Minutes from 2/2/2018 Meeting

2/2/2018 Hicap meeting with Jen

• Parent night 6:30-7:30 in Bothell performing center
• Will be recorded with chapters to look at particular parts
• Posted in a week or 2
• Translation in real time
• Help families find the email in trash/junk mail. Friday everyone should have heard from HiCap. Some got one a month ago

Testing update

• Signatures: not printing out signatures, links in email to give consent then a backup phone call to confirm if they haven’t heard from them. Spanish speaking people in ELL department to call for Spanish speaking families
• Torrence is $20 per student, so to save costs they will move some students on without some of the tests
• 85^th – 94^th percentile is what Dr. Ford suggested. Above 95^th percentile follows NSD traditional cutoffs for HiCap services
• See chart for specifics on how each child’s scores will be used
  • 85-94 = K gets Torrence for Holistic, 1-7 Torrence and ITBS, 8 Torrence only
  • 95-99
    • K = Immediate Holistic services with no additional tests
    • 1-3 = Torrence and ITBS (Math for all, Reading as well for those not IRR 2 grades above grade level)
    • 4-7 = If SBA in top half of Level 4 SBA in either or both content area offer services, take ITBS for any that aren’t in level 4, Torrence for those who don’t qualify immediately by SBA scores
    • 8 = if SBA in top half of Level 4 SBA in either or both content area offer services, Torrence for those who don’t qualify by SBA
  • Did not qualify: not getting scores in letter, can email to request scores = not until feb 26^th
  • Next year there will be an online system to get DNQ scores faster
• ITBS and Torrence can be administered in Spanish if needed
• Single content students can retest every year in other content area
• All families will get letters today if they qualify and will get scores
• Need to educate families and parents that a low score is not indicative of the child’s potential in school. One test on one day isn’t a statement about their ability to be successful.
• Current EAP/AAP kids will not get results until they request it
• We will get analysis of current kids scores in an aggregated form
• K will start assessment Feb 12^th – just Torrence about 30 minutes 250 Kids across 20 elems
• Start with middle schools after K
• Hope to finish in March – have 10 proctors to test 3000 kids (3/15/2018 - updated to say finish in May)
• Could have half of testers quality - 1500 qualify which would double program (1700 currently)
• Some buildings may have enough qualify that they transition gen ed classrooms to EAP classrooms since the kids are already there.

    9^th and 10^th grade transition Survey Results

• Survey results
• Kids generally satisfied
• Ela and Social studies have more dissatisfaction due to AAP->Gen ed in those with what’s available
• Each high school different
  • Bothell uses Edmonds CC for CHS, doesn’t have many AP classes for younger grades
  • WHS uses UW Cascadia for CHS, has lots of AP and can take them earlier
  • Inglemoore have IB, but problem with 10^th grade, not old enough for ib but not AP available
• Pre-AP and Pre-IB are like a step backwards for many AAP kids
• Surprised at number of older kids in their class
• Abrupt change from JR high to high school: HS doesn’t allow retakes in some classes, jr high did. Not growth mindset
• Jen says she’s given guidance to buildings to put kid in appropriate classes regardless of Hicap designation
• Can we have a designated hicap counselor at each high school?
• Need executive function help with these kids
• Some would like to have the AAP cohort stay together
• Can the district distribute the survey to all Hicap 9^th and 10^th kids to increase numbers of respondents
• Put link to survey on our website with bold graphic or something to catch their eye
• Put 2017 satisfaction survey on website, too

  Requested Characteristics of teachers for hicap classrooms

• Teaching in discipline they have their degree in
• Openminded toward gifted population with 2E
• Education around how a child can be designated as hiCap
• Understand Social emotional needs of hicap – teachers and counselors
• Open to hicap training, take PD, Ongoing PD especially for Gen Ed teachers turning into HiCap Teachers.
• Compress curriculum Recognizing pace is important to hiCap kids. Let kids direct the pace and compacting of curriculum per their needs
• Open to more than one way to get the answer. Kids think in a different way, not necessarily use the procedures taught in class. If they get the concept let them dictate how
• Fine isn’t good enough for hicap kids. Conversation on potential disability if kids aren’t functioning at their potential
• Assess potential. Every kid should experience enough challenge that it’s visible. Develop grit
• Competition isn’t a good motivator for this group. Perfectionist tendencies
• Don’t use these kids as teachers for other children
• Instead of memorization, have critical thinking skills
• Need to teach study skills and exec function
• Open to current brain research
• Less repetition and more project based learning
• Have previous experience with hicap kids – have hicap kids, were a hicap kid, taught hicap kids
• Teachers of color, diverse culture and experience.
• Cultural Competency training
• May have to rethink middle school teaching models. Have hicap teacher teach 6,7,8 hicap rather than one grade of hicap, challenge and gen ed per teacher.
• Knowledge in math above grade level they are teaching
• Empathy and patience

Universal Screening Results

As you may know, NSD has undertaken the momentus task this spring of testing all students in grades K-8 for hicap services using the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test.  Students who are already designated as HiCap CAN NOT lose their designation regardless of their score on this test and will not take further rounds of testing. Students who are currently qualified in only one subject and any other student who receives an 85% or higher will move on to the next round of testing.  Currently qualified HiCap students were included in this testing for informational and data collection purposes only.

We have recently learned from the district that all students who received 85% or higher will receive an email before February 5th asking for permission to admister the next round of testing,  or in the case of some students (Kindergarten for example) who scored in the 99th percentile, you will be asked for permission to designate your student as hicap in the 2018/2019 school year without further testing. Please look for these emails in your junk folder or other spam filters if you have not received it by Monday February 5th. If the hicap office does not receive a response in the next week, they will begin making phone calls to the parent of every student from which they have not yet received consent. The hicap office does not want any student to miss this opportunity.

If your student did not qualify for testing, you will receive your letter in the next few weeks. These letters will not contain individual scores, but if parents would like to know thier child's score they may email hicap@nsd.org after February 26th or contact their child's teacher after that time.