SST3 Updates, Resources, & Supports
June 2021 | Issue 9
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Welcome to the SST3 newsletter! Each month SST3 will share updates, educational topics that might be of interest to you, and upcoming professional development. We encourage you to review this information, share it with others and visit our website for additional information. We also would appreciate learning of topics that would support your work.
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Greetings and Happy June 2021!
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge success stories for two Cuyahoga County School districts that participated in the State Personnel Development Grant: Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Garfield Heights City Schools.
Background about the Grant:
Ohio's most recent iteration of the State Personnel Development Grant represents the convergence of (a) recent research on language and literacy core instruction and interventions; (b) advances in understanding of implementation research to further develop educators’ competencies; and (c) a systemic approach to build capacity and increase sustainability beyond the life of the project. Specifically, this grant targets districts serving English learners and students who have reading difficulties.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Success Story:
Under the leadership of principal Carlisha Bias and coach Jeanne Petarra-Weeks, Whitney Young Elementary has taken an all-in approach. Over the last 2 years, K-3 teachers participated in LETRS professional development and coaching. Selected middle school staff have participated in professional development around the science of reading and implementation of Language Live. As a result, the school has completely revamped the curriculum/program choices and monitored implementation through the Ohio Improvement process using AIMSweb Plus data. In addition, the district has developed PK-3 decision rules to guide diagnostic assessment and intervention processes after reviewing AIMS benchmark data. This school has experienced student growth and an increase in teacher capacity to support literacy instruction for all students.
Garfield Heights City Schools:
Maple Leaf successfully provided access to information to families regarding literacy by way of a Family Engagement Newsletter. They successfully implemented One Book, One School for all students, providing a plan for all teachers to follow. Also, they administered a family survey at the beginning of the year to determine how often families read to their children. The families will complete the same survey at the end of this year. Garfield Heights leadership team will use the survey feedback to fine-tune their programs. In addition, staff members began developing videos with students who don’t always have good school experiences. They saw growth with students’ reading skills, as well as social-emotional skills. Lastly, Partnership for Literacy was promoted at Family Literacy Night through the building leadership team (BLT).
Students Impacted: 400
Families Impacted: 10
Teachers Impacted: 25
Administrators Impacted: 2
Congratulations to all team members whose collaboration with peers made this happen!
Michele (Shelly) Gaski
Director for the State Support Team – Region 3 (Cuyahoga County)
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Congratulations to the
2021 State Support Team Region 3
Excellence in Education Nominees
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This spring, State Support Team Region 3 and the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio recognized students with disabilities and acknowledged their outstanding achievements, both academic and non-academic. We also celebrated student peers who have established meaningful relationships and are exemplary role models for others. Area educators (including administrators, general education teachers, intervention specialists, and related service staff) who have provided exemplary instructional strategies and creative programming that promote educational results for students with disabilities, were also honored.
Special congratulations went to educator Kerry Sheldon of
Fairview Park City Schools, recipient of the Franklin B. Walter Award, and student Grace Mangano of Cleveland Heights-University Heights City Schools recipient of the R. A. Horn Award. Both nominees will be recognized in June by the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities and the Ohio Department of Education along with nominees from the other SST regions. Best of luck to both nominees as well as warm congratulations to all our regional 2021 nominees.
While we, unfortunately, could not, as we have in the past, celebrate the accomplishments of students, peers, and educators with an in-person awards breakfast and speaker presentation, all nominees did receive a framed certificate of achievement, gift bag, and congratulatory yard sign.
To view the full list of 2021 Excellence in Education nominees click here, and watch the celebratory video which includes a presentation by guest speaker Chanelle McCloud click here.
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2021 Summer and Beyond Directory
State Support Team Region 3 (SST3) offers the 2021 Summer and Beyond Directory as a resource to parents, family members, and school district/community school personnel about extended opportunities around the Cuyahoga County area. Each school year SST3 collaborates with local agencies, camps, and community partners around summer activities for students with disabilities. Many of those agencies and organizations offer continued academic skill-building, therapeutic and social-emotional supports throughout the year to assist students with disabilities to become independent and self-sufficient. Some agencies and camps are still deciding what they will be doing for the year, so we will continue to have rolling updates between April and June 2021. Please continue to check back if you do not find what you are looking for. A hard copy is available by calling Yvonne Daycak at 216-524-3000.
