AC&E/Equity & Access PreK-12 - June 2020

PRE K-12 Equity&Access FROM ACE-ED.ORG THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CONSORTIUM FOR EQUITY IN EDUCATION

IN THIS ISSUE THE NEED FOR CULTURALLY COMPETENT EDUCATORS CLOSING THE DISTANCE DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING

FREE EQUITY CONSORTIUM MEMBERSHIP SEE HOW YOU CAN JOIN

IS THE INTERNET A HUMAN RIGHT? OR A LUXURY?

ACE-ED.ORG | JUNE 2020

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SUPPORTING EXCELLENCE The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy is an internationally-recognized center generating research-based education policy. We analyze the impact of educational interventions, provide evidence-based counsel, create tools to evaluate curriculum and school culture, and support district, charter, and private school networks across the country. We are non-partisan, sector-agnostic, and evidence-based.

THE INSTITUTE PROVIDES: and policy recommendations to national membership organizations, including Chiefs • Research for Change, the CCSSO, the Alliance for Excellent Education, and the National Council for Private School Accreditation

• Program evaluations, measuring the impact of high-quality materials on student learning • Research partnerships with several dozen state and local chiefs to support: and intellectually challenging curricula • Highly effective instruction – our teacher • Deep survey on materials creates a full picture of - through our Knowledge Maps™ in English language arts and social studies that measure content build and text quality

school cultures – with our • Strong comprehensive School Culture 360™ - a full analysis of the conditions that we know support student success

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what teachers know about standards, their use of curricula, and their satisfaction level with materials

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NEW RESOURCE ON SCHOOL CULTURE

FROM THE JOHNS HOPKINS INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION POLICY

A strong school culture, understood as the underlying ethical claims and habitual practices of a school, is linked to numerous positive academic and civic outcomes – from short-term assessment performance to long-term civic engagement and educational attainment.

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy has designed a best-in-class survey that identifies the alignment of a school’s mission with its practices and determines whether a school’s enactment of practices correspond to those we know support academic achievement and civic formation.

In elementary schools, administrators, teachers, and parents undertake the survey; in secondary schools, students also participate.

THE SCHOOL CULTURE 360™ SURVEY EXPLORES: Academic emphasis and academic excellence Whole-student development (including practices associated with strong citizenship formation) Organizational coherence (the mission and practices align) Sense of belonging (communality) Trust and support among adults across the school community

Because COVID-19 necessitated an immediate migration to at-home learning, the Institute designed a related survey for the remote-learning context.

SCHOOL CULTURE 360™ WEBINAR

Dr. Ashley Berner and Dr. David Steiner join Ms. Lisa French, Director of Student Engagement and Success in the Office of Academic Content at the Louisiana Department of Education, and Dr. Eric Watts, Director of Instruction and Student Achievement for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, to discuss school culture: its key components, its role in educational outcomes, and its use as an analytical framework for assessment.

WATCH IT HERE

CONTENTS 7

THE NEED FOR CULTURALLY COMPETENT EDUCATORS Rann Miller

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CLINICAL PRACTICE: MOVING TOWARD A CULTURE OF “WE” Rodrick S. Lucero

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IS THE INTERNET A HUMAN RIGHT? OR A LUXURY? Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles

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CLOSING THE DISTANCE DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING George Farmer

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WHY GOAL SERTTING MATTERS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Rachel Brown

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STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING THE DIGITAL EQUITY GAP Eileen Belastock (edWeb content)

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SUCCESS FOR ALL AT MERIDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Mark D. Benigni, Barbara A. Haeffner and Lois B. Lehman

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EASTERN KENTUCKY AND THE FIGHT FOR DIGITAL EQUITY Dessie Bowling, Robert Brown and Jeff Hawkins

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IT TAKES A DIGITAL VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD IN THE 21ST CENTURY Robert Martellacci (Canadian Corner)

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LEVERAGING SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAMS IN SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY Melissa Clark

ASSOCIATION COLUMNS

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1.5 BILLION STUDENTS

HAVE HAD THEIR EDUCATION DISRUPTED Schools are closed, and districts are scrambling to provide equitable online learning. But most virtual education systems fall short of meeting the needs of ALL students, and far too many learners don’t have the devices and access they need to succeed with online learning.

