WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

 

Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting

June 5, 2015

Vancouver, Washington

 

 

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

 

Board Members Absent:  Cindy Bennett

 

Ex-Officio Members Participating:  Doug Trimble (Teachers Association), Joleen Ferguson (Washington Council of the Blind), Lilly Longshore (Parent Representative), and Betty Watson (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), Emily Coleman (Director of Outreach/State Vision Consultant), Colleen Lines (Director, Ogden Resource Center), and Janet Kurz (recording secretary).

 

Guests:  Denise Colley (former Board of Trustees member), JJ Isaacson (WSSB Teacher of the Visually Impaired), and Ed Lukowski (Information Technology System Specialist).

 

June 5, 2015 – 11:40am

Ed called the meeting to order at 11:40am. 

 

Business Meeting:

Old Business:

*      Approve board meeting minutes of May 7, 2015. Jim moved to approve the minutes as submitted; Nancy seconded the motion.  The minutes were approved unanimously. 

 

New Business:

Emily Coleman (Director of Outreach/State Vision Consultant)

*      Ed welcomed Emily to the meeting (via Lync in Colville, Washington).

*      Emily reported that she has been working as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) in the WSSB Outreach department for four years in Eastern Washington.  Emily resides in Reardon (west of Spokane), has three children and her middle child is blind and autistic.  Emily went through the Portland State University (PSU) Vision Program to obtain her TVI endorsement.  Emily is in charge of writing blogs and posts for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) family connect site.  In addition, Emily is on the Board for the Pacific Northwest Association for the Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired (PNWAER) and is currently their President.  Emily is also involved with the NFB in their teacher of tomorrow program.

*      Emily has also designed a Facebook page entitled “Blindsided”. This was intended to be a page where families can connect, post events that are occurring, etc. 

*      Currently, Emily is enrolled in the Washington State University (WSU) Administrator Program and has one semester remaining. Craig Meador, WSSB’s former Director of Outreach/State Vision Consultant has been her mentor for that program.   

*      In her spare time, Emily enjoys quilting and reading.

*      Emily would like to see the Outreach program continue to grow and expand; she would like to continue to provide professional development opportunities, be aware of what’s happening in the field, and bring the best of that back to the state and to the students.  

 

Collen Lines (Director, Ogden Resource Center)

*      Ed reported the board is here to honor and state our appreciation for Colleen for her 30 years of dedicated, devoted and excellent service.  Dr. Stenehjem reviewed Colleen’s tenure at WSSB.  When WSSB was looking to start a Braille Access Center (BAC), he felt Colleen was perfect for the position. 

*      On May 21, a group of WSSB staff traveled to the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) to visit the braille program to celebrate the women’s success in the program. Colleen’s role with the WCCW/ Correctional Industries has been extremely important. Other states have replicated the program that is in place today.

*      Colleen thanked the Board for the opportunity to work at WSSB and credited Judi Sorter, former proofreader at WSSB for teaching her braille. Colleen also thanked Dr. Stenehjem for the support he has given her. 

*      Ed Lukowski said that in the many roles that Colleen has held at WSSB over the years, one of them was supervisor of the IT department and she was Ed’s first supervisor. 

*      Ed presented Colleen with a plaque of appreciation for her years of service. 

*      John said that Colleen was the savior for itinerant teachers around the state and farther; people have no idea how many phone calls she receives; John said she was the go to person, always kind, and wanted to thank her personally and professionally. 

*      A retirement celebration will be held on Saturday, June 13 from 2-5pm at the Grant House.  Colleen invited the Board to attend. 

 

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Stenehjem reviewed the following: 

*      WSSB applied for $173,468 in Safety Net funds for three high needs students. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) will be reviewing the application on June 10 and 11. As has been discussed at prior meetings, both the WSSB and Washington School for the Deaf do not fit the normal formulas designed for local school districts due to the funding source (state vs. per student calculation).  WSSB requested Safety Net funds at the urging of the Office of Financial Management (OFM) rather than submitting a supplemental budget last fall.  Safety Net only covers a portion of the cost for the positions tied to the high needs students. Dr. Stenehjem will keep the board apprised when he finds out.  Lorna asked what is the qualifier is for Safety Net.  Dr. Stenehjem said it is based upon financial need and the Individual Education Plan (IEP) is the driver; if the IEP is not 100% complete that application will be kicked out of the process. Dr. Stenehjem said WSSB has applied for Safety Net two prior times and received funds both times. 

