WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting
November 13, 2020
Conference Call/Zoom
Board
Members Participating: Greg Szabo, Brent Stark, Keri Clark, Nancy McDaniel, Dennis
Mathews, and Lily Clifton.
Board Members Absent: Reg George
Ex-Officio
Members Participating: Jim Eccles (Washington
Federation of State Employees Local #1225), Joleen Ferguson (Washington Council
of the Blind), Marci Carpenter (National Federation of the Blind of
Washington), Stephanie Face (Teacher Representative) and Krista Bulger (Parent
Representative).
WSSB
Staff Members Participating: Mr.
Scott McCallum (Superintendent), Corey Grandstaff (Residential Program Manager)
and Janet Kurz (recording secretary).
November 13, 2020 – 11am-12:30pm
Greg
called the meeting to order at 11am. The
meeting started with a roll call.
Business
Meeting:
Old
Business:
Approve
board meeting minutes of September 25, 2020. Nancy moved to approve the minutes
as submitted; Brent seconded the motion.
The minutes were approved unanimously.
Department
Highlight (Corey Grandstaff)
Corey thanked the Board for inviting him to the
meeting. Corey reported that the past
few months have been very interesting, and he wanted to provide a high-level
overview for what has been occurring in the residential department.
The residential department did not open at the
beginning of the school year which resulted in most of Corey’s staff being
reduced to 50% work, which was challenging.
Corey’s staff spent their time supporting students with tutoring,
driving duties and independent living skills (ILS) instruction. On October 19, Corey’s staff returned
full-time and as of November 1, three of the four cottages opened and welcomed some
students back. Some students are utilizing Zoom, from their cottage rooms, to
join some of their classes with the exception of
braille classes, Orientation & Mobility (O&M) lessons, etc.
Due to Covid, there are a number
of new protocols that have been put in place to keep students and staff
safe. Some examples are: temperature checks when students return to
the cottages from school, morning attestations relating to any symptoms and
exposure, temperature checks before getting on the weekend charter busses, etc.
During this time, the WSSB is not sharing
weekend/charter bus transportation with the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard
of Hearing Youth (CDHY).
In the cottages, staff are adapting students’ normal
routines, i.e. students have assigned ‘desks’ in the cottage dining rooms and
have a system whereby they get their food, one at a time, and return to eat
their meals. There has also had to be
some compromise to ensure safety in the cottages, i.e. students have not
started cooking meals on Wednesday’s as they have in prior years.
Corey and several other administrators from schools
for the blind (California, Wisconsin, Texas and Tennessee) have started a
“Residential Administrators” group. The
group meets every two weeks to discuss the residential component, safety,
staffing, etc.
In July, Corey’s responsibilities at the WSSB
increased and he now oversees the transition department and health center; in
addition to the residential department, recreation and weekend
transportation.
Scott commended Corey and the residential department. Corey and his staff have been very flexible
and creative while keeping student’s safety at the forefront. Scott visited the cottages, before the WSSB
reopened the residential department, and was able to see the staff perform role
play scenarios regarding safety. Scott
is very impressed with Corey’s leadership and is happy to have Corey as a
cabinet member of our leadership team. Scott
also remarked that due to Corey’s leadership, he has seen an increase and level
of respect between the education and residential departments.
Corey reported that he will complete his principal’s
certification through Washington State University (WSU) at the beginning of May
2021.
Jim wanted to thank Corey for his help through the
unemployment process when the staff was at 50% and enrolled in the Washington
State ‘shared work program’. Corey took
the lead in helping staff navigate through the application process.
Marci commended Corey for his hard work and asked
how many students are in each cottage.
Corey stated there are between 3 and 6 students each in the three cottages
with a total of 13-15 students.
Brent visited the campus last week and Scott
provided him a tour and he said he was very impressed with the work that has
been done in each cottage to ensure safety, i.e. plexiglass, etc. Corey said it
helps to have a great team and the flexibility his staff has shown throughout
this has been great.
Greg asked how Corey feels the students have adapted
to the changes. Corey said the students
are adapting very well. Recreation,
other than virtual, has not happened yet and he feels this may be impacting
students. Corey said that seems to be
the biggest impact.
New
Business:
Superintendent’s
Report
Scott reported that
currently we have approximately 20 students on campus (day and residential) in
the 6-12 grade program, and six participants in the Learning Independence for
Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) program with the remaining students joining via
online learning.
