WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
September
18, 2015
Vancouver,
Washington
Board
Members Participating: Jim Kemp, Nancy
McDaniel, Dennis Mathews, Yang-su Cho, John Glenn, Lorna Walsh, Berl Colley, Cindy
Bennett and Ed Snook.
Board Members Absent: Michelle Farrell
Ex-Officio
Members Participating: JJ Isaacson
(Teachers Association), Joleen Ferguson (Washington Council of the Blind), 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), Sean McCormick (Principal), Jennifer Fenton
(Director, Ogden Resource Center), and Janet Kurz (recording secretary).
Executive Session
An
executive session was called to order at 10:45am.
September 18 – 11:00am
Jim
called the meeting to order at 11:00am. The
group started the meeting by introducing themselves.
Department
Updates
Jennifer
Fenton (Director, Ogden Resource Center (ORC))
Jennifer introduced
herself to the Board and reviewed the highlights of her report (listed below).
John asked if the ORC
checks to see if Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI) who have a braille
student have passed their BLUE exam to ensure they are certified. Dr. Stenehjem
said that the ORC provides a report of TVI’s who have passed the BLUE and the
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the monitoring
component for this.
Sean
McCormick (Principal)
Sean
introduced himself and stated that he has been finding his way as interim
Principal this year. Sean is thrilled to
have the opportunity to be Principal and is very excited to work with staff and
appreciated the support he has received from Dr. Stenehjem.
Sean
noted that his priorities this year will be to improve teaching and learning
from staff and students, to build a professional community and to focus on the
Teacher/Principal Evaluation Process (TPEP) and re-accreditation. Another area
that is very important to Sean is building the school culture for staff and
students that is based on trust and collaboration. WSSB has been working with a representative
from the ESD 112 to assist Irwin staff to accomplish this.
Accreditation
will be a huge focus this year. An
accreditation leadership team has been established and will be meeting
regularly. Jennifer Langley (former WSSB
Music TVI) has returned to WSSB as our Music TVI and will also support IEP
development and will lead part of the accreditation. Sean feels Jennifer is a great asset to WSSB
and is extremely valuable to our school.
WSSB
has a school psychologist intern this fall, Mr. Ryan Chiodo. Dr. Tony Dunn from the ESD 112 will serve as
his supervisor. Ryan will also be contracting for some evaluation services with
the Center for Deafness and Hard of Hearing (CDHL).
Another
change this fall is that the Irwin building will now have one administrator
rather than two. This will force WSSB to do some things differently while
evaluating whether or not an additional position will be needed. The goal will be to determine how to best
meet student needs and Sean feels this is a great opportunity to distribute
leadership amongst staff. Sean’s model
of leadership is communal.
Sean
reviewed the student population: 48 students (k-12 on-campus) are enrolled at
WSSB with an additional eight (8) in Distance Learning and four (4) in the
Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) program (5th
year program) for a total of: 60
students. There are several students in
the wings that may enroll in the on campus program this fall. Of the 48 (on-campus
6-12) students 24 students’ vision is their primary disability with 20 students
being multiply disabled. Four (4) students qualify as deaf/blind.
John
stated he felt Sean’s graduation speech in June was exceptional and how he has
conducted the beginning of the school year is commendable. John feels that Sean’s approach is student
based and that Sean is very organized.
Sean complimented his staff in helping the start of the school year to
go so smoothly.
Mike
asked how many out of state students WSSB has this year. Sean said there are four (4) Oregon students
with the possibility of one more enrolling.
Cindy
asked if the 48 enrolled (students) includes LIFTT. Dr. Stenehjem said that the 48 is on-campus
only. If the Distance Learning students
and LIFTT students are included our enrollment is 60. Dr. Stenehjem said LIFTT enrollment is down
at this time and that the biggest change in enrollment figures occurred when WSSB’s
elementary program transitioned to local districts.
Ed
asked how much our modular home was being used.
Dr. Stenehjem said a practicum student will be coming in October from
University of British Columbia.
Currently, an Orientation & Mobility (O&M) staff member from
WSSB is residing in the modular home.
This staff person relocated to the Vancouver area due to the lack of
contracts in her former county. Berl
asked if Dee Amundsen retired; Dr. Stenehjem said yes.
Business
Meeting:
Old
Business:
Approve
board meeting minutes of June 5, 2015. Nancy moved to approve the minutes as
submitted; Lorna seconded the motion.
The minutes were approved unanimously.
New
Business:
Superintendent Search Committee (Dennis
Mathews, Ed Snook, John Glenn and Yang-su Cho)
The
committee met with Kelly Wicker, Governor Inslee’s Deputy Chief of Staff and
Dennis Karras, recruiter on September 10.
The committee’s goal was to discuss the following three priorities:
o
Compensation:
Currently, there is a salary cap of $140,000 for the Superintendent’s position,
however, there were some indications that it might be bumped up and at this
time we are not sure if private/local funds can be used to increase the
salary.
o
Timeline: Dennis Karras will have a publication ready
by October 7 so that Dr. Stenehjem can take the information with him to the
American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and Council of Schools and Services
for the Blind (COSB) conference.
o
Target
Markets: Dr. Stenehjem informed Dennis
Karras that some of the target markets are:
COSB (Superintendents and Leaders of schools for the Blind and Blind
organizations), Principals of Schools for the Blind (POSB) listserv,
Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired
(AER) listserv, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), American Council of
the Blind (ACB), American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), as well as the
twenty-eight (28) University training programs across the United States. All job related information will also be
produced in braille.
An
invitation will be extended to Dennis Karras to attend our November 13 Board of
Trustees meeting and we will also have an opportunity for staff, stakeholders,
etc. to have a question and answer session with him regarding the search
process. Dennis Mathews (B.T.) encouraged
people to submit their questions for Dennis Karras in advance via email to
Janet.