In a non-pandemic year, SST3 would host a face-to-face event where families and educators could talk directly with a representative about their agency and organization or camp. SST3 hopes to reunite with everyone in February 2022. Please visit our website http://www.sst-3.org/ for more information.
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In the coming months, SST3 will conduct a series of book studies that will explore such topics as literacy, behavior management in early childhood, academic growth, phonemic awareness, and other areas of interest. Each book study is designed to engage participants to think deeper on a specific topic. The first 30 people to register from Region 3 (Cuyahoga County) will receive a free book for each book study! (If you are from outside of Region 3, you will be placed on a waitlist and you will need to provide your own book.) The maximum number of participants is 30. A minimum of 10 participants must be registered to hold each book study.
The book studies consist of synchronous and asynchronous learning models. Participants are expected to read the text, respond to questions, interact with other participants for the duration of the book study, and fully engage in all activities to receive contact hours. No partial credit will be given. Please refer to the table below for the list of upcoming book studies and click on the links provided to register for the book study of your choice. Information regarding additional studies will be available soon.
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Equipped for Reading Success
By David Kilpatrick
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The author of Equipped for Reading Success contends that this book is a practical guide to implementing a step-by-step program in phonemic awareness as part of a comprehensive literacy program. Full of amazing insight and resources that teachers can use immediately in the classroom.
Dates: September 13 - November 1, 2021 (All work due Nov. 22, 2021)
Zoom meetings are Sept 13, Sept 27, Oct 18, and Nov 8 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Four asynchronous sessions in the weeks of Sept 20, Oct 4, Oct 25, and Nov 1
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Building Alliances
By Valerie Mazzotti and Dawn Rowe
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Building Alliances: A How-to Manual to Support Transitioning Youth presents the core principles and practices of collaboration that best support transition-aged youth with disabilities and their families. Val Mazzotti and Dawn Rowe use a series of 'research in practice' vignettes to illustrate how to implement evidence-based strategies and activities, providing a step-by-step approach to building and facilitating effective collaboration, teamwork, and networking.
Dates:
The book study will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m on the following dates
Thursday, September 14, 2021
Thursday, September 21, 2021
Thursday, September 28, 2021
Thursday, October 5, 2021
There will be 4 face-to-face sessions and 4 asynchronous sessions (total of 15 contact hours) where participants will read assigned chapters and respond to prompts via CANVAS.
The CANVAS Platform is utilized to house all your reflections.
The Zoom platform is utilized for face-to-face sessions.
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OCALICONLINE:
November 16-19, 2021
OCALICON is the premier autism and disabilities conference where thousands of people from around the world come together to learn, network, and share research, best practices, and resources to support the life-long needs of individuals with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder and sensory and low-incidence disabilities. This year will mark the 15th anniversary of OCALICON, celebrating over a decade of transforming inspiration into action. Registration includes full access to both live and on-demand content. Click here to learn more about the upcoming conference.
OCALICONLINE 2021 Registration Windows:
15th Anniversary Special, May 3 - June 15, $150
June 16 - September 15, $200
September 16 - November 19, $225
Parent/Family/Student, May 3 - November 19, $50
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Literacy:
A Social Justice Issue Webinar
This recorded presentation features a principal, teacher, and parent who will share their journeys and how they advocate leaving no student behind due to inadequate instruction. This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to preK-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders. Including Hilderbrand Pelzer III, Educator and Author; Carissa Berliner, Teacher and Universal Literacy Reading Coach, New York City Department of Education; and Resha Conroy, Founder, Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children. Moderated by Debbie Meyer, A’Lelia Bundles Community Scholar. Click here to access this informative webinar.
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HB 318 PBIS Required Trainings
HB 318 requires professional development on the schoolwide PBIS framework whereby each school district must provide professional development or continuing education in PBIS by November 2, 2021. Each district LPDC must establish model professional development courses and monitor compliance.
Who:
● Teachers in buildings that serve
students in any of grades PK-3 who
completed a teacher preparation
program prior to November 2, 2018.
● Administrators who serve students in
any of grades PK-3 who have not
already completed a course/PD/CEUs in PBIS. Please see the following strategies to meet the PBIS 3-hour training recommendations.
