WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

 

Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting

November 14, 2014

Vancouver, Washington

 

Board Members Participating:  Denise Colley, Lorna Walsh, Dennis Mathews, Jim Kemp, Ed Snook, Cindy Bennett, Nancy McDaniel, Michelle Farrell, Yang-su Cho and John Glenn.

 

Ex-Officio Members Participating: Berl Colley (Washington Council of the Blind), Doug Trimble (Teachers Association), Lilly Longshore (Parent Representative), and Michael Freeman (National Federation of the Blind of Washington).

 

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).

 

November 14 – 9:00am

Optional visit to classrooms in Irwin

 

Executive Session

Ed called an Executive Session to order at 10:30am.  The executive session ended at 10:55am.

 

November 14 – 11am-2:30pm

Ed called the meeting to order at 11:00am. Ed started the meeting by welcoming Lilly and Michelle. 

 

Business Meeting:

*      Old Business:

o   Approval of minutes for September 12, 2014 Board of Trustees Meeting.  Jim moved to approve the minutes, Lorna seconded the motion.  The minutes passed unanimously.

 

*      New Business:

o   WASA/WSSDA Legislative Conference–March 1-2, 2015 (Olympia). Dr. Stenehjem stated he hasn’t seen an agenda for this yet and once he gets more information he will send it to the Board to see if it is worth attending. Dr. Stenehjem feels class size initiative and McCleary will be the two hottest topics during the conference.  Dennis felt the break-out sessions are good to attend; Dr. Stenehjem said having quality time with legislators is almost impossible due to the number of attendees.  Lorna suggested scheduling appointments either a day before or after may be a good way to ensure time with legislators. 

 

Department Updates:

·         Lori Pulliam, Director of Transition Services

 

·         Hans Michielsen, Principal

 

WSSB conducts a follow-up of graduates that tracks each former student for 7 years. The purpose of this is to assist us in determining not only the success rate of students that have graduated from WSSB, but also assist in strategic changes to our programs both on campus and throughout the state.

 

Within the United States it is often stated that there is a 70% unemployment rate within the blind community.  We believe this number to be slightly inflated, but we do believe this number is still in the 50-60% range.

 

Success rate for WSSB graduates is currently ranging from 78-85% depending which factors are used to determine success:

*      Using the actual number of students surveyed, (11+27+4)/54=78% represents graduates either employed, or in a post high school training program or enrolled in a two-year or four-year college program.

*      Using the actual number of students surveyed, (11+27+4+1+3)/54=85% represents graduates in the above categories, but also includes homemakers and volunteers, if those individuals have chosen to fill these important roles.

*      Using the actual number of students surveyed, 13/54=24% represents WSSB graduates who are currently unemployed.

 

When examining either statistic – it appears that the programs and services being provided to students who attended WSSB to be quite successful in assisting blind and visually impaired students to be independent and contributing citizens. Note: The above information is based upon a 74% response to the follow-up study on students since the 2006-2007 school year.

 

 

·         Mary Sarate, Director of Business and Finance

 

·         Anne Baker, Human Resources Manager

 

·         Rob Tracey, Facility Manager

 

·         Colleen Lines, Program Manager, Ogden Resource Center

 

·         DeEtte Snyder, B-3 BVI Coordinator

 

·         Mike Bicknell, Digital Research/Development Coordinator

 

·         Craig Meador, Director of Outreach

 

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Stenehjem reported the following:

·         Dr. Stenehjem wanted to highlight the PFBC fundraiser in October.  Ed attended the event and said it was great.  Over $15,000 was raised that evening.  The PFBC has taken on the B-3 area to emphasize and raise funds for.  One of the PFBC board members is going to be a district Governor and is considering making that his charge. 

·         Dr. Stenehjem attended both blind consumer conferences this fall.  Both were excellent.

 

Committee Reports

·         Education Committee

o   John would like the education committee to meet with Mike before or after the meeting in March to look at current technology.  Dr. Stenehjem offered to have the committee join via Lync conference if they would like to meet sooner.  John remarked that there is a lot of negative press regarding core curriculum and he would like to be kept apprised of that.

 

·         Buildings and Grounds Committee

o   Berl, Jim and Michelle did the annual facility walk-through today and noted: 

§  Some of the dampers in the 97 vents in Old Main are starting to fail.  Replacing them will be a fairly significant impact budgetarily. 

§  Dr. Stenehjem stated the white efis materials on the Old Main building was taken care of last summer.  A metal edge was inserted which extended the drip line to ľ” which resulted in no more staining on the building.  The cost for this repair was $30,000 and the original bid was over $200,000. 