Dennis
was very impressed with Kelly Wicker and the recruitment company and feels it
is vitally important that all stakeholders have input in this process.
Ed
shared that he provided the group a salary survey that was comprised of other
schools for the blind. This salary
survey notes that the median salary for Superintendent’s is $185,000 of those
schools responding, and that WSSB is in the lower 25%.
Berl
felt that the consumer organizations and blind community have had an excellent
relationship with the Superintendent and his concern is that this is not
guaranteed with a new Superintendent. Berl
feels this should be a requirement that the candidate commits to have a good
working relationships with consumer groups.
Lilly
said from a parent perspective Dr. Stenehjem has done a great job in
leadership; i.e. keeping a positive attitude, can-do, etc.
Dr.
Stenehjem feels all stakeholders need to be actively involved.
Superintendent’s
Report
Dr.
Stenehjem reviewed the following:
Dr.
Stenehjem said the highlight of the Governor’s visit to WSSB’s campus (August,
2015) was when the Governor met Tom Schaff who was retiring after 35 years of
service to WSSB. The Governor gave Tom a
pin and acknowledged his tenure with the state.
Discussion
was held regarding Smarter Balance as this is still a concern. Former Director of Outreach/State Vision
Consultant, Craig Meador, began working with OSPI. WSSB will continue to meet
with OSPI to address this issue.
Budget
wise, WSSB is in good shape. Dr.
Stenehjem feels the biggest factor in this is when the state law was changed
and WSSB was able to carry forward private/local funds. This gives us flexibility to begin programs,
develop new partnerships, etc. WSSB will
be applying for Safety Net this year for three high-cost students. Lorna
asked who is responsible for submitting the Safety Net applications. Dr. Stenehjem stated it is the Principal and
the Director of Business and Financial.
Dennis reviewed WSSB’s application last year as he was on the Safety Net
committee at OSPI Safety Net is a reimbursement model due to when the funds are
received. WSSB will also be applying for
Birth-3 funds through the supplemental budget process. Last year, the position was funded however
all operating funds for this important area were eliminated at the last moment.
Currently, WSSB is utilizing private/local funds to keep the program going.
Ex-Officio Reports
Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) (Joleen
Ferguson):
o Joleen reported that the WCB fall convention is November 5-7 at the SeaTac
Marriott and you don’t have to be a WCB member to attend. All convention related information can be
located online at www.wcbinfo.org. Joleen said one component of the convention
will be a talk on distance learning. Dr. Stenehjem will also present at the convention.
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) (Michael
Freeman):
o
Mike reported that the NFB fall convention will be
October 30-November 1 at the Red Lion SeaTac Hotel. Information regarding the convention can be
located at www.nfbw.org. Mike invited folks
to register online or print the form and send it in. The convention rate for the hotel is $99 per
night. Some components of the convention
are a student luncheon, parent luncheon, exhibits and one of the speakers will
be Mr. Everette Bacon who is the President of the NFB in Utah.
Teachers (JJ Isaacson):
o
JJ reported that she has been appointed to
represent the staff at Irwin and that Sean has definitely set the tone for the
school year as he presented earlier at the Board meeting. JJ stated that there are a lot of changes
going on that are very necessary, especially in the area of staff and students
relating to trust, repairing relationships, rebuilding foundations and to go
forward to teach and learn.
o
JJ has been in the education field for 24 years and
feels there is some reserved optimism and that is what trust and collaboration
is all about. Sean has brought in a
dynamic person from ESD and she will be coming on a regular basis to assist.
o
Lorna asked where the Distance Learning students
reside. JJ said there are two from Alaska, several from Washington and two from
Oregon. JJ said there is one WSSB student who will be transitioning back to
their local district and will likely be a Distance Learning student. JJ feels this seems to be the pattern with
students who leave WSSB. JJ feels this
helps to maintain the connection with students, both emotional and social. JJ teaches two classes of Geometry which
involves a lot of talking. Only one of her students is a print user with ten
being braille users.
o
Lorna asked if WSSB was still exploring distance
learning for Science. JJ said WSSB is willing to explore any aspect and there
is a distance learning class being made available for students who are in their
senior year that will help prepare them for independent living. In addition, WSSB’s school counselor will be
offering two classes relating to social interactions and college
preparedness.
o
Yang-su asked how students submit homework. JJ said she does higher level math classes
and her philosophy is that students need to be prepared to submit their
homework as they would in post-secondary situations, i.e. students have to do
it twice, Perkins brailler and submit it in text via email. Students can take photo images and they also
have a document camera. Yang-su thinks
this is a great way of teaching students. Yang-su asked if there are editing
tools or programs they use. JJ said they use several but depends on what’s
available in their district.
o
Ed asked how many online math students JJ could
accommodate. JJ has up to 3 distance learning students in one class with 5-7
students in the classroom. JJ often forgets that the distance learning students
are not in the classroom.
o
Joleen asked if all students hear each other during
the class; JJ said yes the software and connection is like being in a
conference call and if they have usable vision they can see screens.
o
JJ asked what superintendent search committee.
Parent Representative
o
Lilly attended WSSB’s student registration. Lilly
had a table and spoke to new parents and students. There were many new comers
this year and this was a great opportunity to reassure them.
o
Lilly participates in the Governor’s Committee on
Disability Issues and Employment (GCDE).
Each year people can nominate businesses, etc. for different categories.
This year Lilly nominated the WSSB. In addition, the GCDE holds outreach
programs. Lilly asked who she could contact at WSSB regarding services that
WSSB provides to communities. Dr. Stenehjem said he could give Lilly
information and in addition, DeEtte Snyder (Birth-3 Coordinator), Emily Coleman
(Director of Outreach/State Vision Consultant) and Jennifer Fenton could also
provide information.
