Support for Personalized Learning Presented by Dr. Sarah Lee RESA 4 Technical Assistance Specialist A recorded version of this presentation will be posted to

“Our challenge as educators is to make sure that we provide all children in our public schools the opportunity for success. Teachers of children with special needs understand this challenge more than most. They are dedicated individuals who have a passion for teaching and high expectations that every child can learn given an opportunity.” – James B. Phares, Ed.D.

SEBTA Overview

Wh y Wh at Ho w Wh ere Wh en Wh o ?

WHY – Federal and State Policies ESEA/ IDEA 2004 Improv ed Studen t Outco mes Policy 2510 Policy 2512 Policy 2419 Policy 4373 Policy 5310

WHY – WVDE Policies

WHY – Purpose of SPL The West Virginia Support for Personalized Learning (SPL) framework is a state-wide initiative that suggests flexible use of resources to provide relevant academic, social/emotional and/or behavioral support to enhance learning for ALL students. SPL is designed to improve outcomes for students with a variety of academic and behavioral needs.

Core Principles of SPL Effective leadership at all levels is crucial for the implementation of SPL. Positive school culture provides the foundation on which all instruction occurs and all students are engaged in learning. Collaboration among educators and families is the foundation of effective problem-solving and instructional decision-making. Ongoing and meaningful involvement of families increases student success. Student results are improved when ongoing academic and behavioral performance data are used to inform instructional decisions.

ALL students can learn and achieve high standards as a result of effective teaching. ALL students must have access to a rigorous standards-based curriculum and research-based instruction. Intervening at the earliest indication of need is necessary for student success (PreK-12). A comprehensive system of multi-level instruction is essential for addressing the full range of student needs. ALL members of the school community must continue to gain knowledge and develop expertise in order to build capacity and sustainability. Core Principles of SPL

WHAT – Six Essential Components of SPL Leader ship Improve d Student Outcom es School Climate and Culture Teams and Proces ses Family and Commu nity Partner ships Assess ments Curricul um and Instructi on

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State – Guidance Document – Self-assessment tools – Website providing professional development materials and resources RESA – Providing Professional Development – Facilitating sharing and building consensus – Forming Regional Leadership Team District – Developing leadership roles – Defining and communicating criteria used to make decisions – Providing professional development – Acquiring and disseminating relevant resources School – Supporting team problem-solving – Developing a plan to strengthen essential components of SPL – Managing time and schedules to focus on identified needs Leadership

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School Climate and Culture Positive school climate consists of three primary domains: Engagement Safety Environment A positive school culture exists when key elements of a positive school climate are in place.

Practices Defining and consistently teaching expectations of behavior for students, parents and educators Acknowledging and recognizing students and adults consistently for appropriate behaviors Monitoring, correcting or reteaching behavioral errors Engaging teachers in a collaborative team problem- solving process that uses data to guide instruction Including families in culturally-sensitive, solution- focused approach to supporting student learning School Climate and Culture

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Problem-Solving Team Composed of teachers (general and special educators), specialists, parents and school level administrator Plans intensive instruction for students Promotes shared responsibility for student learning Collects and reviews data Evaluates responsiveness to intense instruction Teams and Processes

Problem-Solving Process

Teams and Processes Team MembersSteps in the Process 1.School Level Administrator 2.Meeting Facilitator 3.Recorder 4.Time Keeper 5.Parent 6.Persons with Expertise in: Data Customized Instruction —Academic/ Behavioral Community Resources Progress Monitoring 1.Identify and Define Needs What is the Problem? 2.Analyze the Problem Why is the Problem Occurring? 3.Develop a Plan What are we going to do about it? 4.Implement and Monitor the Plan How will we monitor progress? 5.Evaluate and Adjust the Plan Did it work?

SPL supports the use of school teams to lead the examination of student work as well as other types of evidence of student performance as essential processes of informed decision-making. It is important to remember that school teams leading implementation of SPL do not necessarily need to be new teams. Teams and Processes 21

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Effective partnerships include: – Parents – Families – Students – Community Members – Educators Indicators of effective partnerships: – Sharing information – Problem-solving – Celebrating student successes Central to effective partnerships is the recognition of shared responsibility and ownership of student challenges and successes. Family and Community Partnerships

Key Roles Collaborate with teachers regarding identified need Share information about child and family as appropriate Support student learning at home Attend Problem-Solving Team meeting Partner in instructional planning and progress monitoring Family and Community Partnerships

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Purpose of Assessment Identify strengths and needs of individual students Inform problem-solving process Inform instruction and necessary adjustments Evaluate the effectiveness of instruction at different levels of the system (e.g. classrooms, school, district) Inform educational decisions Assessment

Screening/Interim Purpose: Inform determination of risk status and indicate need for additional support and/or assessment Formative/Classroom Purpose: Determine response to instruction and indicate direction for most appropriate instructional adjustments Progress Monitoring Purpose: Determine if students are making progress toward specific skills, processes and understandings and inform school-wide action plans Diagnostic Purpose: Assist teachers in adjusting the type and degree of scaffolding, in differentiating instruction, and in picking up patterns of strengths and weaknesses Summative Purpose: Inform the system and provide a longitudinal view of curricular strengths and weaknesses Assessment Types

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Curriculum and Instruction

CORE Provides foundation of curriculum and school organization that has a high probability (80% of students responding) of bringing students to a high level of achievement in all areas of development/content Choose curricula that has evidence of producing optimal levels of achievement (evidence-based curriculum) TARGETED Supplemental curriculum aligned with CORE and designed to meet the specific needs of targeted group (15%) INTENSIVE Focused curriculum designed to meet the specific needs of the targeted group and/or individual (5%) Curriculum and Instruction

CORE Instruction Utilizes differentiated and scaffolded instruction to meet students’ needs Incorporates small group activities Focuses on the most critical standards and objectives Utilizes evidence from summative and ongoing formative assessment to make instructional decisions Maximizes instructional time Emphasizes 24/7 learning

Curriculum and Instruction TARGETED Support SPL endorses the value of instructional supports at the TARGETED level including: – Differentiating, scaffolding and using multi-modal strategies to engage students – Providing explicit instruction that emphasizes skill building as well as contextualized instruction that emphasizes application of skills – Peer interaction to scaffold student understanding – Teacher use of learning progressions within the standards and objectives as guidance for constructing scaffolding – Accommodations that affect how a student learns, not what they are expected to learn

Curriculum and Instruction INTENSIVE Support SPL endorses the value of instructional supports at the INTENSIVE level including: – Intensified scaffolding and time: suggested to occur 3 to 5 times per week for class sessions of 30 to 60 minutes – Smaller groups of similarly-skilled and needs-alike students or one-to-one – Most likely to occur outside the general education classroom – May occur before, during or after the school day dependent on available resources and personnel. SPL does not promote: – INTENSIVE support replacing opportunity to receive instruction in science, social studies, physical education and the arts – Isolated skill drill requiring students to independently make generalizations and connections back to the CORE content.

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SPL FRAMEWORK: A Quick Reference Guide

Web Resources

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