KY Peer Service Learning Project

1
KY Peer Service Learning Project

• Presentation to AUCD
• November 11, 2003
• Presented by Harold Kleinert, Shelly Durbin,
  Chip Poston, Amanda Workman, Mehgan Hoover, Karli
  Edds, Lori Edds, Karen Jones, Beth Harrison

2
KY Peer Service Learning Project

• A Project of National Significance
• Funded by the U.S. Administration on
  Developmental Disabilities
• Awarded to the Interdisciplinary Human
  Development Institute, University of Kentucky

3
Project Goals Four Goals

• Goal 1 Increase access for students with
  moderate and severe disabilities within general
  education classes and other school
  extra-curricular activities through the use of
  peer tutors.

4
Project Goals - cont.

• Goal 2 Develop inclusive service learning
  projects so that students with significant
  disabilities can contribute to their communities
  by engaging in service learning along side their
  high school peers.

5
Project Goals cont.

• Goal 3 Enable high school peer tutors to assist
  students with developmental disabilities in
  academic, personal, and career goal setting
  (self-determination).

6
Project Goals cont.

• Goal 4 Develop an advanced placement college
  credit option for high school peer tutors, as a
  vehicle for recruiting peer tutors into the field
  of special education in Kentucky.

7
Pilot Sites

• Apollo High School
• Doss High School
• Hopkins County Central High School
• John Hardin High School
• Woodford County High School

8
What Is Service Learning?

• All students become contributing members of the
  community
• Infusing the academic curriculum and service
  activities together
• All students reflect and celebrate achievements

9
PARC

• Plan
• Act
• Reflect
• Celebrate

10
Steps in Service Learning

• Adapted from
• www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org/

11
Step 1 Assess Your Communitys and Schools
Resources and Needs

• Include all students in locating resources
  needs
• Talk to civic groups and school organizations
• Also consider assisting in an existing service
  learning activity

12
Step 2 Develop Community Partnerships

• Extend and strengthen the involvement of
  community organizations (e.g., churches
  non-profit organizations)
• These organizations can provide direction
  consultation to your project.

13
Step 3 Set Clear Educational Goals
Curriculum

• Targeted skills should be an extension of
  educational goals IEP objectives
• Measure Goals Through
• Journals
• IEP objectives instructional data
• Peer reflections
• Letters by local civic groups or community
  organizations

14
Step 4 Choose Project and Begin Planning

• Complete evaluations of needs and resources
• Partnerships should now be formed
• Who could continue the service learning activity
  in the future?

15
Step 5 Plan Project in Detail

• Set Up a timeline
• Develop a project budget
• Assign tasks between partners and among immediate
  participants

16
Step 5 Plan Project in Detail (contd)

• Collaborate w/ similar organizations
• Include reflection times
• Celebrate the successes goals achieved in your
  project

17
Step 6 Seek Necessary Funding and Resources

• Additional funds for last minute preparations may
  be needed
• Possible contacts
• Government Programs
• Parents
• Faith-Based Organizations
• Local Businesses

18
Step 7 Implement Manage Project

• Begin your project!
• Continuously assess monitor the project
• Contact project partners for implementation,
  evaluation, and improving your project

19
Step 9 Assess Evaluate Your Service Program

• Include general information about the activity
• Collect data on student performance
• Conduct interviews (community organization,
  teachers, etc.) to obtain more qualitative data.
  

20
Step 10 Celebrate Students Achievements
Product or Goal is Met
Ownership of Activity
Excellent Way to Evidence Learning Across
Dimensions
All Students Work Together
21
Step 11 Include the Service Learning Project
within Alternate Portfolio Entries

• Can be an excellent extension for Alternate
  Assessment (Portfolio)
• Include
• Journal entries
• Pictures reflections
• Student performance data
• Peer reflections

22
Woodford County High School (WCHS)

• Presented by Mehgan Hoover, Karli Edds, Lori
  Edds, Karen Jones

23
Introductions

• Peer tutor My name is Mehgan Hoover. I am a
  second year peer tutor, and the students have
  taught me a new outlook on life.
• Student My name is Karli Edds, and I am from
  Woodford County High School.
• Parent My name is Lori Edds. I am Karlis
  mother, and we live in Versailles.
• Teacher My name is Karen Jones. I am a first
  year special education teacher at WCHS. I teach
  five students with moderate to severe
  disabilities.

24
Information about WCHS

• WCHS is located in Versailles, which is
  approximately 20 minutes from Lexington, KY.
• Our principal, Sam Watkins, received the
  Principal of the Year Award in 2002 from the
  Kentucky Association of Secondary School
  Principals Kentucky School Counselor
  Association.

25
Information about WCHS

• There are 1,200 students at WCHS.
• WCHS offers a variety of classes and clubs for
  students to participate in throughout their high
  school career.

26
Our Program

• I teach five students with moderate to severe
  disabilities.
• We practice academic, domestic, community,
  vocational, social, communication, and personal
  management skills in the classroom and community.
  
• We practice skills learned in the classroom in
  Lexington and Versailles during community-based
  instruction (CBI).
• We take daily CBI trips. Some of our CBI
  includes grocery stores, department stores,
  recreation centers, pet stores, dollar stores,
  etc.
• Our students also work in job sites during their
  last two years of high school through the
  Community-Based Work Transition Program (CBWTP).

