Kirsten Henderson

Month of June, 2015

Internship hours completed in June- 83
ELCC Standard
Standard 1

Standard 2

Standard 3

Standard 4

Standard 5

Standard 6
Standard 7

The Childrens League

Internship hours completed to date- 83

Brief Description of Activity

I shared a rubric of general subjects and specific topics under each
subject with the staff regarding a school handbook.
I received mostly positive responses about tackling the project.
Some staff offered to help. One staff member told me that her
department tried to do that and by the time it was completed the
information was outdated.
While staff were on their 2 week break before summer program I
was able to follow Elaine Krezmein touring 2 different families. I
will be completing a tour on July 15 on my own.
I shared information on confidentiality with new summer hires.
I researched for an inservice on CPR and first aid.
I began collecting information on curriculum.
I attended a discussion about aligning goals to State Standards.
I had a discussion regarding curriculum with staff from Early Bird, a
local daycare which provides a Universal Pre-K program.
I participated in the set up of summer program.
I reviewed the flow of services from intake to CPSE meeting and
completed an evaluation.
I began the review of the budget with the billing specialist.
I reviewed the responsibilities of the transportation and intake
coordinator.
I attended a Board of Directors Meeting
I helped with set up for the preschool Graduation.
I attended a meeting with a prospective Eagle Scout for a project at
our school.
I reviewed the steps involved in a referral intake for an evaluation
and possible student entering our school. I plan to follow an intake
from start to finish.
I began an evaluation of a student following the intake.
I completed a survey of families regarding social media.
I started a Facebook page to begin to understand how it works.
I began research on automated calling.

Hours
19

I attended a seminar on relating to staff.

I prepared and presented a short informational piece about the
importance of confidentiality with new summer hires.
I acted with professionalism, with integrity, fairly, and ethically
while interacting with staff, families, administration and the Board of
Directors.
I researched ways to market the school (Facebook, updating the
website and automated call services)

hours
embedded in
other
standards

I have ongoing discussions with the Director of the program, Chris

Lewis, (my site supervisor), and the Program Administrators, Elaine
Krezmein and Terry Doermer.

20

28

16

embedded in
other
standards
embedded in
other
standards

Reflections by Standard
Standard 1
The handbook seems to grow with each new topic. Staff is out on break right now but in reviewing the
information for the summer packet and using that and the fall packet I have organized a format and have begun
creating the document. I want it to be the type of document that can be easily used and updated. I want to have
links to the current forms needed for staff for different purposes. I want new staff to know where to look for
things needed to work with a child. The school has developed a lingo that new people will not understand. For
new staff joining our school there needs to be clear guidelines to help all staff do their job easily and well. I
will not be distracted by staff who feel it will not be helpful. I will listen and be respectful. Another thought for
the handbook is an overview of the history of the school. One founder of the school still attends some school
functions. Our current director has worked for the school in some capacity for 30 years. Organizing the
handbook is allowing me to interact with the staff to serve their needs.
I accompanied Elaine on a tour for 2 different families. I am aware of the many different things our school
offers but the way she shared information was helpful to observe. She respectfully described the children
served in each of the classes: early learners, children with multiple needs or with severe functional language
delays. The staff at the school would describe one group of classes as the Autism program but it would be a
breach of confidentiality to state that to parents viewing our program. Also, some of the children are not labeled
as Autistic so that information is misleading.
Standard 2
The meeting on confidentiality went well. The group was quiet and didnt have much to offer when I asked
questions. I created a simple power point presentation to highlight the importance of knowing who needs to
know information about each child. Mainly it is the classroom staff, the therapists working with that child and
no one else. There was a focus on keeping cell phones turned off and put away during the school day so there
should be no opportunity to take pictures of students. I shared about writing about the school on social media,
again reverting back to the who needs to know thought. No one outside of school needs to know about the
students from our school. I gave each student a token to remind them about confidentiality.
I researched information about a grant for CPR and first aid training. We could schedule a training for 20 staff
members in the fall, then set up further training in the new year. I am looking into what the rest of the staff
could do while 20 are receiving that training. I discussed with Chris Lewis, the director, that some staff could
train for recertification in our Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) rather than taking time from our school day to
receive that training. I am looking into other topics and plan to survey the staff about possible training I could
coordinate to have options on a staff development day.
I began to look at different curriculum. There are different trains of thought for what we need. Once the
teachers are back in session I plan to have a meeting or at least survey teachers about what we would be
interested in using. The difficulty is that some curriculum is for preschool but does not allow for the range of
disabilities we serve. One thing we agree on is that there needs to be 1 program we all can use given our
different level of children we serve. I discussed the curriculum the Head Start program uses with the Director
from Early Bird daycare center. She was looking for a type of quick check-off list to determine growth for her
students. I showed her the program and we agreed that the one Head Start uses is not the right fit for her.
Standard 3
I spent quite some time understanding how this school works. I talked with the billing specialist and the
transportation and intake coordinator. There are so many things that happen behind the classroom/therapy
scenes. I began participating in the process by evaluating a child. It tends to be a hurry-up-and-wait process.
The intake coordinator and billing specialist work together, along with the secretaries and Program

