May 2012 - Green Hills AEA

Green Hills AEA
A monthly update for
Green Hills AEA school administrators
and teachers
In Touch
May 2012
Early ACCESS, your source for early intervention services
Angie Hance, Regional Administrator
Four outcomes of Early ACCESS:
In 1986, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act added an
1. Enhance the development of eligible children,
amendment that required early intervention services (called Part C
2. Reduce the educational costs to society
beginning in 1997). In Iowa, Part C services to infants and toddlers
by minimizing the need for special
have been designated as Early ACCESS, a coordinated, comprehensive,
education and related services after such
multidsiciplinary interagency system of early intervention services in
children reach school age,
partnership with families and other community providers.
3. Maximize the potential of eligible children
With the Dept. of Education as the lead agency and three signatory
for independent living in society,
agencies (Public Health, Department of Human Services and Child
4. Enhance the capacity of families to meet
Health Speciality Clinics), the AEAs are Regional Grantees who have the the needs of their eligible children.
fiscal and legal obligation of carrying out the system of Early ACCESS.
All children in Early ACCESS are to receive, at no cost to the family,
the following: screenings, evaluations, and assessments; service coordination;
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) development and
reviews; and needed early intervention services. A child and family may
also be entitled these services: assistive technology, audiology, autism,
deaf and hard of hearing, developmental, family training, health
services, interpreter/sign language, nursing, nutrition, occupational
therapy, orientation and mobility, physical therapy, psychological, social
work, speech and language, transportation and vision instruction/
services.
Services are provided year round to families with eligible infants and
Back row: Ruth Rust, Missouri Valley & Harlan;
toddlers (birth up to age three) who have a developmental delay or a
Laurine Price, Atlantic; Kathleen Tague, Council Bluffs.
high probability of experiencing developmental delays. Green Hills
Middle row: Monica Weber, Lewis Central &
Pottawattamie Cnty.; Diane Goetzmann, Child Health
AEA currently employs dedicated service coordinators, speech and
Specialty Clinic;
language pathologists and early childhood specialists that work solely in Rana Thomsen, Red Oak & Creston; Suzy Gonzales, Child
Health Specialty Clinic
Early ACCESS. Other providers, such as occupational and physical
Front row: Eunice Bohanan, Creston & Osceola;
therapists, also provide services for older students who are eligible for Carrie Powders, Council Bluffs & Pottawattamie Cnty.;
Amy Abler (recently resigned-served Council Bluffs,
Part B special education and related services.
Fremont and Page Counties); Cathy Ryba, regional
liaison; DeAnn Hayes, Glenwood
The past two years, Early ACCESS staff have engaged in multiple
learning opportunities to enhance their skills in working with families
and children. All staff have participated in professional development focused on teaming, routines based interventions, functional assessments
and functional outcome writing. Additionally, staff were trained in using an assessment, intervention and evaluation system called the
Assessment Evaluation and Programming System (AEPS). Early ACCESS speech-language pathologists and early childhood specialists were
also trained in Every Child Reads 0-3. A small group of staff volunteered to try a different service delivery model that supports our professional
development - called the Primary Service Provider model.
If you get a chance to speak with an Early ACCESS staff member, please feel free to ask them about the incredible work they've done this
year in engaging in their own professional learning and in supporting the families and children that they work with!

Understanding, helping kids with social, emotional and behavioral challenges
On April 13, Green Hills AEA staff and nearly 200 educators from 15 area school districts gathered at the Wilson Performing Arts Center in
Red Oak to hear Dr. Ross Greene speak on Collaborative Problem Solving - Understanding and Helping Kids with Social, Emotional and
Behavioral Challenges.
Greene is a Harvard psychologist and originator of the
Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach,
an evidence-based, proven approach to understanding and
“This workshop has
helping challenging kids. CPS provides a more compassionate
encouraged me to
and accurate way to understand kids with social, emotional and
look at the root of the
behavioral challenges and a more productive way to help them.
Greene’s presentation focused on three questions:
problem; to search
• Why are kids challenging?
for the lagging skill
• When are kids challenging?
that is the cause of
• What are we doing differently now that we know why
the challenging
challenging kids are challenging?
behavior.”
Greene describes the CPS model’s two major tenents:
“First, social, emotional and behavioral challenges in kids are
best understood as the by-product of lagging cognitive skills
in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance,
and problem-solving (rather than as attention-seeking, manipulative, limit-testing, or a sign of poor motivation). In other words, challenging
behavior is a form of developmental delay. Second, these challenges are best addressed by collaboraitvely solving the problem that are setting
the stage for challenging behavior (rather than through reward and punishment programs and intensive imposition of adult will.)”
Here are some of the positive comments received from participants:
• “One of the concepts that I felt was the most helpful was ‘to have the kid be a part of the behavior improvement.’ It is the ‘nothing about
me without me’ concept.”
• “This workshop has encouraged me to look at the root of the problem; to search for the lagging skill that is the cause of the challenging
behavior.”
• “Several members of our building committee were present; we will be meeting this week to make a plan . . . . ”
• “This was a valuable training and we hope we can partner with GHAEA to further teach and implement this model.”
Each participant received Greene’s book, Lost at School – Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can
Help Them. Greene’s work is also found on the Center for Collaborative Problem Solving website http://www.ccps.info/
Registration is now open for the Green Hills AEA 21st Century Learners'
Conference to be held Oct. 4, 2012, in Bedford and Oct. 5, 2012, in Harlan. The focus of the
conference is empowering teachers to use technology to bring the Characteristics of Effective Instruction
to life. The intent is to connect people to people and not simply to the technology. Register at:
https://docs.google.com/a/ghaea.org/spreadsheet/
viewform?formkey=dFhsX0tZTUwwek1vNWJZWkI2b3ZRaGc6MA
Kevin Honeycutt will be the keynote speaker. He is a technology integration specialist at ESSDACK,
an educational service center based in Hutchinson, KS, where he researches and develops programs with
a strong passion for making teachers and learners comfortable with technology.
This year the conference will be expanded to cover PreK-12. There will be sessions for teachers in all
content areas and grade levels, administrators and technology coordinators. Participants are asked to
bring one personal computer device to the conference.
The registration fee for the conference (including lunch) is $20 per participant. School districts will be billed for all participants after
the conference. For up-to-date information check our website http://gh21.ghaea.org/ and follow us on Twitter #21CLC12.
Contact Julia Hood, jhood@ghaea.org, for more information.

