WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting
November 9, 2018
Vancouver, Washington
Board
Members Participating: Greg Szabo, Brent
Stark, Keri Clark, Reg George, Nancy McDaniel, and Berl Colley.
Board Members Absent: Dennis Mathews
Ex-Officio
Members Participating: Jim Eccles (Washington
Federation of State Employees Local #1225), Joleen Ferguson (Washington Council
of the Blind), Jennifer Butcher (Teacher Representative), Marci Carpenter
(National Federation of the Blind of Washington), and Krista Bulger (Parent
Representative).
WSSB
Staff Members Participating: Mr.
Scott McCallum (Superintendent), Sean McCormick (Director of On-Campus Programs),
and Janet Kurz (recording secretary).
November 9, 2018 – 11am-2pm
Nancy
called the meeting to order at 11am. Nancy announced that there will be an
executive session immediately following the board meeting.
Business
Meeting:
Old
Business:
Approve
board meeting minutes of September 21, 2018. Berl moved to approve the minutes
as submitted; Greg seconded the motion.
The minutes were approved unanimously.
New Business:
Department Highlight –
STEM, Sean McCormick, Director of On-Campus Programs:
Sean presented the
following:
o
Sean
said that STEM encompasses four phases at the WSSB with the highest level being
seamless and a project-based learning approach.
STEM can be taught as individual classes but at the highest-level Math
and Science is combined and seamless.
Due to WSSB being a small school, there are limited offerings in the
Science area. Currently, WSSB offers
Biology, Environmental Science, Life Science, Earth Science and Physical
Science. In Technology, WSSB offers
Computer Science, Advanced Placement Computer Science, and Woodshop. WSSB also offers the following courses in
Math: General Math, Consumer Math,
Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry and Trigonometry/Pre-calculus. Students are also able to access courses at
the nearby Hudson’s Bay High School and also Clark Community College. Nancy asked how many students are focused on STEM
based careers. Sean said the numbers are
increasing. Reg asked what Science equipment
is being used. Sean said WSSB uses veneer
lab equipment which is accessible.
o
Discussion
was held regarding the EPIQ Program which is a computer programming and coding
course. Scott and Professor Andreas
Stefik (who runs the EPIQ program) presented regarding this at the recent
Council of Services and Schools for the Blind (COSB) conference in
October. One of WSSB math TVI’s is a
member of the EPIQ group.
o
Sean
stated that the real challenge is that our students need significant
intervention in math skills. A large
percentage of students are not meeting proficiency standards. Scott feels this is a nationwide issue. Sean discussed WSSB student’s state
assessment results which indicate that our students need additional supports in
math as our students are testing way below the state level. It is important to note that a number of WSSB
students have additional challenges.
Berl felt that we are on the right track; when Berl graduated from the
WSSB the only math he had was basic math so when he got to college he had to
take things all over again. Sean said at
this point, it is important for us to look at content experts to help and he is
working on developing a plan with accessing professional development for math
teachers.
o
WSSB
currently offers additional instruction time for students in math including
30-minute math labs in addition to regular courses and Sean has seen positive
gains due to this. Sean remarked that
one of the challenges we face is including the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)
and this has to be a key component to what WSSB offers students. Marci asked if we have discussed this issue
with other schools for the blind. Scott
said that when he was on the re-accreditation committee at the Perkins School
for the Blind, their math Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) asked if they
could connect with our TVI’s as they are experiencing similar challenges.
o
Due
to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) guidelines the WSSB is targeted for
support for low graduation rates, even though we are at a 100% graduation
rate. Being a part of this program will
provide more funding for professional development. Currently WSSB has 4 math TVI’s. Brent stated that the math TVI’s probably
feel isolated as most small school district teachers do. Brent informed the group that there are math
fellows who are nominated by their school Principals who attend quarterly
meetings through OSPI. This is intended
so that they can learn from other math fellows and bring what they learn back
to their schools. Brent suggested we
talk to a fellow in a neighboring school district to learn more and will send
Sean additional information.
o
Marci
asked if there are a lot of students who need to learn Nemeth. Sean said
students are learning Nemeth embedded in their classes and math labs have
helped support that endeavor.
o
Keri
asked if Outreach TVI’s can provide students with additional math support. Scott stated that the Outreach TVI is not the
math teacher and they support the classroom teacher and Outreach TVI’s can help
pre-teach the concepts.
o
Marci
asked if WSSB is working with companies regarding technology that makes
graphics more accessible to students.
