Michael Friedmann

SPED 856

Dr. Dojonovic-Schutzman

Running Project Part 1

 

Yelm Community Schools

 

Introduction:

 

I have worked for two school districts (North Thurston Public Schools, Steilacoom Historical School District) for the past 5 years, and this year I accepted a one-year contract with Yelm Community Schools on November 1, 2023. The contract began in elementary school, but around February was modified to middle school. Most of my five years of teaching experience has been in Special Education, including Life Skills, Resource, Self-Contained, EBD, and included 1:1 assignments, and behavior analysis and data tracking (behavior). I learned as I began this running project, that the Steilacoom Historical School District, for whom I have worked for so many years, and which had a Futures Program for transitioning specific students out of high school who fit into a Special Education needs category, closed that Futures Program when Covid Pandemic policies placed a direct impact upon it, forcing that closure. This was a program I had been repeatedly asked to be a part of, but I could not due to finances, as the position paid far less than teaching. I selected the Yelm Community School District for this assignment because I have been on a contract with them and have focused almost primarily on Special Education while with them.

 

Yelm Community School District:

 

On their website YCS asserts the following Mission and Vision:

 

Mission:

Communities Dedicated to Learning and Achievement

 

Vision:

Yelm Community Schools is a welcoming, safe, student-centered, and collaborative learning environment. In partnership with parents, students, and community leaders, YCS staff members are dedicated to helping all students meet performance expectations and achieve their full learning potential.

 

Furthermore, YCS states that “Yelm Community Schools is an amazing place for students to learn, grow and find success.  In 2019-20 we will continue to push forward in positive ways to serve students, families and staff.  Throughout our district this year you will see references to the Science of Hope. The science is not about being wishful or optimistic.  It is based in research that concludes that high hope people believe four foundational things: 1) the future will be better than the present, 2) we have the power to make it so, 3) there are multiple paths to our goals, and 4) all of the paths will have obstacles.” YCS closes its introductory page with the following: “We firmly believe that schools, working together with families, will achieve great things.  Student achievement results have increased each year of our 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, and we are determined to accelerate that trend.  Yelm Community Schools will be exemplary across all achievement measures.”

 

Yelm Community Schools is situated on the Nisqually Indian Reservation alongside the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Reservation, and serves a rural community that is predominantly military, and includes a diverse population of Native Americans and low-income families. YCS currently serves 5,698 students, with Ridgeline Middle School serving 576 students. The percentage of students receiving Free and Reduced Meals at Ridgeline Middle School is 43.96% (which is nearly half of the student population), while Yelm Middle School has a 47.53% population of students receiving FARM. Overall, the YCS district serves a student population of which 32.8% are economically disadvantaged.

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The student body at the schools served by YCS are 65% White, 1.3% Black, 1.5% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 17% Hispanic/Latino, 2% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 1.7% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. In addition, 11.3% of students are of two or more races, and 0% have not specified their race or ethnicity. Also, 48% of students are female, and 52% of students are male. At schools in YCS, 32.8% of students are eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meal program and 3.1% of students are English language learners.

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While I was unable to obtain the special education percentage for YCS, the special education population at Ridgeline Middle School is divided into two classrooms, CLC (LFA and medically fragile) and FLC (HFA). In CLC we have 6 students while the FLC has 12 students, making the percentage of students in special education at Ridgeline Middle School 13.3%.

 

Interview Participants:

I briefly spoke with our administrator, Principal Craig Curry, but that conversation was very brief, as I work for YCS and Ridgeline Middle School. My job title is: Special Education Teacher, and Teacher (as I also teach general education. The official title for my position is: Itinerant Substitute. My job duties include:

 

• Responsible for being familiar with school/district policies and procedures which govern the work of teachers, including how to write IEP’s and 504’s and comply with IDEA and ADA, and meet IEP goals quarterly, bi-annually, and annually.

 

• Worked collaboratively by assisting teachers and administrators in assessment, curriculum implementation, student interactions, enforcing safe behaviors, and enhancing social growth of students in the classroom.

 

• Communicated with students, parents, and community members with respect and confidentiality and consistent with the direction and guidance of administrators, and school/district policies and procedures.

 

• Following teachers and administrators’ directions, provided student support and supervision and intervention in subject areas from self-help and independence to academics and behavior.

 

My students number 6, and include:

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1. a high-functioning male student with autism who moves on to high school next year and has failed to meet most of his IEP goals due to drastic changes to the classroom leadership twice in one school year.

 

1. a 6th grade male student who is the size of an NFL linebacker and stims by beating his chest and hip and his back. He has limited verbal skills and was non-verbal at the beginning of the year and highly aggressive due to his inability to communicate his wants and needs. He now utilizes a PECS and self-regulates by taking walks, and coloring and asking to hear “You’ll Be In My Heart” from Tarzan, and asking for Gardettos.

 

1. a female student moving on to high school next year, with limited verbal skills, and Pica, who has also failed to meet minimum IEP goals due to drastic changes to the classroom leadership twice in one school year.

 

1. a wheelchair-bound, tube-fed, very limited verbally, male student, also moving on to high school next year with very few IEP goals met due to drastic changes to the classroom leadership twice in one school year.

 

1. a medically fragile, wheelchair-bound, tube-fed, non-verbal, female student who suffers seizures and has an internal VNS system in place.

