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Description: Each self-paced professional learning session is offered at no cost to Virginia public school educators and provides 3-5 hours of professional learning. These sessions guide educators in learning about specific HLPs through videos that model exemplar teacher behaviors. Educators may enroll in any of the following professional learning sessions described below: Enroll in School Leaders, Administrators, and Instructional Coaches: Strategies for Teacher Retention & Support...
Description: Based on the work of the CEEDAR Center and Council for Exceptional Children, the GMU TTAC Team has created High Leverage Practice Crosswalks in the areas of Math, Literacy and Transition to support stakeholders in developing personalized professional learning and targeted support, with the goal of bridging research into “practical” classroom practice to improve performance outcomes. The HLP Crosswalks are dynamic documents that will be periodically updated with the most current...
Description: The 2022 Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies (VATTS) Resources will guide the IEP team through the consideration and documentation process. These resources replace the previous versions of the AT Consideration and Resource Guide. VATTS: Consideration and Assessment Guidance Document (PDF) - Guidance for school divisions in the consideration and assessment of AT, including planning and implementing those services for students with disabilities. VATTS: Consideration...
Description: VDOE's Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) webpage - With the passage of the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) in the 2022 General Assembly, Virginia is taking the lead nationwide to improve early literacy outcomes for Virginia’s young learners. Through the VLA, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) will support school divisions through a multi-year effort with tools, resources, technical assistance and funding. Updates from VDOE **NEW April 2024** Virginia Literacy Updates **NEW...
Description: Collaboration HLP Pillars: Rubric - HLP 1 Collaborate with Professionals to Increase Student Success, Rubric - HLP 3 Collaborate with Families to Support Student Learning and Secure Needed Services Embedded HLPs Rubric - HLP 2 Lead Effective Meetings with Professionals & Families DATA-Driven Planning HLP Pillar: Rubric - HLP 6 Use Assessment Data, Analyze Instructional Practices and Make Necessary, Adjustments that Improve Student Outcomes Embedded HLPs: Rubric - HLP 4: Use Multiple Sources...
Description: This guide designed to support professionals and families in understanding assistive technology (AT) and identifying possible AT tools for students from preschool through high school. (Updated 9/2023) “I have severe dyslexia and it's hard for me to read and write. In the eighth grade, I could not write down a single word. The first time I used a program with voice recognition, I wrote a whole short story. Using AT means I can do things myself and I don't have to depend on someone else to...
Description: Self-Care Exercises and Activities- The topics provided cover ways to maintain your physical health, decrease stress, increase relaxation and equanimity, and deal with challenging emotional situations (including work situations). We invite you to find the ones that are applicable to your life and situation.
Description: The 3 R’s for Teacher Self-Care: Reflect. Release. Recharge Consider these prompts for your daily reflection: What has been a challenge for you today? What is one win or a joyful moment that you had today? Think about one person that helped you out today and send them a thank you email or text expressing your gratitude.
Description: Prioritizing your Mental Health with Summer Self-Care - Pause for a moment. Take a breath. You’ve made it to the end of a school year unlike any before. You’ve dealt with new developments, mastered new technologies, and likely found your students to be more resilient than you’ve ever imagined. You deserve this summer to rest, recover, and find new ways to further your craft as a valued educator. No matter how you are feeling, as an educator and as a person, this summer is a...
Description: 3 Self-Compassion Exercises - Self-compassion involves treating the self with care and concern when considering personal inadequacies, mistakes, failures, and painful life situations. This product contains 3 different self-compassion tools. Each tool is structured in the same way, consisting of abackground section, a goal description, advice for using the exercise and suggested readings.
Description: Here are some strategies to relax and reset this summer: Focus YouTube: One Minute Pinky-Thumb Breathing Sheetali (Rolled Tongue Breathing) YouTube: Colour Breathing Square Breathing for Stress Reduction Muscle Relaxation Progressive Muscle Relaxation Stress Management: Doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation Mindfulness Mindfulness podcasts Guided Meditations and Scripts from UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
Description: This notice is to let you know of a strategy to use Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) funds to support students with disabilities. Any age-eligible student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) qualifies for VPI. This means that VPI funds can be used not only to support children with IEPs in inclusive VPI classrooms but may also be used to support instructional experiences in Early Childhood Special Education classrooms with age-eligible children. To promote maximum inclusion and the...