Scott said most of the braille comes from our Ogden Resource Center who
does a lot of graphics.
March
Board Meeting date (input from board for department update, time change)
o
The March meeting will begin at 9am on March 15. Regarding department updates, Scott was
approached by a teacher who would like to discuss inclusion. Nancy would also like to learn more about the
Learning Independence for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) program.
Superintendent’s
Report
Scott
reviewed the following:
o
Scott’s highlight for the month of September was
working on teacher pay. Scott met with
the teacher’s union earlier this week regarding this and the Center for
Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss (CDHL) has similar concerns as our teachers
are supposed to be paid commensurate with the Vancouver Public School
teachers. However, Vancouver teachers
receive TRI funds which the WSSB is not able to provide because they are
provided through local levy mill dollars.
Scott has been discussing this issue with the Governor’s office and this
may result in legislative action. This
issue was brought before the Washington state Supreme Court many years ago and
it was ruled that we are not able to provide TRI funds. Currently our teachers make anywhere from
$5,000-$10,000 less per year due to TRI funds.
Scott also discussed this issue
with OSPI’s Superintendent Reykdal. Superintendent
Reykdal understands the issue and is going to try to help us with this so our
teachers are appropriately compensated.
Nancy asked if there is anything the board could do to support
this. Scott said if this issue moves
forward, potentially, especially if it becomes a legislative issue.
o
Scott was elected to the Board of Directors through
COSB. Scott was also nominated and
elected to the Educational Products Advisory Committee (EPAC) through the
American Printing House for the Blind (APH).
This committee, comprised of six people, each serve a 3-year term. Scott will be traveling to Louisville in the
Spring of 2019 to attend committee meetings.
o
In October, the Vancouver City Mayor attended the
White Cane Day celebration at the WSSB and started the day with an official
proclamation. Jeff Bowler, WSSB TVI
reached out to the Mayor’s office to make this happen.
o
In November, the WSSB worked through a challenging
situation due to a person who is sending anonymous threats using social media,
texts and emails. These are being sent
to students and staff. WSSB has implemented security measures at the campus
(locking exterior doors) and changing Wi-Fi codes in an attempt to provide
maximum security and safety. The WSSB
has been working with the Cybercrimes unit through the Vancouver Police
Department who has assured us that this is not an abnormal occurrence at
schools. Warrants were issued to Facebook, Google and Apple. Scott does not
feel that the students and staff are in physical danger, however the emotional
trauma has been pervasive.
o
WSSB is looking at procuring an emergency alert
system that is fully accessible to people who are blind and deaf that would
allow us to provide notifications on computer desktops, enable audible signals,
send messages through email and text.
WSSB is going through the process of purchasing service. Other schools for the blind use this system as
well as Gallaudet University.
o
Joleen asked for direction regarding how much
information she could share regarding the cybercrime situation. Scott stated that
since this is an ongoing investigation there are many details we are not at
liberty to share. Scott would appreciate
it if information needs to be shared that they discuss it with Scott
first.
Ex-Officio’s
Reports:
WFSE Local #1225 (Jim Eccles):
- Jim reported that the online threats have put
a strain on everyone and mostly because it is open-ended. Jim said part of the problem is that
this is new ground-breaking territory for everyone.
Washington Council of the Blind (Joleen Ferguson):
o
Joleen reported that the WCB fall convention was
held November 1-3 at the CrownePlaza Hotel in Seattle. Joleen reported that presentations were heard
from the “big three” which included WSSB, Department of Services for the Blind
and the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL). The WCB has arranged to have the next three fall
conventions at the DoubleTree at SeaTac.
o
The WCB assists the WTBBL with the Braille
Challenge. In Washington there will be
two sites; Seattle (January) and Spokane (February). The WTBBL helps with food, t-shirts,
etc. More information will be posted on
the website soon (www.wcbinfo.org).
o
A presidents meeting and legislative seminar will
be held February 23-26, 2019 at Alexandria, Virginia. Both Denise and Berl Colley will be attending.
o
Joleen said the ACB has been working with the Marrakesh
Treaty to ensure that people outside the US will have access to copyright
material in alternative formats. They
have also reached an agreement with Hulu so that programs that are streamed are
accessible.
o
During the state convention, the Artificial
Intelligence Remote Access (AIRA) system was demonstrated. Joleen explained that this is like the
FaceTime app but more robust. More and
more public places are allowing people to use AIRA for free. AIRA works by
having the blind person wear glasses that has a camera embedded into them and
then they call a phone number and be connected to someone who could provide sight
guidance assistance, i.e. getting through an airport, reading mail, etc. For ACB members seeking employment they are
allotted 100 hours free to assist them in locating a job.
o
2019 application information for scholarships is
now available online.
