Kimmie's MTSS Reflection
But recently, when I was feeling completely alone, someone managed to bring me back to reality by showing me all that has been accomplished in just a year's time. All because I made one friend who believed in what I was saying. And that friend made a friend who made a friend who made a friend. And in a blink of an eye, I woke up to realize all that we, as the R10 Education Service Center, as LEAs, as a MTSS Consortium, and as a MTSS Team, have accomplished in just one year of connecting with each other. Here are just a few accomplishments:
- In one year, our MTSS Newsletter went from a team of one to a team of sixteen. Sixteen!!! That's AMAZING!!!
- We had a MTSS Institute that 472 people attended! I wish I could give all of you a high five right now. And then I would have to give you another one because that number represents over 30 teams from LEAs from all over the state. That's AMAZING!!!
- We had the impeccable Dr. Sharon Vaughn present for us at the MTSS Institute. And guess what? She's agreed to come back for the September 23-24, 2020 MTSS Institute. That's AMAZING!!
- We continue to grow as a R10 MTSS Consortium. We continue to bring in speakers about diverse topics. And it has grown from just me facilitating the meeting to several MTSS team members standing shoulder to shoulder with me to deliver important messages and supports. That's AMAZING!!!
- I was asked by the Technical Assistance Network 5 to find LEAs that could be used as MTSS Exemplars for TEA's statewide modules. I submitted three. I think all three will be in the Technical Assistance Network 5 Modules rolling out late Spring. ALL three! That's AMAZING!!!
All these AMAZING things are happening because you are doing AMAZING things. We have done AMAZING things together. You may not see it because you may be feeling overwhelmed as you continue to work on bridging the silos in your LEAs and strengthening the systems of communication in order to build a sustainable MTSS Framework. You will not always score a strike, but you will hit a spare or just one pin. And that is also still AMAZING because that's one more pin that you didn't have. Keep up all the AMAZING things you are working on. All it takes is a little clarity to see how far you have come.
The Compassionate Classroom with Dr. Caryn Sawlis
During my training session yesterday, the first one of 2020, a male participant spoke my own truth. He said, “I am here at this training to get away from my kids. They are driving me nuts.” I let out a strong, “Yes” as I raised my fists to the ceiling. In many ways, I too, couldn’t wait to get back to work to, let’s be honest, just go the bathroom without someone yelling, “Mom!”
Now, don’t get me wrong I love my children, even the neighbor child who comes to our house to play with my son or get away from his four other siblings. But the cooking, cleaning, shopping, then the smells. I have boys, all boys, including my husband. Lifetime Fitness smells better than my house. I fight with my dog to see who can stick their nose out the window of the car the furthest so we don’t have to smell the combination of yuck and more yuck they all left behind. Whew!
But the reality is even though I am tired beyond measure, I did take time to really be present with my kids. I watched my son in his delight build a Star Wars million piece Lego set. I cooked cookies, even though the first batch I put in had too much butter. I helped my 16-year-old find the “perfect” birthday gift for his new girlfriend. I told him to also shower twice before his dinner date with her family.
I hugged them. I snuggled them. I saw them for who they are and I didn’t feel guilty for not having them do holiday homework, have an itinerary each day, or rush them off to the latest sport. We were just… a family.
I have had many moments of clarity thanks to my pastor as he reminded us recently in a sermon not to boast, but to boast about our beliefs. I won’t do that part but I will remind us all as parents, are we boasting too much of what we do for our kids and what our kids do? Or do we just see our kids for who they are? Do we love them and be with them? Is there a device that comes between us and them? Are we there in the moment? Whether it is a nervous 16- year-old boy going to his first sweet sixteen dinner or a 10- year-old with a nervous stomach because his mom said to not do that holiday homework and he feared his recess would be taken away.
We know real relationships are important for health and brain health. Take a look at the article by Dan Sigel on parenting and see if you come away with your own clarity of the year and your role as a parent.
MTSS in Early Childhood
It all begins in Early Childhood. Often overlooked, it remains the place to begin if you want to truly have biggest impact on a child's future educational endeavors that can still be felt as the move from child to a scholar graduating from high school. After all, it is the beginning of the educational journey.
Take a minute to check out these resources that can be done through Early Childhood Math an Reading. The more we resources we have and the more we know can make all of the difference in the world.
Another great resource is this blog post from Region 13 regarding Five Mind Frames for Teacher Clarity. It’s a good quick-read for educators at all grade levels.
McKinney-Vento/Foster Care Highlights with Deon Quinn
Supporting the Attendance of Students Experiencing Homelessness
Ask any educator the impact of attendance and you may hear something like, “students are most successful in school when they are present daily and ready to engage.” But what about students who are experiencing homelessness? Research shows that students experiencing homelessness are chronically absent from school at a rate at least twice that of the overall student population, and significantly more often than their housed, low-income peers.[i] This brief shares strategies that schools, districts, and communities are implementing to help ensure that students experiencing homelessness are in school, every day.
[i] https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/chron-absent.pdf
THE BILINGUAL BLURB WITH VERONICA CLACK
So much is happening in the world of English Learners! I am very excited to share that the TEA English Learner Support Division has partnered with the TEA Division of Special Education to create LPAC Guidance for Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) English Learners, along with an explanatory training video. These resources are currently posted on our TEA Bilingual/ESL Programs webpage.
