Resources for Special Education Professionals |
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Happy New Year!
This edition of AJE's newsletter for Special Education Professionals includes:
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Resources for You - including a Social Story on vaccines, suggestions for administrators on how to prevent teacher burn-out and some great professional development opportunities.
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Resources to share with your students and families - including upcoming parent trainings, workshops for teens and parents about maintaining mental health and an opportunity to provide feedback to the DC Disability Council.
We hope you find our information helpful. If you do, please forward it to colleague!
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Resources for Professionals |
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Avoiding Teacher Burn Out During COVID-19
Administrator support was one of the most important factors in maintaining teacher morale during COVID-19's disruptions, according to University of Winnipeg's research on Canadian schools. But how can administrators support their teachers right now? That same research has some suggestions.
"Number one for administrators was providing teachers permission to not be on call every waking hour of the day," says Winnipeg assistant professor Lesley Eblie Trudel, who is a former K-12 administrator. "Whenever their computers went 'ding, ding, ding,' they were answering messages at all hours of [the] day and night, and not getting adequate sleep, eating well, or exercising."
In addition to supporting teachers in setting healthy boundaries to allow for important self care, Trudel recommended school leaders start with the following steps to reduce burnout:
Turn off the firehose of information and focus on fewer resources: Teachers are being flooded by new technology and other tools for online learning. Consider allow teachers to master a few platforms before introducing others.
Encourage and support professional learning communities (PLC): Administrators should recommit to harnessing the power of collective knowledge and communities that allow teachers to share ideas about student engagement, project-based learning, and other initiatives.
PLCs also provide teachers space to talk about their feelings about the pandemic and the disruptions of education.
Communicate clearly: Administrators should provide teachers with a unified message by aligning communications across the district. Central officer leaders need to be on the same page with building principals and other leaders in providing information to teachers.
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Social Story: Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine
From the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
The COVID-19 workgroup, part of the Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disability, has developed a social story about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Know your rights at school - resources for LBGTQ educators and students
We are happy to share these updated resources on LGBTQ+ Student and Educator Rights that were created in partnership with PFLAG National, ACLU, and National Women’s Law Center.
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Upcoming AJE Events for Families |
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Please share with your students and their parents.
Thursday, January 28th at 5:00pm EST via Zoom
Special Education Process Training for Parents
Advocates for Justice and Education is hosting a a virtual webcast that will share important information about the special education process you need to know as a parent of a student with a disability!
Join via phone or computer at the link:
This training is a part of our monthly special education parent trainings via Zoom on the Last Thursday of January, February, and March. On Thursday, February 25th at 5:00pm EST AJE will discuss all about the IEP. The final training in this series will be on March 25th at 5:00pm EST and will cover preparation for your next IEP meeting.
You can find all of AJE's trainings, and others, at https://www.aje-dc.org/calendar/
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Upcoming Community Events for Students and Families |
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Wednesdays in January and February from
12:00pm - 1:00pm EST
COVID-19 & Beyond Series
Children's National Hospital is partnering with the GWU Rodham Institute and Black Coalition Against COVID-19 to host a six-part COVID-19 & Beyond town hall series for teenagers and young adults.
The purpose of the series is to share information about COVID-19 and the vaccine, mental health and wellness resources during a pandemic. The series will be held on Wednesdays in January and February from 12-1 p.m. Teenagers, young adults, parents, teachers, and other educators may register. Please see promotional flyer attached that includes additional details on topics and how to register.
Please register here:
Series Dates:
- Jan 13 - Mental Health vs Mental Illness: What Youth Should Know
- Jan 27 - Sick and Tired: The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health
- Feb 3 - #MyMentalHealthMatters: Mindfulness and Being a Better Me
- Feb 10 - Living in a Pandemic: What is COVID-19?
- Feb 17 - The New Normal: Lessons Learned from COVID-19
- Feb 24 - Breaking the Shackles of Our Past: Medical Mistrust and the COVID-19 Vaccine
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Thursday, January 14th at 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
DC Legal Services Panel
We know that students can't learn when they don't feel safe, when they are hungry or when they are worried about their families. We hope these resources will help educators and other professionals working with families make referrals for families that can remove some of the barriers to student learning.
**Note that the year on the flyer attached is wrong. The event is on January 14, 2021.**
For additional pro bono resources please visit:
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Thursday, January 21st at 7:00pm EST & Wednesday, January 27th at 1:00pm EST
Building Better Supports for Adults with Developmental Disabilities in DC
Join the DC DDC for a community information session about building a better system of supports for people with developmental disabilities (DD) in DC. Currently, adults with DD, like Autism for example, who are assessed as having an IQ score above 69 are not likely to be found eligible for long-term home and community-based services through the DC Department on Disability Services – even when they need support services to work and live independently. We think that should change.
If you or a family member has been impacted by DC’s restrictive eligibility requirements - or you or your child are planning for the transition to adult services - come learn about what you can do to advocate for change and to create a better system.
January 21, 2021 at 7pm
Register in advance for this meeting at:
January 27, 2021 at 1pm
Register in advance for this meeting at:
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Upcoming Community Events for Professionals |
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Friday, January 22nd from 10:00am to 11:30am EST
Secondary Transition Community of Practice Meeting
Are you an educator or service provider who serves youth ages 14-22 preparing for life after high school? Do you want opportunities to connect with others working in this area? Are you looking for specific secondary transition resources or do you have some to share? Join SchoolTalk’s D.C. Secondary Transition Community of Practice at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpdu2trD8vEtIhDnmxhjhdQf2ZNCMpoxj0!
We meet virtually once a month to share ideas, resources, and strategies to improve our work and positive outcomes for D.C. transition-age students with disabilities! Upcoming topics include an introduction to the Department of Employment Services’ Office of Youth Programs, new navigational tools for youth and families, culturally responsive secondary transition programming, and more!
Our next meeting is Friday, January 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sign up today at
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Saturday, January 16th from 10:00am to 12:00pm EST
Restorative Justice and Special Education Workshop
Restorative practices can be extremely useful for helping schools support students with disabilities during this time of uncertainty and disruption of the normal school environment. Participants will explore the current needs of students with disabilities and their families; and identify how restorative practices can be utilized for establishing connections, problem-solving, and creating inclusive, socially connected, and supportive learning environments. Even where there is no formal diagnosis, students have different capacities for sustained attention, social awareness, intellectual cognition, emotional regulation, memory, and expressive and receptive language.
This experiential workshop, led by Restorative DC and School Talk, will help teachers, administrators, and special education staff identify and accommodate these differences in both proactive and responsive restorative practices.
Please register here:
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About AJE:
Advocates for Justice and Education is the federally designated Parent Training and Information Center and the Health Information Center for DC. AJE seeks to empower families, youth, and the community to be effective advocates to ensure that children and youth, particularly those who have special needs, receive access to appropriate education and health services.
Our passion is empowering families by equipping parents and students with disabilities with the tools they need to be their own best advocates.
Have questions? We are here to educate, advocate and empower. Contact us today!
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Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc.| (P) 202.678.8060 | (F) 202.678.8062 |
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