*      In the area of Birth-Three, DeEtte Snyder, Coordinator is doing a great job. Tracey Gaver, TVI in the Seattle area is currently serving B-3 blind and visually impaired (BVI) kids in the King County area. There are approximately 140 kids on her caseload (WSSB estimates there could be 247). Tracey started in a new position in King County the same time that DeEtte was hired by WSSB. Pierce County (other than Tacoma), recently hired a B-3 TVI, funded by a combination of private B-3 providers.  The new B-3 BVI lead in Pierce County has had prior experience in the state of New Mexico.  WSSB submitted a budget request for a decision package for $500,000 for the biennium to support B-3. On May 29, WSSB learned that the amount was reduced to $250,000.  WSSB was able to provide documentation to show the need for the full $500,000 and thankfully it is back in the budget; if funding isn’t provided from legislature, WSSB would try to secure private/local funds to move this program ahead.  WSSB posted a B-3 TVI position which will be helping meet the needs in S.W. Washington in partnership with ESD 112.  WSSB is providing seed money to get it started and we are confident that the caseload will be full in a short period of time and therefore self-sufficient.   WSSB is hoping that this model will be replicated across the state and setting up system for quality services to BVI infant/toddlers and their families.    

*      WSSB hired Jennifer Fenton as the new Director of the ORC.  Jennifer has a phenomenal background in professional development, library science, etc.  Jennifer’s first day will be June 16 and she and Colleen Lines will be heading to the WCCW to visit the braille transcription program.

*      Several programs are scheduled this summer: Summer Camp, Youth Employment Solutions (YES), Computer Programming Camp (over 50 individuals are signed up), Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) workshops, and Summer Institute.  Emily Coleman will be providing the lead for CVI and Summer Institute.

*      Dr. Stenehjem will be retiring in August, 2016 with his last day as September 1, 2016. Dr. Stenehjem wants to get the process going very soon to get the best candidate.  Dr. Stenehjem feels there will be a number of school for the Blind Superintendent’s retirements over the next several years.  Dr. Stenehjem said Washington must provide a competitive salary in order to attract excellent candidates.

*      Doug asked about the B-3 TVI position that was posted. Dr. Stenehjem said it would be funded from General State Funds, if approved. If not, WSSB will utilize private/local funds to help get this position in place with the idea that it would be self-sustaining like outreach teaching positions. Hopefully seed money will come with the B-3 funding from the legislature once the final budget is announced. Doug asked if in the future there are positions posted if Dr. Stenehjem could discuss these with teachers first to help improve communication.  Dr. Stenehjem said the B-3 position that is posted is a lot like Outreach position and it will be funded through contracts with school districts and that it is important to note that this doesn’t take away from on-campus programs. 

*      WSSB and the University of Northern Colorado have been working together to submit a grant for $400,000 for an online intervention program for families for training in the B-3 area. WSSB hopes to know the outcome of this grant by this fall.

*      Yang-su stated that the Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) also has B-3 personnel who support families and asked what type of coordination is being done with WSSB and DSB.  Dr. Stenehjem stated that DeEtte has an Advisory Committee and the DSB is represented and DeEtte also gives DSB contact information for the children that she serves. 

*      The ORC is in charge of registering BVI children with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH).  With each student registered, WSSB receives allocations to order materials.  Last year, only eleven B-3 children were registered; WSSB believes there can be 300 by this December and up to 577 in the near future.  The only way to make that happen is to take a proactive approach in communicating with the providers of B-3 services and get these children registered.  This could amount to approximately $90,000 of additional materials available through the APH through what is called Quota funds.

*      Yang-su asked about the computer programming camp. Yang-su feels there are issues with real time programing code sharing tools during code reviews and edits. He found that inaccessible real time code sharing is more pragmatic than accessible programming language in getting programmer jobs. Dr. Stenehjem suggested that Yang-su visit the campus during the camp and discuss this with the lead of the Computer Programming Camp, Dr. Andy Stefik.  Dr. Stenehjem will also send Dr. Stefik Yang-su's contact information. Lilly asked what is the target grades for students; Dr. Stenehjem said it depends on the student; could be upper grade school age through high school, dependent on the student’s skills and abilities. 

 

Superintendent Search Committee

*      Committee Search Update:  Ed stated the Board has been aware for a long time that the Superintendent in Washington is underpaid based upon national salary survey of schools for the blind.  The Board asked the Governor’s office to review and consider compensation adjustment.  Ed feels the issue is critical because WSSB will be looking for an excellent Superintendent and needs to be competitive with other states.  Ed stated there are only 42 Superintendent positions for schools for the blind and the field is very competitive. Dr. Stenehjem did a national survey of Superintendents, and received a substantial number of responses.  WSSB was able to conclude that the average salary of superintendents nationwide is at least $50,000 more than Dr. Stenehjem’s salary. Ed sent a comprehensive letter to the Director of Internal Affairs in the Governor’s office, indicating this and included the results of survey. If anyone would like to see the survey, let Ed know. The Governor’s office is asking for Dr. Stenehjem’s specific date for his retirement. A meeting will be planned with the Governor’s office in the near future as we need to be a year ahead of every other search. Currently 5 or 6 top school Superintendents will be retiring, which will entail fierce competition.  In addition, Ed has asked Anne Baker, HR Manager, to put together application information, etc. that will be sent out, so WSSB will be ready to go. An initial search committee meeting was held this morning (John, Yang-su, Ed and Dennis).  The immediate goal is to be ready to post the position, no later than late summer, however discussion has not yet occurred with the Governor’s office.  At this time we are unsure as to what the Governor’s office will require us to do. Doug said the Irwin and Outreach teachers would like to be involved, as well as the consumer organizations. Ed would like to hear from everyone and stated that the Bylaws require the full board to approve someone and will then send the recommendation to the Governor’s office and the Governor will decide. Dr. Stenehjem said when he was hired, he was interviewed by 6-8 different groups (teachers, Residential Life Counselors, consumer groups, board of trustees, Governor office staff, etc.). Joleen asked if Dr. Stenehjem’s pending retirement is now official.  Dr. Stenehjem said it is. 