Scott reported that
October is the month where he usually travels to Kentucky to attend Council of
Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB) and American Printing House for the
Blind (APH) conferences. This year, all
conferences have been held virtually, including the Washington Council for the
Blind (WCB) and National Federation of the Blind (NFB) conventions. Sean McCormick, WSSB’s Director of On-Campus
Programs was recognized as the 2020 COSB Outstanding
Principal/Director of Programs, chosen from a national group while Linda Hagood, WSSB Speech Language-Pathologist, was
recognized as the 2020 COSB Outstanding Related Services Provider. WSSB is often recognized for our amazing
staff. This year, many of our students
were recognized for their artwork through the APH Insights Arts Awards. This was presented virtually and is on
YouTube (audio described). In non-Covid
times, the students would have been invited to attend the APH meeting in
Kentucky.
This year, the
Pacific Northwest Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind
and Visually Impaired (PNW AER), WSSB, partners from
the Lt Governor’s Office and the Governor’s Office, as well as a variety of
other stakeholders came together to promote White Cane Day in Washington on
October 15. Governor Inslee issued a White Cane Day Proclamation and the Lt.
Governor’s Office hosted a website hub of information.
Ex-Officio Reports:
Washington Council of
the Blind (Joleen Ferguson):
o
Joleen
reported that the WCB held their annual convention virtually, October 29-31.
The WCB enjoys hearing from the directors of the Washington Talking Book and
Braille Library (WTBBL), Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) and
WSSB. Scott did a good job representing
the WSSB. There was also a youth track
at this year’s convention.
o
The
WCB started a diabetic special interest group this year and are in the planning
stages of starting a new chapter in the Vancouver area.
o
The
ACB national convention will be held virtually this summer and the WCB is
hoping to be able to have their 2021 fall convention in person, and there is
some discussion about offering the convention in a hybrid model (in person and
virtual).
National Federation
of the Blind (Marci Carpenter):
o
Marci
reported that the NFB convention was held virtually November 6-8 and felt it
went better than they could have ever expected. The NFB had incredible
participation with many activities including crafting, student groups, panels,
etc. The NFB was happy to have Scott join and participate, all weekend. In
addition, employees from the DSB participated for most of the weekend. One of the highlights was the banquet speech
by NFB’s national secretary, Jim Gashel.
On Saturday afternoon, the NFB had an extraordinary panel with diverse
voices who shared their experiences. They also held elections and passed
resolutions, one having to do with education and accessing educational
technology. During this convention, the NFB used a voting system called ExciteM
and Marci feels it was the best $89 they could have spent. They held elections
and voted on three resolutions.
o
The
National board hasn’t decided if they will hold the convention in person,
virtually or offer a hybrid option.
Their board will be making that decision by March 1.
o
Annually,
in late January/early February appointments are made with members of congress
to discuss legislative agenda, testify at hearings, etc. Due to Covid, members of congress will not be
in their offices, therefore, meetings will be set up virtually which enables
many more members to participate.
o
The
NFB’s national scholarship program is open for applications (November 1 through
March 31) for 30 scholarship opportunities that will be awarded the summer of
2021 at their convention. If the
convention is held in person, it will be held in New Orleans.
o
Another
program that is quickly approaching is the “Braille Readers are Leaders”
contest (starts December 1). This
program is sponsored by the American Action Fund for children and adults and
the contest runs through January 18.
Participants are bracketed into age groups with prizes awarded for each
age group.
Teachers (Stephanie
Face):
o
Stephanie
mentioned that the student’s schedules were revamped to ensure that students
spend less time on zoom. Each teacher is
dealing with that in different ways.
Discussion is being held about bringing more students back to campus as
some students don’t learn well via distance learning. However, if the number of
Covid cases continue to rise, teachers may have to pivot back to all online
learning.
WSFE Local #1225 (Jim
Eccles):
o
Jim
discussed the current state of Covid testing and tracing. Jim feels we have done a good job in
mobilizing a mitigation plan. Mickey Marshall, WSSB’s custodial supervisor provided
a 30-minute training to the LIFTT group. Jim feels we are taking the steps that
we can, and we are being supportive of each other and that is good.
