WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

 

Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting

September 12, 2014

Vancouver, Washington

 

 

Board Members Participating:  Denise Colley, Yang-su Cho, Cindy Bennett, Jim Kemp, Lorna Walsh, John Glenn and Ed Snook.

 

Board Members Absent:  Nancy McDaniel and Dennis Mathews.

 

Ex-Officio Members Participating: Berl Colley (Washington Council of the Blind), Betty Watson (National Federation of the Blind of Washington) and Doug Trimble (Teachers Association).

 

Ex-Officio Members Absent: Scott Hone (Washington Federation of State Employees Local #1225).

 

WSSB Staff Members Participating: Dr. Dean Stenehjem (Superintendent), Mary Sarate (Director of Business and Finance), Craig Meador (Director of Outreach), Rob Tracey (Facility Manager), Anne Baker (Human Resources Manager), Hans Michielsen (Principal), Colleen Lines (Program Manager, Ogden Resource Center (ORC)), Lori Pulliam (Director of Transition Services), Mike Bicknell (Digital Research/ Development Coordinator), DeEtte Snyder (Coordinator, BVI Birth-3), and Janet Kurz (recording secretary).

 

September 12 – 11:00am-3:00pm

Ed called the meeting to order at 11:00am.  

 

Department Updates:

*      Lori Pulliam, Director of Transition Services

o   Ed asked if the Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) program was at max capacity.  Lori stated there is one bed open at this time (8 students plus one Residential Advisor who is a former LIFTT participant who takes on additional responsibilities).   

o   Lori stated that one Residential Life Counselor (RLC) is starting the Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) program at the University of Northern Colorado this fall and another RLC is in the process of applying. WSSB offers staff the option to apply for reimbursement for these programs; $34,000 has been set aside each year through private local funds. Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB has not put rigid stipulations regarding where staff are employed after they complete their program, we would like them to stay in Washington.  There is a huge national shortage of TVI’s and O&M Instructors and many unfilled positions in our state.

o   All RLC’s are working on obtaining their braille certification; one staff got her NLS and another RLC got his BLUE certification.       

 

*      Rob Tracey, Facility Manager

o   During the summer, the capital roofing project which included efis work on the exterior of Old Main was completed.  Errors were corrected from the original installation. 

o   The modular unit arrived on site on September 8.  WSSB intends to utilize this unit for student practicum teachers. [This building was purchased with private local funds, and will hopefully be used to home grow and recruit TVIs and O&M Instructors to Washington.]

o   The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) is working with WSSB to get the Kennedy pool repaired. The estimated timeframe is August, 2015. [WSSB may request some carry forward funds from this year’s capital funds since resolution and repair to the pool is taking longer than anticipated.]

o   Rob is currently working on correcting issues involving the Old Main fire smoke dampers, and air handler. Issues include some smoker dampers being inaccessible for repair, etc.  WSSB and DES will be working with an electrical engineer to obtain a bid for replacement. 

 

*      Colleen Lines, Program Manager, Ogden Resource Center (ORC)

o   Colleen brought the new American Printing House for the Blind (APH) smart brailler to the meeting (cost is $1,895 in APH quota dollars).  Currently, WSSB receives $319 in APH quota funds per student. The ORC purchased 10 of these Braillers to be checked out by school districts.  Schools can apply to loan these items with stipulations attached.    

o   The ORC reorganized their department after the retirement of their administrative assistant, Donna Martino.  Justin Raner was promoted to the Administrative Assistant 3 position; and a shipper/receiver was hired; this has greatly increased shipping and receiving times. 

o   Colleen reviewed the statistics included in her report below.    

o   Colleen has established a Unified English Braille (UEB) committee. They have met once in person and also held a conference call. The UEB is an international braille code which everyone will transition to.  Mike Sivill from the ORC attended a UEB workshop with additional ORC staff planning to attend trainings and will then establish statewide trainings (on line and in person).  Denise asked when the training will be available. Colleen will post the trainings on EVE and will send notifications out. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem discussed the cost savings of being able to provide textbooks to other districts that have been Brailled at the ORC. ORC staff, Kandi and Angela handle those textbook orders, working with the WCCW braille inmate program, in making sure all orders are out on time. Colleen stated that colleges and universities have used the ORC to produce textbooks.  Those textbooks are then put on a list which has generated even more orders.  Some orders are $35,000 to $40,000 per textbook (transcriber, proofreaders), etc.  Dr. Stenehjem invited the Board to see the WCCW braille program.  Colleen reported that one former inmate in the WCCW braille program has been hired by the ESD 114 for braille services. The person has the business set up in her home.      

 

*      Craig Meador, Director of Outreach

o   Requests for evaluations and services continue. Over the summer, Craig hired one additional staff to cover for a TVI who is on maternity leave. This year, Outreach has 18 staff (includes a braillist, teacher aides and TVI/O&M). 

o   This year, the Outreach department increased the cost of service contracts by 10%; WSSB hadn’t adjusted the price of contracts in six years. Craig did a six year review to determine how much the state contributes to the operation of the Outreach department. Currently, 17% of costs are covered by other private local funds. An additional 7% would have to be added to school districts contracts in order to cover all of the expenses (salaries, benefits, travel, etc.).  Denise asked if the number of districts served is the same. Craig stated at the end of last school year, 56 districts were being served; however, this year several districts have increased the number of days of service. 

o   In mid-October, the statewide TVI roster will be updated.

o   Smarter Balance Test: 

§  Craig has been working with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) regarding testing accommodations for blind and visually impaired (BVI) students. Last January, recommendations were made with a list of equipment that would be required for these accommodations (approximately $15,000 per student) and the state is now mulling this over. 

§  Craig sent out a survey to districts regarding accommodations; OSPI has to make the decision if they will purchase the equipment or if districts will be required to. 

§  Cindy asked if there is a reason why a hard copy braille wouldn’t work. Craig stated the Smarter Balance test is set up similar to the GRE, i.e. if you answer a certain way, the questions ratchet up and down; if the test was provided in a braille format, every prompt would need to be available and the Procter would have to be efficient in being able to provide specific answers. Smarter Balance does allow districts to purchase print copies of the test for a small fee. Oregon did a similar test the past three years; and it is time consuming for the student. Some districts are moving back to apple products, which further complicates the testing aspect.    

§  Cindy asked if anyone has thought about this testing environment and the fairness of it.  Craig said these things are being considered.  This test replaces the HSPE and also the middle school tests, however, state legislation needs to be passed to replace the HSPE.  Hans stated that only 9th graders do not take tests. Lorna asked how SAT’s are handled; Craig stated they are provided in braille.