Options for required PBIS training:
(3 hours is recommended by Region 3 State Support Team in total):
1) ODE Learning Management System
Introduction to PBIS Framework - Tier 1
2) PBIS New Teams Introduction Module
located in LiveBinder
3) Presentations for Professional Development - Can be used by any staff member that completed the PBIS Leadership Teams training:
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Early Childhood and PBIS
There are a number of recent documents that pertain to PBIS and Equity including the following:
published January 25, 2021. It includes trauma and equity components and links them to the TFI items specifically.
was updated as of March 29, 2021 and is now aligned to the TFI. It also has resources for “how” to incorporate cultural responsiveness into your framework and activities.
was released Sept. 2020 (National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations-NCPMI). The Pyramid Model Equity Coaching Guide provides the classroom coach with a reflection tool to examine the implementation of Pyramid Model practices through the lens of culturally responsive practices and identification of implicit bias. The Pyramid Model Equity Coaching Guide is used within the collaborative coaching partnership and ongoing coaching activities to identify when there are equity concerns related to practice implementation.
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Each Child Means
Each Child
If you have not had the opportunity to read the recently published document Each Child Means Each Child: Ohio’s Plan to Improve Learning Experiences and Outcomes for Students with Disabilities it provides an overview of Ohio’s data specific to students with disabilities. The document also outlines Ohio’s philosophy of change for students with disabilities and three specific focus areas for improvement:
- Getting to the Problem Early- MTSS
- Building Educator’s and Systemwide Capacity- Professional Learning
- Educating for Living a Good Life- Postsecondary Readiness and Planning
Each Child Means Each Child also tells the story of two students with learning challenges who, based on the structures and adult practices in each district, have very different outcomes. Click on the image above to access the document.
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One Needs Assessment/One Plan Due Dates
There is an upcoming professional learning session hosted by Dr. Brian McNulty from OLAC. Please visit the OLAC website for more registration details.
June 16, 2021, 1-3 p.m.
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As the school year, which the likes we hope we never see again, comes to an end, transition professionals need to take a moment and give themselves a pat on the back! Thanks to your flexibility, creativity, compassion, and passion despite the many challenges, you were able to find ways to provide high quality transition services!
With summer on the horizon, hopefully you will find time to rest, and get caught up on some of the amazing resources that you probably had little time to dive into this past school year. So, this month, we provide you with several websites, recorded webinars, and other resources that you may want to look over while you recharge your batteries:
OCALI Resources:
College for Students with Intellectual Disabilities:
Other Good Stuff:
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Year-round Reading Supports for Families
The Reading Tips for Families website was jointly developed by the Ohio Department of Education’s literacy experts and the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.
Reading tips and activities are are categorized by:
Alternate Assessment Family Resources Posted
These Frequently Asked Questions resources were developed to describe the Alternate Assessment for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities. The first resource addresses the format for the online alternate assessment. The second resource addresses eligibility and participation in the alternate assessment. The third resource addresses Ohio’s Learning Standards-Extended and instruction for students who participate in the alternate assessment:
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Despite the multiple challenges that the pandemic produced this past school year, Career-Technical Education (CTE) demonstrated for the rest of the education community how with some creativity, flexibility, ingenuity, and a lot of grit, CTE was able to continue offering students experiences that resulted in the skills needed for college and career readiness!
This month, we provide you with some resources that you may not have had a chance to review this past school year. Topics covered include Family Engagement, Equity, Universal Design for Learning, and a few other topics that you may find of interest. Hopefully, you will find these resources valuable.
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State Support Team 3 is offering several opportunities for professional development. Click here to view our calendar of events. Please visit this site often as ever-changing circumstances may warrant cancellation or postponement of scheduled events.
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Information regarding Ohio's Reset and Restart plan is available to assist parents, families, caregivers and educators as they navigate the world of remote learning during this unprecedented time. Review for timely updates.
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Our Moral Imperative:
To ensure equitable access and achievement for all students, State Support Team 3 partners with districts and community schools to support inclusive leadership and collaborative teams in the implementation of an effective Multi-Tiered System of Support.
Belief Statement:
We believe that ALL children/students have the right to belong, learn, and thrive in a
proactive, integrated, and rigorous learning environments.
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