 

Election of Officers:

*      John nominated Jim as Chairman of the Board; Lorna seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 

*      Jim nominated Ed as Vice Chair; Lorna seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously. 

 

Committee Assignments

*      Education Committee (Chair-John:  Members-Michelle, JJ, Yang Su, and Joleen).

*      Buildings and Grounds Committee (Chair-Nancy:  Members-Lilly, Berl, and Jim).

*      Management Committee (Chair-Lorna:  Members-Ed).

*      Legislative Committee (Chair-Berl, Members-Lorna, Dennis, Yang-su, and Mike).

 

Recognition

*      Dr. Stenehjem handed out certificates of appreciation honoring the Board for their time given to the school. 

*      Dr. Stenehjem also presented a plaque of appreciation for Ed Snook’s tenure as Board Chairman. 

 

Miscellaneous

*      Denise Colley wanted to officially take the opportunity to say good-bye to the Board.  Denise said it took forever to get her district filled and then it all occurred very quickly.  Denise thanked the Board for the opportunity.  Denise was presented a plaque of appreciation for her tenure on the Board last spring. 

*      Doug stated that he has been the Ex-Officio Teacher rep. for 3-4 years and it is time for change.  The new teacher representative on the Board will be JJ Isaacson. JJ introduced herself and said it is a pleasure to be on the Board and she is glad to be here to represent Irwin and the staff.  JJ looks forward to participating. 

 

Executive Session

An executive session was called to order at 1:15pm.

 

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:50pm.  The next Board meeting will be held in Vancouver on September 18, 2015 at 11:00am.   

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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

                                                                                                                Superintendent

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Board Reports – June 2015

 

Outreach

 

I am extremely excited to become the new Director of Outreach/State Vision Consultant, and to have the opportunity to serve students in WA within a different role. As a current teacher within the Outreach team, I know firsthand the glorious aspects of this job, and the aspects that can be difficult at times. I look forward to supporting teachers as they continue to do their best work for kids who are blind and visually impaired (BVI). With that said, here are some highlights of the past few months and the months ahead:

 

·         We have hired a new Outreach teacher to step into the work I’ve been doing in Eastern Washington. Marshal Givens comes to us from Utah with many years in the field. His enthusiasm for teaching is obvious, and I feel he’ll be an asset to our team.

·         The first UEB training took place in Vancouver, and was very successful. The trainings in Seattle and Spokane this summer are also full.  The knowledge the Ogden Resource Center (ORC) staff brings to this topic is in high demand.

·         Summer Institute and the Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) Workshops with Dr. Roman will also continue this summer. There are 25-30 people currently signed up for each offering, and more coming in each day.

·         June 12 will signal our end-of-year Outreach meeting, and our team will convene from around the state to highlight our successes for the year.

 

I look forward to continuing the good work Craig has done, and also adding my own perspective.  Every day brings a new opportunity and another chance to further our field and promote independence for kids.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Digital/Distance Learning

 

Digital Research & Development

This April at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Leadership Conference in Phoenix, Mike Bicknell gave a presentation titled, “No More B for Blind: Providing Equal Access to Education for Math Students who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Deafblind.” The point of the talk was threefold: To introduce the WSSB distance learning math program to more people in our field, to encourage other schools for the blind to start similar distance learning programs for students, and to challenge people in the field to see an alternative to the current service delivery model regarding academic K-12 STEM classes.

 

The National Distance Learning Collaborative for Blind and Visually Impaired (NDLCBVI) group met via a web meeting on May 6. Mike hosted the meeting with generous assistance from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI). We discussed current projects from participants around the country. One standout was a tele-intervention project that uses an iPad to bring COMS services to a family with a young child. (This research project was originally presented at AFB-LC.) A contingent from Iowa will host our next web meeting in November. If you would like to join the NDLCBVI listserv, email me for directions: mike.bicknell@wssb.wa.gov.

