The Education Specialist Training can be found in the ES Manual from the CWCS website (under ES/Parent Resources). It is designed to walk the new ES through each facet of the manual in an organized manner allowing the ES to choose to work through portions most pertinent to their situation as the needs arise.
1)
You should be receiving an e-mails from your ES advisor.
2)
Start reading through the Training Section
of the ES Manual. The Introduction and Phase 1 must be done before students
can be assigned. (Phase 1 includes not only the online test and videos,
but also observations of Centralized Intake and a 1-on-1 computer training
with your advisor). Read through each item listed in each phase (all items
are links from the ES
Manual and can be found there for future reference); you may take the
tests "open book" while you read through the links. There should
be a subtitle on each question to help point you to the appropriate document.
Don't just search through the document for the answers, also scan the information
in the document so you'll know what information is available for future reference.
The tests are located in F.R.E.D. under “Create” ES Test.
3) You will be receiving a packet of cds and dvd videos from the training office.
The ES videos are to be used to reinforce learning concepts found in the ES manual online training. The videos may contain information that is outdated, but the general concepts are still true. Please use the ES manual phase training to answer each of the questions unless the question is specifically about the video. The ES manual is updated monthly with new processes and information (always highlighted in the monthly ES agendas) and the training questions are reviewed and updated each Spring/Summer. The purpose of the training is to acquaint you with the use of the ES manual and the location of information and documents therein. Be sure to read through all of the documents in each of the phases, and use the heading at each of the questions to point you to the source of the information within the manual. If there is a discrepancy between the videos and the ES manual, the ES manual is the most accurate source of information. If you find any errors in the questions or conflicts between what is stated in the ES manual vs what FRED states is an incorrect answer, do not hesitate to email your advisor with feedback. Errors may be present and we are always happy to have feedback and make changes..
4) If you would like to explore FRED, but do not yet have students assigned, then use the this to log in ES1223, password estr2006. These are fictitious files that you can "play" with- you can't hurt anything! (You may want to practice learning how to do a report card, learning record, etc. Use this FRED Map for help in navigating the files...not all files will be available in this fictitious set up.)
5) It is the responsibility of each ES Candidate to call their Area Facilitator to coordinate a time to observe an ES visit with their "AF" as soon as it can be arranged. Your Area Facilitator should be sending a letter of introduction.
The ES Observation Visit form must be mailed/faxed to the IEM Office (as stated on form) to show completion of this requirement.
6) Once you have completed the Introduction and Phase 1, you will be eligible
to have students assigned. Your ES Advisor will be
available to assist you as you work with your students. Don't hesitate to
call or email them for help. Your Advisor will send you a letter of introduction
and give you a phone call. You may also be assigned an ES Buddy. See "Roles
Clarified- ES Help Advisor/AF/Buddy for more info.
7) Phases 2-16 can be completed in any order, but the ES must complete at least 6 phases in the first month starting on the date than an e-mail is received about the training, and any remaining phases in the second month. (If an ES is unable to complete at least one phase per week, they are subject to a suspension from receiving additional transfers and prospective students, potentially leading to a drop in student count.)
As you complete the reading and any video viewing (if applicable) in these phases, take the corresponding Phase test in FRED before progressing to a different phase ("open book" is fine). You may enter FRED to work on a test, exit FRED, and re-enter at another time without losing your work. The test will not be processed until you mark ES Done. FRED automatically corrects each phase within 24 hours of your marking "ES Done". If it is passed with 90% or better accuracy, FRED will email which questions you have missed. If more than 10% are missed, FRED will tell you to try again without giving you the corrections. Each phase must be passed with 100% accuracy, so if you receive an e-mail in reply asking for corrections, please review the questions and resubmit your answers. (If you are having troubles making corrections to your ES test, please contact your advisor. Every attempt is made to keep the training up to date, but there may be times when you encounter a question that is confusing or you have problems locating the answer. Please do not hesitate to email or call for assistance.
Any questions or concerns should be directed to your ES Advisor. The Advisor Team is waiting to help you! J