National Federation of the Blind (Marci Carpenter):
o
Marci received an award from the Seattle Mayor’s
office (Advocate of the Year). This was
primarily due to the work done to ensure that disabled employees do not receive
sub-minimum wages for work. Many people
received back wages due to this. This
issue will be pursued at a state level with a bill scheduled to drop in January.
o
The 2018 state convention went well with a large
turnout and several students in attendance through the DSB youth services. NFB’s President, Mark Riccobono attended and
spoke at the convention. During the
convention, scholarships were awarded. Also,
convention scholarships were awarded this year.
o
Information regarding the national scholarship
opportunity is in the Irwin weekly newsletter.
30 scholarships will be available nationally.
o
The national convention will be held at the Mandalay
Bay in Las Vegas in 2019. Marci will
send out the link for scholarships and that will be available until March
2019. One component for applying is the
students must have a letter of recommendation to submit with application. Special lodging rates have been acquired ($99
per night) with activities for people of all ages.
o
Nationally, the NFB will be hosting more STEM
events. Expenses are paid for students to attend and affiliates can give a
small stipend also for students to attend.
o
Every year the United States Association for Blind
Athletes (USABA) and the Blue Cross run a national fitness challenge.
Organizations can sign up and receive FitBits.
This year, the NFB of Washington signed up to participate. Marci will be
talking to the WSSB to see if the students want to participate. This program will start on December 1,
2018. Jennifer asked if Marci would send
the information to her as she would be happy to take the lead for students at
the WSSB.
o
Another program that starts in December is the
Braille Readers are Leaders. This is a
6-7 week braille reading contest with prizes available for all age groups. Information regarding this program will be
sent out through the EVE listserv and other publications.
o
The NFB of Washington conventions will be held at
the Hotel RL in Olympia on November 1-3, 2019 and November 6-8, 2020.
Parent Representative (Krista Bulger):
o
Krista
said parents have been nervous due to the recent cyber harassment. For obvious
reasons, details cannot be divulged to everyone and some parents are having a
hard time with this but understand.
Trust needs to be placed in the WSSB to take care of the kids.
o
Krista
was on campus attending an event recently and noticed that the lighting on
campus had improved. Scott stated that
the outside lights in Irwin were changed to LED bulbs and landscaping has been
done for additional visibility on campus.
o
Scott
asked Krista if the parents felt that the information they have been receiving
regarding the cyber harassment has been adequate. Krista said she is a local parent and she
trusts that her children’s best interests are the priority. Krista has no
reservations and feels confident in the information she has received. Scott said finding the balance between
reassuring parents and an ongoing investigation has been a balance. Scott said if Krista has any feedback as
parent rep, to please let him know. Krista
feels parents will have different opinions as to the levels of
communication.
o
Jennifer
remarked that students’ reactions to this situation have ranged from frantic to
angry and also those who have expressed their appreciation for the additional
steps that have been taken to ensure their safety.
o
Brent
asked if emergency drills are done on a regular basis; Scott said yes.
Teachers Representative (Jennifer Butcher):
- Jennifer
reported that students and staff are looking forward to the holidays and
that there has been a lot going on including dealing with students’
emotions.
Committee Reports:
Education
Committee
- Marci reported that there have
been no meetings and there is nothing to report at this time.
Buildings
and Grounds Committee
o
Greg
and Nancy did a walk-through of the campus before the meeting and as always,
the grounds look incredible. Scott
reported that the sewer line project went perfect and finished ahead of time. Rob is applying for a grant that would enable
the WSSB to add an additional solar application on top of Irwin.
Management
Committee
o
Janet
will contact Nancy and Berl regarding Scott’s evaluation.
Legislative
Committee
o
Berl
said there hasn’t been a need yet for the committee to meet. Berl felt the two
more important areas that may need attention would be the licensed clinical
social worker position and the new transition building. Scott reported that currently WSSB contracts
with a social worker and has a school psychologist however WSSB is seeking,
through decision package, a clinical social worker. The DSB is aware that the WSSB is seeking
funding for a transition center. The DSB
will be consulted if the project moves forward regarding design input.
o
Scott
anticipates that he may be called to present to the House Education
Committee. The committee was on site in
September and remarked that they would like him to return during session.
o
Brent
asked if we have met with the Center for Change in Seattle for outcome data
relating to the transition building project.
