EC Personnel: Status, Challenges, Preservice and Inservice Training, and Resources in Kansas David P. Lindeman, Ph.D. Presented at: Kansas Interagency Coordinating Council and Special Education Advisory Council Joint Meeting Topeka, Kansas November 20,

Overview/Key Points of Today’s Presentation 1.Current Status – Personnel Openings 2.Training Programs in Kansas 3.Focus on Teacher Training Programs 4.Understanding of “who” (i.e., for what roles) we are preparing 1.ECHO Website – A Resource for the State 2

Part C Personnel Shortage Surveys – April of 37 programs reporting - 5 Programs reported no shortages Specific shortages Current Year: Next Year: Nutrition = 4 OT = 3.75OT = 3 PT = 4.75PT = 5.75 Psychologist = 1Psychologist = 3Social Work = 4 Special Instruction = 6Special Instruction = 5 Speech Language Pathologist = 4Speech Language Pathologist = 5Vision = 2Medical = 1 Assistive Tech = 1Assistive Technology = 1 Audiologist =.1 3

Part C Personnel Shortage Surveys –April 2013 What would help? Adequate Funding for Programs Reasonable Caseloads Competitive Salaries Recruitment/Retention Rural areas are not Competitive 4

Part B Personnel Shortage Surveys –April 2013 Area(EC only)Professional (FTE)Paraprofessional(FTE) Sp. Ed. Administration2.0 Early Childhood Educational Interpreter1.6 Occupational Therapy2.0 School Psychology (EC-12)2.0 Physical Therapy (EC-12)2.0 Speech Language Therapy5.5 5

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Early Childhood Unified Teacher Training Early Childhood Unified (ECU) (birth through kindergarten) – highly qualified to work with all infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners including those with at risk for and with developmental delays or disabilities. Early Childhood Unified (ECU) (birth through grade three) – highly qualified to work with all infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and primary learners (i.e., 1 st through 3 rd graders) including those with at risk for and with developmental delays or disabilities. 7

EC Teacher Training Programs in Kansas e.org/Default.a spx?tabid=303 8

Two Accrediting Bodies for Teacher Training Programs Each university in Kansas is required to demonstrate and provide evidence that they are preparing well qualified teachers. There are two accrediting (or watchdog) organizations that must grant approval in order for candidates from the universities to be licensed. These organizations are the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) 9

“Who” (i.e., for what roles) Are We Preparing? Birth to Three Year Olds – Early Care and Education for Infants/Toddlers – Infant/Toddler Early Intervention Services (Part C of IDEA) – Early Head Start – Parents as Teachers 10

“Who” (i.e., for what roles) Are We Preparing? Three to Five Year Olds – Early Care and Education – Early Childhood Special Education (Part B of IDEA) & Inclusive/Reverse Mainstream Classrooms – Early Childhood Special Education Itinerant – Head Start – Kansas Preschool Program (Kansas Pilot Program) – State Pre-K Program (Four Year Old At-Risk) 11

“Who” (i.e., for what roles) Are We Preparing? Kindergarten through Third Grade – Kindergarten Teacher – First, Second, and Third Grade Teacher – Inclusive Primary Teacher – Resource/Support Teacher 12

ECHO WebsiteECHO Website: 13

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ECHO WebsiteECHO Website: 15

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kskits.org 24

ksits.org 25

ksdetasn.org 26

ksde.org 27

Western Region – University of Oregon Northeast Region – University of Connecticut Mid-Western Region – University of Kansas South and Mid-Atlantic Region – Florida State University ECPC Regions 28

State chosen from the Mid-Western Region is KANSAS Intensive State Partnership 29

Guiding Principles 1.All interventions delivered with fidelity across providers, disciplines, and settings 2.High Quality Coordinated Pre-Service & In-service 3.Common set of evidence based, measurable, and authentic personnel standards across disciplines 4.Personnel preparation and professional development agencies are knowledgeable and skilled in EBP 5.Comprehensive System of Personnel Development as Quality Indicator 30

What Do We Provide? General Technical Assistance – Learning opportunities for a variety of stakeholders on topics related to personnel development Targeted Technical Assistance- Supporting state agencies and IHEs with alignment of preservice and inservice and aligning personnel standards to national professional organization standards, state early childhood standards, and state competencies and certification/licensure standards Intensive Technical Assistance – Supporting states in the development and implementation of an integrated comprehensive system of personnel development. 31

Needs Assessment Personnel Standards InservicePreservice Evaluation Technical Assistance Develop a Framework Model Showcase Exemplar Components and Processes Augment Components If Needed 32

Acknowledgments This presentation is supported in part by: KITS is a program of the Life Span Institute at Parsons and is supported through grants from the Kansas State Department of Education – Special Education Services (Grant #21013) as a part of the Kansas Technical Assistance System and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment – Infant Toddler– ECHO a project of the University of Kansas and was originally supported by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), through Grant # H323A B from the U.S. Department of Education. Currently this project is supported by KSDE through the Kansas Inservice Training System grant (Grant #21013) as a part of the Kansas Technical Assistance System Network (TASN). Early Childhood Personnel Center a project (Grant # H325B120004) supported by the U.S. Department of Education through a grant to the University of Connecticut with contracts to Florida State University, University of Kansas, and University of Oregon. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or policies of the Kansas State Department of Education or the U.S. Department of Education. 33