Pennsylvania’s State Personnel Development Grant

“Improving Student Results: A Focus on Highly Qualified Special

Education Personnel”

An Overview

PDE ConferenceFebruary 2008

Shatarupa Podder

Building on SIG I and SIG II

Competitive federal grants aimed at reforming and improving systems to build capacity.

Initiatives that are carried forward Paraeducator Initiative (SIGs I & II) Special Education Leadership Initiative

(SIGs I & II) Special Education/Secondary Certification

Initiative (SIG II) Educational Interpreter Initiative (SIG II -

Low-Incidence personnel capacity building)

Long Term - Student Impact (1)

Students with disabilities will achieve proficiency requirements and graduate from high school ready for adult life. (SPP Indicators 1, 3A and 3C) #1: Percent of youth with IEPs graduating from

high school with a regular diploma compared to percent of all youth in the State graduating with a regular diploma.

#3a: Percent of districts meeting the State’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) objectives for progress for disability subgroup.

#3c: Proficiency rate for children with IEPs against grade level standards and alternate achievement standards.

Long Term - Student Impact (2)

Students with disabilities will receive education in the least restrictive environment. (SPP Indicator 5) #5: Percent of children with IEPs aged 6

through 21: Removed from regular class less than 21

percent of the day Removed from regular class greater than 60

percent of the day; or Served in public or private separate schools,

residential placements, or homebound or hospital placements.

Framework for Highly Qualified Special Education Personnel

Framework

A systems level alignment to prepare and retain highly qualified school personnel to serve students with disabilities.

(A) Establish federal and state laws, regulations, policies and practices.

(B) Pre-service preparation programs ensure that new personnel are highly qualified

(C) In-service training programs assist current personnel to become highly qualified.

Long-term Goals Create in-service personnel

development programs that result in highly qualified special education personnel.

Develop pre-service programs that result in highly qualified special education personnel.

Revise and reform the Pennsylvania Special Education Certification process to result in highly qualified special education personnel.

How to accomplish the goals Address areas of professional

development not addressed in other ways.

Provide scientifically-based, systematic, and results-focused professional development.

Target systemic change to help improve student results.

Partner with Parent Training and Information Centers, Institutions of Higher Education, Intermediate Units and School Districts.

Link Goals to OutcomesLogic Model

Provides a process to logically link activities to long term outcomes.

Permits measurement of the impact of project activities

Developed by McLaughlin and Jordan, 1999

Project Activities

Educational Interpreter Initiative School Psychologist Initiative Paraeducator Initiative Special Education Leadership

Initiative Special Education/Secondary

Certification Initiative Special Education Certificate

Revision Initiative

Educational Interpreter Initiative

Develop a curriculum that meets the skills required by state regulation -Ch 14. (A)

Partner with Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), to align pre-service curriculum with state requirements. (B)

Provide after-school sessions, Saturday workshops and summer institutes annually. (C)

Train “high performing” interpreters as mentors. Coach and mentor educational interpreters who do

not meet state requirements. (C) Partner with a Parent Training Institute (PTI) to

educate parents about new state requirements. (C) Develop 32 regional interpreters labs that provide

local access to technology and resources. (C)

School Psychologist Initiative

Provide information about the changing role of school psychologists to relevant stakeholders. (A)

Conduct symposiums with higher education faculty to improve practice. (B)

Provide support and training to IHEs that are committed to improving their programs. (B)

Create a professional development series of evidence based practices that target the changing roles of school psychologists. (C)

Partner with a PTI to develop and disseminate professional development series. (C)

Offer CEUs for school psychologists at trainings. (C)

Paraeducator Initiative

Promote the PA Credential of Competency or other standard determined by state regulation as the requirement for paraeducators. (A)

Partner with IHEs to revise current programs and develop new programs aligned to the Credential. (B)

Develop an on-line accessible professional development series linked to the Chapter 14 standards. (B), (C)

Collaborate with IUs to share induction plans and materials with LEAs. (C)

Special EducationLeadership Initiative

Develop an on-line data base of practicing special education administrators. (A)

Partner with PAIU, PaCASE, and a PTI to develop a curriculum using National Standards for School Leaders that is tailored to meet the needs of PA’s special education administrators. (B)

Develop a formal Mentoring to Mastery (M2M) to pair protégés with experienced leaders. (C)

Provide statewide conferences, regional workshops and online brown bag lunches for MPP participants. (C)

Partner with PaCASE to train mentors in MPP. (C) Assess success of M2M to develop into a state-wide

initiative. (A) Establish an on-line community of special education

leaders. (C)

Special Education Certificate Revision Initiative

Develop new program guidelines and procedures for conducting certification program reviews by Dec 07. (A)

Conduct 3 regional workshops to train members of certification program review teams. (C)

Develop and pilot a Professional Development School for special education/secondary certification. (B)

Research, design and implement pilot new teacher induction guidelines to improve retention rates and skills and knowledge of new special education teachers. (B)

Provide technical assistance to IHE programs as they revise and restructure special education programs. (B)

Special Education/SecondaryCertification Initiative

Contract with East Stroudsburg University and Penn State University to develop, implement and evaluate a Special Education/Secondary certification program. (B)

Develop and disseminate findings from East Stroudsburg and Penn State to other IHEs in Pennsylvania. (C)

Develop, evaluate and Award RFPs to IHEs to develop and implement a Special Education/Secondary Certification program. (B)

Intermediate Term -Personnel Impact

Educational Interpreters meet state standards

School Psychologists gain skills that meet current needs of schools

Paraeducators meet state standards Mentoring program for new special

education leaders increases retention Teacher Certification issues revised

Special Education certificates IHEs create Special Education/

Secondary Education programs

Key Partnerships Parents, educators, administrators and

others committed to quality education for students with disabilities.

Parent Training and Information Centers PEAL and PEN

Institutions of Higher Education East Stroudsburg University Penn State University Lehigh University Millersville University

PAIU Pa CASE Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher

Quality

How Accomplish?

Leverage existing partnerships with Bureaus, PTIs, IHEs, LEAs and PaTTAN.

Focus on systematic change based on effective, evidence based practices.

Partner with additional PTIs, IHEs and organizations such as PaCASE to develop and implement professional development activities.

Questions/Comments

Please contact Shatarupa Podder – spodder@state.pa.us

Janet Sloand – jsloand@pattan.net