Scott said the current program is housed on the third floor of Old Main
and the goal is that we want the ‘center’ to be a more real-world situation
with apartments, etc. The WSSB was given
$50,000 for a feasibility study and the recommendation was to demolish the
current building (Ahlsten) and build a new one.
All transition services would be located in that building (DSB, LIFTT, Youth
Services Specialist, etc.). If the new
building goes forward, the third-floor rooms will be available for families who
visit the WSSB for IEP meetings, etc.
Miscellaneous:
Nancy thanked Janet for recognizing staff and Board
members for Veterans Day.
Nancy would love to make WSSB a center for
excellence for STEM. Scott would like to
keep talking about this.
Greg said last Friday, Pam Parker, WSSB’s Director
of Outreach/State Vision Consultant and area TVI’s were at the Spokane Lighthouse
for the Blind for their regional TVI round-up.
Greg also stated that a young girl saw Greg and his
guide dog and told him that her school celebrated White Cane Awareness Day.
Keri said in Bellingham, they learned about Guide Dogs
through a presentation. A former LIFTT
student, Jake Koch, is the representative for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Reg asked if the recent election results in the
legislature have or would have an impact. Marci said she found an article by
King 5 that broke down the state senate and state legislature. Marci said if he wants a breakdown, that is a
good article and resource.
Executive Session
An executive
session was called to order at 1:22pm and adjourned at 2pm.
There
being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2pm. The next Board meeting will be held on January
16 at 7:30pm via conference call.
Nancy McDaniel, Chair Scott
McCallum, Superintendent
Board
Reports – November 2018
Outreach
Outreach
is off and running for the school year.
·
WSSB
Outreach Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) and Certified Orientation and
Mobility Specialists (O&M) are currently serving 53 school districts and
about 185 students across the state.
·
Joe
Dlugo has been chosen to be the new Mentor for the Stephen F. Austin Visual Impairment
(VI) endorsement program in Washington State. This position needed to be filled
after Pam became the Director of Outreach.
·
Pam
attended the Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB) Forum and
American Printing House for the Blind (APH) Annual meeting. She also visited
the Tennessee School for the Blind (TSB) and met with her counterpart at TSB to
discuss how Outreach services are provided in Tennessee.
·
The
COSB Outreach Forum will be held at WSSB on April 30-May 3, 2019. Outreach
Directors from across the country will come to WSSB to discuss issues related
to serving blind and visually impaired (BVI) students.
·
TVI
Round-Ups around the state will be held in Pasco on 10/30/18, Spokane 11/2/18,
Renton 11/26/18, and Tumwater 12/10/18. At this time, we have close to 150
people signed up for the different events.
·
Statewide
Unified English Braille (UEB) Committee meeting was held on 10/15/18. Discussed
how recertification will be done and using online modules for assessment. Holly
Lawson, coordinator of the Visually Impaired Learner Program at Portland State
University (PSU) has an app that may work but needs to be tested for
accessibility.
·
Pam
has been in contact with Mike Sivill to possibly do another statewide UEB
online class.
·
Pam
attended the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of Washington conference in
Olympia October 26-28.
·
Beginning
to meet with Outreach teachers to do evaluations.
·
November
13 a group of developers from Microsoft will visit WSSB, see students using
technology and discuss with us about how TVIs learn and use technology with our
students. Bruce McClanahan will join us for this meeting.
On Campus
Student Leadership
and Social-Emotional Development
Each
Wednesday, students participate in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Leadership.
SEL leadership time is coordinated by Jennifer Langley, Director of Curriculum
and Instruction, and with the support of WSSB’s counselor Billie Jo Thomas and
teaching assistants. These SEL
Leadership Wednesdays have given students an opportunity to learn more about
themselves, practice strategies that foster a greater sense of belonging and
connectedness to the school. SEL is linked to academic success and is a
critical element of leveraging skill development in Expanded Core Curriculum
(ECC) areas.
Student Safety
Student
safety at WSSB has been a critical focus on campus. Recently, some students received harassing
messages and some threats through social media, text, and email. In response to threatening messages, WSSB
took safety measures to ensure students were safe in the buildings and they had
supervision while traveling. The threats to a student occurred for four days
and then stopped once law enforcement became more involved in the
investigation. Vancouver Police
Department’s Major Crimes unit has collaborated with school officials to
address the situation and put an end to the source of these messages.
