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Welcome New Administrative Coordinator, Region 8 Office

Ashley Unger has joined the VCU’s Training and Technical Assistance Center as the Administrative Coordinator at the Region 8 Office located at Pickett Park in Blackstone, Virginia. She joins T/TAC with more than 15 years of customer service skills. She is a Navy veteran and served aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort. Ashley has two children, ages 9 and 11, three dogs, three cats, and a bearded dragon named Franklin. Her hobbies are cooking, spending time with family and friends, enjoying the outdoors, and attending all of her kids’ games. Ashley is thrilled to join the T/TAC staff.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Throughout the pandemic, isolation, loss, and disruption to routines have contributed to growing mental health concerns across our communities. A survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (2023) indicated 40% of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety and depression in 2020 compared to just 11% in 2019. "In the State of Mental Health in America" (Reinert et al., 2021), it was reported that 10.6 % of youth in the United States had severe major depression, yet 60% of those youth with major depression did not receive mental health care. Stigma and insufficient numbers of qualified mental health workers have limited access to care for those in need. There are 350 individuals to every mental health worker in the United States (Reinert et al., 2021). According to Mental Health America, Virginia was ranked 48th in regard to youth access to mental health (Reinert et al., 2021). This shortage results in individuals seeking care to have to wait months to access the care they need. School-based mental health services are an important component in addressing the current state of youth mental health needs.

You can contribute to improving the state mental health needs in your school and community by promoting awareness and participating in activities that support your self-care. The resources listed below can be utilized to support mental health awareness.

Resources

• 10 Day Mindfulness Challenge
• 27 Ideas To Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month (2023)
• 20 Activities for Mental Health Awareness in High School Classrooms
• 28 Mental Health Games, Activities, & Worksheets
• May Mindful Living Calendar
• VDOE Resource Library for School Mental Health Professionals
• Virginia Resiliency Week
• Youth Mental Health First Aid Professional Learning

References

Reinert, M., Fritze, D. & Nguyen, T. (October 2021). “The state of mental health in America 2022.” Mental Health America. Alexandria, VA. https://mhanational.org/sites/default/files/2022%20State%20of%20Mental%20Health%20in%20America.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). Indicators of anxiety or depression based on reported frequency of symptoms. [Data set]. National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm

For more information, contact Whitney Jones, (wlshotwell@vcu.edu), Program Specialist T/TAC at VCU.

Inclusion is an area of great interest in the disability community. What are the benefits? What are the barriers? Which educational environment and services produce the best outcome for students long-term? According to IDEA 2004, in K-12 education, all students with disabilities have the right to a free and appropriate public education in their least restrictive environment. However, this can be subjective depending on who is writing the IEP. Additionally, “there is strong evidence that placement decisions may be heavily influenced by the state where a student lives” (Cole et al., 2022, p. 4).

In a 2022 study, Cole et al. sought to determine the correlation between academic achievement and inclusive settings. This five year study was composed of about 24,000 students with disabilities in two cohorts from grades 8 through 12 in high and low-inclusion settings in Indiana. The students participating in the study identified under the primary disability categories of Cognitive Disability, Learning Disability, Autism, Emotional Disability, Other Health Impairment, Blind/Low Vision, or Deaf/Hard of Hearing. Students in a high-inclusion setting received at least 80% of their instruction in general education, while students in a low-inclusion setting received less than 80% of their instruction in general education. These students were evaluated using statewide standard assessment data in eighth and tenth grade and their graduation outcomes: overall graduation, general diploma, Core 40 (i.e., advanced diploma), and graduation via waiver (i.e., general and advanced diploma). Student and school-level variables were considered and students were matched via two separate stages to attempt to minimize bias within the study.

Cole et al. (2022) found that students in high-inclusion settings showed higher test scores in the areas of English/Language Arts (ELA) (24.3 points higher) and Mathematics (18.4 points higher) as compared to students in low-inclusion settings. Students in low-inclusion settings were 13% (Math) and 22% (ELA) more likely to graduate utilizing a waiver than their high-inclusion peers. In addition, high-inclusion students were 22% more likely to pass state assessments to obtain an advanced diploma rather than through a waiver. When looking at mathematics scores, students in high-inclusion settings were more likely to graduate via a general diploma, while ELA scores were not statistically significant.

In the end, the results of this study by Cole et al. (2022) show the importance of inclusion in Math and ELA for 80% or more of the day for a majority of students with disabilities, which might require re-evaluation of placement decisions. High-inclusion settings lead to higher expectations for students, which in turn leads to higher post-secondary outcomes. “The findings of this study contribute to the transition literature by shedding light on the relationship between placement decisions and academic outcomes for students with disabilities and predict the high school graduation pathways for students with disabilities” (Cole et al., 2022, p.8). 

