Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce the release of the SY 2021—2022 Program Support and Monitoring Guide Steps. Please see the following memo for additional information. All PEAs are encouraged to review the revised Guide Steps to ensure current special education practices are aligned with the requirements. 

Feel free to contact your PEA’s PSM specialist if you have any specific questions. 

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS and STAR Autism Support are collaborating to offer resources and professional learning opportunities to support your staff with free summer Virtual Professional Development. 

STAR Comprehensive 2-Day Workshop

This comprehensive two-day workshop provides participants with detailed examples and practice activities on how to implement the evidence-based practices identified in the National Standards Report (2009). The STAR Program (Arick, Loos, Falco and Krug, 2015), a research-based curriculum is used to provide examples. Appropriate content connected to the common core curriculum is presented and detailed information on the three evidenced-based instructional methods of discrete trial training, pivotal response training and teaching through functional routines are shared.

Click here to register: May 31 - June 1 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

Click here to register: June 8-9 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

LINKS Comprehensive 2-Day Workshop

This two-day workshop provides participants with information on how to implement evidence-based practices for secondary students using the Links Curriculum (Arick, Hoffman and Magee-Arick, 2012). Participants will learn to use a process for assessing and teaching functional routines that has been documented in the research. Extensive information will be given on selecting and individualizing routines and teaching specific skills to support success during routines. Participants will learn how to use the evidence-based strategies of discrete trial training, use of visual supports and the use of modeling strategies to teach critical skills. 

Click here to register: May 31 - June 1 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

Click here to register: June 8-9 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

STAR Remote Learning Workshop (SOLS)

STAR Online Learning System (SOLS) is designed to allow your school district to provide access to all students through remote learning opportunities. Through teacher facing, evidence-based lesson plans and a scope and sequence that provides scaffolded learning opportunities, teachers can provide their students individualized learning opportunities. The focus of the instruction uses the evidence-based practices appropriate for students with autism to teach skills in critical areas. This comprehensive workshop provides participants with detailed examples and practice activities on how to implement the evidence-based practices identified in the National Standards Report (2009) remotely using SOLS. 

Click here to register for one session: June 2 | 8:00am-10:00am; 10:00am-12:00pm; 1:00pm-3:00pm PDT

Click here to register for one session: June 7 | 8:00am-10:00am; 10:00am-12:00pm; 1:00pm-3:00pm PDT

STAR Consistency of Implementation Workshop

This one-day workshop provides participants a review of how to implement the evidence-based instructional strategies identified by the National Standards Project (2009) using the curriculum content and lesson plans from the research-based STAR Program. The focus of the workshop is on fidelity of implementation of the evidence-based practices and use of data collection for instructional decision making. The workshop will engage participants in hands-on practice activities to become fluent in the instructional strategies of discrete trial training, pivotal response training and teaching functional routines as described in the STAR Program.

Click here to register: June 3 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

Paraprofessional Training Series Workshop

This workshop series provides paraprofessionals with key strategies and a demonstration of implementing lessons and routines found in the Links Curriculum for middle and secondary students. Participants will also learn how to use basic behavior principles to assess student’s challenging behaviors, identify appropriate interventions that match assessment results, and determine whether an intervention is working.

Click here to register: June 4 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

Click here to register: June 10 | 9:00am-3:00pm PDT

General Education Workshop

This workshop will provide general education teachers and staff an introduction to how students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) learn. Examples of simple classroom strategies and tools to help students with ASD be successful in general education classrooms will be provided. Learning outcomes include identifying the characteristics of students with ASD and how these characteristics impact learning, identifying evidence-based strategies to address the learning needs of students with ASD, and identifying a few simple tools to help your students with ASD learn.

Click here to register for one session: June 11 | 9:00am-11:00am; 1:00pm-3:00pm PDT

PEAs are also encouraged to contact STAR Autism Support if they would like additional individualized support during this time for their teachers, related service staff members, and paraprofessionals! Click here to learn more about these additional support opportunities: https://starautismsupport.com/arizona-training-summer-sessions

We are excited to offer these opportunities to work with your teams to support our students!

Special Education Directors,

Please see the Programmatic Monitoring Alert regarding necessary changes to programmatic monitoring of the preschool transition process, developed in response to findings issued by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the resulting corrective action assigned to ADE/ESS. These updates are directly related to the transition of children from Early Intervention (Part C) to School Age (Part B).

Please contact your PEA’s assigned  PSM specialist with questions or concerns about these new preschool transition programmatic monitoring requirements.

Looking to provide your new special education teachers with the supports they’ll need for success? Teach Camp is here to help! Registration for Teach Camp is open until June 18, 2021 on a first-come, first-served basis using the link below.

Register for Teach Camp.

Teach Camp is a year-long support system that includes professional learning specifically designed for beginning special education teachers. The goal of Teach Camp is to increase retention of special educators by providing our newest special education teachers with the tools they need to survive and thrive during their first years in the classroom.

Teach Camp will launch virtually this summer and is designed for special education teachers who will begin their first, second, or third year of teaching special education in the fall of 2021. Because Teach Camp was not held this year, we are including third-year teachers in this year’s camp. Recent graduates from traditional teacher preparation programs, alternative certified teachers, and veteran general education teachers transitioning to special education are all welcome.

