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Glad to be back! This is the second of four in the series on Leading by Convening Today, we will explore our role as leaders. We will: o Describe the unique confluence of events impacting ED and Special Ed o Explore a ‘convening’ approach to explore what these events with the field o Define how MAASE and MAASE members, can create dialogue, build understanding …and lead!.

Did you participate in our first LbC session? A.Yes B.No

Let’s Review Leading By Convening (LbC) was developed by 50 national organizations representing special and general ed and families LbC addresses the technical and the human side of change LbC is a message from the stakeholders about how they want to be engaged … and what they might do if asked

A Blueprint for Authentic Engagement Habits of Interaction Elements of Interaction Coalescing Around Issues Ensuring Relevant Participation Doing the Work Together AdaptiveTechnical Operational NetworkingCollaboratingTransforming Informing Depth of Interaction To download, visit:

Leading … and Leading by Convening Sustainable change demands engagement Learning from and with each other Stakeholders as Allies

What’s Special about Special Education? CASE affiliates around the country are asking this question. Many are using a ‘convening approach’…. because good leaders are also learners! Today we will define ways that every MAASE member can learn and lead!

Do you know what your colleagues believe about the role of special education? Do you know what your staff believes about the role of special education? Are you willing to have the dialogue? Ask yourself:

Results Driven Accountability (RDA) The New Focus on Compliance and Results Core Tenants: Developed with stakeholders Transparent and understandable Drives improved outcomes Ensures protection of individual rights Differentiated incentives, supports and incentives Direct resources for the greatest impact Responsive to the needs of children and youth with disabilities and their families

To what extent do you and your colleagues support the balanced approach to compliance and results in RDA? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

To what extent does your staff support the balanced approach to compliance and results in RDA? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree H.Don’t know

What is an ‘ally’? Ally TrustTogetherUnderstandingRelationship

Are Allies both Internal and External? To achieve real change… must we become allies with those in our own field? To become allies … must we know what we and they believe? How can MAASE become the convener to reflect on where we have been and where we will go?

A Confluence of Events: Retrospective and Clarifying 2013 Results Driven Accountability ( RDA) th Anniversary of IDEA: 2015 Reauthorization of ESEA

Bid ideas: Pending ESEA Reauthorization Commitment to standards – Less about College and Career Ready more about Challenging Standards Testing in grades 3-8 and once in HS State determine what the consequences are for low performance Must address the performance of lowest 5% of schools and performance of sub-group in state plans and with locally designed interventions

To what extent do you and your colleagues support the direction in ESEA reauthorization ? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree H.Don’t Know

OSEP Letter: Students with Disabilities in Standards Aligned Systems UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES November 16, 2015 Dear Colleague: Ensuring that all children, including children with disabilities, are held to rigorous academic standards and high expectations is a shared responsibility for all of us. To help make certain that children with disabilities are held to high expectations and have meaningful access to a State’s academic content standards, we write to clarify that an individualized education program (IEP) for an eligible child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.(IDEA) must be aligned with the State’s academic content standards for the grade in which the child is enrolled.

OSEP Letter: Students with Disabilities in Standards Aligned Systems “Based on the interpretation of “general education curriculum” set forth in this letter, we expect annual IEP goals to be aligned with State academic content standards for the grade in which a child is enrolled. “ “This alignment, however, must guide but not replace the individualized decision making required in the IEP process”.

What is your opinion? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

To what extent would your special ed staff support the clarifications in the OSEP Letter? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

To what extent would the general ed staff in your district support the clarifications in the OSEP Letter? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

By the end of today’s session You will: Describe the ‘big ideas’ in the reauthorization of ESEA on ED and Special ED Express the ‘big ideas’ on students with disabilities in standards aligned systems issued in a Dear Colleague Letter by OSEP’s during the 40 th Anniversary of IDEA Explore what is special about special education with your colleagues Develop tools and activities to hold these conversation with your staff and stakeholders.

