December 2020
Happy Holidays!
Take a breath and be proud of what you've accomplished!

Here we are at the end of 2020 - what a year! We are amazed at the commitment of educators, leaders, teams, support staff - all of you together - working to develop, implement, and/or ensure you are continually improving your system by staying engaged.

We have had tremendous turnout and participation in ALL our training opportunities and are proud to continually be a high-quality professional development resource you turn to as you focus on creating the best system of success for ALL students!


Virtual Series
Jan. 4 & Jan. 21

Virtual Series (4, 2-hour virtual sessions)
Feb. 16 | Feb. 22 | March 2 | March 9
See below for Session topics


Take a look below to read a couple of blog posts related to ND SEL as well as an NDDPI ESSER grant and the implementation of its funds.
TATE: Technical Adequacy Tool for Evaluation

  • Understand the essential features of a technically adequate FBA/BIP
  • Analyze a completed FBA/BIP form for technical adequacy
  • Apply the TATE to a case example.

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Enhancing FBAs & BIPs
Functional Behavior Assessments & Behavior Intervention Plans

  • Understand additional interventions that enhance FBA/BIPs and include systems-level thinking;
  • Analyze the impact of implementing class-wide behavior supports;
  • Apply a minimum of one additional intervention in a classroom setting.
Tier 3 Supports

Technical Adequacy Tool for Evaluation of FBAs & BIPs (TATE)
VIRTUAL SERIES

Jan. 4 - 2hr online recorded content review released and available through Aug. 10

Jan. 21 1-3pm virtual session


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Enhancing
Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
VIRTUAL SERIES

4, 2-hour virtual sessions

- Feb. 16 Good Behavior Game
- Feb. 22 Opportunities to Respond
- March 2 Self-Monitoring
- March 9 Check In Check Out

Register today!
What can participants expect to change in their knowledge, implementation, and ability to improve FBA/BIP practices in their schools?
Data below is from the fall sessions of Enhancing FBAs & BIPs

Participant knowledge of the four interventions (see above) increased from only 50% or more of participants being at least "mostly knowledgeable" to 100% feeling "very knowledgeable" for three of the interventions and "mostly knowledgeable" for the fourth!

The same rate of change showed when asked about their perceived level of comfort in their ability to implement each of the interventions.

After participation, 100% of respondents indicated having a "strong understanding" of the connection of how implementing class-wide/universal strategies can help improve the FBA/BIP practices in their school.

Lastly, 100% of respondents also indicated they were "mostly comfortable" (67%) or "very comfortable" (33%) in their ability to analyze the impact of implementing classiwde behavior supports in their schools after attending the sessions.
NDMTSS Receives NDDPI ESSER Grant Funds. 

In August 2020, the ND Department of Public Instruction contracted with the Central Region Education Association (CREA) an MTSS ESSER grant for $400,000 to support NDMTSS efforts to redesign, enhance, deliver, and effectively evaluate state-wide professional development around academics, behaviors, and social-emotional learning, utilizing and enhancing the NDMTSS framework with a focus on how this professional learning can enhance virtual teaching and learning. This contract is designed to support schools during the pandemic.

The contract period runs through June 2021 and is focused on the following goals:
  1. Revise current training to provide virtually through synchronous methods.
  2. Increase REA capacity across the state to deliver direct support to schools engaged in MTSS.
  3. Develop a high-level evaluation process that provides the ability to determine the effectiveness of a system.
  4. Develop Administrator and Special Education staff specific resources.
  5. Identify and select model schools to be awarded technical assistance to increase capacity and implementation of NDMTSS to be used as demonstration sites for ND participants.
ND SEL Network
Teams electively enroll in the SEL Network, an established community of practice (CoP) for ND educators, for continued support and implementation assistance.

The Leading Implementation of Systemic SEL course and membership to the ND SEL Network nicely complement one another, but there are no requirements either way to participate.

Within this ongoing collaborative, member school representatives collaborate in sharing experiences, celebrating successes, and problem-solving perceived barriers related to the systemic implementation of SEL.  Read more!

Leading Implementation of Systemic SEL Learning Series Wrap up and Looking Forward to January SEL Network Summit 

In early October, leadership teams from ND school districts and a North Dakota University began their journey implementing systemic social-emotional learning (SEL) with the support of the NDMTSS: Leading Systemic Implementation of SEL learning series. From their initial sessions focused on defining SEL the teams have since learned about the four approaches to SEL and the current state of each within their own walls.

Teams then moved on to identify their own problem of practice as an area of specific focus and worked to initiate a comprehensive system-level plan, in the form of a logic model.

Continuing support for these teams will happen in the New Year as they’ll schedule time to meet with learning series leaders following and engage in a District-specific coaching session. This time will be used to check on progress towards solving their problem of practice, offer guidance/suggestions for next steps, and provide any resources that may help them continue to implement or improve systemic SEL. 
"Our rural small school is continuously in the process of finding the best opportunities we can provide for our students, and the SEL Network has been of great assistance in our work! Our MTSS team meets to review our needs, and now with the ongoing collaboration and guidance provided by the SEL Network, we have benefited from making connections and finding resources that help us in our work."

- Hazen Public Schools
Jennifer Glasheen
South East Education Cooperative
Lyndsi Engstrom
Central Regional Education Association