Title III, W-APT and ACCESS for ELLs Review and Updates is the first part of a series of professional development opportunities entitled 2009-2010 ESL Training Series. These professional development opportunities focus on the strategic use of the Standards Aligned System framework and the Response to Instruction and Interventions strategy to increase the academic achievement and English language development of English language learners in the Commonwealth. The series include six topics which are aligned, correlated and linked to the requirements of Title III.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) are sponsoring the 2010 Pennsylvania Alternative System of Assessment (PASA) Training Series.

These workshops are free of charge. Participants may attend one or any number of these sessions.

This a three-day series facilitating teams completing the process of functional behavior assessment for a target student.

This is year 2 of PA CSI Cohort 4 The Pennsylvania Reading Comprehension Strategies Intervention (PA CSI) supplemental program. PA CSI is a Success360 intervention offered by the Success for All Foundation. It is designed for teachers who are targeting their students´ mastery of reading-comprehension strategies in students who have already in place decoding and fluency skills. Clarifying and questioning strategies were addressed in Year 1 through a series of workshops in the 2008-2009 School Year and predicting and summarizing strategies are addressed in Year 2. The workshops prepare teachers to use proven instructional and monitoring practices in their classrooms. Supplemental materials, which include both video-based media lessons and text foundation lessons for introducing the strategies, are also provided.

The LETRS modules teach teachers the meaning of scientific findings about learning to read and reading instruction. The modules address each component of reading instruction - phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, and word study; oral language development; vocabulary; reading fluency; comprehension; and writing - and the foundational concepts that link these components. The characteristics and the needs of second language learners (ELL), dialect speakers, and students with other learning differences are addressed throughout the modules. Instruction in assessment and evaluation of student performance will be embedded in the topical modules. The format of instruction allows for deep learning and reflection beyond the brief "once over" treatment the topics are typically given. Modules provide material for each teacher-participant and will be delivered by Pennsylvania-LETRS Certified Professional Developers at the state, district, and building level.

The Pennsylvania-LETRS professional development series is not a program and is not intended to replace reading-based programs or the school’s current materials for teaching reading, but to make their implementation more effective, and to help teachers overcome any gaps in their instruction or materials. The modules will selectively incorporate and recommend the use of readings, videos, and other media resources.

LETRS is similar to a course in college that is used to build the teacher’s knowledge. Again, it is not a student program.

All participants are required to take Module 1 prior to participation in Modules 2 through 12. Attendees must purchase the corresponding LETRS workbook.

Target Audience

Classroom teachers in Secondary Grade Levels and building administrators.

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

Target Audience

Classroom teachers in Secondary Grade Levels and building administrators.

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

Join Dr. Carol Tolman, co-author of LETRS Module 1, revised edition, and author of all LETRS Presenter´s Kits, for an interactive session outlining advanced research concepts in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Revised module changes for 7 and 8 will be addressed briefly.   Special informal coffee klatch with Dr. Tolman from 9-9:50 AM on February 4! Bring your LETRS Modules and presentation experiences to share and problem-solve, too!

Objectives

Attendees will:

• Review advanced research topics in literacy.
• Deepen understanding of current research.
• Outline key points presented within LETRS revised modules.
• Problem-solve any issues within LETRS presentations.

Target Audience

45 PA-LETRS Certified Trainers

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

If the training location you wish to attend is full, please register for another location. Unfortunately, we cannot accept a waiting list if the registration limit for this training has been reached as the dynamics of this training are not effective for a large audience. Please check the PaTTAN website regularly for similar trainings on this and other topics. Thank you for your interest.

Middle school is a critical period for students facing reading failure. It is in grades four through eight that readers may fall behind their peers, jeopardizing their chances for success in high school and beyond. Yet, despite the importance of their task, middle school teachers are often forced to use reading curricula that are outdated, impractical, or simply don’t work.

Dr. Anita Archer will help participants master before, during, and after reading strategies to increase reading achievement for adolescent students.

Objectives

Participants will know and be able to:

• Use selected research based strategies to increase reading achievement for struggling readers.
• Use response procedures that engage and give all students opportunities to successfully respond.
• Demonstrate effective practices to increase vocabulary and language for all students.

Target Audience

This training is specifically intended for secondary content and special education teachers, administrators, literacy coaches, and consultants.

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

Pennsylvania Special Education Regulations outline the criteria for the determination of a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). This session will focus on the use of an RtII model when conducting comprehensive evaluations for students who are thought to be exceptional under the category for specific learning disability. Technical adequacy of an RtII model will be emphasized. This training is specifically related to use of RtII as a method for determining SLD eligibility.

Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• The legal requirements of IDEA and Chapter 14 in relation to determining eligibility for a specific learning disability.
• Identify the four criteria needed for eligibility determination for specific learning disability.
• Describe the key elements of a technically adequate RtII model.
• List requirements for completing an evaluation report using RtII data as part of the eligibility determination process.

Target Audience

Hearing Officers

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

This two-day train the trainer roll-out program sponsored by PDE will introduce participants, through intense hands on utilization, to the Standards Aligned System´s (SAS) features, functions and resources. The workshop will include suggestions for presenting and training others on the use of the SAS site and resources.

Objectives

Participants will learn to:

• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the overall features of SAS
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the overall functions of SAS
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the overall resources of SAS
• Gain the capacity to be able to provide SAS implementation workshops to a variety of audiences.

Target Audience

Educators seeking to gain or expand their understanding of the overall features, functions, and resources available to users within SAS or to provide SAS implementation workshops.

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

Guidelines will be presented and explained in order to clarify, standardize and expedite the contingency fund application process.

Applications will be accepted for "Contingency Funds for Extraordinary Special Education Program Expenses", beginning December 14, 2009 and ending January 29, 2010. Applications will not be accepted after January 29, 2010.

The application and review process remains similar for the 2009-2010 school year. Representatives from Leader Services Inc. will provide training on the software used in applying for Contingency Funds. They will offer suggestions to reduce time on line and to avoid the loss of data. In addition, they will explain how to electronically submit IEPs.

By clarifying the manner in which contingency funds are reviewed and what expenses are allowable, districts should be better able to focus their attention on only those children whose needs qualify them for contingency funding. The process of calculating and prorating allowable expenses for 2009-2010 will be explained. Time will be devoted to answering questions and discussing specific concerns.

Objectives

Save staff time:

• in determining which children are eligible for contingency funds.
• in preparing the necessary data.
• in completing the applications.

Avoid errors in preparing applications that cost time and money.

Target Audience

School District Special Education Administrators, Charter School Special Education Administrators, and IU Special Education Directors.

Districts are urged to send an administrative team that will be preparing the applications to this training. The application process will be reviewed in detail. The procedure used to determine allowable expenses will be explained. Suggestions will be given to applicants that should simplify and expedite the application process.

The educational planning process, including identification of supplementary aids and services, must incorporate an understanding of the unique needs of students who are deafblind. An emerging trend in the field of deafblindness is the provision of intervener support. The intervener, or the paraeducator serving in the role of the intervener, serves as a link between the student and his or her world in the presence of deafblindness. This course will address how to identify strengths and needs, and strategies to collaborate to provide a variety of supplementary aids and services to support the achievement of students who are deafblind. The role of the intervener, or the paraeducator serving in the role of the intervener will be a primary focus. When identified by team members as appropriate, the intervener model described in this course is intended to be applied to students who are deafblind.

Objectives

Participants will:

1. List the strengths and needs of students who are deafblind, with a focus on the impact of deafblindness
2. Describe strategies to identify and provide supplementary aids and services for students who are deafblind
3. Identify how to provide information about the communicative, instructional, and social environment in the presence of deafblindness
4. Define the roles and responsibilities of team members in the instructional process for students who are deafblind, with a special focus on the paraeducator in the role of the intervener

Target Audience

General education teachers, special education teachers and related service providers who serve students with deafblindness, parents, paraeducators/paraeducators who are serving in the role of an intervener, and all team members of students who are deafblind

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.

Pennsylvania Special Education Regulations outline the criteria for the determination of a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). This session will focus on the use of an RtII model when conducting comprehensive evaluations for students who are suspected to have a specific learning disability. Technical adequacy of an RtII model will be emphasized. This training is specifically targeted for districts who intend to use RtII in the future as a method for determining eligibility for SLD.

Objectives

Participants will:

• Define the legal requirements of IDEA and Chapter 14 in relation to determining eligibility for a specific learning disability.
• Identify the four criteria needed for eligibility determination for specific learning disability.
• Describe the key elements of a technically adequate RtII model.
• List requirements for completing an evaluation report using RtII data as part of the eligibility determination process.

Target Audience

Special Education Directors/ Supervisors; School Psychologists; School Personnel responsible for RtII model

Individuals attending this course must arrive on time and stay the duration of the course in order to receive Act 48 Professional Education hours. Requests for exceptions are to be brought to the attention of the individual´s Superintendent or IU Director prior to the course.