Cooperative Corner
August 2024
Greetings everyone!
I don't know about you, but I love this time of year. I love the change in the weather and the crispness in the air. I also love Halloween and look forward to seeing all the little ones dressed in fantastic costumes. For your viewing pleasure, I added a picture of me and my southside crew from 1974. I was the witch. Enjoy. Whatever your pleasure is this Halloween, I hope it is fun and safe.
Much has been going on at SASED. I had the pleasure of visiting our classrooms at Holmes, Maerker, Albright, and Salt Creek. It was awesome watching the students at Albright play goalball and I had fun participating in autumn leaves falling with some of our younger students.
Our SASED administrative team has been going through extensive training regarding IEP development, facilitation, and legal compliance, as well as training in Title IX. Our attorneys, Dawn Hinkle and Teri Engler have been facilitating the training.
We not only submitted our Physical Restraint, Time Out, Isolated Time Out (RTO) Reduction Plan, but it was also approved by ISBE earlier this week. ISBE is mandating districts to complete RTO plans, to monitor them, and to provide annual updates and on progress on them. The ultimate goal of ISBE and the RTO plans are to eventually eliminate all physical restraints, time outs, and isolated time outs. If you want to read our RTO plan, you can find it here. I want to thank all members of the Behavior Oversight Committee who have been working on this plan since last year. They have completed great work and I look forward to continuing this journey with everyone.
Lastly, I want to welcome Mr. Steve Bild to Southeast. Many of you may remember Steve from his work at D99 as a special education chair, assistant principal, and principal of Downers South High School. In his retirement, he has agreed to spend a few days with us, at Southeast, where he is sharing his expertise and experience with our staff.
In closing, I want to thank everyone for their selfless dedication to our students, our families, and our organization. As I continue to transition at SASED, I am proud and privileged to be part of this amazing organization. Have a wonderful Halloween!
Warm regards,
Dr. Kim Dryier
SASED currently has 381 students in SASED programs throughout DuPage County. Additionally, over 2,400 students, who are not enrolled in SASED programs, receive support from SASED staff. Some of these supports include occupational therapy, physical therapy, and itinerant services (ie-vision and deaf and hard of hearing).
As we continue working on our 5 year strategic plan, here are some relevant updates from this past month:
High Quality Staffing-We continue to develop partnerships with colleges and universities to host student teachers and support clinical hours. Recent partnerships include Mizzou and North Central. Innovative ways to enhance SASED "branding" are being researched and implemented. We are working on giving our presence at job fairs and universities a make over to ensure SASED is well represented.
Culture Committee- The Culture Committee met and reviewed data from the survey staff were asked to complete. Sixty-nine staff members completed this survey. Of these staff members, 62% noted they feel recognized and appreciated working at SASED, 81% noted they have a good friend at work, and 87% noted they have, or sometimes have, a sense of belonging at work. Friends, I know we can and need to do better. Starting this month, our newsletter will include shout outs to staff and their national organizations. The Culture Committee is exploring additional ways to improve our culture. This cannot be done by one group of people alone. We owe it to ourselves, our students, our community and our organization to do better in creating a magnificent work environment.
Facility Planning- SASED is investigating conducting a feasibility and usage study. The data from this study will help identify space needs for programs and staff. We currently have close to 100, 000 square footage between all our buildings and spaces. This is an exciting time for SASED. More information to come as it becomes available.
Our Board of Directors met on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Remember-our Board of Directors Meetings are now taped. You can find the posting of the recording on our website on the Board of Directors tab. It will be posted the Friday after every Board of Directors Meeting. A summary of this month’s Board Meeting includes:
- Dr. Dryier presented the attached Facilities Planning presentation. Next steps include investigating options for a feasibility study.
Our program enrollment is holding between 380-390 students. This is similar to last year’s student enrollment.
The HR report identified 26 current openings in our staff. Currently 86 of our positions are filled with contractual staff.
The SASED Board Committee memberships have been finalized. You can see the final membership here.
Our Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provides multiple resources for parents. Here is a great starting point for exploring resources available from ISBE:
Previous Resources:
Shared Journeys: Staff and Parent Experiences at SASED Video988
Please take a few minutes to complete this month's survey. As we are completing our first quarter of the school year, this month's survey will be more of a quarterly update, to see how we are doing. Please remember, your input is important and necessary for the growth of our organization. Please take a few minutes to complete this ANONYMOUS survey.
