2006 - 2007 Accomplishments

The field-based consultant network was developed using a continuous improvement model; the INKS project will continue to utilize this evaluation approach during Year Three of its second K-STARS grant cycle. Data will continue to be collected by the INKS’ administrative staff and the field-based consultants, themselves.  FBCs will generate formative and summative reports, as well as case study vignettes, that will be summarized and reported, in terms of project impacts, by the INKS’ administrative staff.

During FY2004, extensive revisions in INKS’ evaluation plan and procedures were implemented to more effectively and efficiently capture the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of field-based technical assistance (FBTA) and field-based professional development (FBPD) activities.  As a result of improvements made in evaluating outcomes, INKS has been able to more accurately and comprehensively communicate the systemic changes to which the project’s work has contributed at local, district, and state levels.

In FY2007, the Network continued to refine evaluation activities, as described in subsequent sections, below.  In Year Three (FY 2008) of its second K-STARS grant cycle, the INKS project will focus even more on work at the building and district levels, to impact an even greater number of students with disabilities, their parents, professionals, and paraprofessionals.  As has been the case in recent practice, all INKS’ annual progress reports will be posted on the project website (www.ku.edu/~inks). 

Selected INKS data are summarized and reported in Table 1, for the ten-month period from July 1, 2006 through April 30, 2007.       

Table 1:  Summary of All INKS Requests Received (as of 4/30/07)

    
Observations: Year Two of the Second Five-Year Funding Cycle (2006-2007)

• 41% of all INKS requests were for individual student TA/consultations—compared to 61% in 2005-2006; of these, 50% were for students with severe disabilities, including deaf-blindness—quite comparable to last year’s figure of 49%.  Approximately 38% of all individual student consultation requests were related to students with significant support needs who experienced problem behaviors (vs. 38% in 2005-2006). Finally, about 12% were with students with severe disabilities and other issues (e.g., sensory issues, communication challenges, or a combination of two or more issues), compared to 10% in 2005-2006. There were no requests in Year Two for individual student TA for students with severe disabilities transitioning to adulthood, as compared to 3% last year.

• Only approximately 9% of all INKS requests were for programmatic consultations (vs. 14% last year); of these, 56% were related to issues/concerns for students with severe disabilities (vs. 67% last year); 22% (vs. 33% in 2005-2006) were regarding students with disabilities and problem behaviors, and 22% were with students with severe disabilities and other issues (e.g., sensory issues, communication challenges, or a combination of two or more issues), compared to 0% last year.

• One-half of all INKS requests were for in-service training for school teams, district-level workshops, or statewide workshops (vs. only 25% in 2005-2006); of these, 18% related to issues related to working with students with severe disabilities, including deaf-blindness; 6% in regard to students with disabilities and problem behaviors, and 76% to “other” issues/concerns (e.g., the “how-to’s” of the KAA; scoring the KAA, communication issues, assistive technology).

• Of the 50 active consultations, as of 4/30/07 (i.e., completed or still in progress, that were conducted in response to individual student and programmatic consultation requests [i.e., all non-training requests], approximately 68% [N=34] of the time, INKS’ field-based consultants scheduled at least one site visit combining observations and team meetings. The remaining 32% of the network’s active TA / consultation responses (N=16) involved sending materials, tools, examples of strategies, curricula, web resources, etc., via email attachment or U.S. mail, in response to specific requests from school teams. Many of these 16 responses involved ongoing, multi-year, sustained consultations where school teams requested review of programming ideas, or requested specific suggestions to help address a particular concern that had been previously identified on the school team’s Action Plan, during a site visit held sometime previously.

• Of the 34 individual student and programmatic consultations that involved site visits, 41% of the time a single site visit was conducted; 35% of the time, two site visits were conducted; and 23% of the time, three or more site visits were completed.  Thus, nearly 60% of all consultations involving site visits reflected INKS’ ongoing commitment to building and sustaining connections with school teams, as evidenced by at least two on-site observations and team meetings held during the academic year.  In general, single site visit consultations tend to occur later in the school year, in regard to referrals that are received in the spring semester—when time typically remains for only one visit before the close of the school year; in most of these cases, at least one return visit to each of these sites will be scheduled during the subsequent school year. 