Committee Reports
Education Committee:
o
John said he has not set up an education committee
meeting yet.
o
John would like to have an Assistive Technology
staff come to a Board meeting so that the Board can see all of the items that
are used. John is interested in the
dictation platform that WSSB is using with students with dyslexia.
o
John would like to visit classes at a future board
meeting. Janet also offered Board members
to tour classes on Friday morning prior to the Board meetings.
Buildings and Grounds Committee.
o
Nancy asked about the progress with the Pool liner
repair. Dr. Stenehjem said WSSB hoped to replace the liner this fall with a quartz-type
finish. When the bid was received it was
over $50,000 over the max budget. WSSB
delayed the project to this winter or spring.
Nancy asked what the cost would be; Dr. Stenehjem said with the gutter
and liner repair it was close to $300,000.
Dr. Stenehjem said there are a number of small projects that will occur
but WSSB needs to get the pool repaired to determine how much is left in the
budget. There is also an issue with the
heating and cooling in the Kennedy building (north side). WSSB is also looking to fix that problem.
Management Committee:
o
Ed has been working with the Superintendent Search
committee. This will be the major focus this
school year.
Legislative Committee:
o
Berl would like to set up a conference call for the
legislative committee. Berl will submit
some dates and times that he is available.
Berl would like to discuss the upcoming legislative session and start
addressing topics such as the capital expenditure for the LIFTT building, etc.
Miscellaneous
Jim reiterated that
the November board meeting will be as follows:
o
November
13 – 10am-12pm Business meeting; 12-12:45pm lunch with Karras consulting; 1-3pm
open forum for staff, stakeholders, etc. with Karras consulting.
There
being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:05pm. The next Board meeting will be held in
Vancouver on November 13, 2015 at 10am.
James Kemp, Chair Dean
O. Stenehjem, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Board Reports – September 2015
It has been a very busy first few months on the job
and I’ve been spending quality time with not only our outstanding Outreach
staff, but also with professionals in our field from around the state. There
were multiple professional development opportunities this summer provided by
WSSB and Washington Sensory Disability Services (WSDS), and the “turn-outs”
were substantial.
·
Unified English Braille (UEB) Trainings
took place in Seattle, Spokane, and specifically for WSSB staff in Vancouver. I
signed up for the Seattle training myself, and was impressed with the caliber
of professionals in attendance. An average of 30 people attended each session.
·
The Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)
Mentor Workshop hosted about 60 people in early August. Dr. Roman continues to
keep our state on the front edge of education for children who have a CVI.
·
The Summer Institute had nearly 50
attendees, which is the largest group we’ve had in recent years. We shortened
the training to 4 days this year, and I believe this allowed more educators to
attend. Those that attended were
enthusiastic about education for children who are blind and visually impaired
(BVI) and the level of participation was excellent.
·
Finally, the back-to-school meetings
were attended by all of our Outreach staff and we had our work cut-out for us
as many caseloads were adjusted due to employee changes.
·
Staff changes included saying good-bye
to a long-time educator and supporter of our Outreach department, Dee Amundsen,
who retired. We welcomed Danielle King into our department. Danielle had been working as a substitute for
WSSB, and we were excited to extend her a full-time position.
·
Cindy McAlexander, Outreach Teacher of
the Visually Impaired (TVI), moved into the Birth-3 program and will be working
with DeEtte Snyder, Birth-3 Statewide Coordinator.
The year is off to a great start and the Outreach
department greeted the new school year with open arms. Every day we have an
opportunity to positively impact the future of children who are BVI throughout
the state…and we continue to meet that challenge.
Digital/Distance Learning
We reorganized our webpages regarding our distance
learning classes and groups. Please check it out: http://www.wssb.wa.gov/Content/offcampus/DistanceLearning.asp
WSSB is teaching math via distance learning once
again. This year we have students online from Washington, Oregon, and Alaska
for Middle School Math, Pre-Algebra, Foundations of Algebra, Geometry,
Foundations of Career and College Math, and Pre-Calculus. WSSB TVI Lisa Hodge teaches
Middle School, while WSSB TVI Jeanette “JJ” Isaacson and Sonja Steinbach teach
high school.
One idea that we are exploring is the concept of a
class that helps students who are in high school, yet are unprepared for high
school math. The Foundations of Algebra class will be tailored to fit
individual student needs. Often students leave elementary and middle school
with “Swiss cheese” for mathematical concepts and skills. We hope that our
highly qualified TVI math instructors can help students fill in the gaps to
attain grade level proficiency and the confidence to keep learning.
On the flipside of the entry level math class is
the exit class, the transition to career or to college. We recognize that some
students who successfully complete Algebra 2 will not wish to dive into
Statistics or Pre-Calculus; however, they might wish to keep their math skills
sharp. Keeping this in mind, we are also developing a transition course for
students, who wish to enter the workforce or college, to keep their skills
sharp for the road ahead.
WSSB Counselor Kim Curry is also preparing to offer
two different kinds of online groups for students: “College Bound 2016” is for
seniors preparing to enter college next year and various age appropriate
“Social Groups” will allow students who are BVI or deafblind to meet online in
a safe environment to discuss issues related to blindness, such as social
skills, transition, and more. The power of these groups is similar to one
benefit of our distance learning classes: students will have the chance to make
friends and to pick up a few skills along the way.
The Digital Learning Department is working with
Interim Principal Sean McCormick to design a new approach to educational
technology and IT management for the school. Teaching Assistant Mike Face will
now be the first line of defense for IT issues in Irwin. Mr. Face and I will
also support teachers with any educational technology projects they wish to
pursue. In this day and age it’s not enough to use computing devices simply to
take notes, write papers, and to perform online searches. Laptop computers and
mobile devices are used in high schools, colleges, and places of work to
collaborate, innovate, and create. Students need to be skilled not only in core
coursework, but in mastery of technology, including mainstream plat-forms and
devices, such as learning management systems, instructional video sites,
laptops, and tablets.
In other news, my office is now based in the Irwin
Main Office. Please stop by to ask questions or to learn about our new digital
initiatives. I would be happy to see you.
