Kirsten Henderson

The Childrens League

Month of September, 2015
Internship hours completed in September- 28
ELCC Standard
Standard 1

Standard 2

Standard 3

Internship hours completed to date- 383

Brief Description of Activity

Hours
I presented the handbook to the staff.
2
I handed copies of the handbook to classroom teachers
for the aides to review.
A teacher shared another document that could be
added to the handbook for attendance for Cattaraugus
County.
I reviewed IEPs and found a well written present levels 16.5
of academic performance form one teacher but I
needed to speak with her about how it was exactly the
same as another child she wrote about. IEPs need to
be individualized.
I worked on and completed the alignment of the HELP
3-6 with the NYS CCLS.
The first staff development day happened on
September 24. I planned the agenda for the follow-up
day on October 8.
I inventoried the Handwriting Without Tears materials.
I completed the second intake by attending the
meeting.
I managed a bus issue with a parent and driver.
I participated in a meeting with staff about
participating in home visits for children and the
difficulties they encounter. An agreement document
will be drafted to have parents and staff sign when
home visits begin.
I reviewed lockdown procedures for an upcoming drill.

9.5

Standard 4
Standard 5
Standard 6
Standard 7
Reflections by Standard
Standard 1
I think creating the handbook as an understanding of what goes on at our school was
helpful. We are looking to hire a new physical therapist. When that happens I will be
sharing the handbook with her as a guide and also as a run through for a new person
about what else is needed in the handbook. It needs to remain a living document that
changes as needs change. I was glad that an aide asked for copies to be distributed to
classes for them to look at. I have not heard any comments, positive or negative about
it from anyone in an aide position.

Standard 2
The professional development that was planned took place on September 24. Half of the
aide staff was scheduled for training in Crisis prevention, our ongoing training for
handling behavior challenges. This idea was different than past years. In the past staff
were trained throughout the school year. This was difficult to plan because there needed
to be substitutes in the classes to free up staff to attend the training. This situation
allowed many to be trained at once on that topic while others were trained on another.
The teachers and therapists participated in training on goal writing and tracking goals.
This is a big issue for us as we work with many different school districts that want
different things from us. We are learning the correct way New York State wants things
completed. We need to be tracking goals to document substantial regression for a child
to receive summer services. The difficulty we have is that some districts will not give
summer services to students that we have documented regression on and others give
summer services to those we do not have regression on. As an administrator I need to
support the teachers and therapists and be the liaison between school districts and our
school. I need to be the one sharing information and supporting the information at
annual review meetings. I need to be aware of the different school districts and how
they operate to ensure clarity about a child.
Another project completed for this standard is aligning the HELP 3-6 curriculum with the
NYS Common Core Learning Standards. Although there are some gaps I believe it can be
a helpful tool for our program to use to assess where students are functioning. The
current checklist was created many years ago from a variety of checklists.
I was able to act in an administrative role with one teacher regarding providing
programming to children. She had written IEPs last year and as I reviewed them they
were well written. I wanted to be sure to tell her that I was impressed with the way they
were written. As I moved to read another students IEP I realized that one section was
exactly the same as the other. IEPs need to be individualized. I approached her about it
helping her realize that she needs to vary her writing. I know that sometimes when
children are similar in one area it is easy to write the same thing but we need to be
careful to individualize, not just goals but the written report.
Standard 3
I reviewed the lockdown procedures for our school and reviewed them with staff. We have not had a practice
drill in a few years. The last time we had a drill we learned that the classroom doors lock from the outside
which in an emergency would make safety an issue. All the locks on the doors were changed. Now they lock
from the inside. One thing I noticed was that, once locked, the inside handle will still open the door. Teachers
need to follow the locking direction arrow written on the lock. We will be scheduling a lockdown drill soon.
I inventoried the materials for our Handwriting Without Tears program. They were scattered around the school.
Some classes will not be using them this year so the materials were distributed to other classes. With the
inventory 2 teachers asked for more wood pieces to help with making materials available to all students in a
group rather than sharing materials. This was accommodated. We will be meeting together to review planning
options to guide in using all the different aspects of the program.
Another area for our school that teachers and therapists participate in is home visits, providing services in a
parents home. This can be particularly difficult during the winter months. The group brainstormed ideas about
an agreement with parents that both the parent and therapist sign on the first day. Many therapists commented
2

that they were not aware that others were having the same difficulty at home visits. When the agreement is
completed I will add it to the handbook for future reference.
Standard 7
Throughout the internship I have grown in my understanding of the vision of the school.
Interacting with various members of the school from administrators to teachers and
therapists has helped me gain an understanding of all that needs to happen to keep the
school running. I have researched curriculum aligned with the common core and
followed the plan to bring in a trainer to share how to implement the new goal writing
standard when writing IEPs. I have participated in the management of the organization
to follow referrals for evaluations from the initial call to the meeting to decide on
eligibility for special education services at the child specific school district. I reviewed
procedures for lockdown drills. I managed a meeting with bus drivers to understand the
needs of a student who rides the bus. I also participated in a meeting to set up an
agreement with parents as therapists visit the home to provide services to their child.
Throughout these experiences I am demonstrating the ability to be a listener. A leader
needs to hear the concerns or needs of others to act in the best interests of the school,
teachers and therapists and, ultimately, for the students. Communication is key. I
strived to share information with others and finding out what I needed to know. I would
ask questions and listen to answers.