Parent Representative
(Krista Bulger):
o
Krista
reported that due to Covid, communication amongst parents hasn’t been what it
was in prior years. Krista feels that a lot of parents are just trying to stay
afloat, especially when they have children with different age groups, those who
are working, etc.
o
Krista
is enrolled in a class and has four weeks left and stated that working, going
to school and parenting in the Covid era has not been easy.
o
Krista
said generally speaking, every family has a different
perspective whether students should be back on campus. Krista said she can’t
imagine being in administration having to weigh the cost and risks at a time
like this and that some families have anxiety about sending students back in a
residential capacity. Krista is looking
forward to being in the future and looking back and feeling proud of how we
handled it. Also, there are many
different parent perspectives regarding how much ‘screen’ time students are
required to have. She has been receiving
feedback on both sides.
o
Marci
complimented Krista and stated that one of the sessions they had at the NFB convention
was a panel of blind parents. Marci wanted to remind people that any platform that
is used needs to be fully accessible to blind parents. Blind parents are having
some of the same issues and are unable to access the platforms that their kids
are using.
o
Krista
wanted to thank Scott for a recent interaction they had on campus. Scott listened to Krista’s perspective as she
was reflecting on being a parent and employee and she appreciated Scott listening
to her and she felt better after speaking to him.
o
Keri
said Covid fatigue is real, she has experienced it. Keri said she was buried in stress so deep
that it directly affected her. Keri feels the WSSB is doing a remarkable job
and we need to forgive ourselves for how much we expect ourselves to do and
just knowing that coping with everything we have on our plates is a lot. Keri
shared a phone number with the group that is a Washington state specific avenue
to express your thoughts and feelings; it is called ‘Washington Listens’ (1-833-681-0211).
Keri said this is one of the highlights of her year (getting together with the board).
o
Greg
said both his grandparents got sick with health issues and he is working from
Illinois and appreciates being able to zoom into meetings.
Committee Reports:
Education Committee:
o
Brent
stated he was in Vancouver last week and met Scott at the CDHY and it was quiet
as there are no students on campus yet. Scott took Brent on a tour of the WSSB and
he was amazed at the thoughtfulness and attention to detail; Brent had to check
in, submit to a questionnaire, check out when he left, and when he walked
through the hallways a motion sensor went off (Alexa technology) to remind
staff, students and visitors regarding safety precautions. In the Irwin school building, there were
approximately 100 boxes lined up against the Sherman Auditorium wall, set up
for materials that get sent home to students every week. The WSSB also sends
home food for families in need. Brent
said there were teachers doing zoom classes with social distancing set up in
their classrooms and it is very impressive the work the entire staff has gone
through to meet the needs of students. Scott said it is highly regulated at the
school with lots of new procedures and guidance that we all follow. Scott feels
it isn’t ideal and he is worried about our kids having fun and being social and
we are still trying to figure out how to do that safely.
o
Marci
asked Scott about the potential use of our pool for recreation for students. Marci
said one of the pools in her area is going to be opening on an appointment-only
basis, where one person at a time can access the pool and then all areas will
be cleaned. Scott said we are contemplating that. Scott said the pool is a very important part
of our campus and programs. Scott said
it is still not safe to have volunteers on campus and we are trying to figure
out how to staff recreation, pool use, etc.
Buildings and Grounds
Committee: No update at
this time.
Management Committee: No update at this time.
Legislative Committee: No update at this time.
Miscellaneous:
Lily
asked if there is a plan for staff appreciation. Scott reported that this year
the WSSB purchased masks and hand sanitizers and that a committee has been
formed to look at how we can appreciate staff. Krista said the family group
would like to plan a teacher appreciation, but she doesn’t want to put anything
else on family’s plates. Dennis said he works with Habitat for Humanity and
there is an annual appreciation for volunteers. This year Habitat asked if the
volunteers would be willing to ‘give’ so they can support families who are struggling.
Lily asked if there is anything the board would like to do. Lily is on a
smaller board for a non-profit and realized they need to do something for their
staff. Scott asked if people have ideas to send them to either Scott or
Janet. Marci said they all appreciate
what the staff is doing at the school. Stephanie said that the staff would like
to find a way to appreciate families as they are having to step up as
well.
Nancy
thanked Scott for the WSSB face masks that were provided to the Board. Keri said she loves her mask and she is proud
to wear it.
There
being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:30pm. The next Board meeting will be held virtually
on January 13 at 7:30pm.
Greg Szabo, Chair Scott
McCallum, Superintendent
Board
Reports – November 2020
Outreach
The
WSSB Outreach team continues to push past their comfort levels and rise above
the strain of our current situation.
·
Some
Outreach staff are seeing all of their students in
person; some are seeing a few in person and there are some that are only seeing
students remotely.