§  The swimming pool operations room/filtration system has been updated in recent years.  Square modules made of clear plastic allows staff to see the residue that comes out of the pool. In the next month, an ultra violet system will be added within the line, and will take care of 95-98% of any kind of foreign material that needs to be sterilized. The liner in the pool still has issues (ongoing problem).  WSSB is looking at replacing that liner which is in the next capital project budget (after July 1, 2015). This was due to a bad installation.  Lilly asked if WSSB has to go through a low bid process; Dr. Stenehjem said yes. 

§  The committee visited Chapman Cottage and discussed roof replacement. The roof should last another five years (current roof was installed in 1992). Chapman cottage is having recurring problems with the drainage (sewer).  A 20’ section was repaired last year. Lilly discussed a more economical type of lining (sleeving).  Dr. Stenehjem stated the concern is if the roots can go through the lining in the future.

§  The modular new home was toured and is almost ready for residency.  Berl feels it is a nice facility that will attract future TVI’s who wish to do their student practicum at WSSB. 

 

·         Management Committee

o   Lorna stated she is putting the finishing touches on Dr. Stenehjem’s evaluation.  Lorna anticipates she will have it completed in the next month or so and will forward it on.

 

·         Legislative Committee

o   Denise reported that when they see the Governor’s budget, the committee may get active.

 

Ex-Officio’s Reports

·         Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) – Berl Colley

o   The WCB held their state convention at the Murano in Tacoma, October 30-November 1.  ACB’s national President, Kim Charlson spoke at the event as well as Cyris Habib who was just elected to the senate.  Popular author, JA Jance, and our very own Nancy McDaniel also presented.  Berl felt the conference was well attended.

 

·         National Federation of the Blind (NFB) – Mike Freeman

o   Mike reported that the NFB held their state conference from October 3-5 at the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver.  Anil Lewis, Director of Jernigan’s Institute, met with Dr. Stenehjem and Mike F. to tour the WSSB campus.  They also were able to speak to one of WSSB’s students and Anil was very impressed with her.  Mike F. felt it was a very productive convention. 

o   Mike F. stated the NFB has offered to go to Olympia to talk to the Small Agency Cabinet staff regarding funding, if necessary. 

o   Cindy wanted to thank our LIFTT students for attending the lunch during the convention.

 

·         Teachers – Doug Trimble

o   Doug reported he felt the school year is going great and the evaluations for our new students are almost completed. 

o   Irwin’s new TVI’s, Mai Nguyen and Sonja Steinbach are doing well and have outstanding mentors. 

o   During this school year, US History TVI, Corey Grandstaff and staff will be taking a group of students to Washington DC through the “Close-Up” program.  Fundraising will be occurring to help pay for this educational opportunity.   

o   Doug stated WSSB students attended a national Goalball tournament last weekend in Florida with the boys taking 4th place in the tournament and the girls taking 5th place. Doug commended Goalball coaches Lisa Hodge and Paul Baldwin.  WSSB student, Nathaniel Baker made the “All American” team (one of six individuals)

o   The WSSB Powerlifting team is practicing and preparing for a meet in Las Vegas, Nov. 18-20. 

o   Yang-su stated the United Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) is recruiting players for a trip to Russia in May, 2015 (exchange program).

o   WSSB has started a new extensive program for expanded core curriculum (Daily Living Skills, O&M, etc.).  Students attend these ECC’s for several days in a row and staff have seen great gains with the students.

o   An Open House was held in October.  Cindy asked how open house works in a residential setting with students from all over the state.  Doug said it is difficult because of the great number of residential students; however the turnout was good.

o   Students are preparing for their Holiday Program which will be held on December 19.  The program will also be streamed on the internet.    

 

·         Parent Representative – Lilly Longshore

o   Lilly emailed the NFB contact for parents, Jennifer to let her know she is available for inquiries, etc.  Dr. Stenehjem stated WSSB can get information out through the state to let them know that Lilly is now our Parent Representative. 

 

Miscellaneous

*      Cindy would like the Board to have more contact with the students and feels strongly about making that connection.  Janet suggested having dinner on the Thursday evening before the Board meeting or perhaps a Friday morning breakfast. 

*      Ed stated that he spoke to WSSB TVI, Steve Lowry at the PFBC event and was very impressed regarding his program.  Ed suggested the Board invite a staff member to the Board meetings to do a brief presentation regarding their program.    

