From Sean Reinhart
Happy Friday Special Educators,
I hope this email finds you happy and healthy. I know there have been a lot of questions about LIPI in relation to the Governor’s temporary freeze. After the initial announcement, there was some confusion about the status of LIPI in our district. Yesterday, Lora sent everyone a letter clearing up any confusion. Here is an excerpt:
Unless otherwise directed by the governor or advised by Deschutes County Public Health (DCPH), BLS will continue to offer limited in-person instruction to approximately 10-20% of our individual school populations. While we will not expand LIPI programmatically as cases continue to rise, we will be adding students at various schools in order to provide consistent levels of LIPI services across the district. We are serving those with the highest needs, as evidenced by the following:
Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) access guidelines/considerations for LIPI:
- Attendance
- Connectivity issues (limited or no internet access)
- Difficulty utilizing technology to engage in instruction
- Lack of participation in online instruction/ platforms
- Behavior
- Social, emotional, or mental health needs
- Not meeting behavioral expectations of an online learning environment
- Course Performance/Subject Proficiency
- Not passing classes/need academic support
- Unable to complete requirements of a course in a distance learning format
- Need to complete assessments in person
For those who might have questions about the safety of providing LIPI during these times, the district’s Health Services Supervisor, Tami Pike, shared the following:
With careful analysis of the current Bend-La Pine Schools’ specific COVID data, along with continuing to practice COVID safety precautions, limited in person instruction is something BLS can continue providing safely to our students. Outbreaks seem to be coming from informal gatherings in the community where individuals may not be adhering to Covid precautionary guidelines. With frequent review of COVID cases and trends within Bend-La Pine Schools and with input from the local health department, the district may determine, at any point, to decrease or suspend limited in person instruction if the safety of our students or staff comes into question.
Currently, it appears that it will be some time before Bend – La Pine Schools will meet metrics that allows for any in-person hybrid instruction. LIPI is a lifeline for our most needy students. I want to acknowledge and thank you for your commitment and dedication to students.
Relationships in the Classroom:
Each week we will highlight one of our Top 10 Behavior Coaching Tools for reducing challenging behavior. This week, our topic is RELATIONSHIPS, something many of you are likely feeling the importance of as we move through the holidays during a pandemic.
Tool #3: Relationships
Who does the student connect with in the building?
- Teacher – Student Relationships are important for learning. As we know from Hatte’s Visible Learning Research, they accelerate student achievement with an effect size of 0.52, which falls well into the zone for optimal results.
- For students who have experienced trauma, Teacher- Student Relationships are important for survival. The brains of students who have a safe and trusting relationship with their teacher experience reduced toxic stress and have the opportunity to heal, and eventually, learn. Moreover, creating a family culture in the classroom, fostering positive student – student relationships, and establishing teacher – family partnerships increases resilience and growth for all students.
- Determine a regular check in routine for students to have with a safe trusted adult. Build in increased school community time such as having “jobs” around the school, helping younger students, etc.
- Tools: 2 x 10 Strategy; Therapeutic Dosing Article, Friendometry.com
- Virtual Tools for Relationships: Provide Student Virtual Jobs; Include Limbic Brain Breaks, Virtual Visual Check-Ins
NEUROSEQUENTIAL MODEL – The Power of Connection
Episode 3: Stress, Trauma, and the Brain: Relationships Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting Dr. Bruce Perry’s work, The Neurosequential Model in Education. Dr. Perry’s work is based on an understanding of the structure and sequential nature of the brain, which can help educators increase their students’ engagement in learning and mitigate behavioral problems. In this video Dr. Perry talks about how relationships are essential to human life and student connections. Research demonstrates that when teachers establish a true empathic connection with students, they are able to engage and reengage students in learning, and actually heal and grow children’s brains. Dr. Perry discusses the important role relationships have in learning, and gives us practical ways to do this in the school setting. The video is 7-minutes long and will change how you think about your students.
Try Out The Bend – La Pine Virtual Break Space!
Trying to find ways to integrate regulation tools and a calming space into your classroom? Follow these simple steps to launch a Virtual Break Space designed for your K-5 classroom.
”Tier 1 and More” Blog
The Behavior Coaches blog is full of resources for PBIS, Social-Emotional Learning, Trauma-Informed Practices and more.
Who is Where Quick Guide Have you ever wished that you had a comprehensive list of all support staff organized by school location? The answer is just a click away. Save and/or print for future reference.
Please offer this flyer up to your parents. Online ASD parent class Flyer
(Special Programs will not be paying for attendance, this is parent information only).
It’s the PRE-ETS Newsletter (Pre-Employment Transition Services) just for you!
This is a group of required services (Five) – Counseling, Job Exploration, Instruction, Work-based Learning and Workplace Readiness.