SST3 Updates, Resources, & Supports
May/June 2022 | Issue 19
Hello and Welcome!
Welcome to the SST3 newsletter! Each month SST3 will share updates, educational topics that might be of interest to you, and upcoming professional development. We encourage you to review this information, share it with others and visit our website for additional information. We also would appreciate learning of topics that would support your work.
shelly
Director's Message

Congratulations to the 2022 Excellence in Education Awardees!

State Support Team – Region 3 in collaboration with the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio recognizes students with disabilities, peers, and educators with the annual Excellence in Education Awards. Because of COVID-19, the annual recognition brunch has not been held in person in the past three years, but a video has been created to celebrate and honor these incredible individuals, along with the great things that are happening in special education in Northeast Ohio. Recipients this year also received a yard sign and certificate. Click here to watch the video tribute.  

The 2022 R.A. Horn Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient from SST Region 3 is Kellyn Donahoe from Lakewood High School in the Lakewood City School District. This award is presented to one exemplary student receiving special education services and support from each of Ohio’s 16 State Support Team regions. The award was established more than 25 years ago by the Ohio Department of Education. 

The 2022 Franklin B. Walter Outstanding Educator Award Recipient from SST Region 3 area is Brittany Troyer from North Royalton Elementary School in the North Royalton City School District. This award is presented to one educator from each of Ohio’s 16 State Support Team regions, who have made extraordinary contributions to the education of students with disabilities.


Michele (Shelly) Gaski
Director for the State Support Team (Region 3 Cuyahoga County)

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Professional Development Course Available Through OH|ID Portal
The Department recently released the course “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Video Series: Fidelity Inventory, Data-based Decision-Making and Supporting the Needs of the Whole Child” in the Learning Management System. This series can benefit both new and experienced school and district personnel with PBIS implementation. Through interviews with Ohio educators, this course showcases best practices and community partnerships that support PBIS implementation. Interviews include success stories and challenges Ohio’s educators experienced with the Tiered Fidelity Inventory, data-based decision-making, and supporting the whole child through PBIS implementation.
This self-paced course is available on-demand through the Learning Management System, which is accessible to licensed educators through the OH|ID portal. Before completing this course, participants are encouraged to preview and complete the existing course titled “PBIS: It Takes the Whole Building.”
For questions about PBIS course content, send an email to Ohio’s PBIS Inbox. For questions about the Learning Management System, contact LMS Support.
University Of Cincinnati Systems Development & Improvement Center
IIL Professional Development Opportunities
All Inclusive Instructional Leadership (IIL) PD opportunities relate back to:
(1) promoting system-wide learning,
(2) prioritizing the improvement teaching and learning,
(3) building capacity through support and accountability, and
(4) sustaining open and collaborative cultures.
District/Central Office Leadership - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BX93KTR; Deadline: May 27
OH-AIPL - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MC6RPBG; Deadline: May 27
Special Education Indicator Targets Finalized
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) established a series of special education “indicators” to measure services and results for students with disabilities. The IDEA Annual Performance Report package requires states to set targets across indicators through the 2025-2026 school year. Ohio’s performance on each special education indicator is compared to the targets for annual federal reporting. Additionally, states must publicly report the performance of each district in the state in comparison to the targets.
  • Targets must be rigorous, yet attainable.
  • Targets must reflect broad stakeholder input.
  • Targets for the final year (2025-2026) must reflect improvement over the state’s baseline data.


Helping Children Cope After a Traumatic Event Resource
In emergency situations, dependable information and simple tools can make a world of difference for children. The Child Mind Institute has released multilingual trauma resources designed to help communities in the wake of natural disasters, school violence and acts of terror. The Helping Children Cope After a Traumatic Event is available in 11 languages. This article on helping children cope with frightening news that may be a support to those being asked questions by children now with the recent invasion of Ukraine.
Summer and Beyond 2022 Online Directory
State Support Team Region 3 (SST3) offers the 2022 Summer and Beyond Directory as a resource to parents, family members, and school district/community school personnel about extended opportunities around the Cuyahoga County area. Each school year, SST3 collaborates with local agencies, camps, and community partners around summer activities for students with disabilities. Many of those agencies and organizations offer continued academic skill-building, therapeutic and social-emotional supports throughout the year to assist students with disabilities to become independent and self-sufficient.

Click on the image above to access the online Summer and Beyond Directory
Click here for the PDF version of the Summer and Beyond Directory
A hard copy of the directory is available upon request, and can be picked up at the ESC of Northeast Ohio
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Early Childhood Dashboard Preview

This is a preview of the dashboard developed by Groundwork Ohio. It outlines Ohio’s performance on 20 key early childhood metrics. The Dashboard Preview is a precursor to a more comprehensive Early Childhood Dashboard that Groundwork Ohio will release in 2023.

Board Approves Ohio's Dyslexia Guidebook

The State Board of Education has approved Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook. As required by Ohio law, Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook contains best practices and methods for universal screening, intervention, and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies using a multisensory structured literacy program. Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook will be posted on the Department website when it is available. For questions about Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook or Ohio’s Dyslexia Support Laws, please contact [email protected] or see the Department's Dyslexia Supports page.

