Wow, it's February? How did that happen?!?! That the school year is halfway over is probably just one of the many things that is hard to believe right now. Who would have thought a year ago, when we were reviewing the mid-year feedback from our schools and partners, that the work we do, the lives we live, and the world we know would be so fundamentally different today?
This time of year is traditionally used to step back and reflect on how things are going, and given the year we’ve all had, this could not be more important. Our staff have worked tirelessly to collaborate with schools and families to push the bounds of what is possible and redefine how this work is done in the virtual realm. Our UE Mid-Year Survey is conducted through the month of January and helps highlight our successes and, equally important, areas for improvement. These help us to focus our intentions through the end of the year.
Despite the challenges of connectedness and engagement during remote learning, we are excited to report participation in our survey held similar to last year’s reports: almost 90% of partner schools (so far) participated in the survey, with over 540 individual responses!
The Mid-Year Partnership Survey asks our partners how we are doing with components of the UE Model related to Culture and Climate, Direct Services and Progress Reporting. For students receiving direct services at our school sites, we asked our partners two questions:
This time of year is traditionally used to step back and reflect on how things are going, and given the year we’ve all had, this could not be more important. Our staff have worked tirelessly to collaborate with schools and families to push the bounds of what is possible and redefine how this work is done in the virtual realm. Our UE Mid-Year Survey is conducted through the month of January and helps highlight our successes and, equally important, areas for improvement. These help us to focus our intentions through the end of the year.
Despite the challenges of connectedness and engagement during remote learning, we are excited to report participation in our survey held similar to last year’s reports: almost 90% of partner schools (so far) participated in the survey, with over 540 individual responses!
The Mid-Year Partnership Survey asks our partners how we are doing with components of the UE Model related to Culture and Climate, Direct Services and Progress Reporting. For students receiving direct services at our school sites, we asked our partners two questions:
- If they found the provider(s) of these interventions to be professional and collaborative?
- If the providers were knowledgeable and skillful in helping them to implement virtual classroom interventions to support students receiving this service?
This year, both questions averaged above our goal of 80% at 94% and 86% respectively! We are very excited by these positive responses; especially given the challenges this year has presented as both our staff and teachers have had to reinvent the ways that lessons are taught, and how staff-support is provided. There is a lot to celebrate here in the strength, skill, and perseverance of these teams.
Data collection and reporting continues to be a program priority this year and is no small task. Teachers, behaviorists, and clinicians have had to rethink how to capture, track and monitor progress data, working closely with students and families to rethink goals and measures that are both applicable to the virtual setting and meaningful as measures of progress. If this wasn't enough, they have also had to contend with the layers of scheduling and technological access barriers in collaborating with entire teams to share the goals being set and the progress being seen. Excitingly this is an area where, at this mid-year point, we saw an increase to 78%, up from 73% last year, and just shy of our goal for the year of at least 80%, which we are hopeful to hit in our End-of-Year Surveys!
The numbers themselves, while guiding and celebratory, don't offer the complete picture. We also ask for specific feedback and suggestions on our partnerships. In reviewing the constructive feedback this year, an interesting trend emerged: our partners want more. They want to know more about what the students are working on, they want to know more about how they can continue to collaborate as a team, they want to know more about our services and how we can continue to support staff, students, and families.
Here are some pieces of feedback we’ve received from partners:
Here are some pieces of feedback we’ve received from partners:
“I would be open to check in with support staff and ways I could support the work Seneca is doing with our students.”
“One way to improve providing virtual instruction is to meet with teachers before the class to plan for when breakout rooms will happen.”
“I am not sure what I can do to help! I would like to know when a student is struggling in my class in particular so I can give more specific support.”
“Could we offer some workshops/work with parents and collaborate on that together?”
“I would love it if we could do more PD around differentiation and how to manage the different accommodations.”
“A growing number of students who could benefit from therapy at the Tier 2 or Tier 3 level. I wonder if Seneca can support our school with more Tier 2 therapy services, including students who do not have IEPs.”
While we seek and value constructive feedback, the open-ended responses were overwhelmingly positive, indicating that we are on the right track in our work to build collaborative, meaningful and supportive practices. We look forward to hearing from our partners again during our End-of-Year Partnership Survey.
While we wait, here are just a few of the incredible highlights shared from the year so far:
While we wait, here are just a few of the incredible highlights shared from the year so far:
“Our [Seneca] counselor shows great energy when teaching a lesson to my students. The positive words he uses on his presentations, motivates students to participate in his class. Kids really like him.”
“Our clinician shares information that she can with us in order to support our students. The collaboration with her has been instrumental in order to best serve our students.”
“Seneca is always open to sharing resources to best serve our whole team and always willing and ready to thought-partner and problem solve around students.”
“I feel so lucky to have such a committed team. Distance learning is hard. I treasure the quick conversations and the newsletter information. I also appreciate the time we get sometimes during staff meetings.”
“I believe the partnership has made it possible to teach to all of my students and avoid leaving some of them behind.”
“I have had a wonderful experience building the support structure for our school site. Seneca staff have been very thorough and vigilant in making sure families are seen.”
“It's been challenging given the remote nature of everything, but I know the clinicians have done a fantastic job holding time and space for their clients. The way our students have been able to show up and engage in remote learning is a big testament to the work happening with Seneca staff. Additionally, Seneca staff have helped admin to consider how we are supporting the mental health of the staff.”
“Seneca affiliated staff have been instrumental in student socioemotional, behavioral, and academic growth. I am confident that they care deeply for our students, and I have personally learned a lot from interacting with these wonderful people.”
“Our clinicians are thoughtful, collaborative, and supportive! They truly care about the students they support and the students within our school as a whole. They show up to meetings and give helpful input, attend and provide data for IEPS, and take data to monitor the social emotional well-being of our students.”
“Our team is amazing. They are super knowledgeable and dedicated to our students. They have done an amazing job of supporting our school in the transition to online learning and continuing to support students with special needs.”
“Our Seneca Therapist does a great job working with students and families. She sends update emails to teachers and support staff so that we know how students are doing. She always wants to be integrated in family conferences, SSTs and other communication around student academic, behavioral and social progress.”
“Teachers feel more empowered and part of the school culture decisions and as a result seem to feel more ownership over the implementation of their plans.”
“The Seneca professional development sessions have allowed me to take a step back from my teaching practice and view it from a larger point of view. I appreciate the tools given to us (ex: the SCARF model) and how they encourage me to be more conscious of my lesson planning and feedback-giving. It is nice to pause and reflect on what we think we're doing well and what strategies might help us teach even better.”
And I could go on and on.............................
Blog Post Written By: Jordan Ullman, Assistant Director of Assessment and Evaluation
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