P177Q
The Robin Sue Ward School
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Strategic Planning Process: Inquiry
Gather and analyze data to monitor effects of actions and decisions on goal attainment and enable mid-course adjustments as needed to better enable success
Collaborative Circles
(PBIS/SEL & Equity)
Our school community has a wide range of technological, cultural, social and intellectual resources that lead to continuous improvements in teaching and learning. All stakeholders collaborate and analyze data to ensure continuous improvements. Our newest collaborative circles include the PBIS/SEL and Equity Teams. The teams’ focus is to ensure access to a diverse curriculum with a focus on Social and Emotional Learning. Some positive outcomes include:
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Partnership with the No Place For Hate Organization which promotes and deepens understanding and awareness around Anti-bullying; Diversity and Identity.
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SEL & NPH teams planned and hosted events for the school community on SEL Day 2023. Highlights of the event included Mind-up and ReThink Specialists who facilitated three live interactive learning sessions with students and staff.
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PBIS Tier 3 team members plan, prepare and present In-service Bite Size Professional Development workshops for instructional teams who support students with BSP’s. Topics include: Managing the physical environment; progress monitoring of behavioral data and creating individualized behavior plans.
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Eight additional members of our school community have recently completed District 75 Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training.
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The above actions have had a positive impact on students’ behavioral outcomes: School-wide data indicate A decrease in the number of students who receive support from Behavior Support Paras.
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An analysis of denn’s intake data indicates a decrease of students who require removal from the classroom to de-escalate.
Another team that continues to monitor students’ data daily and meets weekly to identify positive and negative trends, is the attendance team. The Attendance Tracker provides team members with updated attendance patterns of students whose attendance is below 50%. Team members then discuss and implement individualized family outreach plans. Classes with the highest monthly attendance are recognized at the Student of the MOnth Assemblies.
Summary of students’ attendance data indicate a positive upward trend: (show monthly attendance trends).
Parent/Family Engagement
Parent engagement at 177Q remains a priority focus area. Our Parent Coordinator facilitates collaborative conversations among members of the PTA and Parent Captains. Parent members of both groups are ensured a voice in all matters both big and small.
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Our parent captains identified the selection of workshops for the 2022-2023 school year and thus far, these workshops have been well attended.
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We provide parents a voice in all areas of planning family events. When events are scheduled; the menu and theme of events are discussed and decided upon by parents. Our recent “Marching into Spring event” is one event that enlisted the voices of the PTA/Parent captains.
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The administrative team meets regularly with the Parent Coordinator to ensure all parents have access to events and activities planned.
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177Q has a wide range of events to meet the diverse needs of our families: Our Parent Resource Room is the meeting place for parents who prefer in-person, one on one or small group meetings; We host our monthly virtual “Platform of Possibilities” open forum; A virtual evening parent support group, which is facilitate by a parent who is a licensed therapist; monthly in-person and virtual professional development workshops;
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Parents are invited to our monthly Student of The Month Assemblies
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Parents are invited to special cultural events
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The list of scheduled parent workshops and family events are based on the Fall 2022 Parent Interest Survey and we are on track for meeting parents/guardians interests.
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New for the Spring term are parent workshops on health and wellness that are hosted by Common Threads and Marquis Studio.
“We Do Care” is at the heart of all parent engagement initiatives, Parents are active participants in all phases of parent and student related plans and events. Parents are continuously recruited to aid in students' growth and development. In September 2022 P177Q welcomed our new Parent Coordinator. With a high level of technological and personal skills, Ms.Alecia is leading all efforts of engaging parents, community partners, students and staff to build positive relationships. Most importantly, Ms. Alicea has expanded strategies used to reach parents. Instagram, twitter, emails, robo calls; phone calls and in-person meetings are successfully used to stay connected with our parents.
Additionally, parents are encouraged to take on leadership roles that impact our school community. The Parent Captain Committee was launched in the Fall of 2021. The sole purpose of the committee is to promote parent voice and volunteerism. Parent Captains are parents who volunteer to serve as a cohort leader for parents with children of similar age and classification. Parent captains also work closely with the PTA.