In the Spotlight
Do you have something happening in your district/building that
you would like featured In the Spotlight? Contact Denise Fricke
at dfricke@ghaea.org or 800-432-5804.
Glenwood, Red Oak teachers honored as Charles E. Lakin Outstanding Teachers
Kay Fast, vocal instructor at Glenwood High School, and Melinda Smits, kindergarten teacher, Inman Elementary, Red Oak, are the 2012
recipients of the Charles E. Lakin Outstanding Teacher Award. Each received $10,000, while their respective school districts received $2,500. The
award is sponsored by Green Hills AEA and KMA Radio.
Honorable mention winners were Kevin Van Dyke, Shenandoah CSD, and Leah O’Donnell, Atlantic CSD. They received $2,500 each.
The award is named after Charles E. Lakin, a philanthropist who created the award as a way to give back to teachers, a big influence in his life.
Teachers and counselors who are employed full-time, with a minimum of three years experience in the same school, are eligible for the award.
They must be employed with one of 25 districts within 40 miles of Emerson, IA, Lakin’s hometown. Teachers in large urban communities,
Council Bluffs and Lewis Central, are excluded, as are school administrators.
Lakin’s mission it to reward teachers who “entice students to come to school each day” and to emphasize the vital role of teachers in rural
communities.
Gayle Allensworth (l), principal, Inman
Elementary, and Charles Lakin, Jr., present a
$10,000 check to Melinda Smits.
Kay Fast (r) is presented with a $10,000 check by Charles
Lakin, Jr., and Kerry Newman, principal, Glenwood High
School.
Stay connected this summer
With the loss of the Green Hills AEA Creston office from a tornado, classes
and workshops that were scheduled to be held at that office are being
relocated. Please check our website for updates and stay connected to Green
Hills AEA during the summer through our website, facebook and twitter.
Have a great summer!

Iowa School Board Recognition
‘Sowing the seeds for success’
Green Hills AEA joined other AEAs and school districts throughout Iowa to honor its
elected board members during Iowa School Board Recognition Week, May 6-12.
This year’s theme -- Sowing the Seeds for Success -- recognizes that Iowa’s volunteer
AEA and school board members are providing leadership, through responsibilities ranging
from strong financial stewardship to ensuring high-quality curriculum, to making sure all
students are prepared to “grow and prosper” when they graduate.
Serving on the Green Hills AEA Board of Directors are Raymond Storm, District 1;
Julie Wilken, District 2; Karen Thomsen, District 3; Richard Schenck, District 4;
Ed Gambs, District 5; Kenneth Lee, District 6; Marland Gammon, District 7;
Randy Brown, District 8. District 9 is vacant.
These men and women provide countless hours of volunteer time to provide the best possible education for students. They are dedicated
individuals who are committed to improving student achievement and striving for the best for all of the students served by Green Hills AEA.
Richard Schenck
Ed Gambs
Karen Thomsen
Julie Wilken
Marland Gammon
Kenneth Lee
Kenneth Lee
Raymond Storm
Vacant
Randy Brown
The mission of Green Hills AEA is to collaboratively advocate for families, communities and
schools to help them achieve their goals by providing dedicated professional consultation
and quality system-wide supports.
Green Hills AEA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity
in its employment practices or on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity
or economic status in its educational programs and activities, or as otherwise prohibited by statute or regulation. For more information concerning application
of this statement or the grievance procedure contact Lori Kinyon, Equity Coordinator, Green Hills AEA, 230 N. Pine, Creston, IA 50801, lkinyon@ghaea.org, 800-
432-5804.