 

Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) Lisa Hodge continues to work with Professor Andreas Stefik, Ph.D. and one of his graduate students from UNLV to produce an accessible patch for use in the national LEGOs robotics competition. (Hodge is testing and providing feedback to the developers.) The patch will work in Quorum, an evidence-oriented programming language developed by Stefik and others. Students who are blind or deafblind will then be able to compete in the national LEGOs robotics competition by programming their robots in Quorum.

 

Digital Learning

WSSB Digital Learning hosted a two-day training by Bruce McClanahan in April and again in May on how to use the iPad and Mac computer with VoiceOver and Zoom. Nearly 20 teachers, COMS, paraprofessionals, and administrators from WSSB and from around the state attended.

 

The WSSB Distance Learning math schedule is posted for 2015-2016. We are offering classes on campus and via distance learning for Pre-Calculus, Statistics, Geometry, Algebra I & II, Pre-Algebra, and Middle School Math. An optional Math Lab for the secondary classes will also be available. Our highly qualified math teachers are JJ Isaacson and Sonja Steinbach for high school and Lisa Hodge for middle school. These classes use Microsoft Lync, now Skype for Business, to give students direct, real time access to classes. High school students on and off campus also gain experience using Yammer, an online collaboration environment where teachers post assignments and videos. Students can also post questions, comments, and more.

 

IT

The Washington State Small Agency Chief Information Officer (CIO) group met on March 26 to discuss IT concerns specific to small state agencies. Bicknell and Mary Craig of Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) co-founded and led the group meeting. Twelve CIOs attended and met with enthusiasm to discuss common concerns and innovative solutions. Our next meeting is scheduled for June 25 in Olympia.

 

WSSB also recently completed its first E-Rate application in years and will use the federal funds to help purchase and install more wireless access points for the school starting next fall.

 

In conclusion, we are wrapping up the school year, finishing IT projects, and meeting with departments to discuss technology plans for the next three years. It’s been a full year with lots of projects and many more are on the horizon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

On Campus

 

Enrollment

Our current total school program enrollment is 67.  This includes 49 on campus students, 2 part time students from Fort Vancouver HS, 8 distance learning, and 8 Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT).  Our projected enrollment for next school year is 61, excluding LIFTT.  The fall enrollment includes 49 on campus, 1 student from Fort Vancouver HS half-time, and 11 distance learning students.   We are expanding our course offerings to include additional math coursework (statistics, pre-calculus) and potentially offer GOALS (Go Out and Live Successfully). 

 

Job Placements

Jennifer Hervey-Langley will be joining us as WSSB’s music instructor beginning the 2015-2016 school year.  Jennifer was Eben’s predecessor at WSSB for a number of years and has a deep passion for student-centered learning and music education.  With her wide range of experiences and knowledge in the field of special education, music, and vision, Jennifer will be great to have back on the WSSB team. 

 

Summer Programs

Summer camp and Youth Employment Solutions (YES) 1 are scheduled for this summer in two separate sessions.  June 27–July 1, summer camp will be broken up into groups based in daily living skills (DLS), technology, and orientation and mobility (O&M).  All of the students will have the opportunity to have a variety of experiences in recreation and sporting activities.  YES 1 will be conducted on campus from July 5-16, which will focus on pre-vocational experiences, community outings, career interest inventory and assessment for 14-16 year old students.

 

Events

Track Meet (May 14)

This year’s track meet was another great success! We had over 100 participants from around the state who participated in events that included the 25, 50 and 100 meter dash, standing long jump, shot put and much more. In addition to the track and field events students had opportunities to do swim, do art projects, say hello to llamas, meet local K-9 task force and tour the sensory safari to name a few.

 

Student Council Lock In (May 21)

Staff and students alike had a great time during the lock in. Most students managed to stay up all night with the help of snacks, karaoke, goalball, movies, open gym, swimming and much more!

 

Lion’s & Leo’s Jamboree (May 21)

The Lions and Leo’s members from Fort Vancouver Lion’s Club came out to host the 2015 Jamboree for the students. Cotton candy, hot dogs, hamburgers, Velcro wall, pie eating contest, tug of war, blow up maze and lots of fun for the students.

 

Spring Concert (May 28)

WSSB students participated in a two-part concert in the Sherman Auditorium.  The performance was broken up by soloists/small groups and then larger ensembles.  Additionally, the pilot Lego robotics class provided a demonstration in the library on what they've been working on this year.  The students in the robotics class have conducted research on an environmental disaster, and then simulated a disaster relief effort using computer programming to operate a robot that supports this scale model relief effort. 

 

Powerlifting Meet (May 30)

WSSB Lion’s will have 8 powerlifters, 4 women and 4 men, compete in Aberdeen, WA for their final event of the year.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Residential

 

Health Center

I have neglected to provide a section on the Health Center in my last three board reports. I have been overseeing this department since the beginning of this school year. The Health Center staff have continued to provide for the health care needs for our students as well as provide trainings to our staff. We have been providing twice yearly trainings in first aid/CPR/AED for several years and will continue this. I have spent the year learning about how this department works. Robin Williams and Justine Mings are the full time staff in the Health Center. Of note during the year was a request made to update the position classification for the position Justine holds from a Nurse 1 to a Nurse 2. After review of the two positions and the work that the job entails, the classification was changed to Nurse 2 in December (retroactive to September.)

