Professional Resources
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Description: The AT Network has developed a short professional learning course on Virtual Virginia that provides an overview of the new Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies (VATTS): Consideration Guide and Resources. IEP team members can access this course at any time and complete the modules at their own pace. A certificate of completion can be earned by those that finish the course requirements.
Description: 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.
Description: Register for Professional Learning Series on High Leverage Practices, HLPs - Each self-paced course is offered at no cost to Virginia public school educators and provides 3–5 hours of professional learning. The courses guide educators in learning about specific HLPs through videos that model exemplar teacher behaviors. Educators may enroll in the six courses described below. School Leaders, Administrators, and Instructional Coaches: Strategies for Teacher Retention...
Description: HLP Highlight Tool - HLP 1: Collaborate with Professionals to Increase Student Success, HLP Highlight Tool - HLP 2: Organize and Facilitate Effective Meetings with Professionals and Families, HLP Highlight Tool - HLP 3: Collaborate with Families to Support Student Learning and Secure Needed Services, HLP Highlight Tool - HLP 4: Use Multiple Sources of Information to Develop a Comprehensive Understanding of a Student’s Strengths and Needs, HLP Highlight Tool - HLP 5: Interpret and...
Description: SDI Spotlights in Mathematics focus on research- and evidence-based Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) method in mathematics practices in whole number operations, rational numbers, place value and decimals, algebraic concepts, and geometry. Brief videos demonstrating specific CRA method strategies and lesson plans are shared. Explicit Instruction Checklist, Progress monitoring forms, and other information about the strategy are shared. Information and resources from...
Description: SDI Spotlights in Mathematics focus on research- and evidence-based Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) method in mathematics practices in whole number operations, rational numbers, place value and decimals, algebraic concepts, and geometry. Brief videos demonstrating specific CRA method strategies and lesson plans are shared. Explicit Instruction Checklist, Progress monitoring forms, and other information about the strategy are shared. Information and resources from VDOE’s...
Description: The Brain Injury Association of Virginia is a statewide, primary source of information and personal support for individuals, families, and professionals whose lives have been impacted by brain injury. Community Resource Directory Looking for a brain injury service or program in your area? Search our database for support groups, therapists, rehabilitation providers, attorneys and more. You can search by keyword, category, and/or address. Self-Paced Online Courses The Brain Injury Association of...
Description: Camp List for Children and Adults with Disabilities 5.2023 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 Your Child! Articles on Choosing a Summer Camp for your...
Description: $1,500 Standard Application $3,000 Income-Qualified Application Virginia Department of Education Service Provider Pre-Registration The Virginia Department of Education is now accepting applications from parents for tutoring microgrants for their children through Governor Glenn Youngkin’s K-12 Learning Acceleration Grants program. Youngkin created the program to help Virginia families address the impact of the pandemic on student learning. The $30 million program provides $1,500 grants...
Description: Learn evidence-based tools and techniques that will help you stress less, focus more, and feel more calm. In this 10-day mindfulness challenge we will share a variety of practices that promote healthy management of anxiety, present-moment awareness, and overall wellbeing. The goal of this 10-day Challenge is to kickstart a mindfulness practice for those who are new to the idea and to offer new exercises and approaches for all participants, even those with established practices. We encourage you...
Description: Headspace offers free access to K-12 (primary-secondary) teachers and supporting staff in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Whether you’re feeling inspired to connect more with your students or you’re looking for a new way to bring calm to your classroom, Headspace can help students build healthy habits that last a lifetime. Better focus, less stress, and happier thoughts are just a few minutes away.
Description: Journaling can strengthen your well-being because it allows you to build intention, reflection, and mindfulness into your life. It’s fairly easy to start a habit of journaling. You don’t need a lot of time or supplies for journaling, and you can choose from many different forms of journaling to discover a journaling practice that works best for you. Here are the key well-being benefits of journaling and how to get started journaling for well-being.
Description: Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, act, make choices, and relate to others. Mental health is more than the absence of a mental illness—it’s essential to your overall health and quality of life. Self-care can play a role in maintaining your mental health and help support your treatment and recovery if you have a mental illness. About Self-Care When to Seek Professional Help What to Do in a Crisis Featured Videos...
Description: Reflection is a key component of professional growth for educators, but making time for meaningful self-reflection can feel all but impossible amid the flurry of the school day. The end of the year provides a great opportunity to look back on standout moments with students, reflect on challenges you’ve overcome, and celebrate a year’s worth of growth. Most teachers are exhausted by May or June, but carving out a little time for taking stock now while it’s fresh in your mind...