·
Outreach
has decided to forgo our quarterly Outreach Staff meetings and have monthly
“Outreach Check-In” via Zoom. We also stay in contact with each other.
·
We
continue to add or increase contracts as the need arises. With remote services
as an option for some districts, there is more flexibility to serve students.
·
Joe
Dlugo continues to provide support as a mentor for the Stephen F. Austin University
program around the state. Joe also has contracts with 3 districts to prove Orientation
& Mobility (O&M) services.
·
Met
with Brent Stark, Projector Director at the Washington Sensory Disability
Services (WSDS) to discuss a possible grant for training around O&M.
·
The
Outreach staff has been using the WSSB Functional Vision Learning Media
Assessment (FVLMA). The consensus is that it is long and cumbersome, but the
results are worth it. We will discuss any changes that need to be made and then
send it on to the Irwin staff for their use to have all WSSB evaluations be
consistent.
·
Our
work in the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) Workgroup to review
credentialing for educators of the blind and visually impaired is going well.
We are anticipating appropriate changes to reflect the need of the vison
professionals in our state.
·
The
Blind and Low Vision Resource Fair was held virtually on October 19. There were
8 presenters representing the Ogden Resource Center (ORC), Northwest
Association for Blind Athletes (NWABA), Washington Talking Book and Braille
Library (WTBBL), WSSB On-Campus Programs, Statewide Technology, and Department
of Services for the Blind (DSB) Youth Services. There were 97 people who
registered for this event.
·
Progress
has been made on Strategic Plan Goal #1: Identify statewide need for blind and
low vision services. A survey was sent
out on EVE as well as the ORC listserv to identify vision professionals in WA
state.
On
the horizon:
·
Teacher
of the Visually Impaired (TVI) Round-Ups will be held this year virtually.
Training will be provided during the events with group discussions. Plans are in the works now.
·
Continue
working group for Strategic Plan Goal #1: Identify statewide need for blind and
low vision services, includes Pam Parker, Jennifer Merry, Sara Zachariah
·
Blind
Youth Consortium (BYC) meeting set for late November or early December.
On Campus
Enrollment:
68 (61 grades 6-12; 7 Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT))
Committing
to Growth
As
a school, we are in the business of learning.
At WSSB right now, there is a significant demand for everyone, both
staff and students alike, to become the best learners possible to support our
current circumstances. This fall has challenged every person at WSSB to take a
learning stance requiring flexibility, resilience, patience, and compassion.
There is no better time for WSSB to embrace our core value of being
student-centered than right now.
Students are what bring us all together.
Our
first and last order of business at WSSB includes safety. This has posed less than ideal scenarios for
supporting student learning, but a critical priority to ensure students, staff,
and families. Throughout, equity has
focused on expanding in-person learning, supplying additional scaffolds
supporting struggling students, and ensuring our students have access to food
and internet connectivity.
In
our educational approach, a spotlight shines bright on our students' necessary
skills to engage with school, engage in our digital world, and prepare them for
their future. While learning never
stops, the way we learn is ready to evolve. With a shift on content to a focus
on skills, the time has never been better to put technology skills,
organizational skills, and communication skills as the year's essential
learning components. Accessibility of
instructional design and content is non-negotiable at WSSB while ensuring that
we teach accessibility skills for both end-users and content producers. Accessibility is a form of literacy that must
be present for there to be authentic engagement.
At
a recent training by ReImagine WA, the presenter said, "We may all be at a
distance, but it doesn't mean we're not connected." Relationships are a vital component of
student success. Among staff, relationships
foster a culture of care and cooperation that unlocks the potential of WSSB. At
WSSB, we are noticing that students who have come back in-person show an
appreciation for how school brings people together. Some families and students
are not ready to have their children come back in-person, and WSSB is taking it
slow to expand in-person learning.
Regardless of location, students at WSSB are connected because they know
they have friends and staff that care deeply about their success.
We
will get better as we progress this school year. After the first seven weeks of school, our
staff collectively determined that the created schedule was unsustainable. Through surveying families, students, staff,
and input on various struggles and potential opportunities, a new schedule
began on November 2. The new elements of
our schedule responded to our shift to the commitment to distance learning for
the school year, even with students returning to campus. Also, students have
opportunities for engaging with independent learning time, access to staff
office hours, and a bit more time to work on the learning outside of the
teacher-led class sessions. We embrace the value of continuous improvement,
failing, and learning always.