WSSB’s goalball team
has a boys and girls team participating in the High School Goalball
Championships at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. This event draws teams from across the nation
to compete over several days alongside their teammates. For some of our students, this will be their
first time competing in nationals. This
is the first time since 2015 that WSSB’s boys' team will compete in
nationals.
Assessing for
Learning
All
of our new students were assessed in many areas of the ECC and academic areas.
All students at WSSB participated in Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP)
reading assessment and the DESSA. MAP is administered several times throughout
the school year to monitor progress and adjust instruction to address targeted
areas of need. DESSA is an assessment focused on social-emotional
learning. It is well researched and is
also administered several times throughout the school year to monitor student
growth and areas of need. The Wednesday
leadership activities are directly tied to the DESSA results and need areas for
supporting student growth.
Other Fall Highlights
Short
courses - Cane Camp for O&M, Tech Mania: supporting Google or JAWS.
Camp
Magruder - Three-night science-based camp hosted at the Oregon coast.
White
Cane Day - Proclamation made by the City of Vancouver May, Anne McEnerny-Ogle
Transition
Services
Learning Independence
for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT)
·
The
program has six participants currently with one more scheduled to come by the
end of October.
·
Four
participants are attending Clark College.
·
Two
participants are working on Job Readiness activities. One has recently signed
on with a Job Development Specialist who will assist with job readiness skills
and job placement.
·
All
participants have spent the fall months learning to manage their time and
schedules, live and work with roommates, and travel skills for independence.
Health Center
·
New
hire of Daphne Anderson as an on-call RN
·
Dental
van will be on campus again November 15
·
Blood
Drive November 26
·
Nurse
Justine attended Camp Magruder
·
Health
center and fitness department worked together to provide a fall wellness
program for staff
Youth Service
Specialist (YSS)
·
Contract
coordination of WorkForce South West
Washington’s Partners in Careers (PIC) program at WSSB. This school year’s classes began, for 6 WSSB
juniors and 4 seniors, on September 14, 2018.
Students will have the opportunity to participate in weekly soft skills
classes on campus, and a variety of job readiness skills workshops in the
community. PIC is developing a 3-part
job shadow model for the juniors. The
model includes informational interviews, hands on work tasks and student
provided education about blindness skills for a variety of job shadow
hosts. Seniors will participate in
school year volunteer internship experiences.
·
1:1
pre-ETS services for WSSB students and LIFTT program participants as needed,
identifying resources for work readiness skills training, completing career
interest assessments and resumes, and providing guidance for paid and volunteer
job search activities.
·
YSS
met with the new WorkForce Southwest Washington Emerging WorkForce Committee Chair on September 20, 2018, to
discuss YSS’s continued contribution to the committee in providing information
about the employment support needs of blind and visually impaired youth in the
community. Participated in the committee’s first meeting under new leadership
on October 2, 2018 at the new youth employment services HUB in Vancouver called
NEXT.
·
YSS
met with a potential community
rehabilitation provider on September 27, 2018 who has an interest in
providing group youth services in the areas of workplace readiness skills -
including a professional appearance workshop.
·
YSS
met with ESD 112’s Summer Works Program
Coordinator on September 18, 2018, to discuss the eligibility for Clark county
youth who are on IEPs and 504 plans for professional development training
classes and paid internships.
·
YSS
presented information about Department of Services for the Blind’s (DSB)
pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS) and Order of Selection (OOS)
procedures at the WSSB Outreach staff meeting
in Tumwater on October 2, 2018.
·
Multiple
planning meetings in September and
October 2018, with DSB youth services staff, to discuss pre-ETS provision
during OOS - new systems and procedures.
·
Participation
in DSB Pizza and Pups workshop in
Chehalis on September 25, 2018 and NFBW’s
Consumer Convention youth track on October 27-28, 2018
·
Attended
WorkForce Southwest Washington sponsored Manufacturing
Recruiters Panel October 24, 2018
Business
Office
1.
2017-18
Operating & Capital Budget
Operating: September books closed with a negative
balance due to teacher increases being effective September 1. WSSB did not receive sufficient funding for
the 21.5% increase to make salaries commensurate with Vancouver School District
wage scale. We have submitted a
supplemental decision package for the variance in funding.
Capital:
As noted in my last report, we are still underspending due to the window
of opportunity being so small for us to get projects completed. However, some major work has been completed: re-roofing of cottages, parking lot
sealcoating and the sewer line project that has faced delay after delay was
finally completed.