We have a moral obligation to ensure equity and access to ALL learners, and businesses, associations and industry leaders throughout the United States are stepping up. We’re willing to bet you’re stepping up too.

ACE-ED.org, home of the American Consortium for Equity in Education, is the only multimedia platform and educational organization focusing exclusively on equity and access in preK-12 education.

Join the Consortium and open up valuable opportunities to connect with fellow educators, associations and industry leaders who, like you, are committed to creating meaningful change in schools across the country. And you automatically receive an online subscription to the AC&E online journal!

If you’d like to become a voice for change, we urge you to become a member of the consortium that’s exclusively focused on these issues.

There is no charge for membership.

Set up your free membership with the American Consortium for Equity in Education today.

Join us at ACE-ED.org.

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EMERGENCY FUNDING BILL PROPOSED TO ADDRESS THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our public education system in ways that were unimaginable earlier this year.

As most of the country shelters in place, approximately 8.5 to 12 million students lack access to the internet at home – also known as the “homework gap” – making it difficult for students to attend virtual learning sessions or complete homework assignments.

This gap is especially prevalent for students of color, students living in rural communities and low-income families where access to reliable Wi-Fi or home computers is extremely limited.

In April, MSA was asked by the National Education Association (NEA) to join a coalition to help bridge this divide and eliminate the homework gap. Steadfast in our mission to increase access to high-quality public education for students of all socio-economic and racial backgrounds, MSA was proud to work alongside Representative Grace Meng

(D-NY) and the coalition to draft an emergency funding bill to appropriate $2 billion to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) 22-year old, equity-based E-rate program.

Funding for this program will ensure that all K-12 students and teachers will have the ability to purchase Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, and other devices to connect online, and teach and participate in virtual classes or complete schoolwork.

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Magnet Schools of America (MSA) is a nonprofit education association that represents more than 4,340 magnet schools serving nearly 3.5 million students across 46 states and the District of Columbia. MSA was founded in 1986 and supports and serves the leaders and teachers of magnet and theme-based schools. It also provides technical assistance through the National Institute for Magnet School Leadership (NIMSL).

COVID-19 FACILITATES THE NEED FOR CULTURALLY COMPETENT EDUCATORS

By Rann Miller

That educators are culturally competent matters more than ever.

COVID-19 has upended the school year for students nationwide and educators are working diligently to assure that quality learning opportunities continue for students remotely.

While remote learning should be a priority for educators, they must also prepare to meet the opportunity gap once students return to schools. That requires that teachers and administrators work to infuse cultural competence within both classroom instruction and schoolwide systems.

A quarter of Black teens say they can’t always finish their homework due to the digital divide—13 percent of them say this happens often, whereas just 4 percent of White teens and 6 percent of Latinx teens say they have the same problem.

Once students return to schools and educators seek to assess learning that has taken place remotely, I suspect that Black students suffering from the opportunity gap prior to

While remote learning has its benefits, racial and economic disparities are hindering students' opportunities to receive the education they need. As nearly 40% of low-income Black and Latinx families go without decent web access, Black students are impacted heavily.

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school closures may be even further behind.

When working with these students, it is important that educators not to fall into the trap of ascribing to racist ideas as the reason for further gaps in learning. Rather, educators must respond to closing any gaps with a culturally competent strategy.

It’s not that culturally competent educators never mattered before.

When you consider the various statistics concerning Black student discipline, teacher demographics and what the lack of Black teachers means for Black students, it is imperative that educators work to be culturally competent. By that I mean having the skills and compassion to both appreciate one’s own culture and be fluent in at least one additional culture.

If you work with Black students and you wish to close the opportunity gap, you must be fluent in Black culture; with both skill and compassion.

Are educators ready to meet the moment that is to come? I like to think so. Why else would one educate for any reason other than helping young people becoming their best selves?

Doing so requires that educators not attempt to fit square pegs in round holes; it requires that teachers become culturally fluent.

What does this look like and how do district leaders work to get there?

It begins with educators growing their culturally competent fluency. This involves removing a Eurocentric lens. That is a worldview centered on Western civilization while either minimizing or erasing non-Euro histories, experiences and/or contributions to history.

