CONSUMER AND ADVOCACY ADVISORY

COMMITTEE FOR THE BLIND

 

Minutes of December 9, 2005

 

Call to Order and Invocation

Chairman Tim Jones called the meeting of the Consumer and Advocacy Advisory Committee for the Blind to order at 1:10 p.m. on Friday, December 9, 2005.  Invocation was offered by Ms. Hazel Staley.  The following members were present:  Tim Jones, Hazel Staley, Ron Eller, Bill Apple, Gwen Sullivan (representing Prevent Blindness North Carolina).

 

Members Not Present:  Linda Lewis, Brian Lewis, Jim Shuart, Steve Walker, and Representative Verla Insko. 

 

Others Present:  Debbie Jackson, Francine Martin, Tom Winton, Pat Robbins, and Carla Parker

 

Approval of Minutes

Motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the minutes of September 9, 2005. 

 

Report of Entities:

 

North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped—Francine Martin

 

New State Librarian Visits LBPH

Mary L. Boone began serving as the new State Librarian in mid-November 2005.   On her 4th day in the office, she toured the LBPH and met with all branch staff.   She was very impressed with the Friends of NCLBPH and has requested to attend the next meeting and receive minutes of the Friends meetings.  

A native of North Carolina, Ms. Boone received her BA and MSLS degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was director of the Chapel Hill (NC) Public Library from 1978 to 1985 and was a founding member of the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association. Since 1985 she has been a Foreign Service Library/Information Resource Officer with the United States Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State, with service in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Washington, DC. Her assignments included serving as the director of the Department of State's extensive international library program from 1999 to 2002 and overseeing the planning and establishment of the Jefferson Information Center, a new Department of State initiative incorporating its existing library and a new research service, from 2002 to 2005. The UNC-CH School of Information and Library Science presented her with its Distinguished Alumni Award in December 2003.

We welcome Ms. Boone back to North Carolina and look forward to working with her.

NLS Digital Talking Book Distribution Update

ManTech, the consulting firm hired by NLS has completed a report recommending distribution strategies for digital talking books, scheduled to be available in 2008.   ManTech recommend that for the first two to three years that digital talking books are produced, every regional library receive copies of every digital title produced, just as we currently do with cassette titles.   After that time, an option of a national center duplicating less popular titles on demand for patrons is recommended.   These titles would be ordered for patrons by their regional library.  Even then regional libraries would still receive copies of the most popular titles, the 20% of titles that constitute 80% of the circulation.  The full report is available on the NLS website athttp://www.loc.gov/nls/technical/distribution/summary.html

 

Planning, Facilities, and Staffing

·       We had anticipated and announced in the upcoming LBPH newsletter Tar Heel Talk, if all went well, our new telephone system would be installed at the end of December 2005.  However, at this point it appears that will be delayed several months.   Machine Repair Technician, Moses Garner, was promoted outside our Department to a position in Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in early October.   We have advertised and are currently interviewing for that position.

·       Processing Assistant III in the Machine area of the Collection Management Unit, Paul Luckham, accepted a higher-level position within our Department effective December 1, 2005.  That position is being advertised.

·       Receptionist Shonta Webb accepted a higher paying position at DHHS in mid October.   We have advertised and are currently interviewing for the receptionist position.

 

Volunteers and Public Relations Activities

·       The Friends of NCLBPH funded the 2005 Volunteer Recognition Ceremony, attended by 104 people celebrating the accomplishments of 115 NCLBPH volunteers.  Volunteers contributed 6,702 hours of work to NCLBPH during SFY 2004-2005, which constitutes 3 full-time positions worth of time.

 

·       LBPH Volunteer/Outreach staff or Friends presented information about NCLBPH at the following events or groups during the last 6 months:

·       Division of Services for the Blind (DSB) Mini Centers in Coats, Warrenton, Washington, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, and Goldsboro.

·       DSB Under 55 Week, Raleigh

·       National Federation of the Blind of NC state convention.

·       NC Council of the Blind State Convention

·       Lions VIP Fishing Tournament.  Gary Ray was the keynote speaker at the Wednesday night banquet.

·       DSB New Employee Orientation (Adjustment Training)

·       Table at a Durham Parks and Recreation Disability Walk. 

·       Table and provided volunteers for the NC Assistive Technology Expo

·       Gary Ray emceed the Awards luncheon for the NC TASH convention in Raleigh.  He handled the Awards for the various Mayors’ Committee winners from around the state.  Another good opportunity to network with other disability groups.

¨   1 hour TV interview program, called Speak Up, Speak Out, on the Raleigh cable Public Access channel.

¨   Governor Morehead School Alumni Association (NC AWB) at their annual convention.

¨   Gary Ray did a keynote presentation and a training session for the NC Community College Association Learning Resources Association conference.

¨   Metrolina Association for the Blind Transition class in Charlotte.