There are currently 6 Parent Captains who have established a collaborative partnership with our PTA. In addition to establishing connections and relationships with parents of students in similar class ratios, parent captains share their skills and talents with the school community to promote increased family engagement. Evidence of the positive impact on our school community includes increased parent participation at events planned. Parent Paint Night, Mothers’ Day Breakfast, Fathers’ Day Breakfast and the Fall Festival events, are some examples of increased parent attendance, due to the hiring of Ms. Alecia, our newly hired parent coordinator, the collaboration of the PTA and the Parent Captain Committee. To accommodate and welcome continued in-person parent involvement, the School Principal, Mr. Duffy, has prioritized funds to support the opening of a Parent Resource Room.
177Q Social & Emotional Learning Team has partnered with the PTA & members of the Parent Captain Committee to promote SEL for parents. One of our parents is a Clinical Psychologist and shares her therapeutic skills to support parents. Children's books are selected, read and facilitated monthly.. Parents have recently changed the name of these meetings, from “The Parents’ Book Club,” to “The Parents’ Support Group.” The new name reflects the deeply personal and life reflections that are shared at these meetings. The Parent Support Group creates a safe space for parents to share and connect with each other.
Additionally, all department heads lead and facilitate parents’ workshops to ensure the Home-School Partnership provides parents with current instructional and behavioral strategies. Workshop topics are based on parents’ survey data. For the Fall term the following workshop series is on Behavior Management and Safety. (Share parents’ workshop survey data).
Finally, our school community is the recipient of the Parent Engagement Grant. Parent Captains and members of the PTA selected workshops appropriate for our students’ needs. Marquis Studio Resident Artist will facilitate workshops in the following areas: Puppetry, Partner Dancing and Mask Making. These workshops will occur in the evenings for our families.
Nuturing
Paraprofessional Leaders
Lead Paras have increased their attendance and participation at school wide and district wide professional development workshops. To date, lead paras have attended: Mindup; ReThink and TCI trainings.. In addition to attending workshops, lead Paras assume the role of facilitator and turn-key the information to their peers. The Lead Para team has conducted ten Level 2 Sub-Para interviews. with 8 candidates who were recommended to the Level 1 Interview with Principal Duffy. P177Q has expanded our full-time paras with a total of 160 full-time paraprofessionals.
There are currently 155 full-time paraprofessionals who support our students. To The 177Q Mission Statement of “We Do Care,” seeks to engage and foster professional and personal growth of all stakeholders. The Lead Paraprofessional Committee fosters collaboration and collegial conversations among administrators, paraprofessionals, substitute paraprofessionals and Lead Paraprofessionals assume the role of mentors and are assigned to lead small cohorts of paras. For the 2022-2023 School year there are eight Lead Paras, who serve in the following leadership roles:
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Attendance Award Committee
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Para Hiring Committee
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Para Mentor
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PBIS Club Facilitator
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PBIS Data Analyst
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Professional Development Facilitator
The para hiring process begins with Lead Paras facilitating the first level of the interview process and ranking the Sub-para candidate for the Level 1 Interview with the principal. Additionally, all sub-paras are evaluated weekly by their assigned teacher.
- For the 2022-2023 School year, The Paraprofessional Professional development Workshop Series include: Weekly Paras Lunch & Learn; SEL and Behavior Management and Sensory Integration.
In the areas of para advancement, the 2021-2022 data indicate that five paraprofessionals accepted teaching positions, and two accepted the position of related provider.
Nuturing Teacher Leaders
Professional Learning
Teachers engage in weekly professional development and cycles of continuous collaboration and inquiry. Teachers often turnkey and present information to their peers through various avenues of professional development and learning.
Metro Games
Teachers have taken on leadership roles in the organization and scheduling of the Spring 2023 Special Olympics Metro Games. As part of their responsibilities in this role, teacher leaders meet with Special Olympics and District 75 designees. The team oversees all aspects of this event planning.
Lead Teacher and Support Teachers
The Lead Teacher has assembled a team of colleagues to share their best practices during Lab Classroom sessions. These teachers host intervisitations for colleagues and host drop-in support sessions during our daily professional learning time.
New teachers in mentorship roles
A new team of teacher mentors has been working with mentees this year. By bringing in new teachers to this role, staff capacity is built through the identification and training of teacher leaders.