Residential
Youth Services: The WSSB Youth Services Specialist (YSS) has been
working with the DSB Youth Services Specialists team this quarter to re-create
school year programming in a virtual format. The YSS team has connected with
their counterparts in other state VR agencies that serve blind and low vision
youth, to brainstorm program ideas and develop methods to expand accessibility
with community partners.
The YSS team are also using the information gained from 2
completed surveys of blind and low vision youth known to DSB (one for youth
between the ages of 9-13 and the other for youth between the ages of 14-21) to
once again incorporate youth voice in the development of content focus areas.
Workshop
topics for the 9-13 age group
The workshops topics with the highest level of interest for the
9-13 age group, were:
1.
Organization
2.
Food preparation
3.
Household chores series (dishwashing, sweeping, cleaning counters,
etc.)
4.
Clothing management
5.
Personal grooming
Workshop
topics for the 14-21 age group
The workshops topics with the highest level of interest for the
14-21 age group, were:
1.
Food preparation and nutrition
2.
Virtual job shadowing
3.
Social Hour
4.
Self-Expression through various types of art
5.
Self-Advocacy
6.
Financial Literacy
Workshop
development
Work readiness workshops are in development for each age group,
with a variety of topics. YSS are
coordinating curriculum materials with contractors, non-profit agencies, peer
facilitators and community business partners to provide much of the program
content. The expanding list of
contributors include Financial Beginnings, Partners in Careers (PIC), a wide
variety of successfully employed blind and low vision adults, Melissa Small of
MJ Small and Associates, youth peer facilitators, The International School of
Protocol’s Blind and Socially Savvy Program and Registered Dietician and Health
Coach Alysse Anderegg.
Some of these after school workshops will be offered as 1-time
events and others will be offered in a series of skills building
workshops. A pilot tech training program
began the first week November and a Financial Reality Fair is scheduled for
November 24, 2020. A four-week food
preparation and nutrition workshop called “Step Up to the Plate” will be held
every 2nd Monday of the month from December 2020 through March 2021.
Conventions
The DSB Youth Services sponsored a group of 6 students to attend
the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) convention
that was held virtually from October 12-16, 2020. The APRIL organization has a strong youth
leadership and advocacy focus and coordinates a full youth conference track, in
conjunction with their convention, each year.
Members of the YSS team also assisted in the coordination of a youth
track for the Washington Council of the Blind’s (WCB) 2020 virtual convention
from October 30-31, 2020.
Additional
programs for WSSB students
Contractor Partners in Careers (PIC) is continuing to provide
virtual work based learning and soft skills education one time per week for 11
WSSB students. PIC is also coordinating virtual job shadows to be offered after
school twice per month. These job shadow
experiences have been made available to WSSB students outside of the PIC
cohort. Contractor Melissa Small has
been working with a group of students with additional disabilities (12 who
attend WSSB and an additional student who is continuing work from the summer
program) providing work readiness skills training services. Ms. Small is also planning some after school
workshops for blind and low vision students with additional disabilities around
the state.
Residential: Residential opened as of November 1 and we currently
have 13 students staying overnight in three of the four dorms. We are currently
running 24-hour services including a day shift, so students can zoom into general
education classes from their dorms. Staff have been trained on all the Covid
precautions implemented in residential. Students are settling in to the dorms
and are excited to be back on campus. Staff have also been brought back to work
full time as of October 19. Catherine Orr, a 22-year employee in the
residential department retired as of September 30. Sierra Diamond, an on-call
employee was hired to fill Catherine’s role and started November 1 in the
residential department.
Corey Grandstaff, the residential program manager, has begun
working with other residential managers across the country and was one of the
co-founders of the residential Administrators of Schools for the Blind group,
which began meeting on October 22. Residential managers from the California,
Wisconsin, Texas, and Tennessee schools for the blind have joined the group and
are excited to continue collaborating with each other.
Transportation: We currently are only running one charter bus
along the I-5 corridor and are transporting students who typically fly to WSSB
in WSSB minivans. Sam Schrager, an on-call RLC, has been hired as a driver for
the year to transport these students.
LIFTT: LIFTT opened on November 1 with Covid precautions in place.
In addition, the proposed LIFTT building project is continuing to move forward
and is currently in the stakeholder engagement period with previous LIFTT
graduates and staff.
Health Center: The health center is continuing to ensure student
safety through delivering medications to students, as well as providing
guidance on the Reopening Schools 2020 team. In addition, nurses are ensuring
the proper PPE has been purchased, as well as both nurses have been fitted for
N95 masks.
