Newsletter No 5 SEPT15

! Newsletter!No.!5,!September!2015!

This!newsletter!is!focused!on!the!Oklahoma!CityACounty!Health!Department!(OCCHD)!and!contains!
information!about!the!great!meeting!we!had!with!them!last!week.!

A!Message!from!the!Superintendent!

“We!are!pleased!to!see!how!the!relationship!between!OCCHD!and!OKCPS!is!growing.!OCCHD!is!an!
asset!to!the!change!teams!and!to!schools!that!they!are!working!with,!and!they!have!some!great!ideas!
about!how!they!can!help!our!learners.!They!are!a!fantastic!resource!”!

!Rob%Neu,%Superintendent%

A!Message!from!OCCHD!

“The!OCCHD!Health!at!School!team!plans!to!discuss!with!school!staff!our!new!referral!system.!This!
is!designed!to!assist!you!when!making!referrals!in!order!to!help!streamline!the!process.!Additionally,!
we!are!working!with!the!district!Safety!and!Security!Directors,!as!well!as!OCPD,!to!help!your!schools!
be!a!resource!for!safety.!We!would!like!to!bring!in!a!trainer!for!staff!regarding!Child!Abuse!Reporting!
and!will!work!with!principals!to!make!this!as!convenient!a!training!as!we!can.!If!you!are!interested!in!
additional!training!regarding!discipline,!bullying,!social/emotional!skills,!drug!awareness,!etc.,!please!
let!your!health!promotion!specialist!know.!!We!appreciate!what!all!of!you!do!for!the!children!and!
families!in!this!community!”!

–%Aimee%Merick,%Supervisor%OKC!County%Health%Department%

Our!Meeting!

Last!week!we!met!with!the!amazing!team!from!OCCHD.!They!are!very!engaged!in!this!important!
work.!Thank!you!to!all!the!schools!for!being!so!warm!and!welcoming!to!your!team!member!from!
OCCHD!!!

To!ensure!we!have!a!successful!partnership!we!have!identified!some!system!issues!that!we!would!
like!to!work!together!on!to!resolve:!

•! We!are!aiming!to!focus!their!support!on!the!learners!who!need!this!support!the!most.!Once!we!
have!identified!the!focal!students!in!each!school,!these!will!be!the!learners!that!we!want!the!

!

Health!Team!to!focus!on.!If!any!of!the!students!who!are!not!identified!as!focal!students!require!
health!support!please!use!the!Student!Support!Referral!Form!which!can!be!found!on!TIPS.!
This!will!ensure!the!District’s!Student!Support!Team!reviews!and!provides!assistance.!The!
rationale!for!this!is!that!they!also!need!to!focus!on!a!few!learners!at!a!time!so!that!they!can!
learn!what!works!best.!Assumption%Shatterer:!Focus%on%a%Very%Specific%Few%to%Create%
Deep,%System!Wide%Shifts%that%Benefit%Everyone!
•! OCCHD!do!not!have!parent!addresses!and!information.!Would!you!be!willing!to!help!us!and!
think!about!ways,!in!your!Change!Team,!to!keep!the!parent!contact!information!as!up!to!date!
as!possible?!Remember!to!think!about!this!in!terms!of!not!doing!what!we!have!always!done.!
What!are!some!innovative!methods!your!school!can!come!up!with!that!focus!on!the!idea!of!
engaging!as!many!parents!as!we!can?!Assumption%Shatterer:!Parents%&%Families%are%
Experts!
•! Some!of!the!long!held!beliefs!about!how!long!it!takes!to!get!support!need!to!be!discussed.!As!
an!example,!we!discussed!at!our!meeting!that!some!schools!believe!it!takes!a!year!to!get!a!
referral!to!get!an!academic!assessment.!The!intent!of!the!regulations!is!clear:!children!need!to!
be!seen!earlier!rather!than!later,!and!so!there!are!numbers!of!days!allocated!as!a!maximum!for!
each!step!of!the!referral!process.!As!Federal!law!and!State!guidelines!clearly!state,!once!a!
parent!signs!consent!for!special!education!testing,!the!district!has!45!schoolAdays!to!complete!
the!testing.!Once!a!child!is!found!eligible!for!special!education,!there!is!a!timeline!of!30!days!
for!service!placement.!To!be!more!informed!on!Special!Education!Policies!and!Procedures,!
please!follow!the!link!http://www.ok.gov/sde/documentsAforms.!Iceberg:!Policy,%Behavior%and%
Beliefs%Alignment%
•! Finally,!for!the!front!office,!how!are!we!making!this!space!a!place!that!welcomes!learners!and!
their!families?!

If!you!have!any!questions!about!the!content!of!this!newsletter,!please!contact!Joanne!McEachen!
([email protected])!!

! Best!Regards,!
!
!
!
!

Joanne%McEachen% ! 2!

President%and%Chief%Destiny%Changer%

The%Learner%First,%LLC%