News You Can Use

SST3 Updates, Resources, & Supports

October 2023 | Issue 31

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.

Director's Message

Greetings! I hope the start of October finds you well and enjoying the change of the season (Although this week, you wouldn't know it was fall by the warm temperatures). October is designated as Dyslexia Awareness Month. Ohio’s Dyslexia website and the Ohio Dyslexia Guidebook contain best practices and methods for screening, intervention, and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics. This information is important for all LEAs since any students not on track in reading are at risk.

Additionally, the Read Ohio website has a wealth of information about the Science of Reading and structured literacy. Please use these resources to reflect on your current literacy systems of assessment and instruction for areas of alignment and areas of improvement.

Be well,

Michele (Shelly) Gaski, Director

State Support Team Region 3

Operating Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities

Just a reminder that The Operating Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities have been revised. The ODE has published links to all the revisions in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) that are reflected in the Operating Standards.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

PBIS Professional Learning Opportunities

If you are looking to improve school climate or your Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports Framework, join SST3/ESC at these upcoming professional learning opportunities. This year we will also be offering new sessions on Integrating Culturally Responsive Practices into PBIS, Staff Wellness and Resiliency, and a monthly coaching network. We look forward to seeing you there.

Relationships Between

Administrators and Teachers

Most schools are well underway and back in session. Leaders, teachers, and students are getting into their groove and the workload is picking up. Historically, it has been known that there can be tension between teachers and administrators. Administrators have begun to shift from being managers to being leaders, specifically instructional leaders. With that, the relationship with teachers has also changed. Take a few minutes to read through the history of relationships between administrators and teachers, and notice the key moves that can be made to increase communication and develop stronger positive relationships. Ultimately, the relationships of the adults in the building will support increased student outcomes.

Fall ECHO Series

Join the Fall 2023 Act Early ECHO (Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes) Series. This series provides information and resources about current and emerging knowledge and evidence based promising practices about thefive components of early identification. Focused on using the Learn the Signs. Act Early materials and education around health disparities, social emotional development, resources, autism spectrum disorder, and more.This series is intended for health care providers, early childhood educators, community-based professionals, and administrators who work with and care for young children. Attendance at all sessions is encouraged, but not required.

Upcoming Professional Development and Networks for Special Education:

Supporting Students with Complex Needs in the Least Restrictive Environment

This is a 3-part series in which participants with learn about ways to support students with complex needs in various environments. Sessions are October 9, November 30, December 11.

Special Education Leaders Network

These sessions are designed to allow district special education leaders to network, and gain and discuss new information from OEC/ODE/ELSR regarding topics developed to support improved outcomes for students with disabilities with a focus on literacy, equity and graduation. Discussions will be framed around the structures of an integrated comprehensive services model to increase access and achievement for SWD and other diverse learners. Sessions are October 17, November 28, February 14, and April 9.

MTSS-R

The National Center on Improving Literacy provides a step-by-step guide to implementing a multi-tiered system of support in reading. Multi-tiered systems of support in reading (MTSS-R) are comprehensive and integrated systems of instruction and intervention designed to ensure that all students meet essential literacy academic and behavior goals and objectives.

Teachers Describe Their Transition to Science-Based Reading Instruction

Education Week interviewed longtime reading teachers caught in the evolving landscape of literacy instruction to ask what it was like for them to move from a familiar strategy for teaching reading to “science of reading"-based approaches to instruction.

Response Strategies When Families Share Hard Things

As professionals, we are always seeking ways to deepen our relationships with students and families. But, are we prepared for the unexpected? What if a student or family shares something that is outside of our comfort zone? Here are some tips to help you be prepared to help when families share struggles.

Ohio Family Engagement Leadership Summit

On September 22, the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center held its fourth annual summit “Setting the Table Together: Joy and Power in Partnerships.” All of the videos and shared resources from the summit are available on their website.

Charting the LifeCourse

Empowering our students with disabilities to have a voice in their future is at the heart of Ohio's State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP), which aims to increase each year the percentage of students with disabilities to graduate by the standard graduation requirement also known as a typical pathway.

Recently, the Ohio Department of Education has embraced and supported the use of the Charting the LifeCourse framework. Last year dozens of Ohio Parent Mentors, Transition Coordinators, Intervention Specialist, and State Support Team Consultants were provided rigorous training to become Charting the LifeCourse Ambassadors.

Charting the LifeCourse takes the practice of person-centered planning to a new level. With the focus on the all, recognizing the person within the context of their family, holistic planning across all life domains, as well as several other principles of the framework, the Charting the LifeCourse movement is gaining momentum in Ohio.

Recently a new cohort of stakeholders has started on the path to becoming Charting the LifeCourse Ambassadors with additional cohorts planned for the future.

You may notice that one of the hallmarks of the Charting the LifeCourse framework is the various tools. While these tools are outstanding, it is the framework that is most important.

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.

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

proactive, integrated, and rigorous learning environments.

Visit our website