Annual Education Report

2023-24 Annual Education Report
(2022-23 School Year): 
Blossomland Learning Center

January 31, 2023

Dear Parents and Community Members:

We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2022-23 educational progress for Blossomland Learning Center. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and state laws. The school’s report contains information about student assessment, accountability, and teacher quality. If you have any questions about the AER, please contact your child's principal for assistance.

The AER is available for you to review electronically or you may review a copy in the main office at your child’s school.

For the 2023-24 school year, schools were identified based on previous years' performance using definitions and labels as required in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school is one that has at least one underperforming student subgroup in 2021-22. An Additional Targeted Support (ATS) school is one that has a student subgroup performing at the same level as the lowest 5% of all schools in the state in 2022-23. A Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) school is one whose performance is in the lowest 5% of all schools in the state or has a graduation rate at or below 67% in 2021-22. Some schools are not identified with any of these labels. In these cases, no label is given. Our center-based program has not been given a label.

It is important to understand that the achievements and milestones our center-based students make each year are much different than those goals of a typical K-12 school system. Specific goals are set for BLC students during their Individualized Education Planning meeting, which is held annually. Goals can include making eye contact, tying shoes, using utensils, learning how to wait in a line, understanding consequences or even managing their own behavior, in additional to academic goals. While simple for some, these types of goals represent an entire year’s worth of practice, patience and determination for others. These students (and their teachers) deserve our highest praise. 

State Law Requires That We Also Report Additional Information:

1. Process for assigning pupils to the school

2. The status of the 3-5 year School Improvement Plan

3. Brief description of each specialized school

4. Identify how to access a copy of the Core Curriculum, a description of its implementation and explanation of the variances from the state’s model

5. The aggregate student achievement results for any local competency tests or nationally normed achievement tests

6. Identify the number and percent of students represented by parents at parent-teacher conferences 

7.  For high schools only also report on the following:

• The number and percent of postsecondary enrollments (dual enrollment)

• The number of college equivalent courses offered (AP/IB)

• The number and percentage of students enrolled in college equivalent courses (AP/IB)

• The number and percentage of students receiving a score leading to college credit

We are very proud of our students and look forward to achieving even more goals next year!
 
Sincerely,
Eric Hoppstock
Superintendent

Additional Required Information:

Description:

Blossomland Learning Center (BLC) provides comprehensive programs and therapeutic services for severely multiply impaired and moderate to severe cognitively impaired students, ages 3 to 26.  

The school facility includes classroom areas for Pre-primary, Primary, Intermediate and Teen-Adults. Each contains space for large-group activities, kitchen amenities, restrooms, conference rooms, offices and other programmatic areas to address the specific needs of that particular age group of students. Other building features include therapy areas, a central kitchen, a 30’ by 60’ swimming pool and a gymnasium with adjoining shower and dressing rooms. Blossomland Learning Center also offers students the services of music therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, adaptive physical education, community-based instruction, speech therapy, a licensed practical nurse and a registered nurse.

Blossomland Learning Center also offers off-site programs located throughout Berrien County. Off-site programs offer students learning experiences in a community-based setting or within local school district buildings.

Placement Process:

Placement is made through the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process. The IEP team must agree that the student’s unique educational needs would be better or more appropriately addressed within a center-based special education facility than through their local district.

Status Of The School Improvement Plan:

Per the district's Extended COVID-19 Learning Plan, as adopted by the Berrien RESA Board of Education on September 14, 2020, and uploaded to the Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP) system, the program is in year two of its Educational Goals (formerly the School Improvement Plan).

Core Curriculum:

Blossomland Learning Center utilizes both the Michigan's Essential Elements, Michigan Extended Grade Level Content Expectations (EGLCE’s) and the Addressing Unique Educational Needs for Students with Disabilities (AUEN) for their curricular needs. English Language Arts and Mathematics are currently aligned to the student’s Individualized Education Program. Staff utilize curriculum checklists that combine these for documentation of individual skills and resources, and to identify areas of need. The curriculum checklists were developed for both the Participation and Supported Independence student levels. There are no variances from the State’s model. Staff utilize science and social studies pacing guides to identify key concepts for instruction and for alignment to state requirements.

Curriculum expectations and goals are included in each student’s IEP. Copies of the IEP are provided to parents.

Parent Teacher Conferences:

Blossomland Learning Center conducts scheduled parent/teacher conferences twice a year (during the fall and spring). Parent participation is encouraged with notifications sent out throughout the school year, through parent newsletters and school calendar.
 

Parent Teacher Conference Attendance

Year	Fall-Number Attending	Spring-Number Attending	Fall-Percentage Attending	Spring-Percentage Attending
2021-2022	155	149	88%	84%
2022-2023	155	163	90%	94%

 

Parent Involvement Plan:

The Berrien Regional Education Service Agency Board of Education strongly encourages and welcomes the involvement of parent(s)/guardian(s) in all of the District’s educational programs that directly serve students. The term parent refers to any caregiver/guardian who is responsible for the academic, social and emotional needs of a child. It is recognized and appreciated that parents/guardians are the “first teachers” of their children, and that their interest and involvement in the education of their children should not diminish once their child enters the schools of the District.

Consistent with standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act and Sec.380.294 of the Michigan Revised School Code, the Board encourages parental involvement through: 

• Regular and meaningful communication between home and school;

• Promoting and supporting responsible parenting;

• Ensuring that parents have an integral role in assisting student learning;

• Encouraging parent participation as volunteers in schools;

• Including parents as full partners in the decisions that affect their children and families; and

• Fostering parent, school and community collaboration in order to enhance student learning, strengthen families and improve schools.

In accordance with state law, the Superintendent shall provide a copy of the District’s Parent Involvement Plan to all parents via the student handbook, at parent-teacher conferences, Individual Education Plan meetings and through parent groups.

Adopted: February 9, 2005

Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate/College Equivalent Courses:

For the past two years, no high school students enrolled at BLC participated in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Dual Enrollment or College Equivalent Courses.