*      Berl said some time ago video courses were discussed that WSSB could make available to board members.  Dr. Stenehjem stated there are several courses on Moodle that are available.  Doug stated some students take those classes as needed. 

 

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:30pm.  The next Board meeting will be held via conference call on January 14, 2015 at 7:30pm.     

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Board Reports – November 2014

 

Outreach

 

Fall Board Report Outreach Department

With a quarter of the school year completed, we are in full swing serving thirty-eight districts and over 200 students.  We have made some adjustments this year to cover some leave, which has limited our ability to complete one-time evaluations throughout the state.  I have been able to connect districts with other Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI’s) and Orientation & Mobility (O&M) specialists to complete evaluations with some delay to the districts. 

 

Outreach Fall Meeting

We just convened our fall meeting in Olympia with 25 participants from Vancouver, Longview, Kelso, Olympia, Renton, and Lewis County. Several topics were covered which included: Smarter Balance Assessment, the new SMART Brailler from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), Using the App “Numbers”  to make the paperwork easier, dealing with a visual world for our students (a discussion to explore OCR options) and a general discussion about issues in the field.  These meetings have been an excellent opportunity to share our successes and our challenges.  I am looking to expand these meetings to other areas within the state so that other TVI’s not from WSSB can share in these learning opportunities. 

 

Smarter Balance Update

Despite the efforts of the state, the online version of Smarter Balance Assessment will not be available this year.  The reasons for this are three-fold: a lack of funding, timely delivery of technology, and a software glitch that needs to be worked out.  The state of Washington will plan on providing the test in braille this year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Digital/Distance Learning

 

Macs

·         We are using more Mac laptops for low vision students on campus. The tech teachers are showing students how to scan handouts and classroom materials using OCR software to convert text on paper into an accessible digital format. Bruce McClanahan is also teaching students with learning disabilities how to use the dictation feature on Macs for note taking, form access, and more.

·         In late November, two teachers with low vision adaptation needs will start using iMacs to help increase their efficiency and effectiveness on the job.

 

Math classes

·         We added one distance learning student this semester for a total of seven taking our online math courses. We have four students from WA and 3 from other states (Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska).

·         Our Algebra 1 math class taught by TVI JJ Isaacson recently entertained virtual visitors: A parent and her son who is visually impaired from Washington and an administrator/math teacher from the New Mexico School for the Blind & Visually Impaired. People from around our state and the country continue to show interest in our distance learning classes.

·         Next semester the education and digital learning departments will help math teacher JJ Isaacson to record math tutorial videos for Algebra 1. We will post and organize these videos online for anyone to use.

 

Web meetings

In addition to using Microsoft Lync for our distance learning classes, we are also starting to deliver web meetings and will develop webinars for people around the state. Birth to 3 Coordinator DeEtte Snyder used Lync to establish a workgroup for B-3 TVIs. She is planning on integrating Lync into her service delivery model.

 

Digital Research and Development

·         We are planning web and video tutorial initiatives—from videos for math mentioned above to short videos for daily living skills.

·         We continue to work with CANnect.org to improve their website and to research possibilities for the future of CANnect.

·         We are developing contacts around the country hoping to expand our distance learning instructional program for students to other schools for the blind.

 

Campus IT

·         We rented a network cable tester/analyzer; IT Specialist, Ed Lukowski found that most of our campus meets the current CAT 5E industry standard. We will upgrade the Ethernet cables that failed to meet the minimum requirements.

·         In November, we will install and start maintaining a new firewall with the help of ESD 112.

·         By December, we will be on target to invest in an emergency alert system for staff, students, parents, and partner agencies on campus. We are part of a consortium that gives us access to lower rates for this service.

·         We will contract with a network administrator from ESD 112 for 2 days a month for the remainder of the fiscal year. Expertise and time are needed to help support our ever-complex IT infrastructure.

·         Ed and Danya Borowski, IT Specialist created a new server for the upcoming SQL 2012 upgrade.

·         The network upgrade is coming along in preparation for the Lync Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system and more.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

On Campus

 

Enrollment

Current school enrollment is 64 students. Ten students are enrolled in the Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) program.  Eight students participate in the on-line program in four different mathematics classes.  On-line students hail from Idaho, Oregon, Alaska and Washington.  Sixteen of our students attend one or more classes at Hudson’s Bay High School and Clark Community College.  There are four students in line to be evaluated for placement at the school. At this time, we have started conversations with other schools for them to participate or use our on-line offerings as soon as the 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.  It has been the experience of the first quarter that more credit overall was earned by our students.