Growing in cultural competency is also stepping out of your comfort zone to do life with different people – specifically in non-White spaces.

Maybe you visit a restaurant, shop for groceries or attend a religious service similar to your faith in a non-White space.

Next, educators must recognize how cultural competence impacts brain function with

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respect to learning. According to instructional coach Zaretta Hammond, cultures with a strong oral tradition, like African American culture, rely heavily on the brain’s memory and social engagement systems to process new learning.

African American culture, and others based on oral tradition, rely heavily on the reticular activating system (RAS) to activate learning.

The RAS seeks information that validates self and one’s own beliefs based on experience.

That understanding must inform how we teach students of color, particularly Black students.

Educators must utilize tools such as call and response techniques. Incorporating storytelling and music is a worthwhile strategy. So is incorporating texts and assessments that are culturally responsive and culturally affirming.

Cultural competency can make the difference between a student opening up to your teaching or shutting down.

For example, Black students may have initiated call and response before you even considered utilizing it in the classroom when calling out an answer. However, calling out is frowned upon, even when correct, and a student usually gets reprimanded for doing so. When this happens, not only has a teacher failed an opportunity to create a call and response process, but a Black student is disciplined for a cultural response while learning, and that student may shut down to learning in that particular classroom.

Lastly, the above example is reason to work with teachers to no longer suspend Black students disproportionately. Black students can ill afford to miss valuable classroom instructional time due to suspension.

Nationwide, blacks students, with or without disabilities, receive more out-of-school suspensions, and disproportionately so, than any other race of students. Consequently, Black students lose more school time due to suspension more than any other race of students.

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Educators must work to identify any systemic policies that contribute to this within their schools and/or districts and also equip teachers with the cultural competency tools necessary to strengthen their classroom management capabilities.

The academic success of Black students, and all students of color, upon arrival back to school from this pandemic, will depend on how dedicated educators are in becoming culturally competent. Whether we realize it or not, how we educate children is now changed moving forward. In order to meet the opportunity gap on behalf of Black students, it is especially incumbent that educators not return to school the same way they left to do the same things they did.

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Now is the time for educators to be courageous enough to teach students with their best interests at heart, versus students learning despite their teachers.

Rann Miller is a Ph.D. Candidate at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. His writings on race, education and politics were featured in the Hechinger Report, Education Week and Black Youth Project.expectations need additional support to improve and catch up to peers. The exact amount and type of additional instruction depends on the specific challenges that each student is encountering.

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HOW AN AGE-OLD PRACTICE HELPS WITH 21st-CENTURY ISSUES IN EDUCATION

By Amy Leask At the moment, educators are not only contending with school closures and quarantine, but also teaching at a distance and working online communication platforms into their daily routine. In general, they’re making sure that learners aren’t out of mind, just because they’re out of sight.

These are all enormous challenges, to be sure, but they’re also opportunities to bring something new into the curriculum, something that’s been around for thousands of years, but can help support students, teachers and families with some distinctly modern obstacles.

Since the 1980’s, doing philosophy with children both inside and outside of the classroom has been growing in popularity.

This movement entails embracing all the deep questions children like to ask about themselves, others, and the world in general.

It also strives to help young learners develop skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, while teaching them to argue effectively and disagree peacefully.

Philosophy for children promotes and supports: • social and emotional growth • self-awareness and positive self-image • diversity of thought and identity • initiatives in anti-bullying and equality

Philosophy can be done with any age group, in any subject. It appeals to a variety of learners, and despite its reputation for being abstract, it actually translates well into hands-on activities, and real-life applications.

It can be taught with modern educational technology, using new media as a platform, but also works in a low-tech lesson.

What can philosophy do to help educators navigate the current reality posed by COVID-19?

• Philosophy for children focuses on thinking skills that are widely transferrable, giving students the tools to be flexible, adaptable, and resilient.

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• Parents and caregivers are now a vital part of learning, and philosophy for children can help bring 21st century skills home.

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IS THE INTERNET A HUMAN RIGHT OR A LUXURY?

By Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles

The past few months have shaken up education.