Description: Schools and families can promote and foster kindness all year. These ideas are simple day-to-day acts of kindness to enable our schools, communities, and state to be a kinder, safer, healthier and more inclusive place to live, work, learn and play. The Kindness Classroom Resources include videos with discussion questions and a kindness book list (elementary).
Description: As young adults prepare to move from school to postsecondary education, community living, and competitive integrated employment, effective transition planning can help them become independent, productive adults. Identifying the challenges children and youth will face as adults and preparing and assisting them to meet those demands successfully requires careful transition planning. Beginning at the earliest ages, it becomes imperative to balance realism of current levels of performance and...
Description: Learners thrive when their experience is personal and meaningful. This free tool helps you find research-based strategies that support the whole learner so you can create better learning experiences today. Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner. It disrupts...
Description: This checklist guides teachers through considerations that enhance teacher-family communication.
Description: This resource includes a worksheet for recording accommodations for a group of students, a worksheet for recording accommodations by group & SOL and a worksheet for recording Specially Designed Instruction (SDI).
Description: This profile includes: Student Information Baseline Skills Assessment Data Students with Disabilities - Norm Referenced Assessment Data IEP Goals Mathematics iReady Dat PALS Reading Data Behavior & Social-Emotional Skills Academic, Behavior, Social/Emotional Strengths & Areas of Growth Learning Environment Relevant Family Information
Description: This Informal Metacognition Inventory allows you to record each time the teacher models and/or student utilizes one of the metacognitive strategies.
Description: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) has the following two indicators that need to be met for a student to qualify for special education services: The student must qualify in one or more of the thirteen disability categories. The student requires access to Specially Designed Instruction (SDI). The Quality Indicators for Delivering SDI tool provides guidance for general education teachers, special education teachers, and special education paraeducators to determine what...
Description: In these videos from an 8-part video series, Stacy Hirt, from the University of Missouri, describes the Great 8 universal classroom management strategies including procedures and routines to help ensure learning. Video: Introduction to Classroom Management for Mathematics (3:58 minutes) Video 1: Class Expectations in Mathematics (4:49 minutes) Video 2: Mathematics Procedures & Routines (2:22 minutes) Video 3: Positive Feedback (4:39 minutes) Video 4: Discouraging Inappropriate Behavior...
Description: Watch an excerpt from Keys to Content Writing training for teachers in grades 4-12. Gradual Release of Responsibility: an instructional approach that gradually shifts understanding and application from teacher to students. Listen to Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy explain this approach. Visit keystoliteracy.com for more information about us and our programs.
Description: Building on the formative work of High Leverage Practices (HLP) for Inclusive Classrooms, this critical companion explores how HLP can be applied to the education of students with extensive support needs (ESN). Each chapter walks readers through a different HLP, exploring its implications for students with ESN and aligning it with current practice, supports, and terminology. Edited by researchers and teacher educators with decades of experience in serving students with ESN and their...
Description: The Virginia Department of Education, VDOE, course to share information about MTSS implementation in VA
Description: High Leverage Practice (HLP 17)- Use Flexible Grouping acknowledges the power of the grouping students to improve student outcomes. The Flexible Group Lesson Plan Template guides.
Description: Transition Assessments: Assistive Technology 2022 Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies (VATTS): Consideration Guide and Resources will guide the IEP team through the consideration and documentation process. (free) WATI Assistive Technology Assessment is a process based, systematic approach to providing a functional evaluation of the student’s need for assistive technology. (free) Transition Assessments: Career Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is...
Description: Valerie C. Williams, director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), released a blog series on discipline and behavior. The newest blog addresses OSEP’s priorities of calling on “state and local leaders to double down on their efforts to reduce their reliance on exclusionary discipline practice,” and “creating safe, predictable learning environments for students and educators.” In addition to sharing how OSEP’s discipline...
Description: The effective special educator wears many hats. One key responsibility is leading meetings with colleagues and family members. Because of our specialized knowledge about practice, assessment, and decision making, but also the delegated responsibility to run IEP meetings, the ability to organize and run a coherent meeting is essential.
Description: This module defines and discusses the purpose of interagency collaboration and addresses the importance of partnering with agencies to improve outcomes for students with disabilities who are transitioning from high school (est. completion time: 2 hours).
Description: Report on Unlocking Futures: Youth with Learning Disabilities & the Juvenile Justice System - NCLD has long sought to enter the juvenile justice space and lend our unique voice as leaders in the disability community to the existing conversation. Recent data clearly indicates that youth with disabilities, and learning disabilities, are disproportionately impacted by and involved in the juvenile legal system. Our current juvenile justice system fails youth with disabilities by not...
