SBES Core Value: Innovation

The Core Values of Sonja Biggs Educational Services, Inc.

At?Sonja Biggs Educational Services, Inc., our mission is to provide quality educational services to schools, students, and their families. Our goal is for all students to achieve educationally, socially, emotionally, and vocationally using the Expanded Core Curriculum for Students with Visual Impairments. Our vision is to create quality education and accessibility for all students. Our motto is Success for All Students. This embraces inclusion, equity, and access especially for our students with visual impairments.

Our core values are integrity, innovation, life-long learners, technological proficiency, communication, teamwork, and flexibility. Last month we wrote about the importance of integrity within SBES. This month we are focusing on the core value of Innovation.

We believe that innovation is more than just a buzzword. It’s a core value that drives every aspect of our work. From our approach to education to the services we provide, innovation is at the heart of what we do.

Creativity: The Spark of Innovation

Creativity is the lifeblood of innovation. It’s the ability to see things differently, to challenge the status quo, and to find new ways to solve problems. Our SBES team is encouraged to think creatively, to bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the table. This creative thinking often leads to innovative solutions that enhance the learning experience for our students.

Thinking Outside the Box: Beyond Conventional Boundaries

Innovation requires us to think outside the box, to go beyond conventional boundaries and explore new possibilities. We strive to create an environment where such thinking is not just encouraged but celebrated. By stepping outside the comfort zone, we open ourselves up to new ideas and opportunities. We will describe some of the ways SBES has thought outside the box to bring quality services to more students across the United States. Our dream is to also provide services to students globally.

Exploration: The Journey to Innovation

Innovation is a journey of exploration. It’s about venturing into the unknown, taking risks, and learning from our experiences. At Sonja Biggs Educational Services, Inc., we foster a culture of exploration. We encourage our team to try new approaches, to learn from their successes and failures, and to continually seek ways to improve. We are always open to hear from our districts, the teachers we work with, the students, and the families so we can discover how we need to continue to learn and grow to be the best we can be.

Real World Experiences: Bringing Learning to Life

We believe that the best learning happens when it’s grounded in real-world experiences. That’s why we’re committed to providing our blind and low vision students with opportunities to apply their learning in practical ways. Whether it’s through hands-on activities or field trips these experiences bring learning to life and foster innovation. Students with visual impairments need to feel, touch, smell, hear, taste, using all the other senses to bring learning to life. We encourage our teachers to write lesson plans that utilize all the senses and include all components of the Expanded Core Curriculum for Students with Visual Impairments: Compensatory and Functional Academic Skills, including communication modes and braille; Orientation & Mobility; Social Interaction Skills; Independent Living Skills; Recreation & Leisure; Career Education; Assistive Technology; Sensory Efficiency Skills; and Self-Determination.

Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone: The Courage to Innovate

Innovation often requires us to step outside our comfort zones. It takes courage to challenge the status quo, to try new things, and to risk failure. But it’s in these moments of discomfort that true innovation happens. We support our team and our students in taking these brave steps, knowing that they are essential to growth and innovation. We were able to continue serving the students in the districts we serve throughout the pandemic because of our SBES team's quick thinking and innovation.

Recent Innovations: Paving the Way Forward

We are proud to share some of our recent innovations that exemplify our commitment to this core value:

1. Online VI Paraeducator Training Modules: We have developed online training modules for Visual Impairment (VI) Paraeducators. These modules provide comprehensive training, enabling our paraeducators to better support our students. The modules are available to districts to train their paraeducators who are working directly with students who are blind or low vision. There are special skills that a paraeducator needs to know in order to successfully work with a student who is blind or low vision so the student learns to be independent and not dependent on the paraeducator. These modules teach the important skills the paraeducators need to know to be successful in their work. These modules were developed and created by one of our VI Teachers who also manages our VI Paraeducators and our Material Production Dept.
2. GAP Analysis: Our GAP Analysis tool helps districts identify the strengths and weaknesses in their current VI program. We provide recommendations for improvements, helping them build a program serving blind/low vision students they can be proud of. This program was developed by our CEO and COO when they saw a deep need within some of the districts we came in contact with.
3. Service Log System: Our service log system has been specially created to meet the needs of our districts. It provides accurate information on our employee hours of service, logs to represent what has been taught to reach student goals, and measures if Individualized Education Program (IEP) hours and goals have been met. It can pull up caseload analysis for each teacher based on Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) and generate just about any report imaginable for detailed oversight of student progress. This was developed by our Treasurer of the Board of Directors when he was our CFO to bring more accurate data to our districts and our billing process.
4. Hybrid Model of Service: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a hybrid model of service that combines online and traditional methods. This model has proven so effective that we have decided to continue using it. We found that our students with visual impairments were able to embrace their unique accessible technology and become proficient faster than in a more traditional model of service. We are also able to work around student schedules more efficiently and effectively. The students we have polled express how they feel they learn more using the hybrid model than the traditional model of service.

Innovation is more than just a core value at Sonja Biggs Educational Services, Inc. It’s a way of life. It’s how we approach our work, how we serve our students, and how we make a difference in the world. Through creativity, thinking outside the box, exploration, real-world experiences, and stepping outside our comfort zones, we are shaping the future of education for blind and low vision students. And we’re just getting started. Contact us at [email protected] to see how we can help you serve your students with visual impairments. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and here on LinkedIn. Our website is www.sbesinc.com .