 

Job Placements

Our transition coordinator continues to do a tremendous job developing job placements for our students in the community and on campus.  The student store is again open regularly.  We have our first order for apparel in and should be able to offer that soon.  Because the state will not allow us to use credit cards for purchases at the student store, we will not be able to make these items available through the website.

 

TPEP

WSSB is expanding implementation of the new teacher and principal evaluation system.  This coming school year, two-thirds of the teachers being 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 hours per year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Residential

 

Residential

Students are actively engaged in their daily programs; in the after school hours this includes recreation/sports activities, daily living skills (DLS) training, homework, etc. Our focused DLS topics for the fall are goal setting and nutrition.

 

Staff and students alike are getting used to the new USDA breakfast guidelines. They are quite stringent, and staff are doing their best to help Bob with the extensive reporting that is required.

 

Veteran’s Day (November 11) is on a Tuesday this year. Residential students will be on campus that day, though it is not a school day. Residential staff will work, as well as teacher’s aides (TA’s) and on call residential staff to provide coverage and activities for the students as they spend the day relaxing and “hanging out” with friends. Several options for group activities will be offered.

 

Staff have been sharing photos and videos of students doing various skills of daily living with student families. The iPads put in each cottage last year are being used for a variety of useful purposes, and the sharing with families is one of them that is exciting. They also work well for students to use in the kitchen for recipes, etc.

 

LIFTT

6 of the 8 LIFTT students are attending Clark College full or part time. 2 of the 8 are seeking employment in the Vancouver area. Students are progressing through the tough adjustment from exiting high school to the totally different world of being a young adult and learning to be in charge of themselves and all that goes with that.  Clark students are already registering for winter quarter!

 

General:

All residential staff have completed, or are continuing coursework for braille. Most should be finished with the course by the end of the school year.

 

Tess Scholl began her maternity leave a little earlier than she planned, and will be leaving us this week. She is having twins and will be out for most of the rest of the school year. Libby Pitts will fill in for her while she is gone, and on-call, Dalton Williams, will step into Libby’s position in LIFTT. Though we will look forward to Tess’ return, Libby and Dalton will be excellent replacements.

 

We hired one new on-call and he is in training. We are recruiting for 1-2 additional on-call staff to help us meet our needs

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Business Office

 

1.       2013-15 Operating Budget

We closed the month of September with a -1.25% variance.  I have attached a summary showing the variance by department. Managers will be looking at their budgets to determine whether allocations need to be re-allotted.

 

In Fund 19B we ended with an 11.7% variance.

 

2.       2013-15 Capital Budget

In capital, we ended with a balance of $197,801.  Variances are not as critical in capital as we are not required to close the books on a biennium basis as opposed to annually.  Also, with capital there are many variables affecting our ability to stay within allotted timelines such as weather, contractors, when school is in session, etc. The critical piece, of course, is staying within budget.

 

3.       2015 Supplemental Budget

        We continue to respond to some follow up questions on our supplemental decision packages.

 

4.       Washington State Budget Process

        For the benefit of our new members on the board and as a refresher for the rest of us, I’m going to provide a quick summary of how the state’s biennial budget cycle works. 

 

Budgets are enacted on a two-year cycle, beginning on July 1 of each odd-numbered year.  The budget approved for the 2013-15 biennium remains in effect from July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2015.  By law, the Governor must propose a biennial budget in December, the month before the Legislature convenes in regular session. The biennial budget enacted by the Legislature can be modified in any legislative session through changes to the original appropriations.  Since the inception of annual legislative sessions in 1979, it has become common for the Legislature to enact annual revisions to the state’s biennial budget.  These revisions are referred to as supplemental budgets.  The budget timeline is as follows:

 

Ongoing:                      Agency Strategic Planning

June 2014:                   OFM issues budget instructions

Sept 2014:                   Agencies submit budget requests

Fall 2014:                      OFM review and Governor’s decisions

Dec 2014:                     Governor proposes budget to Legislature

Jan 2015:                      Legislature convenes 2nd Monday of January

Apr/May 2015:          Legislature passes budget

May/Jun 2015:          Governor signs budget

July 1, 2015:                Biennial budget takes effect

Ongoing:                      Performance measure tracking

 

5.       Performance Measures:  We reported on the following measures:

#1586 Braille distributed on time: 100%

#1590 Braille transcription:  146,147 pages

#1591 Training of teachers/Para-Pros:  8,028

#1592 BLUE exams administered:  7

#1593 Number of students on campus:  73

#1594 Off-Campus Services:  651

 

We are emphasizing to staff the importance of reporting data as it plays an important role in telling our story to legislators and their staff when it comes to funding and advocating for our programs.