§  Hans feels litigation will come up and this will force a set of technology standards for students.  This could also impact school districts in the area of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements.    

o   John asked if there is a TVI college program established yet.  Craig said everything is still on track at Central Washington University and he will be meeting with them in the next couple of weeks to be sure things are moving forward. WSSB could be ready to roll in January, 2015 if everything moves forward. Dr. Stenehjem feels faculty senate needs to be on board.  Dr. Stenehjem felt it may be beneficial to have Paul Francis, Executive Director for the Council of University Presidents to attend a meeting and be brought up to speed.

 

*      Hans Michielsen, Principal

o   Hans stated WSSB currently has 66 students enrolled. Online offerings have been expanded to four classes. Currently, there are nine digital learning students taking classes at WSSB from Alaska Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.

o   Two new TVI’s were hired this year, both are former WSSB students; Mai Nguyen (Language Arts), and Sonja Steinbach (Math).

o   Ed asked how many new students WSSB has this year. Hans stated there are eight with an additional four in the application process. 

o   Ed asked how many Oregon students are enrolled. Hans responded WSSB has seven in the on-campus program. Hans also stated WSSB had seven students participate in our summer program (Youth Employment Solutions) from Idaho. 

o   Yang-su asked if there were plans to bring the elementary program. Hans stated, not at this time. WSSB does have one fifth grader this year and three sixth graders. 

 

*      Anne Baker, Human Resources Manager

o   Anne has been participating in contract negotiations as both union contracts (WFSE and WPEA) are expiring in June 2015.  Anne feels negotiations will be wrapping up in the next two weeks.

o   Denise asked what the status is with hiring a School Psychologist.  Anne stated there is a shortage for these positions.  Dr. Stenehjem feels that WSSB is not able to offer salary commensurate with school districts due to the TRI funds. However, WSSB offers additional days through private local funds.  Jim stated a lot of districts are having to cut back on TRI funds due to budget restraints.  Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB has an intern this year who is finishing his bachelor’s degree.  Ed asked if WSSB could contract with another organization for school psychologist services.  Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB has looked into this option. Dr. Stenehjem said WSSB school psychologists often times become a resource for school districts in the area of testing, etc.  Hans also has a Ph.D. in psychology so he can provide oversight for interns. 

 

*      Mary Sarate, Director of Business and Finance

o   Ed asked for clarification regarding Mary’s report. This related to a technical correction, whereby Olympia incorrectly appropriated funds (fiscal year vs. biennium).    

o   Mary reviewed her report (listed below). 

o   Mary stated that even though Outreach contract fees increased this year, from this point forward, the state does not fund our Outreach department (funded totally by 19B funds).  Dr. Stenehjem stated out of state students, in essence, could help fund outreach. 

o   Jim asked about the 15% budget reduction drill.  Mary stated the reductions would start 2015-2017. Mary stated all state agencies had to submit 15% reduction and in addition, have to submit a plan explaining what items they would buy back.

o   Mary feels very good about closing and current financial standing. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem stated for the first time in three years, he feels comfortable with our financial reports and status.

 

*      DeEtte Snyder, Coordinator, BVI Birth-3

o   DeEtte grew up in Oregon, attended Portland State University where she obtained her bachelors, and obtained her master’s degree in education for TVI.  DeEtte obtained a second degree in early childhood which is the age of students she wanted to focus on. DeEtte moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1998 and worked at the Foundation for Blind Children as a classroom teacher. DeEtte then moved to providing services infant and families, serving approximately 300 babies in the Phoenix metropolitan area. She is currently a doctoral student at University of N. Colorado, and wants to further her education in training teachers to work in B-3.    

o   DeEtte is researching how state agencies work together to provide services in the state of Washington. DeEtte feels the collaborations and partnerships in Washington are very impressive. 

o   DeEtte did a survey for TVI’s (88 total in WA) and received 42 responses. 75% of respondents serve babies and everyone but 2 were interested in providing services to babies. DeEtte is creating a B-3 consortium with 16 people signed up and she will be meeting with WSSB Outreach TVI’s on September 15 to determine how they receive referrals, provide evaluations, etc. 

o   DeEtte is also exploring funding issues relating to Medicaid. 

o   Currently, 77 babies are registered with the ORC. Dr. Stenehjem states he feels this number should be around 540 which would greatly increase APH quota funds. APH has great early intervention materials for babies and families. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB is hoping to generate private, state, and federal funds in the B-3 area.  Kim Curry, WSSB’s counselor, researched funding mechanisms for other states, i.e. how many states are able to bill Medicaid for vision and O&M services. Washington is funded in an educational model, through school districts (Part C). This makes it difficult to bill insurance companies including Medicaid. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem stated the Pacific Foundation for Blind Children (PFBC) wants to get involved and WSSB would also like to get Lions Clubs involved. Jim feels the number of BVI B-3 age children could double or triple. Dr. Stenehjem stated there should be 500-600 B-3 identified.  DeEtte would like to build a strong referral system to include pediatric ophthalmologists and build a strong connection with Early Intervention (EI) programs. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem said Washington does have a strong cooperative venture and good collaborative efforts going on.  Dr. Stenehjem stated OFM encouraged WSSB to submit a decision package for funding this position. 

o   Doug asked how the state of Oregon works. DeEtte stated their system is more organized with strong cooperatives that have TVI’s and O&M that work with babies only. Dr. Stenehjem stated Washington has more emphasis on local control. 

o   Ed stated this has been a long time coming.  Ed praised Dr. Stenehjem for getting this effort moving.  [WSSB is an active partner with many other organizations in our state that want the best for BVI infants/toddlers and their families.]

 

*      Mike Bicknell, Digital Research/Development Coordinator

o   Mike started his career by working in group homes, while he was attending college. His back-ground includes working as a teacher’s aide, and worked with a deaf/blind medically fragile student; Mike then went back to grad school and focused on photo journalism and design. Mike worked at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) as a media specialist where he created professional development instructional videos, distance learning materials, etc.  As his job evolved, he developed social media, YouTube accounts, created a distance learning website to organize materials, etc. Mike also developed webinar trainings with adobe connect, to train statewide. DeEtte has an interest in doing webinars as does Bruce McClanahan in the area of Assistive Technology.

o   This year, three TVI’s are teaching math digital learning courses; Lisa Hodge, JJ Isaacson and Sonja Steinbach (who is mentoring with JJ). Dr. Stenehjem stated Sonja is a new TVI who is visually impaired and this will be a new experience to make sure that our digital delivery system works as well on the sending end as the receiving end.  It’s great to have Sonja as a new teacher at WSSB. Mike has received several inquiries from other states who would like their students to use our distance learning courses in the future.  Mike stated he would like to encourage other schools to develop their own distance learning courses providing more opportunities for BVI students. 

o   Mike stated students make an effort to attend classes, i.e. if they are sick or on school breaks (i.e. Spring Break) they will still join in.

o   Berl asked if the technology is leaning more towards touch screens. Mike stated he hasn’t seen that at WSSB. Mike reported that a mom from India created an app for spelling that is completely accessible. Janet will forward the information regarding the app to the Board. 

o   Denise asked what Mike would like to see, long-term, in the area of distance learning. Mike would like to help other schools build similar programs. Mike stated it would be great to have a full scale program, i.e. math and science however the issue would be finding staff to teach the courses. 

o   Doug asked how Mike feels about WSSB’s website and asked if it can be interactive. Mike and Dr. Stenehjem had this conversation several days ago. Mike feels it is a solid website but needs an update and redesign and options are being discussed. Dr. Stenehjem asked if people have ideas to forward them to Mike. 