 

The Governor Morehead School

 

Report submitted by Dennis Thurman

 

ENROLLMENT

 

Instructional services

PRE-SCHOOL SERVICES

K-12

INSTRUCT-IONAL

OUTREACH SERVICES

 

0-3 YRS

 

3-5 YRS

 

RESID-ENTIAL

 

DAY

 

*SHO-RT

TERM

 

*ITINER-ENT

SERVICE

(REGION-AL

STAFF)

 

*TECHN-ICAL

ASSIS-ANCE

 

*IEP

 

*TEACH-ER

TRAIN-ING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

71

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*THESE TOTALS ARE CUMULATIVE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

 

The GMS Instructional Program did meet Expected Growth for the 2004/2005 school year.  All 3 alternative goals were met in addition to EOG scores.

 

Please join the Instructional Program on November 17 at 7:00 pm for our Winter Music Festival in the Lineberry auditorium.  Students will be performing theatre and songs to bring in the holiday cheer. 

 

The 3rd annual Braille Challenge is scheduled for February 16th this year.  We have had a student make it to the national level so far each year.  Please join us in celebration of our students and Braille literacy on this day.

All positions in the Instructional Program have either been filled or a name has been moved forward.

 

The Instructional Program is currently adopting all new Language Arts books in the Instructional Program and teachers are working closely with DPI to ensure texts meet both the academic and vision specific needs of our students.

 

Student Health Services

 

We have had 1561 total student contacts for the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year (August and September).  That is an average of 54 contacts per day for 29 school contact days.  A breakdown of the total contacts is as follows:

o     3 of the contacts were Pediatrician visits and 5 Psychiatrist visits.

o     1440 routine scheduled medication administration and treatments.

o     102 unscheduled contacts (includes such things as treatments for upper respiratory symptoms, upset stomach, headaches and minor injuries) ***** 70 of these contacts occurred during the school day and the Student Health Center was able to address these health concerns right away. The student was able to return to class, thus reducing the loss of educational time.

o     11 admissions

o     and 0 ER visits

Trainings:

o     184 GMS employees and 17 volunteers have received the annual mandatory training in Universal Precautions and Bloodborne Pathogens. 

o     Direct contact staff received training in Diabetes and allergies with the use of Epi-pens for life threatening emergencies.  Direct contact staff also received general training in medication administration for non-medical personnel.   We provided more extensive training to 28 staff members who actually administer medications to our students for field trips.

Healthy Living Curriculum   We will be assisting the school in promoting healthy lifestyles by assisting with forums on hand washing infection control, etc.  We will promote increased activities during the day and after school, as well as healthy dietary choices.

SHAC: We will be having our first meeting of the Student Health Advisory Council November 3, 2005.  We have 13 members so far, including one very gracious GMS board member!  Mary Sugg Styres. Thank you.  This year we will be focusing on the nutrition and physical activity of our students. 

SNAP: We have just had the SNAP software program installed on the Student Health Center computer.  This program will provide computerized documentation of student’s medical records and create a database for student information.

The nurses attended the 22nd Annual School Nurse Conference through UNC School of Public Health in October.  They received updates on current health issues, such as immunizations, suicide prevention, MRSA outbreaks (and other skin conditions), as well as documentation of health services. 

We are currently in the information gathering stage of facilitating an exciting new program, the Tele-Medicine system.  We hope to implement it after next school year.  Currently, our pediatrician is on campus 2 times a week.  Access to this system would allow the Student Health Center daily access to a pediatrician.  Tele-Medicine has also been very successful at the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf.   This program provides access to physician services from the East Carolina School of Medicine for students while they are on campus and can impact student absenteeism.  During the 2004-2005 school year, we had 20 student contacts in which we had to send the student home for further MD evaluation because we did not have an MD on campus.

Outreach Services

Enrollment: Short-term: 3 Sessions, 14 students

 

New Employees:

  • Julie Kagy, former lead VI teacher with Wake County Public Schools, to Outreach (eastern part of NC)
  • Kathryn Flynn, 2005 graduate of NCCU VITP Program, Short-term teacher
  • Lisa Swink, VI Itinerant Teacher, Lincoln County Schools to Outreach (Morganton area)

Activities:

  • Short-term attended PE with NCSU:  basketball, water aerobics, horseback riding
  • Short-term kids participated in dance with Pierrette Sadler Dance Company in Cary
  • Short-term kids visited Hill Ridge Farms, State Fair, and Exploris museum
  • Short-term kids participated in the US Blind Golfers Association clinic the first week of Oct.


Billie LeTendre, Outreach Teacher, Chatham County, attended APH
Julie Kagy, Outreach Teacher based in Raleigh, attended Closing the Gap in Minneapolis
Mike Switzer, Short-Term Teacher, continues his work with Skanska-Barnhill and their construction project on the new downtown Civic Center

Outreach teachers have had staff development from professors at NCSU and Emory University on educational testing and interpretation, Optelec (assistive technology), and learning media assessments (educational diagnostician from Iowa School)

Reminder:  NCCVIB Conference, March 9 - 11, 2006 on GMS Campus; presenters still being scheduled but some confirmed are Paul Rowland (DSB), Beth Finke (NPR), Laura Park Leach, Bob Kennedy.  This year's theme is social skills/leisure activities across the lifespan.