Please check out all of the resources currently posted on the TTEA Bilingual/ESL Programs webpage.
You Down With CTE, Yeah You Know Me! ~ Julie Anderson
Growing up, I remember consistently being asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Then, as most children do, I would answer professions to which I had previously had interaction. I had gone to the doctor, so I knew what a doctor was. I had seen firefighters and teachers, I had interacted with employees at stores, and my father was a Computer Engineer, although, I had no idea what that meant. So, naturally I told everyone I was going to be one of those professions, in most instances I chose “doctor.” My opinion of my profession was colored by experience and parental input and expectation. Once in high school, I was exposed to alternate careers. While limited in the scope of career exposure, I found that I loved, and still love, education. As we look at the educational environment of our students today, they are far more fortunate than those of my generation in their opportunity and exposure regarding post-secondary living.
Imagine if our students were only invited to explore those careers that they see in their everyday lives. Some might be fortunate in that they obtain a vast array of experiences. Others, however, may only be exposed to low-wage, low-demand, low-skilled opportunities. This emphasizes the importance of CTE programs in our schools. Career and Technical Education courses are sometimes referred to as “non-core” or “non-academic.” This vernacular is detrimental to the power that CTE possesses. CTE has the ability to open doors and give students skills, exposure, industry certifications, and the ability to practically apply all they have learned through the content programs available.
The average college student changes their major a number of times. A large portion of the student population does not enroll in college, nor do they have a profession to enter upon graduation. How powerful could CTE be in helping students create better lives for themselves? By allowing students to explore career areas, giving them actual skills and industry certifications, and training them in a way that maximizes their potential, gives students a career, not just a job. In addition, students become engaged in Career and Technical Student Organizations that allow them to meet new people, travel, and become those that will lead our industries.
Educators are constantly asked to do better for students. We are asked to do more with less. We are asked to give students a future. CTE is doing that for the students that are enrolled. The State of Texas has seen the importance of CTE and has made the commitment to fund 7th and 8th grade CTE courses that count for high school credit so that students can begin their pathways earlier. Texas has committed to paying for one Industry Based Certification, that is passed, per student during their high school career so that they are career ready. We expect a lot from our students.
We ask them in middle school to decide which career they want when they “grow up.” Some days, I still don’t even know what I want to be when I grow up. But, I do know this…CTE is opening doors and inviting students in. Students are walking through the doors of hospitals, computer labs, manufacturing facilities, welding shops, automotive repair facilities, HVAC units, and a vast array of other doors they may have not even known existed. They are walking through the doors as well educated, certified, skilled employees that can create success in their post-secondary endeavors. Students can create lives in which they thrive instead of just survive and that makes CTE more than worth it.
If you have any questions that are not addressed here, please feel free to contact me @ julie.anderson@region10.org.
Did You Say Assessment? ~ Melissa Shaw
The Assessment Con 2020 is finally here! If you want to build you capacity on how Assessment truly plays a role in every setting, then you should be attending! I hope to see you here!!
There is still time to register for the Assessment Con 2020 Conference on January 22, 2020!
Cultural Bias: Just a Buzzword or Unspoken Reality? ~ Jennifer Hernandez
To refresh your memory from our last talk….
In Texas, English learners were the lowest subgroup to graduate but yet, were the most present (attendance). Why?
The article shared in November was about cultural bias and discipline infractions of minorities. Is there a connection between these two pieces of information?
According to the study (image below), minority children are more likely to be pushed out whether lenient or zero tolerance policies are implemented. According to this publication,
- where a child attends school is highly correlated with their chance of receiving a discipline referral because there is wide variation in discipline procedures throughout school districts
- African American and Hispanic students are disproportionately impacted by a schools’ use of discretionary discipline
- High dropout rates for students in disciplinary placements may suggest that discipline procedures use are adversely affecting students and interventions are not meeting their needs
R10 Quarterly Meeting for Directors and/or Coordinators of MTSS
Our next R10 Quarterly Meeting for Directors and/or Coordinators of MTSS is right around the corner and we will be hosted by Celina ISD. A big thank you to Mr. Russell McDaniel, principal of Celina Junior High for making this happen for us! See you there on February 10, 2020.
Please note that we will do our best to Zoom these meetings.
February 10, 2020: Session #2625262 -http://bit.ly/February-Celina
April 16, 2020: Session #2625263: http://bit.ly/April-Bells
Kimmie L. Conlon, MTSS Consultant
Need Direct Services, Consultations or Specialized PD? Please click this link: bit.ly/R10PDRequestForm
Email: kimmie.conlon@region10.org
Website: www.region10.org
Phone: 972.348.1166
Twitter: @R10_MTSS
Julie Anderson
Veronica Clack
Vanessa DeLacretaz
Susan Delarosa
Counseling Consultant
Contact Information:
Nancy Disterlic
Brandi Fennell
Jennifer Hernandez
Miriam Kelley
Angela Neal
Deon Quinn
McKinney-Vento & Foster Care Program Coordinator
Contact Information:
972-348-1786
Kimi Riley-Mills
School Improvement/Effective School Framework Consultant
Contact Information:
972-348-1468
Robbie Rowan
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Consultant
Contact Information:
Keya Saleh, LSSP, NCSP
Licensed Specialist in School Psychology Consultant
@getschoolpsychd
972-348-1598
Dr. Caryn Sawlis
Melissa Shaw