Administrators to keep on top of the process. The evaluation process is quick with seeing the child then writing
up the report in roughly a week of seeing the child. Then the evaluators job is done but the others need to wait
for the next evaluation. For the one I did 3 evaluations were completed within a week of each other but the last
2 are a month away. The child I evaluated is heading to Kindergarten. I plan to follow a referral from intake to
meeting, hopefully with each Program Administrator.
Standard 4
Connecting with families is vital to our program. It is different from a public school in that parents have to
make a choice as to where their child goes to school. There is no home school district. If their child needs a
school program parents will need to feel comfortable sending their child, often on a bus, to a school many miles
away. I have been looking into how Facebook could be useful. I took a survey of parents directly when they
were attending a fun day in June at the Springville Dairy Fest. Each year the coordinators of the rides for Dairy
Fest open the rides early for students from our school. Parents can attend. Most parents are on Facebook but
also want to receive notes in the backpack. They also were interested in receiving automated calls for updates
and snow days. I have been reviewing how Facebook works and the safeguards that could be put into place.
Our Director is concerned about negative comments. Right now I am not a Facebook user. I am really not
interested in it at all but it is everywhere. If parents are using it, could the school have a page that would allow
for more visibility in the community? Could we be pushing information out to families that as others connect
our school could benefit?
I researched a company, School Messenger, regarding automated calling. There are many things attached to it
that could possibly be helpful for parents. They had apps that parents could download to get information about
the school. That might be a way for at least the current parents could gain information. I have the financial
information and have shared it with the Director.
Following Chris Lewis around for a few days, I learned that she puts herself out in the community. She visits
local garden shops and knows the people by name. They know where she works and whom she serves. It is
very important to have a positive face in the community. She makes sure our school looks good for all who
enter. She understands the importance for families to see a clean school, an inviting school for children.
Standard 5
This standard encompasses behavior for all the standards. I have a good rapport with staff. I know how to
listen. I am learning how to question others to help them express what they need to share. I am learning about
my own communication style and how other communicate so we can work as a team. During the seminar I
attended 1 person from each group needed to share the thoughts of the group. I was willing to speak or give the
floor to another if they wanted it. In both break out groups I was the one to share the groups information. It
empowered me. I know I can stand in front of a group of people and be coherent.
Standard 6
Fundraising has become a big part of what our school needs to do to supplement our funding. There are some
local groups, Kiawanas in particular, who have decided that our school is a focus for their fundraising. The
have been organizing a 5K run that is held in August. Also the Board of Directors holds a fundraiser in July.
Chris Lewis needed to gently bridge the subject of sharing funds from sponsors. In the past a sponsor would be
represented at both events. At one board meeting a discussion started about not continuing that. Chris,
understanding the need and importance for the fundraising efforts, professionally navigated the touchy subject
and received permission to continue with getting sponsors to be represented at both events.