When making placement decisions, teams need to remember: students with disabilities are general education students first, no matter the complexity of their disability.

References

Cole, S. M., Murphy, H. R., Frisby, M. B., & Robinson, J. (2022). The relationship between special education placement and high school outcomes. Journal of Special Education, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224669221097945 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004).

For more information, contact Meghan Hyatt, (hyattma@vcu.edu), Program Specialist T/TAC at VCU.

Academic, behavioral, and social-emotional success is the goal for all students in school. When educators see students struggling in these areas, they often ask themselves, “What can we do differently?” To address their concerns, they begin by analyzing data to summarize the students’ difficulties and hypothesize how to meet the identified needs. After this analysis, a practice is selected that will support improving student learning and performance. How do educators know which practice will have the intended positive impact? The practice needs to be an evidence-based practice.  

What is an evidence-based practice?

An evidence-based practice (EBP) is an activity, intervention, or strategy that has research to show it works. It is “backed by rigorous, high-standard research, replicated with positive outcomes and backed by their effects on student outcomes (IRIS Center, (n.d.); Special Education Resource Project, n.d., para. 3).” In addition, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) require education professionals to use practices that are evidence-based (IRIS Center, n.d.). ESEA defines an EBP as a practice that is supported by one of these levels of evidence (United States Department of Education, 2016):

• Strong evidence: at least one well-designed experimental study was well-implemented;
• Moderate evidence: at least one well-designed quasi-experimental study was well-implemented;
• Promising evidence: at least one well-designed correlational study was well-implemented; or
• Demonstrates a rationale: high-quality research findings or positive evaluation indicate it is likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes. 

Why should educators select and implement evidence practices? 

EBPs are selected and implemented because the supporting research indicates they will be effective in addressing students’ needs. They are more likely to help students learn, make progress, and reach their goals because they have been proven to work. When educators select an EBP and implement it with fidelity, there are fewer resources (e.g., personnel, financial) and time wasted than if they had implemented one that is not supported by the research (IRIS Center, n.d.). 

What resources can educators use to find and select evidence-based practices?

Best Evidence Encyclopedia is a website from the Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University. Meta-analyses of research on effective programs in different content areas and topics are located on the website. Technical reports, including each program's effect size, are provided for each content area. 

Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences, is an online library that provides education research and information. Visitors to the website can enter a topic into the search field and narrow the search results to meet their needs. 

National Center on Intensive Intervention provides academic and behavior assessment and intervention charts that indicate convincing, partially convincing, and unconvincing evidence for each intervention. Academic Intervention Taxonomy Briefs are available and give educators information to help them determine the appropriateness of an academic intervention for their students (NCII, n.d.). 

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), an initiative of the US Department of Education, reviews the research to determine which studies meet their rigorous standards and summarizes the findings (Institute of Education Sciences, n.d.). The website has:

• Practice guides that provide recommendations that are evidence-based. The recommendations are tiered and in alignment with the ESEA levels of evidence (e.g., Tier 1 (strong evidence), Tier 2 (moderate evidence)).
• Intervention reports that summarize the research findings.
• Reviews of individual studies that provide summaries of the studies reviewed by WWC.  

Evidence-based practices are supported by research that indicates they can help students achieve their learning goals. Take the time to visit the suggested resources, select an evidence-based practice that will meet your students’ learning needs, and start your implementation. It will be time well spent!   

References

Institute of Education Sciences. (n.d.). What we do. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/WhatWeDo

IRIS Center. (n.d.). Evidence-based practices (Part 1): Identifying and selecting a practice or program. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ebp_01/cinit/#content

National Center on Intensive Intervention. (n.d.). Academic intervention taxonomy briefs. https://intensiveintervention.org/tools-charts/academic-intervention-taxonomy-briefs

Special Education Resource Project. (n.d.). What are evidence-based practices? Vanderbilt University. https://my.vanderbilt.edu/spedteacherresources/what-are-evidence-based-practices/

United States Department of Education. (2016). Non-regulatory guidance: Using evidence to strengthen education investments. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/guidanceuseseinvestment.pdf

For more information, contact Chris Frawley, (cdfrawley@vcu.edu),  Program Specialist T/TAC at VCU.

Free Books

If you're interested in a FREE copy of one of these books, email plhaynes@vcu.edu for more details.

1. Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
2. The PBIS Team Handbook: Setting Expectations and Building Positive Behavior by Beth Baker M.S.Ed. and Char Ryan, Ph.D.
3. Seven Steps for Developing a Proactive Schoolwide Discipline Plan: A Guide for Principals and Leadership Teams by Geoffrey T. Colvin 
4. Responding to Problem Behavior in Schools, Second Edition: The Behavior Education Program by Deanne A. Crone, Leanne S. Hawken, & Robert H. Horner