The cost of participation in Teach Camp is $150 and includes a three-day virtual summer “camp” from July 7–9, 2021, three after-school webinars with national speakers, and a one-day, in-person session in May 2022. Each  camper will receive a copy of The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers, a one-year membership to the Council for Exceptional Children, and additional valuable resources.

Please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox with any questions about Teach Camp. For more information about Teach Camp, please visit the ESS Teach Camp webpage.

Special Education Stakeholders,

ADE/ESS is pleased to request proposals for Arizona’s 2021 IDEA Conference, Renewal: Resilience to Results.

This year’s conference will be held via an on-line platform, and will feature over 75 professional learning opportunities addressing legal issues, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, social/emotional learning, and new this year, a content strand for related service providers.

Please see the Call for Papers for information on how to submit detail for sessions. Session proposals are due June 2, 2021.

Questions can be sent to [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

Please share this professional learning opportunity with your staff who engage in special education evaluations. Please join us on Monday, June 7 from 1:00 p.m.–2:15 p.m. for “Demystifying ESS Programmatic Monitoring,” a collaborative presentation between ADE/ESS and the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP).

Together, leaders from ESS Program Supporting and Monitoring and AASP will provide clarification on some commonly misunderstood evaluation topics and share some tricks of the trade. This content is geared for evaluators and authors of evaluations, but all practitioners can benefit.

Please click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Participant registration is first-come, first-served. Please email Sherri Schwindt with questions regarding this professional learning opportunity. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

New Integrity Rule for FY 2021: -10134 

A new integrity rule for FY 2021 will be introduced into the integrity process on SPED data shortly.  This new rule is a continuation of our effort to further validate SPED reporting to ensure clean data for the state.   

A new one-sheet Integrity Tool is available on our AzEDS SPED Reporting webpage for troubleshooting tips. It has been added to our SPED Integrity Rules Reference document and referenced on the FY 2021 & 2022 ESS Data Reporting Updates document. 

Integrity Rule -10134 

This rule will validate any students enrolled at an Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) to have a corresponding SPED Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) reported. 

Please contact [email protected] with any questions regarding this new rule.   

Special Education Directors,

Please share the following message about upcoming math professional learning with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics.

June Math Office Hours

The ADE Math Team has scheduled office hours to allow educators to meet together to network, problem-solve, and develop solutions to allow all Arizona teachers and students to continue to feel supported and to be successful.

Grade-band meetings are provided for all math teachers, including special education teachers! These grade-band meetings will include opportunities for networking, problem solving, and sharing different implementation models. Office hours are one hour long with an additional 30 minutes at the end for a Q & A session. Participants can earn one hour of professional development credit for each session attended.

Elementary Math Office Hours (Grades K–5)

Wednesday, June 2 from 9:00–10:00 a.m. with Q & A from 10:00–10:30 a.m.

Register in advance for the Grades K–5 meeting.

Middle School Math Office Hours (Grades 5–8)

Thursday, June 3 from 9:00–10:00 a.m. with Q & A from 10:00–10:30 a.m.

Register in advance for the Grades 5–8 meeting.

High School Math Office Hours (Grades 8–12)

Thursday, June 3 from 12:00–1:00 p.m. with Q & A from 1:00–1:30 p.m.

Register in advance for the Grades 8–12 meeting.

Note: accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of each webinar.

Please e-mail email Jenifer Fernandez or email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce additional training opportunities for Arizona’s schools with The Neurosequential Model Network led by Dr. Bruce Perry. The trainings will assist schools in dealing with trauma and its effects on students. There are two training programs available to schools:

Neurosequential Model in Education

The Neurosequential Model in Education (NME) draws upon the neurodevelopmentally informed, biologically respectful perspective on human development and functioning to help educators understand student behavior and performance. The goals of NME are to educate faculty and students in basic concepts of neurosequential development and then teach them how to apply this knowledge to the teaching and learning process. NME is not a specific “intervention;” rather, it is a way to educate school staff about brain development and developmental trauma and then to further teach them how to apply that knowledge to their work with students in and outside the classroom, particularly those students with adverse childhood experiences. This training is for classroom teachers and is a trainer-of-trainers model, and participants will be equipped to bring strategies back to their schools. See the attached document that provides further details about the training expectations.

Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics

The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) is a developmentally informed, biologically-respectful approach to working with at-risk children and is a way to organize a child’s history and current functioning. The goal of this approach is to structure the assessment of a child, the articulation of the primary problems, the identification of key strengths, and the application of interventions (educational, enrichment, and therapeutic) in a way that will help family, educators, therapists, and related professionals best meet the needs of the child. (This training is for Master’s level school social workers, school counselors, or school psychologists.) See the attached document that provides further details about the training expectations.

Please join the Neurosequential Model Network for an informational session on May 19, 2021 from 12:00–1:00 p.m. to learn more about the trainings and hear from other Arizona schools who have been learning and implementing the model for over a year. Admission into the training series will require attendance at the webinar (or viewing of the recorded webinar) and submission of an application provided at the conclusion of the webinar on May 19. The cost of the training is $150.

Please click here to register for the informational session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Email Aanya Rispoli any questions you have about this professional learning opportunity.