Meeting Critical Leadership Challenges and Lessons in New Mexico

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Meeting Critical Leadership Challenges and
Lessons in New Mexico

• Ronald J. Stern
• May 3
• Great Falls, MT

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Changing, expanded roles of schools for the deaf

• Students came no matter what were we guilty of
  being too smug?
• Burden is on us to continue viable presence of
  our schools programs schools can no longer be
  islands
• We stand/should stand unmatched as a
  comprehensive, knowledgeable resource
  educational placement option that allows students
  to be social communal where learning is
  active, on-going in out of the classroom
  where communication is direct, fluid where each
  student develops his total human potential where
  being deaf is not an issue.
• Collaboration without compromising what is right
  and fundamental doing away with neutrality
• What can we do? What are our challenges?

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Conceptual Framework Changing Minds (Howard
Gardner)

• Everyone who leads faces the challenge of
  changing minds starting with ones own
• Minds are hard to change
• What makes messages clear, effective
  influential?
• 7 factors/levers 6 aids Reason (use of logic)
  Research (use of quantitative qualitative
  data) Resonance (hitting the affective
  component) Resources Rewards Real World
  Events Redescriptions (raising points in
  different ways) and Resistances

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New Mexico Deaf/HH Education Task Force Its
formation

• Reason survival ensuring continuing viability
  of NMSD enrollment trends comprehensiveness of
  knowledge training doing what is right and
  best for each deaf/hh child a moral
  responsibility
• Research Student outcomes
• Resonance unprecedented, innovative
  collaboration making a difference being a model
  for the rest of the country supporting LEAs
• Resources Rewards Larry Siegel NDEP
  increased outcomes greater support for parents
  increased accountability

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New Mexico Deaf/HH Education Task Force Its
formation - continued

• Real world events NCLB full inclusion LRE my
  own newness
• Redescriptions Human rights
• Resistances Dr. Pasternacks commitment to full
  inclusion perception of NMSD

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Deaf/HH Education Task Force Its formation

• Collaboration between NMSD and PED (Dr.
  Pasternack)
• Monetary support from PED in 2001
• Larry Siegels role NDEP (National Deaf
  Education Project)
• 6 meetings between December 2001 April 2003
• Cross representation of membership variables
  ethnicity, roles, geography, deaf/hearing

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Composition of NMs Deaf/HH Education Task Force

• Geographical Lovington, Aztec, Artesia,
  Shiprock, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Los Lunas, Las
  Cruces, Laguna
• Role Consultant, Parent, Advocate, Special
  Education Director, Low Incidence Specialist,
  Teacher, State Director of SPED, Consumer,
  Interpreter Trainer, Researcher, Executive
  Director
• Organizational LEA, DOH, PED, NMSD, COPD,
  Commission for Deaf/HH
• Ethnicity Hispanic (5) Native American (2)
  Caucasian (13)
• Hearing/Deaf hearing (16) and deaf (4)

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Outcomes a sampling

• Deaf/Hard of Hearing Childrens Educational Bill
  of Rights (2004)
• Communication Considerations form and process
• Expansion of NMSD Outreach Services from 2 to 7
  Outreach Specialists scope of services from
  birth through 21
• Educational Interpreted Environment Standards
  statement developed at NMSD
• Family Sign Weekend at NMSD
• Statewide Transition Fair
• Critical mass opportunities Summer Program at
  NMSD
• Formation of CITPD (Center for Information
  Training Professional Development)
• More consistent services to schools more
  regular attendance at IEP meetings
• Formation of Deaf/HH Education Review Team (7
  returning 11 new) 2006-2008 Strategic Plan

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Outcomes contributions

• Toward Brighter Futures printed and distributed
  in November, 2003 (Spanish English versions)
  on websites
• Two main areas
• Communication- language-driven educational
  delivery system (13 recommendation areas)
• Development of a communication-
  language-driven model

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Causes for pause

• Cochlear Implanted children
• Burden is on the school for the deaf
• Uniqueness of your state
• Power of perceptions being mindful of lived,
  experienced realities reality checks!
• Lacking humility
• Solutions, innovations often beget new challenges
• Being limited by childs language and
  communication mode securing basis for
  comparison
• Securing what is minimal, fundamental first
• Changes can be hard being persistent,
  adaptable, but not too patient

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Redescriptions

• Communication- and language driven
• Different, more striking, more effective,
  resonating vocabulary, terms power of stories
• Previous research and literature as sources e.g.
  visitorship vs. membership (Antia, Gaustad)
  liberation of the marginalized (Freire)
  bioecological theory of human development
  (Bronfenbrenner)
• Greater accounting for lived realities,
  experiential stories insider research

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Learning from one another and securing what is
fundamentally right

• www.nmsd.k12.nm.us
• No characteristic of a person exists or exerts
  influence on development in isolation there is
  always interplay between it and of his specific
  environment and one cannot be defined without
  reference to the other
• (Bronfenbrenner Bioecological Theory of Human
  Development)
•  

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