Working with State Pre-K Programs to Develop More Community-based Opportunities in New Jersey

1. Working with State Pre-K Programs to Develop More Community-basedOpportunities in New Jersey Pamela Brillante New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs

2. Introduction to “Abbott” in New Jersey • “Abbott” is the short-hand description of a series of New Jersey Supreme Court decisions growing out of litigation filed in 1981 on behalf of children residing in New Jersey’s most economically disadvantaged municipalities.  • “Abbott” is the first-named plaintiff, but the name is now used to distinguish the 31 school districts selected by the Court and the Legislature to benefit from state financial assistance and to implement specific remedies mandated by the Court.

3. Objectives of the Abbott System • The New Jersey Supreme Court in 1998 established a single criterion for determining whether a constitutionally guaranteed education is being provided to students in the poorest schools in the state.  Do they master the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards with the same proficiency as students in more affluent districts? • Prior to 2002, most attention was given to specific remedies and services that were mandated or authorized by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1998. Subsequently, priority attention has been given to academic achievement with particular focus on early literacy and numeracy.

4. Resources of Abbott • Under the Abbott decisions, Abbott districts receive state aid that is calculated to provide them with the same per-pupil operating budget as would be found in New Jersey’s wealthiest school districts.  • Called “Abbott parity aid,” this funding is adjusted annually to reflect spending and enrollment in wealthy districts.  In FY2006, it equals about $1 billion. 

5. Abbott Pre-K Requirement • The state is financially responsible for the creation of high-quality preschool programs for all three and four year-old children residing in Abbott districts.  • Currently, 70 percent of approximately 55,000 eligible children are enrolled in Abbott preschools, supported by $500 million in state funds. 

6. Abbott Pre-K Requirement • The Abbott preschool program has evolved since its inception in the 1999-2000 school year. In the landmark Abbott v. Burke school funding case, the New Jersey Supreme Court required that three- and four-year-old children in the highest poverty districts in the state receive a high-quality preschool education. • Through a Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Human Services (DHS) partnership, these classrooms combine a DOE-funded six-hour, 180-day component with a DHS-funded wrap-around program that provides daily before- and after-care and summer programs. In total, the full-day, full-year program is available ten hours per day, 245 days a year.

7. Abbott Pre-K Requirement • Expansion of the program continues to occur. In the first school year of the program, only 19,000 children were enrolled. Six years later in 2005-06, more than 40,000 of the 54,000 three and four year-olds were in preschool. • Projected enrollment for the 2006-07 school year is over 43,000-over 80 percent of the total population of three-and four-year-olds in these districts.

8. The Self-Assessment Validation System • High-quality educational programs must undergo a continuous cycle of program evaluation and improvement. • Recognizing this, the department launched the Self-Assessment Validation System for Abbott Preschool Programs (SAVS). The multi-phase SAVS process focuses on program improvement augmented by fiscal accountability.

9. The Self-Assessment Validation System

10. The Self-Assessment Validation System • The Self Assessment Validation System (SAVS), was launched in the 2003-2004 school year as an annual evaluation that districts must undergo in the Abbott Preschool Program. • The SAVS is designed to guide the district through a systematic self-appraisal of its preschool program. • The SAVS criteria are derived from the NJ Abbott Preschool Program Implementation Guidelines and Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment in Programs Serving Children Ages 3 through 8 (National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education). • Findings of the SAVS inform revisions to the district’s Two Year Report on Instructional Priorities.

11. The Self-Assessment Validation System • The following graph shows progress districts have made statewide from the 03-04 school year to the 04-05 school year. • Each of the 17 items on the SAVS is rated on a three point scale where 1 = not met, 2 = in progress and 3 = fully met. • Each district then receives an overall SAVS score derived by averaging the 17 component scores. As can be seen, districts have made dramatic improvements toward implementing the standards required for high quality.

12. The Self-Assessment Validation System

13. 2006 SAVS - Revised • In an effort to continually improve practice and program assessment a revised SAVS now consists of criteria in each of the following 16 program component areas, derived from the Abbott Preschool Program Implementation Guidelines. • The NJ Office of Special Education Programs were involved in this revision to ensure programs continued to include young children with disabilities into community programs.

14. Administration, Recruitment and Outreach Facilities Community Collaboration Head Start Curriculum and Program Supporting English Language Learners Inclusion Preschool Intervention and Support Staff Qualifications Professional Development Child Screening Child Assessment Health and Food Services Parent Involvement Program Evaluation. 2006 SAVS - Revised

15. 2006 SAVS - Revised • Following each criterion are one or more indicators. These indicators are essential components to consider when rating a criterion. • Scoring protocol was adapted from The Accreditation Criteria & Procedures of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 1988). • For the 2005-06 process, the rating scale has been expanded from a three-point scale to a five-point scale as follows:

16. 2006 SAVS - Revised • Scoring Procedures: • Not Yet-There is no evidence that this statement accurately describes the program. • Partially Met-There is some evidence that this statement accurately describes the program and plans have been developed and some implemented. • In Progress-There is evidence that this statement describes activities initiated or planned in this program. Plans have been developed and initiated, but full realization is not yet accomplished. • Substantially Met- There is a great deal of evidence that this statement accurately describes the program. For a criterion to rate a “substantially met,” all indicators related to the criterion must be present. (It also is possible for all indicators to be present without rating the criterion substantially met.) • Exemplary Implementation- The evidence exceeds all indicators and expectations.

