Professional Resources
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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: 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: Four-Part Self-Paced Course Collection: DBI 101: Getting Started with Intensive Intervention - This four-part course collection provides a guide to available NCII self-paced learning courses for those who are newer to learning about intensive intervention and the data-based individualization (DBI) process. The collection begins with an overview and introduction to intensive intervention and then dives deeper into courses focused on the DBI process and key components of the DBI process...
Description: Three-Part Self-Paced Course Collection: Academic Progress Monitoring - This three-part course provides a guide to available NCII self-paced learning courses that focus on academic progress monitoring. The collection begins with an overview of progress monitoring and the role of progress monitoring within the DBI process. The second module focuses defining two types of academic progress monitoring measures (general outcome measures and mastery measures) and considerations for identifying a...
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 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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...
Description: Explicit instruction is an evidence-based practice that any teacher can use in his or her own math class to engage learners and ensure that they are mastering the material. A key component of explicit instruction is making sure to ask a variety of questions, both low level and high level. In How to Ask the Right Questions in Math, Erica Mason, from the University of Missouri, discusses the different types of questions and why both are so critical to ensuring that all students are learning. In...
Description: Quick Guide For Reading Assessment - When assessing emerging readers, this progression should be utilized from the bottom of the progression up, with new assessment measures added and analyzed as they become developmentally appropriate. When assessing older students in third grade or beyond, the analysis should start at the top of the progression with reading comprehension and fluency measures, then down through the foundational sub-skills as needed.
Description: The Reading League Compass: Providing Direction in the Science of Reading - The science of reading marketplace is difficult to navigate and digest. It is often full of misinformation that makes educators, educational leaders, and decision-makers vulnerable to implementing practices that are somehow labeled as “science of reading,” yet they are not aligned with the scientific evidence base. The Reading League Compass provides reliable and understandable guidance for a variety of...
Description: The Providing Immediate Specific Feedback and Maintaining a Brisk Pace module is the third in a set of four course modules focused on explicit instruction. This module focuses on providing immediate specific feedback and maintaining a brisk pace. The module begins with a review of the explicit instruction model and describes how the supporting practices can be used to maximize student engagement. In this module, educators will learn about: How the supporting practices maximize engagement How to...
Description: Dott, Alphabott, and the Alphabotteers are teaching Dusty the Dog to read. That’s what makes them Reading Buddies! Combining the science of reading with lots of laughs, Reading Buddies is the fun way to teach aspiring readers the foundational components of reading.
Description: This section provides Parents & Families with practical ideas and strategies to help with reading and writing based on what works. Topics include: Dyslexia, Beginning Reading, Intervention, Screening, Advocacy and Partnerships.
Description: 10 Key Policies and Practices for Social-Emotional Learning provides guidance for district and school administrators considering adopting a SEL program. Individual teachers in schools without schoolwide or districtwide programs will also find these basic principles helpful in promoting a positive classroom environment.
Description: Fostering Student Engagement - Sense of belonging and a supportive classroom and school community are the foundation of student engagement. Building onto that foundation with strategies to support SEL, cognition, and content factors is a great next step. Engage students in digital learning environments, either in-school or virtual, by supporting their social and emotional development, fostering relationships with you and classmates, involving families, and building practices such as...
Description: Management and Routines includes: Managing Materials Be Kind Beginning of the Day Communication Independent Work Time Safety & Transitions
Description: Resilience for Kids With Dyslexia, Learning and Attention Issues - Hear from Fumiko Hoeft, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist and a cognitive neuroscientist, about how resilience can help kids with dyslexia succeed in school and in life. Learn how you as a parent can build resilience by showing support, providing mentorship, focusing on strengths, and building social/emotional resilience. With these tips, you can create a resilience framework for your child with learning and attention issues....
Description: Using Children’s Literature to Teach Social Skills - Children with disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, do not always make friends as effortlessly and easily as do their nondisabled peers. Through the use of children’s literature, children with learning disabilities can be taught valuable skills that will enable them to make and maintain friendships. This article (a) describes a strategy incorporating children’s literature for teaching friendship skills and...
Description: Using Read-Alouds to Support Social and Emotional Learning - In elementary school, interactive read-alouds are commonly used to build various literacy skills, such as students’ listening comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, and understanding of language structures. Beyond their academic benefits, however, read-alouds can also serve as a support for developing social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. In fact, teachers can integrate read-alouds related to SEL into...
Description: The Digital Promise Instructional Coaching Playbook is designed to help schools and districts build and sustain effective coaching programs. A successful coaching program is the result of a strong leadership team composed of district and school administrators as well as instructional coaches. Why Teachers Need Coaches explains what instructional coaching is and explores five reasons teachers need coaches. This section will help you make the case for establishing coaching in your school or...
Description: An Instructional Playbook: How to Build Your Own includes all the materials you need to get started on curating, creating, and collaborating! What is an instructional playbook? An instructional playbook is meant as a guiding document for coaching, training, and professional learning facilitated by ITRTs or instructional coaches. An instructional playbook should be digital and shared with all teachers. The Virginia Department of Education strongly recommends that the...
Description: As part of Child Find under special education, school divisions are required to have procedures, including timelines, to document the screening of children enrolled in the division, including transfers from out of state (8VAC20-81-50 C.1.). These screenings must occur in the areas of hearing, vision, scoliosis, speech, voice, language, and fine and gross motor functions. The updated Required School Screenings Guidance Document for Special Educators provides users with regulatory...