March 1 - Ferndale Public Schools

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[Feb. 25 Board Meeting Highlights] “We understand that students are not just disabled from 8 to 3 pm. We want to support them and their parents with the understanding their care is 24/7” —Ray Locke Executive Director, Special Education Special Education Update Ray Locke, the Special Education Director for the District, gave an update on the department’s programs and services offered to the Ferndale Public Schools’ students from birth to age 26. Click Here to access Locke’s PowerPoint presentation posted on the district Publications Page. Special education offers a variety of programs within and outside of the district, with student services ranging from teacher consultation to a full-time special education classroom placement. The Special Education Department operates under the philosophy that special education as a service, and not a place. Special Education program eligibility and the range of services are determined by an Individual Education Program (IEP) team. The IEP team must include the student’s parent, if the student is a minor, the general education teacher and a special education teacher or service provider. In addition, the team may include the building administrator, the Director of Special Education, the school psychologist, an advocate or other person the parent requests be present, and other special education ancillary staff. Locke said, “I always recommend parents bring along another pair of ears to an IEP meeting because the information is so complex.” Ancillary staff includes speech therapists, the school psychologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, school social worker and, occasionally, consultants from Oakland Schools, the Oakland County Intermediate School District. Students who are in a full-time district special education program are typically mainstreamed into general education classes for small portions of their day based on the student’s needs. Students who have disabilities which require a great deal of support may attend school outside of the district in a program known as a centerbased program. www.ferndaleschools.org Like the Ferndale Schools on Follow us on Twitter! @FerndaleSchools Facebook!
[Feb. 25 Board Meeting Highlights] 2012 MEAP Results show District Improvements Barbara Evoe, Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction, made a presentation reviewing the 2012 MEAP results for Ferndale Schools students in grades 3-9 at the February Board of Education meeting. Her report, Understanding the 2012 MEAP Results, is posted on the district website. Click here to access on the Publications Page. Evoe stressed that the district’s goal on standardized testing is to show continuous improvement and beat the odds. She outlined the district’s scores for all students, and then drilled down to focus on students who are socio-economically disadvantaged. For these students, no matter which district they attend, statistically they are ‘expected’ to test at a particular rate. This “linear trend line” for MEAP performance is 90% accurate at predicting how students will score as a district, or group. However, in Ferndale, Evoe said: “We are outperforming predicted outcomes on reading, math, and writing for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. We are beating the odds.” Pauline Nagle, the District’s Coordinator of Elementary Instruction, added: “Individual potential has been a big focus for us. High quality instruction in the classroom has been a huge emphasis.” She also noted that the District has been conducting professional development on the new Common Core Curriculum standards, and conducting strategic planning for students following analysis of the results. “We believe Data Teams will impact next year’s scores,” said Evoe. “Principals have received data early this year, so they have additional time to review and identify very targeted priority areas.” The Data Teams meet during the district’s School • Improvement Mondays which began last September. Data Teams are collaborative teams of teachers, principals and instructional leaders who focus on improving teaching and learning for every student. They meet to review student achievement data and prescribe instructional practices and interventions to address specific needs. Nagle also believes the computer-based program, Success Maker, at the elementary and middle school levels is starting to make a positive impact on students. Nagle says students must be on grade level for reading to do well on all of the tests. Science and social studies scores indicated areas in need of further focus going forward. “We are outperforming the county on reading for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. We are beating the odds in reading.” —Barb Evoe Executive Director, Curriculum Linear Trend Line Showing MEAP Expectations X Ferndale X X Level at which students are expected to test based on socioeconomic level. X Level of actual achievement by Ferndale students higher than expected. Beating the odds. www.ferndaleschools.org Like the Ferndale Schools on Follow us on Twitter! @FerndaleSchools Facebook!
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March 1 - Ferndale Public Schools

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