 

Business Meeting:

*      Old Business:

o   Approval of Minutes for June 6, 2014 Board of Trustees Meeting.  Jim moved to approve the minutes, Lorna seconded the motion.  The minutes passed unanimously.

 

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Stenehjem reported the following:

*      The Strategic Plan was updated and sent to the Board of Trustees for review. When WSSB reviewed the potential budget reduction plan (15%), it would have a negative impact on 83-85% of our strategic plan goals.

*      In the spring 2015, WSSB will be going through re-accreditation through NAAC. This will be a busy year, with an on-site visit planned for the spring of 2016. During the process, WSSB will bring people in from throughout the country.  The normal accreditation process focuses on school programs only; however, WSSB expands ours to health center, residential component, etc.

*      WSSB has two openings on the Board of Trustees (Congressional District 9 and 10).  Denise has agreed to stay on until that position is filled.  The Governor’s office is actively pursuing filling those positions. Dr. Stenehjem stated if the Board knows if anyone is interested to let him know. 

*      Budget: 

o   WSSB submitted at 15% budget reduction plan. If this moves forward, this would put WSSB at 52% General State Funds/48% private local funds ratio. 

o   The option for the state of Oregon to send students to WSSB has been a win/win situation for both states. Oregon is able to provide a full continuum of services for its students and financially this has provide Washington with some flexibility to do more for all students and staff. 

o   Lorna asked why WSSB is not exempt from budget reductions under the McCleary decision.  Dr. Stenehjem sent a letter to OFM to request an exemption.  Berl asked what would happen if the consumer organizations expressed their concerns with this. Dr. Stenehjem reminded the board that at this point in time this is an exercise that WSSB has been required to fulfill, and that WSSB will keep the board posted.

o   The Governor will submit a balanced budget, but will likely wait for the revenue forecast in November.  Next both the House and Senate will submit a budget.  Dr. Stenehjem feels this will be a very long legislative session. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem met with Dennis Mathews and Ed Snook to review the 15% budget reduction drill.  Dr. Stenehjem also met with Paul Baldwin, WSSB Teacher Rep. to review the information. 

o   Dr. Stenehjem reviewed the 15% budget reduction plan that was submitted. Another option that WSSB submitted was WSSB could tuition back to local school districts for every child to attend WSSB; the only way this could work is if the local school district could retain the IEP so they could retain funding from OSPI.  The tuition rate would equate to approximately $17,000–$22,000 per student. WSSB submitted three budgets; maintenance level, one with decision packages for additional services that are needed, and the third is one with the 15% budget reduction.  Yang-su felt WSSB should be benefitting financially due to the Supreme Court decision regarding McCleary.  Jim asked if we will have more information at the November meeting. Dr. Stenehjem will be meeting with teachers and all staff regarding the proposed budget plan.  Dr. Stenehjem stated if WSSB took a budget reduction, WSSB would utilize private local funds to help pay for some of the programs that would be eliminated, however, this would be a short stop gap because we cannot continually count on the availability of private local funds.

o   This year, WSSB utilized private local funds to provide more training days for staff to not only help staff gain additional skills, but also in an attempt to try and level the playing field to some degree with the salaries in local school districts, which has risen beyond the LEAP (state teacher salary schedule) due to TRI Day pay, which districts can pay from local mil levy dollars.   

o   John asked if providing a full spectrum of services is a federal mandate, how we justify not providing elementary services. The elementary program we eliminated a few years ago and was done during the budget crisis because it was only a SW Washington program and WSSB has not had elementary students in residence for years.  Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB supports local districts due to the age of the students.  Dr. Stenehjem feels education of families is a huge need.  Berl stated throughout a lot of laws in our state there is specific language relating to supplanting of state obligated funding such as basic education. 

 

Ex-Officio’s Reports

*      Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) – Berl Colley:

o   Berl stated this is state convention time; the convention will be held in Tacoma at the Hotel Murano from October 30-November 1.

o   The WCB has a new program called ‘forum calls’. These conference calls are open to anyone; whether you are a member, sighted or blind, on different topics. Topics such as technology, employment, aging and blindness; holiday seasons and how to get through it, etc. are being offered.

*      National Federation of the Blind (NFB) – Betty Watson:

o   The NFB convention will be held in two weeks in Vancouver at the Hilton Hotel and everyone is welcome to come. The NFB has a coordinator whose focus is to start a group for parents of blind children. This person is not from the Vancouver area.  Cindy Bennett will be starting a group for people who are school age through college student division. 

o   Legislatively, Cindy is currently working with the access board to create set of guidelines at universities for purchasing technology; the aim is that it is already a law to provide accessible materials but is not happening at the college or any level and hopes this will assist universities.  NFB hitting up social media to amp TEACH ACT; similar but targets higher education. 

*      Teachers – Doug Trimble:

o   Teachers are excited for a new school year. There are a lot of middle school aged students and they are very lively.

o   The O&M department chose a few students who need intensive O&M training; they are providing extra time to these students and will be tracking data to see if this is beneficial.

o   There are 14 students attending Hudson’s Bay this year with WSSB’s Steve Lowry heading up that effort.  There are also one or two students taking classes at Clark College through the Running Start program. 

o   Teachers are concerned about the budget process; teachers would like to be making more money but this is the same as all state employees.  Teachers are also concerned with rising health care premiums.  In SW Washington there are only two choices, Uniform or Kaiser.   

o   Cindy asked at what point in our student’s education they are required to obtain their materials in alternative formats.  Doug stated it is our job to provide materials but with older students, they are taught how to obtain materials and that WSSB teaches them to advocate. 

o   John asked if there was any feedback regarding the new TPEP process with 2/3 of the teachers undergoing that evaluation system this year. Personally, Doug is excited however there is a wide range of opinions regarding this. Dr. Stenehjem stated TPEP is designed for staff development; one element that has been controversial is student performance aspect; WSSB is unique due to our population so WSSB is taking the lead to tailor the TPEP to our measures and needs.    

o   Doug stated he is glad staff are going into TVI programs, i.e. RLC’s. Doug was an RLC and TA and is glad to see this occurring. Doug is also glad to see stipends provided for those who want to obtain their TVI.

