®® Judy Shanley, AIR Steve Fleischman, AIR Cynthia Ward, MSU Judy Shanley, AIR Steve Fleischman, AIR Cynthia Ward, MSU Playing in the Sandbox: Scaling up Technical Assistance by Integrating OSEP and OESE Resources August 1, 2006 OSEP Project Directors Conference

®® Acquire information about national and regional technical assistance resources. Obtain examples of cross-project collaboration strategies that bring together OESE and OSEP resources. Hear about how a university-based State TA system capitalized on this collaboration. Learn from our successes and challenges. We Hope you Will….

®® Agenda Overview of each of our projects  The Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8 - OSEP  Comprehensive School Reform Quality (CSRQ) Center – OESE  The Center for Educational Partnerships – The Program for Research and Evaluation in Public Schools (PREPS), Mississippi State U. Why collaborate – the obvious and not so obvious benefits Impact of this collaboration on a State TA system Our learning – we would recommend…and you should avoid… Discussion, thoughts, feedback

®® I KNOW THE STUDENTS ARE DEMANDING and TEACHERS DON’T LIKE YOU…BUT, YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL..YOU ARE THE PRINCIPAL!

®® Competing demands on time and resources Differing program objectives from sponsoring agencies Misunderstanding by technical assistance recipients Co-mingling funds and staff resources The Challenges of Collaboration

®® Access Center  Funded in 2002  Strengthen state and local capacity to help students with disabilities learn through general education curriculum.  Three kinds of TA: Direct TA, Information Sharing Communities, and Web based TA And the Story Began…

®®  The Center is a three-year U.S. Department of Education-funded resource center to help education consumers answer the question: Which CSR models and approaches work well to raise student achievement or accomplish other important student outcomes?  The Center complements other ED-supported quality initiatives that support CSR implementation and the achievement of NCLB goals.  The Center aligns with ED efforts regarding the use of scientifically based research. CSRQ Center CSRQ Center: Who We Are

®® CSRQ Center  Produce and make widely available consumer-friendly CSRQ Center Reports.  Develop partnerships to promote knowledge and use of CSRQ Center Reports and Center tools.  Provide technical assistance to selected states, districts, and schools. CSRQ Center: What We Do

®® AIR Resources for Evidence–Based School Improvement Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice Center for Implementing Technology in Education Comprehensive School Reform Quality (CSRQ) Center K8 Access Center National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence National Center for Technology Innovation National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice National Center on Student Progress Monitoring National Coordinator Training and Technical Assistance Center National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS) Supplemental Educational Services Quality (SESQ) Center Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family What Works Clearinghouse

The CEP Mississippi Sandbox What we do

®® The Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center  U. S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). The Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8  U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Integrating Federal Projects

®® Why Collaborate? Consistent with Federal funding and programs  Labs, Centers Efficient use of resources Build staff knowledge and skills across professional disciplines Serves as a model for State and district TA systems and individual recipients

®® What We Did…Technical Assistance Moving Forward: A Guide for Implementing Comprehensive School Reform & Improvement Strategies  Train-the trainer workshop and materials  Builds on work of the Access Center/EMSTAC and the CSRQ Center  Objective is to enhance ability to select and implement school reform models and improvement interventions  Workshop addressed a systems-wide improvement strategy

®® Classroom Federal Legislation & Policy State Legislation & Policy District and School/Building Policy Pyramid of Influence Access CSRQ Student Outcomes

The Benefits for a State TA system Why we were interested  Challenges of TA systems to meet demands of initiatives in high need state  Need for scientifically-based research  Shared core beliefs and values of partners  Perfect timing—designation of TA Center for compliance with state consent decree (Mattie T)  Cost efficiency for high quality services

The Benefits for a State TA System What we got out of the national collaboration  Extensive access to meaningful, high quality resources for local districts, schools and CEP  Opportunity to dialogue with national project leaders about strategic implementation ideas  Enhanced body of knowledge about addressing complex goal of success for students with disabilities in general education curriculum  Valuable partnership with outstanding staff of national centers  Increased credibility of CEP and MSU with practitioners and policy-makers at local, state and national levels  Promotion of use of technology as a tool for communication and professional development (website resources, web-links)

The Benefits for a State TA System What the benefits are for state and local educators  Immediate access to scientifically-based models of success  Quality, meaningful professional development, strategies and ideas in easy-to-use format for practicing administrators and teachers  Model of successful collaboration for use by administrators and teachers in Mississippi  Short-term success of project establishes foundation for sustained implementation and enhancement  Enhancement of our own skills of collaboration  Increased visibility and credibility for our State TA system

®® What We Did…Products and Resources Enhancing Participation Guide  Specific model features that address the needs of students with disabilities.  Suggestions regarding strategies to enhance the engagement and progress of students with disabilities in school reform models. Questions That Educators Can Ask About the Participation of Students With Disabilities in School Reform and Improvement Models  Considerations checklist  Assess the capacity of school reform and improvement models to address the needs of students with disabilities

®® Learning and Lessons The Good  Playing in the sandbox is important  Ideal way to leverage resources  Additional resources – Enhancing Participation and Questions Educators can Ask We would do differently  Communicate more effectively to TA recipients regarding each project  Bring clients together early in the process  Identify cross-project work in the early years of a project

®® What Lessons have you Learned through your own Experiences? Share thoughts and ideas Questions and comments Thank you & Feedback form

®® Visit our Centers The Access Center The CSRQ Center Mississippi State University – College of Education Center for Educational Partnerships

®® American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson St, NW Washington, DC Judy Shanley, Steve Fleischman, Cynthia Ward, Contact Us