Recreation: Recreation programs continue to be run via Zoom and volunteers
are joining students in these programs.
Business
Office
1.
2020-21
Operating Budget: Books for September
closed with a small positive variance due to the delayed start of school and
safety net funding. With our current
service delivery model any variance will be consumed.
Allotted:
$1,858,923
Actual:
$1,721,187
2.
Performance
Measures: We reported on the following
measures for quarter ending September 2020:
#1585 Percent of WSSB high school students
enrolled in online classes: 8%
#1586 Braille Distributed on time: 90%
#1590 Pages of Braille Transcription: 41,975
#1591 Training opportunities accessed by
individuals: 11,929
#1592 Number of teachers/paraprofessionals
taking Braille exams: 41
#1593 Number of students on campus: 67
#1594 Off-Campus Services: 744
3.
Calendar
Year Close: Now that the fiscal year has
closed, we are now moving to closing the calendar year. We are working on Retirement Redistributions,
getting ready for 1099s and W2s, as well as reviewing allotments, and first
quarter spending.
Working remotely has
brought its challenges and we continue to revisit and revise our processes to
accommodate for the
changes.
Human
Resources
New
Hires:
·
Sam
Schrager – Residential Life Counselor (RLC) - Temp
·
Sierra
Diamond – RLC – Project Employee
Recruitments:
·
Substitute
TVI
·
On-call
Teaching Assistant
·
On-call
RLC
Trainings/Functions
Attended:
·
2020
Virtual National Summit on School Safety
·
HR
Managers Meeting – Facilitated by Franklin Plaistowe and Marcos Rodriguez
·
Labor
Relations Roundtable – Facilitated by (OFM)
·
COVID
19 – Reopening State HR
Adrienne Lattin, Braille
Proofreader, accepted a new job at the Oregon Commission for the Blind (OCB).
She will be teaching adults braille and assistive technology. The ORC will
greatly miss her.
At this time,
proofreading will be done by contractors, our inmate workers and staff loaned
by another department. Jim Eccles will help with proofreading thanks to LIFTT.
In a couple months we will re-evaluate for the need and availability of a
full-time proofreader.
There has been some
turn-over at the prison and the transcriber positions have been filled by
nationally certified apprentice transcribers. The ORC is working with the
Washington Correctional Center for Women (WCCW) to work within the
post-COVID-19 framework at the prison. We are currently at full capacity and
hours are moving back towards full-time.
At this time, 3 apprentices are working on
their braille and manuscripts for certification.
Between September
1-October 20, the ORC has shipped 1,058 items to 288 students in 97 districts.
The ORC is beginning a
monthly webinar series on Wednesday afternoons spotlighting ORC services and
resources. The first webinar was held on November 4 at 4:00pm. It included an
introduction to the ORC. The webinars will be recorded.
1.
The
custodial team, under the proactive leadership of Mickey Marshall, is working
well, adapting to different requests and situations as needs be. Their
dedication to getting it right regarding CDC coronavirus cleaning protocols is
reassuring. Samir Jaganjac has returned to graveyard shift, and so now we have
at least one custodian here around the clock on weekdays.
2.
The
Food Service staff was glad to return to work and have a mission for the kids
again. It is nice to see this devotion to the kids. Bob Lonnee has been on his
toes adapting to coronavirus protocols and the changing situations we are in
during the pandemic.
3.
The
spin-up to heating season is going relatively well. I am having trouble with
one of the boilers in the gym. We may have to tear it apart the gym boiler and
clean out interior combustion chamber blockage. A burn test will happen soon to
determine its fate. We’ll do the work in-house. This may take two weeks.
4.
The
Old Main Roof $280,000 capital preservation project is contracted through the
Department of Enterprise Services (DES). The contract did not make it through
DES in time to perform the work this year. We are first on the list for next
year (expecting April or May 2021). This will be a membrane-reinforced “liquid”
roof on top of existing membrane that will come with a 20-year warranty. Original
estimate of $310,000 from DES Energy Services division done while job order
contractor (JOC) was installing Irwin Solar array. Noticed in contract that bid
from sub was $210,000, and DES JOC fee was $100,000 on top of that. Tried to
get DES approval to use the sub only through schools contracting group King County
Directors Association. Got bid of $218,000. DES denied request. Signed on with
DES JOC Burton, who shepherded cottage renovation project. This DES avenue adds
$62,000 to the contract.
5.
