The Guam Department of Education (GDOE) in collaboration with Guam CEDDERS held several virtual planning meetings in the last few months with stakeholders to collect input on how the State Systemic Improvement Project (SSIP) will be adapted in response to COVID-19. Sessions were comprised of the SSIP Project Director, SSIP Principals, SSIP teacher leaders, GDOE Special Education personnel, and SSIP on-island consultants. The focus of the meetings was on how professional development will be delivered amid the COVID-19 restrictions and what supplemental resources were needed by schools. The content and format of professional development sessions were discussed. In addition, a Teacher Leader Survey was also sent out to ascertain areas that need to be targeted during professional development.
On May 5, SSIP stakeholders met to discuss how the SSIP project will be adapted during COVID-19.Top row, L-R: Josephine Cruz, Associate Director, Guam CEDDERS; June De Leon, Interim Director, Guam CEDDERS; Elias Taisipic, Acting Principal, Price Elementary.Middle row, L-R:Natasha Dela Cruz, Principal, M.U. Lujan Elementary; Darlene Castro, Principal, Chief Brodie Elementary; Joshua Blas, SSIP Project Director, GDOE; Bottom row:Rose Castro, Acting Principal, J.M. Guerrero Elementary.
On May 1, the Guam Department of Education (GDOE) in collaboration with Guam CEDDERS held a virtual stakeholder input session on significant disproportionality with 14 GDOE personnel and members from the Guam Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities (GAPSD) and the Guam Developmental Disabilities Council. New regulations require states, inclusive of Guam, to use a standard methodology to determine if significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity is occurring in the State and the local educational agency.An important part of the reporting process is how the State included stakeholders in determining whether or not significant disproportionality exists.There are three categories for significant disproportionality: identification, placement, and discipline.
On May 1, GDOE conducted a stakeholder input session on reporting significant disproportionality. From top to bottom: Cathy Tydingco, Part C Coordinator, GDOE; June De Leon, Interim Director, Guam CEDDERS; Terese Crisostomo, Special Projects Coordinator, GDOE; Dennis Bakker, Data Manger, GDOE; Yolanda Gabriel, Assistant Superintendent, Division of Special Education, GDOE; and Faye Local, parent, GAPSD.
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is responsible for ensuring that states comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Annually, each state must have a State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR). The SPP/APR evaluates the state’s efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of Part B and Part C of the IDEA. In April, OSEP provided a clarification period so states may provide additional information or clarification to their initial report submission. Guam CEDDERS Interim Director, June De Leon provided support to Guam, the Republic of Palau (ROP), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in submitting any required clarifications to their Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2018 SPP/APR report.
On April 17, CNMI is all smiles under their masks after reviewing their IDEA FFY 2018 Part B SPP/APR clarification. Top right: JuneDe Leon, Interim Director, Guam CEDDERS , displays UOG pride by showing the Triton sign. Bottom (L-R): Donna Flores, Acting Director of Special Education, CNMI; and Nora Fujihira, Data Management & Compliance Program Manager, CNMI, show the peace sign.
On April 22, Guam CEDDERS June De Leon participated in a Skype call with Guam Division of Special Education Administrators and the US Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) State Lead for Guam.The purpose for the call was for the OSEP State Lead to discuss OSEP’s review of Guam’s Part B and Part C FFY 2018 Annual Performance Reports submitted in February 2020.L-R: Cathy Tydingco, Part C Coordinator, GDOE; June De Leon, Interim Director, Guam CEDDERS; Laura Taisipic, Parent Services Coordinator, GDOE; Terese Crisostomo, Special Projects Coordinator, GDOE; Yolanda Gabriel, Assistant Superintendent, Division of Special Education, GDOE; and Charlie Kniseley, State Lead, OSEP.
On April 24, L-R: Genee Norbert, OSEP State Lead for FSM; Arthur Albert, Assistant Secretary, FSM Department of Education; and GuamCEDDERS June De Leon meet virtually through Zoom video conferencing to discuss FSM’s IDEA FFY 2018 Part B APR submission and the opportunity for FSM to provide “clarification.”
On April 24, Guam submitted their IDEA FFY 2018 Part C SPP/APR clarification. From top to bottom: June De Leon, Interim Director, Guam CEDDERS; Laura Taisipic, Parent Service Coordinator, GDOE; Cathy Tydingco, Part C Coordinator, GDOE; Terese Crisostomo, Special Projects Coordinator, GDOE; and Yolanda Gabriel, Assistant Superintendent, Division of Special Education, GDOE.
On April 30, FSM submitted their IDEA FFY 2018 Part B SPP/APR clarification. Arthur Albert, Assistant Secretary for the Division of Special Services, FSM Department of Education, is all smiles when he sees “submitted” in green above “current status.”
On April 30, Nora Renguul, Special Education Coordinator, Palau Ministry of Education (top photo), uses Zoom video conferencing to meet virtually with Guam CEDDERS June De Leon (bottom photo) to finalize Palau’s “clarification” for its FFY 2018 IDEA Part B APR.All smiles indeed!