2.
2019
Supplemental Budget Requests
Following is the summary of the request we
submitted:
McCleary Salary Adjustments
RCW.72.40.028 mandates WSSB pay its
certificated staff salaries commensurate with the school district in which the
program or facility is located. In this
case, Vancouver School District (VSD).
In September 2018, local unions ratified union contracts which included
a 21.5% increase to the wage scale. In
addition, an unintended consequence of compensation compression between
certificated staff and administrators occurred.
Additional funding of $715,926 is requested to fully fund certificated
salaries commensurate with VSD and maintain the spread between certificated
staff and administrators.
3.
Performance
Measures - we reported on the following measures for quarter ending September
2018:
#1585 Percent of WSSB high school students
enrolled in online classes: 0%
#1586 Braille Distributed on time: 95%
#1590 Pages of Braille Transcription: 180,193
#1591 Training opportunities accessed by
individuals: 10,446
#1592 Number of teachers/paraprofessionals
taking Braille exams: 33
#1593 Number of students on campus: 72
#1594 Off-Campus Services: 905
4.
One
Washington
As stated in my last report, the state is
replacing its aging administrative systems and related business processes.
Consequently, as the state moves along in the process, agencies are tasked with
additional work. Business office staff
was in Olympia a significant amount of time in October for mandatory
training. Thanks to everyone for their
support and patience as we progress through the process.
Human
Resources
New
Hires:
·
On-call
Teachers Aide (TA), Residential Life Counselor (RLC) and Substitute Teacher -
Jessica McAlexander
·
On-call
TA and RLC - Tandra Lamke
·
On-call
TA and Substitute Teacher - Rebecca Robinson
·
On-call
Custodian - Florence Scott
·
Custodian
1- Brian Baltazar
Open
Recruitments:
·
On-call
Teacher’s Assistant
·
On-call
RLC
·
On-call
Nurse
·
Substitute
Teacher
Trainings/Functions
Attended:
·
HR
Managers Meeting – Facilitated by Franklin Plaistowe and Marcos Rodriguez
·
Labor
Relations Roundtable – Facilitated by Office of Financial Management (OFM)
·
Safe
Schools Task Force
Ogden
Resource Center (ORC)
Fall
is a time for learning and ORC staff had the opportunity to attend conferences
this fall.
Jennifer
attended the APH Meeting and Braille Prison Forum in Kentucky. Information
about various prison programs was shared and new APH products were displayed.
In addition, an update on Quota Funds and number of students registered was
shared. The final Quota Fund allocation per student has not yet been determined.
With the decrease in number of eligible students due to permission slips not
being turned in, it is expected that the allocation per student will increase
although overall allocations for many states will be decreased due to lower
student counts.
Kandi
and Adrienne attended the National Braille Association professional conference
in Detroit. Topics covered included Nemeth with UEB, Diving Deeper into UEB and
Formats with Nemeth. Braille updates from NBA are shared with the transcribers
at the prison.
In
November, Kandi will be attending the annual Lean conference and continue to
apply Lean principles at the ORC.
Buildings
and Grounds
Campus:
·
Inspections
by the fire marshal, county bio-swale and city backflow devices all took place
in the past two months. Only two, easily corrected, items were noted by the
fire marshal. The bio-swale behind Chapman Cottage required considerable rework
but we were able to do the work in house. We are still waiting for a
repairperson to correct the backflow items.
·
We
have had a local tree service on campus twice to assist in landscaping. Work included
thinning and reducing overall sizes of most of the trees and shrubs around Old
Main and at the southeast gate. This is work that we are not staffed for or
equipped to do in house.
·
Vancouver
City Police conducted an onsite review of campus site security. They noted that
our fencing and lighting was a good deterrent for general safety and
recommended that we keep up our program of reducing hiding spots by opening the
landscaping more.
·
We
are in the process of applying for a matching grant to add another solar array
on the roof of Irwin. The Department of Commerce is offering grants to schools
and state agencies with a mid-December deadline. If successful, we will add
another 10 kilowatts of production to our existing 23kW array.
Capital:
·
The
sewer line project was completed ahead of schedule. The contractors allocated
up to four weeks for the project but because of good weather and no major
obstructions, they finished in two weeks. The two remaining lines that will
need to be addressed in the future are the replacement of the line from Hall
Cottage to the Watson intersection and the Old Main line serving the west side
of the building.
