The RSE-TASC offers a wide variety of workshops at NO COST to school districts.
Register Now!February 2017 Mid-State Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Center (RSE-TASC) at OCM BOCES is one of ten technical assistance centers across NYS funded through an NYSED federal grant. The RSE-TASC provides regional workshops to districts in OCM BOCES, TST BOCES, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, CiTi and the Syracuse City School District free of charge. Workshops include topics on behavior, transition, nondistrict programming, special education regulation, and special education service delivery. The RSE TASC is Sponsoring some Exciting Events in March! Finding Your Way: Understanding Transition Planning in and after High School An educational day around transition planning. Food will be provided! an exciting opportunity for families, professionals, and students to learn about planning for life after high school and the services offered in their community. Building our Student Support Systems through Cultural Responsiveness This series addresses building support systems for students through a Culturally Responsive (CR) lens by examining:
PBIS Regional Forum Learn how trauma affects an individual and strategies that can be incorporated to increase sensitivity to these needs. In addition, the session will provide an overview of SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and an framework that schools might use to address student's emotional learning needs. Standards-Based IEPs Standards-Based IEPS? What is it? What am I changing when I write IEPs? This full day training will define standards-based IEPs and the background behind the concept. Participants will review NYSED memos and the afternoon will focus on the 7 steps on how to create a standards-based IEP. Participants will:
There will be time to discuss and plan for implementation. Special Education BlogRead this month’s blog by RSE TASC transition specialist, Patty Ordway-Bennett, entitled, Will the real "I" Please stand up? Clarifying the “I” in the Individualized Education Program? Special Education Service DeliveryAs annual reviews are quickly approaching, I wanted to quickly review each part of the IEP. Last month, we addressed measurable annual goals. This month the focus will be on Present Levels of Performance (PLPs)!!!! PLPS are the foundation on the IEP! I often get teachers that state that measurable annual goals are the most difficult aspect of the IEP to write, but I would argue it is the present levels of performance! Quick Reminders
Here are some guiding question to help you write your PLPS
SED created quality indicators that identify the “must-haves” for each section of the IEP. This is an excellent resource to remind you of what needs to be written in each section! Transition and CDOSIf independence is the ultimate end goal for students, perhaps assistive technology can help us achieve this outcome? We need to shift and expand our thinking about how we choose and use assistive technology to match our end goal. Think about the many students who require tests to be read to them due to significant reading decoding or reading comprehension deficits. This is just one of the many examples of how assistive technology could help our students to become more independent. After all, there will not be an adult following our students around to read difficult text to them. Instead, let’s find some assistive technology that can support our students with their reading difficulties, in school and after. To help with this process, the NYS Education Department put out a webinar as well as the checklist to help determine what type of assistive technology best meets the needs of a student. In order to receive a weekly “Assistive Technology Item of the Week” from Finger Lakes Independence Center sent to you, email Rachel Ferrara, MSW at Rachel@fliconline.org. BehaviorOver the course of this year, we have shared classroom management strategies at the Tier 1 level (behavior management practices for all students). Tier 1 practices are typically effective for 80-90% of students; however, it is important for schools to have readily available interventions within their systems for those students who need an additional dose of teaching and reinforcement in order to meet the school-wide expectations. A School-Based Mentoring program is a Tier II practice that is used to provide students that additional dose of reinforcement as well as consistent, positive contact with a staff member. Research shows that effective mentoring programs have positive outcomes such as improvements in grades, parent-child relationships, attendance, overall attitudes about school, and a student’s sense of belonging in school. Research also shows that, with mentoring, classroom disruptions are less likely and there is an increase in the likelihood and frequency of classroom engagement (Mentoring Resource Center (MRC) U.S. Department of Education. Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools No. 24, September 2008). Mentoring would benefit students who meet some or many of the criteria listed below.
For more detailed information on research-informed practices for creating and sustaining effective mentoring relationships and strong program services, see this great mentoring resource! Special TopicsAre you trying to embrace a Growth Mindset? Are you trying to create a Culture of Change and help your students shift from a Fixed Mindset to a more Growth Mindset? Train Ugly is a website that can help! Train Ugly was created by Trevor Ragan. Trevor has a BA in Sociology from Duke University. He was (and is) a student athlete, coach, and entrepreneur. He has created and compiled a wide variety of videos, articles, blogs and tools around learning and mindsets. There is also a Grow Mindset Play Book that provides step by step ideas for changing mindsets. Preschool BehaviorIn preschool, and particularly within the Pyramid Model, we often talk about needing to foster nurturing and responsive relationships with students. I often hear “we know we need to be nice to kids, we don’t need training on that.” I find that it is typically true that we know we have to be nice to kids, but do we really know why? We rarely have time to discuss the physiological impact of toxic stress and unresponsive care on brain architecture and development. Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child has developed a series of training materials to look at the significant impact of toxic stress upon development. This series of videos is an outstanding resource for folks like me, looking to understand the science of early relationships. LeadershipDo you want to make sure your special education staff understands the difference between research-based and evidence based practices? These research excerpts and activity may be just the thing you need to begin the conversation at your next meeting. Email Janel Payette at jpayette@ocmboces.org to request additional topics of interest! |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
© 2017 OCM BOCES Instructional Support. For more information, please contact Janel Payette |