The Comprehensive Educational Plan is important in educational development. It is a tool that is utilized to increase the facilitation of the students’ continuous improvement in education. The plan engages various stakeholders in this institution, especially the teachers, parents, health professionals and other stakeholders in conducting the assessment and prioritization of the students’ needs in the institution. There is also need for these stakeholders to set objectives that will be achieved by the end of the whole educational plan. There is need to convene various meetings that will help steer the direction of the educational plan until the achievement of the students is attained.
Capacity Framework and Development of the Educational Plan
There are various elements that are found in the capacity framework for the improvement of early development and intervention programs (New York Department of Health,
...n.d). The framework is vital in engaging parents, staff, health professionals and other stakeholders working in unison in order to improve the achievement of the children in terms of educational and health abilities. The framework has a collaborative agenda which assures that every child is improving towards intellectual and academic achievements and also focusing on the challenges affecting these group of children. The educational plan will serve as a guideline towards the complete structural accomplishments of the objectives. Through the plan, the stakeholders will have realized their goal of understanding the developmental challenges of each child and how to overcome them.
According to the evaluation of the systems surrounding the plan, there are six important elements that must be worked on in order to attain the achievement that is desired in both academic, cognitive and medical dimensions. The center has enoug
resources that can be utilized in achieving this strategic plan; the framework therefore assesses the strengths and weaknesses that are seen in the institution and provides guidelines on the best means of improving
Six fundamental elements of the framework:
- Rigorous Instruction: the instruction in this framework is customized for each child and is important in understanding the disabilities of the child through the early intervention program (New York Department of Health, n.d). Every child is considered without discrimination and the children are actively engaged in overcoming their disabilities through early development of cognitive skills
- Supportive Environment: the institution has created an engaging environment and the children are able to feel friendly faces as they learn more about the culture. They feel supported and normal as they overcome the disabilities at hand (The State Education Department, 2015). This friendly environment is to be maintained at all costs.
- Collaborative Teachers and Health Professionals: the health and education staff are well equipped with various techniques and resources which help in their commitment to understanding the disabilities and challenges the children go through. They are also to ensure that they create a friendly environment for the developmental support of the children.
- Effective School Leadership: The school leadership is vital in the proper running of the institution; the leadership is done by example through professional considerations such as ethics, experience and evidence based practice. The school leadership should ensure that it acts as a pivotal go-between for parents and teachers and also other stakeholders in ensuring that they all create a relationship that will improve the development of the children throughout their learning process.
- Strong Family-Community Ties: development of children at
this stage require adequate emotional presence from the parents and community. There is need to develop various relationships and partnerships among parents and the entire institution in order to understand the underlying challenges and strains that the children are going through. Families are crucial because the children feel appreciated in their presence and also emotional support.
Steps of Implementation of the Educational Plan
The institution has the ability of implementing the plan, as there is need to evaluate the amount of resources and other obligations. The institution’s management should focus on the following steps while conducting an implementation of the educational program.
The first step involves conducting an inclusive needs assessment which should be in line with the standards set by the state and evaluation of both the qualitative and quantitative information. Through this process, the institution will have the priorities set in terms of areas to be focused for this period.
The next step is conducting a review of the initial goals and objectives of the institution for the year and aligned according to the framework constituted. The goals should follow the SMART protocol; they should
be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
The third step involves building of relationships while addressing the programs, strategic alignments and various activities that should be undertaken from the education plan. The action plan should be in a way that the strategies are implemented in observable and effective manner that will ensure that the children achieve their cognitive and health developments.
The next step is the involvement of the parents in the realization of the achievement of their children’s academic and health performances. All the parents involvement policies involved in this plan should be implemented.
The next step would be establishing a procedure used in engaging the stakeholders in the monitoring of progress of the annual goals which is a continuous plan for improving both the cognitive and educational abilities of the children with disabilities.
Andrus, the Orchard School
The institution has established itself over the last 75 years and has been providing various programs for children especially in the Westchester County. The school is under the corporate cover of the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial (K12 Academics, n.d). The whole umbrella reaches thousands of families yearly and are focused on prevention and restoration services that are crucial for children and families.
The mission of the institution is to serve families and specifically children who are at risk of developing various behavioral health, cognitive and academic problems, regardless of their family nor financial backgrounds (K12 Academics, n.d). The school has the objective of ensuring that every child receives better treatment and handling so that they can be mentally stable to overcome the disabilities and challenges facing them. It is focused on ensuring that it reaches its threshold of fighting of the challenges
facing the children and making them be able to understand their importance in the society. The institution has a highly qualified professional staff who focus on their duties according to the resources and techniques. They are innovative and therefore ensure that they attain the best in terms of clients’ achievements.