This summer WSSB ran a weeklong workshop (up to 30
CEUs) for teachers, who wanted to learn how to teach computer science to
students using Quorum. This year we attracted many teachers from Washington due
to our modules on Legos robotics and gaming. Prior to the workshop, Professor
Stefik worked for 3 days with an advanced group who refined the curriculum for
attendees.
Leading the workshop was Assistant Professor
Andreas Stefik, Ph.D., and 6 of his students. They are from the University of
Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Professor Stefik is originally from Vancouver, WA.
Attendees included:
·
15 instructors (3 from WSSB) from 11 blind
schools and 1 developer from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
·
3 Computer Science graduate students
·
14 teachers from Washington state
school districts
·
5 teachers from other school districts
around the U.S.
WSSB TVI Lisa Hodge is taking this training forward
by teaching 6 middle school students how to program using Quorum and Legos
robotics. The ability to program Legos robotics was the result of Ms. Hodge’s
request for such a feature. WSSB funded the grant that enabled a UNLV student
to develop the Legos libraries necessary for programming in Quorum.
I met with administrators at Perkins this summer to
help persuade this flagship school to start a distance-learning program for academic
students, similar to the one run by WSSB. While Perkins has many online
offerings in the professional development realm, they do not yet teach classes
or groups online for students. We hope that Perkins continues internal
discussions and look forward to future online initiatives for students from
them.
IT Network Administrator Ed Lukowski has headed a
project for the past two years to upgrade our phone system from old copper wire
phones to new VOIP phones. We made a smooth transition to the new system this
summer. Mr. Lukowski has much to celebrate, as this was a huge project that
required many adjustments and additions to our local network and servers.
IT Systems Administrator Danya Borowski has
coordinated efforts with a contractor to finish up the new online database for
the ORC. We expect the database to go completely online soon. Ms. Borowski has
also done a fine job working with Birth-3, Outreach, and Irwin with their
online database and form needs. For instance, students and staff can now search
the Irwin Library online while on campus.
We are becoming a dual platform school that
supports both Macs and Windows-based computers and devices. On campus, we have
started to support Macs for select students and for staff, who prefer to use
Apple’s integrated accessibility features--VoiceOver and Zoom. Students also
make use of the Dictation feature in the laptops, which is particularly helpful
for learning disabilities such as dyslexia. The Outreach department is also now
mostly full of Mac laptop users who have the ability to boot to Windows, if
needed or desired.
For questions or concerns regarding this report or
the Digital Learning and IT Department, please contact me at 360-947-3331 or mike.bicknell@wssb.wa.gov. Thank
you.
On Campus
Enrollment
Our current total school program enrollment is 63.
This includes 49 on campus students, 2 half-time students from local
school districts, 8 distance learning, and 4 LIFTT.
Change is Afoot
The on campus school programs are experiencing
several changes that help grow our programs and support student needs.
The obvious change for students is that there is only 1 school bell to start
the day. The rest of the day is based on their program's schedule.
This means that students and staff have more responsibility, but also more
flexibility. Middle school has 7 periods in their day, while high school
has 6 longer periods per day over 4 days per week. On Friday's, high
school students participate in a flexible learning schedule to address their
expanded core development and areas in need of more specific instruction.
In addition to the schedule change, the students
are also being supported for positive behavior through a campus-wide positive
behavior intervention and supports model. Students are taught expectations and
reinforced for positive behaviors, while misbehaviors are re-taught and
supported for learning rather than through punitive measures.
With student programs developing, we're also
developing as staff. The leadership of the school is becoming more
distributed through leadership teams and professional learning
communities. There's more work to be done, but we're definitely on the
right track to empowering teachers and support staff to help lead the positive
change needed to best support the growth of WSSB into the best school possible.
New, but familiar in Irwin
The school program is glad to welcome back Jennifer
Langley-- a new, but familiar face. Jennifer's primary role as music
instructor will continue to support wonderful programs to build students music
skills and self-esteem supporting a well-rounded school based program. In
addition to her work in music, Jennifer has jumped right in with some
instructional coaching and will be a key team member in preparing for our school's
accreditation process. She brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the
campus team and has already been a great resource supporting continuous
improvement for educational programs.
Summer Programs
This summer was extremely busy with students attending
our Summer School (camp) and the Youth Employment Solutions (YES) 1 program
partnered with Department of Services for the Blind (DSB). There were 33
campers that attended the expanded core curriculum focused camp and additional
23 participants that attended the YES 1 program. Both groups were
fantastic to have on campus, had experiences that ranged from classroom based
activities, recreation and leisure, and community based experiences. This
was one of the largest summer camps WSSB has hosted, and it was the first time
that all registered participants showed up, too.
Events
Open House (October, 22)
Open house this year will begin with a family
dinner. The classrooms will be open to roam for parents and will be one
of the many opportunities available for parents to participate in the school
based programs
First Lego League
WSSB is proud to have its first robotics team that
will compete against other schools in the First Lego League competition.
This competition includes student-driven components of computer programming,
building Lego robots, conducting research, and delivering an oral
argument. WSSB will compete against teams in SW Washington during the
competition in mid-November this fall. Only middle school students can
participate in the First Lego League.
Residential
Though I am not retiring, I am beginning a slow and
thoughtful process of succession planning and my major focus at this point is
looking at discovering what makes sense and is sustainable for the long term
strength and growth of residential services, as well as the other departments I
manage (Health Center, Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) and
weekend transportation). Considerations are how do all these programs fit into
the current organizational structure, as well as the organizational
plans/visions of our current and future superintendents, how do we make sure
programs are well managed at a sustainable level that allows growth, and what
are the roles and responsibilities of staff involved.
The first change in the Residential department this
fall is the addition of a second Dean position. Libby Pitts will be in the on
campus role in the afternoon/evenings when there are the most staff and during
the busiest times for our department. Tess Scholl, who is returned from her
maternity leave on a part time basis this year, will take on management of the
weekend transportation duties as well as other day to day operational duties.