To support the implementation of this law, SST3 and ESCNEO are partnering within a network entitled "Literacy in Action". Join us on September 22, 2022 at 9AM (virtually) for our kickoff. More information can be found at https://www.escneo.org/ Please click this link for further information on HB436.
Restraint and seclusion data collection opens June 6

Restraint and seclusion data collection for the 2021-2022 school year will begin June 6 and close Aug. 5. This PowerPoint contains directions and answers to frequently asked questions about completing the report. Sample forms and additional guidelines on restraint and seclusion documentation and reporting are available on the Department’s restraint and seclusion webpage.
Send questions to: [email protected]
Council for Exceptional Children FREE 12-Part Webinar Series 

Starting April 14, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the CEEDAR Center are collaborating with national partners and practitioners to produce a free 12-part webinar series focused on evidence-based strategies to strengthen and diversify the special education workforce. One topic that may be of interest is: Combatting the Shortages of Educators Serving Students with Disabilities. From supporting new educators to implementing inclusive leadership plans, you’ll walk away with evidence-based strategies you can actually use and put into practice to start combatting special educator shortages in your states, schools, districts, and educator preparation programs.
Register online by clicking here

Increase in English Learners
English Learners ages 5-21 are a population of students identified with disabilities. The percentage of school-aged English Learners served under IDEA, Part B has increased from 9.07% in 2012 to 11.78% in 2020. Click here to learn about this trend.
OLAC's Lead the Way Podcast

Episode 17: Prioritizing Teaching and Learning Equity is a core value to Ohio’s strategic plan, Each Child Our Future and to Each Child Means Each Child, Ohio’s plan to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. In this podcast, three educators discuss how equity is defined in their work. Two regional state support team consultants and a district superintendent share their views on how the prioritization of teaching and learning impacts equity in a variety of settings. Listen now.

Proposed Changes to Ohio's
Every Student Succeeds Act

The Ohio Department of Education is seeking public comment on the proposed changes to Ohio’s Every Student Succeeds Act state plan. The Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 82 in June 2021, which included changes to the Ohio School Report Cards for schools and districts. Governor DeWine signed the bill into law on July 1, and it became effective on Sept. 30, 2021. The key provisions of this bill reform Ohio’s school accountability system starting with the 2021-2022 school year. This reform was passed after years of collaborative research and design by education stakeholders, including the major education associations, business community and General Assembly. The Ohio Department of Education began working to implement these new reforms in October with the State Board of Education. With these changes comes the need to revise Ohio’s Every Student Succeeds Act state plan with the U.S. Department of Education. The public comment period is open until Wednesday, June 1. For more information, visit the Ohio Department of Education’s Every Student Succeeds Act webpage. 





Ohio Longitudinal
Transition Survey (OLTS)

Approximately every five-years, every school district in Ohio must participate in the OLTS. Students with disabilities who are exiting public school services are surveyed regarding their plans for after high school, and then interviewed again a year later and asked similar questions regarding what they are actually doing. Kent State University is currently the "vendor" working with the ODE to assist with the survey distribution, collection, analysis, and reporting of the study data. A link to the most recent regional report for SST 3 school districts can be found here.

This study is important for several reasons. First, the exit and follow-up surveys are required and districts selected to participate receive either a "Met" or "Not Met" designation through the state's special education accountability system (Indicator 14).

Additionally, and most important is that the data can provide each individual district, as well as the region with the data to review students' reported planned and actual post-school outcomes. 
In future SST 3 Newsletters, we will further "unpack" the regional report data.


Kinship Families

On March 25 the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center hosted a one-hour webinar titled “Kinship Connections – How Schools Can Partner with Kinship Families.” Angela Provenzano discussed who kinship families are, how they are formed, the strengths and challenges of kinship families, and shared resources that support schools to partner with kinship families, as well as, resources that support kinship families directly. Click here to access the webinar recording.

GrandUnderstandings
Resource Hub

The GrandUnderstandings project from the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center is designed to provide resources to assist grandfamilies and the educators who support them. Visit their website to learn more.
Work-based Learning

Federal law defines work-based learning as “sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that fosters in-depth, firsthand engagement
with the tasks required in a given career field, that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.”

Beginning as early as grade 9, students should accumulate 250 hours of work-based learning aligned to their programs of study or their student success or graduation plans, with evidence of positive evaluations. Students may accumulate hours across multiple types of work-based learning experiences. 

Essentially, with the student at the center, work-based learning agreements are developed by the student, school member, and a member of the business community. All work-based experiences are co-supervised and co-evaluated by the school personnel and business partner.

One option for a work-based learning environment can be a simulated work environment. Click here to learn how one school district in West Virginia made it happen
Professional Development
State Support Team 3 is offering several opportunities for professional development. Click here to view our calendar of events. Please visit this site often as ever-changing circumstances may warrant cancellation or postponement of scheduled events.
teacher_students.jpg
Our Moral Imperative:
To ensure equitable access and achievement for all students, State Support Team 3 partners with districts and community schools to support inclusive leadership and collaborative teams in the implementation of an effective Multi-Tiered System of Support.


Belief Statement: 
We believe that ALL children/students have the right to belong, learn, and thrive in a
proactive, integrated, and rigorous learning environments.