MAASE Focus Areas:

We will align and organize the strategic priorities and work of MAASE to focus on the following elements:

High Quality Student Evaluations

Specially Designed  Instruction

Skilled Staff

Program Evaluation

Through the platforms of:

Association Partnerships

Legislative Action and Advocacy

Professional Learning

Membership Services

EdCamp is an open format where group members share thoughts to help one another in implementation of "real life" practice. These notes reflect the thinking of someone in the group but do not represent an official position on behalf of MAASE. Anyone using this as a resource is encouraged to use their best judgement in interpreting the suggestions.

MAASE EdCamp Format:

Notes:

Clarification of Problem: Concern at a district...student with EI assaulted paraprofessional who received medical care and is off work. District language in contract says if staff are assaulted, they will be expelled. Balancing doing right by student and staff - how do we maintain

Solutions/Brainstorm:

• Student rights cannot be trumped by bargaining contract

• District is at the beginning stages with above scenario, multiple wrap around meetings, ISD consultants, self-contained consideration (one isolated incident thus far)

  • Staff response to behavior to be examined - following safety protocols, CPI

  • Are staff assistants properly trained

  • What does communication to staff look like

• Have incident reports for staff and students tied together - can then determine “serious bodily injury” data for tracking students

• Staff who refuse training in order to not go “hands on” with students

  For those who wish to remain employed, here are your options for training - remove choice, it is an expectation

• Remind staff how many times incidents were avoided because we followed our procedures

• Can’t we all agree that it is wrong to set off a child? Start there with a shared agreement

• Always a contract clause about safe working conditions, but teachers have not used it this way. However, trauma informed schools need capacity building in staff

• Fear based actions are an adult issue

• Seclusion/restraint legislation created a powerlessness mindset from staff

  • Harming the connections being made between teacher/student

  • How can we help teachers find the function of the behavior

• All staff - gen ed/special ed -to be trained in CPI

• Big gap in behavior analysis - setting

  • Much around ABC

  • Need setting factor analysis - What creates more/less probable settings for behavior to occur?

  • Response has competing priorities

• What are the factors keeping the adults from making better responses?

• How to help adults from feeling blame and getting to better response

  • Restorative piece is needed

  • When they stop problem solving is where the issue is - shut down “work environment”

• Culture of schools - training as a competitive advantage for school/organization

  • Taking care of the caregivers - secondary trauma

  • Need systems to provide consistent training and support - look at professional athletes

• Dr. Tina Boogren Self-care and secondary trauma 4-6 pm to help process and de-escalate

  • Research on self-care for educators

  • Need ongoing training, not a “one and done”

  • “Take Time for You” Self-Care for Educators

• Coaching model for IEP development, could we use the coaching model for this?

• Increase in 1-800 number for reporting from staff

• Think empathetically with staff - to support their own feelings/trauma

• How is student discipline included in the staff contract - this is an increasing trend

  Right of assignment is helpful when needing to find a better fit for staff placement

• Job descriptions to be detailed - CPI included (First aid, etc) creates expectations up front

• New seclusion/restraint is not fundamentally different than original - maybe reframe with staff

  • Change is the implementation - policy is now law

  • Staff mindset is feeling like they are more at risk for legal action/liability

• Coping model in CPI is critical - less likely to be implemented

• Training is key

• Self-care is key

• Staff need to feel their safety is of utmost importance - helping to validate a culture where they feel safe

Feedback:

• What made this time worth your while?

• What specifically can we do to make this better?