Monica Verra-Tirado, Chief Bureau of Exceptional Education & Student Services April 7, 2016 SPDG April Webinar: CEEDAR in FL

From Preschool to Post-School Outcomes Preparing Florida’s Students to Become College and Career Ready Equity, Access and Attainment

Increase Number of Students Graduating College and Career Ready  Improve Graduation Rate  Decrease Dropout Rate  Improve Post-School Outcomes Results Moving from Access to Attainment: Statewide Equity and Excellence

What Matters Most for SEAs and LEAs 6 Key Practices 1. Use Data Well 2. Focus Goals 3. Select and Implement Shared Instructional Practices 4. Implement Deeply 5. Monitor and Provide Feedback 6. Inquire and Learn Initiated and funded by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

Florida was Awarded the SPDG in 2012 and CEEDAR in 2014

Increase the percentage of infield and highly qualified teachers that can effectively meet the needs of students with disabilities by impacting:  Licensure and Certification  Program Approval and Evaluation  Preparation Reform  Professional Learning Systems  Alignment Goals for Florida’s CEEDAR

 Performance Objective #1: Increase the number and percentage of ESE courses taught by infield and highly qualified teachers  Performance Objective #2: Increase the knowledge and skills of all educators working with SWD  Performance Objective #3: Increase the knowledge and skills of educational leaders related to supporting SWD Objectives for Florida’s CEEDAR

Florida’s CEEDAR Goals are Focused on Improving the Graduation Rate for SWDs Aligned to the goals of: Florida’s RTTT Participation Florida’s ESEA Flexibility Waiver FDOE’s State Board of Education Strategic Plan FDOE’s Bureau of Exceptional Education’s Strategic Plan Florida’s State Identified Measurable Result (SIMR)

FDOE, in collaboration with its internal and external stakeholders, has identified the measurable result of increasing the statewide graduation rate for students with disabilities from 52.3% ( graduates) to 62.3% ( graduates) and closing the graduation gap (baseline 23.2 percentage points in ) for students with disabilities in half (< 11.6 points). Florida’s State-Identified Measurable Result (SIMR)

The SIMR is related to SPP/APR results indicator #1: Percent of youth with IEPs graduating from high school with a regular diploma. (20 U.S.C (a)(3)(A)) Florida’s SIMR

 Beginning in , all students have the opportunity to earn a standard diploma based on Florida standards  Students with significant cognitive disabilities may earn diploma via access courses and the Florida Standards Alternate Assessment  Students may defer receipt of diploma to remain eligible for FAPE  The state offers many resources to assist students with disabilities and/or learning differences achieve success  Special diploma statute was repealed as of July 1, 2015 Standard Diploma Opportunity for All

Are all students with disabilities in your state given the opportunity to earn a standard diploma? ___Yes ___No Placeholder for Question #1

Currently, over 70% of Florida’s SWDs are in a regular classroom with non- disabled students Inclusion is a Priority in Florida

General Education Courses with Support For all other students Access Courses For students who are significantly cognitively disabled Course Options for SWDs

Florida Standards Alternate Assessment Access Courses Assessments for SWDs General Education Courses Florida Standards Assessment

Do all students with disabilities in your state have the opportunity to be included in the general education setting with non- disabled peers for academic instruction? ___Yes ___No Placeholder for Question #2

Graduation Rates

Federal Dropout Rate

Goal: Increase student proficiency and graduation rates of students with IEP’s in Florida

Check & Connect is a structured mentoring intervention to promote student success and engagement at school and with learning through relationship building and systematic use of data. What is Check & Connect?