Description: Free Creative Learning Resources! Everyone who signs up will get FREE video activities and downloadable Thinking Sheets.* And the best part? It isn't limited to just 7 days. Every educator will have free access to digital resources for cross-curricular creative learning fun all year long! Giveaways! With giveaways, challenges from celebrity creators, and virtual classroom visits, it's a celebration the whole school will want to be a part of! Create Connections! Share students’ ideas,...
Description: This module provides information for counselors and other education professionals to assist high school students with disabilities in the transition from the school environment to a post-school setting (est. completion time: 1.5 hours).
Description: Flippity is a web-based flash card tool that can be used as a blending board. Perfect for asynchronous instruction!
Description: Pear Deck allows teachers to create interactive slide decks. Students can respond to activities directly on the slides and teachers can see responses via a dashboard. Can be used synchronously and asynchronously or “student paced.” Audio recordings can be included.
Description: Learn about topics grounded in science-based reading research. This series scaffolds learning about each topic by presenting short introductory videos, infographics, recorded webinars, instructional resources, and finally additional readings for each of the key components of effective instruction. A Professional Learning Guide is included for each topic. This guide provides a step-by-step comprehensive implementation approach that can be used by coaches.
Description: The Virginia resources include: Virginia Events 2022-2023, Articles & Reports, Books, Websites, Podcasts.
Description: Literacy is the cornerstone of all learning and the key to lifetime success. Every child has the right to learn to read. The Equitable Access to Literacy (EAL) plan ushers in a new era of literacy education to ensure all students have the skills and confidence they need to succeed. It provides an action plan for continuous improvement in PreK -12 literacy by: Using evidence-based practices grounded in science based reading research. Expanding learning opportunities that intentionally support...
Description: Some students in our classrooms have challenging behavior. Teachers and parents can address those behaviors in positive and powerful ways that improve the behavior and the lives of the students we support. This website is intended to help teachers and families create a positive behavior support plan to address challenging behaviors in effective and helpful ways.
Description: This handout provides possible intervention strategies to incorporate into a comprehensive behavior intervention plan based on the function of the behavior behavior.
Description: Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, the portfolio-based VAAP was replaced with a new multiple-choice assessment in the content areas of reading, mathematics, and science that was administered to students in an online or paper format. The new VAAP is based on academic content standards derived from the Standards of Learning (SOL) in reading, mathematics, and science that have been reduced in depth, breadth, and complexity. These content standards are referred to as the Virginia...
Description: The 2021 Virginia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1288 that amended Section 22.1-298.1 of the Code of Virginia. Every person seeking renewal of a license as a teacher shall complete training in the instruction of students with disabilities that includes (i) differentiating instruction for students depending on their needs; (ii) understanding the role of general education teachers on the individualized education program team; (iii) implementing effective models of...
Description: The holidays are an exciting time for children, and we often work overtime to make them live up to our kids’ expectations. But they can be challenging for kids, too, when all those things they look forward to — free time, sweets, presents, cousins! — can get overwhelming. This week we round up resources to help prevent festivities that are supposed to be fun from being stressful instead. Big family get-togethers can tax kids’ ability to behave. Talking to relatives...
Description: Families are a child’s first teacher and an essential factor in the cultivation of social and emotional competencies throughout a child’s life. When schools and families work together, they can build strong connections that reinforce social-emotional skill development. In fact, research suggests that evidence-based SEL programs are more effective when they extend into the home. This discussion series was developed to support schools and community partners that wish to engage parents...
Description: How you feel matters! Whether you're feeling sad, anxious, or stressed, Happify brings you effective tools and programs to help you take control of your feelings and thoughts. Our proven techniques are developed by leading scientists and experts who've been studying evidence-based interventions in the fields of positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy for decades.
Description: The Institute for Mindful Leadership provides free content, located under the resources tab: Mindful Leadership Blog Videos Guided Meditations Little Books Podcasts Press
Description: BrainLine provides: TBI Basics Interactive Brain, What i a TBI? Do I have a Concussion? Newly Diagnosed. Now What? You Are Not Alone Brain Injury Topics A-Z Personal Stories and Blogs Expert Q & A Resource Directory BrainLine is a national service of WETA-TV, the flagship PBS station in Washington, D.C.
Description: As an educator, you’re constantly navigating changes and challenges. From dealing with sudden schedule shifts to managing student behavior, you have a lot to juggle each day. On top of it all, you’re trying to keep up with the needs of your students and your own life. It’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed. You may be looking for ideas on how to practice self-care — or how to find time to practice self-care.
Description: Self-care matters. If you are constantly giving your all to everyone else, you are going to eventually burn out. Please take a moment to schedule ways to nurture yourself every week. It will be one of the best things you can do to show up and show out for your students. I’ve created an infographic with a list of 50 self-care ideas for teachers and specialists to get into the self-care zone.