In fact, everyone’s way of life has been shaken in some way. Schools were suddenly forced to shutter their doors, leaving parents, teachers and administrators scrambling to provide learning in alternate ways to all students. Some wondered how to “recreate school,” while others were excited for the opportunity to “redesign school” using a mix of technology and real-world applications to concepts.

What has emerged from all of this chaos? Some fundamental truths, some challenges, and a lot of discomfort.

That’s the thing about growth - it’s a cycle Like that infamous disco hit “I Will Survive,” Gloria Gaynor was, at first- afraid. In fact she was petrified. Yet then she learned that she was strong, and she learned how to get along. In essence, she survived. She tackled the challenge of a crisis in her life, learned from it, and not only survived- she thrived!

However, these cycles of growth amid crisis may not be accessible to all. This crisis has cast a harsh, honest glare on the gross inequities of our systems and services. Whether it's an inequity based on socioeconomic status, living situation, race, sexual orientation, or disability, these inequities have existed since our systems were born. They’re wrong, and it needs to stop.

This crisis has brought to us a powerful call to change. If you grew up in the era of the Brady Bunch, you’ll remember Peter Brady singing about “Time to Change.”

Regarding our systems in education shifting to distance learning, a glaring inequality has been identified around device and internet access.

Far too many families do not have internet access, nor a device per child. There are cases where districts have offered wifi hotspots to families, however not every district is prepared or has funds to provide these devices. Some families are driving to schools and using their network to work and learn.

Is that fair? Is that equitable?

Is this crisis telling us that accessibility to the internet is a human right?

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I’m not the only one who is wondering this Organizations have been speaking about this inequity since 1990. CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking), stated in 2018 that:

“Students who do not have access to high-quality internet connectivity are at a disadvantage, unable to realize the power of digital learning. Only 3% of teachers in high-poverty areas said that students had the digitally accessible tools to complete homework, compared to 52% in more affluent school systems.”

(CoSN, 2018).

They launched their Digital Equity Initiative to support equitable access to broadband internet. 24/7.

Another organization that is championing this work is the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, who had been working to shed light on this inequity prior to COVID-19. They work in places where internet access isn’t available and provide resources and support and continue to do so around the clock.

What both of these organizations have shown, and the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized, is that high-speed internet access is a basic human right that should be made readily available to all. Schools have shifted to online and distance learning. Access should not be based on socioeconomic status, race, gender, orientation, or ability. It should be as fundamental as the air we breathe.

Speaking of the internet...

It is essential for websites, materials, methods, and assessments to be born accessible. This means that videos should have closed captioning and transcripts. Image descriptions should be provided, as well as alternative text for images.

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The w3c (World Wide Web Consortium) provided clear guidance to web designers and services on designing for accessibility first. The AEM Center (National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials) and CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) provides guidance based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) which is framework that proactively plans for variability by providing options, choices, and flexibility to all learners first and not after. This is another form of access for all learners that distance learning amid COVID-19 is begging for.

Given our state of affairs, a light on inequity has been cast It is up to those who are privileged to no longer ignore the call but to flip this script. This crisis has shown us that internet access for all is a human right, and we must find creative, accessible solutions to answer the call.

Following the guidance from CoSN, NDIA, W3C, CAST and AEM Center in order to provide meaningful and equitable access for all are important steps toward that goal. These resources have been around for decades. When we re-emerge from this time, may we have worked collectively to shift the paradigm from power to empowered for all.

Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles, PhD., ATP, is an accessibility accomplice providing assessment, training, support, and consultation to individuals and organizations around AT, AEM, and UDL. She is an Assistive Technology Specialist for RSU 21 in Kennebunk, Maine where she is grateful to “be paid to think differently” and supports inclusive learning practices.

She is also an adjunct faculty member for the University Of New England’s graduate certification programs in inclusion, as well as the University of Maine at Farmington’s graduate programs in Inclusion.

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VIEWPOINT FROM AESA

(Association of Educational Service Agencies)

AESA STATEMENT ON RACIAL INJUSTICE IN AMERICA

By Joan Wade

The next generation of AESA outlines the bold steps we, as an association, will take toward equity and opportunity for all. Our organizational values state, among other things, that we believe that courageous leadership inspires bold solutions to current and future complex challenges and that systemic change requires boundary-spanning leadership.