1.A mentor who works with students and families for a minimum of two years 2.Regular checks, utilizing data schools already collect on students’ school adjustment, behavior, and educational progress (Check) 3.Timely interventions, driven by data, to re-establish and maintain students’ connection to school and learning and to enhance students’ social and academic competencies (Connect) 4.Engagement with families foster parents’ active participation in their child’s education Components of Check & Connect

 Relationships  Focus on alterable variables  Personalized, data-based intervention  Long-term commitment  Participation in and affiliation with school  Problem solving and capacity building  Persistence-plus Core Elements of Check & Connect

Increases  Credit accrual  Retention rates  Graduation rates  Perception of parent participation Decreases  Absences  Tardiness to school/class  Dropout rates  Behavior Referrals Evidence for Check & Connect (Sinclair et al., 1998; 2005)

 Cohort 1: 4 districts, 10 schools  Cohort 2: 9 districts, 23 schools  Cohort 3: 4 districts, 46 schools Check and Connect in Florida

What is SIM? Promotes effective teaching and learning of critical content in schools Helps teachers make decisions about:  what is of greatest importance  what can be taught to help students to learn  how to teach them well

Learning Strategies Content Enhancement Routines Two Components of SIM

What is the Strategic Instruction Model?

What group of educators do you think is most likely to attend SIM professional development sessions? ___ESE ___General Education ___Other Question #3

Florida’s CEEDAR Project is All About COLLABORATION

 5 Bureaus in the Florida Department of Education  4 Discretionary Projects  3 Institutes of Higher Education  CEEDAR State Leads and Support Florida’s CEEDAR State Leadership Team Members

 Bureau of Exceptional Education & Student Services (BEESS - DOE)  Bureau of Educator Recruitment, Development, Retention (BERDR- DOE)  Bureau of Educator Certification (BEC - DOE)  Bureau of Postsecondary Assessment (BPA – DOE)  Bureau of Standards & Instructional Support (BSIS - DOE) Makeup of Team: FDOE Bureaus

 State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)  Personnel Development Support Project at FSU (PDSP)  Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resource System (FDLRS)  Working with the Experts Project (WWE) Makeup of Team: Discretionary Projects

Teacher Preparation Programs from:  St. Petersburg State College  University of Central Florida  University of West Florida Makeup of Team: Institutes of Higher Education

 Clinical Educator Redesign  IHE Summer Institute  Dean’s Roundtable Collaborative Efforts

 SLT collaborated with the FDOE Office of Postsecondary Assessment  Provided Florida ESE expert for literature review  Offered recommendations for membership of groups to update competencies and items for the assessment  Providing input and assistance to updating of current assessment ESE Teacher Certification Exam Redesign

Utilizes a Professional Learning Community to create a model plan for use of CEEDAR Innovations Configurations (IC) and related Course Enhancement Modules to analyze syllabi and practices across special education and general education and infuse specific methods into course delivery and content. UWF is using the Universal Design for Learning IC. University of West Florida’s CEEDAR Project

Includes activities to improve and innovate teacher preparation content, delivery and performance measures in order to prepare effective elementary teachers for inclusive classrooms Focuses on improving teacher candidates’ knowledge, skills and dispositions to meet the academic and behavioral needs of students with exceptional needs Creating models of enhanced and aligned Curriculum Maps-Elementary and Exceptional Education and enhanced and aligned Syllabi Will provide these, as well as an outline of the process, as resources and samples to disseminate to other Colleges and Universities University of Central Florida’s CEEDER Project

 Exceptional Student Education Certification Workgroup – in collaboration with SPDG  Universal Design for Learning (UDL)  Educator Preparation Continuous Improvement  Initiative Mapping Subcommittee SLT Subcommittees

 Reviewed existing data and current requirements related to exceptional student education certification  Developed guidance for updating the certification process to more accurately reflect changes and realities in FDOE educational system  Provided recommendations for SLT consideration, refinement and submission to FDOE ESE Certification Redesign Subcommittee Objectives A SPDG Collaborative Effort

With the help of the SPDG and CEEDAR grants, Florida is Making Strides to Improve Graduation Rates for All Students with Disabilities

For more information, contact Beth Moore at or