Agency Collaboration: Building Relationships One School at a Time - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Agency Collaboration: Building Relationships One School at a Time

Pam Brezenski; Nebraska Educational Service Unit #13 Barb Ehrhart; Gering Public Schools Special Services Director Calico Cowan; Gering Freshman Academy Secondary Special Education Staff Jamie Soper; Kimball Public Schools Special Services Director Jill Trautman; Gering High School Secondary Special Education Staff

Kohler, P. D., Gothberg, J. E., Fowler, C., and Coyle, J. (2016).

Kohler, P. D., Gothberg, J. E., Fowler, C., and Coyle, J. (2016).

ESU #13

• 21 High School Districts
• 19 Rural Schools
• 1 Transition Specialist/Coordinator
• 1 VR Office
• 1 DHHS Office
• 1 DOL Office

Transition Programming Capacity Building Needs

Geographical Elements and Frustration of Teachers Structure of the High Schools and Differences Understanding Roles and Responsibilities of Different Resources

Purpose

• Explore areas of growth to meet stakeholder needs
• Increase understanding of agencies and resources available
• Focus on school goals
• Reduce the stress of Secondary Transition Staff

Process

• 1) Explore Wishes, Hopes, and Dreams
• 2) Use the Guide to Begin Conversation and Just Talk and Share
• 3) Follow Up Meeting
• The schools dictate the next steps……………………..

1) Explore our Wishes, Hopes and Dreams

• A lack of providers in the area. Limited number of job

support providers, non-specialty providers and this makes it difficult have a student transfer over to adult life.

• Job transitioning-when students attend school outside of

their community, they struggle to transition to a new job. This could be set up before they move home.

• Independent living opportunities-it’s a struggle to have

them live on their own

• Amount of $ for resources
• Employer attitudes towards employing individuals with

disabilities

• More resources in this part of the state
• Clearer Communication between all stakeholders
• Hands on Opportunities
• More Realistic Opportunities
• They want a step by step process to allow direction
• Students to break barriers and pre-conceived notions
• Work experiences and community employer attitudes.
• Starts the conversation
• Explores areas of needs
• Examines chief concerns

2) Use the Guide and Matrix as a Resource

Nebraska Department of Education (2016)

3) Follow Up Meeting

• Held with School Staff and Esu 13 Transition Coordinator
• Revisit the meeting notes
• Organize information into a plan

Gering High School

1) Initial Capacity Building Meeting With Agencies Nebraska VR Counselors, Nebraska VR Employment Specialist, Nebraska Department of Labor, League of Human Dignity, Department of Health and Human Services, State Career Development Staff, State Transition Director, Special Educators, Student Services Director, ESU 13 Transition Coordinator 2) Follow Up Meeting to Discuss Results/Begin Planning Gering High School Student Services Director, ESU 13 Transition Coordinator, Special Educators from all schools, 3) Assessment Plan and Coursework Alignment Meeting Gering High School Student Services Director, ESU 13 Transition Coordinator, Special Educators, School Psychologists 4) Development of the Google Portfolio Gering High School Student Services Director, ESU 13 Transition Coordinator, Special Educators, School Psychologists, Gering Technology Support Staff 5) Collaborative Follow Up Meeting Nebraska VR Counselors, Nebraska VR Employment Specialist, Nebraska Department of Labor, League of Human Dignity, Special Educators, Student Services Director, ESU 13 Transition Coordinator

Current Results….

Creation of an Assessment/Instructional Plan that Horizontally Aligns all Transition Activities Within the School Creation of Google based School Specific Informal Assessments to Identify Stakeholder Needs Creation of a Google Website Data Tool to Allow Students to Share all Transition Activities With Agencies Planning for Activities that Reach Beyond the School Borders and Utilize Capacity

• f the Community Through

Collaborative Instructional Planning Follow Up Meetings to Identify New and Changing Information

Transition Continuum Planning Assessments, Activities, Courses

Google Web Page for Information Sharing

• Information Will be shared at the event.

Kimball High School

1) Initial Capacity Building Meeting With Agencies Nebraska VR Counselors, Nebraska VR Employment Specialist, Nebraska Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Special Educators, Student Services Director, ESU #13 Transition Coordinator 2) Follow Up Meeting to Discuss Results/Begin Planning Kimball High School Student Services Director, ESU 13 Transition Coordinator, Middle School (7-8th) Special Education Teacher, High School (9-12) Special Education Teacher

Current Results….

Creation of an Assessment/Resource and Activity Plan to address Transition Needs Identification of Key areas for further Collaboration We Aren’t Finished Yet!

Assessment Plan

Transition Activities Plan

References

Kohler, P. D., Gothberg, J. E., Fowler, C., and Coyle, J. (2016). Taxonomy for transition programming 2.0: A model for planning,

• rganizing, and evaluating transition education, services, and
• programs. Western Michigan University. Available at

www.transitionta.org. Nebraska Transition. (2017). Transition Planning Guide. http://transition.ne.gov/transition-planning-guide

Questions?????

Ask Anything