We are committed to achieving equity in learning by actively working to eliminate disparities and inequities. We have talked the talk, but are we walking the talk?

Our country and our association can do better. Due to recent events, our country is mourning. We find broken glass and smoldering wreckage in our communities as protests have turned violent in cities across America over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man by a now-fired Minneapolis police officer.

These communities are places where we work to provide exceptional education for all children.

They are also, the places where we live, shop, and raise our families. We became educators because we wanted to make a difference in the lives of children and careers are dedicated to improving their lives.

Today, those communities are calling each of us to stand up. No longer can we avert our eyes or shy away from the reality of racism and injustice that is prevalent in our communities, especially as it impacts black Americans and other communities of color.

We must confront the truth that our country has been on a journey of anger and frustration over systemic racism throughout its history. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. said that riots are

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the language of the unheard. It is unnerving when peaceful protests turn violent and are tarnished by looting and vandalism. Even as violence should never be condoned and is, in fact, not a solution, we should all be listening.

These are complicated issues full of emotion for many. There are no easy answers. However, Educational Service Agencies (ESAs) are communities of listeners and problem solvers. We have what it takes to have a collective impact on racism. We must all ask ourselves how can each of us, ensure we build trust in our communities? How can we create communities where there is mutual respect and equal opportunity afforded to everyone? You can make a difference, and so can I, but not if we remain silent.

As educational leaders we must address racial inequalities once and for all. We all need to do the work, to identify, challenging and changing the values, structures and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism. We cannot be frozen because of feelings of intense anxiety, fear, hopelessness, and despair. AESA advocates for justice and equity as an organization and for those we serve.

My hope is that we, as ESAs, will confront the uncomfortable realities in our communities, create safe spaces for true collaboration and be active embracers of a better tomorrow that is equitable for all.

Joan Wade, Ed.D. Executive Director for the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), is a life-long educator with more than 30 years of service in public education. In addition to teaching, she has worked as a library media specialist, Technology Coordinator, and Distance Learning Director.

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WHY GOAL SETTING MATTERS FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

By Dr. Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP An estimated 14.8 million children in the US are affected by learning and attention issues, which when left undiagnosed can lead to challenges both inside and outside of school.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities recommends that schools use multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to identify and support students who may have a learning disability. I agree wholeheartedly – there’s incredibly value of having a MTSS in place – provided the right goals are being set.

With that in mind, here are three guidelines for creating reachable goals for students with learning disabilities.

1) IDENTIFY THE NEED Students who have fallen below grade-level expectations need additional support to improve 18

and catch up to peers. The exact amount and type of additional instruction depends on the specific challenges that each student is encountering.

MTSS ensures every student is being supported and has growth goals set. When creating goals for students, it’s important to consider two questions: How much growth is needed for learners to catch up with their peers?

Are the goals we’re setting realistic, or are they ambitious?

Having a system that supports accelerated growth for students who need is essential.

Without a way to provide quick growth, students can be prone to the “Matthew Effect,” a term coined by Keith Stanovich that denotes the idea that once students fall behind, they aren’t likely to

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experience as much success as their classmates who are at (or above) grade level.

Let’s consider reading levels. Students who learn to read easily without extra support are more likely to enjoy reading and continue to see success reading. But, students who struggle with reading are more likely to dislike reading and avoid it, thus continuing to experience literary poverty.

To avoid the Matthew Effect, schools need to address students’ reading problems as soon as they are known and focus on “catch-up” growth.

Catch-up growth refers to the growth needed for students who fall behind, which occurs at a faster rate than grade-level peers. This accelerated growth strategy ensures students can master missing skills and reach proficiency in core subject areas.

2) SET REALISTIC OBJECTIVES Many students with learning disabilities are placed on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Goals included on a student’s IEP should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Use Action Words, Realistic and Time-limited). Special Education Consultant Dr. Ruth Heitin shares that goals should be written in a way that describes what we hope a student will achieve, and measured through regular assessments.

A student’s rate of improvement (ROI) varies according to the type and amount of instruction.

