Keeping It All Together: The Importance of Using Student Data Binders for Students with Disabilities Donna Reno |Chief of Innovation Charlene Comstock-Galagan | Inclusion Support Facilitator St. Helena School District Hello and Welcome to Keeping it All Together: The Importance of Using Student Data Binders for Students with Disabilities. This is Donna Reno, Chief of Innovation for St. Helena Parish School district and Comstock-Galagan Inclusion Support Facilitator for St Helena Parish. We created a tool out of necessity which we have been asked to share with you. We see it as a work in progress and have learned much during the first year of using it, mostly about how to organize it and in the long term hope to make it electronic. Hosted by:
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People First Language “People First Language puts the person before the disability and describes what a person has, not who a person is.” Kathie Snow. (n.d.) A few words about People First Language. Disability is Natural. Retrieved August 1, 2012 from http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/images/PDF/pfl-sh09.pdf
By the end of this session participants will: know the importance of keeping data in an easily accessible and portable system; identify the essential student documents to collect and organize; be able to generate a student data binder to fit the needs of their local school community. In the interim, we offer you this step to help you prepare for your upcoming year, or to prepare information to be used by teachers you support or supervise. By the end of this session we intend for you to
Poll Question This question is to assess your knowledge of the topic BEFORE the webinar. At the end of the webinar, we will assess if your knowledge increased. I have knowledge of the essential documentation for student data binders to collect and organize for Students With Disabilities
The importance of keeping data in an easily accessible and portable system Student Data are needed daily where teachers and students are working. Student Data is often stored in different locations and in different formats. Teacher evaluators and coordinators do not have a strong reference for what special educators are doing when providing service. Practicing Teachers said having a way to have data at their fingertips would make their jobs easier. How useful would it be to have information in one place, accessible & portable? Student Data Binders make it easy to have all this & more at teacher fingertips in real time. When asked what supervisors could do to make their jobs easier, teachers in our district said give us all the information we need to do our jobs in one place so we don’t have to run around gathering all the time. Of course, other advantages to keeping data easily accessible and portable include…
GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Essential Student Documents Large Districts may need 2 binders per grade level Calendars District & Parent Contact Info Parent Conference Info IEP Snapshots BIPs Lesson Plans Co-Planning Documents Behavior/Discipline Data Sheets Benchmarking Data Student Services Verification Teacher Schedule Student Roster Testing accommodations IEPs & Progress Reports Health Plans Here we have started a list of documents our teachers identified as essential. This list should be customized according to the needs of your district or school.
Useful to have at hand because (when) Essential Documents Useful to have at hand because (when) Calendar IEPs and Evaluations Due Ongoing reminder of upcoming due dates. District & Parent Contact Info Parent Conference Info In case of student emergency or other need to contact parent-reference for content of last contact IEP Snapshots BIPs Testing accommodations Lesson Plans Co-Planning Documents Addressing current IEP goals in weekly planning; providing accommodations in daily classes; guidance for teaching and co-teaching weekly Behavior/Discipline/other Data Sheets Daily/weekly collection of student data and performance documentation Benchmarking Data Current information on student performance impacts planning Student Services Verification Daily Documentation of services provided in real time saves remembering Teacher Schedule Student Roster Teacher evaluators, support providers or substitutes can see where you are and with whom you work. IEPs, Progress Reports, Health Plans Review and revision annually or more frequently Here we have started a list of documents our teachers identified as essential. This list should be customized according to the needs of your district or school. In addition, your teachers may find a need to order the sections differently or even to split the binder into 2 binders. Perhaps in a large district, each teacher might have one or even 2 binders per grade level, divided in a way that is most portable and useful. For example, IEPs, progress reports and health plans not being used on a daily basis might be stored in one binder in the locked file cabinet, and removed for necessary meetings and conferences, while a binder with daily information like IEP Calendar, Snapshots, Accommodations, Data Sheets and Services Verification are removed from the file cabinet daily and replaced before leaving.