Description: This article discusses how a University of Virginia professor shaped Virginia’s Literacy Act. The new laws address teacher training, screening for reading risk, the provision of evidence-based curricula, funding for intervention services and other aspects of effective literacy instruction.
Description: VLA Implementation Playbook - The Virginia Department of Education is excited to collaborate with school divisions as they work diligently to implement the Virginia Literacy Act over the next six months. To assist school divisions in creating a vision for what literacy instruction looks like in every classroom, the Department of Education has created a playbook. This document will act as a framework for decision making and help provide a roadmap for a successful 2024-2025 school year. This...
Description: Transition and Court-Involved Youth: Workplace Readiness Skills Assessment is an informal assessment used to gauge early job assets and needs. This assessment can be conducted with a team or independently with a student, teacher, and parent/guardian.
Description: Virginia’s 21st Century Workplace Readiness Skills are personal qualities, people skills, and professional traits that are necessary for employment success. To assess the student, for each skill description select the performance category that best describes the student’s performance level in the classroom and in work-based learning experiences in school and the community. After completing the rubric, analyze the results to determine the student’s strengths and areas of...
Description: The VDOE is now accepting applications to the seventeenth cohort of its Aspiring Special Education Leaders Academy (ASELA). This leadership initiative is designed to help prepare potential leaders for administrative positions in special education. One application per school division, state-operated program, regional program, and training/technical assistance center for Academy participation may be submitted. Candidates must submit applications to their division superintendent’s office...
Description: The Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Pre-K Project is a video series, based on mental health research, created to make important mental health skills available to preschool children (age 3 to 5). These videos introduce important ideas, taught the way young children learn best: through entertaining, relatable stories set in a vivid, imaginary world. Each video features a memorable song that reinforces the key messages. We invite you to watch the complete series with your children or students. You can...
Description: This Rubric - HLP 11 is a tool that can be used during teacher observations to provide meaningful feedback to teachers about areas of strength and growth as they implement specific HLPs (High Leverage Practices). Instructional coaches, administrators, and collaborative learning teams can use the rubrics for ongoing professional development and teacher support. Each HLP rubric identifies essential components of each HLP and the teacher behaviors that facilitate HLP...
Description: Recorded Webinar: Instructional Practices for Students with Significant Disabilities - The Office of Student Assessment, in collaboration with the Department of Special Populations, is pleased to offer another resource for teachers providing instruction to students with significant cognitive disabilities. This resource is a recorded presentation, Instructional Practices for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities, featuring educators from three Virginia school divisions. The...
Description: This Rubric - HLP 5 is a tool that can be used during teacher observations to provide meaningful feedback to teachers about areas of strength and growth as they implement specific HLPs (High Leverage Practices). Instructional coaches, administrators, and collaborative learning teams can use the rubrics for ongoing professional development and teacher support. Each HLP rubric identifies essential components of each HLP and the teacher behaviors that facilitate HLP implementation....
Description: This Rubric - HLP 22 is a tool that can be used during teacher observations to provide meaningful feedback to teachers about areas of strength and growth as they implement specific HLPs (High Leverage Practices). Instructional coaches, administrators, and collaborative learning teams can use the rubrics for ongoing professional development and teacher support. Each HLP rubric identifies essential components of each HLP and the teacher behaviors that facilitate HLP implementation....
Description: Prince William County offers Adapted Recreation Programs for youth age 2-18 (Spring-Summer 2024 Adapted Recreation Programs). The PWCS Parent Resource Center has compiled a comprehensive regional list of both general summer camps as well as specialty programs (i.e. equestrian, swimming, dance), organized by area of special need. Fairfax County Therapeutic Recreation Services Summer Camps are open to residents (ages 5-22; and individuals over 22 who have not yet graduated) of Fairfax...
Description: Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical...
