Support Connections

PSP and Case Manager That is the PSP and you case manager.

PSP First let’s talk about PSPs , or Professional Service Providers, and how they can support your improvement efforts. Before we continue, we should give a little background on PSPs. In the past there were CAMs, TAPs, and CITs. Now all of those roles have become one professional service provider or PSP who can fulfill all of the support and technical assistance needs regardless of state or federal accountability ratings. Even though we now have one PSP Network that incorporates all of the previous technical assistance roles…. There are different kinds of PSPs, so we want to go into some detail about their different roles at both the campus and district level.

Campus Professional Service Provider One kind of PSP is the campus PSP. Take a minute to review the Campus Professional Service Providers job description in your handouts. As you read, circle any key words that stand out to you. Next, participants will discuss at table for 3 minutes which words they circled. Ask participants: What do you notice about this role? How can this role support campuses in school improvement? How could a PSP be maximized and utilized to enhance improvement efforts? One important thing to note is that in districts that have only one campus in improvement, the campus PSP may have increased district level involvement in order to support the campus. For districts with multiple campuses in improvement….in addition to campus PSPs, they would also have a District PSP.

District Professional Service Provider Take a moment to review the District Professional Service Provider job description in your handouts. As you read, underline the phrases that are different than the campus PSP. Ask participants: What do you notice about this role? How can this role support district wide school improvement? How can the district PSP help the district maximize the campus PSPs? The district PSP can be a valuable resource to help you coordinate efforts, streamline processes and develop systems in your district. A District PSP also coordinates with campus PSPs and works with the district to enhance school improvement efforts. One important distinction to make is that the District PSP is not the same as a PSP with district experience that works with Districts in Improvement and is hired by the district for those purposes.

Your PSP is a resource! When thinking about your PSP, they are a resource for you to tap into. They have an array of knowledge, experience and skills to help your district and campuses navigating school improvement. PSPs can be an extremely valuable member of your district and campus teams. Another support you have is your Case Manager!

Case Manager

Generalist In the past, you were probably most familiar with contacting a case manager about due dates, state and federal requirements and where to find information about the next required training. However, with the new alignment of state and federal accountability systems and recent focus on processes, case managers are another person districts can rely on for support and guidance. It has become imperative that our program specific case managers work towards being a generalist when it comes to providing quality and innovative work. Case managers are experts in providing support in all intervention requirements of SIP/TTIPS and AU systems. They are trained in providing you support, information and resources around each improvement intervention. The focus of each case manager will be how can their work support the process of school improvement, not just on the requirements. The paradigm shift away from simply meeting requirements or following checklists to a focus on the PROCESS, will allow for case managers to better facilitate your work.

Role and Responsibility TCDSS has a strong network of generalist case managers working together to collaborate and problem solve to help support your improvement efforts. They are committed to delivering feedback, innovative ideas and relevant resources as well as being a thinking partner. All case managers are specially trained in both state and federal improvement. They are able to share their knowledge and skills in the education process in broader ways than one area of improvement. In previous years, case managers were tasked with keeping records of required documents, contacting campuses and principals about information on trainings and at times collaborating as a case management team separately from districts. Case managers will be concentrating more this year on collaborating with and supporting districts and connecting them with their PSPs, local ESC, TEA, and resources and guidance based on your district and campuses needs. It is the case manager’s responsibility to know what each service center can provide in terms of support to help coordinate services for your district. Case managers can connect you to the people and resources you need.

District Support CM TEA ESC PSP In an effort to be more coordinated and coherent in our collaboration, this year TCDSS case managers and TEA program specialist assignments are aligned regionally. The work of the PSP, ESC, TEA and your CM are there to provide the strongest system of support for districts with campuses in improvement. This new system encourages campuses to work with their ESC and LEA in a deeper capacity that will lead to sustainable changes. Support will be differentiated dependent on a campus’ designated intervention level of Support, Focus or Priority. For example, as Stage 1 year 1 Support school, you would work closely with your LEA and ESC for support. For campuses designated as stage 1 year 1, case managers will always be available for questions and needed assistance, however campuses are highly encouraged to work closely and communicate with their LEA and ESC for the support and training they may need to implement their improvement interventions. For stage 1 year 2 and higher, case managers will work more closely in collaboration with assigned PSPs, LEA and TEA to provide the resources and technical assistance to support the campus improvement interventions. Districts can contact case mangers about questions they may have about their improvement plan and how to obtain further support in a particular critical success factor(s). ESC PSP

Supporting the Process It’s important to remember that your case manager, along with your PSP, ESC and TEA are working together to help support improvement processes. School improvement work in the past has often been fragmented and/or efforts were duplicated. The purpose of the new alignment is to create strong communication, collaboration and sustainable processes that campuses and districts can rely on. This new system allows for districts and campuses to examine school processes through assessing needs, data collection, action planning and monitoring to better serve their students and get the outcomes their processes are designed to obtain. Case managers will continuously ask the questions What, Why and How when seeking out relevant and current tools and information to meet each district’s unique needs. Questions? Activity… “Is it Case Management: YES or NO” Reading off each scenario one at a time, participants will respond yes or no by raising the green index card for “yes” and the red index card for “no”.

“Who ya gonna call?” Let’s play a game about who you can call for support and technical assistance. When you see the question, raise a green card if it’s something the case manager can help you with or red card if another resource would be better. Let’s start! 1. What is the deadline for submitting my target student analysis? GREEN 2. I need help amending my SIP budget? RED- TEA can help with finance questions 3. Do you know of any model schools for parental involvement? GREEN 4. Who should attend the Advancing Improvement in Education (AIE) Conference? GREEN 5. Can you read my corrective action and approve it for me? RED- the case manager can provide feedback and ideas, but only TEA can approve corrective action plans. 6. How do I figure out which interventions I should follow on the Matrix of Interventions? GREEN

F A Q s See Hand Out

PSP Case Management Questions Dixie Binford TCDSS Dixie.binford@esc13.txed.net 512.919.5174 office PSP Questions Case Management Rachel Simic TCDSS Rachel.simic@esc13.txed.net 512.919.5461 office