We
are helping Washington State University Vancouver library staff in their WSSB
museum inventory/project, by moving all the audible LPs from the Old Main
basement mech room to the more conditioned room.
Birth-3
The
WSSB Birth to 3 Program continues to provide support services to 89 families
virtually. It has been a very positive
addition to our menu of services! We expect virtual home visits will continue
until January 2021, then we will begin to implement a hybrid approach to early
intervention services with a combination of virtual and in person for all families. We believe that a hybrid approach is best as
it will not only reduce our travel costs, but also increase our efficiency and
effectiveness of services to families through use of the coaching model of
service delivery.
As
for our targeted child find activities, DeEtte has worked with Nancy Hatfield
from Washington Sensory Disability Services (WSDS) and Kris Ching from Center
for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY) for the past few months on updating
the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT), the Part C Lead Agency,
approved screening tool for vision and hearing called the “Three Prong
Approach” or TPA. We completed the
update and are excited about the new and approved version. It is still in a draft form until ESIT fully
approves the updates. Our next step is
to create an updated version of our training module to match the updated
tool. We have scheduled our first live
(virtual) training on November 19 for early intervention providers in
Spokane. After that we will create
recorded webinars that all providers statewide will watch independently. This screening tool is also included in the
ESIT overall EI training modules for all providers as this is the tool that
will be used for every child receiving EI service at intake and again during
the annual review. The goal of this tool
is not only to identify vision and hearing concerns early but also to create a
pathway to accessible and appropriate services to meet the identified need.
This is just one example of how the needs for infants and toddlers who are
blind or low vision are being embedded in the state system of providing EI
services to all.
Starting
in January 2021, DeEtte will be hosting a statewide family resource night
called “Talk O Tuesdays”. These meetings
will be held virtually with a registration process, be held the second Tuesday
of the month over the course of the year and will be open to all families in
the state. The topic for the January
meeting will focus on WSSB’s statewide partner resources such as DSB, WTBBL, WSDS,
and NWABA. Other topics will be chosen based on family suggestions. While this
family resource night is starting with families of children aged birth to 3,
our hope is that it grows to include families of children of all ages. The goal
is to build families’ awareness of the wealth of resources available to them
and to empower their effective advocacy with information and parent to parent
connection.
Superintendent
Each
month I will provide, in bulleted format, a list of the more significant
activities of the Superintendent’s office.
For each month, I will describe a highlight or two in more detail. If at
any point you would like more information or have questions, please do not
hesitate to call, email, or schedule a time to meet in person. I want to make sure that you have the
information that you need to advise and guide what we do to meet the needs of
students who are blind or visually impaired throughout Washington State.
September and October
September
29: American Printing House for the Blind
(APH) product obsolescence meeting
September
29: Learning Independence for Today and
Tomorrow (LIFTT) building project kick-off
September
29: Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (OSPI) statewide COVID update
September
30: ESD 112 Clark/Cowlitz County
superintendents meeting re COVID
September
30: Weekly Small Agency Cabinet (SAC)
meeting
October 1: WSSB/Washington State University (WSU)
museum project meeting
October 3: Dedication of the Pulliam Peace Pole
October 5: Weekly proposed reopening plan meeting
October 5: Meeting with staff from Lt. Governor
Cyrus Habib’s office re White Cane Day
October 6: Council of Schools and Services for
the Blind (COSB) annual leadership conference
October 6: Pacific Northwest Association for the
Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (PNWAER) board
meeting
October 7-9: APH annual meeting
October 9: Meeting with Noel Nightingale with the
Office of Civil Rights re WSSB website
October 13: APH product obsolescence meeting
October 13: Executive and small agency cabinet
meeting
October 13: OSPI statewide COVID update and
collaboration meeting
October 14: ESD 112 Clark/Cowlitz County
superintendents meeting re COVID
October 14: LIFTT project institutional research and
equity workshop meeting
October 15: Meeting with Clark County Health
Department re WSSB’s proposed reopening plan
October 16: Meeting with Greg Szabo re November
Board meeting agenda
October 16: Present at Fort Vancouver Lions Club
meeting
October 19: Meeting with Governor’s policy office re
WSSB’s proposed reopening plan
October 19: Statewide Blind/Low Vision resource fair
October 21: Strategic Plan (goal one) meeting
