Duncan Elementary School

Sharon A. Coil, Principal

Final Report
Michigan State University Special Education Internship
Special Education Internship Winter Reporting

Date: April 5, 201 Intern: Ashley Sac! Mentor Teacher: "orri #ielenie$s!i School: Richard %& 'uncan Ele(entary District: Utica )o((unity Schools City/State: Shel*y +o$nship, Michigan Major: Special Education ,-12, Ele(entary Education Field Instructor: ,athy Mc)urdy The Internship Setting: Richard %& 'uncan Ele(entary is one o. the largest ele(entary schools in the state o. Michigan $ith al(ost /00 students in !indergarten through si0th grade& 'uncan Ele(entary $as *uilt on .ar(land and opened its doors to the co((unity in the .all 2002& +he local co((unity has developed into a su*ur*an area that has continued to develop and .lourish over the years& +he school co((unity is one that encourages active parent involve(ent as the teachers and ad(inistration $or! closely $ith .a(ilies to ensure that all children are success.ul and reach their potential& Ashley Sac! $as an Intern .ro( Michigan State University $ho $or!ed $ith "orri #ielenie$s!i in the "earning )enter 1special education2 .ro( %anuary to April, 2013& +he students she $or!ed $ith $ere 20 special education students $ho received speci.ic instruction in reading, $riting or (ath& +heir certi.ications consisted o. "earning 'isa*led, 4isually I(paired, Speech and "anguage I(paired, 5hysically I(paired, 6ther$ise 7ealth I(paired, E(otionally I(paired and Autis( Spectru( 'isorder& So(e children had e0tensive *ehavior plans8 in addition, (any children had speciali9ed curriculu( in core content areas due to their speci.ic disa*ility& Intern Responsibilities: As the se(ester :uic!ly continued, Ashley $as responsi*le .or; instructing children at their appropriate level, progress (onitoring (onthly .or each goal and o*<ective, (eeting $ith sta.. and parents to discuss progress and strategies, trac!ing data and analy9ing it accordingly, using standardi9ed assess(ents such as the +est o. Early Reading and the =oodcoc! %ohnson Assess(ent III, $riting in depth IE5s and appropriate standards *ased goals and o*<ectives, using the +ie>et syste( to create special education docu(ents, and .acilitating (eetings $ith sta.., parents and the principal& Also, intense literacy intervention $as provided daily *y Ashley in grades ,-3 to our at-ris! population& +heir individual progress $as also trac!ed *y Ashley

and she too! an active role in di..erentiated their instruction and created speci.ic data sheets to see de.icits and strengths& Ashley $as very .a(iliar $ith individuali9ed assign(ents, assess(ents and $as a*le to teach all su*<ects appropriately& Ashley $or!ed $ell $ith the diverse special education population here at 'uncan& Many students had e(otional and *ehavioral needs and Ashley $as a*le to provide strategies to assist the( during their school day& Ashley en<oyed the students and they had an e0cellent rapport $ith her& Ashley !ept challenging hersel. and e0ceeded her o$n high e0pectations& Creating and Managing a earning Co!!unity: Ashley created and (anaged an organi9ed yet .riendly classroo( environ(ent and co((unity& All children .elt sa.e and co(.orta*le yet $ere challenged acade(ically& +he children reported to (e that they love $or!ing $ith Ashley and had .un learning .ro( her& Ashley developed into a special education teacher $ho uses her environ(ent to assist her students in cal(ing do$n, (a!ing good choices and *elieving in the(selves& Ashley has $onder.ul s(all group and $hole group classroo( (anage(ent s!ills8 she utili9ed daily *ehavior plans to help $ith targeted *ehaviors and to docu(ent uni:ue strategies and interventions& As the se(ester continued, Ashley prepared creative lessons that (et the needs o. all learners including concepts that $ere also taught in the general education setting 1such as +hin!ing Maps, ?uided 7ighlights, ?uided Reading, all )o((on )ore aligned curriculu(, etc2& Ashley $as a*le to .it into the sta.. and co((unity here at 'uncan& She esta*lished relationships $ith sta.. (e(*ers and parents and $as a*le to co((unicate ideas e..ectively& Ashley $as very pro.essional and spo!e in a pro.essional (anner at all ti(es& She helped to create valua*le and creative lessons aligned $ith the )o((on )ore that $ere individuali9ed to each student@s changing needs& Ashley progress (onitored her special education students (onthly and developed lessons *ased on their speci.ic goals and o*<ectives& In addition, Ashley also assisted $ith the Medicaid process .or speci.ic special education children& Ashley utili9ed technology through innovative lessons $ith I-pads, laptops, RA#-,ids and a variety o. research *ased interactive $hite*oard sites& Ashley also learned ho$ to ad(inister the =oodcoc! %ohnson III, the +ERA 1+est o. Early Reading2, +EMA 1+est o. Early Mathe(atics2, and a variety o. other assess(ents& In addition, Ashley *eca(e very pro.icient $ith the >=EA testing standards 1>orth$est Education Assess(ent2 and the other individuali9ed classroo( *ased assess(ents& Ashley even attended pro.essional develop(ent a.ter school in the area o. ?uided 7ighlighted Reading& Ashley too! an active role in leading the a.ter school 7o(e$or! )lu* .or grades 1-A and .acilitating all decisions in student instruction, parent issues and student concerns& She volunteered her ti(e three days a $ee! a.ter school8 the children $or!ed on ho(e$or!, $or!ed on individuali9ed technology or had .olders (ade $ith speci.ic tas!s in the( that helped to strengthen their $ea! acade(ic areas& Also, Ashley led an a.ter school Reading )lu* .or eight $ee!s that targeted second grade students .ocusing on co(prehension strategies& In addition, Ashley actively participated in the Michigan Reading Association con.erence held in ?rand Rapids this year&

Su!!ary: In su((ary, Ashley $as a $onder.ul student intern $ho $as an a*solute pleasure to $or! $ith and colla*orate $ith on a daily *asis& Ashley truly $as one o. the .inest student interns I had ever had here at 'uncan Ele(entary& 7er $illingness to *e .le0i*le, to *e independent, to dedicate hersel. to her students and their education, and her desire to *ring out their personal *est proves that she $ill *e an asset to any acade(ic progra(& I $ould strongly reco((end Ashley Sac!& Sincerely,

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Shelby Township, MI

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