It is planned that whatever overall organizational structure is in place,
having two Dean positions (both full time in the future) will be an asset. More to come as the process evolves.
Suggestions are welcome!
The Health
Center was named Team of the Year for the last school year. They are a hard
working crew that keeps everyone safe and healthy. Robin and Justine are
involved in the health incentives programs to keep staff and students healthy.
There will be future blood drives, and a flu shot clinic coming soon.
Jo-Anne Fink, Residential Life Counselor (RLC), has won an
award “Outstanding Residential Life
Staff Member”, sponsored by Council of Schools/Services
for the Blind (COSB), and will be heading to the APH conference in
October to accept her award. Jo-Anne is an excellent professional, and a
wonderful representative of our school.
The Residential Department had quite a few staff
changes this summer. Bonda Albers retired after 25 years as an RLC, and Jeff
Cole resigned to pursue other interests. After bidding on open shifts, some
staff moved to new shifts, then we hired two of our on call staff who are now
full time staff members. We are in the process of recruiting a few new on calls
to replenish our pool.
Business Office
1.
2014-15 Budget
Operating: Phase 2 of our year end close was completed
September 4. Our final disclosure forms were due September 16 and submitted
ahead of schedule. Closing this year was very smooth; thanks to all the hard
work of staff. We have received kudos from our accounting analyst in Olympia on
several occasions recognizing our participation at trainings despite the
distance and on our efforts to clean General Ledgers (GL) and on a “much easier
and cleaner” closing. A contributing
factor was that we began the year in a good place with only two or three GLs
that we were not able to clear up from the Department of Enterprise Services (DES)
before the year ended last year. We can finally put more focus on other areas
instead of playing catch-up.
General Fund (GF) ended
the year with a zero balance. The carry forward balance in 19B fund was
$1,508,502; a $259,459 increase from last year.
Capital: We ended the biennium with a balance of
$65,038 which will be re-appropriated to be used for swimming pool restoration.
2.
2015-17 Operating Budget
After the
legislature passes the budget, we have to prepare allotments according to the
funding. Our allotments were completed ahead of schedule this year. The next
step after allotments is to recast our 2015-17 budget according to activity. It
is due September 15, and our recast has already been submitted. Below is a summary of how the budget was
allotted by activity:
2015-16 General
Fund 19B
Administration $ 441,283 $1,225,051
Braille Production 52,100
Intensive Training 1,941,398 115,736
(Residential, Rec,
Health,
Food Service,
LIFTT)
Off-Campus
617,466 1,776,863
(Outreach, Birth-3)
On-Campus 3,086,747 121,535
Student Transportation 322,107 3,716
Total $ 6,409,000 $
2,075,000
2016-17 General
Fund 19B
Administration $ 361,183
$ 4,210
Braille Production 172,559 64,735
Intensive Training 1,942,114 116,153
(Residential, Rec,
Health,
Food Service,
LIFTT)
Off-Campus
609,379
1,808,472
(Outreach, Birth-3)
On-Campus 3,127,044 112,303
Student Transportation 322,722 3,127
Total $6,535,000 $2,109,000
The books for
August do not close until September 15.
Month ending July, we were in the black by approximately 13%.
3.
2015-17 Activity Inventory: August was the deadline
for making changes to our activity inventory. We submitted a proposal to make
minor revisions to some of our expected results to better clarify them. We also added measures for Birth-3 and LIFTT
programs.
4.
2016 Supplemental Budget Requests: Supplemental
requests are due October 5. As always, the Office of Financial Management (OFM)
discourages supplemental requests other than for technical correction or increases
in mandatory caseload. Dr. Stenehjem has had communication with our budget
analyst regarding submitting a request for the portion of Birth-3 they didn’t
fund. She indicated it would be a long
shot and would need to be a very detailed request with specific cost estimates
to support it. Dr. Stenehjem and DeEtte Snyder,
Birth-3 Statewide Coordinator will put the request together.
5.
Procurement Training: Legislation was passed (state procurement
reform law) requiring anyone who is responsible for developing, executing, or
managing procurements or contracts to take new training courses by July 1,
2015. With approximately 9,000 state employees needing training, the deadline
was extended to October. We had
approximately 50 staff that needed to take the training. The majority of staff has already completed
it.
6.
2015-17 Capital Budget: Our capital appropriation was allotted as
follows:
Roof Replacement
and Rejuvenation $ 70,000
Technology/Phone
System Upgrades $ 80,000
Sidewalk/Parking
Lot Rejuvenation $
7,000
General
Campus-wide Energy Management $ 83,000
Minor Campus
Buildings Remodeling $100,000
Swimming Pool
Preservation $300,000
$640,000
7.
2017-19 Budget:
Human Resources will be working on compensation data for 2017-19
collective bargaining and budget development which is due in early October.
8.
Contracts:
We have prepared and sent out contracts for the various services we
provide and contract for, i.e. Facility rental, Tuition, Outreach, Therapists,
coaching.
Human Resources
New Hires:
·
ORC Director – Jennifer Fenton
·
TVI Outreach – Danielle King
·
TVI Outreach – Marshal Givens
·
Birth-3 TVI – Cindy McAlexander
(Transferred from Outreach)
·
Music TVI – Jennifer Hervey-Langley
·
Residential Life Counselor – Andy
Hansen
·
School Psychologist (Intern) – Ryan
Chiodo
·
Warehouse Worker 1 – Tyler Peterson
(promotion)
·
Custodian – Tosha Patton
·
Custodian – Michelle Saddoris
Open Recruitments:
·
Substitute Teacher
·
On-Call Teacher’s Assistant
·
On-Call RLC
·
On-Call Custodian
·
On-Call Nurse
Trainings/Functions Attended:
·
Emergency Training Summit – Sponsored
by ESD 112 Risk Management Insurance Cooperative and Clear Risk Solutions
·
Southwest Washington Education Job
Fair- sponsored by ESD 112
·
2015-2017 WPEA CBA Training,
facilitated by Office of Financial Management (OFM)
Ogden
Resource Center (ORC)
I am the new ORC Director.
