Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Parents & Professionals

The Statewide Parent Network

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Why Networking

• Please take a moment to consider:

– A colleague, parent, friend, teacher that

• Makes a difference

• Helps you navigate

• Answers your questions

• We will revisit this throughout the day

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Welcome

These Photos by Unknown Author are licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Read the Words

BLUE ORANGE YELLOW RED PURPLE

PINK BLUE BLACK PURPLE GREEN

ORANGE BLACK YELLOW PINK RED

BLUE PINK ORANGE BLACK BLUE

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

State the Colors

YELLOW RED PINK BLUE GREEN

PURPLE YELLOW BLUE BLACK PINK

BLUE RED GREEN ORANGE PINK

BLACK RED YELLOW PURPLE BLUE

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Agenda

• Overview Project MAX

• The building of the Network

• Next Steps

• P2G

• Taking Action

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Overview: Project MAX

• Access to the General Education Curriculum

– Presume Competence

– High Expectations

– Regardless of placement

• SPDG grant concluding 5 year period

• Parent Component

• Higher Education Component

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Take out a piece of paper

• Write down what stands out

• What words impact with you

• What feelings you have

• What questions you have

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Video

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Discussion Activity

What stood out to you?

What words were impactful?

Any feelings?

Any other thoughts or questions?

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Statewide Parent Network

• Who we are

• What we believe

• How we formed

• Where we are going

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

CURRENT STATEWIDE PARENT NETWORK

392 Parent ‘Network Members’(shows interest in and/or participates in any network activities)

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

89%

11%

MAX Statewide Parent

Network

Spanish Speaking

October 13, 2017

Statewide Parent Network by Language

Language Members

Spanish 42

English & Other 350

392 Statewide Parent

Network Members

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Network Members by County

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

An argument for access…

Don’t all students have the right to learn about the world around them and find their place in it? I have seen remarkable things happen once we started exposing our students to general education curriculum – better communication, interest in the world around them, more acceptance by peers, and participation in the general education program.

--Pritchard, 2014

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Access to General Curriculum for All

Ensuring access to the general curriculum means

providing students with disabilities the right to

the same State, district, and school curriculum as

that provided to students without disabilities.

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Changing the questions

• Access to grade level

content?

• Vocabulary to talk

about academic

content?

• Literacy and Math

instruction?

• Provide access?

• Hold high expectations for learning?

• Support communication for learning academics?

• Eliminate barriers to learning literacy and math?

Does this student need... How CAN we…

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Presuming Competence

• What do you think of when you hear this

phrase?

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Presuming Competence

• Is the first step in fostering high expectations for

students with disabilities.

• One looks at an individual as a person that CAN do

something rather than a person that cannot do

something.

• Is a recognition that all students have the right to

learn rigorous academic content in order to support

successful post-school outcomes.

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Presuming Competence

Presuming competence is the belief that ALL

students are competent:– to learn age-appropriate content,

– general education curriculum

– aligned to grade-level standards

– with good instruction and high quality supports.

Students are viewed through the lens of ABILITY rather than disability.

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

2

1

https://youtu.be/h4iF-MvmkxI

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Why Networking

• How would that colleague, parent, friend,

teacher respond to the tenets of Project

MAX?

• Would they be a person who you consider a

part of your parent or work network?

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

ACCESS TO THE GENERAL

EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

General Education Curriculum According to CAST

The general curriculum can be thought of as "the

overall plan for instruction adopted by a school or

school system. Its purpose is to guide instructional

activities and provide consistency of expectations,

content, methods, and outcomes."

Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, and Jackson, 2002 (www.cast.org)

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Supplementary Aids and Services (SaS)

• SaS create a system of support that enables students

to learn and participate alongside typical peers,

regardless of their unique instructional needs and

differences.

• Some examples include (but are not limited to):

Co-planning for team members

Modified curricular goals

Furniture arrangement

Social skills instruction

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Accommodations VS Modifications

Accommodations

• Preferential seating

• Extended time on

assignments

• Tests read aloud

• Provides highlighted texts

• Provides use of spell

checker

Modifications

• Reduction of homework/classwork

• Modified curriculum

• Reducing complexity of work

• Grading based on work completion

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

COMMUNICATION

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

What we ALL communicate

• Ask for what we want

AND….

• Reject what we don’t want

• Comment on what we see

• Tell stories

• Complain

• Ask questions

• Answer questions

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Communication Purposes

• Expressing Wants and Needs

• Social Interactions

• Exchanging Information

Light, J. (1996) Communication is the essence of human life: Reflections on communicative

competence. AAC Augmentative and Alternative Communication, June 1997 (13), 61-70

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Ways We CommunicateSpeech

Sign language

Writing and typing (text)

Gestures

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Objects

Pictures

Devices

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

How do you communicate

• Without words

• Line up by birthday

• Month and Day

• How did we do?

• Turn to the person next to you and share

– Successes

– Challenges

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

One child’s story…meet ElleClick image to view

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

COLLABORATION

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Collaborative Efforts

• Coming to a collective point of agreement

• Leaving our agency hats at home

• Bringing our expertise

• Allowing for wiggle room

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

“Since it is in the best interests of our children to have a cohesive team working towards a common goal, we as parents must take a leadership role in sustaining the team atmosphere. We cannot lead a team we do not join.” – Jennifer Bollero, Esq.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/iep.bollero.hearts.htm#sthash.sPpevvWp.dpuf

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Tips for Good Communication at a Meeting

• Focus on your goal

• Be respectful

• Manage your emotions

• Ask questions

• Avoid making people feel defensive

• Repeat back what others say in your own words

• Say ‘thank you’

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

LEADING CHANGE

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Never doubt that a small dedicated group of people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Key Points

• Focus on the goal

• Be respectful

• Begin sentences with “what” and “how”

• Use active and effective listening skills (“I think I hear you saying…”)

• Manage emotions

• Disagree without being disagreeable

• Say thank you

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Action Planning for Change

Dream: Issue you are committed towhat will it look like when it is fixed?

What will be different in one year?

Who can you enlist to work on issue?

What barriers & obstacles do you anticipate?

What will you accomplish in 3 months?

What first steps will you take this week

toward your goal?

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Building the Network

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

5 Courses

• Presuming Competence Having High Expectations

• Access to the General Education Curriculum Across Settings

• Maximizing Communication and Learning for Your Child

• Collaborating on School Teams in Ways that Make a Difference

• Leading Change

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

P2G

• Path to Graduation

• Emotional Disturbance

• Middle School targeted age group

• Check and Connect

• Strategic Instructional Model (SIM)

• Early Warning System

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Click Here

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Why Networking• Those colleagues who help along the way

• Parents, teachers, family, friends

• They are your network

• What does your network offer

– Support

– Guidance

– Advice

– Role Modeling

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning

Stories

• Consider sharing about that person, mentor,

colleague who helped along the way

These Photo by Unknown Authors are licensed under CC BY-NC

Office of Child Development & Early LearningMaximizing Academic Access, Expectations, and Learning