Forum Administrator YaBB Administrator Posts: 88	Mid-year progress reports for Implementation Grant 09/23/08 at 14:08:36   Please use this thread for Mid-Year Progress Reports for Implementation Grants.             Use the "reply" button to add your End-of Year Implementation Grant Progress Report to this thread.             Thanks!
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lvanhimb YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

Midyear Report Edgerton School District Reply #1 - 01/12/09 at 11:47:19   Midyear Report Edgerton School District   The Edgerton School District was awarded $3500 this year to continue working in the area of expanding preschool options for serving children with disabilities in their natural environments including community childcare sites.    The District has been working through a variety of avenues over the past several years to network, collaborate and develop positive relationships with the community childcare facilities in an effort to expand options for serving children with disabilities.     The District has identified a team of staff members who are working diligently to meet the goals of the grant.  The team has met throughout the year on a monthly basis to plan and implement several activities to support these efforts.  These activities include:  1.) Expanding it’s offering of  teacher and parent education seminars; 2.)  Creating an educational and informational DVD that will be distributed to parents of pre-school children who may need to access school services; 3.) Researching and implementing a community-based play group that will be supported by the community and school in a collaborative manner and 4.) Creating, implementing and sustaining a collaborative consultative model for serving students in the local daycare and preschool settings.   To date eight teacher seminars have been offered for teachers of our 4K program. (The District’s 4K Program is currently housed in 3 community child care centers.)  Additionally, three parent seminars have been conducted on an annual basis for the past 2 years and are again planned for this school year in which District staff and community childcare staff collaboratively offer parents a variety of educational and informational materials.     The District currently has a draft written of the script for the informational DVD.  It is being edited by several staff for content and accuracy.     The team has begun supporting the implementation phase of a community play group.  It is hoped that by this will serve as an additional natural environments in which the District can serve children with disabilities when it is applicable.     The majority of the team’s time and efforts has been invested in looking for ways in which our school staff can become more knowledgeable and adept at implementing a collaborative consultative model that can be used in the community preschool and daycare settings.  We are utilizing a variety of resources including Consultation in Early Childhood Settings by Buysse and Wesley.       Finally, individual team members have attended a variety of networking meetings, workshops and conferences on the topics related to the goals of the grant.

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Marcia_Flaherty YaBB Newbies Posts: 1

Manitowoc Public School District Reply #2 - 01/16/09 at 14:15:36   Preschool Implementation Grant Update Manitowoc Public School District     The Manitowoc Public School District had developed three goals for 08-09 to support our mission: "to collaboratively design an on-going system of support for children, families, service providers, and the community" through the work of our early childhood planning council.  The goals are 1)  Expand the number of options IEP teams consider as they discuss appropriate programming for 3-5 year olds, 2)  Implement research-based practices designed to enhance the success of all young children in preschool settings to reduce inappropriate referrals, and 3)  Increase the number of preschoolers receiving special education with non-disabled peers.  Thanks to grant funding and local district support, we have provided inservice opportunities for local educators (general and special education) on the following topics:  Conscious Discipline, I Am Moving-I Am Learning, Creative Curriculum, Positive Environments, and Using Technology to Enhance Instruction and Assessment (BoardMaker and digital camera training).  We also hosted "Time Out for Early Childhood", our annual networking event for all area preschool teachers and child care providers.  During second semester, we will provide LINKS training, ELL Strategies and Creative Curriculum sessions.  A Child Study Team has been developed following the district's Response to Intervention model.  The team meets at least monthly at each of the collaborative 4K sites to discuss developmental concerns and strategies to address them.  Although the team has been very busy, we sincerely believe the ideas shared and interventions put in place are reducing the number of referrals made to special education in the preschool years.  An unexpected outcome of this year's grant is the establishment of a 4K/5K network in CESA 7, modeled after the CESA 4 early childhood network.   The opportunity to network; learning  from each other and pooling resources to provide quality professional development opportunities will help us sustain our mission beyond the scope of the grant funding that has made these beginnings possible.

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cspringborn YaBB Newbies Posts: 1

The Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton (NOW) School District Reply #3 - 01/26/09 at 17:37:49   The Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton (NOW) School District has been involved in re-establishing pre-school options for the past four years.  NOW has been a recipient of the Pre-School Options Grant since the 2005-2006 school year.  Over the course of the past four years, the dream of establishing pre-school options to meet the needs of the NOW children have become a reality.  The district has expanded there Child Development Day (CDD) to include area organizations, parent volunteers, bi-lingual professionals, and community donations.  A collaborating council meets 1-2 years yearly to examine district goals and plan for upcoming events such as CDD.   During the 2008-2009 school year, the NOW District is pleased to announce that bi-lingual play groups have been implemented since January 2009.  Weekly groups of bi-lingual children and their parents take place at various places rotating through the three communities.  The NOW District continues to use Creative Curriculum and has expanded these concepts into the play groups.  Through grant assistance, English-Spanish materials, toys, puzzles, and parent-handouts were obtained for use in the play-groups, CDD, and for general parent education.  Parent guides to pre-school as well as early literacy were among the selected items.  Additional support continues to be offered at library reading times in the communities and during 4-year-old kindergarten play groups and lessons.  In the Spring of 2009, visits are planned to the Eau Claire 4K program as well as additional conferences to assess pre-school options in a variety of settings.