My name is Jennifer Fenton and I come to the ORC from a long career in
libraries. My library career included working in a variety of capacities from
youth services to management and training. I worked for public libraries as
well as at the Washington State Library. I collaborated with colleagues around
the state and nationally. I am very excited about my career at WSSB. I look
forward to the many opportunities that working at the ORC present.
Summer at ORC:
Never Fear: UEB is Here!: ORC staff Zach Lattin, Michael Sivill
and Angela Vargas were on the road this summer introducing people to UEB. The
intensive 2 to 3 day class was designed to help those certified in literary
braille gain insight into UEB and the class cumulated with a UEB exam. Classes
were held in Seattle, Spokane and Vancouver. 124 individuals passed the UEB
exam at the end of the class.
Braille Production:
Braille production continued to thrive and with turn-over at the Women’s
Correctional Center, we had the opportunity to hire two new transcribers. Kandi
Lukowski kept up with the demand for braille while her colleagues helped
teachers, paras and others transition to UEB.
We repaired on Everest embosser (business card machine.) We
repaired 2 thermoform machines and purchased a brand new one in order to keep
up with the demand for tactiles.
May to
August Braille Statistics:
Braille re-production: 139
books, 2 to 118 volumes each
Original braille transcription:
·
May: 5,886 braille pages; 1,716 tactiles
·
June: 6,160 braille pages; 640 tactiles
·
July: 9,506 braille pages; 1,171 tactiles
·
August: 9,278 braille pages; 1,598 tactiles
Large Print Production: Large Print demand has increased and
Angela Vargas has been busy producing new large print textbooks for the kids.
50 textbooks have shipped over summer and others are in process. One textbook
alone was over 4,400 pages!
Census: Justin Raner finished the census work
for American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Here are the final numbers:
·
Account 214 (WSSB
on-campus) quota allocation $11,938.06 based on the registration of 40
eligible students at the adjusted per capita rate of $298.45.
·
Account 216
(Statewide–5-12+) quota allocation $262,637.28 based on the registration
of 880 eligible students at the adjusted per capita rate of $298.45.
·
Account 217 (Early
Intervention) quota allocation $17,310.18 based on the registration of 58
eligible students at the adjusted per capita rate of $298.45.
Staffing: With Colleen’s retirement, I joined the
ORC on June 16. However, I am not the only new person at the ORC. Mitch Hughes
left his position in the warehouse and we hired Tyler Peterson. In addition to
his warehouse duties, Tyler helps out around campus including filling in at the
front desk.
Current happenings:
·
We are updating
the TVI Directory on the ORC site and asking TVIs and others to submit up to
date information.
·
ORC Online
Update: The ORC Online catalog is
still a work in progress. We are making steps towards the all new,
user-friendly revamp of the database. Once the new system is live, training
materials will be shared widely.
·
Braille Class for
Beginners: Zach Lattin will be
teaching a braille class.
I am working with my staff
at the ORC and taking a strategic look at our processes and working on ways to
create a sustainable and successful future. We will be seeking input from our
stakeholders throughout this process.
Buildings and Grounds
Capital
·
Rework of the pool did not happen as we had hoped.
We are going through the state job order contractor and only received one bid
which was more than we had been led to believe the work should cost. We are now
in the process of trying to get at least one more bid so we have a better cost comparison.
·
We are also calling for an energy audit of the gym
and the boiler house through the state energy service contractor. An initial
survey by the company we rely on for controls and larger heating issues feels
the units serving the north side rooms are undersized and resulting in the
equipment running nonstop until they turn off for self-protection. The energy
service company feels that the boiler house is grossly inefficient and by
changing to a satellite system for the remaining five buildings on steam, we
can save tens of thousands of dollars on our natural gas bill. This evaluation
should begin in the next two to four weeks.
·
Coupled with the energy evaluation will be an
upgrade to the computer based controls. The current operating system is no longer
supported and has been greatly enhanced in the newer version.
Campus
·
After thirty five years of service, Tom Schaff, the
groundskeeper has retired. We were fortunate enough to have a qualified
replacement among our custodial crew to replace him with. John Fleming is a
licensed plumber and recently completed a community college certification
program in heating and air conditioning repair. He will be a very good addition
to the maintenance department.
·
Over the summer months, we upgraded several of the
security cameras and added two with high definition cameras. This will allow
for better night coverage.
·
The custodial crew was busy keeping up with the
summer programs. At the same time we replaced two of the crew with new people.
The two new hires have been working in an on call position so transition was
relatively seamless.
· The unusually hot summer has put a strain on our air conditioning system with several units, including the main chiller requiring differing degrees of repair. Currently all but one small unit, and the gym system, are back to operating correctly.
Birth-3
Annual Report 2014-15
The Birth-3 Program is now a year old (started in
Aug 2014) and the following activities have been completed this year:
Professional Development
·
Nationwide live and recorded webinar
with Perkins School for the Blind titled “Routine Based Early Intervention for
TVIs”. Webinar is currently available on perkinselearning.com at no cost.
·
5 live webinar/video conferences with
statewide Early Intervention (EI) TVI taskforce.
·
2 live webinar/video conferences with
Snohomish County EI Service Providers as follow ups to their all day in-person
training. They have requested them on a quarterly basis.
·
Infants and Early Childhood Conference
(IECC) all day workshop on “Impact of Visual Impairment on Early Learning” and
1 hour session on “Babies Count Project”.
