The Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Initiative: The Special Educator’s Role Barb Dayal Vera Stroup-Rentier

Objectives Participants will: Gain an understanding of the role of the special education teacher in a kindergarten readiness initiative. Explore the components of specially designed instruction and how it relates to a multi-tiered system of support. Discuss the DEC recommended practices related to quality instruction.

Board Outcomes

Board Outcomes DEFINING SUCCESS A successful Kansas high school graduate has the academic preparation, cognitive preparation, technical skills, employability skills and civic engagement to be successful in postsecondary education, in the attainment of an industry recognized certification or in the workforce, without the need for remediation.

KSDE’s Kindergarten Readiness Initiative

ALL Kansas Children Ready for Kindergarten Each student enters kindergarten at age 5 socially, emotionally, and academically prepared for success.

Kindergarten Readiness Fact Sheet

Conversations as a Result of the Board Goal HOW CAN SCHOOLS BE READY FOR CHILDREN? WHAT IS A QUALITY EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCE? WHAT DOES A QUALITY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM LOOK LIKE? HOW DO WE ALIGN EARLY LEARNING TO K-12?

ALIGNMENT BIRTH THROUGH K-12 CONNECTED COHERENT BIRTH – ELEMENTARY FRAMEWORK ALIGN STANDARDS, CURRICULUM, AND ASSESSMENTS

Key Aspects of the Teacher’s Role Creating a Caring Community of Learners Teaching to Enhance Development and Learning Planning Curriculum to Achieve Important Goals Assessing Children’s Development and Learning Establishing Reciprocal Relationships with Families

A Linked Systems Approach EVIDENCE BASED EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM

Special Educator Means Purveyor of Specially Designed Instruction? The IDEA regulations define special education as “specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.” [34 C.F.R. § 300.39(a)(1)] The regulation continues: “specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of the eligible child … the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction.” [Id. at subsection (a)(3)])]

Special Education Means Specially Designed Instruction If a child with a disability can access the general education curriculum without specially designed instruction or related services, the child’s eligibility under the IDEA would be called into question.

Conceptual Framework for MTSS Slide 14 Conceptual Framework for MTSS

State Regulation: Special Designed Instruction State Regulation: K.A.R. 91‐40‐1 "Special education“ (1) means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of an exceptional child.

SDI In its simplest form, SDI is “what the teacher does” to instruct, assess, and re- teach the student.

DEC Recommended Practice: Instruction

DEC Recommended Practice: Instruction Instructional practices are intentional and systematic strategies to inform what to teach, when to teach, how to evaluate the effects of teaching, and how to support and evaluate the quality of instructional practices implemented by others.

DEC Recommended Practices: Instruction Instructional practices are a subset of intervention activities conducted by practitioners and parents. Instruction is the predominant term used in the research literature to refer to intentional and systematic strategies to maximize learning. They may also be implemented by families or others who interact with the child, often with support of the practitioner.

DEC Recommended Practices: Instruction INS1. Practitioners, with the family, identify each child's strengths, preferences, and interests to engage the child in active learning. INS2. Practitioners, with the family, identify skills to target for instruction that help a child become adaptive, competent, socially connected, and engaged and that promote learning in natural and inclusive environments. INS9. Practitioners use functional assessment and related prevention, promotion, and intervention strategies across environments to prevent and address challenging behavior. INS13. Practitioners use coaching or consultation strategies with primary caregivers or other adults to facilitate positive adult-child interactions and instruction intentionally designed to promote inclusion.

Your Role in the Kindergarten Readiness Initiative How does your understanding of your role fit with what we discussed about specially designed instruction? How does this align with core instruction or curriculum? Existing screening practices? What are the implications for providing support in a MTSS framework? What will you need to change to support this alignment of systems?

Let’s Talk about Inclusion…

What Makes Inclusion Work?

Questions? Slide 24