External Visitation

2008 Visit

Introductory Remarks

Educational Service Units in Nebraska are required to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of their programs and services at least once in every seven year period using models approved by the Nebraska Department of Education and as scheduled by the Department. Educational Service Unit #17 chose to use a continuous strategic planning model to guide its improvement efforts. The unit is implementing this model and has chosen to bring an External Visitation team into the unit to review the target area goals and action plans.

The consultative visit of “critical friends” was scheduled on April 14, 2008 to provide feedback regarding the unit’s progress toward establishing workable and manageable target goals and action plans and to suggest strategies or revisions that may strengthen the goals and implementation process. The visiting team was provided with online action plans that were developed by each department within ESU 17. ESU 17 personnel also presented a formal overview of the strategic plan that included discussion of their data collection and analysis.

As a result of the formal presentations, the review of the action plans developed by each department, and the informal conversations that took place during the visit, the members of the external visitation team were able to arrive at several conclusions regarding the progress, challenges, and successes of the continuous planning process at ESU 17. Conclusions that can be generalized to all goals in the strategic plan will be found in the “Overview of ESU 17’s Improvement Process” starting on page 4. Conclusions that are specific to individual departments are contained in the individual committee reports.

The visiting team would like to express its sincere appreciation for the courtesies extended during the external review. The team was received with hospitality and openness, and the discussions that took place during the visit should lead to improved leadership and service to the schools served by ESU 17. It was stated during the 2003 visit, but needs to be repeated: “As is true of our rural ‘western’ units, the ESU services provided to our schools are unique and are critical to the continued existence of our schools.” We are sure that the environment that surrounded the external visitation team is the same one that surrounds your schools and students. This environment definitely impacts your leadership and service in positive ways. The attendance of individual members from your Board and Superintendents indicates a supportive environment and is a definite strength of Educational Service Unit #17. We wish you the best as you continue the Strategic Planning Process.

Freida Lange, Administrator

Accreditation and School Improvement

Nebraska Department of Education

External Visitation Chairperson

Overview of ESU 17’s Improvement Process

Reviewer Names: Freida Lange and Gerald Ehlers

I. Successful Activities, Procedures, and Accomplishments in the Overall Progress of the Improvement Process

1. The format for an excellent communication base exists among the administration, staff, Advisory Council, and the ESU Board. The Advisory Council meets quarterly, with additional meetings (usually one per month) to discuss pertinent educational issues. Staff members attend the ESU Board meetings to provide department reports.

2. The goals have been identified and presented as broad statements of intent, with the framework for “action plans” initiated.

3. The overall services provided to member schools are very good and are effective, given the issues of limited resources and the geographic distances involved.

4. Services are provided to member schools based on the needs of each respective school system. This establishes an element of “fairness” to all school systems, without the need to provide identical services to all.

5. The goals identified in 2003 resulted in action plans being developed and an internal assessment being conducted in 2007 to determine the degree of success in reaching the goals. A survey of member schools and their staff resulted in the identification of new goals and action plans in 2008. Department personnel were involved in this process.

II. Recommendations for Next Steps in the Overall Improvement Process

1. Communication: While good communication exists among department staff on daily operational issues, time should be deliberately scheduled for the entire staff to plan jointly and develop improvement initiatives instead of having each department working independently. The status of these improvement initiatives should be reported to the ESU Board monthly.

2. Integration: Three unit-wide goals have been identified. Goal One is Awareness; Goal Two is User-friendly Resources; and Goal Three is Training. Each department has independently prepared an action plan for each goal, resulting in 15 separate plans. Consideration should be given to reorganizing the action plan process by having the departments collectively prepare one coordinated action plan for each goal. Integrating departmental strategies could establish unity and coordination of effort.

3. Action Planning: The effectiveness of an action plan will depend on the specificity of the strategies to be implemented. While a goal should be a broad statement of intent, an action plan should clearly identify the strategy (what is to happen), person responsible (accountability), needed resources (support), timeline (motivation and progress), and evidence of completion (success). Care should be taken to ensure that an action plan is not used as an instrument to demonstrate what has been done in the past, but developed as a specifically designed plan (not a random selection of activities) as to what is to happen in the future in a coordinated and timely manner.

4. In the awareness action plans, consider strategies to disseminate information regarding services to schools. Share the “good story and good news” with the area media!

5. The internal assessment of the goals in 2007 was actually a review of the degree of accomplishment of the strategies in the action plans initiated in 2003, with an “assumption” that the degree of accomplishment of the strategies would indicate that the goals had been met. That is the ideal, but how do you know that this happened? For the 2008 goals and properly prepared action plans, it is suggested that an evaluation instrument be developed for each goal. For example, to determine if the goal regarding “awareness” has been accomplished, information should be gathered from those who were to have become “aware.” Without baseline data, measurement of success cannot occur.