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Kathleen_Merlo YaBB Newbies Posts: 12

Burlington Area School District Reply #4 - 01/30/09 at 09:57:41   Burlington Area School District is in its first year of the implementation grant.  The grant has supported an overall effort between the three early childhood teachers in the district to expand community support for our preschool population.  Materials have been purchased to enhance the programming within the community settings, such as visual timers and positioning devices.   The district staff have developed and printed an Early Childhood brochure to explain what EC is about, what community options involve and typical developmental milestones.  These brochures are utilized for families in the referral process and parents who are concerned about their child’s development.   The district has also helped support trainings for parents and community partners through the year to date.  One of the occupational therapists presented on Handwriting Without Tears, one of the physical therapists presented on Moving to Learn/Learning to Move and one of the speech pathologists have presented on typical speech development.  The response to these presentations has been very positive and well attended

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Kathleen_Merlo YaBB Newbies Posts: 12

Waterford Special Education--Washington/Caldwell Reply #5 - 01/30/09 at 10:03:28   The Waterford Special Education Cooperative early childhood program, with the support of the Washington/Caldwell School District Implementation Mini-grant, has successfully continued to expand options and reach multiple community settings by offering trainings.  Approximately 24 community staff from a variety of settings in the area have attended trainings offered monthly in the areas of Handwriting Without Tears, Moving to Learn, and Speech Development/Strategies for promoting good speech.   We have also expanded the resources in the lending library and offered these materials to parents and staff in the community on a regular basis.  In February the early childhood staff will be hosting a Make and Take night to share ideas and materials with parents and community setting staff in order to put learning tools in the hands of providers.

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Paulakr YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

The Richfield Joint School District Reply #6 - 01/30/09 at 11:01:14   The Richfield Joint School District No. 1 is in its third year of our grant and we are excited about what has been happening with our early childhood, 4K, and 5K programs.  We have continuing ties with area schools and programs, including St. Gabriel's School and Camp Minikani.  The early childhood and 4K/5K teachers plan together, share materials, and integrate our groups for various activities.  This year we have also made strides to connect with OT and PT and other speical education personnel.  Grant money has been used to purchase various materials used by these children.   Our communication committeehas met several times and is currently planning a family make and take morning for 3-5 year olds at the beginning of March.  The theme is a literacy make and take comprised of a story, a song, a video, and a make and take activity.  There will also be another activity planned for late April/early May.     We have been making the Parent Resource Library more accessible to parents and teachers.  All teachers in Richfield along with EC, 4K, and 5K families have been made aware of the recources in the library and a check out system has been devised.  Families from St. Gabriel's and Camp Minikani are also invited to use the resources.  Several new books, CD's, and pamphlets have been purchased for the library. Home totes and learning kits continue to be sent home perdiodically with the 4K and some early childhood students.  The committee is looking into the feaseibility of developing an interactive blog for the purpose of sharing experiences and/or exchanging information/resources in regards to early childhood education. The preschool options mini-grant has made a positive contribution to our district's early childhood and 4K/5K program.

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Janet_Ollech YaBB Newbies Posts: 5

Mequon-Thiensville School District Reply #7 - 02/01/09 at 12:21:22   The Mequon-Thiensville School District is in its first year of an implementation grant (after one year of a planning grant).  We are focusing primarily on our first year of an integrated, collaborative EC program in one of the community preschool/child care facilities, Range Line Preschool and Child Care.  The district staff (teacher and paraprofessional) are teaming with the preschool teachers in the 3 and 4 year old classrooms where our children attend preschool as their district placement.  A big focus/challenge has been scheduling time for all people involved to meet for planning and program evaluation- in preparation for next year!  Among other things, grant dollars have been used for materials for the collaborative program (including Creative Curriculum).   Also with help from the grant, we have continued to offer evening inservices for all community early childhood teachers/care providers (preschool, day care) on topics that apply to a DAP program, such as "Handwriting Without Tears" and "Discipline with Dignity".  We will be offering 1-2 additional inservices for community providers this school year.  Since these inservices are well attended, we plan to bring in our area Collaboration Coach to facilitate a discussion on options for collaborative opportunities in typical settings in the community.  This involvement with the Collaboration Coach may also involve an informational session for the community staff on the WI Model Early Learning Standards.

