[nfbwatlk] FW: [Wcb-l] FW: DSB State Rehabilitation council Meeting

Mon Mar 3 15:58:05 UTC 2014

FYI,
Below is information about th DSB Rehab Council meeting that will take place this Thursday and Friday in Vancouver.
The agenda and information about changes at the OTC are included.

Have a great Monday,

Doug

From: sue.ammeter at cablespeed.com
To: wcb-l at wcbinfo.org
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:20:03 -0800
Subject: [Wcb-l] FW: DSB State Rehabilitation council Meeting

                Pasted below you will find the agenda for the State Rehabilitation Council meeting to be held in Vancouver, WA on March 6 and 7.  We are inviting the public to attend in person or by phone in order to hear public comments both on Thursday or Friday.  Also, pasted below the agenda is a proposal from OTC Director Keiko Namekata concerning the proposed realignment of the OTC curriculum: From: DEBORAH E. COOK [mailto:debcook at uw.edu] 
Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 2:12 PM
To: Sue Ammeter
Subject: DSB State Rehabilitation council Meeting State Rehabilitation Council MeetingThursday & Friday, March 6-7, 2014Location: Washington State School for the Blind, Auditorium2214 E. 13th Street, Vancouver, WA 98661Please join us at the SRC’s quarterly meeting, in person or via teleconference, to learn more about Department of Services for the Blind and the SRC.Thursday’s Agenda: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.NOON – Lunch (SRC and staff only)1:00 PM – WSSB Tour2:40 PM – Break3:00 PM – Welcome and introductions, review of agenda, approval of December 2013 Minutes*3:15 PM – Director’s Report: Lou Oma Durand4:00 PM – DSB budget proposals: Lou Oma Durand and staff4:45 PM – Public comment5:00 PM – Adjourn Friday’s Agenda: 9 a.m. - noon9:00 AM – Welcome and introductions9:15 AM – OTC Proposed Curriculum changes: Keiko Namekata*10:00 AM – Public comment10:15 AM – Break10:30 AM – DSB Communications: Ladell Lockwood10:45 AM – Staff liaison report: Annual Report, letter to the Governor, future staffing*11:00 AM – SRC subcommittee reports: Membership; operations; legislation; customer satisfaction11:45 AM – Old business/New business, meeting prepsNOON – Adjourn: Lunch to follow* Denotes information to be provided before the meeting or handed out at the meeting.Questions & Public AccommodationsDSB is committed to providing a barrier-free environment for everyone who attends the meeting. If you need a reasonable accommodation to attend the meeting, please call in advance to make a request. DSB does not provide transportation to or from the meeting.To participate via teleconference, please call 800-379-6841 and use pin 679809, followed by the pound sign, to connect to the meeting. Participants will be in “listen mode” until Public Comment.PLEASE NOTE: We may have difficulty providing teleconference services for this meeting due to internet connectivity. If you wish to submit written comments in advance, please send them to Debbie Cook and your comments will be read into the meeting record.To find out more about the Council, visit DSB’s website at www.dsb.wa.gov and click on the link “About Us.” For more information regarding the meeting, contact Debbie Cook at 206-616-5913, toll-free at 1-800-552-7103, or by email at debcook at uw.edu. The following was submitted by Keiko Namekata and will be discussed during the OTC presentation on Friday morning: Proposal for realigning OTC curriculum: Shop Project to OTC Student Project For the past 15 years or so, the OTC has been gradually evolving to provide training and experiences that are aligned with the DSB/VR mission, vision, and values for independence and employment.   The OTC firmly believes in the development of the whole person and strives to provide training and experiences which are designed to challenge and empower positive attitudes and self-confidence.  In addition to the alternative skills training and adjustment to blindness classes, we engage in various challenge activities throughout the year to provide students an opportunity to explore a variety of recreational and educational activities. These events allow students to interact with the public, build self-esteem and gain greater self-confidence.  Challenge activities have included rock climbing, tandem bicycling, snowshoeing/cross-country skiing, kayaking, the high and low ropes course, river rafting, and horseback riding, to name a few. The OTC will continue to add to this list so that we continue to challenge students on many different levels.   Our OTC initiative began in 1998 as we changed the student residential environment from a dormitory setting to an apartment where students applied their learned independent living skills daily and were responsible for the maintenance and management of their units.  In 2003 we began focusing on incorporating an employment emphasis in all aspects of the OTC curriculum and so initiated the Career Class series.  We also emphasized the importance of having reliable soft skills such as good attendance, punctuality, taking responsibility for their own actions, etc., which are essential characteristics of successful employees.  