Description: This is a collection of featured resources from the Trauma Support for Schools Virtual Summit 2021. Selecting the Right Interventions to Support Students' Mental Health Needs (881 KB) PDF Menu of Trauma-Informed Programs for Schools (360 KB) PDF Common Trauma Symptoms in Students and Helpful Strategies for Educators (349 KB) PDF Community-School Collaboration to Address Opioid-Related Trauma (401 KB) PDF Glossary: Common Terms for Frameworks, Initiatives, and Approaches that Address Trauma (172...
Description: Children and Mental Health: Is This Just a Stage? - Raising a child can be challenging. Even under the best circumstances, their behaviors and emotions can change frequently and rapidly. All children are sad, anxious, irritable, or aggressive at times, or they occasionally find it challenging to sit still, pay attention, or interact with others. In most cases, these are just typical developmental phases. However, such behaviors may indicate a more serious problem in some children. Mental...
Description: Teen Depression: More Than Just Moodiness - Being a teenager can be tough, but it shouldn’t feel hopeless. If you have been feeling sad most of the time for a few weeks or longer and you’re not able to concentrate or do the things you used to enjoy, talk to a trusted adult about depression. Do I have depression? How do I get help for depression?
Description: The focus of the March 2024 Natural Resources listserv is play for each and every child and family.
Description: Behavioral Health & Wellness - Helping schools address the unprecedented rise in mental health and behavioral challenges facing Virginia students post-pandemic, Behavioral Health and Wellness helps to focus resources and attention to our students who are struggling with these evolving challenges. Sharpening the focus on the “Right Help, Right Now” resources available to Virginia students, Behavioral Health and Wellness will assists schools with teams of...
Description: Best Practices in Universal Screening for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes: An Implementation Guide - Universal social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) screening is increasingly being recognized as a foundational component of a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of school-based supports. As schools strive to develop a systematic approach to meeting the SEB health of all students, often with limited resources and competing priorities, there is a need for responsive, efficient,...
Description: Mental Health/Social-Emotional-Behavioral Well-Being - The term ‘mental health’ refers to how we think, feel and behave; it is a critical part of our overall health. Current rates of mental illness, substance misuse and opioid abuse are alarming and require significant societal shifts. Mental health is now recognized as a critical part of education, but schools struggle with how to establish a comprehensive system of mental health support. The Interconnected Systems Framework...
Description: Camp List for Children & Adults with Disabilities 3.2024.docx, 2024 Summer Camps (Northern Virginia, Region 4) Websites to Search for Camps: American Camp Association’s Camp Finder - Lists camps accredited by ACA. The advanced search function allows you to search by disability, distance from home, inclusive camps, and other variables. VerySpecialCamps - Summer Camps & Programs for Individuals with Special Needs MySummerCamps (general finder) - Find the Perfect Summer Camp for...
Description: This webpage provides every episode of Melissa & Lori Love Literacy starting with the most recent episodes. You can even search for any guests or topics you are interested in to find all the episodes you want to listen to!
Description: Podcasts - Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong - There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an...
Description: Literacy Talks, a podcast series from Reading Horizons, is where reading momentum begins. Each episode features our trio of literacy champions: Stacy Hurst, an assistant professor of reading at Southern Utah University and Chief Academic Advisor at Reading Horizons; Donell Pons, a dyslexia specialist, educator, presenter, and writer, who now works with adults who struggle with reading; Lindsay Kemeny, an innovative, dedicated elementary teacher who is a CERI certified Structured Literacy...
Description: Together in Literacy - focuses on the science of reading, which, at its heart, is also a dyslexia podcast. Many episodes support children and teens with dyslexia and their families, featuring topics such as working with older students and the legal aspects of dyslexia advocacy. These podcasts are hosted by Emily Gibbons & Casey Harrison. They connect the science behind reading to the social-emotional connections for our students.
Description: This IC provides recommendations for embedding UDL in general and special education pre-service teacher preparation programs and can improve PD for in-service teachers. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research from the learning sciences. The framework guides the development of flexible learning environments that account for individual learning differences. It provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments....