*      Parent Representative – N/A:

o    Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB will be looking into filling this position on the Board.

 

Committee Reports

*      Buildings and Grounds Committee:

o   Berl stated the campus looks great. Dr. Stenehjem stated if anyone wants to look at the new modular home, he will provide a tour.  Cindy asked when it will be utilized; Dr. Stenehjem stated it could be the second quarter of this school year. 

*      Legislative Committee:

o   Denise reported the legislative committee met twice during the summer; their primary focus was to talk about the potential name change as WSSB is a service delivery model not a physical facility only.  The committee looked into how the Washington School for the Deaf changed their name; they did not open their enabling laws, they added a layer to their current laws. Dr. Stenehjem sat down with Executive Policy office to see if they had concerns about moving forward with this; at the time they did not; however due to the budget situation throughout the state, it is not a good time to submit legislation, however WSSB will move forward with looking at getting bill sponsors, and when the timing is right, will be prepared and ready to move forward. 

 

Miscellaneous

*        Jim stated he likes the Board meeting format being held during one day. 

 

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3pm. The next Board meeting will be held on WSSB’s campus November 14, 2014.   

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Ed Snook, Chair                                                                 Dean O. Stenehjem, Ed.D.

                                                                                                                Superintendent

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Board Reports – September 2014

 

Outreach

 

Combined Summer Institute Washington Sensory Disability Services (WSDS)

This was the second year that WSSB was directly involved with the Vision Strand for the Combined Summer Institute. This year’s institute was held on the campus of Seattle University.  Offerings were focused on the Unified English Braille Code (UEB), tactile graphics, Orientation and Mobility (O&M), and using technology for data keeping.  Presenters included WSSB staff, Zach Lattin, Angela Vargas, and Joe Dlugo.

 

Summer Institute

This year we had 24 participants that attended the Summer Institute. This week-long training is geared towards educators that have had little or no exposure to working with students that have a visual impairment. After several conversations with other entities that provide summer trainings and a review of participant feedback from the last four years, we have made the decision to shorten the Summer Institute from five days to three days. We will be meeting with the team during the year to decide which parts are the critical components of training and look for ways to consolidate presentations.

 

Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) Mentor Training with Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy (Part 1 and Part 2)

We were very pleased to have Dr. Roman back for a second year of training.  We brought in 50 new participants for the part 1 training, which ran from Monday-Wednesday.  We then held a two-day workshop as a follow up for participants from the summer of 2013. 

 

CVI students represent the largest number of visually impaired students on most caseloads and probably the least understood.  This three day workshop was open to all and was attended by Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI’s), parents, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, and an optometrist. The goal was to create a community of trained professionals that could develop and work with students that have CVI so that students would receive on-going education and not just education when the TVI was present. 

 

We now have 32 individuals that have completed both part 1 and 2 of the mentor training. We will be creating a web presence for CVI with a listing of all the individuals that have completed the training.  This will help districts to identify support sources throughout the state.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Digital/Distance Learning

 

Digital Learning – new coordinator

On June 16, I started my new job as the Digital Research and Development Coordinator for WSSB after moving from Austin, Texas. (For the past seven years I had served with Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Outreach as a Designer for Media, Web, and Distance Learning.) Once in Washington, I was fortunate to have two weeks of overlap with the former coordinator, Sherry Hahn, who retired on June 30. Those two weeks with her were a blur, but invaluable nonetheless. My job is broken into three distinct but overlapping areas: Digital and Distance Learning, Digital Research and Development, and Campus Information Technology (IT).

 

Digital and Distance Learning

We begin the 2014-2015 school year with students enrolled in synchronous distance learning classes: 7th Grade Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Algebra 2. Math teacher JJ Isaacson, middle school math teacher Lisa Hodge, and high school math teacher Sonja Steinbach each teach distance-learning students in their regular classes. We are fortunate that Ms. Isaacson is returning to help guide us in this transition year and also for Ms. Hodge’s years of experience as a classroom teacher and for Ms. Steinbach’s fresh perspective as a new TVI math teacher and as a former WSSB student herself.

 

We hope to expand our math and other subject matter offerings next year. This year, we are serving students in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. At the last minute, we also received calls from TVI’s and principals from Wisconsin and Indiana who expressed interest in our classes. We believe that there is great need for STEM classes for blind and visually impaired (BVI) students in school districts and perhaps in blind schools around the country, and we are exploring options to meet these demands or to help other schools to meet these demands by using distance learning technology as well.

 

The technology for these distance learning classes are conducted using Microsoft Lync, a web/ videoconferencing client that is accessible to BVI students. Ed Lukowski, WSSB’s Lync and network support specialist, supports these classes from server to desktop. We continue to look at other digital systems to support these classes, such as Yammer, Moodle, and more.

 

We appreciate the strong foundation the WSSB administration and board has provided the digital and distance learning program. Superintendent Stenehjem, Principal Hans Michielsen and Associate Principal Sean McCormick all provide leadership and support as we move forward.

 

Digital Research and Development

This summer we completed another weeklong workshop with Professor Andreas Stefik, Ph.D., Melissa Stefik, and computer science graduate students who led the Experience Programming in Quorum (EPIQ) for teachers, specialists, and a handful of computer programmers. Quorum is a fully accessible, evidence-oriented programming language developed by Dr. Stefik. This year’s group of participants created a curriculum development committee (composed largely of educators) that will look to make teaching and learning Quorum a less painful process for all. Professor Derrick Smith, ED.D. and COMS, from the University of Alabama Huntsville co-coordinated the workshop and shaped curriculum discussions as well. Planning for the workshop next summer starts soon.

 

Continuing projects include consulting with CANnect.org to help develop their website into a stronger resource for BVI students and adults as well as for professionals, educators, and specialists working in the BVI fields.

 

There are other potential partnerships we will explore in the coming year, including with Portland State University’s new VIL Coordinator and Professor Holly Lawson, Ph.D., with Microsoft, and with others. We will also seek out more grants, especially to fund our distance learning programs.

 

Where possible, we will speak with teachers and other interested parties about our distance learning program in hopes of generating interest around the nation. For instance, I have been invited to speak in the spring of 2015 at the AFB Leadership Conference in Phoenix.

