Exceptional Education Newsletter
RPS Office of Exceptional Education April 2021
In this issue
- Compliance Corner
- SEAC
- Autism Awareness Month
- ESY & Summer School Interest Survey
- VAAP
- Vertical Transition Meetings
- Teacher Tip
- Resources
- Professional Learning Opportunities
- Spotlight
- Previous Issues
Compliance Corner
Action Items
- April updates to the December 1 Child Count, Indicators 9, 10, 11, and the Out of Compliance Spreadsheet are due on April 29, 2021.
- As schools hold IEP meetings for English Learners, Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP), teachers should be invited to participate as team members.
- Instructional and Compliance Coordinators (ICC's) should indicate "none" followed by the month of submission when there is no new information to report.
- Revisions to the Out of Compliance Report should be captured each month under ICC Comments.
- Instructional Compliance Coordinator's Professional Development Schedule for April and May.
- Administrators are welcome to attend. Please see the corrected dates for April.
Elementary ICCs
- April 13, 2021- Scaffolding: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learning. (2:30-3:30)
Secondary ICCs
- April 15, 2021- Scaffolding: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learning. (2:30-3:30)May 27, 2021
- Transition Partners Updates (DARS, SOAR 365, and Resources for Independent Living) (2:30-4:00)
Words of Encouragement from Ms. White
As the end of the school year is closely approaching, continue to stay the course.
Compliance is the KEY!
- Stay proactive
- Encourage communication
- Work with the end in mind
- Keep resources to look back over
- Stay Organized
SEAC
The monthly meeting is at 6:30 pm and is currently on zoom: https://rvaschools-net.zoom.us/j/96478416076?pwd=Vzh6b3lQOHJUc0dIdmxvRVFtWTlUdz09
We look forward to working together with you and our community!
Autism Awareness Month
- Wear blue and kindness
- Wear something blue on April 2 in support of understanding and acceptance for people with autism.
Greetings, Teachers and Staff! Please complete the Interest Survey below by April 7th if you are interested in working either ESY and/or Summer School.
Interested individuals will still be required to complete an application (when available) and go through the hiring process via the Talent Office. This document will be used for planning purposes only.
Please contact Dr. Rossi Volley at rvolley2@rvaschools.net if you have any questions or concerns.
VAAP
- Week of May 3, 2021
- Pre-scoring: On an assigned date, schools will provide access to a percentage of their student folders for review and recommendations. All documents should be in the folder at this time. The team will have this week to address any recommended changes.
- Week of May 10th Final Submission: This will be the scoring event. At this time, schools will provide access to all online folders. No additional changes can be made to the folders, and all District and State forms will need to be included.
- Specific details on providing access and the follow-up process will be shared during the March 31, 2021 ICC meeting. We encourage SBOT teams to review student folders and provide recommendations before these dates to support the case managers in giving students every opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge.
As always, we are here to support you in the process. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to the Intensive Support Team: Rebecca Ceja: rceja@ravashool, Keri Lagow klagow@rvaschoos.net, Charlotte Lucas, clucas@rvaschools.net or Tammy Sellers, tsellers@rvaschools.net.
Vertical Transition Meetings
- Vertical Transition Meetings for rising 6th graders: April 12 - April 16
- Vertical Transition Meetings for rising Kindergarteners: April 19-23
- Schedules have been shared with all ICCs and principals. Please email Jennifer Romero at jromero@rvaschools.net with any needed schedule changes, questions, or concerns.
Teacher Tip
Co-teaching Tip
Looking for ideas on how to better define co-teaching roles in your school? Consider using the TEAM planner as a way to start the conversation. With this tool, co-teaching teams can take any lesson plan and assign roles based on four factors: Teaching, Engaging, Assessing, and Monitoring.
Suggested next steps for Co-Teaching teams:
- Meet with your co-teacher
- Break down what and how you teach into parts (Instructing, assessing, observing, etc.)
- Assign the parts to each teacher (ex. Teacher A instructs while Teacher B observes and collects data, Teacher B then assesses while Teacher A observes and collects data) Knowing your students, how will you deliver each part?
- What scaffolds are needed?
- Plan, Collaborate, and Reflect!
RPS Guidance Resources
PEATC Resources
Professional Learning Opportunities
Please continue to sign up through SCHED.
4/21/211:00-2:00 -Applied Studies Framework: Accessing Community Literacy
4/21/211:00-2:00-Developing Quality IEP's
4/21/212:15-3:15- High Leverage Practices
4/21/212:15-3:15 - Understanding Data to Inform Instruction
May 2021
5/5/211:00-2:00- Applied Studies Framework: Accessing Community Literacy
5/19/211:00-2:00 - Applied Studies Framework: Developing The Plan
5/19/211:00-2:00- Developing Quality IEP's
5/19/212:15-3:15- High Leverage Practices
VDOE Professional Learning Opportunity
The Virginia Branch of the International Dyslexia
Association (VBIDA) proudly announces its
2021 Spring Conference
Virtually Unstoppable VBIDA Leading the Way!
When
Saturday, April 24, 2021
9:00AM-3:30PM
Where
Virtual Event
In this new world, impacted by Covid-19, our conference will be virtual with an online platform sponsored by
Zaner-Bloser. Sessions will be synchronous and asynchronous.
Nancy Hennessy will deliver the keynote address, Constructing Comprehension: A Blueprint for Designing and Delivering Informed Instruction. Nancy will also provide a session discussing her new book, The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text. Nancy's expertise on reading comprehension will provide valuable information to enhance our teaching practice! A discount code to purchase her book from Brookes Publishing will be provided upon completion of registration.
William Van Cleave will deliver a new session on syntax, Reading and Writing at the Sentence Level: Why It Matters and What to Do About It. William's expertise on this topic will drive our writing instruction to new heights!
Stacy Leitzel, from Zaner-Bloser, will provide a session on the
Science of Reading and What It Looks Like in the Classroom.
Six pre-recorded sessions will be made available to all participants to view prior to April 24th. They will include:
- Dwana Cooper - Dyslexia Awareness
- Lorraine Hightower - Parent Advocacy
- Christine Peterson - Structured Literacy Instruction Strategies
- Rebecca Warner and Nan Carmack - Dyslexia Friendly Libraries in Virginia and Beyond
- Judith Fontana - What is "Special" about Special Education?
- Margaret Meyers - Mindfulness
Presenters will be available at 2:15 on the conference day to respond to questions about their sessions.
After the conference, a book study on Nancy's book is included with your conference fee, as well as a time limited availability of the sessions provided by Nancy, William, all six asynchronous presenters, and Stacy.
The live portion of the conference will begin at 9:00am and close at 3:30pm on April 24th.
The fee for the conference will be $50 for IDA members and $60 for non-IDA members. You can register multiple colleagues on one registration.