Getting It All Together Materials Needed: 3” Binders, one (or more) per grade level Sheet protectors, one per section, per binder Card stock for section dividers Index dividers for IEPs and other individual student documents Template from teachers Pay Teachers for cover, section dividers, etc. * Copy paper Original forms In order to create the Student binder, here is a list of materials you will need. Imagine this: A big 3 ring binder will be divided into sections with card stock in sheet protectors. Within those sections, we may use index dividers for documents that will be filed by student name, for example the IEP section. * https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/EDITABLE-Teacher-Binder-for-Organization-Including-Substitute-Packet-428688
Forms Included in St. Helena Binders Because of the small size of our district, we think of the information in the binder in 2 categories: the first has to do with the class as a whole, the second has to do with services to students. This chart lists the color of card stock used for the section divider, the title of the section and the information which should be included in that section. For example, you will find an ORANGE sheet of card stock in a sheet protector with the title CONTACTS on it, and in that section of the binder will be student alert forms, District contacts and passwords.
Calendars: Monthly Important Dates IEP & Evaluation Due Dates IEPs Due January February March April May June July August September October November December Teachers keep a calendar of important dates, filling in all regular meetings, PDs and school activities at the beginning of the year and adding to the calendar as they go. In addition, at the beginning of the year, teachers review IEPs and create a “due date” calendar for IEPs and evaluations for every student.
Contacts: Parents, District, Passwords Contact sheets and passwords for teachers and students are recorded
Teacher Schedule & Student Roster Teacher Schedule and student roster are included. These documents are also useful for administrators who come in to observe.
Testing Accommodations Teachers print the testing accommodations from SER so they are at hand for in class delivery and easy access for documentation as needed. Print from SER
Planning Documents File as you go… CO-PLANNING DOCUMENTS All teachers except one in St. Helena are expected to co-plan with general education co-teachers. Their co-planning activities are documented using this form from the SUNSCenter, turned in with the general ed teacher’s lesson plan and then filed in t he binder. File as you go…
Student Service Verification Special Educators are required to document their service to students on this form and turn in a copy to the Chief of Innovation at the end of each month. They file their own copies in their binder.
IEPs Print from SER IEPs & IEP Snapshots IEP Snapshots are useful for both special educators and general educators. We de-personalize them either by using first name last initial or by using a student number. For general educators, they take the place of the bulky IEP in the binder for planning purposes and easy access. Each general educator receives a copy of this for every student in their class because they do not have locking file cabinets and cannot store full copies of the IEPs.
Student Info & Parent Contact log
Data Sheets (any kind) filed by student
Student Binders are Monitored Monthly
What would it take to turn this into an electronic resource? Think about creating a student data binder to fit the needs of your department or school… What information will you include to make teacher/related services staff’s jobs easier? What would it take to turn this into an electronic resource?
Thank you for your time and attention! Best of luck with your binders!
Building Capacity When you leave today, what will you do with this information? How will you share it with others in your district? When will you share it? (Timeline)
Poll Question My knowledge of the essential documentation for student data binders to collect and organize for Students With Disabilities increased after this webinar
St. Helena Parish School District Contact Information Chief of Innovation Donna Reno dreno@sthpk-12.net 225-222-6228 Inclusion Support Facilitator Charlene Comstock-Galagan ccgalagan@sthpk-12.net 225-222-4349 The contents of this PowerPoint presentation were developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H323A110003. However those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Webinar Wednesday Series February 4 - Data Based Decision Making | Triangulating of Data to Measure Implementation of SPDG Focus Areas; watch at http://www.laspdg.org/content.cfm?id=306 February 11 – Culturally Responsive Practices| Addressing Discipline Guidebook-Data, Policies, and Practices http://www.laspdg.org/content.cfm?id=314 March 4 – Family Engagement | Connecting the Dots: Linking Family Engagement to Student Learning