We then incorporated the volunteer work experience for students in 2007 and this gave them first-hand employment experience at local businesses. Students tested their newly-acquired skills at their work site and learned how to satisfy employer expectations and workload demands.    We are continuously fine-tuning our curriculum to keep up with changing technology, workplace demands, and the needs of the students we serve.  There is a greater dependence on technological skills in the majority of employment opportunities today, and these skills require a larger investment of time to learn and master.  The characteristics of those attending the OTC are changing.  We are serving an increasing number of students with secondary disabilities such as hearing impairment, cognitive issues resulting from stroke/traumatic brain injury, diabetes, vascular diseases, and a variety of diagnosed and undiagnosed mental health issues. We are also seeing an increasing number of students who come to us with English as a second language.   We continue to work with students who have poor literacy skills and this interferes with their ability to learn computer and braille and other classes that require a good command of written language skills.  In order to work effectively with these individuals in a timely manner, we need to provide individualized training which often requires one-on-one instruction.   With the changes we have implemented, the OTC is better meeting the needs of our VR customers.  This is reflected in the number of participants referred to the OTC for both residential and commuting programs. The OTC typically has 30 or so customers on the referred list.  In response to the increasing demand for residential student capacity, the OTC has increased the capacity to serve 12 to 16 residential students over the past two years.   Unmet or undermet training areas We have identified the following areas where we are not providing adequate training to prepare our students for independence and employment readiness.  ·         ESL instruction with emphasis on terminologies used in OTC classes and incorporating alternative communication skills, e.g. Braille, large print.·         Assisting students with improving spelling and literacy skills.·         Intensive training earlier in students’ training curriculum to develop independent notetaking strategies including use of Apple i products.·         In-house career classes and other job readiness activities including volunteer work experience and career search. ·         One-on-one instruction/tutoring in a variety of areas to assist students who possesses secondary disabilities/challenges outside of their vision impairment.  Staffing changes The OTC was very fortunate to acquire an additional orientation and mobility instructor position in 2013, which allowed us to provide daily instruction in orientation and mobility and enabled students to achieve their goals in a more timely fashion.  With 2 instructors, we were only able to provide daily instruction to 14 students. With the third instructor, we now have the capacity to train 21 students in the orientation and mobility class.   With the pending retirement of Bronson Goo, who teaches basic home maintenance and shop class, we will have an opportunity to address and meet some of the changing demands of our current student population while continuing to maintain focus on employment readiness skills.   Proposed position changes The OTC plans to keep the current module 1 of the shop class where students are taught various home maintenance/fire safety skills, incorporating the use of basic hand tools.  This portion of the class will be taught by existing staff.  We would like to discontinue module 2 of the class where students design and build a wooden project.  We would like to use the position to address other unmet needs in the OTC.   Value of the shop project We recognize that the creation of a shop project for many students is a new and daunting experience. And certainly using the power equipment under sleepshades can be frightening and anxiety provoking even for an experienced woodworker.  Conquering these fears by operating power equipment to create such projects can give students a sense of confidence and serve as a reminder in the future that they once accomplished a major task that they never thought they would be able to do Propose alternative activity for shop project We are proposing to incorporate an OTC student project that is mandatory for residential and full-time commuting students but optional for part-time commuters.  We envision an activity somewhat similar to a high school “Senior Project”. The goal of the project would be for the student to develop a sense of confidence and accomplishment. The project must have a tangible reward/outcome and of course be measurable.  This activity must either be in the community or involve community resources and include contact with the real world (not the protective cocoon of the OTC).  As an example, projects could include weekly volunteering or other service-related activities.  The project would be selected from a list of possible ideas, or it could be developed by the student with input from the staff project advisor.  And it must be completed prior to graduation and shared with the students and staff.           No virus found in this message.
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