 

September, 2014

 GFS-FUND 001

Budgeted

Actual

Variance

100

Res

 $         146,769

 $        134,947

 $         11,822

110

Rec

 $             8,532

 $            9,629

 $         (1,097)

120

Health

 $           25,908

 $          27,025

 $         (1,117)

200

Food

 $           36,304

 $          34,977

 $            1,327

300

B&G

 $         108,792

 $          85,060

 $         23,732

310

B&G-Agency

 

 $            8,617

 $         (8,617)

400

Ed

 $         482,026

 $        513,947

 $       (31,921)

420

LIFTT

 $           22,257

 $          27,010

 $         (4,753)

500

Summer

 $             1,275

 $                327

 $               948

510

Outreach-State

 $           (2,999)

 $            5,650

 $         (8,649)

520

Summer Institute

 

 $                   -  

543

BAC

 

 $          43,163

 $       (43,163)

600

Support Services

 $         173,401

 $        183,800

 $       (10,399)

601

Superintendent

 $           69,596

 $          68,920

 $               676

611

Foundation

 

 $            1,002

 $         (1,002)

610

Board

 $                 205

 $            1,826

 $         (1,621)

700

Technology

 $         118,001

 $        108,380

 $            9,621

800

Transportation

 $           44,307

 $          38,770

 $            5,537

920

IRC

 

 $          80,060

 $       (80,060)

930

Idea

 

 $            5,410

 $         (5,410)

940

Other Grants

 

 $                   -  

BETER

Betterment

 

 $            3,080

 $         (3,080)

BIRTH

Birth to Three

 $                    -  

 $            6,173

 $         (6,173)

WSDS

 

 

 $                   -  

 $     1,234,374

 $    1,387,773

 $     (153,399)

Projected Balance

 $                 (49,427)

 

             -1.27%

 

             -1.25%

 

Private/Local-19B

Budgeted

Actual

Variance

100

Res

 $         108,000

 $            3,230

 $       104,770

110

Rec

 

 $                   -  

120

Health

 

 $                   -  

200

Food

 

 $                   -  

300

B&G

 $             6,500

 $            2,244

 $            4,256

310

B&G-Agency

 

 

400

Ed

 

 $        123,810

 $     (123,810)

420

LIFTT

 $           25,594

 $          10,873

 $         14,721

500

Summer

 $           66,887

 $          74,040

 $         (7,153)

510

Outreach-State

 $         388,054

 $        339,782

 $         48,272

520

Summer Institute

 

 $          15,983

 $       (15,983)

543

BAC

 

 

600

Support Services

 

 $                   -  

601

Superintendent

 

 $                   -  

611

Foundation

 

 $                   -  

610

Board

 

 $                   -  

700

Technology

 $           20,001

 $            5,069

 $         14,932

800

Transportation

 

 $                   -  

920

IRC

 

 

930

Idea

 

 $                   -  

940

Other Grants

 

 $                   -  

BETER

Betterment

 

 $                   -  

BIRTH

Birth to Three

 $           62,499

 $          20,843

 $         41,656

WSDS

 

 $            2,679

 $         (2,679)

 $         677,535

 $        598,553

 $         78,982

Balance

$         938,852

 

 

 

 

                11.7%

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Human Resources

 

New Hires:  

·         Secretary Senior/Fiscal Tech – Jacqueline Tucker

·         Part time Project Employee - RLC – Andrew Hansen (current On-call RLC)

·         On call Residential Life Counselor (RLC) – Robert  Martinez

 

Open Recruitments:

·         School Psychologist – On hold

·         Teacher of the Blind – Outreach Spokane

·         Teacher of the Blind – Outreach Seattle area

 

Trainings Attended:

·         Open Government Trainings Act – On-line Course

·         IT Security – Learning Management System (LMS) on-line course

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

 

Miscellaneous:

·         2014 State Employee Engagement Survey

·         2014 Safety Survey

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Ogden Resource Center (ORC)

 

Instructional Materials Department

Quota Funds

We finished the federal fiscal year quota fund spending on September 30, 2014 with a zero balance in each of the three quota fund accounts. We met the needs of all districts and agencies requests for Accessible Instructional media (AIM) this fiscal year.