·
We
are working with the state’s job order contractor to expand our door access
control system. The current card reader software is beyond life expectancy and
is no longer supported and the hardware is no longer readily available for
repair parts. With the proposed project, we will add door readers to all
interior gym doors used by rental groups and change the main entry door locking
mechanisms from a pin to a magnetic lock system. We will also add card access
to all Old Main third floor bedrooms as well as the warehouse, greenhouse and
kitchen.
·
We
are in the process of adding a campus wide emergency notification system and
recently met with the Alertus representative to finalize the purchasing and
equipment plan. This system, once activated, will send notifications to all
registered phones in voice or text, push notifications to all network
computers, voice, text and flashing light warnings to strategically located
annunciator boxes and a voice notification horn for general exterior warning.
Birth-3
The
Birth to 3 Program at WSSB continues to grow! Referrals are a weekly occurrence
and our Early Intervention (EI) Visual Impairment Specialists (Birth to 3
TVI’s) are very busy! There really is no
new news since the last Board Report in September, except DeEtte had the first
of many conversations with the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT)
program within the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DYCF) on a
coordinated, statewide contract. It was
a great conversation about the state of EI services for our children under the
age of 3, including the growth we have experienced at WSSB, our partnerships
with EI agencies and TVIs around the state, and especially our need for equity
of access no matter where children and their families live in the state. We
have more work to do, but this is the perfect time as the DCYF/ESIT program is
in the middle of a systems redesign, including a funding restructure that
involves moving OSPI funding to DYCF to align with authority. DeEtte is
partnering with Kris Ching from the Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing
Loss (CDHL) and Katie Humes from the Deaf Blind Project at Washington Sensory
Disabilities Services (WSDS), along with DCYF/ESIT, in this endeavor. Stay tuned for more updates as these
conversations continue.
Other
statewide activities DeEtte is engaged in includes the Personnel and Training
Committee, a sub-committee of the State Interagency Coordinating Council. There are 2 taskforces she is working on
within this sub-committee; 1) Professional development and 2) Qualifying
conditions. This important statewide work keeps the needs of our littlest ones with
BVI in the forefront as the system for EI is improved across the state.
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
September
25: Preconstruction Meeting
(Sewer Line)
September
25: Conference call with Seattle
Public Schools-Vision Services, and Pam Parker, Director of Outreach/Statewide
Vision Consultant, regarding Orientation & Mobility services
September
26: Attended the NWABA Vision for
Opportunities fundraising breakfast
September
27: Conference call with
Professor Andy Stefik regarding Experience Programming in Quorum presentation
at the COSB Leadership Institute
September
27: Conference call with OFM
Budget Analyst, Cynthia Hollimon regarding supplemental budget requests
Highlight
I was pleased to learn that our
teachers will be receiving a much-deserved salary increase as a direct result
of the bargaining efforts in Vancouver Public Schools (VPS). While the teachers are receiving a
significant raise, unfortunately, the raise does not allow for salaries that
align perfectly with their peers in VPS.
This issue is largely due to the inclusion of a separate Time,
Responsibility, and Incentive (TRI) salary schedule in the VPS compensation
package. TRI pay is supported through local levy dollars, a funding base not
accessible to a state agency such as WSSB. Many years ago, the Washington State
Supreme Court addressed this matter for teachers at both WSSB and WSD and
concluded that such funding is not available to the state schools. Many teachers at WSSB have expressed their
concerns about this matter. I support
the viewpoint of our teachers related to this matter and have shared their
concerns and my support with our assigned budget analyst from the Office of
Financial Management (OFM). Due to the significant increase of the base salary
rate, WSSB has requested additional funds to address the anticipated shortfall
in our budget. Additionally, we have requested funds to address the subsequent
salary compression for administrators caused by the significant increase in
teacher salaries.
