All Students / All Standards: Standards Based IEPs (The Art of Engagement within a Framework of Fidelity)

Let’s get started Think about a student with a disability with whom you’re familiar. Think about how the following are being applied to your student: Inclusive practices Access to the general education curriculum Accountability and accessible instruction Positive behavior supports Collaboration Let’s get started Think about a student with a disability with whom you’re familiar. Think about how the following are being applied to your student: Inclusive practices Access to the general education curriculum Accountability and accessible instruction Positive behavior supports Collaboration

Bright spots

Learning Outcomes Inspire you to consider… All Students / All Standards: Standards Based IEPs (The Art of Engagement within a Framework of Fidelity) …the “why” …the “what” …and the “how”

The “Big Picture” of Today’s Conversation 1975 FAPE 1997 Access to the General Ed. Curriculum 2004 Access to the General Ed. Curriculum in the Regular Classroom MCCS: Promise and Perils Strategies to Support Access in the Regular Classroom Standards- Based IEPs: Tying it all Together

Assumptions Almost 35 years of research & experience has demonstrated that the education of students with disabilities can be made more effective by – having high and challenging expectations, – ensuring their access to the general education curriculum in the regular classroom, to the maximum extent possible, and – assessing them for their proficiency to its curriculum. …enabling these students to be college & career ready.

I. Why 1 Changing Perspectives, Changing Practices 2 College and Career Ready for All Students 3 Montana’s Participation in SBAC and NCSC 4 Teaching Core Curriculum to ALL Students (even those with significant cognitive disabilities) 5 Supporting Curricular Access with UDL & Standards-Based IEPs

“All students have the right to access the general ed. curriculum – to reach their fullest potential through critical and conceptual thinking, as articulated by the Montana Common Core and Content Standards”

Brighter Futures: New Career Paths Retrieved from the Web site of the Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota ( Citation: Griffin, C., Owens, L., Roberts, K., Nord, D.,& Gaylord, V. (Eds.). (Winter/Spring 2012). Impact: Feature Issue on Supporting New Career Paths for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 25(1). [Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration].

Montana’s Participation in SBAC and NCSC

Teaching the Common Core to Students w/ Disabilities

II. What: the Common Core

Assumptions You have… …an awareness of the Montana Common Core Standards (MCCS) for English Language Arts & Mathematics …an understanding of the terminology and structure associated with MCCS …begun planning for alignment, implementation, and assessment of MCCS

Common Core: “The Promise and Peril for Students with Disabilities” Promise developed with all students in mind high academic standards - access to rigorous academic content standards prepared to be successful in the post- school lives, including college and/or career Peril failing to provide access to high academic standards Special Ed. Service Delivery as usual

High Expectations for ALL Students Instructional supports for learning: based on principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) fosters engagement by presenting information in multiples ways allows for diverse avenues of action and expression promotes equal opportunities to learn for all students Instructional accommodations: supports that maximize learning changes in materials and procedures that allow student to learn w/in the framework of the CCSS, but which do not change the standards strategies that consider each student’s strengths, needs, and learning preferences in the classroom Assistive technology: devices and services to ensure access to the general education curriculum Source:

…for Students with Disabilities this means Access to the general education curriculum – How do we keep the standards rigorous, yet accessible? – When do you accommodate? Adapt? (MORE) When do you modify? (LESS) – How do you share pacing and curriculum mapping? IEPs aligned to common core standards – What does alignment to academic standards mean? – How do you collaborate with general education colleagues to write and implement IEPs? – What about students with moderate to severe disabilities?

Students who meet the MCCS Demonstrate independence Build strong content knowledge Respond to varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline Comprehend as well as critique Value evidence Use technology and digital media strategically and capably Understand other perspectives and cultures Source: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, p. 7. Available at

What does this mean for you as a Teacher? planning instruction and writing instructional goals aligned to common core using data and assessments (formative, progress monitoring, summative) to align instruction to target standards based on PLAAFP for each student

III. Strategies to Support Access in the Regular Classroom

Access to the General Education Curriculum requires partnerships between general and special educators

Components for Success Attitude of general & special education teachers Shared philosophy of instruction and behavior management Sufficient planning time Mutual respect among teachers & staff Administrative support

Instructional Coaching encourages collaborative, reflective practice leads to improvements in instructional capacity promotes positive cultural change encourages the use of data analysis to inform practice promotes the implement- ation of learning and reciprocal accountability