Description: Article: Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind prepares students to live independently - This article highlights the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. The Shenandoah Valley institution serves deaf, deafblind and blind students.There are currently 65 students enrolled ranging in age from 2 to 22 years old. The majority of older students live on campus during the week before returning to their homes around the commonwealth on weekends. Because the school is state-run, there is no...
Description: The topics included are: Attention and Focus Communication Collaboration Language Development Math Memory Motivation Organization Problem Solving Positive Relationships Reading Reading Comprehension Remote Learning Resilience/Flexibility Self-Monitoring Writing
Description: The Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project is a series of 20 free videos that feature more than 150 caregivers, kids, and experts talking about some of the most pressing, confusing, and challenging questions that parents face. With support from California Governor Gavin Newsom, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and the Department of Health Care Services, these videos are designed to help every parent and caregiver in California and beyond support their kids’ mental health...
Description: What Should Morphology Instruction Look Like? - Literacy expert Timothy Shanahan shares best practices for teaching reading and writing. Dr. Shanahan is an internationally recognized professor of urban education and reading researcher who has extensive experience with children in inner-city schools and children with special needs. All posts are reprinted with permission from Shanahan on Literacy.
Description: Getting Ready to Implement Data-Based Individualization - Readiness for change is an important factor in successful implementation and scale-up of a new practice or program in schools. Assessing and developing readiness prior to implementing data-based individualization (DBI) increases the likelihood of success and may save time, resources, and effort. This document provides considerations for creating readiness to implement DBI successfully.
Description: Classroom Management Strategies to Support All Learners - Well-structured, organized classroom environments can reduce behavior problems and promote academic learning for all students, including students with disabilities and those with intensive needs. In this webinar, Dr. Caitlyn Majeika discusses classroom management strategies and supports educators can apply in their own classroom settings. The strategies presented can help educators create a predictable, structured, and organized...
Description: Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Multilingual Learners: Using Culturally and Linguistically Aligned Practices - This brief highlights how to use culturally and linguistically aligned (CLA) strategies to support multilingual learners within an multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework including how to use a CLA lens to inform instructional adaptations for multilingual learners who require intensive intervention. The brief reviews the use of the CLA lens when considering the...
Description: Self-Paced Features of Explicit Instruction Course - The first two modules in NCII’s course content focused on Features of Explicit Instruction have been adapted into self-paced modules available within the NCII and PROGRESS Center’s Learning Module Library. These modules include video lectures, activities, and checks for understanding. The available modules are Modeling and Practicing to Help Students Reach Academic Goals (approximately 5 hours to complete) and...
Description: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) have partnered to announce the release of a joint Dear Colleague Letter encouraging state education and early childhood leaders to collaborate and leverage federal resources expanding access to preschool through a mixed delivery approach. The mixed delivery approach to preschool urges states and local communities to use resources to support...
Description: It is never too early to consider assistive technology supports and services. Providing children with supports to access play, communication, and books is essential to their early development. The following resources will assist you in exploring AT and AAC for young children. Check out these Professional Learning Possibilities on TTAC Online: Considering Assistive Technology Course: Asynchronous Virtual Virginia Course - Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies (VATTS): Consideration...
Description: Elementary Instructional Playbook - This website comes from the Jordan School District in Utah and offers some excellent examples of constructing an instructional playbook. There are lots of great resources to help you to create your own school or division playbook. Video Creating an Instructional Playbook - This instructional video shares the steps involved in creating an instructional playbook for your team, school, or division.
Description: Families play a crucial role in preparing their child for college and careers through valuable work-based learning (WBL) experiences. WBL facilitates supervised experiences for students with disabilities organized by schools and vocational rehabilitation agencies in real work settings. These experiences help students develop interests and skills for employment. Work-based learning experiences connect classroom learning and real-world work to improve students’ chances of securing...
Description: This course, Intensifying Instruction: What Teachers Need to Know, focuses on reviewing and intensifying instruction. It is part of a series covering instructional practices. These practices were identified through an extensive, systematic meta-analysis* of the high-leverage practices for students with disabilities. Those who enroll in this interactive course will be able to do the following: Identify when to intensify instruction or intervention to support the development and implementation of...