New changes are around the corner for educators in Florida. On March 15, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signed SB 1048 into law, which replaces the Florida Standards Assessment test, with a new assessment called Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST). Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, Florida students will take three FAST tests in ELA and Math. This bill replaces the FSA with ELA and Math progress monitoring which will take place in the fall, winter and spring. This will allow more time for teaching and for parents and teachers to focus on instruction and intervention that will benefit students. As a unit, we plan on supporting educators through this transition by updating tools in our statewide Loan Library. The focus is to increase student achievement by the systematic alignment of technology, policies, and curriculum through a multi-tiered system of supports in a universal education model. |
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uPAR and Snap&Read in Action: Duval County
GRASP ACADEMY
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GRASP Academy is a public school located in Duval County, Jacksonville, FL. The school is designed to support students that demonstrate the characteristics of dyslexia and other reading disabilities. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is the cornerstone for the successful implementation of the school model and mission. UDL has been imperative in creating a positive environment that allows students the opportunity to engage in learning and partner with teachers in the educational process.
Assistive Technology (AT) is an integral component of UDL. Every student’s educational plan includes Snap & Read, Microsoft office (speech-to-text and immersive reader), Bookshare, and Learning Ally to support them in the general education setting. In 2020-2021 the Universal Protocol for Accommodations in Reading (uPAR) was added to the data collection toolkit, allowing the team to determine how students comprehend text best, whether reading independently or listening with a read-aloud accommodation. Using appropriate assistive technology enables students to access technology throughout the day to enhance learning.
The addition of uPAR data has aided in the identification of who can access the general education curriculum through auditory comprehension at a level significantly above their independent reading level and often above their grade level. The data supports a two-prong approach to implementation:
- Prong one - developing data-aligned interventions and proper support for students to access the general education curriculum and demonstrate their knowledge within the classroom.
- Prong two - identifying appropriate accommodations, including the Auditory Presentation/Unique Accommodation recently adopted by the Florida Department of Education.
During the first implementation of uPAR in 2020-2021, GRASP submitted four student applications that allowed the auditory presentation accommodation for the FSA/ELA assessment. Students in this cohort improved their test scores, moving from Level 1 to Level 2 on the FSA/ELA assessment. This accommodation allowed students to demonstrate a more accurate comprehensive measurement of academic knowledge.
The information provided by uPAR, along with the integration of assistive technology ( text-to-speech) within a Universally Designed Learning environment has positively impacted student test scores. In 2021-2022 GRASP Academy submitted 47 applications for the auditory presentation accommodation to the FLDOE and had 24 approved, a 51% approval rate. One of the 24 approved applications was a third-grade student. With this accommodation, the student scored a level 4 on the 2021-2022 ELA/FSA. With the data trending upward, GRASP will continue to use UDL, uPAR, and AT in the classroom, identifying more effective interventions and accommodations allowing students to access the general education curriculum.
Shared by: Annessia Powell Principal, GRASP Academy Duval County Public Schools
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TLC Presents: PASSPORT TO LEARNING! |
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To provide a system of high-quality standards-based professional learning to state, district, and school staff personnel, the PS/RtI Technology Project in collaboration with ATIA, the Access Project, FIMC-VI, and RMTC-DHH, wants you to embark on a journey to increase your knowledge and skills in the areas of AT, AEM, and UDL. These unique passport destinations provide a network of professional learning communities where participants support and share their learning, knowledge, and skills to build capacity. We are excited to welcome ALL Florida Educators & Therapists to apply for their passports!
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Education /Learning for Students:
- AT Assessment: Your Role:
Level1
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Education /Learning for Students:
- Augmentative and Alternative Communications
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Education /Learning for Students:
AT Assessment: Action Steps
Level 2
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Passport To Learning Spring 2022 Superstars! |
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As our spring cohort finally draws to a close, we wanted to highlight some of the incredible work being done by our travelers on our Passport to Learning adventures as we continue to build upon our community of practice. |
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TLC AT & UDL Loan Library & Tools |
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The Assistive Technology & Universal Design for Learning Loan Library believes in the power of technology to help all students achieve high academic standards. The Loan Library is available to district/school staff approved by ESE Directors, and to all BESE staff and Project staff. The library supports assistive technology assessments/evaluations, professional development in the use of assistive technology in the classroom, and the use of universal design for learning strategies to support all students in the core curricula. Check out the changes happening in the Loan Library. The Switch category has gotten a whole new makeover, making it easier than ever to find the switch-activated activities you are looking for. |
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Summertime is a great time to have fun and build essential skills. Listed below are four devices that can be borrowed from the AT & UDL Loan Library that will provide just that! |
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Isn’t it time to make it possible for everyone to participate in the Xbox Games? Do you have someone just sitting back because the Xbox game controller isn’t accessible? Well, this summer make changes so everyone can play the Xbox. Make it happen with the Adapted Gaming Kit. This kit provides a variety of buttons that can be used to customize the Xbox controller. Think of all the possibilities to problem-solve and have fun! Learn more HERE!
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New to the world of coding and you don’t know where to begin? Code Jumper is an easy physical-coding language that takes coding off the computer screen and into a physical learning platform. Ideal to help students, with or without visual impairments, build necessary coding skills. Code jumper provides practice in essential skills in a fun way. Skills such as computational thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration are used when working on different Code Jumper projects.
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Coming this Fall! Virtual Learning & You will be highlighting Switch Skill Progression. The ability to utilize switches is a skill that frequently requires explicit instruction. Simply placing two choices in front of a student and requesting an answer does not always work. When that is the case, the process must be broken down. There are many “switch progression skills maps” from various sources, but they all follow the same basic progression. Come learn everything you needed to know, or didn’t know you needed to know, about switch skills using a scientifically based strategy. From setting up for success, progressing in the correct sequence, recording data on every step along the way, to the ultimate goal of helping your student be able to access switches for communication devices and curriculum access. Sessions will be the third Tuesday of each month. The first session will be August 16th, 2022 from 1-2 pm EST. Look for the registration opportunity on our website starting in August. We look forward to seeing you there! |
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B.E.S.T MATHEMATICS: PLC EVENT SERIES |
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The 2022 Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Mathematics Professional Learning Event Series is beginning next week! This event will expand on the professional learning that took place during the 2021 B.E.S.T. Mathematics District Lead Professional Development Events in July 2021. During the event, Florida mathematics educators will come together for explicit, systematic training on the content and implementation of the B.E.S.T. Mathematics Standards for grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 and for school leadership. The event sets out to support teachers with effectively implementing the B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics.
The Next 2022 B.E.S.T. Mathematics Professional Learning Event:
Port St. Lucie (June 28-30)
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Looking for quality online professional training opportunities for your school and district teams that involve ideas and strategies for integrating technology into the classroom? We have partnered with ATIA to provide unlimited access to their library of online courses and webinars where nationally known experts share their knowledge. ASHA CEUs are available! Use this link for more information and to register. Check out this video for information on how to register! We highly recommend signing up for CEUs if you want to use these webinars to get inservice points.
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This resource was funded through The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) with IDEA Part B dollars. The information and resources are provided as a free awareness service to the educational community and do not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved. Please note that access to some resources may be blocked by individual school districts.
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