 

Justine has joined the Army National Guard and was in training for the winter quarter. She will have more training in June and following that, it will be weekends. Robin did an excellent job finding nursing coverage for her in her absence. Our nurses are passionate about health care for our students as well as our staff.

 

Residential

Students continue to participate in DLS programs and recreational activities. Gardening skills were one highlight of this quarter. A group of students created an outdoor garden on campus planting peas and potatoes as well as small herb gardens in the cottages. Another theme was “you and your community”. Students sang at a retirement center, worked at the food bank, and did a park cleanup project. We feel it is important for our students to give back to the community.

 

Staff are busy with end of year activities and cleaning tasks, this is always a very busy time of year.

 

LIFTT

Students are working to finish their programs and complete their goals before the end of the program which is June 19. Targeted training has occurred this quarter in the area of the steps for renting an apartment. Students learn rental vocabulary, lease information, utilities, and learn to identify their wants versus their needs all based on their budgets. Two students have gone through the process and have moved into an apartment. They are still participating in the program through the end. Staff are working with them on making accommodations in their apartment (appliance marking, etc.) as well as travel training in the area in addition to completing their basic LIFTT goals.

 

Transportation

No special news to report.

 

General

Two more Residential Life Counselor’s (RLCs) completed the Hadley Braille courses this past quarter. I hope to report in the fall update that one more RLC has passed the National Library of Congress Braille Certification. He has submitted his manuscript and is waiting to hear. We will introduce the UEB changes to the staff sometime in the next academic year.

 

We are planning for the two sessions of summer school, and expect to have a few more students than usual participating.

 

Fall in service planning has begun. There will be a CPR/first aid/AED course one day. There is no doubt that we will be able to fill the 3 days allotted to in-service!

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Business Office

 

2013-15 Operating Budget

Listed at the end of the department reports is a monthly budget summary for General Fund and 19B Local Fund. We ended the month with positive balance of less than 1%. We are projecting to end the year balanced, however that is dependent on the technical correction of $101,000 and Safety Net funding.

 

2015-17 Operating Budget

Dean will report on the legislature’s progress in passing the budget.

 

2015-17 Allotments

I conducted a training for staff on budget allotments. They are working on their respective departments.  The Office of Financial Management (OFM) due date for allotments is August 7.

 

Department of Labor & Industries Retrospective Rating

Our refund this year was $1,452.86—much better than a bill for $246,411!

 

 

 

Year-end Close

We will be working on the usual close-out activities:

·         Continue to closely monitor and track current year expenditures

·         Close out the year

·         Year-end processing on various levels (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Disclosure forms, Capital Asset Management report)

·         Close out various grants and submit final reimbursements

·         Prepare client service, facility use, and tuition contracts

·         Records storage and set-up of vendor files for new biennium

·         2014 allotments

·         2015-17 Budget Preparation (Instructions have not been published)

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Human Resources

 

New Hires:  

·         Outreach Director – Emily Coleman

·         TVI (Outreach - Spokane) – Marshal Givens

·         On Call RLC – Tina Powell

 

Open Recruitments:

·         Music Teacher of the Blind

·         School Psychologist

·         ORC Director

·         Substitute Teacher                 

·         On-Call Teacher’s Assistant

 

Trainings Attended:

·         Military 101 Hiring for Managers

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

·         Affirmative Action/Disability Coordinators/Veteran’s Coordinators Quarterly Meeting, facilitated by Tammy Pitre, Statewide HR

·         Exploring Employment Liability, ESD 112

·         SW Washington Community HR Group

·         Personnel Manager’s Meeting

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Ogden Resource Center (ORC)

My Final Report, by Colleen Lines

It has been a pleasure to serve the state of Washington in various capacities in public school and WSSB for the past 30 years. I thank the Board and Dr. Stenehjem for supporting me in my leadership role in the ORC at WSSB.

 

 

 

American Printing House for the Blind (APH) Annual Census

ESD

Districts/Agencies

Students

101

16

158

105

18

86

112

12

173

113

23

110

114

8

70

121

41

726

123

11

101

171

13

78

189

22

204

Totals

164

1706

Phases one and two of the annual census has been completed by administrative assistant, Justin Raner. He is to be commended for his diligent work on this time consuming task.  Currently we have 1706 students registered for by 164 different districts and agencies that provide services for BVI.

 

Ninety-five birth-to-three babies are now registered with the ORC. We have 127 preschool three-to-five year olds registered. Thanks to DeEtte Snyder and Tracey Gaver out in the field for promoting our services.