Last month's survey data:
In regard to the beginning of the year readiness, I believe it is fair to say that we need to do better next year. Technology was identified as the biggest area of concern, and I know we are still working on getting everything set up for our staff. Interviews for our new Technology Coordinator will be starting shortly. In the areas of spaces and curriculum, our survey data suggested improvements are needed for the first first 2 weeks of school, but after the two weeks, readiness improved.
The Rich Laren Day Survey noted 39 of our staff members want to volunteer to help support and maintain this outdoor education activity. Kudos and thanks to you!
We also had close to 40 staff members offer additional ideas on how and where to recruit staff. Your input an ideas are already being worked on, and will be reviewed in more depth with the Retention and Recruitment Committee. Thank you all for input!
(Surveys are open to SASED Staff only)
Your Thoughts and Ideas Truly Matter
At SASED, we are united in our mission to enhance communication across our cooperative. We deeply value each and every opinion and encourage all stakeholders to share their thoughts and ideas. Your suggestions are not only welcomed but are essential in helping us reach our shared goals. By working together, we can build a vibrant and supportive culture that enriches the everyday experiences of both our students and staff! Please share your thoughts and suggestions here or click on the suggestion box. Please know, your email address is being collected to allow for potential further dialogue regarding your idea/suggestion.
Watch this minute video to learn how to add special characters and equations to google docs as well as how to use voice typing.
Here is a great, short, article summarizing evidence based instructional strategies:
10 Evidence-based instructional strategies for the classroom
Previous Readings:
Learning losses and residual mental health impacts of COVID.
COVID-19 Pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide
Trauma Informed Practices and Self Compassion
"Trauma Informed Teaching Strategies"
"Why Teachers Should Be Trauma Informed"
"How to Practice Self Compassion: 8 Technique and Tips"
We have so many jokes, that some are being saved for next month! Thank you to everyone who submitted. Keep them coming!!
"When did the Cold War end?"
"When the hot summer came."
Submitted by a student in Ms. Huerta's class
How much does a corn cost a pirate?
Maybe a buck an ear.
Submitted by Senga Lowe's grandson
What do you call an alien with three eyes? An aliiien
Submitted by Nicole Nunziato
SASED Celebrates Our Amazing Physical Therapists!
Join us in recognizing and celebrating all of our amazing physical therapists throughout the month of October as part of National Physical Therapy Month! Our eleven physical therapists (Dana Aldrich, Dina Barajaz, Kristy Bootsma, Helen Creagan, Lysa Farrell, Darcey Pellicano, Colleen Peterson, Ruth Roberts, Kathy Ross, Kelly Stamatelopoulos and Jessica Urban) serve just under 400 students throughout DuPage County. Physical Therapists design and perform therapeutic interventions, including compensation, remediation and prevention strategies and adaptations, focusing on functional mobility and safe, efficient access and participation in educational activities and routines in natural learning environments. Click on this link to learn more about what our PT's do and the impact they make on each and every student they work with!
WHITE CANE AWARENESS DAY - October 15, 2024
The mission of White Cane Awareness Day is to educate the world about blindness and how the blind and visually impaired can live and work independently while giving back to their communities, to celebrate the abilities and successes achieved by blind people in a sighted world and to honor the many contributions being made by the blind and visually impaired. Learn more about it here.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Observed each October, during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or “NDEAM,” we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. NDEAM’s purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs, every month of every year. That’s the spirit behind this year’s official theme: “Access to Good Jobs for All.” Watch the NDEAM Video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-_NPgJ4Nvs
Send a Little Sunshine
As part of the SASED Sunshine Committee's efforts, we are starting a program called "You've Been Sunshined" where all staff can recognize and celebrate other staff, send a word of encouragement, or just celebrate them for a job well done. If you know of a staff member who could use a little sunshine and would like a little note of encouragement or celebration sent, please complete this form.
October is a month filled with fun family activities, including football games, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, enjoying caramel apples, apple cider donuts, and visiting haunted houses for those who love a scare. Whatever way you celebrate, have fun and be safe!
SASED Holiday Party - Thanks to everyone who shared party themes and game ideas. This year's event for staff will be an Ugly Sweater Party! We're going to have a great time with food, music, drinks, and games. We will even have a special prize for the ugliest sweater so get creative! Also, bring a wrapped present if you'd like to participate in the white elephant gift exchange. If you did not RSVP and would still like to attend, click here to RSVP. by November 15th. If you have any questions, contact Senga at slowe@sased.org.