 

Campus IT

Our two IT staff, Ed Lukowski and Danya Borowski, continue to support an ever changing, expanding, and increasingly complicated IT backbone, desktop, and device support landscape. Lately, they supported the summer camps, prepared the campus for the start of another school year, replaced old systems with new ones, updated or added new servers, organized the network wiring, added more wireless endpoints, provided desktop and device support, and have gently broken in the new IT Manager.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

On Campus

 

Enrollment

Current school enrollment is 66:  49 (grades 6-12), eight (8) students in the LIFTT program (5th year program); nine (9) students participate in the on-line program in four different mathematics classes.  On-line students hail from Idaho, Oregon, Alaska and Washington. Nineteen of our students attend one or more classes at Hudson’s Bay High School. Once Clark Community College is in session, several of our students will take classes there. There are nine students in line to be evaluated for placement at the school. At this time, it looks like 11 students will participate in one or more of four mathematics offerings on-line for the 2014-2015 school year. 

 

Common Core and Course Catalog

We have now entered all appropriate course codes in our catalog that match state course codes. This makes it easier for staff, other than our own, to evaluate our transcripts. This year, we will use a quarter-based system, which allows us to provide focused instruction in ten-week increments. It also allows for more variety in elective offerings. Several classes are now cross-credited. For example, a student who takes an intensive ten-week O&M course can earn fitness credit in that time. To date, pull outs did not allow a student to earn credit.

 

Job Placements

Our transition coordinator has done a tremendous job developing job placements for our students in the community and on campus. The student store will again be open regularly. We anticipate expanding the amount of product offered to apparel, cane, cane tips, braille paper and the like.  

 

TPEP (Teacher and Principal Evaluation system)

WSSB will expand implementation of the new TPEP system. This coming school year, two-thirds of the teachers will be evaluated using TPEP. Our legislature has to make several more decisions before the system can be completely implemented. The really new part of TPEP is the emphasis on continuous staff development, which is both positive and encouraging.  As was the case last year, only volunteer teachers and new hires are evaluated with TPEP. We will fully implement TPEP in the 2015-2016 school year. 

 

State requirement on 1080 instructional hours per year

Washington State requires that school districts offer students 1080 hours of direct instruction per school year.  Many districts have difficulty achieving this number. Because WSSB implements 24-hour IEPs, the required number of hours is easily met. For our day students, the number of hours of instruction per year averages 1,194.  For residential students, that number is 1,736.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Residential

 

Summer Programs

·         Summer Camp/YES: These two annual programs occurred in early July, summer camp for one week, YES for two. Camp students participated in recreational activities into the evening, while YES program students engaged in a variety of activities daily.

·         YES students planned dinner menus, shopped and cooked dinner nightly, made sack lunches daily, participated in a variety of daily living skills (DLS) activities from first aid training to basic household repair. There were many recreational activities as well. There were 8 students from Idaho in the YES program this year, 19 total.

·         Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT): A pilot summer program was done in mid-July this year for incoming students planning to attend Clark College in the fall. This two-day orientation served to assist those students in getting ready to begin college by providing guided support in completing all tasks in the preparation for college process. Students attended Clark College orientation, toured the campus, met with DSS, and registered for courses. LIFTT staff feel this will allow students to begin the program in September ready to begin the program with a full class load.

 

In-service Training

Residential staff participated in fall workshop training. Along with the full staff, we participated in annual CPS training as well as Lean training. Residential staff had requested training on working with students with Autism, and Monica Meyer, an autism specialist did a 6-hour training for residential and education staff. Residential staff felt it was a very good training.

 

General

·         We have one Residential Life Counselor (RLC) registered to begin her TVI training with the U of Northern Colorado beginning in the fall. There is another RLC in the process of applying there also. There are two or three staff that are planning on returning to college to do pre-requisites to enable them to pursue advanced training in the field.

·         Braille: One RLC passed the BLUE exam this summer, and one obtained NLS certification. All staff are progressing on learning braille through either Hadley, or through WSSB courses.

·         The Team of the Year for 2013-14 was the Residential Staff!! Congratulations to a wonderful group of dedicated staff.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Business Office

 

1.       2013-14 Budget

a.       Operating:  Phase 2 closing of the books for the biennium was September 5. It has been a very fast year with lots of work. We used to have another month before final phase 3 close. We now only have two phases which requires three months of work crunched into two. Our disclosure reports are being prepared and will be submitted by the due date of September 16. Of course, we closed the year with a zero balance in General Fund State (GFS). The carry forward balance in 19B is approximately $778,000. I would have liked closing to have gone smoother than it did, however, given the circumstances, it went as well as could be expected. It gave me the opportunity to be much more involved than usual which brought forward areas that need process changes and training needs. 

 

b.      Capital:  We ended the biennium with a balance of $270,810 which will be used for swimming pool restoration and telephone system purchase. Because of timing with the swimming pool and as a precautionary measure, we will request $100,000 be re-appropriated to the 2015-17 biennium. If we don’t request re-appropriation now, we will lose whatever funds we may have left unspent at the end of the biennium.

 

2.       2014-15 Operating Budget

        We were able to get allotments in on time to reflect changes as of July 1, so staff knows how much they have allotted in their respective areas. Ordinarily we only allot every two years but you may recall, allotments for this year were hastily done due to Department of Enterprise Services (DES) time constraints.  Following is a recap of our funding for the last 4 years.

 

        2013-14                                                                        2014-15

        GFS:                               $6,032,000                           GFS:                       $5,805,000

        GF-Pri/Loc                   $       7,000                            GF-Pri/Loc           $       8,000

        19B                                 $   983,000                           19B                         $   983,000

 

        2015-16                                                                        2016-17

        GFS:                               $5,966,000                           GFS:                       $5,961,000

        GF-Pri/Loc                   $     11,000                            GF-Pri/Loc           $     23,000

        19B                                 $ 2,020,000                          19B                         $ 2,020,000

 

        You see the trend—lower GFS funding and increase our authority to secure private funding.

