EDUL 6015

Shared Governance – PDCA plan / Deming’s Cycle

PLAN:
At the end of each school year, part of my position requirements include spot checking the annual review paperwork that is completed by each of the teachers I support prior to holding the end of year IEP meeting for their students. The teachers are then given 3 weeks to make changes, be re-checked, and then hold their IEP meetings and complete all IEP paperwork accordingly. For the past four school years, I have check the paperwork of the 16 teachers in our program and consistently, specific errors are made that put us in jeopardy of maintaining compliance with state and federal guidelines. Several teachers in the program have spent countless hours re-holding meetings and re-doing paperwork with errors before they are allowed to “check-out” for the school year. I see an immediate need for improvement in the area of paperwork completion so that the teacher receiving the students for the following school year has a clear and concise IEP to work from as they educate the students in our program. Several strategies for improvement have been suggested including monthly or bi-monthly paperwork training sessions, afternoon “work sessions” where administrators are available to provide assistance to those who want to bring their paperwork for assistance, and a staff development course designed to provide professional learning credits for those who attend. Possible problems exist with each of these suggestions: monthly or bi-monthly paperwork training sessions during the school day requires funding not previously budgeted for as subs would need to be provided. Afternoon “work sessions” are easy on the budget but cannot be made mandatory if held during after work hours, and creating a staff development course would rule out the availability of training for this school year due to the time it takes to write a proposal and receive approval for a class to be held. At this point in the school year, any approvals would be for next school year’s spring courses. The most promising of these possibilities seems to be the afternoon “work sessions” as they seem to be less formal and can be offered to anyone in the program instead of targeting those who have performed poorly in the past. Sessions could be held periodically to allow for anyone to attend despite their afternoon schedule and teachers could work together or with an administrator or work in small groups to address their concerns and create a network of support for completion of their paperwork. A team of administrators would be assembled, each having an area of expertise that needs to be addressed in the IEPs. The team, ideally, would consist of myself as I am the autism specialist and direct contact for these teachers regarding the educational needs of their students, the behavior specialist to address concerns with the behavior intervention plan that is part of the finished document, and a special education coordinator who can address questions about how to correctly write in accommodations and modifications, assistive technology and extended school year services. Plan “B” will be to begin work on the creation of a staff development course that the teachers can elect to take that will provide them credit for their after school efforts. This class will target good IEP writing techniques, what forms to use when and how to correctly fill them out, and several group work sessions. The class will be open to new teachers in the program and current teachers by approval. This will ensure that we continue training beyond the optional work sessions by providing an opportunity that comes with a great commitment but also a “reward” for that commitment. The administrative team would work together to develop the proposal for the staff development class. They would also meet to go over the common errors that are made during IEP writing so that they are making sure to double check those areas and a schedule for “work sessions” would be created.

DO:
A pilot test would be run by have the first session available only to new teachers in the program who have never written IEPs using our county’s paperwork. This would be a small session for only those two or three teachers who would have the most questions. This would be an opportunity for the administrative team to ensure that they are prepared for the types of questions that would arise and to make sure that the training opportunity as designed will work according to the needs of the teachers. Assuming the pilot session to be successful, the schedule for “work sessions” would be sent to each teacher in the program along with a list of topics that will be most heavily targeted. The training sessions will be scheduled for before the first “check date” as well as after the check date so that teachers have been provided with learning opportunities before annual review IEP writing begins and afterwards so that they can come to work on and seek assistance in the areas that they had difficulty.

CHECK:
Reviewing the success of the plan would be checked at the first “check date” when all teachers’ IEPs are reviewed by the administrative team as a preliminary way to catch possible errors. These draft IEPs should be a good indication of whether the “work sessions” have been effective and will indicate the areas of needed improvement that the administrative team should continue to focus on at each session.

ACT:
Throughout the “work session” the administrative team will meet to discuss any issues that arise and need immediate attention. We will make sure that the teachers are learning by surveying them at the end of the year to ask if they feel the “work sessions” were helpful and to get their feedback and suggestions on how we can continue to provide support as they perfect the art of writing IEPs for children with autism. Taking the survey data into account, a plan will be drafted to continue the works sessions throughout the year during the following school years; if the plan has not succeeded, plan B will already be in the “working” stages so that another option can be offered the next school year.


The entire PDCA cycle will continue as the plan continues and it will be adjusted by the administrative team as necessary to ensure its success!