2014 Pre-K to Kindergarten Transition: Special Education Information Session

1. 2014 Pre-K to Kindergarten Transition: Special Education Information Session Wednesday January 29, 2014 10:30am-11:50am The Education Center Rm 210

2. Today’s Agenda • 10:30am-10:40am Introductions from NPS staff & Review Agenda and Goals for Session • 10:40am-11:00am The Transition Process: From Pre-K • 11:00am-11:15am The Transition Process: To Kindergarten • 11:15am-11:20am The Kindergarten Registration Process • 11:20am-11:45am - Q&A • 11:45am-11:50am - Wrap-up & Connect with Other Parents

3. Goals for Today’s Session 1. Introduce elementary level special education administration & staff 2. Provide structural framework for the technical process of transitioning an IEP from pre-K to K 3. Allow for general questions related to the transition process and discuss ways in which student and/or school specific questions are answered outside of this session

4. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Case manager responsibilities • Communicating with receiving elementary school • Scheduling the transition meeting • Developing the IEP • Maintaining communication after the transition

5. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Case manager responsibilities: • Identifying students age-eligible for K and the corresponding home elementary school • Assist in populating list to be provided to receiving elementary schools for advance notice as to who is currently receiving special education services on an IEP

6. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Communicating with receiving elementary school • Establishing connections with team specialists at each school • Facilitating observations by elementary school representatives • Brainstorming ideas to be brought to the TEAM meeting for discussion to assist in facilitating smooth transition

7. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Scheduling the transition meeting • Working with elementary school representative and family to schedule TEAM meeting date • Timeline for TEAM meeting dates: March - June

8. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • Based on the expiration date of the active IEP the result of the TEAM meeting will either be an amendment to the current IEP or a new IEP will be developed • IEPs expiring in September or October of the Kindergarten year will likely result in development of a new IEP (serving as the annual review) • IEPs expiring after October of the Kindergarten year will likely result in development of an IEP amendment to reflect the changes to go into effect in Kindergarten. The annual review meeting will then be held in the Kindergarten year prior to the expiration date of the IEP

9. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • Three year re-evaluations: at least once every three years the IEP TEAM must re-evaluate the student to determine continued eligibility for special education services • If the three year re-evaluation date is within 45 school days of the first day of Kindergarten (the 45th school day of the 2013-2014 school year was November 6th) the preschool TEAM will administer the evaluations • Since the majority of preschool students receive services for two years or less it is not common for preschool teams to administer the three year re-evaluation

10. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What will change in my child’s IEP? • IEP TEAMS must consider the inherent structural differences between preschool and elementary school • Since Kindergarten is available to all students (where as preschool services are only mandated for students requiring IEPs) there are structures, strategies, programming, and services that can be provided through the general education curriculum • It is therefore likely that some services will shift so that the goals can be met appropriately within the context of the Kindergarten setting.

11. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What will change in my child’s IEP? • Examples: • Billy receives a preschool related-services only IEP for two sessions of speech/language support for one hour each session. The group size is 6-7 students and is supported by an assistant • Now that Billy will have a mandated opportunity to participate in Kindergarten curriculum activities the direct SLP service may decrease to two sessions of thirty minutes with a group size of 1-2 students.

12. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What will change in my child’s IEP • Examples: • Sally attends a Newton Early Childhood Program integrated preschool classroom and participates in two sessions per week of social pragmatics intervention for two hours per session with a group of 8-9 students • Now that Sally will have a mandated opportunity to participate in Kindergarten curriculum (which remains focused on social skills in many ways!) the direct social pragmatic service may decrease to one hour per week in a group of 4-6 students

13. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What will change in my child’s IEP? • Examples: • Steve attends a Newton Early Childhood Program integrated preschool classroom from 8:30am-1:30pm taught by a special education teacher. • Upon transitioning to Kindergarten the lead classroom teacher will be a general education teacher, therefore the IEP may shift from approximately 20 hours/week of specialized instruction from a special education teacher to building in necessary supports throughout the standard day to promote effective progress and access to the Kindergarten curriculum.

14. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What happens to the service delivery grid? • When the IEP TEAM meets to develop either the new or amended IEP, the service delivery grid will be broken up to reflect services that will end at the conclusion of the preschool year and will resume at the beginning of the Kindergarten year • If the service will be continuing at the same frequency/duration in Kindergarten it will not be adjusted • If your child is eligible for Extended School Year services (e.g. summer) the service delivery grid will include this as well • These grids can be complex to understand. We will help you!

15. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What happens to the service delivery grid? • Example: IEP Dates: December 10, 2013-December 9, 2014 • What it looks like before the TEAM meeting:

16. The Transition Process:From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What happens to the service delivery grid? • Example: IEP Dates 12/10/13 - 12/9/14 • What it looks like AFTER the TEAM meeting:

17. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Developing the IEP • What happens to the service delivery grid? • One more look: IEP Dates 12/10/13 - 12/9/14

18. The Transition Process: From Pre-K • Maintaining communication after the transition • NECP staff available for consultation with elementary staff in the fall, including possible visits to assist with tips and strategies

19. The Transition Process:To Kindergarten • Roles & Responsibilities • Director and Assistant Directors of Elementary Special Education • Elementary Team Specialist • Inclusion Facilitator

20. Kindergarten Registration Process • See enclosed letter from office of elementary education with dates for parent information sessions and student registration dates • All families and students invited to participate in this process • Value of screening not necessarily for elementary schools to gain knowledge of child’s development (since that will be covered with IEP process) • Screening is important so that all children can participate in the same activities as their typically developing peers • Accommodations as needed can be made for screening experiences

21. Q&A • Some Frequently Asked Questions: • Which elementary school is best equipped to meet the needs of my child? • I live in a buffer zone. What does this mean for the IEP process? • How do I find out if my child will be supported by an aide in Kindergarten? • What do I do if I am considering keeping my child back or sending to a private Kindergarten?

22. Q&A • Your questions • What’s on your mind? • Remember, questions for today should be related to the general transition process. Questions specific to your individual child will be discussed within the context of the TEAM process. Questions specific to your elementary school will be discussed during the registration process.

23. Wrap-up/Connect with Other Parents • NPS philosophy regarding the K transition: • It is not your child’s job to be ready for Kindergarten. It is our job to be ready for your child. Thank you for coming today! Feel free to connect with other parents (time permitting)