 

        The books for August do not close until September 15.  Month ending July, we were slightly over budget by approximately 2.5%

 

3.       2015-17 Operating Budget

        Our budget is due 9/11/14. Part of the budget instructions this year is for all agencies to submit a 15% reduction budget with prioritization for buy backs. Dr. Stenehjem will provide more detail at the meeting.  We are submitting the following decision packages: (all totals are biennial)

 

        15% reduction                                                                                                           ($1,789,050)

        American Sign Language Interpreter                                                                               $    131,000

        Teacher’s Aide for Medically Fragile Student                                                               $    124,000

        Technical Correction-Carry Forward                                                                 $    131,000

        Birth-Three Program                                                                                              $    500,000

        Merit System Increments                                                                                    $    113,000

 

4.       2015-17 Capital Budget

        We will be submitting the following decision packages:

        Independent Living Cottage-Feasibility study, pre-design & design   $    517,120

        Preservation projects                                                                                            $    820,000

 

5.       Contracts

        We have prepared and sent out contracts for the various services we provide and contract for, i.e. Facility rental, Tuition, Outreach, Therapists, coaching.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Human Resources

 

New Hires:  

·         Birth – 3 Coordinator – DeEtte Snyder

·         TVI Math Teacher – Sonja Steinbach

·         Rehabilitation Teacher 1 – Libby Pitts (current RLC)

·         RLC – Jessica Dickerson (current on-call)

·         On-Call Registered Nurse – Shasta Furiya-Johnson

 

Open Recruitments:

·         School Psychologist

·         TVI – Outreach Spokane

·         TVI – Outreach Seattle area

·         On-call Cook

·         On-call RLC

·         Part time Project Employee - RLC

 

Trainings Attended:

·         Performance and Development Plan, sponsored by DES

·         HR Manager’s Meeting, facilitated by Lee Strehlow, Department of Retirement Systems

·         WPEA GG Management Team Meetings

·         Archive Training, sponsored by OFM

 

Miscellaneous:

·         Results Washington – Employer of Choice – strategies for increasing overall survey results

·         During Fall Workshop staff attended and Introduction to Lean Workshop presented by Brian Willett, Performance Analyst, from the Washington State Auditor’s Office and a Mandatory Reporting Training presented by Jason Frost, Social Worker 4 Supervisor, from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Ogden Resource Center (ORC)

 

The ORC staff has been busy not only doing our daily work, but serving the state in many additional ways.  I’ll list some here:

·         August 2013 – Kicked off the new school year by having an information table and demos of ORC products and services at the Statewide Resource Fair at WSSB. Zach Lattin and Angela Vargas attending.

·         September–December 2013 – Zach Lattin taught Beginning Nemeth Code class to 15 participants.

·         2013-14 SY – Mike Sivill taught Literary Braille code class to 20 participants.

·         October 2013 – Colleen Lines and Angela Vargas spoke at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) Annual meeting.

·         November 2013 – Sponsored an informational table at the annual Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) convention, where Zach Lattin answered questions and demonstrated the Graphing Talking Calculator.

·         January 2014 – By invitation, Mike Sivill and Angela Vargas attended the Seattle School District’s Resource Fair for parents of children with BVI in the Puget Sound area, with an informational table and demonstrations of products.

·         March 2014 – Colleen Lines and Jerry Connelly, Director of the Special Education Tech Center, co-sponsored a Train the Trainer BookShare Workshop in Federal Way for 25 participants.

·         March 2014 – Zach Lattin presented at the CSUN Conference on the Graphing Talking Calculator.

·         March 2014 – Kandi Lukowski and Angela Vargas attended the CTEBVI conference, bringing back information to share with the state.  Kandi created two PowerPoints for use with statewide trainings.

·         May 2014 – Mike Sivill attended an intensive UEB workshop at NBA in Ohio.

·         May 2013 – Zach Lattin presented the coming UEB changes to 16 participants.

·         May 2014 – Colleen Lines facilitated the first Statewide UEB Committee.  Zach Lattin and Mike Sivill served as braille experts on the committee – an article will be in the next Lion’s Roar.

·         July 2014 – Angela Vargas presented a Tactile Graphics workshop at Combined Summer Institute to 15 participants.

·         Ongoing – Colleen Lines continues to serve as the statewide NIMAS Coordinator which requires participation in several webinars.

 

Instructional Materials Department

Reorganization of staffing in the ORC warehouse with Justin Raner, Administrative Assistant, in charge of warehouse operations and Mitch Hughes as warehouse worker has proven to be a successful model. With shifts in duties, the old bottleneck of incoming returns and outgoing orders is gone. All incoming returns were processed and shelved almost as quickly as they came in the back door.  Orders for materials were processed quickly and with APH’s improved services, all accessible instructional materials (AIM) were delivered to districts before school started.

 

Listed below you will find the ORC statistical information.

 

Annual Census

Every year the APH annual student census system changes somewhat and usually have some glitches, which we work through. Justin Raner diligently worked on the data entry of all qualified students. We just closed the final phase four and have a total of 978 students that either Meet or Function at the Definition of Blindness. We have an additional 625 students that don’t meet that standard, but require our services.

 

Quota Funds

APH distributed federal quota funds in May 2014 based on our 2013 census to us. Under the APH system, we spend in the deficit from October 2013 until they release the funds, which is based on the amount Congress appropriates per student ($316.49) and when. We received $15,824.55 for the WSSB (214) fund, $17,090.52 for the preschool fund (217), and $263,004.07 for all other districts and agencies serving qualified students with BVI.

 

By prudent management of the funds, we have been able to purchase all braille and large print textbooks, instructional materials ranging from special papers to expensive kits requested by districts/agencies. Additionally, we purchased 10 APH Smart Braillers at $1895 each, supplied all requests for the SAMS kits for the workshop sponsored by WSSB, and 10 Talking Graphing Calculators at $599 each and continue to purchase and give BookPorts to students at $329 each.

 

Braille Department

Colleen facilitated the first Statewide UEB Committee meeting in May 2014.  A follow-up conference call took place on August 5, 2014.  The committee is divided into sub-committees: one to rewrite the WAC, second to create UEB proficiency exams. The committee plans to offer statewide UEB trainings throughout 2015 in preparation of the code becoming official in January 2016.

 

The committee, per WAC 180-82-130 consists of the following members:

·         Mike Freeman, National Federation of the Blind of Washington (NFB), President

·         Cindy Van Winkle, Washington Council of the Blind, President

·         Tracey Gaver, Association of Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AKA – Pacific Northwest AER), President

·         Hans Michielsen, WSSB, Director of Education

·         Colleen Lines, ORC, Director

·         Craig Meador, OSPI-WSDS, Statewide Vision Coordinator

·         Danielle Miller, Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL), Director

·         Holly Lawson, Portland State University, Professor

·         Sean McCormick, WSSB, Associate Principal

·         Mike Sivill, ORC, Braille Expert

·         Zach Lattin, ORC, Braille Expert

 

ORC Statistics September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014 - Reported by Colleen Lines

 

Students Registered for 2014 Census

Legally Blind       978

Other                    625

Total Students Registered 1603

 

2013 Census

Legally Blind       935

Other                    642

Total Students Registered 1577

 

Accessible Instructional Media Items Shipped Comparative

 

2013-14 Yearly Totals

Items shipped:                  5058

Districts/Agencies:            171

Students:                              723

 

2012-13 Yearly Totals

Items shipped:                  5513

Districts/Agencies:            165

Students:                              658

 

Acquisitions for 2013-14

Original Productions (new titles)

Braille:                  71

Large Print:         72

 

Books Reproduced from Masters

Braille:                  242

Large Print:         177

 

Total Pages Produced

Braille:                  663,592 (calendar year 2013)

Large Print:           94,875

 

Donations Processed:

Braille:                  19 – Value $15,200

Large Print:           2 – Value $904

 

Loans/Borrowing of Books 2013-14

Books borrowed from other states for Washington students saved school districts approximately $11,964.

