Save the Date(s)!
**ECSE Networking Group: Wednesday, January 13, 2016**
**CPI Initial Training: Thursday, January 14, 2016**
**CPI Key Point Refresher: Friday, January 15, 2016**
**AT Programming Party: Thursday, January 17, 2016**
**Paperwork Party: Thursday, January 28, 2016**
Remember to register HERE so we can have adequate food and materials prepared!!
Important: Local Collaborative Time Study (LCTS) Random Moment Timeline Change
Per federal directive, the Department of Human Services (DHS) has decreased the number of days that time study participants are allowed to respond to random moments from seven business days to two business days. This change goes into effect January 4, 2016. If you receive a random moment, please respond as soon as possible within this timeline. Time study participants who have not responded within one business day of occurrence will receive one reminder email. District validators will receive a reminder email if participants haven't responded within two days. Please watch your email closely for Random Moment alerts and reminder emails! Participation in LCTS results in additional funded programs within our districts that directly benefit our students, so thank you in advance for your cooperation!!
Due Process Trivia
We are adding a new feature to the Unique Updates Blog: Due Process Trivia!!! Each time the blog is posted, we will include two due process trivia questions. Individuals who respond correctly to one or both of the questions will be entered in a drawing for a prize! Two winners will be selected for each question - one from Chisago County school districts and one from Pine County school districts for a total of four winners! Winners and answers to trivia questions will be revealed on the via an special blog post! Thanks for participating and good luck!!
Question 1: True or False: When a team determines that a student who has transferred to a Minnesota school from a district out-of-state needs an evaluation (because there is not sufficient information in the student's current evaluation to address Minnesota eligibility criteria), the evaluation is considered an initial evaluation and signed parental consent must be obtained.
Question 2: Two-Part Question:
Part one: Within how many days must a special education evaluation for Part B services be completed (specify calendar or school days in response).
Part two: If the district has two snow days, after parental consent has been obtained and the evaluation is in progress, does the due date for the evaluation change? In other words, do the snow days count as school days?
Responses are due by 1/4/2106. Please email your answers directly to Nicole Woodward at [email protected]
Interesting Read: The Qualities of a Good Teacher
In this Chronicle of Higher Education article, A.C. Grayling (New College of the Humanities, London) says there are two ways that ineffective teachers can harm students: putting them off a subject and undermining their confidence and self-belief. “Good teachers do exactly the opposite of these things,” says Grayling, “and as a result inspire, guide, and give their students a broader sense of life’s possibilities… the desire to know more, understand more, achieve greater insight.” He lists several qualities that the best teachers possess:
Enthusiasm – Students often catch this in their classrooms.
Charisma – Teachers can be Pied Pipers for their subject.
A capacity to clarify and make sense – This quality illuminates any subject.
Humor – It lightens the hard work students need to do.
Kindness – A teacher’s power is enhanced when there’s a human connection.
A genuine interest in students’ progress – This involves constantly checking for understanding and responding accordingly.
Good teachers have these qualities in varying proportions, and the net effect is that students begin to teach themselves. “And that, paradoxical as it may seem, is the best outcome of good teaching,” says Grayling. “Independence of endeavor, and soon therefore of mind, should be one of the fundamental aims of education.”
Some novice teachers worry that if they show humor, kindness, and interest, they’ll come across as weak. But Grayling says there’s “no inconsistency in being both kind and firm, humorous although not prepared to tolerate messing about, and interested without being partial. It is a matter of operational tact and good timing.”
“Good teachers are those who remember being a student,” he concludes. “They hear themselves as their students hear them. They know which aspects of their subject might present a difficulty, which require to be grasped before which, and what their best students will be keen to know, and why… Students’ questions and doubts compel one to think and rethink, often prompting one to see things that had not been noticed before. For this reason it is never boring to teach the same subject repeatedly.”
“What Makes a Good Teacher?” by A.C. Grayling in The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11, 2015 (Vol. LXII, #15, p. B4-B5)
A Note from your SpEd Admin Team: The holiday season is always a good time for reflection. As we reflect on our practice and what it means to be a good teacher, we are inspired by the qualities identified in this article. Extending beyond the latest and greatest research or evidence-based intervention, instructional strategy or material, this article reinforces the reasons we became educators in the first place - a genuine passion for the students we serve and for learning. Thank you all for the excellent work you do each day and for simply being the amazing, passionate educators that you are! It is rarely easy work, but it sure is the best work! Our students truly benefit from your creativity, commitment, and compassion. Enjoy a well deserved break! We'll see you in 2016!!
Have suggestions for topics you'd like to see on the Unique Updates blog? We'd love to hear your ideas! Send them directly to Nicole Woodward at [email protected]