 

Preliminary APH Census Students that Meet (MDB) or Function (FDB) at the federal Definition of Blindness are as follows:

                #214 School for the Blind – 40

                #216 Districts/Agencies – 888

                #217 Preschool 86

                Total – 1014 APH students

 

No Need to Fear UEB is Here Workshops

Before Craig Meador left for Kentucky, he arranged to have three statewide UEB workshops sponsored by Washington Sensory Disability Services (WSDS) and with ORC staff trainers. Zach Lattin, Mike Sivill and Angela Vargas created their own UEB curriculum, PowerPoint presentation, participant worksheets and the UEB exam to update current BLUE certificate holders.

 

The first workshop was held at WSSB May 5-6. This hands-on workshop had 35 participants from all over the state attend, free of charge and were provided UEB Manuals and handouts. Of the 35 participants, 31 passed the UEB competency exam. One free retake is being provided to those not passing.  We conducted a satisfaction survey with 26/35 responding. Overall the workshop was rated a 4 – Above Average on a scale of 1-5. The UEB training team is making improvements to their workshop presentation for the upcoming workshops: Seattle CSI–July 22-24, Spokane–August 11-12, WSSB in-service–August 27-28. 

 

Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) Recognition Event

On May 21, 2015 we, in collaboration with WCCW-Correctional Industries (CI), held a Braille event to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of our transcribers. We recognized each woman individually and presented them with certificates of how many braille pages they have created since they entered into the program.

 

The event was well attended by Department of Corrections (DOC) superintendents, officers and CI board members. We had TVI's and paraprofessionals from districts and WSSB staff tour the Braille program. The women were excited as they were able to invite two family members or friends to attend. Senator Patty Murray's staff assistant Colleen Bryan attended and was very excited to see our program and the empowerment it has given these women, resulting in quality braille for our blind citizens. Lastly, I was presented with a plaque from WCCW-CI Braille. It really means a lot to me, as this program is my proudest life accomplishment. We had tears and hugs and laughs. Thank you.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Buildings and Grounds

Capital:

·         The smoke dampers in Old Main have all been replaced and are working as they should be. There were just over 100 dampers and all were changed out in one weekend.

·         Specifications have been finalized and are now with our architectural services representative in Olympia for review. This will be a very tight schedule to meet posting, walk though and bid timeline requirements but we are trying to have a contractor selected by June 22.

 

Campus:

·         We recently purchased a new piece of equipment using the retro-refund safety dollars. The new bed edger redefines the separation between grass and bark dust by edge cutting and rototilling the turned over grass at the same time. This will allow us to greatly reduce our use of Roundup to define the beds and reduce labor if were to try and do this project by hand.

·         We are in the process of redesigning to heat exchanger system in Kennedy. As a result of a motor failure we had to bypass the cooling capacity of the exchangers and now will re-pipe the system to allow for better control throughout the year.

·         Summer activities are keeping the custodial and food services staff busy. The weekend coverage requested for many of the activities will allow for little down time between programs but planned cooperation by residential staff should make the transitions easier.

·         After 35 years of service to WSSB, Tom Schaff, our grounds keeper has announced that he will retire this August. The general campus knowledge that he takes with him is all but impossible to replace.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Birth-Three

Training

DeEtte conducted 2 trainings. One on “3-Prong Approach to Vision and Hearing Screening” with Nancy Hatfield at the Fort Worden Early Childhood Conference through ESD 114. Also she conducted an all-day training workshop, with Emily Coleman, Cindy McAlexander, and Tracey Gaver, at the Infants and Early Childhood Conference (IECC), which is a statewide early childhood conference, on the topic of visual impairment/blindness in young children. Workshop was attended by 48 participants and very well received.

 

Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT)

Partnership with ESIT continues. DeEtte completed the Practice Guide for Providing Early Intervention Services for Children who are BVI, in cooperation with WSDS and Sheila Ammons, our special programs consultant.  This guide will go out to all local lead agencies in July and will be used to assist agencies in their provision of appropriate services to families. Included in the Guide are these main components: 1) Registry Form, 2) APH procedures, 3) 3-Prong Approach to Vision Screen, 4) Agency Self-Evaluation tool, and 5) Areas to address with all families of children with BVI.

 

B-3 TVI Local Capacity

DeEtte continues to work with counties to address the shortage of B-3 TVIs in their local area.  She has assisted both Snohomish and Pierce counties to locate a professional and starting July 1 both of these counties will have a designated TVI for B-3, similar to King County.  She is also currently working with Whatcom to do the same.  Also WSSB is working to create a B-3 TVI position to cover the SW Washington area, including ESD 112 service area and Lewis County.