6. The 2008 goals have been identified as the result of a survey of the ESU service. The action plans have been developed by the departments responsible for delivering those services. As ESU leadership and department personnel change, the goals (as identified by service recipients) should not change. However, the strategies in the action plans may be modified to utilize the talents and skills of the new personnel responsible for the service. This should provide for an appropriate transition of personnel while maintaining continuity and ownership, by adjusting and adapting without making wholesale changes in the improvement process.

7. To make the ESU 17 Strategic Plan “continuous” rather than “random acts of improvement”, consider reporting progress on the action plans at each meeting of the ESU Board. This helps maintain momentum and accountability.

8. To build ownership of the “Continuous” Improvement Plan, develop a rotation plan for the facilitator and reporters of the Strategic Plan. This helps distribute knowledge and ownership.

Report for ESU 17 Media Department

Reviewer's Name : Evelyn M. Ost

I. Media Department Goals

1. The ESU will strive to promote awareness regarding available services to member schools.

2. The ESU will strive to promote user-friendly resources to enhance teaching and learning.

II. Comments about the Department Goals

Goals were developed from the results and comments obtained from the ESU 17 survey conducted in the latter part of 2007. These goals are related to the survey findings. The 175 survey respondents were asked if they were aware of the following media services:

Instructional Materials Standards Alignment to LEARNS site:

51.5% Yes

48.5% No or Unfamiliar

Power Media Plus, Media On Demand:

47.1% Yes

52.9% No or Unfamiliar

Library Organization Assistance:

32.2% Yes 67.8% No or Unfamiliar

Spring Buy Preview Process:

52.0% Yes 47.9% No or Unfamiliar

When asked if they use the Power Media Plus – Media On Demand resource offered, 16% of respondents indicated Yes and 84% indicated No.

Survey results indicated satisfaction with the Online Media Catalog and the information it provides, with 66.8% of the 176 respondents indicating a response of satisfied to very satisfied, and 33.2 % indicating they were not satisfied or did not know.

III. Successful Activities and Procedures

This reviewer found that the Media Center is providing the needed resources to enhance education and the staff is making efforts to facilitate usage of resources.

· Educational staff indicated an 89% approval rating of the two full-time Media Center staff members in their professional dealings. Media staff members meet with specialists/educators any time they ask for technical assistance. There is no charge for any service except laminating, and delivery of materials is provided.

· The Media Center is a cooperative project housed in a historical 1936 WPA Post Office building owned by Cherry County, which also houses the Cherry County Memorial Textbook Library for K-8 schools. The cost of heating, grounds care, electricity and partial salary of one staff person is also provided by Cherry County.

· Circulation of materials averages 23,000 yearly, while in 1994 this figure was only 8,000.

· The Online Catalog is created and maintained by the Media Director at a cost savings of $7,000 yearly.

· A Media Center brochure is given to every educator at the beginning of each school year and is available on the Media Center home page.

· A monthly newsletter is circulated to educators.

· The Media Center home page is updated regularly and a link to the Nebraska Access databases is provided.

· If educators cannot find what they want or need, they can contact the Media staff and request resources, and the Media staff will do the searching for them.

· Two informational brochures were recently completed: PowerMedia Plus - Media On Demand Tips and Media Center Online Catalog Tips. Brochures were sent to every school as an attachment for copying.

· The Director created a user name and password profile for every educator in the four-county region on PowerMedia Plus to simplify beginning usage for educators.

· The Policy and Procedure Manual is updated.

· The Director attends Northeast Nebraska Network Consortium workshops where specialists come in and share their expertise. The Director does presentations on PowerMedia Plus, which is her specialty. Resources and information from these workshops are then shared with educators who cannot attend because of distance and schedules.

IV. Recommendations for Next Steps

A need to continue a strong campaign to help educators become aware of Media resources and utilize them to their fullest is apparent. On-going training to ensure that local school staff members are aware of all resources and able to assist other educators on usage should continue to be implemented.

· Develop leadership capacity by providing specialized one-on-one training yearly to at least one staff person (preferably more) in every school on the availability and usage of media center resources and databases. This would increase awareness and usage.

· Utilize technology to create short website tutorials and/or podcasting on usage of media resources.

· Continue to develop informational brochures highlighting Media Center resources with user information. Distribute brochures to each educator via delivery with other materials to schools.

· Continue to develop the FAQ link (sectioned into various Media Center resources with usage tips provided).

· Provide additional information on toolbar buttons in Media databases to increase ease of use.

