i-Plan success story

i-Plan improves district’s approach to creating individualized education plans

TIES web-based i-Plan individualized education plan manager has changed how Brooklyn Center School District approaches creating plans for its special education students.

“We started taking our notes at our meetings right in the addendum section of i-Plan, instead of handwriting notes,” said Jolene Moore, speech pathologist at Earl Brown Elementary School. “One person is assigned to take the notes, which everyone then has access to and can copy and paste them as needed. That’s changed how our teams are functioning, and it’s doing more to ensure accuracy.”

About 16 staff members use i-Plan for developing educational plans for about 200 students in Brooklyn Center, a district of almost 1,700 students in a first-ring suburb. The district was one of the first to use i-Plan.

Easy to learn, easy to use

“It’s very easy to train people to use it, and people catch on very quickly,” Moore said. “We all love it because we can access other’s plans when there is more than one service provider.”

Brooklyn Center staff also appreciate the time and effort that i-Plan saves. Because it interfaces with the TIES Student Information System, they don’t have to type in the student’s information, parents’ names and so on. i-Plan automatically downloads the most current information from the student information system. “This has been a huge time saver and guarantees accuracy,” said Moore.

Another benefit is the record i-Plan provides. “Everything is right there, so we always have the historical record. This is particularly important when there’s a change in the case manager,” Moore explained. “You can tell what should be typical progress for the student” based on their history. This function of i-Plan also gives the district the records it needs for monitoring compliance.

Support focuses on district’s needs

The support Brooklyn Center’s i-Plan users get from TIES is lauded by Moore. “A request that is made of TIES is listened to, and they attempt to meet our needs,” she said. “Every request I’ve made that would make my use of i-Plan easier, they have attempted to do in a timely manner. Every request is acknowledged.”