 

Fall Orders

As usual, we were flooded with orders with the start of school. Our warehouse operator, Mitch Hughes, shipped 1572 accessible instructional media (AIM) ranging from small simple items to multiple boxes of braille books. We served 110 different districts and agencies for 360 students with BVI. We are currently waiting for several items that the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has on backorder, resulting in 129 backorders at this time.

 

APH Annual Meeting

Michael Sivill represented our department this year at the APH’s annual meeting. He attended the annual Braille Prison Forum, where he did a small presentation about our program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW).

 

Braille Department

BLUE Preparation Class

Last year, Mike Sivill offered a Beginning Braille Class free of charge. Several of those class participants had previous braille experience and moved quickly and passed the BLUE exam. For those newer to braille and still struggling, Mike is conducting a BLUE preparation class.

 

Unified English Braille (UEB)

We sent Zach Lattin, Angela Vargas and Mike Sivill to a three-day intensive UEB workshop presented by the National Braille Association in Milwaukee, WI in October. Kandi Lukowski was not able to attend as she was receiving her bachelor’s degree at her graduation. Congratulations to her!

 

With the great information they received at the workshop, we are developing courses to offer our state. Our plan is to offer interactive on-campus classes first for those who have passed the BLUE in preparation of the upcoming January 2016 implementation. We are going to pilot the curriculum first with the WCCW offender transcribers beginning this month. Hopefully we will have everything in place to begin UEB classes by February 1, 2015.

 

Our UEB Statewide planning committee still has a lot of work of work to do. We will meet again after Thanksgiving with a goal of writing a Washington State UEB Implementation plan.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Buildings and Grounds

 

Capital

The manufactured home is all but finished. The sidewalks were poured this week which leaves only exterior grounds work and interior cleaning remaining. We will be adding furniture as soon as it is signed off.

 

The drip edge work on Old Main is proving to have been effective. There is little, if any, streaking on the face of the building.

 

The salt cell for the pool has been replaced and is working very well. We are now working with Olympia to line up a pool contractor to help with specifications on reworking the pool itself as well as adding an ultraviolet purifier.

 

The smoke dampers in Old Main have been evaluated by an electrical engineering company and we are waiting to see the project scope and recommendations regarding replacing the existing units with more reliable ones. There are approximately 97 dampers in Old Main.

 

Campus

We hosted the Clark College environmental science class recently. The tour included information on the energy savings additions incorporated into Kennedy and Ogden as well as the bio swale function and solar array vs wind power for campus renewable energy.

 

We are still waiting for the final replacement vehicles to arrive from the motor pool. Local Outreach and one campus vehicle are over the 110,000 mile limit as set for trade out by the motor pool.

 

Recent police action in the vicinity of campus led to a lockdown situation. A preliminary evaluation of how we handled the situation was positive but we are forming a team to further review and fine tune how emergency situations are handled in the future.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Birth-Three

 

Activities for the Birth to 3 Program since the last board meeting:

 

Lots going on in Early Intervention!

 

I met with the WSSB outreach TVIs and also conducted a statewide video conference with the B-3 TVI workgroup with 12 TVIs in attendance! The discussion included how the TVIs were included as a part of the early intervention team and also their FVA procedures. The group decided to take on as their first group project to develop a consistent statewide functional vision assessment procedure for babies.

 

I continue to learn about the ESIT (Early Support for Infants and Toddlers) in the state of Washington. I met with the ESD 112 (Clark County) early childhood directors twice and had trainings on identifying and affirming vision concerns in King Co, Pierce Co, and ESD 112.  Dean and I traveled to Olympia and met with Bette Hyde from the Department of Early Learning (DEL) and Karen Walker from ESIT to discuss funding issues, such as Medicaid billing and its potential to support early intervention services (specifically vision services).  On 11/5 I attended a stakeholder meeting on funding in Ellensburg.  I also attended the SICC (State Interagency Coordinating Council) meeting in Whidbey Island and met with many new colleagues in the early intervention field.

 

I conducted many consultations and joint visits with both TVIs and EI teams around the state including the Seattle area with Tracey Gaver, the Tacoma area with Melody Furze, and Bellingham (Whatcom and Skagit Counties) with Katie Hume from the DB Project. Future visits are scheduled for Tri-Cities the first week of Dec.  She also visited a new baby, family and EI team in Forks.

