Pierce,+Kalin,+504+Plans



I love working with youth and have spent several years working in the non-profit sector with at-risk youth. This combined with two summers of teaching English in China are what pushed me in the direction of teaching.

I graduated high school in 2006 from Crater High School in Central Point. I was involved in a small learning community, known as a 'small school' called Social Service School during my last two years at Crater and it was through that experience that I developed a heart for social justice and the realm of humanities. After graduating, I attended Oregon State University for four years where I majored first in music (which is still a passion of mine) and switched to English soon after. During the later three years of my collegiate experience I worked at a Boys & Girls Club. After graduating from Oregon State, I spent a year working for this non-profit, gaining skills that have contributed to all facets of my professional self. My career goals are still a bit grey, although as this program continues, these are beginning to become more focused and black and white. Here are some of what I've solidified so far: I would like to teach Alt. Ed. at some point, though I prefer sooner in my career rather than later so that I don't become accustomed to the perks of a well-behaved classroom. I would like to get another Masters degree in School Psychology/Counseling and I would like to do this a bit later in my career, as to have as much experience as possible before gaining another professional title. I would like to learn as much as possible from my current job which is working with at-risk, homeless and transitional youth. I feel that this is both an educational goal as well as a career related goal. I am blessed to be very rich in resources because of the position I hold at a local homeless youth shelter. I would like to glean as much as possible from Case Managers, Counselors and Youth Specialists because I believe their experience to build on my knowledge of youth in our community thus, making me a better educator. Another career goal I have is that I would like to teach not only Language Arts but also some form of curriculum that focuses on social justice and issues in the humanities.

Something that brings me joy is spending a sunny afternoon driving (or being the passenger while someone drives) the back roads to nowhere in particular in which there is no predetermined arrival time and during which the music is up and the windows are down...barefoot.

My greatest fear about being a teacher is that the impact that I have on youth will decrease rather than increase because my focus will be switching from their emotional well being and focusing primarily on their academic well being, and while this is a more tangible focus, I am unsure that I am prepared for this switch and am fearful that I will not be as effective in my daily interactions with my students.

A time where learning has been extremely difficult for me was when I was a music major at Oregon State, fall term of my freshman year. Although I had been in band for several years, had played a little bit of piano and had spent two years in choir, I was not up to par in the music theory facet of my education. In order to continue on in my education and pursuit of my degree, I had to pass Music 121. The professors were highly intimidating and on the first day of class, told the room full of students that this course was designed to weed out those who were not serious about music and that everything that was covered should be things we "know like your mothers home cooking." Needless to say, I felt like I had never heard music a day in my life let alone, read it. I spent the term going through spurts of trying so hard I could cry, and being so frustrated I would give up. When asking a friend to tutor me, I felt hopeless and stupid because I didn't understand no matter how many hours she explained the assignments to me. During the final that should have taken two hours, I walked out in the first 30 minutes. It was the first F I have ever received and it haunts me to this day. I think this helps me understand students with learning disabilities because I can identify with feeling failure when being compared to a standard that was ultimately not inline with my development. I can identify with feeling isolated and alone in a room full of other students. I can relate to feelings of frustration and doubt through this experience as well.

I would like to gain awareness from this course firstly. I have heard many acronyms and have seen a plethora of students who have been put on IEPs, 504s and students who possibly should be. I would like to gain empathy and understanding for students that are different than myself and for students who have may need a little extra something to be successful. I would like to learn how to adapt and change my thinking in way that will benefit my students, give them a feeling of success and self-confidence and put them on a path of academic achievement. I would like to learn how to interact with families of students that have disabilities and what role I play as an educator in the school.

=Resource Presentation (Week 9)= ====I chose to research 504 plans. I chose to research this because during my fall placement, I continually heard teachers discussing the various needs of students who had been placed on 504 plans. I had no idea what they were talking about. I felt the same about IEPs. When I had the chance, I asked my CT about both plans and what they entailed. As best she could, my CT explained that these plans were plans for students who need modification. She discussed the importance of following each plan and how it is my responsibility as an educator to make sure these students receive the modifications on his/her plans. I was left with some questions: what is the difference between IEPs and 504s? What are the qualifications for each? What is my responsibility?====

All of these questions are important because as teachers, we are going to encounter students who have been placed on 504s daily. We are going to be responsible for referring students for 504 plans and we are going to be responsible for creating necessary modifications in our lessons.

__Top 5 Things I Learned While Researching:__ 1. 504 Plans were implemented to protect both working individuals with disabilities as well as students. 2. 504 Plans are covered under the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1974 3. 504 Plans are for students with "hidden" disabilities such as emotional, food allergies, diabetes and generally more medical based disabilities. 4. Schools do not receive extra funds for students who have been placed on 504 Plans. 5. ADHD is not generally covered under a 504 Plan.