 

Braille:                  11

Large Print:         7

Books loaned to other states for BVI students across the USA saved them approximately $18,328.

 

Braille:                  15

Large Print:         14

 

Prison Transcription Program 2013-14

Print pages transcribed:                  37,045

Hours:                                                     16,492

Braille Pages:                                     106,494

Tactile Pages:                                       15,733

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Buildings and Grounds

 

Capital:

·         We missed the hoped for delivery and set up date for the manufactured home of September 1 due to permit delays. We now hope to have it on site the first week of September. Once it arrives, power, water and data can be connected.

·         The drip edge work on Old Main uncovered some initial poor installation which required more time to correct. The contractors doing the work did an excellent job and recent rain showers have proven that it is shedding the water as we hoped it would.

·         The salt cell for the pool has broken and parts are expensive. Because of the cost and difficulty involved in maintenance, we are looking at adding two smaller cells to achieve the same level of chlorine generation. We are also looking at adding an ultra violet light purification system.

·         Working with our project coordinator from DES, we are submitting paperwork for capital budget approval to proceed with a design/feasibility study for the LIFTT Cottage. We are also working to get the necessary paperwork in order to rework the pool next summer.

 

Campus:

·         Tree trimming is complete and most major limbs overhanging the cottages have been greatly reduced or eliminated. We also removed three trees that had outgrown their environment. These trees will need to be replaced in the near future to meet Vancouver city requirements.

·         We have received eight new vehicles through the motor pool and are waiting for another four to replace aging Outreach cars. Two of the vehicles are all wheel drive Ford Escapes which are to be used in the Tri-cities and Spokane regions. The others are all Ford hybrid C-max cars.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Birth-Three

 

My name is DeEtte Snyder and I am the new state coordinator for birth to 3 BVI services.  My first day was August 19 and since then I have been doing a variety of activities to make connections with the vision and early intervention community.  I am somewhat “new” to the state of Washington. 

 

Though I grew up in Oregon and lived in Seattle between my bachelor’s and master’s degree, I have lived and worked for the past 16 ˝ years in Arizona.  I am a certified TVI and have worked primarily with children aged birth to 5 and their families, with the last 3 years as the director of infant and family services at a non-profit agency in Phoenix called the Foundation for Blind Children.  Currently I am a doctoral student at the University of Northern Colorado in the dissertation phase, with a focus on early childhood, VI, and educational leadership.

 

My approach to networking thus far has been two-pronged with a focus on 1) connection to the vision field in the state (TVI & O&M) and 2) connection to the EI system in the state (DEL/ESIT).  I am learning a new system of providing, not only EI services to children and families here in WA, but also vision services, especially local control issues amongst school districts, counties, and LLAs.  As someone who comes from the non-profit world, I also am learning about coordination between state agencies, and so far I am impressed by the level of collaboration and partnerships already in existence here in the state of Washington.

 

Things I have been working on, in addition to settling into the WSSB family:

·         Beginning connections with TVIs in the state who provide services to Birth to 3.  Sent out a survey on the EVE list serve and have gotten 42 responses.  Results include: 1) about half see babies now, but all but 2 are interested in seeing babies, 2) FVAs for babies is #1 professional development need with working with families and teams as #2 and #3, and 3) 17 interested in participating in B-3 TVI Consortium, a group of interested TVIs to work together to establish protocols and standardization in services across state. These results are very encouraging!

·         Beginning connection with Tracey Gaver, the only B-3 TVI in state in the Seattle area.  We have spoken face to face as well as a few phone conversations on our direction together.

·         Babies Count, the national registry of infants and toddlers with BVI.  Tracey looked over the data collection form and we had a great conversation regarding implementation in WA as a great beginning to understanding the characteristics and needs of our babies currently.

·         Fully explored the ESIT website including research into the Policies and Procedure manual, their EI training modules, and participated in financing webinars (through ECTA) to begin exploration of 3rd party Medicaid billing potential.

·         Started networking with ESIT community.  Met face to face with Carol Hall, the Birth to 3 program coordinator at ESD 112, here in Vancouver, as well as emailed an introduction to ESIT program administrators and consultants.

·         Attended the first WSDS staff meeting and met separately with Nancy Hatfield regarding WSSB grant and program activities/evaluation requirements.

·         Established individual connections with Janet George from Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) and have face to face meeting set with her on 9/25 after the Blind Youth Consortium on 9/23.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Superintendent

 

Start of a new school year

After an extremely busy and productive summer many students and teachers from throughout the Northwest, U.S. and Canada have gained new and wonderful skills. Thanks to staff providing directions for workshops and classes, approximately 250 students and teachers received new skills. The cottages were full all summer and campus support staff did an amazing job of getting in and cleaning facilities within less than a day to get ready for the next group. What a great use of state facilities in maximizing facilities for the advancement of educational training. Examples below:

 

·         Summer School – 2-week long programs for students from Washington and other states on a tuition basis.

·         Computer Programming – Research/development/training of teachers from throughout the U.S. and Canada. “Sodbeans” is a NetBeans module suite designed to enhance accessibility for the blind in modern programming environments. It is currently being developed by students and researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Sodbeans is a wrapper to Sappy in NetBeans, which adds on custom compilers/debuggers that are designed to be blind accessible. The Quorum Programming Language: Quorum is a custom programming language built for this project. It has been designed in empirical studies on humans to be intuitive to use and include a narrated (talking) omniscient debugger.

·         Summer Institute for teachers who will have a BVI child in their classroom in the fall of the year.   Designed to help classroom teacher’s work more effectively with BVI students.

·         CVI workshops (2 workshops) with Dr. Christine Roman, Pittsburg, Penn. Second year of phase I cohort, and start of cohort II. 

·         Assistive technology class for Portland State TVI training program.

