WABE Special Education and ELL Special Interest Group Minutes
May 7, 2014 9:30 – 1:00
Issaquah School District
565 Holly St
Issaquah, WA
Boardroom A
The WABE Special Education and ELL Special Interest Group’s mission is to support, expand and
advocate for the appropriate identification, evaluation and instruction for ELL students of concern.
Present:
Steve Gill
David Irwin
Liz Smith
Molly Moss
Joanne Pfiffer
Topic
Exiting if Sped is
primarily the
cause of
restriction on
lang acquisition
Mary Carpio
Liliya Stefoglo
Cassie Ludwig
Keiri Prieto
Adrienne Lehman
Elizabeth Coghlan
Ian Linterman
Stephanie Zikopoulo
Mary Carpio
Mary Schroeder
Discussion
Steve passed out a paper being used in Kent to guide
this issue. Students in large districts with large
populations in language groups tend to get stuck at
Level 3. Stuck at Level 3 would be data that would
not support exiting the child from TBIP. Stuck at Level
1-2 might be.
Liliya: SpEd and ELL depts should be working very
closely to determine best service for students.
Elizabeth: All players (staff with responsibility for
support programs the child is eligible for) need to be
in communication. The WAC states "the district, in
consultation with the student's IEP team, shal
determine..." There is a need for more specificity
about who "the district" is, and who is on the IEP
team.
Liliya: Many times parents are not fully aware of
what they are signing, even through an interpreter.
Steve: SLD is not considered a category that would
qualify a student to exit TBIP (it can be in some cases,
but more evidence is needed given all of the
problems). Many of them are incorrectly identified
for SLD in the first place.
Molly: Is there a fundamental problem with dual
serving kids TBIP and SpEd?
Steve: There is more cognitive demand in the regular
classroom with TBIP support.
Jon: Long term dual served kids (usually in high
school) don't see ELL teachers anymore -- they just
take the WELPA. What is the criteria for dropping
them from TBIP? Have clear documentation for the
decision.
Action
Product: Tool to help
districts analyze their data
on dually served kids.
(Steve & Elizabeth)
Ask someone in tech dept
to get needed data: name,
school, grade, ELL, Sped
category. Comes in excel.
sort. By category, school, to
find areas of biggest
concern. Is the %age of
dually served ELL/SLD
higher than %age of SLD
English only? Problem.
What are the instructional
and administrative issues at
the school with abnormally
high levels of
identification?
OSPI Peer analysis:
Limited English Proficient
application on EDS
______: Prosser was audited and admonished for
exiting ELL SpEd high schoolers.
Steve: Level 3s don't have enough language to
function on their own academically (without
continued supports). Build capacity in mainstream
staff to work with them, not just catch-up period or
pull-out services.
Liliya: Trends in ISD schools ELL instruction: low
expectations (worksheets, etc), no alignment of
instruction, students who don't need services are
forced to receive them.
Elizabeth: PESB has list of IHEs that offer ELL
endorsements. Fed Way teachers have been asking
about how to get it.
Stephanie: New ELPS helps teachers understand
rigorous scaffolding for ELL.
RTI model makes
different provider
vie for that kid.
Title I, SpEd, ELL,
Core.
What does RTI
look like for ELLs
with special
needs?
Steve: Minimal research on RTI for ELL for multiple
language groups. What there is based on Spanish
speakers.
TESOL conference: Is RTI really an appropriate system
for ELLs?
OSPI: only 7 districts using RTI in fully implemented
way for usage as a qualification tool for special
education services.
Only works if 80% are successful at core instruction.
Law says it must be used in a district as a whole, or
across one grade band.
Is the RTI system appropriate for ELLs?
Dave: Are Tier I strategies appropriate for that
population? How are they determined to be
successful (or not) through the use of these
strategies, and then qualify for Tier II or III?
Product: Liliya will bring
info on appropriate models
Drop out
prevention meaningful adult
relationship. Use
all adult
resources in the
building
Effective: every adult in the building took a kid who
was at risk. Staff willing, students have facilitated
conversation about who (adult0 will support them,
counselor does matchmaking student to supportive
teacher.
Predictable indicators of drop out in 9th grade(Univ
of Chicago and Chicago Schools): more than one
credit behind, one F, etc.
Summer school recovery 9th/10th grade
Aventa program (Fed Way) online learning
Check & Connect (Fed Way, Franklin-Pierce)
Super freshman year.
Product:
On
assessment/study
teams, make sure
each members
Steve: One person should really understand what
needs to arrive at the meeting. Bring good referrals.
Teacher should have the opportunity to review their
data with someone ahead of time to help insure that
Product: sample case
studies, biased, or not.
Mary S will coordinate a
collection of case studies
knows their role
& responsibility.
Meaningful
participation.
Example: what
will the SLP
contribute, the
ELL specialist, the
OTPT, etc. How
will each person
prepare for and
bring to the
meeting?
the team will have the needed data to have
meaningful discussions.
IQ tests
Culturally loaded: contain images or ideas that were
designed for a normed group, which may have never
been presented to the test taker, i.e. an ELL from
another country or culture. Culturally biased:
intentionally scored in such a way that ignores
student's background. The book written by Ochoa,
Ortiz and Rhodes has a section that does this concept
justice.
Bring peer analysis (student to other students) from
district data bases. Compare students in same cohort.
(referrals) that show
"good" and "bad" use of
data and the referral
system.
Liliya: ELL leads need to have solid evidence of
schooling experience: prior districts, country, etc.
Info beyond the paper trail: ask student, parents,
relatives.
Next meeting:
Agenda: Case study samples for publication (Mary); data collection tool (Steve & Elizabeth); Rigby ELL
Assessment (Liliya)
Date/time: Weds Oct. 1, 2014
Host: 9:00 -1:00
Location: Federal Way Sch Dist, 33330 8th Ave SE, Federal Way, WA
Contact: Elizabeth Coughlan ecoghlan@fwps.org 253-945-2227