 

Student life services

 

Staff Recognition:

·       Nancy Doherty, Student Life Director, recognizes an individual staff member quarterly each school year.  In August, Carolyn Taylor, Residential Life Trainer, received S for Senior Recognition.  The seniors recognized her service, teamwork, adaptability, and resilience.

Vacant Position Updates:

·       Interviews and Referrals for the vacant Trainer and Substitute Trainer position were conducted in Sept.

·       We are waiting for approval from OES to post the vacancy for a Trainer and part-time Permanent Trainer.

New Staff:

·       Nina Adams is our new Behavior Technician.  She was a Teacher Assistant in Johnston County.

Recreation:

·       We have opened a Fitness Room which ties into the Health and Wellness Curriculum mandated by the legislators.  It includes 2 Cat eye (game) bikes, 1 stationary cross trainer bike, 1 total gym fitness apparatus, stretching mats, therapy balls, and health videos. The room was designed by Teresa Merrill, Residential Life/Recreation Coordinator, and decorated by the students.

·       We are currently designing a Student Art Gallery and Conference Room.  

Volunteer Training:

·       We have had two training sessions for a total of 45 individuals from the community who want to volunteer at GMS.  All volunteers have criminal background checks and are trained on the Code of Conduct and Volunteer Policy.

 

    EVENTS/UPCOMING CALENDAR

DATE
EVENT
October 31, 2005
Halloween Dinner and Dance, Dining
Hall

 
December TBA
Christmas Party with Downtown Lion’s
Club

 

Please see “Student Life Chatter” at end of packet.

 

PRESCHOOL

      

Enrollment*: 0-3 year old: 277

                     3-5 years old: 273

*THESE TOTALS ARE CUMULATIVE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Dana Fox recently presented at the national DEC conference in conjunction with Deborah Hatton and the Early Intervention Training Center for Infants and Toddlers with Visual Impairments.  The full day pre-conference workshop was on Multimedia Resources for Infants and Toddlers with Visual Impairments.  An additional session entitled Improving the Lives of Young Children with Visual Impairments through Developmentally Appropriate Orientation and Mobility was also offered.

 

Charli Arman, the inclusion classroom teacher in Raleigh, has been inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, which is the graduate-level honor society at North Carolina State University.

 

On September 29 and 30, over 40 people attended a two-day workshop on functional vision and learning media assessments. Debbie Gleason with the Perkins School for the Blind, was the presenter.

 

Preschool students served on the GMS campus went trick-or-treating on Thursday, October 27.  A number of GMS staff members and campus agencies participated, including administration, K-12, the infirmary, dietary, maintenance, Rural Health, and DSB.

 

EVENTS/UPCOMING CALENDAR

 

DATE
EVENT

11/10/05

Pediatric Ophthalmology In-service

12/05

Visit with Santa – Raleigh site

4/06

Trinity Center Parent Conference

6/06

Statewide Parent Conference

 

Facility/safety/dietary services

 

MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT

·       Capital Project for road resurfacing and sidewalk repair has had some items added to be sure we use all the money and insure some of the paving needs are addressed. Hoping to start this project during the winter sometime.

·        Capital Project for HVAC upgrades for the campus ($1.4 M) is being rebid due to the cost over run, and some changes being made, mainly to insure the student dorms are completed correctly. Construction scheduled to begin at Christmas break.

·       Capital Project for door and egress hardware replacement for the student dorms and the dining hall has been bid and a contract awarded. The first stage (Lineberry doors) is scheduled to begin the first week of November.

·       The Maintenance Dept. is presently building an entire stage full of props for the upcoming shows presented by the students.

·       We have still have 3 vacant positions in Maintenance, 1 selection has been made.

 

SAFETY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

·       Conducted  33 fire drills.

·       Conducted 12 inspections of cottages and campus buildings for fire and trip/fall hazards, egress lights function, fire extinguishers and paths of emergency exits.

·       Purchased and distributed three weather radios and five transistor radios for early warning of severe weather for residential life staff.

·       Participated with DHHS Central Safety Committee to update departmental Safety Policies and Procedures.  Have produced 16 of 20 new policies for further ratification by GMS.

·       With entire management staff, oriented 10 new employees to GMS.

·       Crisis Management team dealt with one workplace violence issue – situation defused.

·       Conducted annual orientation safety training for all employees.

·       Trained all bus drivers, monitors and students in emergency evacuation from buses.

 

DIETARY SERVICES

·       School started without any problems in the Food Service Dept.

 

EVENTS/UPCOMING CALENDAR

 

 

DATE
EVENT