In partnership with the University of Guam (UOG) Office of Information Technology and Guam CEDDERS, Guam Department of Education (GDOE), Division of Special Education prioritized providing technical support to their speech-language pathologists in delivering teletherapy. With facilitation support from Guam CEDDERS June De Leon and Josephine Cruz, UOG’s Interim Chief Information Officer Manny Hechanova conducted five virtual sessions in April and May with the Division’s speech-language pathologists assigned to providing Extended School Year services in the summer. A total of eight Division personnel and speech-language pathologists participated in the virtual sessions. The sessions covered an array of topics related to using the Zoom and Moodle virtual platforms. Participants learned how to use the various features on virtual platforms.They also engaged in problem-solving on how to make the platforms more interactive as they deliver teletherapy.
On April 30, UOG Manny Hechanova’s virtual Zoom session included a virtual fun pose (really?).Top row, L-R:Terese Crisostomo, Special Projects Coordinator, Division of Special Education, GDOE; June De Leon, Interim Director, Guam CEDDERS; Josephine Cruz, Associate Director, Guam CEDDERS; Bottom row, L-R:Michelle Camacho, Speech-Language Pathologist, GDOE; Manny Hechanova Jr., Interim Chief Information Officer, UOG; and Amalia Badua, Speech-Language Pathologist, GDOE.
Three Project EPICS scholars from Group 1 completed their California externship in Summer 2019 at the LEARN Speech Therapy Clinic. L to R: John Payne, and Lillian Reyes, scholars, Dawn Hansen, externship supervisor, Lisa Eclavea, scholar, and Lynzy Melzer, Co-supervisor. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Group 2’s externship originally scheduled for this summer has been postponed.
As the much-quoted Scottish poet Robert Burns has said, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” so have the plans with Project EPICS.
The Educating Pacific Island Clinicians in Speech-Language Pathology (EPICS) Project, is a personnel preparation grant funded by the US DOE awarded to San José State University, in partnership with Guam CEDDERS. With a start date of May 2015, the goal of this five-year project is to facilitate the training of graduate-level personnel from the U.S. affiliated Pacific Basin jurisdictions in speech-language pathology to meet the critical need of certified professionals in this specialty area.
Although some challenges occurred during these past four and half years since the start of the project, the Work Plan and timeline originally mapped out for the implementation of EPICS, including activities and milestones, were, for the most part, met for the majority of the student “scholars” enrolled in the program.Over the past two years, 18 scholars were on track to complete their requirements to graduate with a master’s degree in speech-language pathology in August 2020.
And then the coronavirus pandemic hit in full force in mid-March.
Initially, coursework actually proceeded as planned. The scholars were in the midst of completing two online courses so there was no need to develop modifications in that area.What was impacted, though, was their ability to earn their practicum hours, which required face-to-face interaction under the direct supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP). An on-site visit scheduled for the end of March through the first week of April by Dr. Wendy Quach, EPICS Co-Principal Investigator, and Project Director, to facilitate final scholar advisement and project logistics was canceled as air travel was suspended.An even bigger challenge was the cancellation of the second cohort of nine scholars going to California in the Summer to complete their eight-week externship in the San José area.
After a two-week period of waiting to see how the quarantine unfolded, the following decisions were made:
The Comprehensive Examination, a final requirement for the program scheduled for May 2, proceeded as scheduled.Scholars were able to take the examination online in their homes.
Scholars were given additional opportunities to earn practicum hours via “Simucase,” a platform under the supervision of SJSU instructors.
Final program completion activities including student exit interviews and completion ceremony were postponed until August 2021.
The scholars who completed their externship during the Summer of 2019, and who meet all other graduation requirements would receive their master’s degree by August 2020.
The scholars in Cohort 2 whose externships were canceled for this summer were given an option to earn their practicum hours this Fall on Guam or wait until Summer 2021.One scholar has opted for the first choice while the remaining eight have decided to wait till next Summer.
Project officials are in the process of formally receiving approval for a “No Cost Extension” year to complete the project.In addition, EPICS administrators met online with representatives from the CNMI Public School System and Guam Department of Education Division of Special Education to provide project updates and discuss the next steps relative to the availability of scholars and potential clinical/job placements into their respective systems.
After a challenging four-and-a-half-year grueling schedule for all involved and getting to the point of making it to the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel,” to say that project stakeholders are disappointed and saddened by this unfortunate turn of events is an understatement. However, given the global state of affairs faced by all, these steps had to be taken.
During the summer months, scholars for the most part will be working on completing their online Simucase hours and completing other requirements as needed and available online.They will also be studying for and taking the Praxis examination online, an examination required for national certification that is needed to be eligible for their nine-month Clinical Fellowship under the mentorship of a licensed speech pathologist.By the end of July, several of them will have completed all requirements and will be eligible for graduation.The remaining scholars will continue with their preparation for Praxis, if they decide to take it later, and keeping their knowledge and skills up to date in preparation for their Externship next summer.
Hopefully, no new challenges and barriers will arise to derail these plans.Stay tuned for the next update in September.