Coach
In addition to supporting colleagues, 177’s teacher coach has assumed the role of testing coordinator. The coach regularly updates the school administration of the school’s testing and assessment needs and works closely with district staff. Additionally, the coach provides weekly assessment and testing support and training to teachers.
Teacher Leaders have taken on a more active role in demonstrating best practices and sharing relevant research in the field. The launch of the Lab Classroom and Collaborative Cohort Models promote teacher-led presentations and shared best strategies.
The role of our School Based Coach continues to expand as teacher support needs increase at the off-sites. The School Based Coach; dean and various members of key learning communities visit and support staff at the off sites.
All key participants of various Learning Cohorts assume the role of lead teacher and present at teacher team meetings or provide small group teacher support.
Community Partners
The 177Q learning community continues to expand in partnering with all stakeholders and to connect with community partners. These collaborative partnerships promote the success of our students. Our newest partners include:
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Best Buddies (MVB & 295): The Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Our programs empower the special abilities of people with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with their peers. Working at one of our co-located sites, a teacher reached out to the organization for more information, which she turned keyed to administration and the speech department. Our next step is to collaborate with our co-located schools in both highschool and Elementary school sites.
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Holy Cross High School: A sibling of a P177 students that attends Holy Cross High School initiated a collaboration among the 2 schools to bring more awareness to Autism. The students from Holy Cross attended an orientation and currently support students in the classroom. This collaboration also shows the many careers that can be found within a school.
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Mind Up
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No Place for Hate
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NYPD Youth Officer
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Blessings in a Backpack: A local women’s organization has teamed up with P177 to provide 100 weekend meals to students in need. 17Q students work with the women’s group to assemble bags of food for distribution.
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Bayside Historical Society: This new worksite includes the training in office skills, cleaning, gardening and bee keeping.
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Cunningham Park Farmers Market
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AAA Student Safety: P177Q partnered with AAA to form a Student Safety Patrol. Students who volunteer will learn what safety looks like in the school and will teach fellow students safety.
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Special Olympics Young Athletes (295): The Young Athletes Program is available for students up to age 7. This program brings children in special education and general education together to learn skills that will help them focus on activities that are important to mental and physical growth. Young Athletes learn new things and prepare for the next step in their sports participation.
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Common Threads Program: P177Q has partnered alongside The Common Threads “Cooking for Life” program to promote Healthy Eating within our families households. The Program provides “Caregiver workshops” once a month open to all families where parents/guardians are able to follow simple recipes at home with their child. Families are also provided with Cooking for life one week meal planner handbooks and additional nutrition support and resources. Common Threads has also partnered with our staff every Friday as a “cooking club” for an 8 week lesson period where teachers and students can follow alongside the nutrition instructor to create basic recipes to which corresponds with students' academic levels.
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Adapt Community Network: Our school has partnered with Katie Gottlieb from Adapt Community Network to help obtain OPWDD eligibility for families. The webinar will help families learn about many supports and services funded through NYS OPWDD and Adapt Community Network, including family reimbursement for out-of- pocket expenses for their child with a disability, housing support services, home modifications, assistive technology, day habilitation programs, overnight respite, and more.
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Marquis Parent Engagement Arts Program provides high interest family workshops such as: Puppetry; Yoga; Hip-Hop Dance and Bollywood Dancing.
We have expanded the integration of a wide range of diverse cultural; social and intellectual resources. to connect them to desired outcomes for teaching and learning. The following community partners support the success of our students:
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Broadway Junior Theatre Group
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Beat Breakers
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Marquis Studio
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ReThink Ed
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Special Olympics
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Student Ambassadors at 295
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Student Helpers from B-Tech at MVB
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Urban Assembly-SEL
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Worksite Partnerships
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Title III Lego Program
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New York City Children’s Theater (P177@295)
Partnerships with our co-located schools continue to expand and consists of the following:
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Cultural & Holiday Celebrations
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December festivities included a Christmas Holiday Party with our elementary and middle school students alongside our D75 students.
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In January 177Q@295 and PS/IS students planned and hosted the first collaborative Black History Show.
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March Women’s Gallery Walk at 295 is also a joint activity to promote inclusiveness and opportunities to celebrate differences in students’ abilities.