17. 2006 SAVS - Revised • Key Terms were also added to ensure that programs understood that the district was to include in its self-assessment all classrooms and teachers including children who continue to be in segregated settings: • Criterion: Standard by which the components of the program will be rated. • Indicator: Important points to consider when rating a criterion. • Preschool Program:All preschool classrooms. • Teacher: All teachers in preschool classrooms.

18. What We Observed • After the first SAVS validations in the spring of 2004, it was observed that the number of children referred for special education for behavior issues had been increasing over the initial years of implementation. • It was originally expected that this would slow down as the classrooms used more developmentally appropriate practices, but in certain districts it did not. • In response, Preschool Intervention and Referral Teams (PIRT) were strengthened in the districts and the Intervention and Support section was added to the SAVS document.

19. Program Area:Intervention and Support • Rationale: Working with classroom teachers, paraprofessionals and family members, early childhood administrators and dedicated early childhood intervention professionals have a unique opportunity to successfully identify preschoolers at risk, and work with their teachers and families, which will help to decrease referrals for special education. • In addition, as more children are enrolled in preschool, teachers are reporting an increase in challenging behaviors exhibited by children. Specific support from preschool intervention specialists in strategies and interventions to reduce these behaviors will allow more preschoolers to successfully participate in a regular education preschool program.

20. Program Area:Intervention and Support • Criterion 1: A preschool intervention and referral team is fully staffed and functioning according to the Abbott Preschool Implementation Guidelines.Indicators: ▪ An established protocol for referral to the intervention team clearly outlines who can refer children, under what conditions, and what appropriate response will follow. All early childhood staff including teachers, center directors, master teachers, and administrators, are familiar with and adhere to, the protocol to ensure effective communication and follow-up. • The preschool intervention and referral team’s role and responsibilities are clearly articulated, and do not entail direct therapeutic services to children.

21. Program Area:Intervention and Support • Preschool intervention and referral specialists confer regularly with the general education teachers and master teachers, supervisors, and other professionals (special education, nurses, etc) • All preschool intervention and referral specialists have expertise in early childhood education, and have received training in a developmentally-appropriate, research- based model approved by the DOE (e.g. Positive Behavior Support). • The preschool intervention and referral specialists assist with transitions from one program to another. • The preschool intervention and referral team is fully staffed according to the DOE approved budget

22. Program Area:Intervention and Support • Criterion 2: The intervention and support from the team meets the needs of the early childhood staff. • Observe, provides feedback and models appropriate strategies and interventions to teachers and master teachers. • The team plans and implements professional development for preschool teachers, master teachers, assistants and/or administrators to facilitate preschool inclusion. • Assist with planning strategies, modifying teaching practices or adapting environment and/or materials that will assist preschoolers in meeting the Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations: Standards of Quality.

23. What We Learned and How It Changed Our Practice • Added: Positive Behavior Support . Dr. Lise Fox, Project Director • Positive Behavior Support is a process for understanding and resolving the problem behavior of children that is based on values and empirical research. It offers an approach for developing an understanding of why the child engages in problem behavior and strategies for preventing the occurrence of problem behavior while teaching the child new skills. • Positive behavior support offers a holistic approach that considers all factors that impact on a child and the child’s behavior. It can be used to address problem behaviors that range from aggression, tantrums, and property destruction to social withdrawal.

24. What We Learned and How It Changed Our Practice • Added: The Mastery Outreach Project . Geneva Woodruff Ph. D. Project Director • The Mastery Project has been designed to promote the social and academic skills of children ages 2 to 8 in special and regular education early childhood preschool to grade 3 classes, who have challenging behaviors. The Mastery training is based upon empirically supported intervention practices for young children. These intervention practices have been shown to reduce disruptive behaviors in young children, promote their positive behaviors and allow them to succeed in a classroom environment both socially and as learners. • The Mastery Project provides year long training and technical assistance on ways to 1) work effectively with the children in their classrooms, and 2) involve the children's families. To date, over 90% of the children being followed in the Mastery program have attained their behavioral goals.

25. What We Observed • In observing in the districts and monitoring the December 1 count, it came to came to our attention that our inclusion rate remained relatively steady most programs were continuing to provide related services in a pull out model.

26. Program Area: Inclusion • Rationale:According to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), every child who is eligible for special education services is entitled to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Therefore, preschool children with disabilities should be afforded the opportunity to participate and interact with their peers who do not have disabilities in natural settings. • Such settings include, but are not limited to, home and family, play groups, child care, nursery schools, Head Start programs and neighborhood school classrooms (CEC-DEC). • Many positive outcomes have been reported that support these practices, including increased performance of children with disabilities and improved classroom behavior, as well as, positive effects on the attitudes of typically developing students concerning children with disabilities.

