Updates

Dear Special Education Directors,

The Arizona Department of Education Assistive Technology team continues our 2021 AT National Presenter Series with Beth Poss.  

  The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will be hosting the next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, November 17th from 10am – 11am. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include:  

• Reminders  
• Trending topics  
• Topics requested by you  
• Q&A  

Please see the following information from ASU regarding a new grant focused on special education leadership preparation: Leadership in Equity and Diversity for Special-Education-Administrators (LEADS). It provides tuition, travel support, and a substantial annual stipend for EdD students. ASU is currently recruiting for Summer 2022 enrollment. More information is below and attached. Please feel free to share with your staff and relevant listserv.

Are you looking for Speech-Language Pathologists and/or Speech-Language Pathology Assistants? 

On November 18–20, 2021, ADE/ESS will be recruiting for speech personnel on behalf of all public education agencies (PEAs) at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) annual fall conference. ESS will operate a booth in the virtual exhibit hall to promote the advantages of working in a school setting and to showcase speech vacancies in Arizona's public schools. 

The ADE/ESS Arizona Professional Learning Series (AZPLS) provides district and school teams with a systemic method for achieving systems change in aligning state, district, and school site efforts to impact literacy achievement for all students and to close the literacy achievement gap for students with specific learning disabilities. 

Special Education Directors,

Please see this flyer from our colleagues with the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP) regarding their upcoming annual conference.

The Annual Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP) Conference has gone hybrid!

The October 1 Data Collection (ODC) application is now open and Phase I is underway.

This phase includes the submission of your PEA’s  SPED student count and personnel FTE data. 

This data is due Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

Are you looking for Occupational Therapists (OTs) and/or Occupational Therapy Assistants?

On October 15—16, 2021, ADE/ESS will be recruiting for OT personnel on behalf of all public education agencies (PEAs) at the Arizona Occupational Therapy Association’s annual fall conference. ESS will operate a booth in the exhibit hall to promote the advantages of working in a school setting and distribute flyers listing all current and anticipated OT vacancies in Arizona public schools. We will also run a banner ad on the conference website directing OTs to the Arizona Education Employment Board.

The ADE/ESS is pleased to present A Sweet Taste of Language Sampling: The SUGAR Method for Early Childhood SLPs, a virtual three-part professional learning opportunity for speech-language pathologists working in the preschool and/or kindergarten settings. The Arizona Department of Education is not an ASHA CE provider; however, these hours will count towards maintenance of ASHA certification. There is no registration fee to attend this training, but seats are limited.

The ESS Program Management team has announced the FY22 webinar series of topics related to IDEA federal funding. Please visit the ESS Program Management website to register for each Zoom session and read session descriptions. The webinar series will take place on Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m.