27
General Education Classes

• Many of my students attend general education
  classes for 1 to 2 blocks each semester.
• I collaborate with the general education teachers
  to make modifications that will help students
  increase their participation in that class.
• A peer tutor will often attend the class with the
  student. However, some of our students attend
  classes independently. It depends upon the
  students abilities and course content.
• Some of the classes that the students have taken
  include turf and landscape management, desktop
  publishing, choir, floral design, home economics,
  arts and humanities, guitar, physical education,
  and industrial arts.

28
Peer Tutoring

• We have a block scheduling program at WCHS. The
  school day consists of four 90 minute blocks. We
  have a peer tutoring program at the high school.
  Students can enroll in the peer tutoring class
  during 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th block.
• I have around 3-7 peer tutors during each block
  of the school day.
• The peer tutors work 11 or in small groups with
  the students.
• The peer tutors help our students in the
  classroom as well as in their general education
  classes.

29
Service Learning Project

• We learned about service and how we can help
  others.
• Our students and peer tutors decided to collect
  toys and books to donate to Childrens Hospice of
  Lexington.

30
Service Learning Project

• We wrote letters to general education teachers in
  the school explaining the project.
• The students and peer tutors stapled the letters
  to grocery bags.
• The students and peer tutors placed the letters
  and bags in the teachers mailboxes.

31
Service Learning Project

• The students and peer tutors decided to collect
  toys and books for three weeks.
• The students and peer tutors wanted to let all of
  teachers in the school know about our project to
  expand the service opportunity.

32
CBI Trip

• Our class decided to take a CBI trip to a
  bookstore in Lexington. The students had brought
  in money to purchase books for the project.
• We had a great time selecting books we thought
  the children would enjoy.

33
CBI Trip

• These are some of the quotes from the students
• I picked out books that I liked to read when I
  was young.

34
CBI Trip

• We wanted to help people in need.
• We learned about service.

35
CBI Trip

• We wanted to collect toys and books to donate to
  children in Hospice.

36
CBI Trip

• We were happy to help.
• It was a lot of fun to help others.

37
Parent Reflections

• I am a parent who has seen the wonderful
  benefits received with a peer tutoring program
  from both sides, not only through Karli, but also
  through my older daughter who also served as a
  peer tutor in this class a few years ago.
  Throughout the day, Karli enjoys having
  interaction with her same-age peers. The peer
  tutors provide Karli with opportunities to
  participate in activities outside the classroom,
  which does not happen often for students with
  moderate to severe disabilities. Karli has so
  much fun with her peers at school dances,
  restaurants, malls, choir concerts, etc. She is
  very excited about attending prom.

38
Parent Reflections

• Furthermore, it is truly amazing to see the
  caring relationships that peer tutors form with
  the students. They develop a great sense of
  compassion for students with moderate to severe
  disabilities by realizing that they are kind,
  loving, caring. They also realize how the
  students can be a great friend with a good sense
  of humor. In addition, the peer tutors witness
  and understand the challenges that students with
  moderate to severe disabilities face in their
  everyday lives.

39
Parent Reflections

• Service learning helps students with
  disabilities learn about helping others.
  Students with disabilities often receive a great
  deal of help. It is so wonderful for them to
  help someone else. It has given Karli a great
  sense of awareness about how she can help others
  in need. This project also provided
  opportunities where Karli could feel that she was
  doing something important. I can see how
  gratifying it is for Karli to help someone else
  and make someone smile.

40
Organizing Items

• We organized the books we bought on CBI as well
  as toys and books that were donated to us from
  other classrooms.
• We collected four boxes full of toys and books to
  donate to Childrens Hospice.

41
Delivering Toys and Books

• Mehgan, Karli, Lori, and Karen delivered the toys
  and books we collected to Childrens Hospice of
  Lexington on Tuesday, October 28th.
• We met after school to deliver the donations from
  this service learning project.

42
Doss High School

• Located in Louisville Kentucky
• Student Population-1007
• MascotDragons
• Magnet Programs include-Teaching Academy,
  pre-engineering, GSI program, Sports Medicine.

43
What is Doss Peer Tutoring?

• Working together to learn self-determination,
  life skills, and social skills
• Building friendships
• Working together on service-learning projects to
  help the community
• Natural supports in the areas of job skills,
  academics, and extra curricular activities.

44
How We Include Service LearningIn Doss Peer
Tutoring

• Both students with disabilities and peers work
  together and learn together on the service
  project.
• Everyone has a part in the project and giving to
  community.

45
Doss Service Learning

• Recycling with Ecology Club
• Down Syndrome Buddy Walk
• Reading and Writing Childrens Books
• Meals on Wheels
• Spring Health Fair Project

46
Recycling

• Learn to help the environment
• Learn about products that can be recycled
• Work together to collect school recycling
• Learn cooperation and respect

47
Buddy Walk

• Learn to help others in the community
• Work on money skills, social skills, and health.
• Winning the Youth service award for the past two
  years.

48
Meals on Wheels

• Work together to help senior citizens
• Learn communication skills
• Learn cooperation
• Learn math and reading skills
• Learn pedestrian skills

49
Reading and Writing Childrens Books

• Improving reading skills
• Improving writing skills
• Sharing reading with pre-school children
• Promote reading

50
Spring Health Fair

• Promote a healthy community
• Sponsor health agencies to share information
• Free blood pressure checks
• Open to all of the Doss community
• Learning about a healthy life style

51
Doss Service Learning
52
Having Fun Together!