 

On a national front, I presented at the International DEC (Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children) in St. Louis on Babies Count: The National Registry of Young Children with Visual Impairments with a colleague from NMSBVI (New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired).  She continues to work collaboratively with NMSBVI on this project.  Also she is working on a webinar with Perkins School for the Blind on routine-based early interventions, due out in January.  This webinar will be free and posted on our website.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Superintendent

 

Board of Trustees

I would like to start out by thanking all board and ex-officio members for their willingness to step forward and say yes to blind and visually impaired (BVI) children in advocating for solid programs and services for children.  It is your dedication that has helped move services for BVI children throughout our state move forward in making substantial gains, and in putting in place a diverse and ever-changing service delivery model designed to help meet the wide range of students needs in gaining all needed skills for independence and success.

 

New Board Members: Michelle Farrell, Congressional District #9; Michelle is in her 5th year as the TVI/COMS in the Bellevue School District and has also contracted with several other districts on the eastside during that time. Lilly Longshore, parent of Alex; Alex is currently attending Vancouver’s ITech Preparatory High School where he is a sophomore.  Alex has been served in various models throughout our state such as LEA Itinerant services, intensive on-campus services at WSSB, and through WSSB’s Outreach itinerant model.  Welcome and thank you to both of you.

 

We currently have a full board, but do have one seat that needs to be filled (Congressional District #10). Denise Colley has been on the board for 10 years (two terms), which is the maximum number of years that numerous Governors have allowed board members to serve. Thank you to Denise for her willingness to continue to serve until this seat is filled.  WSSB is blessed with a wide range of board members representing the disabled community, various ethnic communities, and a wide range of occupations from people in the health care, business, military, legal field, school administration, private sector occupations, civil engineering, assistive technology, computer programming, teachers/educators, parents and researchers. What a wealth of information and knowledge and perspective you all bring to the board.

 

October 2014

The end of September and October has been a very busy time and I’m glad to be starting the month of November and a chance to be around home some of the weekends. I think Sue (my wife) is also glad. October started off with the NFB of Washington conference which was well attended and took place in Vancouver. This was a very nice conference and I also was able to spend some time with Mike Freeman, NFB of Washington President and their keynote speaker Anil Lewis, Director of the Jernigan Institute from Baltimore. Mike and Anil spent a couple hours with me on campus to learn more about programs and services facilitated by WSSB.  I am hopeful that this can lead to some potential partnerships in the near future. Next I was involved with the Council of Schools/Services for the Blind (COSB) National Institute, in which I serve as a board member. The meeting was held in Louisville, Kentucky in conjunction with the APH Annual Meeting. Both of these conferences were extremely important with COSB reexamining its strategic plan to help better position the organization to continue to improve diverse services in the future, and APH to gather input from ex-officio trustees and guests about product development and keeping current in meeting student’s needs. WSSB has two ex-officio trustees that represent our state: Mr. Craig Meador, Director of Outreach and State Vision Consultant and Dr. Dean Stenehjem, Superintendent of WSSB. We were also fortunate to be able to have three staff from WSSB attend to provide input and impact on braille production, materials, and educational strategies in implementation of common core and high stakes testing. Following COSB/APH I had an opportunity to able to spend some time on-campus with staff from the American Foundation for the Blind and local representatives from Sharp Electronics to discuss potential partnerships in improving accessibility, student and  staff involvement with Sharp and career awareness that could hopefully lead to future employment for talented BVI students. Towards the end of the month I attended the Washington Educator’s Conference in Seattle where major topics included: Common Core, TPEP, Smarter Balance, Decreasing the Drop Out rate in Washington and a full array of districts presenting on successful ventures throughout our state. The finale for the conference was a keynote by Governor Jay Inslee. The information collected during this conference will help WSSB continue to explore new ways in cross walking all the educational mandates in hopefully making the most efficient use of limited time to implement all that is required. The end of the month and the kick off to November occurred with the Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) convention in Tacoma which was attended by approx. 240 people. This was a great conference and also featured board member Nancy McDaniel’s presentation on disaster preparedness.  Nancy did an excellent job and had everyone ready to go home and make necessary changes in to be better stewards in the event of the next emergency situation. The WCB also was fortunate to have their national President, Ms. Kim Charlson, as their keynote speaker. 

 

As you can see from above, this was a busy month, but a great time to connect and reconnect with so many important stakeholders. 

