1. Pennsylvania’s State Personnel Development Grant “Improving Student Results: A Focus on Highly Qualified Special Education Personnel” An Overview PDE Conference February 2008 Shatarupa Podder

2. 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)

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Framework for Highly Qualified Special Education Personnel

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. Link Goals to Outcomes Logic 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

10. Project Activities  Educational Interpreter Initiative  School Psychologist Initiative  Paraeducator Initiative  Special Education Leadership Initiative  Special Education/Secondary Certification Initiative  Special Education Certificate Revision Initiative

11. 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)

12. 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)

13. 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)

14. Special Education Leadership 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)

15. 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)

16. Special Education/Secondary Certification 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)

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. Questions/Comments Please contact Shatarupa Podder – spodder@state.pa.usspodder@state.pa.us Janet Sloand – jsloand@pattan.netjsloand@pattan.net