·
Training and In-services throughout
state in the following counties (ESIT and ECEAP Programs): Clark, Pierce, King,
Kitsap, Snohomish, Whatcom, Adams, Grant, and Spokane. Topics included: 1) 3 Prong Approach to VI
Screen, 2) Cortical Visual Impairment, 3) Impact of VI on Early Learning
·
Presentations at State and National
Conferences:
o
WSDS Combined Summer Institute: Optic
Nerve Hypoplasia
o
Pacific Northwest Association for the
Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired (PNWAER): 1) Baby
Basics: Intro to Part C Services for TVIs and 2) Babies Count Project
o
AFBLC:
Babies Count Project
o
DEC: Babies Count
Program Supports
·
Technical Assistance and Consultations
have occurred in the following counties: Whatcom, Snohomish, Clark, Skagit,
Asotin, Pierce, Grant, Yakima, and Thurston.
·
Evaluations (Functional Vision
Assessments) have occurred in the following counties: Clark, Whatcom, Asotin,
and Thurston.
·
Transition to Preschool Assistance
occurred in Thurston County
·
As of August 2015 the following
counties have a designated Birth-3 TVI due to the assistance of WSSB Birth-3
program leadership: King (started as the same time as WSSB), Snohomish, Pierce,
Kitsap, and Whatcom. More counties to follow as LLA are acknowledging the need
in the next year.
Professional Projects
·
The following “special projects” were
started this year:
o
EITVI statewide Functional Vision
Assessment (FVA) Procedure (completed and available on WSSB website for TVI’s
throughout state).
o
ESIT Practice Guide for Services for
BVI (completed) and now training webinars are being created. First introduction to guide is scheduled for
9/30/15.
o
WSSB/UNC “Research to Practice
Partnership” Grant for Tele-Intervention Project (submitted and will know in
October of award).
o
Portland State University (PSU) EITVI
Teacher Preparation-Graduate Certificate Program (in-process).
o
Babies Count-National Registry for Birth-3
BVI (partnership with NMSBVI, in development).
Registry Forms
ESIT programs around the state are now able to
submit demographic information on children in their programs with BVI through
an online submission process. Registry forms are a part of the ESIT Practice
Guide for Services for Children with BVI and required by ESIT of all
programs. Training webinar will be
conducted on 9/30/15 live and recorded for later viewing.
As of June 30, 2015 a total of 96 forms had been
submitted by FRCs and others in 10 counties:
Asotin (1), Benton (1), Clark (6), Grant (3), King (65), Pierce (4),
Skagit (4), Snohomish (5), Thurston (1), and Whatcom (6).
Next Year’s Goals
·
Identification
of children aged Birth-3 with BVI will increase from 96 to 300 as measured by
the Washington State Birth-3 BVI Registry by the end of June 2016.
·
Trainings
and in-services provided by WSSB Birth-3 Program will have an overall 4.5
favorable rating or higher (training/in-service was useful and beneficial to
the participant), as measured on a 1 to 5 Likert scale.
o
ESIT Practice Guide including the BVI
Registry Forms (all component parts)
o
3-Prong Approach to VI Screening
o
Appropriate assessments for children
with BVI
·
90% of
children aged Birth-3 with BVI will be referred to Birth-3 Program within 4
months of their diagnosis, as measured by the Washington State Birth-3 BVI
Registry. (The national average gap between diagnosis and referral for services
as indicated by Babies Count, The National Registry of Infants and Toddlers,
with BVI is from 7.5 months.)
·
New
staff: Ms. Cindy McAlexander, formerly
part of the Outreach team has joined the Birth-3 department and will be
assisting in building networks and capacity to serve the Birth-3 BVI
infant/toddlers and families.
Superintendent
2015 is
WSSB’s 129th year of service to Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI)
Children and Families
The start of the school year has begun
smoothly and below is an update:
Retirements since the end of the school
year:
·
Bonda Albers, RLC – 25
years of service
·
Colleen Lines, Director-ORC
– 30 years of service
·
Tom Schaff, Grounds
Keeper/General Maintenance – 35 years of service
·
Dee Amundsen, TVI Outreach
– 25 years of service
These folks represent a total of 115
years of service to BVI children/families and the state.
Team of the Year (Robin
Williams, RN and Justine Mings, RN):
Nursing Team: Our nurses are always behind the scenes making sure
our students are healthy and able to participate in as many activities as
possible. They are always on call and ready to help out when we need
them. We appreciate their excellent level of care for our students (and
staff), support and training provided to staff, and wonderful
personalities. They are always looking for a better way of doing things
and try to make everything positive and fun.
Employee of the Year (Jennifer
Butcher, Physical Education/Fitness Instructor):
Jennifer is a solid employee that does amazing
things in a quiet way. She is always willing to jump in and help and not
afraid to take on some leadership. Projects are always well done. She
is an amazing teacher who is always positive, proactive and presents a great
image for WSSB. What a great employee!
Other News:
Solid
Leadership in key positions:
Sean McCormick – New (fall 2015) Interim Principal (Director of On-Campus
Programs). Note: Sean was Assist. Principal for the past two years.
Lori Pulliam – Director of Transition Services (Residential, LIFTT,
Health Center and weekend transportation). Note: We are piloting the
use of two Deans in the residential area this year.
Emily Coleman – New (spring, 2015) Director of Outreach/State Vision
Consultant (WSDS)
DeEtte Snyder – New (fall 2014) Statewide Coordinator BVI – Birth-3
Jennifer Fenton – New (summer 2015) – Director-ORC
Mike Bicknell – Second year in position as Digital Learning Coordinator
Anne Baker - Starting her 3rd year in Human Resources
Mary Sarate – Starting her 3rd year after returning to WSSB
after two years of absence due to changes that were made with requirements to
have the business operation under DES. Mary began working for WSSB again in
2003. It has taken almost two years to get everything straightened out,
but our books are in great shape thanks to Mary and her team! We are so pleased to have Mary back at WSSB.
Rob Tracey – 2003 – Facility Manager – good job in keeping the campus
in great shape.