 

Referrals

Referrals to DeEtte are increasing here in SW Washington through ESD 112 and also Snohomish, Pierce, Whatcom counties (between 2 to 4 every week).  She is filling in the gaps in working with these teams for evaluations, consultations, and ongoing services until an ongoing B-3 TVI can start.  In July, she will begin transitioning these services to the local TVI designated for B-3. Also when the Practice Guide is distributed to all local lead agencies, referrals is expected to also increase. 

 

DeEtte has estimated the number for each county and will track identifications of children with BVI over the course of the year. ESIT will be holding local lead agencies accountable for their identifications with the use of the Registry Form in the Practice Guide.

 

University Partnerships

1)      WSSB and Portland State University (PSU) are moving forward to creating an Early Intervention Visual Impairment graduate certificate program.

2)      WSSB and University of Northern Colorado wrote a grant together to fund a “Research to Practice Partnership” project to develop a “tele-support” model of providing vision services via distance technologies.  Acceptance of grant will be known in October, but until then, WSSB is moving forward to looking at this model to address the shortage of B-3 TVI support in its continuum of services.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Superintendent

Budget

·         2015 budget: Mary Sarate, Business Manager, manager provided an update on our current budget status, but I did want to highlight a few areas.

o   Safety Net:  Currently waiting to hear from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) as to whether or not we will receive funding approval on needed dollars for three high cost students that require one on one staff.  [$173,468 requested under safety net funding]

o   Our saving grace over the past few years has been our ability to carry forward from private local funds which have helped us deal with shortfalls in state funding and also help as seed money for the beginning of the Birth–3 position, which as far as we know is still in the 2015-2017 budgets in the House, Senate and the Governor’s Budget.

§  NOTE:  Private local funds for the most part are dollars we generate other than state appropriations for programs.

·         2015-2017:  Still waiting for the close of the legislative session.  We hope that the legislature finishes its business soon so we can progress with the work that we need to do in planning for the 2015-2017 fiscal year, which is upon us beginning July 1, 2015.

o   Operating budget:  At this time we anticipate a workable budget for current operations and anticipate funding of the Birth–3 Statewide Coordinator and additional money for training and to assist with program coordination. Based upon the one year we have seen with the seed money that has made this possible from private local dollars, service coordination is shaping up nicely due to a solid partnership of many agencies and the great work being done by our new Statewide Coordinator, DeEtte Snyder.

o   Teachers:  Additional in-service days for teachers in order to help stay somewhat current with LEAs salaries. WSSB is adding 4 additional days onto of the three fall in-service days. Note: WSSB doesn’t have local mill levy dollars, which districts throughout the state use for TRI Days.  These days are being paid for with private local funds.

o   Capital Budget: We anticipate funding for preservation work and possible funding for pre-design/ design of new LIFTT Cottage.

 

Staffing

·         Craig Meador accepted a position with APH this month and we were fortunate to hire Emily Coleman, Outreach teacher from the Spokane area, who officially started as the new Director of Outreach on May 16, 2015.  Currently Emily is doing two jobs, finishing out the year as an itinerant and transitioning into the position as Director of Outreach and State Vision Consultant. Emily will complete her administration certification in December of 2015.  It is our intent to have Emily based out of the ESD in Spokane to give us increased presence in the eastern part of the state.

·         Marshall Givens has been hired as a new Outreach Teacher in the Spokane area to replace Emily.  He will begin work fall of 2015.

·         Jennifer Langley former music teacher at WSSB has returned to WSSB and will be our new music teacher the fall of 2015.  We are excited to have Ms. Langley back at WSSB. 

·         Colleen Lines, Director of the ORC is retiring on June 30 and we are in the process of conducting interviews for this important positions. Colleen has been with WSSB for 30 years and has done an excellent job in a number of positions. She has been a key person in the success of the Braille Access Center, Women’s Prison Program, Instructional Resource Center, which are all under the umbrella of the ORC, which was named for former Rep. Val Ogden.  We wish Colleen the best in retirement.

·         Bonda Albers, RLC, will be retiring the end of this school year after providing excellent service to WSSB for 25 years.  We wish Bonda the best in retirement and thank her for her years of services to so many children.

·         WSSB continues to recruit for TVI’s/O&M Instructors for WSSB and for LEAs. Continued shortages are a concern and we are hopeful that the installation of the Modular home for student teacher use on the campus will help attract for teachers in training to the Pacific Northwest.

·         Birth–3:  WSSB is exploring hiring of a B-3 teacher to help provide better services to BVI children in SW Washington. We have partnered with ESD 112 to try and move forward with this position. It is still not determined whether this would be a WSSB position and/or ESD position. We are trying to figure out what will work best for the variety of service providers in need of specialized vision services in SW Washington. Starting this position may be somewhat dependent on the action taken by the legislature on the B-3 Coordinator’s position funding.  Some of the appropriated funds could be used to fill the gap in hiring a new position until a full case load is in place to fully fund the position.