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177 student visits a 12:1:1 community-based program at PS 295 to prepare the student in the move to an LRE 12:1:1 community school.
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The IS 295 Student Ambassadors work with 12:1:4, 6:1:1, 8:1:1 and 12:1:1 populations supporting them in reading, art activities, special activities and packing up for the end of the day.
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177@295 is exploring joint grants to move to a truly equitable environment- handicapped accessible playground, handicapped accessible emergency exit in the cafeteria.
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The 177@495 site has built a partnership with Martin Van Buren High School and B-Tech. Our 12:1:1 HS student joined an art class form B-Tech. The student had an opportunity to co-teach the art class.
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Looking ahead, our partnership with PS/IS295 has developed to include shared professional development for staff.
Grants &
Outside Funding
The Grant Committee meets Bi-Monthly to plan, write and submit grants to various funding sources. The needs assessment of our high school sites indicate a priority focus for increased vocational opportunities at our high school sites. Subsequently, proposal requests include: Culinary space for our high school off-site and Culinary upgrades for our main site. The other area of focus is on self-management skills for both our high school age and elementary students. Proposal requests include sensory space for our elementary and high school off-sites.
Administrators, members of the PTA and Grant Committee members actively engage and regularly interact with our city council representatives. Over the last few months several grants have been awarded to support the need for renovated and expanded space in order to better serve the needs of our growing student population.
For the 2022-2023 School year, the following grants have been awarded to 177Q:
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Arts & Family Engagement Grant-$2,500
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Broadway Junior Theatre
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Follow Your Waste-$1,000
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Reso A Cafeteria Upgrade- $1.5 Million
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Reso A 295-Adapted Playground for All
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Reso A-MVB- Home-economic & Culinary Space
177Q Worksites
Beginning in January 2023, P177 has a College and Career readiness team. The team works with the Transition Coordinator in identifying the vocational skills our students require to secure a job once leaving P177. The team distributed a survey to all teachers of students 14 and older to gauge classroom needs and necessary supports. The team reaches out regularly to community businesses to expand community worksites for our students. Since the team was established, two additional community worksite; Orange Theory and PS/IS 295 Library, have been added, increasing our worksites from 18 to 20. In addition, the College and Career readiness team is collaborating with the SLT and Articulation team to determine student/family needs and to ensure our students are placed in the appropriate setting.
The 177Q Transition Coordinator leads the way in securing our students' worksites in the community and within the school. All students are engaged in career awareness and are afforded opportunities to be of service to the school or larger community. Vocational experiences begin at the elementary age to prepare them for the transition into middle school.
177Q participates in the Summer Youth Employment Program. 9 students were selected and much needed financial incentives are provided for our students and their families.
Summer Youth Employment 2022
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177@295 Para training
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Five Guys- Fresh meadows
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Francis Lewis HS
177Q’s worksites have expanded to include the following programs:
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Five Guys Burgers and Fries
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Qdoba
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Applebees
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Hope Center
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Slims bagels
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Ramen Jin
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CVS
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John;s Pizzeria
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Al-Oerter Rec Center
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Panera Bread
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St. John's Bread and Life
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Student Newspaper
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Leaders’ Center
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Post Office Services
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Panther Greetings
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Cafeteria Cleanup
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McSwirlies
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Culinary
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Breakfast Delivery Service (295)
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Mobile Library Cart (295)
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Copy Center (295)
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Classroom supply distribution (295)
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Coffee Cart/Snack Shop (MVB)
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Breakfast Delivery (MVB)
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Panther Pop Up Shop (MVB)
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Cafeteria Cleanup (MVB)
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Handyman (MVB)
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Recycling (MVB)
Culture
Attitudes, knowledge, behaviors and beliefs that characterize the school environment and are shared by its stakeholders.
School-wide Traditions & Rituals
New traditions include: Special Olympics participation; Student of the Month Assemblies and monthly evening events for parents;
Family Fun Day - This June, P177 will celebrate the second annual Kathy Posa Family Fun Day. Last year’s event boasted over 85 volunteers and 500 participants. Volunteers included students, staff, retired staff, parents, friends and family members. We anticipate this year’s event to be an even greater success.