Consider the impact of consistency on student reading growth: a report from the National Reading Panel states reading instruction that is direct, systematic and provided every day is likely to result in a larger ROI than incidental teaching.

Given this link, educators should strive to create goals that align with a student’s level and actual time in the classroom. Some digital platforms automate this process, screening and predicting student growth so that teachers can select goals that are attainable.

Students with learning disabilities need ample time to reach proficiency. Monitoring progress and adjusting supports are key to making progress.

3) MONITOR PROGRESS REGULARLY Progress monitoring is just as important as

setting reachable goals. Progress monitoring needs to occur often enough for educators to review student data and adjust instruction, if it’s needed.

For students with learning disabilities, weekly progress monitoring is recommended.

Assessments such as Curriculum-Based Measures in Reading (CBM-R) can be delivered quickly and frequently, so less time is taken away from instruction.

To know if a student is making enough progress, data needs to be reviewed regularly. For this to happen, enough data points need to be available to assess. Research suggests that at least 10 to 12 assessment scores are needed before progress data can be interpreted.

In 2018, a new method was developed by researchers Christ and Desjardins to calculate the trend and expected direction of future student growth. Using Bayesian statistics, their method predicts a student’s future growth with as few as six data points.

Student progress can vary for a number of reasons, so it’s best practice to review progress data every four to six weeks to see if the student is on track to meet their goals, or if an instructional change is needed.

Although students with learning disabilities are prone to experiencing challenges when attaining important skills, such as reading, there are research-backed ways to help them succeed.

With direct, consistent instruction and regular progress monitoring, every student can remain on track for success, and achieve their goals.

Dr. Rachel Brown taught social studies and history, as well as special education, for 10 years prior to earning her Ph.D. in special education and school psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She was on the faculty at USM from 2000-2016 in the Educational and School Psychology Department and now teaches in the Special Education Department. Her research focuses on effective instructional practices and Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS). Dr. Brown is a Maine certified special educator, school psychologist, and licensed psychologist.

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PresenceLearning is Helping More Schools Serve More Students During School Closures

Our clinicians will expand your capacity to serve more students.

Or, we’ll train your own team on the effective delivery of teletherapy and tele-assessment on our proprietary teletherapy platform, so you can continue to serve your students.

PresenceLearning is the leading provider of live online special education related services for K-12 schools nationwide: • Speech-language therapy and assessment • Behavioral and mental health services • Psychoeducational assessment • Occupational therapy and assessment

Kershaw County School District Uses Teletherapy to Serve More Students Kershaw County School District includes approximately 11,000 students in 20 schools spread out across 740 square miles, making it one of the most geographically expansive districts in South Carolina. It runs the gamut from urban to rural across its three high schools, four middle schools, and 11 elementary schools. Its largest school has about 1,650 students and the smallest school has approximately 120 students.

Teletherapy has enabled us to deliver services to our students that we simply would not be able to otherwise provide.

-Chad Dixon, Principal

The Challenge

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Kershaw County School District was seeing a growing shortage of speechlanguage pathologists in its area as it competes with more densely populated neighboring districts, and it was looking for a long term solution to serve students ranging from those with mild disabilities to more severely disabled students including non-verbal high schoolers.

The district collaborated with PresenceLearning to develop a full service partnership that includes direct and indirect services, IEP planning and meetings, parent involvement, and a dedicated strategy for its non-verbal population.

Teletherapy is reaching students across the district and providing the critical continuity of service they need in order to make sustained progress. Students are more confident and engaged in both their therapy and their academic work as a direct result of the progress they are making.

Skeptical would be an understatement. I thought students would need in-person therapy to build relationships with their therapists and make progress. But, I was very wrong about that.

-Lori Pate, Assistant Principal

VIEWPOINT FROM NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children) ADDRESSING EXCELLENCE GAPS: USING LOCAL NORMS

By Jonathan A. Plucker

In the previous issue, we discussed using universal screening to identify students in need of advanced learning opportunities. This form of talent identification looks at data for all students rather than rely on parent or teacher nominations to identify students in need of further screening. The research strongly suggests universal screening is considerably more equitable than nomination-first approaches to talent development, in the sense that low-income students with evidence of high ability are considerably more likely to be identified via universal screening.