 

Budget:

Operating: 

As you can see from Mary’s report, WSSB is spending at 125%, which if our allotments are correct, should be at the 100% level. I estimate part of this is due to the following: 

·         Loss of funds transferred from DES to WSSB with the return of H.R. services

·         Request for two - one on one student needs (medically fragile young man and need for a 1 to 1 interpreter for a deaf/blind student)

·         Materials (textbooks and equipment) higher than anticipated due to increase number of students in certain classes

·         Outreach overspent due to start up and one teacher out on maturity leave (double fill)

·         Less out-of-state students than a year ago (currently 4 students--last year 7 students which included LIFTT)

 

Capital:

In Mary’s report she shares that we have $197,801 remaining to complete preservation projects. The top priority is completion of the Lync Phone system which will replace our 23 year old phone system, improve efficiency, reduce some operations costs and enhance our ability for distance learning. Part of this project requires the rewiring of various parts of the building to guarantee that we have good signal (CAT 5e to 6 wire). In a few areas we have CAT 5 and in two CAT 3. The final estimate for replacement of these, and correction on damaged runs after testing, will determine the amount of funding necessary to complete the phone system.  Once this has been determined, the remainder of the preservation funding will be used to replace outdated fire dampers in Old Main, which have been failing over this past year. Currently, Rob Tracey has a contract with an electrical engineering firm to provide accurate information for numbers of fire dampers to be replaced along with documents necessary for the bid process. WSSB is working with Dept. of Enterprise Services (DES), Architectural/ Engineering to move this project forward. WSSB has requested approval for up to $100,000 of capital funds for re-appropriation should we run into any delays, which would not allow completion by June 30, 2015.

 

2015-2017 Biennial Budget: 

During October I met with OFM Educational Analysts and with the Education staff for the House and the Senate to provide them with more information on the diverse services provided by WSSB.  I also shared that WSSB is a statewide safety net for BVI children and a school/agency that helps ensure students receive the necessary blindness related skill training (Expanded Core Competency). This training is necessary for a BVI child to access basic education. WSSB is in compliance with upcoming changes in the number of credits to graduate from high school (24 credits), have staff and administration actively participating in TPEP and continues to be proactive in guaranteeing that whether a student is enrolled in the on-campus program and/or served by WSSB in the local school districts, students receive the necessary training for independence. All students that attend WSSB’s on-campus program have been placed here in partnership with parents, LEA and WSSB as part of the IEP process. 

 

2015-2017 Biennial Budget:

We are all waiting to see the Governor’s budget, which should come out the week of the December 15. I believe that the Governor will have two budgets; one which is the mandatory budget to meet current revenue projections for the 2015-2017 biennium. This budget will have some major reductions in non-protected programs throughout the state. OFM has collected 15% reduction plans from agencies so the legislature and public can see what types of services will go away if the legislature doesn’t come up with solutions during this upcoming session. WSSB is hoping that impact to children will be limited and hopefully some of the additional needs such as:

 

1.       One on one support for a medically fragile child;

2.       One on one interpreter for a deaf/blind child;

3.       Reinstatement of $103,000 per year back to WSSB’s budget, which was to transfer from DES to WSSB, but didn’t take place (technical error); and

4.       Funding for the Birth to Three position, which in the long run will result in improvements in statewide services, better use of resources, increased Quota registration (which could generate up to $100,000 additional dollars on account at APH), potential Medicaid billing for vision and O&M services should we be successful in getting vision and O&M in the Health Care Authorities (HCA) billable services (SPA) State Program Approval system. The Birth–Three Statewide Coordinator’s position has been highly supported by multiple state agencies, LEAs, parents, teachers and etc. who see this as being a key position in improving services to BVI infant/toddlers and families.  

 

Recent Lockdown at WSSB:

This past week WSSB went into lockdown based upon a shooting about 3-4 miles from the school. The process seemed to go well and staff acted in a professional manner. After the lockdown we debriefed to see if there were things we missed and/or should have done differently. We now have a small group of key individuals examining processes and will come up with a modified plan based upon recommendations. WSSB is also exploring adding a module to the Skyward Program (common program used by WA schools), which includes a notification system. Even though we are small, it was felt that this would be a better way of getting information out to all staff, students, volunteers, family members and board members. The committee should have recommendations within the next two weeks. 

 

As you can see, WSSB has been a busy place. We are gearing up for winter weather scenarios to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws our way. WSSB has demonstrated numerous times over the years, that when there is a need staff, volunteers, families, students and friends step forward to keep programs and services moving forward and providing a safe environment.   

 

Pacific Foundation for Blind Children (PFBC):

On October 12, 2014 the PFBC conducted a Sunday evening fundraiser. This event was highly successful for a small event in which about 90 people attend a dinner and evening of entertainment.  This year’s focus was on Birth to Three Services. Over $15,000 was raised to get things started.