October 21: Weekly Small Agency Cabinet meeting
(returning to the workplace)
October 22: 2020 AER Education Awards ceremony
(panel and discussion)
October 23: Fitness and safety check-in with staff
October 23: Meeting to discuss employee/team of the
year structure
October 26: BADIE meeting
October 27: APH product obsolescence meeting
October 27: OSPI statewide COVID update and
collaboration meeting
October 27: Meeting with OSPI to discuss
credentialing for educators of the visually impaired
October 27: PNWAER board meeting
October 29-31: Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) Fall
convention
Highlight
We enjoyed the ongoing presence of a small number of students on
campus while we continued to plan and prepare for our first phase of
residential students return the first week in November. During more typical times I would have
traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for the COSB Leadership Institute and the
APH’s Annual Meeting. I enjoyed attending and contributing to both events in
their virtual format this year. Sean
McCormick, Director of On-Campus Programs, was recognized as the 2020 COSB
Outstanding Principal/Director of Programs. While Linda Hagood, WSSB Speech
Language-Pathologist, was recognized as the 2020 COSB Outstanding Related
Services Provider. Several WSSB students were recognized for their artwork in
the 2020 APH Insights Arts Awards Celebration. Audrey Chitwood was awarded 1st
place in the grades 10-12 category for their drawing titled, “The Best Drawing
I Ever Made”. Lizbeth Meza was also
awarded 1st place in the grades 7-9 category for her artwork called,
“Allan”. Charles Johnson was given a
third-place award in the grades 7-9 category for his sculpture called
“Wivern”. Tori Eastman was celebrated
with an honorable mention in the grades 7-9 group for her work, “Bat”.
This year, WSSB worked with the PNW AER, partners from the Lt
Governor’s Office and the Governor’s Office, as well as a variety of other
stakeholders to promote White Cane Day in Washington on October 15. Governor
Inslee issued a White Cane Day Proclamation and the Lt. Governor’s Office
hosted a website hub of information contributions from the field. The effort
was coordinated by PNW AER in partnership with WSSB and many others.
Finally, I enjoyed the opportunity to attend and speak at the WCB
Virtual 2020 Convention. I thought it
was well done. I enjoyed the opportunity
to update the WCB. Speaking as part of
the big three (DSB, WTBBL, and WSSB) is always a special treat. I provided an update on strategic planning,
campus programs, and the LIFTT project.
I helped with the WCB elections this year and enjoyed the opportunity to
connect with WCB membership.
November
November 4: ESD 112 Clark/Cowlitz County
superintendents meeting re COVID
November 6-8: National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of
Washington state convention
November 10: APH product obsolescence meeting
November 10: Present to Longview Pioneers Lions Club
November 10: Executive and Small Agency Cabinet meeting
November 13: WSSB Board of Trustees meeting
November 13: Meeting with OSPI to discuss credentialing
for educators of the visually impaired
Highlight
The ultimate highlight has been welcoming the first wave of
residential students to campus. It is
exciting to walk through campus and notice the palpable change in energy with
more students on campus. We expect about
20 students on campus for our 6-12 programs in this first phase. This includes a mix of service delivery and
program access options that include residential, day, and targeted supports and
services for individual students on campus.
Additionally, we welcomed back seven participants in the LIFTT Program. Similar to past years, we serve about 70 students through
our campus programs. Currently, unlike
years past, most students access a majority of their instruction through
synchronous and asynchronous remote instruction. As COVID rates continue to rise locally and
across the region, we have not identified a target date for phase two of our
return plan.
Attending this year’s NFB convention online had its perks, similar to my experience at this year’s WCB convention. I enjoyed the opportunity to hear the
perspectives of so many blind individuals. I found the sessions informative,
empowering and inclusive. I really
enjoyed a panel discussion on diversity. I had an opportunity to provide an
update to NFB as well. I provided an
update very similar to the one provided previously to WCB.
With all that has been going on and the additional stress it has
caused, I am experiencing increasing emotional vulnerability. I find that I
sometimes respond emotionally quicker, and have a harder time regulating those
emotions. I have experienced different
levels of this phenomenon when talking about specific decisions or impacts of
decisions on staff or students during recent updates to the WCB, NFB, and Lions
Clubs.
Ongoing:
Department
managers and administration team meetings
PFBC
meetings
Executive
and Small Agency Cabinet meetings
Goal
Council meetings
Clark
County and Regional Superintendent meetings
NWABA
Board meetings
UEB
committee meetings
Oregon
Commission for the Blind Board meetings
Washington
DeafBlind Advisory Council meetings
Washington
Sensory Disability Services meetings