Instructional Consultation Teams Goals … develop a systematic support network enhance teachers’ skills in and application of evidenced-based practices of instructional assessment and delivery develop school-wide norms of collaboration and problem-solving utilize data for student & classroom instruction e.g., SuccessattheCore

Co-Teaching Teachers report… they benefit professionally from co-teaching increased cooperation among students academic benefits for students with and without disabilities as a result of increased attention Scruggs et al., 2007

e.g.’s of Co-Teaching Supportive Co-Teaching one member of the team takes the lead role and the other rotates among students to provide support Parallel Teaching support personnel and the classroom teacher instruct different heterogeneous groups of students Complementary Teaching a member of the co-teaching team does something to supplement or complement the instruction provided by the other member of the team (e.g., models note taking on a transparency, paraphrases the other co-teacher’s statements)

more e.g.’s of Co-Teaching Team Teaching members of the team co-teach along side one another and share responsibility for planning, teaching, and assessing the progress of all students in the class Lead and Support one teacher leads and another offers assistance and support to individuals or small groups Station Teaching students are divided into heterogeneous groups and work at classroom stations with each teacher Alternative Teaching one teacher works with a small group of students to pre-teach, re-teach, supplement, or enrich instruction, while the other teacher instructs the large group

how the Montana Common Core Standards are taught & assessed will be important in making a difference for students with disabilities

UDL Universal Design for Instruction UDL strategies are instructional methods and tools that give ALL students an equal opportunity to learn …provide “a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments” that can accommodate individual learning differences …“flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs” CAST

CAST: Information, Training, &Tools about UDL

UDL in practice… CAST

Goalbook toolkit Multiple levels of Support/Strategies for… – Representation – Expression – Engagement UDL-aligned accommodations to help teachers develop scaffolded instruction at mild, moderate and intense levels of support. Every Common Core Standard (ELA and Math) standard has adapted UDL strategies teachers can use to start at the most appropriate level for students

Standards-Based IEPs

Standards- Based IEP Addresses how a student’s disability impacts his/er ability to access the curriculum standards at his or her enrolled grade level…

Suggested Resource for MCCS and Standards-Based IEPs – Goals for reading, writing, math etc. by grade – Filter …by subject …by grade levels …by specific Common Core Standard – Personalized goals – Instructional standards, objectives, strategies

Steps to Creating a Standards-Based IEP Step 1 Consider the grade-level content standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled or would be enrolled based on age. Ask What is the intent of the content standard? What is the content standard saying the student must know & be able to do?

Step 2 Examine student and classroom data to determine where the student is functioning in relation to the grade-level standards. Ask Has the student been taught content aligned with grade-level standards? Has the student been provided appropriate instructional scaffolding to attain grade-level expectations? Were the lessons and teaching materials used to teach the student aligned with state grade-level standards?

Guideline #2 Keep the Planning Student Focused …summarize in the PLAAFP Begin w/ an overview of progress and strengths Review formative assessment information Provide work samples Consider the student’s preferences and individual goals Consider the student’s current performance in academics, communication, and other skills that can be used to promote access to the grade level content and accommodations/ supports that are needed.

Step 3 Develop the PLAAFP Statement Ask What do we know about the student’s response to academic instruction (i.e., progress monitoring data?) What programs, accommodations (i.e., classroom and testing) and/or interventions have been success? What have we learned from previous IEPs and student data that can inform decision making? Are there assessment data (i.e., state, district, classroom, individual student) that can provide useful information for making decisions about the student’s strengths and needs (e.g., patterns in the data)?

Step 3 cont.

Final Thoughts… “The current focus on the general education curriculum, including the MCCS, for students with low incidence disabilities is not without its critics, who worry about the advances of the past decades could be lost in the press for full inclusion and academic achievement. No doubt schools will face many challenges in achieving balance in supporting student not only to meet content standards, but also do develop practical skills.” We have started to work on aligning IEPs to the MCCS for all students – and this may be shaping the future of curriculum for all students with complex special needs.

Processing Time Think and Write What insights have you gained from today’s session that will impact your “why?” Think and Write What insights have you gained from today’s session that will impact your “why?”

Resources Success AT THE Core

Standards Based IEPs When IEPs Promote Alignment …the IEP helps focus instruction MCCS for grade level IEP Instruction Assessment data (skills taught) (CRT, District, etc.)

Thank You! Chris Bilant Colet Bartow