 

Summer – 2015

This will once again be a very busy summer with the following workshops and summer programs occupying most weeks from mid-June through mid-August.

·         Summer School for BVI students, including Youth Employment Solutions I (YES I).

·         Computer Programming Workshop for teachers from throughout the U.S./Canada – partnership with Dr. Andreas Stefik. This program is supported by federal and private grants and will provide specialized training to about 50 teachers.

·         Summer Institute for teachers/para-professionals and administrators who will be have a BVI child in their classroom next fall. Emily Coleman will provide lead for this workshop.

·         Cortical Visual Impairment workshops with Dr. Christine Roman.

 

Capital Projects - Summer of 2015

·         Replacement of pool liner and gutter - still working on timelines - concern whether we will be able to complete this in August.  (The pool has so much use that scheduling work is always an issue.)

·         Telephone system replacement is to be completed by June 30 – Mike Bicknell – lead.

·         Misc. painting, sidewalk replacement, etc. 

 

Accreditation

·         WSSB is in the process of renewing its national accreditation with the onsite work beginning this spring and continuing summer and fall.  Dr. Hans Michielsen as Principal is the lead for this important process which will include multiple committees completing a self-study, which will be followed up with an onsite review sometime the spring of 2016. WSSB has held national accreditation since the late 1980s.  This accreditation process has helped shape our strategic plan which is updated every two years and has been a driving force in continual program improvement. We will keep you posted as the process continues, which will include board member involvement on some of the committees.

 

Announcement of Retirement

·         After nearly 30 years of employment at WSSB and serving as Superintendent since August of 1990, I have decided to announce my retirement which will be sometime in August, 2016.  I have decided to provide the Board, Governor’s office and staff over a year’s notice in order to help facilitate solid recruitment for the best candidate that can help take the school to the next level in quality services for children, families and to all the partners with whom we have worked for many years. It has been a pleasure working with so many people over the years and it has been an amazing trip in seeing all the new services that have been developed.  I’ve always told people that almost everything we do, would not have been possible without wonderful partnerships and staff that have helped create some amazing programs and services. I will continue to work with the Board and Governor’s office to ensure a smooth transition.

 


% of budget

75%

25%

Apr-15

 GFS-FUND 001

Private/Local-19B

Budgeted

Actual

Variance

Budgeted

Actual

Variance

Revenue Incr or shortfall

100

Res

 $        710,109

 $      661,843

 $        48,266

 $      118,000

 $        21,112

 $      96,888

110

Rec

 $          52,762

 $         49,221

 $          3,541

 

 $                -  

120

Health

 $        150,442

 $      143,768

 $          6,674

 

 $                -  

200

Food

 $        139,279

 $      130,605

 $          8,674

 

 $                -  

300

B&G

 $        327,716

 $      325,291

 $          2,425

 $        40,000

 $        26,880

 $      13,120

400

Ed

 $    1,776,578

 $   1,913,381

 $    (136,803)

 $          8,000

 $      139,678

 $  (131,678)

-13%

420

LIFTT

 $        104,786

 $      133,621

 $      (28,835)

 $      104,846

 $        36,793

 $      68,053

24%

500

Summer

 $                659

 $         (2,036)

 $          2,695

 $        66,887

 $        76,520

 $       (9,633)

510

Outreach-State

 $          54,431

 $           5,569

 $        48,862

 $  1,293,480

 $  1,176,531

 $    116,949

10%

520

Summer Institute

 

 $                  -  

 

 $        16,333

 $    (16,333)

543

BAC

 $          38,468

 $                  -  

 $        38,468

 

 

-27%

600

Support Services

 $        585,287

 $      571,213

 $        14,074

 

 $                -  

601

Superintendent

 $        232,750

 $      225,705

 $          7,045

 

 $                -  

611

Foundation

 

 $                   8

 $                 (8)

 

 $                -  

610

Board

 $            7,863

 $           7,354

 $              509

 

 $                -  

700

Technology

 $        360,394

 $      344,061

 $        16,333

 $        66,670

 $           5,844

 $      60,826

800

Transportation

 $        244,477

 $      186,726

 $        57,751

 

 $                -  

920

IRC

 

 $         57,706

 $      (57,706)

 

 

930

Idea

 

 $           7,502

 $         (7,502)

 $  7,502

 

 $                -  

940

Other Grants

 

 $                  -  

 

 $                -  

BETER

Betterment

 

 $                  -  

 $                  -  

 

 $                -  

BIRTH

Birth to Three

 $                    -  

 $                  -  

 $      208,330

 $        83,174

 $    125,156

WSDS

 

 

 $                  -  

 

 $           2,679

 $       (2,679)

 

 

 

 

 $    6,339,580

 $    4,786,001

 $   4,761,538

 $        24,463

 $  1,906,213

 $  1,585,544

 $    320,669

Proj. Balance         

$44,789

0.77%

Proj. Balance

 $    1,174,563