SST3 Updates, Resources, & Supports
September 2022 | Issue 20
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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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Director's Message
Welcome to the
2022-2023 School Year!
Welcome back! As we begin the 2022-23 school year, I hope this first newsletter reaches you after a restful and enjoyable summer. As you made preparations for this school year and welcomed your students back, I am sure you engaged in reflection about where you are and where you are going. I recently found an ASCD blog post that encourages leaders to ask three simple questions of their teams and individually, "What are we doing well?", "Where do we need to improve?", and "How can we work together to get there?" (Burroughs, 2022). While the last few years have brought uncertain times to our field, these questions can assist leaders in having conversations in their districts and/or schools to develop a shared understanding of the successful practices already in place and identify improvement areas. The entire blog post can be found here 3 Questions to Help Leaders and Staff Find Balance This School Year.
Please know that our SST3 Team continues to maintain our commitment to provide coaching, professional development, and technical assistance to your district and schools. We look forward to serving you in the coming year. If I can be of any assistance to you, please don't hesitate to contact me at michele.gaski@escneo.org.
Michele (Shelly) Gaski
Director for the State Support Team (Region 3 Cuyahoga County)
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Free Council for Exceptional Children Memberships |
The Office for Exceptional Children is partnering with the Ohio Council for Exceptional Children to offer free CEC memberships for first-year teachers. Our goal is to increase teacher retention across the state. Those who sign up for a membership will have access to all of the resources provided by CEC national; including the Jumpstart Program. They will also have the opportunity to participate in a mentoring program with veteran teachers from Ohio.
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Direct Support Professionals
September 11-17 is your week as the nation celebrates National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week. The Ohio Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (OASDP), along with their sponsors is hosting a recognition event, free for DSPs on September 13, 2022, 10:00 am-4:00 pm. Register here.
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Blindness and Diabetes Webinar
On Friday, September 23 at 12:00 pm EST The Accessible Pharmacy Services for the blind and
University of Pennsylvania Diabetes Education Center is hosting a webinar on glucose monitoring devices that are available to patients who are blind, deaf blind, or have low vision To register or sign up to receive the webinar if you can’t attend visit Blindness and Diabetes Webinar: Dexcom vs FreeStyle Libre
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Direct Care Workers Needed
The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) is developing a public service announcement about the need for direct care workers. DODD's hope is that this PSA, which will run in Ohio for the next several months will help recruit people to serve in direct care worker jobs. For more information visit: ohiomeansjobs.com/directcare
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OCALICONLINE 2022
Registration is open for your chance to attend OCALICONLINE 2022, November 15 18, 2022
Nearly 300 sessions will be offered online and participants can join from anywhere, anytime Space is
limited due to the overwhelming number of participants so register today.
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New Guidance Helps Schools Support Students with Disabilities and Avoid Discriminatory Use of Discipline |
The U.S. Department of Education announced the release of new guidance from its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to help public elementary and secondary schools fulfill their responsibilities to meet the needs of students with disabilities and avoid the discriminatory use of student discipline. These newly released resources are the most comprehensive guidance on the civil rights of students with disabilities concerning student discipline and build on the Department’s continued efforts to support students and schools through pandemic recovery. The guidance makes clear that schools do not need to choose between complying with Section 504 and IDEA and keeping their school community—including students and staff—safe. All these documents can be found on the Department's School Climate and Student Discipline Resources webpage.
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Enhancing Literacy through Family Engagement
Partnering with Families to Support Early Literacy is a self-paced, online course for teachers from grades Pre-K through 3rd grade to build their knowledge and skills for enhancing literacy instruction through family engagement. This is Ohio approved professional development. Click here for further information regarding course content and registration.
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Board Approves Ohio's Dyslexia Guidebook
The State Board of Education has approved Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook. As required by Ohio law, Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook contains best practices and methods for universal screening, intervention, and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies using a multisensory structured literacy program. Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook will be posted on the Department website when it is available. For questions about Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook or Ohio’s Dyslexia Support Laws, please contact Dyslexia@education.ohio.gov or see the Department's Dyslexia Supports page.