 

All Staff Fall Workshops

WSSB was able to provide some additional days of fall workshop training through private local funds, which have helped develop new and innovative programs and services over the years. These funds have allowed WSSB to work on a number of the Governor’s Priorities for Education:

 

·         Create more innovative schools for students around Washington (a few examples below):

o   Computer programming training.

o   Accessible online learning systems – new for the country.

o   24-hour IEP process designed to make a difference for children who are BVI in a relatively short-period of time.

o   Continued diversification of services through the development of new partnerships which not only cross silos within our state, but also cross state lines.

o   Development of new statewide BVI coordination of B–3 Services and exploration on access to Medicaid (third party reimbursement).  This is just beginning.

·         Encourage continuous improvement of our educators and administrators.

o   WSSB teaching staff are onboard with the Danielson Model for the new TPEP process and are into the second year or utilization of this model.

o   Principals and other admin. have also gone through the principal training component for TPEP.

o   As evident from above, WSSB in partnership with other organizations continues to facilitate workshops (most of which are self-supporting and/or started with private pilot funds to help improve educator’s skills throughout the Pacific Northwest).

·         End the unacceptable high number of students who drop out of high school:

o   WSSB has also been in this business in providing options mostly through intensive on-campus programs which help BVI students from becoming part of this statistic.

o   The LIFTT program was also started to help 5th year students gain additional skills that will help with successful transition. This has been a joint program with DSB and the Oregon Dept. of Education (on a space available basis).

·         Eliminate the persistent opportunity gaps that have kept too many children from achieving their full potential:

o   This was one of the reasons, years ago, that the school developed the 24-hour on-campus IEP process to make sure that all BVI students receive the blindness related skills training on top of solid academics along with good social/emotional skills necessary for success.

o   The research in the area of Online Learning, which is accessible, was also added to help children both on-campus and throughout the country to receive the types of classes needed in a manner that is accessible and useable to help open the doors to opportunities.

·         Make sure that all students graduate from high school prepared with 21st century skills:

o   WSSB is nationally accredited (through the National Association of Accredited Schools) and continues to emphasize the importance of having solid teachers with great skills that can help students gain the skills necessary for the 21st century.  

 

Strategic Plan Update 2015-2025

The Strategic Plan has been updated, has been e-mail to all board members and is available on our website.  This plan was updated based upon the input from a stakeholders planning sessions which was held this past winter (2014).  The plan is updated every two years.  

 

Lean Training

This fall, all WSSB employees received Lean training from Mr. Brian Willett with the state’s auditor’s office as part of the all employee fall workshops. Lean provides proven principles that help Washington state government create a culture that encourages respect, creativity and innovative problem solving, continuously improves and eliminates waste from government processes, aligns efforts across state agencies and delivers results that matter to Washingtonians.  WSSB goal is to apply Lean concepts to our daily work with children and working with other agencies in the development of the best systems/programs for BVI children that result in solid growth and development.

 

2014-2015 School year estimates

On-campus:  We estimate that by the end of October we will have 76 students receiving educational services representing:  on-campus intensive services grades 6-12+, LIFTT (5th year program), and online classes being provided by WSSB teachers.

Outreach Services: Continue to grow each year. Craig Meador, Director of Outreach and state Vision Consultant will provide more detailed information.

 

Budget

·         2014-2015 budget information can be found in Mary Sarate’s report.  Mary has been busy getting our books in order, closing the books for the past fiscal year, spreading allotments for the 2014-2015 year and working with staff in building the 2015-2017 biennial budget which is due in Olympia on September 11, 2014.

·         Budget Reduction Drill:  WSSB has to submit a 15% budget reduction decision package, which would be devastating to services for BVI children involved in the on-campus program. This decision package will be discussed at the upcoming board meeting and is not in its final status as of this time.

 

2015-2017 and 2015 Supplemental Budget (will be discussed at the board meeting):

Note:  WSSB has been able to provide some protection from budget reductions on a temporary basis over the years due to the continued diversification of services, funding sources, etc. Currently, programs funded through WSSB are represented by 67% GFS dollars and 33% private local funds which are made up of donations, fees for services and grants. If a reduction of 15% were to occur from GFS funds, the state appropriation would represent only 52% of the schools budget if the school were able to generate additional private support to help fund programs/services previously funded by the state of Washington.

 

WSSB has had some private local funds to work with on an intermittent basis. It is our goal to try and continue to utilize these funds to pilot new approaches to learning, utilize some of the funding to provide additional in-service training days for teachers in order to keep staff skills current and help level the playing field with the disparity that has occurred from the LEAP (statewide teacher salary schedule) due to the implementation of TRI days (time, responsibility, incentives) that LEAs are able to grant from mill levy dollars. This has caused a huge problem with recruitment when there is a huge national shortage of TVIs and O&M specialists. 

 

New Staff

Various departments will introduce their new staff, but I did want to take this time to introduce two new people who will be heading up two important areas that contribute to BVI students and those providing service to BVI children throughout the Pacific Northwest.

 

Michael Bicknell:  Mike is the new Coordinator for Digital Research and Development work. Mike comes to Washington from the state of Texas where he worked for the Texas School for the Blind and was involved in their digital learning environment. Our goal is to continue to expand online learning options for BVI children, provide more digital resources for families and service providers working with BVI students.

 

DeEtte Snyder:  DeEtte is the new statewide Coordinator for BVI – B-3 infant/toddlers and services to families. DeEtte comes to Washington from the state of Arizona and has approximately 20 years of experience working the BVI infants/toddlers and is currently working with New Mexico School for the Visually Impaired and the APH in re-establishing the national baby count – BVI to better help our nation understand the needs of families. The need for the B-3 Coordinator’s position came from a state task force made up of individuals from:  DSB, WSDS/OSPI, Dept. of Early Learning, NICU unit personnel – U of WA, Dept. of Health and WSSB. WSSB has submitted a request for funding for this important position which will help shape future services for BVI infant/toddlers and families. Currently the position is being funded through private local funds.  It is our hope that DeEtte, along with others, will be able to increase services from 88 identified BVI infant/toddlers to 540, which is a realistic number based upon national incidence numbers. We would also like to move forward and help Washington move vision related services into the SPA under the Health Care Authority (HCA), which would allow for 3rd party billing to Medicaid for services which would help expand services in our state. 

 

Board of Trustees Openings

·         Congressional District 9 and 10 are both open at this time.  

o   Congressional District 9 is represented by the south eastern Puget Sound area from Bellevue, Kent and Northern Tacoma.  [currently not filled]

o   Congressional district 10 is represented by east of Tacoma, Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater Shelton and surrounding areas. Currently Denise Colley has graciously consented to continue to serve until this position can be filled.