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mushj YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

Marshfield School District Reply #8 - 02/01/09 at 23:18:04   IDEA Minigrant Mid-year report for the Marshfield School District     The Marshfield School District has been actively implementing things to improve the preschool options model. The majority of our emphasis has been on developing binders containing articles about servicing children with special needs in their current community setting, appropriate development for children ages 3-5, screening request forms, Response to Intervention material, preschool/early childhood options for services, and the referral and IEP process. A binder will be located at each site with inservices set up by the end of the 2009 school year so staff at each site are familiar with how to use the binders.   Another priority for the Marshfield School District has been to develop birthday cards for children ages 1 to 4. The b-day cards will be sent out on during the month of the childs birthday with information about preshool options, age appropriate skills parents to see within the year, and what parents can do to foster development for that age level. The card will also include information on the parents right to have their child screened at anytime and who to contact if there are developnmental concerns. These cards will be ready in the next month.   The grant money has also funded two inservices/workshops for our staff and community 3-5 year old teachers. We have hosted the LINK conference and the WMELS inservice. Both workshops have connected our staff and increased our knowledge of preschool options, IEP writing, and developmentaly appropriate expectations of children ages 3-5.   Our school district is committed to continue to seek the best placement to provide services to our children with special needs. This grant has increased our ability to service students in their least restrictive enviroment

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benishd YaBB Newbies Posts: 3

Wonewoc-Union Center Reply #9 - 02/10/09 at 09:56:23   Wonewoc-Center Mid-Year Progress Report:  Perhaps the most significant achievement is the full inclusion of all pre-school students with disabilities in the regular education setting with non-disabled peers.  We are also scheduling supervised, cooperative play groups for students with break out educational opportunities for parents.  Topics presented thus far include relaxation and yoga (balance and breathing techniques), and tobacco awareness and smoking cessation.  The family and fun night was very well attended with parents and their children joining school staff for dinner, singing, crafts and D.J.  The goal of this event was to facilitate parental involvement, build school-community partnerships, and teach interactive family based play activities that can be followed through at home.

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Toni_Dakins YaBB Newbies Posts: 5

Burnett County ECIC Reply #10 - 02/10/09 at 14:17:15   The Burnett County Early Childhood Interagency Council (ECIC) has been very busy this year.  The main focus has been to start a collaborative family newspaper it is called “Family Connections” and our first copy was printed in November.  It had information about different developmental topics and programs available in Burnett County for families with young children.  This first copy highlighted the new Burnett County Family Resource Center.  We hope to publish this paper three times a year.  The next copy we would like to highlight the schools.   Another project we have going is another joint training with the daycare providers in April on child abuse.  We are partnering with Northwest Connections Family Resources for that project. This collaboration is beneficial to all of us.   The reason the ECIC was created was to help professionals network in this rural county and to help them be able to provide and refer to other services available.  One example of how this has been beneficial is when recently the Birth to 3 provider and ECSE teacher were working together with a family to transition a set of twins with substantial needs.  Unfortunately, just prior to this time, the mother relapsed with drug and alcohol issues and because of the ECIC they were aware of the CST program in the county which provides wrap around services to families in crisis.  A referral was made to CST, who will be able to support the family through this difficult time.  This was comforting to the Birth to 3 provider and ECSE teacher to know that someone would be there for this family because the transition from Birth to 3 was going to hard enough for this family.  This kind of collaboration would have not been possible without the ECIC. Another example of how the ECIC has been beneficial was when the county made the Transition Agreement last year.  The process was easier because everyone knew each other and had been collaborating together for two years all ready.     These collaborations and others were possible because of the grant money which helped bring a broad spectrum of professionals together to develop the ECIC which in turn has made it possible to provide more functional services and to meet the needs of Burnett County families who have young children.

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albrechtc YaBB Newbies Posts: 2

Peshtigo Reply #11 - 02/11/09 at 09:15:36   Hello All,     As far as what is going on in Peshtigo we are using our grant to it fullest. We are on our second round of parenting classes for our early childhood aged families. Also attending these classes are some of the staff here at the elementary school which is great to see. It seems to be very well recieved by the participants and this go around we have increased our attendance as well.     The staff involved is also signing up for an upcomming conference in Milwaukee on curriculum for 4K and early childhood inclusive classrooms which will be some great knowledge to gain. This will also inlighten some of the staff on developmentally appropriate and what the true meaning is.     We have started to update some of our materials in a developmentally appropriate way. It is amazing the difference in how the children play with the materials and complete tasks when they are brought down to their level. Since this is the first year of 4K and integrating the ECSE program into another regular education setting it is a growing year but we have made some wonderful gains with the help of this grant.

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Tori_Nelson YaBB Newbies Posts: 5

Oconomowoc Area School District Reply #12 - 03/27/09 at 10:25:49   Oconomowoc Area School District   During the first semester of the school year we have focussed on the staff and community training aspects of our grant activities as well as further enhancing community partnerships. Our district offered a class on the social-emotional development of young children. The class, based on the CSEFEL model, was open to district and community preschool and lower elementary staff and was taught by one of our EC team members. Many members of our EC group attended training to learn how to better support young children with autism and several of our group members have been learning more about evidence based practices for preschoolers. We have also been working with several community agencies in hopes of establishing a partnership that would allow one or two of our special education students to attend their center for free during the time that one of our EC staff members was present. We hope that in exchange for the additional staff and materials the district would provide that the tuition could be waved for that hour or so.

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