To support the implementation of this law, SST3 and ESCNEO are partnering within a network entitled "Literacy in Action". Join us on September 22, 2022 at 9AM (virtually) for our kickoff. Click here for registration. Please click this link for further information on HB436.
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There’s Still Time to Do School Discipline Differently, Researcher Says
Disciplinary referrals declined in 2020-21 in a study of one district, yet the number of Black students that received "exclusionary discipline" was disproportionately high, according to New York University researcher Richard Welsh. Welsh suggests that schools offer more support and consider how Black students might be affected by trauma in different ways. Click here to learn more about Welsh's findings.
Join this session if you are a new team member on the building-program PBIS implementation team, or have questions about how to improve existing Tier I practices. Participants will have the opportunity to develop materials and update action steps/plans related to PBIS implementation.
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Related Service Meet-Ups
The Ohio Department of Education is again hosting Related Service Meet-Ups. See the schedule for these monthly sessions and please share with staff members as necessary. All registration information can be found at the link above.
There are two new family engagement resources specific to students with disabilities from the Ohio Department of Education.
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New Resources & Learning Opportunities from the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC)
For more than 15 years, the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC) has been creating and offering a variety of free leadership resources for administrators, teachers, and teams. Personalize your professional learning experience by searching for specific topics of interest to you or your team. Continue your professional learning journey by checking out OLAC’s free online modules, webinars, videos, podcast episodes, and more. https://ohioleadership.org/search?tab=modules
Explore OLAC’s latest online learning tools, including modules, webinars, videos, podcast episodes, and more, to support educators as they work to embed essential leadership practices at every level of a school system. Remember, all resources are free, and you can earn credit. https://ohioleadership.org/on-demand
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Ohio Longitudinal
Transition Survey (OLTS)
Approximately every five-years, every school district in Ohio must participate in the OLTS. Students with disabilities who are exiting public school services are surveyed regarding their plans for after high school, and then interviewed again a year later and asked similar questions regarding what they are actually doing. Kent State University is currently the "vendor" working with the ODE to assist with the survey distribution, collection, analysis, and reporting of the study data. A link to the most recent regional report for SST 3 school districts can be found here.
This study is important for several reasons. First, the exit and follow-up surveys are required and districts selected to participate receive either a "Met" or "Not Met" designation through the state's special education accountability system (Indicator 14).
Additionally, and most important is that the data can provide each individual district, as well as the region with the data to review students' reported planned and actual post-school outcomes.
In future SST 3 Newsletters, we will further "unpack" the regional report data.
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Ohio Department of Education - Families of Students with Disabilities Web Page
ODE has a new web page of resources for families of students with disabilities. Information includes a new evaluation roadmap for families who have concerns about their child’s learning, links to find one-on-one assistance, and other resources. -
Ohio Family Engagement Leadership Summit
Register for the free online Ohio Family Engagement Leadership Summit on September 16, 2022. Registration and recordings from the first two summits are available to watch here.
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State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP)
As the new school year begins, keep in mind that the Ohio five-year State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) is laser-focused on increasing the number of students with disabilities who graduate by the "standard requirements." On the national level, the state of Ohio is at the very bottom of this special education indicator. This is also at the center of Ohio's strategic plan, Each Child Our Future. We must do better for our students!
Over the course of this and the next several years, SST 3 will be working collaboratively with districts, families, higher education, the department, other SST regions, and multiple agencies to meet the targets that Ohio has set for this indicator measure. Our monthly newsletters, information posted on our SST 3 website, and our work with districts will include an ongoing and vigorous review of the data related to this measure.
Through our various College & Career Readiness network meetings and professional development opportunities (more information on our website), newsletter items, and of course the work of all our consultants, we will continue to build the capacity of all our stakeholders.
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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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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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