HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Ottawa Area Intermediate School District’s Ottawa Area Center (OAC) and Careerline Tech Center (CTC) instructors presented on four topics at the Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education (MAASE) Supervisors of Low-Incidence Programs (SLIP) statewide conference for Special Education Administrators Thursday, January 16 in Lansing.
Approximately 85 administrators and instructors who work with students with low incidence disabilities including deaf and hard of hearing, vision impairment, and traumatic brain injury attended the SLIP conference.
OAC Director JoAnne Thorsen said, “This conference provides administrators and teachers that work with low-incident populations a great opportunity to learn and network.”
Emergency Medical Services instructor for Tech Center Kim Schrader said she and Grand Haven Young Adult Services (YAS) instructor for OAC Olivia Zienert presented on ISD Program Collaboration that highlighted their long-standing collaborative bus accident simulation.
In the simulation, YAS students act as injured passengers in a bus accident and Tech Center Emergency Medical Services program students are the first responders and triage for the injured students.
“The collaborative effort between our two buildings to simulate the bus accident provides a great learning experience for all involved,” Schrader said. “The YAS students are able to work on their communication skills in a high-stress situation while the CTC students can practice their lifesaving skills and how to work with those who have different abilities.”
Zienert said she was honored to present and receive such positive feedback on something she is passionate about. “The ‘bus accident’ is a favorite activity of many of my students,” she said. “It is exciting to think about other students within the state having a similar opportunity thanks to our presentation.”
Schrader and Zienert said attendees told them their presentation “got the wheels turning” with ideas for collaboration opportunities within their own districts. “Another attendee said they’d like to recommend us for the summer conference so she can bring her nursing staff and other folks to launch a similar experience at their campus,” Schrader added.
Other presentations by OAISD staff included Student Growth and the Education Process for Center-Based Programs, presented by JoAnne Thorsen and Director of School Improvement for OAISD Doug Greer, Making Transition Plans Meaningful, presented by Administrative Coordinator Consultant for OAC Chelsea Dykstra, Transition Coordinator for OAISD Krista Krefeld-Freir, and SCI Program instructor for OAC, Morgan Addis. OAC Moderate Cognitive Disabilities instructor Krystal Draveling and Behavior Specialist Heather Hester presented “Class”y ABA that discussed methods for integrating Applied Behavior Analytic principles with learners with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.