27. Program Area: Inclusion • Criterion 1: Children with disabilities are included in general education classrooms to the maximum extent possible. • Children with disabilities are placed in general education classes in the proportion that they are found in the district’s general population. • Master teacher inclusion specialists are employed and have specialized knowledge in inclusion practices and provisions. • The master teacher inclusion specialist provides appropriate guidance and information to general education teachers regarding inclusion strategies.

28. Program Area: Inclusion • The general educators are trained to adapt curriculum and materials to meet the needs of children with disabilities. • Support services are in place to support individual student needs (e.g. occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech, preschool intervention and referral specialists). • The classroom teacher collaborates with the child study team, master teacher, preschool intervention and referral specialist and parents as determined by the student’s individualized education plan (IEP). • The classroom teacher participates in all meetings of the IEP process (Identification meeting, Eligibility meeting, IEP Planning and Development meeting, and the Annual Review meeting).

29. Program Area: Inclusion • Criterion 2: Integrated therapies are offered within the general education class. • Therapies are carried out within the regular activities of the classroom. • Therapists work directly within the classroom, modeling for the classroom teacher and providing consultation.

30. Program Area: Inclusion • Criterion 3: Administrative supports are in place that facilitate inclusion. • Meetings between early childhood and special education departments are regularly scheduled. • Opportunities for collaboration and consultation among teachers, therapists, child study teams and preschool intervention and referral teams are built into school schedule. • Effective horizontal articulation takes place regularly between district-operated programs, and provider programs. • Classroom teachers use and have ongoing access to the written IEP.

31. What We Learned and How It Changed Our Practice • Added: LEAP Outreach Project – University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Phil Strain, Project Director • LEAP (Learning Experiences - An Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Parents)is a model for developmentally-integrated preschool classes for typically developing children and peers with autism. It offers a comprehensive parent education program providing real help in real-world home and community settings. The LEAP program is research based and is a training model that had been funded continually by the Office of Special Education Programs from 1981 -2004. • A network of replication sites exist in school districts throughout the United States. The benefits of this program on child and parent behavior have been demonstrated in some 36 peer-reviewed studies.

32. What We Learned and How It Changed Our Practice Added: The National Individualizing Preschool Inclusion Project "A Project of National Significance" Robin McWilliam, Ph.D  Project Director   • The Individualizing Inclusion approach hinges on three critical components: functional intervention planning, integrated therapy, and embedded intervention. • Functional intervention planning is carried out principally through a routines-based assessment, featuring an interview of the family and the teaching staff. • Integrated therapy consists of specialists using models we have labeled individualized within routines and group activity to provide special education and related services. • Embedded interventioninvolves the use of proven instructional principles, especially incidental teaching, in the context of developmentally appropriate activities. 

33. What We Learned and How It Changed Our Practice • Added: NJ OSEP Professional Development Proactive Workshop Series. School year workshops and summer institutes for teachers and administrators were focused on topics that came out of the SAVS reviews. Topics included: • “Adapting and Modifying Instruction in the Inclusive Classroom” , • ”Observing and Evaluating a High Quality Inclusive Classroom for Administrators” • “Transition to K”, • “The Role of the Paraprofessional in the Inclusive Preschool Classroom”

34. What We Observed • We observed through data and articulation with the NJ Early Intervention System that children who were transitioning from Early Intervention to the Preschool System during the school year were being placed in self-contained settings at a high rate. • A Transition section was added to the SAVS document in the 2004-2005 validation year.

35. Program Area: Transition • Rationale: Transition is an ongoing process that should facilitate and maintain continuity between programs. Preparing families for the transition process helps to orient them to the program, anticipate services based on each child’s needs and provides valuable insight to information about the child and family.

36. Program Area: Transition. • Criterion 2: Transition activities are planned for children entering the preschool program from early intervention and other settings • Flexible scheduling and planning provide many opportunities for families to learn about the preschool program, such as open houses, spring orientation, and individual meetings with families. • Preschool and special education staff collaborates to meet the needs of children with disabilities entering the preschool program from early intervention • Access to general education classes is available to students who are transitioning from early intervention during the school year.

37. What We Learned and How It Changed Our Practice • Added: Interagency Transition Task Force. Pilot Project - NREIC. NJ has 4 Regional Early Intervention Collaboratives serving the 21 counties. The DOE and Northern Regional Early Intervention Collaborative have formed 3 countywide task forces to address specific issues relating to the transition of children from the Part C to the Part B systems for those specific stakeholders.

38. Looking Ahead • Plans for the 2006-2007 school year include: • Inclusion Master Teacher Institute run jointly with the NJ Dept of Ed Office of Early Childhood Education. Division of Abbott Implementation. • Joint Transition trainings with the NJ Early Intervention System, Department of Health and Senior Services.