However, universal screening alone is not a panacea for inequitable talent identification systems.

My colleagues and I believe it is much more effective when paired with the use of local norms.

Using local norms – this usually means identifying the most talented students in each school versus those who are most talented according to national, state, or district-wide standards – is more controversial than universal screening, but it is difficult to imagine an equitable system of gifted education that doesn’t use local norms in some way, shape, or form.

In general, districts do not use local norms, preferring district or national norms. It’s usually helpful to describe local norms through real-world examples, such as how the University of Texas at Austin approaches admissions. If using national norms, the university would look for students with a minimum SAT or ACT score (or some other data sources) at, say, the 90th percentile. But UT-Austin uses local norms: Any student in a Texas high school finishing in the top 10% of their graduating class is automatically admitted to UT.

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People often raise a number of serious concerns about identifying/admitting students via local norms, such as students being unprepared to succeed or academic standards having to be watered down. But in studies of top-tier universities using local norms for admissions, these concerns appear to be largely unfounded.

In addition, I often hear superintendents or state department of education leaders voice concern about student relocation: If a student is identified for advanced learning via local norms in a low-income area, that student may move to an upper-income district and find themselves behind students identified using national norms or higher local norms in the new district. However, these concerns feel overblown. Sure, low-income students tend to move quite often, but they rarely move into upper-income neighborhoods and districts (I’d love to live in a country with that much social mobility, but that’s not been the case in the U.S. for decades).

In my mind, the question is simple: Do more students benefit from the use of local norms than would be inconvenienced by local-norms students, for lack of a better term, moving into higher-norm districts? I don’t have a precise answer to that question, but I suspect the answer is yes, and probably by a thousand-fold if not more.

Although we need more research on the use of local norms to identify gifted students at the K-12 level, the limited experimental evidence suggests students identified using local norms tend to catch up to peers identified with national or district norms within 2-3 years. This finding is surprising, but it

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makes sense if you believe these under-identified students are not reaching their full potential due to lack of opportunity and lack of support. If you find them early and provide them with rigorous and challenging learning opportunities, low-income or otherwise disadvantaged bright students can catch up to their more advantaged peers fairly quickly.

My colleagues and I recently conducted a national study on the various approaches to norming in gifted identification. We found that the use of local (building) norms significantly increased equity in identified gifted students. Interestingly, we also found that the use of national AND local norms at the same time helped identify the most diverse pool of students; but such an approach involves expanding services. At the very least, school districts seeking to identify advanced students should have a discussion about whether a building-level norms approach – in combination with a district-level norms mechanism – would be workable in their local context.

Of course, universal screening with local norms isn’t magic.

If you have similar demographics across all of your schools, or your district is primarily upper-middle-class and white, local norms will

produce a talent pool that looks very similar to using other norms. And even if local norms does improve the representation in your programs, providing high quality programs remains important (i.e., students are being identified for something, and that something should be rigorous educational programming). In future columns, we will start shifting our focus from identification (who is ready for advanced programming?) to the program itself (how do we design equitable advanced learning experiences?).

Jonathan A. Plucker is the Julian C. Stanley Professor of Talent Development at the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University, where he is also a Professor of Education. He currently serves as President of the National Association for Gifted Children board of directors. Follow him on Twitter at @JonathanPlucker or email him at jplucker@jhu.edu His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Johns Hopkins, CTY, or NAGC.

A CULTURE OF SUCCESS FOR ALL AT MERIDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

By Mark D. Benigni, Barbara A. Haeffner and Lois B. Lehman

In Meriden Public Schools (MPS), we believe innovation and creativity can help increase student achievement. To achieve equity and access for all, we collectively challenge existing inequities, build meaningful relationships, and actively remove barriers to success for our most vulnerable student populations.

We make a conscious effort to challenge and inspire all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, special needs, or socioeconomic status. Applying an equity lens to academic, attendance and behavioral data, ensures all students have access to high-quality educational experiences and graduate college, career and life ready.

By creating an environment of trust, where risk taking is encouraged, success shared, and challenges viewed as learning opportunities, MPS has developed a culture of success for all. Ensuring equity and access for all requires board policies, instructional practices, core curriculum, and student and staff mindset changes.

