Creating Quality IEPs

MMSD Department of Educational Services

“Yes We Can…Together!” Conference

August 31, 2009

Rationale The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2

(NLTS2): The incidence of students with disabilities

completing high school rather than dropping out increased by 17 percentage points between 1987 and 2003.

Postsecondary education participation more than doubled to 32 percent.

In 2003, 70 percent of students with disabilities who had been out of school for up to two years had paying jobs, compared to only 55 percent in 1987.

Project Goals

Build collaboration between regular and special educators around the instructional needs of students with disabilities

Provide instruction to students in their least restrictive environment (LRE)

Increase parent involvement in all phases of the IEP process

Increase educational outcomes for students with disabilities

Project Outcomes

Ensure active parent/guardian, family and student participation in all stages of the IEP process

Develop IEPs in a strength-based manner

Recognize and embed District standards early in the process.

Project Outcomes

Document student progress in the general curriculum as a common practice

Provide a means to increase the level of collaboration between home and school

Provide a forum for all adults who work with students to positively impact the student’s access to learning opportunities in a collaborative manner

Professional Development Outcomes

Provide an Overview of the Quality IEPs process by: Highlighting Teacher Standards Discussing Project History/Implementation Discussing requirements of IDEA 04 Reviewing DPI Compliance Corrective

Action Reviewing the four components of Quality

IEPs Accessing and completing the SPSR in

Infinite Campus

National Staff Development Council (NSDC)

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

Uses student data to determine classroom learning priorities, monitors and recognizes progress, and help sustain continuous improvement

National Staff Development Council (NSDC)

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly, and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement.

Creating Quality IEPs Project

Team Members

Pilot History

Pilot Sites

Implementation Plan 2009-2011

Team Members

Sue Addamo Lisa Davidson Tamar Jacobsohn Mary Nielson Patty Weynand Scott Zimmerman

Pilot History

2 Year Pilot Project: 2007-2009 Full Implementation: 2009-2011 Collaborative effort between MMSD

staff, MTI, Parent Advisory Council, Department of Teaching and Learning and Department of Educational Services

Grounded in Research and Development Model

Pilot Sites

Franklin Glendale Lowell Mendota Randall Hamilton

Sennett Sherman Whitehorse Wright East Memorial

Implementation Plan2009-2011

Promote understanding and application of the 4 main components necessary to create a Quality IEP

Embed 2009 DPI audit for Corrective Action

Develop and use electronic instructional modules

Conduct 1/2 day trainings for all MMSD staff

Research on the Achievement Gap

Students learn what they have the opportunity to learn.

The only way students with disabilities can be as successful as their peers without disabilities is to ensure that they have the opportunity to learn the same instructional content.

Shared goal of improving academic achievement through high expectations and high-quality education programs.

IDEA=needsof individual

students

NCLB=school accountability

Board of Education Priorities

All students who have completed 3rd grade are able to read at grade level or beyond

All students complete Algebra by the end of 9th grade and Geometry by the end of 10th grade

All students maintain 94 percent attendance rate at each grade level

DPI Corrective Action Focus

Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

Consideration of Special factors Transition Services Annual Goals Notice of Continuing Placement

Key Components of Quality IEPs

Legal compliance

Regular and special education alignment

with use of the standards

Family involvement in the IEP process

Strength-based IEPs

Purpose of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004

“to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.” 20 USC § 1400(d)

Civil Rights

ADA Amendments Act of 2008 Congress recognized that physical and

mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society, but persons with physical or mental disabilities are frequently precluded from doing so because of prejudice, antiquated attitudes, or the failure to remove societal and institutional barriers.

Regular Education and Special Education Alignment

IEPs contain baseline data and information which references the math, language arts, communication, and inquiry/research standards in the PLAAFP

IEP goals contain clearly defined standards-based criteria for student achievement

Students who participate in the general education curriculum are assessed on their progress toward meeting grade/age level standards

Regular Education and Special Education Alignment

Increases level of student involvement in general education curriculum and environments

Systematic process for instruction and progress monitoring

Provision of instruction and monitoring in core curricular areas when student’s achievement is not at grade/age placement level

Parent Involvement The involvement of parents in the IEP

process has many benefits:

Increases the teacher's understanding of the child's home environment

Adds to parents' knowledge of the child's educational setting

Improves communication between parents and the school

Increases the likelihood that, with improved understanding between home and school, mutually agreed upon educational goals will be attained

Strengths Based Model

The IEP Team focuses on what the student can do, and develops a Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) from this perspective

The Instructional Core

Content

(curriculum)

Teacher

(instructional strategies)

Student

(engagement)

Task

The Instructional Core

The integral relationship between teacher, student and content by which learning occurs

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) A research-based framework for

designing curricula (educational goals, methods, materials, and assessments) which enable all students to learn

Accomplished by providing rich supports for learning and reducing barriers to the curriculum, while maintaining high achievement standards for all students

Differentiation

Differentiated Instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning such that students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and demonstrating understanding.

Transition

Elementary Focus – Vision for student, standards, functional performance

Middle/High Focus – Long Term outcomes

Tools of the Project

Student Performance Summary Report (SPSR) Bound hard copy Electronic version in Infinite Campus (PLP)

Guidelines for Completing Quality IEPs (Initial eval and Reevaluation)

Guidelines for Completing Quality IEPs (Programming and Placement)

Parent Planner Student Examples Build A Goal

Using the Tools

Benefits of using the SPSR The bar for student achievement is set high,

based upon content area standards

Promotes collaboration, planning, and differentiation of instruction between regular education and special education staff

How to Use the SPSR in Infinite Campus

DemonstrationUtility

ResourcesCreating Quality IEPs Documents:

http://dww.madison.k12.wi.us/es/SpecEd/Profdev/QualIEPs/QualIEPs.htm

Creating Quality IEPs - Training Modules in Moodle: http://

moodle.madisonvirtualcampus.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=163

Any Questions?