPDATES

May 2015 / 11

Process: The Life of a Goal!

IEP Goals: Things You Know

The IEP goal page is the most essential component of an IEP.

IEP present levels and goals should be easy to understand

If you can’t understand a goal in the first reading…………..neither will anyone else.

IEP goals should be attainable.

IEP goals should be realistic.

IEP goals must be measurable so that parents and school personnel can establish how much progress has

been made on reaching the goal.

So, Are your IEP goals ‘Smart goals’?

Have you ever heard of the ‘Smart goal’? It originated in 1981 (and by the way…nothing to do with special education). The ‘s.m.a.r.t’ goals concept was liked and soon became very popular. As with many things that become “catchy”, there were those that began to share their thoughts and ideas. As a result, each letter began to mean different things to different types of groups but always centered around the means and madness of attaining a specific GOAL.

The definition of the acronym that has been the most popular is:

S. - Specific

M. - Measurable

A. – Achievable

R. - Realistic

T. – Time based

Well as you can imagine, it didn’t stop there ………someone just had to go and add more letters.

‘Smart’ goals grew into ‘S.M.A.R.T.E.R.’ goals by adding ‘E’ and ‘R’:

E - Evaluate

R - Re-evaluate

So, now we have the ‘Smarter’ goals (sounds like a special educator came sneaking in):

S. - Specific

M. - Measurable

A. – Achievable

R. – Realistic

T. – Time based

E. – Evaluate

R. - Reevaluate

But what does all this mean for us? Businesses and motivational speakers continue to use this because it works: focused and results oriented. With the growing emphasis on progress monitoring, IEP Teams need to be reminded to stick to basics of the simple version of ‘s.m.a.r.t.’ goals. If the IEP goals are really ‘smart’ goals, the progress monitoring (evaluate/reevaluate) will flow from annual to annual.

Specific

Measurable: Identifies evidence/data

Achievable: Action Oriented / Identifies outcomes

Realistic: Rigorous, and Results-Focused

Timed and Tracked: Timelines clearly defined

Submitted by Donna Weisner

May 2015 / 12

Exceptional Children Parent Survey

Each year, as required by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs

(OSEP), the NC Department of Public Instruction, Exceptional Children Division, (NC DPI) reports

on the status of NC students with disabilities. Using twenty different indicators set by OSEP, the re-

port addresses a variety of areas such as achievement toward academic standards, graduation

rates, meeting timelines, transitioning to life after high school, parent participation, etc. An annual

Parent Survey is used to collect data on Indicator 8, which addresses parent participation.

Indicator 8: Percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report

that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for chil-

dren with disabilities.

The Parent Survey was sent at the end of April to a number of parents of students with disabilities

in selected schools asking questions about whether the school encourages parent involvement as a

means of improving services and results for their child. The majority of the Parent Surveys should

have been sent home with students. Please encourage parents to complete the survey and mail

them in the stamped return envelope.

Some students may no longer be at your school, but they can still participate. You can forward their

survey to them if you know which school they transferred to or if you have a home address on file. If

you do not know where to forward the survey of a student no longer at your school, please return it

to Heather Surratt with the EC Division at the Admin. Center.

The results from the Parent Survey will provide valuable feedback and recommendations will be

made to improve services to children and youth with disabilities.

Parent Survey

May 2015 / 13

Submitted by Donna Weisner