Report for ESU 17 Staff Development Department

Reviewer's Name: Toby Boss

I. Staff Development Department Goals

1. The ESU will strive to promote awareness regarding services available to member schools.

2. The ESU will strive to promote user-friendly resources to enhance teaching and learning.

3. The ESU will strive to provide a wide variety of training opportunities for all school district personnel that enhance teaching and learning.

II. Comments about the Department Goals

The goals were derived from data generated from a unit-wide survey. Staff development personnel have designed improvement activities for each goal, and a plan is in place to complete these in a timely manner. The ESU has done an excellent job of identifying goals that can be addressed across departments and that require long term planning and implementation.

Specific Comments for each Goal:

· Goal One: The initial activities for this goal should be met with onsite planning meetings with each school in the fall. The department will need to work continually to match professional development training sessions with school needs. The activity to meet with each school is an excellent step in customer relations and should provide the foundation for more aligned training opportunities.

· Goal Two: Based on the feedback from schools, staff development is working to provide information to all users, regardless of the user’s level of technological expertise. Activities in the future could include a variety of delivery methods and the use of technology to gain scale efficiencies.

· Goal Three: The department is addressing how to provide effective staff development in a manner that meets the needs of the schools, both in content and process. The activities aligned to this goal will require the staff to deliver more opportunities at school sites. Current literature supports the delivery of professional development at the classroom level as a more effective system, which will require coordination between the ESU and schools.

III. Successful Activities and Procedures

· The staff members are commended on possessing a “can do” attitude, and on taking proactive steps to seek innovative methods to improve teaching and learning in the member schools. The department continually looks at how the ESU can influence student learning and exhibits a willingness to make a difference in their schools.

· Staff members are also commended on addressing feedback about providing professional development at the school sites, as this is supported by current literature and is an example of responding to customer needs.

· Finally, the plan to meet with the schools next fall is a positive step, and should generate quality data and provide stronger networking between the ESU and schools. The ESU might find that due to school site coordinated planning, the customer base has shifted from individual teacher-generated demand for services to demand generated by school improvement teams or administration.

IV. Recommendations for Next Steps

· Develop a process to build capacity among school staff. This will allow the one FTE staff development position to enhance teaching and learning across content areas without trying to become an expert in all areas. Due to the small staff size, the building of experts in the field will allow the ESU to leverage the knowledge base from a leadership position.

· Develop a method to showcase best practices among school staff. The literature on effective professional development supports this methodology and builds on the capacity of teachers in the field. The purposeful planning of instituting change, showcasing tangible success, and extending the base are solid approaches.

· Leverage technology to enhance teaching and learning. Due to travel issues based on the school locations, the ESU should look at a variety of professional development delivery methods. This could include training sessions offered online, face-to face, or a combination of the two. The ESU has done an excellent job of creating the technology infrastructure, and the next logical step is to use it to broaden and enhance the customer base.

Report for ESU 17 Health Services Department

Reviewer's Name : Kristi Cobb

I. Health Service Department Goals

Health services will provide member schools with general information and contract schools with specific information. Schools contracting for health services will be offered varied training opportunities to create and maintain a safe and healthy school setting.

II. Comments about the Department Goals

I like that a survey was done to get a feel for what teachers think the needs are. The goals are appropriate for the services provided by the health team at ESU 17. Because school nursing is unique compared to other nursing jobs, I feel that time needs to be allocated for professional training in order for the nurses to accomplish the goals. The goals also have added challenges due to the sparse population of the area.

III. Successful Activities and Procedures

All schools have some nursing service at this time. The nurses are providing multiple programs for their schools. Some examples are programs on CPR, blood-borne pathogens, pandemic flu, and medication administration. The nurses communicate with staff through school faculty bulletins. Education is provided to students at many levels, on topics such as puberty and hygiene, WAIT, STDs, Encare, blood-typing, and eating disorders. The nurses maintain all the DHHS standards with health checks, perform scoliosis checks for the appropriate ages, and keep all student immunizations up to date. The nurses are part of Safety and Crisis teams who assist with emergency response.

IV. Recommendations for Next Steps

1. Continue to work on the actions listed, such as putting a “Nurses Note” in the

ESU 17 newsletter. Since distances are a challenge for ESU 17 staff, this would help disseminate information.

            2. Provide professional training for the nurses on school health issues, since the
     nurses serve as the resource for teachers. To find time for professional
     development, consider using:

            a.   “Sub-nurses” to cover a school day. Since nurses have become an
      essential part of the school day and the schools are seeing more
      students with increased health concerns, it is difficult to find release
      time for the nurses. “Sub-nurses” may help.

b. A website for teachers about health issues. Include an FAQ
section and a “contacts” section.

3. Continue to survey teachers at intervals to monitor services provided by
ESU 17.