Forum Administrator YaBB Administrator Posts: 88

Demonstration Projects Please post Reports 07/26/07 at 13:38:52   Please post both the mid-year and the end-of–year progress reports for Demonstration Projects in this thread.     Because this board has been spammed excessively (even with email verification) we are now only allowing admin to add new members. Click the link above (in the "news" section) to request registration.  When you log-in you will then see the "Reply" button.         (Use the reply function to add your reports to this thread.)   Thanks!

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Betsy Gruszynski YaBB Newbies Posts: 1

Elcho School District Reply #1 - 01/25/08 at 11:28:41   Greetings from the Northwoods!   2007-2008 has been busy (and COLD) in the Elcho School District.  This year we’ve seen an increase in the number of young children participating in all of our collaborative programs, including 4K, early childhood, childcare and Head Start.  We’ve made some modifications to our scheduling to ensure access to our on-site resources for all of the classrooms serving children under the age of five.  Most notably is the addition of additional outdoor play space that is appropriate for the younger children.  Two new sections of fencing have been installed, which will be most appreciated by our children and staff (should the temperature ever go above zero again!)     We’ve found some valuable time to meet, discuss and implement modifications to our interagency agreement with Birth to Three, as well as the need to re-evaluate our screening process for Kindergarten, 4K and Child Find.  A small, yet incredibly committed and passionate, group is making progress with the DEC Self-Assessment, completing four of the six modules.  Perhaps the best part of the process has been identifying the “quick fixes” that really help us appreciate the process and stay motivated to continue.   Through this, and some other grant funded initiatives, the Elcho School District and Langlade County Preschool Interagency Committee are making great strides towards bringing Love and Logic to our teachers, paraprofessionals, support agencies and parents.  We’ve built two lending libraries consisting of books, CD’s and DVD’s and have sponsored local trainings.  If you are not familiar with Love and Logic you may wish to explore http://www.loveandlogic.com to see their wide range of materials for use with teachers, parents, and grandparents.  They have a number of resources for working with children with special needs that you may find to be the most valuable.   Although we’ve always had a strong connection with agencies in Langlade County, we’ve experience a “disconnect” with Oneida County up until this year.  In the past few months we’ve partnered with the Northwoods Infant Mental Health Task Force to bring CSEFEL Teaching Toolkits training to the school and childcare professionals in our area.  A, newly formed, Mental Health Interagency Council also appears to be a promising means of raising awareness and education regarding mental health for people of all ages.

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enocksonc YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

Watertown Reply #2 - 01/28/08 at 13:22:01   Hello from Watertown!   We are in the second year of our Watertown 4 Kids 4 year old Kindergarten program. Our district is only doing the model 3 where the agencies hire the teachers on their site. I am a little nervous as I am hearing that the younger, single teachers are applying to district to get a 4K position with benefits. Our contract now with agencies allots an amount towards benefits for teachers. We have 6 partners- 8 classrooms 185 kids and will add at least 1 more session next year. I would like to see a bi-lingual classroom if possible next year.    This grant has allowed teachers at several sites to receive training on creative curriculum, challenging behaviors, Love and Logic and itinerant services.  We have 2 classrooms of 4K where there are a teacher and assistant with an ECSE teacher floating between the 2 classrooms. There are also OT, SLP and PT on site. The SLP has been very busy with new referrals. WE are excited to be able to serve more children at an earlier age.  Currently there are 15 children out of 64 receiving services as children with disabilities at this general ed site.   We have begun the self-assessment piece with support from CESA 2. It looks to be a very good reflective tool for all involved. The team is eager to meet and complete the next session. We are hoping to include a parent or 2 as well as the local Family Center and Community Action Council. Several school districts have come to visit our 4 K in particular the inclusive classroom. These districts include: Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Beaver Dam, Pewaukee, Port Washington, Two Rivers, Stoughton.   Our goal for our ECSE team for this year is to re-examine how we are serving 3 year olds in our community. Last week we set up a tentative model to have a half-time ECSE teacher available to work in the community with children in their natural settings. We are looking forward to more trainings on the itinerant model- the more we hear it the more feasible it becomes to staff!   One challenge for me this year is that we have not had the funding to conduct the early care and education workshops as we have in the past. I am less connected to the area preschools. Several have called and asked for help with training opportunities. We have worked with the Family Center to write a small grant and hope that maybe they will find funding for this dedicated group of professionals.   That's about it from Watertown. Christine Enockson ECSE Program Support and 4K Coordinator

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jteicher YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

Middleton-Cross Plains Area Schools Reply #3 - 02/12/08 at 10:35:46   Submitted by Jude Teicher- for the Middleton-Cross Plains Area Schools Demo Site   Once again our local council, Expanding Options for Young Children, was eager to get together this fall and review our plans through the grant. We have since had two meetings which allow us to report on progess within our projects, network with each other and brainstorm about future work.     Again this year we are offering workshops for the our early learning community providers/parents as a whole. Topics are chosen based on what previous participants have requested. This year's topics are: Supporting Children with Autism in the Preschool Setting; We Have a Concern...Now What?; Yoga for You, Yoga for the Classroom and Working with Families Building Protective Factors. We started out the school year with a one day Wisconsin Model Early Learning Training which was attended by almost all of our school staff, a number of 0-3 staff, and a variety of childcare and preschool providers. I think we'll start off next year with another one day training based on this one's success.   We are working on our self-assessment and finding that it took time on Jude's part to get it organized and off the ground, but once launched it has produced easy, rich discussions. We are definately finding it a useful learning process. I think it will reinforce us for what we are doing well and will show us where we'd like to next focus energy as a group. I'm expecting we'll finish up yet this year but...   Two of our members presented two different sessions at the WECEC Convention this fall. One of them, Supporting Children with Autism in the Preschool Setting will be prsented again at our own workshops and at the upcoming Whitewater convention.   Jude continues to share information about 4K with administrators. Several of our council members look forward to attending the upcoming Preserving EC Convention, a group will attend the CESA 1&2 Itinerant Networking Meeting-The Places We Go.   We continue to organize a local Networking group around the Madison area. It has been a huge success with staff attendance at each meeting from 6-10 local area districts. The primary function of the meetings are to provide support around the issues of community based (itinerant) programming, share resources and information, offer time for discussion and problem solving. One of our recent topics has been on play groups. A number of local districts are using a variety of play group formats to deliver services to children with IEPs. Our county 0-3 director is an active part of these meetings.   We have had four districts come to visit so far this year. All have moved forward or are planning to move forward with itinerant/community based programming. We do have play groups to observe and that has been of interest to some districts. Come to see us! To arrange a visit contact: Jude Teicher at 608-231-2871 or judet@cesa2.k12.wi.us

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jteicher YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

Middleton-Cross Plains Area Schools Reply #4 - 06/17/08 at 12:34:32   6-17-08   Middleton-Cross Plains Area Schools: Submitted by Jude Teicher        Our end of the year news is that the school district administration has decided not to seek a Demonstration Grant for 2008-09, though they are still willing to have visitors come to see the community based options they have available. Jude Teicher will continue to orchestrate the "visits." If you are interested in seeing the programs in the Middleton-Cross Plains district you can continue to contact Jude at 608-231-2871.   Our community council plans to continue meeting and to pursue collaborative work on behalf of all preschoolers in the district as we have since 1999.   Middleton-Cross Plains continues to expand options for young children and IEP teams consistently look first at the possibility of providing special education services within a child's existing environments in the community before considering a more restrictive environment.   Currently more than 50% of preschool age children who receive special education services receive those services in their homes and/or other community environments.

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