• Looking at the focus areas / target students for which school teams requested assistance, 34% of ALL requests were for assistance with students with severe disabilities; 21% were for assistance with students with significant support needs and problem behaviors; 36% were for in-service training and follow-up consultation assistance on conducting the KAA or scoring the KAA; and 9% were for assistance for students with disabilities and other issues/needs (e.g., sensory challenges, communication strategies, assistive technology, or a combination of two or more focus areas/issues).

INKS Requests by School Settings and Geographical Locations:

• Pre-school/Head Start/Part C settings                   N=   3 requests (  3%)

• Elementary School settings                                   N= 33 requests (32%)

• Jr. High/Middle School settings                            N= 11 requests (11%)

• High School settings                                             N=   7 requests (  7%)

• Multiple settings (i.e., most workshops)               N= 44 requests (43%)

• Other settings (e.g., KSD, homebound)                N=   4 requests ( 4%)

• Eastern KS (Johnson Co., Lawrence, Topeka)     N= 42 requests (41%)

• South Central KS (Wichita, Derby, Newton)        N= 34 requests (33%)

• North Central KS (Beloit, Concordia)                   N=   8 requests (  8%)

• Western KS (Hays, Dodge City, Great Bend)      N= 18 requests ( 18%)

Status of INKS Consultations (as of 4/30/07):

 A total of 88 consultations have been completed, 13 are still in progress, and one is a request the INKS Coordinator has already received for the 2007-2008 school year.  These figures reflect individual student consultations, programmatic consultations, and in-service trainings conducted with school site teams, districts, and at the statewide level.  The following is a descriptive profile of all 102 requests for assistance that INKS received in 2006-2007.

DISPOSITION

Consultations Completed:                                           N=88 (86%)

Consultations Still In Progress:                                   N=13 (13%)

Other:                                                                          N=  1 ( 1%)
Request deferred to Fall 2007

PARTNERSHIPS

            INKS and KSDE                                                                   N=36 (35%)
36 Kansas Alternate Assessment training events
were co-conducted with KSDE (Debbie Matthews)
           
INKS and Other Agencies                                                      N=10 (10%)
Referrals to and / or activities with other agencies
(e.g., KSD, KSSB) or K-STARS projects (e.g., KISN)

Within-District / Cooperative Consultations                            N=23 (23%)
Responses by FBCs to requests from their own,
local employers

INKS’ FBC Collaborative Consultations                                N=13 (13%)
Two or more FBCs partnered and were involved
in responding to a consultation request over time

ADDITIONAL REQUESTS RECEIVED, BUT NOT RESULTING IN INKS’ACTIVITIES

No Further Response from School                                         N= 12 
After initial TA Request and INKS follow-up

Request Withdrawn, or No Longer Applicable                       N= 7
Family moved away before INKS was able to
respond, or change in teacher, so consultation was
no longer needed
 
In 2006-2007, INKS tracked 54 active (i.e., “completed” or “in progress”) consultations by the end of the fourth month (10/26/06) of the 2006-2007 project year.  By comparison, 53 “completed” or “in progress” consultations were reported by the middle of the eleventh month (5/15/06) during the 2005-2006 fiscal year; 53 “completed” or "in progress” consultations were logged after 10 months (4/30/05) during the 2004-2005 project year; and only 53 “completed” or "in progress" INKS consultations were recorded for the entire project year in 2003-2004. 

In comparison to these historical trends, INKS project responses to requests for field-based technical assistance, consultation, and training nearly doubled during Year Two (2006-2007).  It should be noted, however, that 35% of INKS’ total requests during Year Two focused on conducting multiple, statewide trainings for educators regarding the development and scoring of the Kansas Alternate Assessment. 

In addition, INKS field-based consultants have provided more and more “within-district / cooperative” technical assistance, consultation and training—a highly cost-effective way of disseminating effective practices to building-level and district-level teams, who work with learners who have severe disabilities and significant support needs. 

In 2006-2007, 23 within-district / within-cooperative consultation activities were conducted by field-based consultants who were employees of said districts or cooperatives.  These activities included technical assistance on behalf of individual students with severe disabilities and significant support needs, programmatic consultations, and in-service training activities.