Break Let’s be back in 15 minutes

Retrospective and Clarification in MI: A Panel of Our Colleagues As we talk together… – reflect on the ‘10 Behaviors’ handout – which do you see represented in the panelist’s discussion? – which will be important as MAASE goes forward as a convener? – which will be important for you as a leader of change?

Engaging Everybody

Today…  Everyone should learn content  Everyone will have the opportunity to explore their own beliefs  Everyone will have the opportunity to ask/explore about the beliefs of your colleagues  Everyone will lean how to create the same opportunities with their own staff and stakeholders  Everyone will have the opportunity for support from the IDEA Partnership... and CASE as a partner in the IDEA Partnership  Some ( hopefully, many)...will take the opportunity to act as conveners in their own circles of influence  Some ( hopefully, many)...will share with MAASE and their colleagues over the next sessions to craft a path toward greater collaboration and better outcomes based on what we know about our members and the opportunities/challenges that present themselves now  The choice is yours...do what is right for you...but be engaged!!!

Doing Work Together Problems Come Bundled Building Engagement Defining Our Core One-Way, Two Way Learning

Problems Come Bundled

Lunch Let’s be back in one hour

Challenges Technical Guidance Experts Checklists Manuals Protocols Adaptive Principles Communication Understanding Agreement Willingness to make personal change

Leading by Convening means we…. Convene the stakeholders to discover what they know…what they need to know…what will advance and constrain their own change.. “From your perspective....” “In your experience...”

Tools for Talking… Co-create Grounding Assumptions Test our assumptions with the field Share what we learn Reconvene to ‘think together’ about what leaders should do Move from ‘thinking together’ to ‘acting together’!

Co Creating Grounding Assumptions At your table: Generate five core beliefs about the role of special education Rank them 1-5 Share your #1 If another table shares your #1…share your #2

MAASE Working List of Core Beliefs about the Role of Special education Working document Draft today… o will require volunteers to ‘wordsmith’ o will require review and validation by those here and not here o will require input from the field o will require revisiting…often!

Lets demonstrate the use of the tool we just created… Numbered flip chart Ask the question Tally responses Work with the group to draw some conclusions Ask how what you learned informs what you should do

I think that a MAASE Master List will be a valuable tool for exploring what should be special about special education? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

I will use the tool in my work and with my staff. A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

Moving from Beliefs to Action Co-creating the Needs of the Field Proposing a Vision Think … 5 years from now, what do you want to see? Addressing Gaps Knowledge gaps Skill gaps Dispositions? What will help?

Needs of the Field will help MAASE to focus on what MI leaders need? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

Needs of the Field will help MAAE members identify what they need to do as leaders? A.Strongly Agree B.Agree C.Somewhat Agree D.Neutral E.Somewhat Disagree F.Disagree G.Strongly Disagree

Revisiting the ‘Circles’ Thinking about this initiative…. and how will we engage them? o Who is in Circle 1? o Who is in Circle 2? o Who is in Circle 3? o Who is in Circle 4?

Break Let’s be back in 15 minutes

Creating Dialogue

There are gaps between research, policy and practice Information gaps Gaps in prior knowledge Skill gaps Gaps between the dispositions needed to implement and the dispositions currently held We must learn how to communicate simply We must build multiple opportunities for engagement! 44

Dialogue : An important strategy To implement IDEA as envisioned we need to develop shared meaning To create shared meaning, we need to understand what others see in an issue Dialogue is a way to learn what others see in an issue and share our own perceptions Stakeholder engagement demands dialogue!

Going Forward Sign up to ‘wordsmith’ the draft Publish the MAASE Master List Share in the field Coach potential ‘conveners of dialogue’ virtually between December and April Hold some ‘dialogues’ using the tools Share with MAASE members Think together before the April meeting Act together at the April meeting

Many CASE affiliates want to take the route we mapped out today… Will MAASE become the example to our colleagues across the nation?