__Top Resource:__ media type="youtube" key="Mfw5PM2AU0M" width="425" height="350" I chose this as my top resource for a variety reasons. First, I really like that the presenter is a teacher himself, it makes what he has to say more valid especially from another teachers point of view. I also like it because it not only does it outline what a 504 plan is, it discusses the difference between it and an IEP which is a common confusion. (rating: 4)

__Supportive 8 Resources:__

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html This website goes into detail about the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 and what that has to do with education. It gives a great history of the 504 Plan as well as outlines the distinct difference between IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1974. (rating: 4)

http://www.foodallergy.org/page/504-plan This site discusses the role of 504 Plans for a student with food allergies. It is a pretty interesting website but doesn't go into extreme depth about the 504 plan. (rating: 3)

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/sec504.htm This is the government page for section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. It goes into extreme detail about the plans. However, because it uses government jargon and is very wordy, it isn't a resource I would necessarily give to parents or students when they inquire about 504 plans. (rating: 3)

http://www.kumc.edu/cchd/fs_schoolsupports.html I enjoyed this resource because it not only explained both 504 Plans and IEPs, it also discussed and gave a visual of a hierarchy in relation to a gen. ed. class room, 504s and IEPs. (rating: 4)

http://www.eyecontactarkansas.org/main/504-vs-ieps-whats-the-difference.html This website was also helpful because of its visual: a venn diagram outlining IEPs and 504 Plans and their similarities. This website also walked the user through a general outline of steps when implementing 504 plans. (rating 4)

http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/504_Plan This website was nice because it followed a wiki format which is easy to read and to navigate. It covered much of the same information as the above sites. (rating: 4)

http://www.theparentaladvocate.com/what-is-a-504-plan.htm This resource answered a lot of questions and seemed to be a forum in which parents could have their questions answered. As an educator, I didn't feel that it went into enough detail about 504 Plans for a teacher or administrator. (rating: 3)

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-rights/868-section-504.gs This was a helpful resource. It was the first I found and it offered a great introduction to 504 Plans. I felt that it would be a good resource to give to parents and was easy to navigate. (rating: 4)

=Community Based Learning Project (Week 4)=

I chose to develop a lesson plan for a student in my class who is currently on an IEP. Collin* is on an IEP due to his reading and math skills. Within his gen. ed. classes, Collin has preferential seating, a buddy to help with assigned reading, modified reading and math work as well as extra time to complete both reading and math related projects. In addition to these supplementary modifications, Collin is also pulled out of classes for an hour and fifteen minutes to work in the resource room on his math and reading. My observations within class are that Collin is engaged when he finds the topic of discussion to be interesting, otherwise he is drowsy and lays his head on the table he is sitting at. Collin enjoys the outdoors and does great with extra encouragement. He responds especially well with one on one time with a teacher. He is vocal about his needs and is honest when asked whether or not he wants to do something versus whether or not he has the ability.

My general education subject area is English/ Language Arts. For my lesson plans, I need to make sure that Collin has extra time to read and that he is engaged in the task at hand. Also, I need to make sure that the task is something appropriate for his learning ability and something that is benefitting his education. Because Collin struggles with decoding skills with reading, as well as word recognition, I wanted to come up with an activity that was both fun and interesting for Collin as well as working on those specific ELA issues. In order to make both of these happen, I looked up a combination of words having to do with Collin’s interest of the outdoors, hunting and fishing. Along with these hobby based words, I looked up verbs that could have to do with these kinds of hobbies.

One of Collin’s IEP goals is that he will read grade level material at the rate of 60 words per minute with 80 percent accuracy and comprehension. The lesson I designed will help Collin to have some experience dealing with words that he will encounter in grade level text. Another one of Collin’s goals relating to reading is that he will use context cues and decoding strategies to read and comprehend 4th to 5th grade material. By breaking down the text that we are reading as a class and giving Collin extra time with the text is helpful for him. Also, with that time, having Collin work on his decoding skills will be helpful in working toward his IEP goals.

__Lesson Plan:__ Materials: The student will need a pair of scissors and a copy of the text that can be cut up. Anticipatory Set: I will give Collin a copy from a page of the book we are reading, //Speak// by Laurie Halse Anderson. I will give him Some time to cut out sentences. While he is cutting out the sentences I will ask him to read each one. After cutting, I will have him jumble them all up. Next, Collin and I will have a conversation about what words show the reader what part of the story he or she is in (I know that he possesses this knowledge due to a previous assignment I aided him in completing earlier in the term). While we are talking about it, I will make a list on a piece of paper for his future reference. Next, I will have him arrange the sentences he cut up before by reading them and trying to decide what happens in what order. I may even have him work with a partner. After giving him a good chunk of time to complete this activity in, I will talk with him about his answers and what clued him in on what sentence came next. Depending on Collin's confidence level and willingness to be engaged, I would be able to gauge how intensive I would want this lesson to be. For example, I may not give hime a wgile page to do this with, instead, I may only give him a paragraph at a time.

I would be sure to congratulate him and point out EVERYTHING that he did well in order to boost his confidence and strengthen his abilities in decoding skills.

__Some great resources I found for parents were:__
 * [|__http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/phonics/__] -this website explained what decoding is, where the confusion comes from and what both parents and teachers can do to assist a struggling student with decoding and phonics. I linked a specific webpage here but the entire website is helpful and several articles can be found from the home page.
 * [|__http://www.derry.k12.nh.us/epb/staff/reading/iwellman/decoding.html__] -this website has a lot of information about what questions a reader needs to be asking in order to understand words within a text. There are helpful tips for parents and great ideas for at home activities.
 * [|__http://www.readinga-z.com/more/reading_strat.html__] -is another great resource as far as understanding where the confusion of decoding comes from. It gives a great list of activities that can take place both at home and in the classroom that could help the student improve their decoding skills.