Janet Kurz - 2000 – Executive Assistant to the Supt. and Board (wears
many hats in helping Supt. and Board)
·
These folks are key in
helping to coordinate services to over 2,000 students/individuals
·
Providing in-service
training to over 300 individuals per year
·
Over 50,000 people use
WSSB’s facilities each year
·
Over 60,000 people per year
using WSSB online video clips, etc.
·
Production of approximately
600,000 pages of braille per year
·
Birth-3 – Goal:
(New area during the 2014-2015 school year)
o
Move from 11 BVI infants
and toddlers registered with APH to 300 by this next year and 400 the year
after.
o
Training provided statewide
to all ESIT (Early Support for Infants and Toddlers).
Major
change statewide in this important area: conducting systemic change.
o
Grant Development work and
Research with Northern Colorado - potential Online Intervention Federal
Research Grant. Note: Just found out we
did not receive the grant, however, we will continue our work with online
intervention.
o
Medicaid (3rd
party billing) will be moving forward on process for Medicaid billing for
BVI – early intervention services and Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
Services.
·
Working with research
universities on:
o
Computer programming for
the Blind – UNLV
o
Expanding TVI training
programs - PSU, Potentially Central Washington University (and always
exploring additional options to help combat shortages of TVI and O&M
Programs
Above is a sample of some of what has
been going on at WSSB.
Psychologist Position which has been vacant for two years has been filled by
intern Mr. Ryan Chiodo who will be supervised by Dr. Tony Dunn,
ESD #112. WSSB partnered with the ESD to make this happen. WSSB has also
established a contract with the Center for Deaf and Hearing Loss (CDHL) for
some psychologist hours for evaluation up through December of 2015. We
will see how this works, but it is our goal to home grow this person if this
looks like it is a good match for Ryan and WSSB.
Accreditation:
•
Gearing up for re-accreditation–2015-2016. Lead
person: Sean McCormick with strong support from Ms. Jennifer Langley –
returning music teacher who has also served as Principal at the Colorado School
for the Blind and Special Education Director for the Hockinson School District
(Jennifer will teach music and will help out with this important process).
•
Self-study–completed by
December-January 2016
•
On-site review–Spring of 2016:
o
Accreditation team will be on Campus to
Validate self-study:
•
AdvancEd will be looking at mostly the
on-campus programs, however we want to have team members review and make
recommendations on all programs to assist WSSB with:
o
Future Planning
o
Strategic Planning process, etc.
TVI and O&M Instructor Shortage:
·
WSSB has been meeting with
PSU and also with Central Washington to explore new partnerships that could
result in greater number of trained TVIs and O&M Instructors.
o
Alternative
Certification Grant through PESB (Professional
Educator Standards Board): PSU, WSSB,
possibly WSDS and an ESD may be submitting a letter of intent to OSPI for grant
dollars to help people in non-traditional educational roles move into
certificated TVI/O&M programs by providing options within universities
while providing financial support.
o
Shortage
to increase due to increased emphasis
in the area of Birth-3. DeEtte is working with Dr. Holly Lawson at PSU in
adding additional coursework to TVIs background to better support Birth-3
infant/toddlers and families, and also exploring options for Birth-3 providers
to gain TVI/O&M skills.
Statewide-National Assessment: (Smarter Balance)
·
WSSB staff and others will
be working with OSPI to help determine how smarter balance can be made
accessible and usable. Currently blind students are taking this exam in a hard
copy form which means the computerized advantage of the test adjusting to right
or wrong answers is not an option and some of the testing practice materials
are not available. Craig Meador, former Director of Outreach, started meeting
with OSPI before he left and this needs to become a high priority. I will be setting up a meeting initially with
OSPI and include Emily Coleman (state vision consultant) and Sean McCormick who
has been the test coordinator for WSSB on-campus and has hands on experience
with smarter balance.
Superintendent Retirement/Transition:
·
Board of Trustees Committee
met with the Governor’s office on September 10 to begin the recruitment
process. They will be working with a company that the Governor’s office uses
for executive recruitment.
Superintendent’s Goals:
·
Have solid leadership
in all key departments before retirement to assist with a smooth transition and
assist the new superintendent in taking WSSB and statewide regional services to
BVI to the next level.
·
Update policy and
procedures and review processes to assist in a smooth transition.
·
Accessible
testing – solution before
retirement.
·
University
teacher training program (TVI)
establish a partnership with an in-state program to assist in expanding
programs and services.
·
Sustainability: Evaluate all programs to guarantee that they
are either self-supported through state/ federal funding and/or partnerships are
developed to maintain services through collaborative efforts.
o
Supplemental
Budget Request: Secure the other half of
the Birth-3 funding. Half of the funding was cut the last hours of this past
legislative session; this allowed for the funding of the position, but not the
operating funds. WSSB will continue to operate on private funds, but this is
not sustainable and this supplemental budget request is paramount in improving
the lives of BVI Infant/Toddlers and their families.
o
Safety
Net Request: WSSB will once again be applying for safety
net to help cover the cost of three high cost students. We did receive funding
this past spring to help cover some of our costs for the prior school year and
this will once again be necessary.
·
Medicaid
(3rd party billing): Work with OSPI, DEL and other state agencies to put in place the
options for 3rd party billing for O&M and BVI Early Intervention
Services.
·
Complete
accreditation process – spring of 2016.
·
Recruitment
of Superintendent: Assist the Governor’s
office and Board in any way I can during the recruitment process.
·
WSSB will be left in
excellent condition both programmatically and financially.
It has been my privilege to serve BVI children from
the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest and I want to make sure that
there are no loose ends by the time I leave office. I hope that I have helped build a system that
is sustainable, provides quality services and one that through careful
strategic planning will continue to serve children and families for many years
to come. During my last year, I want to receive input from the board and
stakeholders on important issues that may need to be addressed before my
retirement.