Senior Trip - P177’s soon to be graduates will be going to Club Getaway in Connecticut for an extended day trip to participate in activities that include an obstacle ropes course,
rock climbing, and zip lining.
The rich traditions and rituals at P177Q is what bring our school and community together to celebrate and collaborate on improving students’ growth and development. Our partnerships at our co-located sites have seen increased joint celebrations. New traditions and rituals have begun this school term. Winter and Spring rituals include:
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Meet The Teacher
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PBIS Kick Off Assembly
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Fall Festival/Halloween
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Mother’s Day Breakfast
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Father’s Day Breakfast
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Black History Celebration
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Holi Day Celebration
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Lunar New Year
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Greek Independence Day Celebration
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Family Fun Day in memory of Ms.Posa
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Field Day
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Senior Events and Activities
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Social Emotional Learning Day
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Women’s History Month Celebration
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Weekly SEL activities/Virtual Clubs
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Weekly Leaders’ Center Exchange Program
Special
Olympics
This Spring, P177 will be competing in the special Olympics Bowling tournament and hosting the May Metro Games at MVB HS.
We have begun to expand our Special Olympics programs to reach our elementary school students. The Young Athletes Program is available for students up to age 7. This program brings children in special education and general education together to learn skills that will help them focus on activities that are important to mental and physical growth. Young Athletes learn new things and prepare for the next step in their sports participation.
At P177Q@295, we are beginning a blended P.E period where students from both schools learn and play together. Curriculum includes foundational skills, throwing, striking, kicking, trapping and catching, balancing, jumping, walking and running. All program participants will be invited to attend Young Athletes Events on Saturday 5/6/23 at Long Island Spring Games and Saturday 5/20/23 at NYC Metro Games (hosted by 177Q). Building a school community of acceptance and welcoming children of all abilities improves the life and experiences of everyone involved. Young Athletes helps unite children with and without intellectual disabilities as they find a common ground in the joy of play and prepare for a lifetime participation and development in sports.
The P177Q Panthers Special Olympics Athletics program began in Fall 2019 and has quickly grown to include 32 student athletes and many volunteer coaches. During the Fall season, our student athletes compete in 7v7 soccer, soccer skills, or bocce. Our club traveled to Glen Falls, NY this past October 2022 for Fall Games. During the winter season, our athletes compete in Floor Hockey. We are currently training for the Winter Classic Floor Hockey Competition, which will be held at Jacob K. Javit's Center on Saturday December 3rd, 2022. The Spring season is our busiest season, with athletes having the choice to compete in 5v5 basketball, basketball skills, or track & field. In May 2023, we will be hosting Metro Games at our Martin Van Buren Campus, where athletes throughout the region will come to compete in powerlifting, track & field, and tennis. We also anticipate traveling to Syracuse NY in February for Winter Games, and Ithaca NY in June for Summer Games.
In addition to the hard work our athletes put in at work and competition, we are often asked to represent Special Olympics New York at various fundraising and publicity events. Recently, student athletes Rachel Soifer and Jeremy Chen represented the Special Olympics at the New York Islanders Game at UBS Arena. After the game, they met player Josh Bailey, and were given autographed Islanders jerseys! On Wednesday 11/16/22, 5 students (Rachel Soifer, Mohammad Hamza, Joshua Delacruz, Mathew White, and graduate Angeleena Arjune) were asked to represent Special Olympics New York at the 2022 NYC Real Estate and Construction Gala, an annual fundraiser that raises thousands of dollars for Special Olympics New York. At the gala, students greeted donors, welcomed them to the event, and spoke about their favorite competition moments.
Extracurricular Activites
Extra-Curricular activities provide our students increased opportunities for social skill building. Our sports teams and participation in Special Olympics have become an all time favorite for our high school age students. Our newest student clubs include the following:
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Art Club
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Cheerleading
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Cooking Club
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Students’ Mindfulness Club
Administrators, teachers; related service providers, paraprofessionals and parents are committed to creating and promoting opportunities for social growth and development. Extra- curricular activities provide students with great opportunities to develop positive peer and adult relationships. All stakeholders of 177Q support and promote a school environment that addresses the physical, mental, social and emotional needs of all. Opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities occur year round. The following extra-curricular activities are offered at P177Q:
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Special Olympics Teams
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Band
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Basketball Team
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Dance Team
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Debate Team
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Student Council
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Roving Reporters
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Virtual Clubs
P177 was granted Broadway Jr for 3 years and this year’s performance will be The Lion King. Professional training is provided to the team of staff to put together this show in addition to a hands on representative on a weekly basis. The grant also includes funding for stage equipment. Students have been practicing on stage with peers rehearsing their lines, singing, and choreography.