Currently, the number of students in this category are 152, ranging from grades KG to 9; with the classroom size being eight. Therefore, the ratio of student to teacher is 8:1:1 (K12 Academics, n.d). This is an effective number since the teacher can be able to handle a specific number of students according to their needs and effectively without discriminating the rest. More attention is given to these students as the teacher is able to learn the various challenges they are going through. From the given number, 73 students are usually referred by their local institutional districts to our Residential Treatment Program while 79 students are referred by their local institutional districts to attend as Day Students. These students are educated together as they are allowed to interact with each other with the target of improving their skills in cognitive advancements and also academic improvement.
One important achievement is that the institution has for three years designated a Blue Ribbon School by the US Department of Education. In addition, the affiliations and accreditations have also been given a number of awards and credentials. Therefore, the institution has had a good direction towards achievement of its target goals that are set both annually and that which is embedded in the mission and vision.
The schools has various programs and departments; they include Early Elementary, Middle, Elementary, STARS programs and
departmental which offer the structure and the necessary support for children to develop while overcoming their challenges.
Needs Assessment
From the assessment of the current requirements, there are various needs that should be checked into. One of the points is that the student percentages that achieved levels 4 and 6 in the 2014 New York Common Core Assessment in various subjects was higher than the peer groups. In addition, in the 2014 to 2015 quality review, the institution got a good rating indicator 1.1 which shows that the school is committed to implementing the rigorous curriculum. In spite of the good performances, there was a slight decline in the proficiency exam as compared to the previous year’s group.
Annual Goal
By the end of the academic year 2015/2016, 75 percent of the students with disabilities especially in the lower grades will show an improvement in their performances which will be measured in the form of rubrics of Common core – 3 as minimum – performance assessments which the students will undertake during the year.
Parent Involvement Policy (PIP)
Educational assessment shows that there is a positive relationship between the effective involvement of parents and the performance of the students. That said, the policy is important in creating a program that involves the parents effectively in various academic endeavors of the students and also the mental capabilities that will assist the students in overcoming the disability challenges. Various laws and regulations are put in place that ensure the strengthening of the parent involvement policy in creating a stronger support and connection between families and the institution towards the student achievement. The policy of the school is crafted to ensure that the parents
are well informed about the specific details of their children and actively involving them in the process of planning and also making of decisions that improve students’ performance.
One of the ways through which the parental involvement policy can be enhanced is through the provision of resources and adequate trainings that help the parents to coordinate with their students in improving their academic performances such as literacy and mathematics. These materials are important in ensuring that the parents are transformed into tutors who are able to assist the teachers in monitoring their children on different areas, including health.
Another method is through fostering an effective evidence based partnership between the parents and the children as the parents will be able to monitor the progress of the children in terms of the every step they make on academic achievement. In addition, the parents are involved in the process of planning, decision making and support to their children with the assistance of the teachers. This ensures that the parents comprehend their roles in the development of their children in different fields. Parents have to be engaged by all means to ensure that they understand their children not from the family set up but in other areas.
Another process includes the provision of opportunities in professional development for the teachers as they are assisted by parents in improving communication techniques and cultural competency that will be important in structuring the stronger relationship between the institution and the community members. Parents act as the representatives of the community in relations to the institution. They need to be involved that will ensure that the community will also be considered during the decision making
processes. The institution needs different types of assistance from the community in supporting the work of helping the students overcome their fears concerning the disabilities they are in.
From the descriptions above, the parent involvement policy will be important in bringing on board the parents who are valuable in the development of the students. They will therefore be informed about the aspects of the curriculum and the institution predicts that involvement of the parents in curriculum development and approval will be of benefit to every stakeholder. This is because they will understand all the necessary learning tools that will be used in making the children improve their confidence in academics and social life in general. The institution will therefore conduct activities such as holding of educational and social events. Apart from that, the parents will also receive progressive reports and newsletters that create the relations between them and the teachers in helping the students.
Parents’ Responsibilities
Parents have different specific responsibilities that appertains the development of the children. They include:
- Monitoring their children’s regular school attendance and also being early for school. They should also report on any cases where their students will be absent
- Ensuring that their children get enough rest or sleep while at home that is appropriate to the age and body requirements of their children.
- Ensuring that they discuss with their children about what was learnt in class during the day and be able to provide motivational assistance
- Checking on whether the children have done homework, or else helping them out whenever they are stuck. This is done by teaching examples and watching over them as they do the assignments.
- Ensure that they set
rules and regulations concerning watching TV and playing video games. They should be allowed for a limited time.
References
- K12 Academics (n.d). ANDRUS, The Orchard School The State Education Department (2015). Regulations of the Commissioner of Education New York Department of Health (n.d). Early Intervention Program. New York Department of Health