October
October
2: Visit the Tennessee
School for the Blind with Pam Parker and Sean McCormick, Director of On-Campus
Programs
October
3: Attend the annual
Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB) Institute
October
4-6: Attend the annual American
Printing House for the Blind (APH) meetings
October
8: Visit and tour the Camas
School District
October 9: Meet
with James Kice, Clark County Historical Museum to review items in WSSB’s
museum
October 10: Kiwanis
Club Presentation
October 10: Panelist
for Portland State University (PSU) doctoral students
October 12-13: Washington
State University (WSU) Field Based Superintendent’s Certification Program
October 15: National
White Cane Day Awareness Activities (Mayor Anne McEnery-Ogle keynote)
October 18: Conference
Call – Access for All
October 18: Tour
and information meeting with Capital Budget Analyst, Derrell Jennings
October 24: Dinner
with the students in Watson Cottage
October 28-31: Accreditation
Committee – Perkins School for the Blind, Boston, MA
Highlight
October always seems like one of the busiest months of the year. I
look forward to the wonderful opportunity to meet, connect and learn from my
peers representing a variety of schools for the blind at the COSB and the APH
for the Bind Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. At this year’s COSB
Leadership Institute, I had the opportunity to present alongside Dr. Stefik
from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) to the COSB membership about
computer science for students who are BVI. Dr. Stefik focused on the nuts and
bolts of accessible computer science principles while I highlighted our efforts
at WSSB. Currently, WSSB is the only
school for the blind in the country to offer a Computer Science Principles (CSP)
course aimed at preparing students to complete the AP CSP exam available
through the College Board.
When traveling to conferences or meetings such as COSB/APH,
attending WSSB staff are encouraged to schedule a visit to another school for
the blind. Our goal is to learn about their school, programs, and services as
well as form a more collegial relationship with our peers. This year, we visited the Tennessee School
for the Blind (TSB) in Nashville, TN in route to Louisville for COSB/APH. While visiting TSB I was joined by our
Director of On-Campus Programs, Sean McCormick, and Pam Parker, Outreach
Director, from WSSB. We spent about four
hours at the Tennessee School for the Blind meeting with a variety of persons
to learn about and observe their programs.
While at COSB, I was nominated to join to the COSB Board of Directors, a
position later confirmed by a vote of the membership. APH requested my participation on their
Education Products Advisory Council, also a position that was confirmed by a vote
of the Ex-Officio Trustees from each represented State.
WSSB also celebrated the National White Cane day on October 15
with an official proclamation from Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnery-Ogle to our
students and staff. Students
participated in a variety of activities to celebrate the white cane and
practice skills of independence in a fun and engaging way.
November
November
1: COSB Board Meeting
November
2-3: Washington Council of the
Blind Convention – Seattle, WA
November
6: State Board of Education
Visit
November
7: Washington Sensory Disability
Services Meeting (WSSB Campus)
November
7: COSB Board Meeting
November
8: Meeting with Brent Stark,
WSDS Executive Director and Rick Hauan, Center for Childhood Deafness and Hard
of Hearing Loss (CDHL)
November
9: Clark County
Superintendent’s Meeting – ESD 112
November
9: Board of Trustees Meeting
(WSSB Campus)
Highlight
Connecting with our stakeholders
is always a pleasure for me.
Unfortunately, this year I had to miss the Washington NFB Convention due
to my commitment to participate on the Accreditation Committee for the Perkins
School for the Blind near Boston, Massachusetts. Pam Parker attended in my
place and presented to the membership, along with Corey Grandstaff, an update
on WSSB. I did have the wonderful
opportunity to represent WSSB at the Washington Council of the Blind’s Annual
Convention. WSSB has many friends, board
members, as well as current and former students who are connected with one or
both of these consumer groups. Attending both NFB and WCB is always a wonderful
learning experience and a great time to build relationships with their
respective members.
Finally, WSSB will welcome the
Washington State Board of Education to our campus in early November. The State Board plans to tour the campus and
will hold their board meeting in the Fries Auditorium. I will
share our amazing campus and programs with them, and will highlight our
efforts specific to the Social and Emotional Learning of our students. WSSB has implemented the use of a
research-based assessment of social and emotional competencies that focuses on
student strengths rather than deficits.
We are evaluating the needs of our students and implementing tiered
levels of supports to meet the needs of every student. To date, each student
has been assessed using the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) and
universal level supports have begun.
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
Highlight
While not a highlight, it is important that you are aware of the
cyber bullying and harassment that many staff and students of WSSB have been
subject to recently. The language used
by this perpetrator has become increasingly threatening. We have sent out communication to you, the
families, and staff in an effort to keep everyone as informed as possible,
without jeopardizing the integrity of the ongoing investigation. At the time of this writing, we are working
very closely with local law enforcement (Vancouver Police Department). Washington State Patrol has also offered
support. The Governor’s Office is aware
of this matter and has been supportive of our needs. At this point, we have put
into place a variety of increased safety measures to provide and maintain a
safe and supportive environment for all students and staff. That said, this situation has been extremely
difficult for many students, their families, and our staff. We will continue to
uphold our ultimate obligation and keep everyone safe. If you have specific
questions, concerns, or ideas, please do not hesitate to contact me
immediately.