Classes from all sites are participating in Marquis Studios, a residency art program that encourages student exploration of visual arts, music, dance, or architecture.
Title 111 Lego Program- This program provides additional opportunities for our ELL’s students and families to receive resources that promote an asset based approach focusing on students ability based strengths.
PBIS Virtual and In-person Clubs are hosted every Friday. Students from all sites eagerly participate in these programs.
Spirit Wear &
Special Olympics
Jerseys
School Spirit Wear and Branding continues to build school spirit among our students; staff and parents. Student Council Student Advisors assist with the design, purchasing and distribution of school spirit items.
Recently, 177Q invested in the following school spirit and branding items:
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summer school T-shirts
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field day t-shirts
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school sweatsuits
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team uniforms
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team t-shirts
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panther spirit items (e.g. pom poms, temporary tattoos)
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signage for events
After analyzing previous sales trends and seeking feedback from student council members, P177 has expanded its Spirit Wear selection. New items include a ¾ zip fleece, a sweat suit, and winter hats. Last year’s most popular item was the full zip up. Spirit wear ordering and distribution is a worksite where students process orders, collecting money, provide receipts and deliver goods to recipients.
Sustainability
A focus on continuance and meaning beyond the present moment, contextualizing today’s successes and improvements as the legacy of the future
Staff, Student &
Parent
Surveys
Our vision and mission to cultivate and maintain a caring and supportive environment remain evident in our school-wide systems that support students’ academic learning and positive social and emotional development. On-going analysis of academic. behavior and survey data ensure that the strengths and needs of students, families and staff are indeed addressed and celebrated. Recent surveys and feedback from 17Q stakeholders have resulted in the following:
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Student Council members requested more In-Person weekly clubs.
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The following in-person clubs were added: Art Club; Cooking Club; Girl’s Club; Students’ Mindfulness Club; Pokemon Club.
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Students’ Panther Points weekly totals indicated an increase in points earned
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Student of The Month Assemblies were initiated to celebrate students’ progress
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Parent Captains Survey Data indicated Friday evening high interest activities
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Family Social Events Scheduled: Marching into Spring; Yoga; Hip-Hop Dancing
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Teacher Survey Indicate an interest in additional SEL Resources
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Members of the PBIS/SEL Teams and Equity Team Members have partnered with D75 Occupational Therapist to implement Interoception Strategies for selected 6:1:1 classes.
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Partnering with Mindup Specialist to adapt content to meet the unique needs of our students and families.
All members of the 177Q school community, beyond teachers, support the success of all students. Parent Coordinators; PTA; School
Counselors; School aides; secretaries; paraprofessionals and our community partners contribute to students’ success.
Surveys are intended to help us improve in all areas to improve students’ academic and social development. All decisions at P177Q are based on data results. We are committed to hearing the voices of all stakeholders. Subsequently, staff, students and parents receive surveys regularly. Data gathered from the 177Q Parent survey guides our future planning on the high interest area for parent workshops and the preferred time of these workshops. Recent parent survey data indicate parents prefer workshops in the late afternoon . Similarly, staff surveys are utilized to make decisions on curriculum and staff activities. Lastly, students’ most recent PBIS survey data indicate that most students recommend gift cards as their preferred item of reinforcement.
School Library & Resources
P177’s librarian is the winner of a $300 grant to cover attendance to the NYLA-SSL Library Conference in May 2023. Through participation in the conference, P177’s librarian will gain valuable training, professional connections, and resources to build upon the library program.
P177’s librarian was published in the March/April issue of School Library Connection, a National Library publication. Her article, "A School Library Grows in theSpecial Education District of New York City," describes 177Q’s process in building their school library.