 

1. a second medically fragile, wheelchair-bound, tube-fed, non-verbal, female student who suffers seizures and has an internal VNS system in place.

 

Summary and Analysis Domain 1: Interagency Collaboration & Community Services: 4

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What is Interagency Collaboration:

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“Interagency collaboration practices facilitate the involvement of community businesses, organizations and agencies in transition education including interagency agreements that articulate roles, responsibilities, communications and other strategies to foster collaboration and enhance curriculum and program development” (Project 10 Transition Education Network; 2023).

 

What are Community Services:

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“The founding families who launched Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children; Inc. (CSAAC) in 1979 saw a future where adults with autism lived; worked and played in the community, where they were not limited by the walls and restrictions of institutions. The Mission Statement of Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children (CSAAC) is to enable individuals with autism to achieve their highest potential and contribute as confident members of their community” (Pathfinders for Autism; 2023).

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Strength 1: Score of Quality Indicator: 4

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35. School-business partnerships exist to support career development activities.

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36. A process is in place for schools and agencies to determine the anticipated service needs of students who are moving from school to community services.

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37. Referrals to outside agencies are completed before students exit school.

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38. Accurate information about the range of community services is provided to students and families.

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39. Interagency agreements identify roles and responsibilities regarding exchanging information, sharing resources, and coordinating services.

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Strength 2: Score of Quality Indicator: 4

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35. School-business partnerships exist to support career development activities.

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36. A process is in place for schools and agencies to determine the anticipated service needs of students who are moving from school to community services.

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37. Referrals to outside agencies are completed before students exit school.

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38. Accurate information about the range of community services is provided to students and families.

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39. Interagency agreements identify roles and responsibilities regarding exchanging information, sharing resources, and coordinating services.

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What does this look like at Yelm Community Schools:

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At YCS, both middle schools and the high school are situated only a few blocks from each other, with the district office located directly adjacent to both middle schools, all of which are centered within the Yelm city center. As Yelm is a small community nestled between the Nisqually Reservation and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the community boasts a semi-diverse population of Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, as well as retains a vast majority of military families who are very patriotic and support their local law enforcement and first responders. YCS partners with several local businesses to support the career development activities of its students, allowing them to participate within their communities and learn more about self-determination and independence. The special education programs in place at YCS are phenomenal and fully support the transition of its students from elementary, to middle school, to high school, and finally as they exit services. YCS also partners with local resources within the community to help the transition process for its students who are moving from school into more community-based and/or state-based programs.

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Weakness 1: Score of Quality Indicator: 3/4

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35. School-business partnerships exist to support career development activities.

​

36. A process is in place for schools and agencies to determine the anticipated service needs of students who are moving from school to community services.

​

37. Referrals to outside agencies are completed before students exit school.

​

38. Accurate information about the range of community services is provided to students and families.

​

39. Interagency agreements identify roles and responsibilities regarding exchanging information, sharing resources, and coordinating services.

​

Weakness 2: Score of Quality Indicator: 3/4

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35. School-business partnerships exist to support career development activities.

​

36. A process is in place for schools and agencies to determine the anticipated service needs of students who are moving from school to community services.

​

37. Referrals to outside agencies are completed before students exit school.

​

38. Accurate information about the range of community services is provided to students and families.

​

39. Interagency agreements identify roles and responsibilities regarding exchanging information, sharing resources, and coordinating services.

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What does this look like at Yelm Community Schools:

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Having spent the past year at YCS, I have witnessed some failures at the elementary and middle school level in how special education programs operate. I have witnessed the incompetence of administrators in particular, which creates a hostile work environment not conducive to the success of students, and micro-management of special education programs by those same administrators. In such cases, most teams inevitably separate and move elsewhere, despite the fact that so many of our teams are amazing and have their students’ best interests at heart. I have witnessed special education programs undergo leadership changes more than once in a single year, and witnessed exorbitant levels of incompetence by new staff members who step into a leadership role without any understanding of how special education operates or functions, nor possess the skills needed to manage behaviors or even basic lesson planning.

 

All of this caters to the failures of programs succeeding and feasibly lead to the lack of functional transitioning for those leaving high school and exiting services. I feel that, in my personal experience, there is a disconnect in communication and I have noticed that while some educators go above and beyond to communicate information to parents, many do the bare minimum and just hope for the best.

 

This is not a shortfall on the part of the educator, but the culture that has been created within education where some parents simply do not want educators involved in personal decision-making processes outside of school. I have also witnessed failures to meet IEP goals and incorrect data tracking, which translate to more failures inevitably in how referrals are submitted later.

 

Summary and Analysis Domain 2: Systems Level Infrastructure: Overall Score: 4

 

Summary and Analysis Domain 3: Transition Planning: Overall Score: 3.88

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Summary and Analysis Domain 4: Student Involvement: 3.57

 

Summary and Analysis Domain 5: Transition Assessment: 3.5

 

Summary and Analysis Domain 6: Curriculum Instruction: 3

 

Summary and Analysis Domain 7: Family Involvement: 2.63

 

 

• Paragraph 10: Select one domain area that you believe is the most critical to address that you will research for Running Project Part 2. Be sure to describe:

  • Domain name

  • The rationale based on the QI-2 survey results.

  • The rationale based on information from other sources. Please interview as many as stakeholders as you can. You can include information from previous informal interactions with different stakeholders.