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Committing to Equity We believe public education is the great equalizer and education provides the path to a better life for our students. Our student population of over 8,500 students has 75% students of color and 77% eligible for free/reduced-priced meals. Our district provides a nutritious breakfast and lunch to all children.

MPS is committed to leveling the playing field for all students by providing a 1:1 environment that encourages anytime, anywhere learning in flexible learning spaces.

Students are provided Chromebooks and keep them over the summer months with opportunities to check out mobile hotspots for home use. Credit-earning opportunities include student-designed Personalized Learning Experiences (PLEs), online summer courses, and credit recovery programs. A high school summer transition program, Bridge, provides support to at-risk ninth graders.

Transition counselors continue support during the year, keeping students on-track for

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four-year graduation. Removing barriers for students led to open access to Advanced Placement courses with enrollment of students of color increasing exponentially.

Using PSAT benchmark data, counselors meet with students and families to encourage enrollment in Advanced Placement offerings.

Meriden’s innovative partnership with Middlesex Community College resulted in MxCC@Platt. Middlesex operates its Meriden Campus at Platt High School and, in exchange for free space, Meriden students and staff receive five tuition-free seats in all college classes at Platt.

Improving Teaching and Learning A culture of ongoing professional learning creates a climate of trust and respect, where new ideas are encouraged, appreciated, and valued. The district has implemented blended learning strategies, personalized learning, restorative justice, youth dialogues, one to one conferences, and “no zero” grading practices. Teachers are now facilitators, while students have become creators of content.

Knowing that when our teachers learn, our

students learn, a unique cabinet position, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Talent Development, was created to promote professional learning and build staff capacity.

For educational initiatives to flourish and achieve our inclusive vision, we need teacher leaders who embrace change and understand the district’s goals. Our Teacher Leadership Academy develops leadership capacity through collaboration, professional learning, and implementation of an innovative project.

The district offers authentic learning options for all staff including a New Teacher Induction Program, Peer Coaching, Instructional Learning Walks, Administrators/Union Retreat, and classroom visits.

Union-management collaboration opened the door to teacher-selected professional learning opportunities.

Equity leaders, student-centered learning coaches, technology integration specialists, and “I’m Charged Teachers” provide embedded coaching. Our Family School Liaison Team facilitates active family engagement.

Community members participate in teacher-led Community Learning Walks, observing our equity efforts and student-centered learning practices in classrooms.

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Your students have unlimited potential.

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Cox Business Cloud Solutions with RapidScale technology helps keep K-12’s education data safe and makes it available anytime, anywhere. It allows you to fully integrate your IT infrastructure behind your network firewall and virtualize applications and data across any computing environment – on-premises servers, private cloud, public cloud or hybrid cloud.

Hackers succeed because many schools aren’t taking the proper steps to prevent and detect intrusions. Ransomware and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks can expose students’ private information, bring your servers offline, and disrupt learning by preventing your students and staff from accessing critical applications, data and tools.

You need a strategy to thwart network breaches, and encrypt all your data in transit and at rest.

Even if you don’t have the in-house resources to fully manage your network security, Cox Business offers co-managed and fully managed services that deliver the reliable support you need, mitigate your risk of cyberattacks, and may reduce hours spent on network management and maintenance.

We don’t want you to miss scheduled backups, exceed storage capacity or hinder application performance and end-user experience. From encryption to managing replication and disaster recovery, Cox Business Cloud Solutions with RapidScale technology takes the work out of managing disaster recovery, backing up data, and cloud-based productivity tools. In addition to automated backup and replication technologies, our technical support is available anytime to assist or modify backup services.

One of Cox Business Cloud Solutions’ greatest economic advantages is pay-as-you-go pricing, which greatly reduces capital expenses. You pay only for the security, computing, storage and infrastructure you use, giving you more options for controlling your budget, and your students unlimited options for success.

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THE E’S OF EQUITY SUCCESS • Elicit the support of the Board of Education • Examine racial and achievement data to eliminate tracking practices • Empower educators, students, and families • Expand your district’s technology capacity and access

Connecticut Accountability Index, the Connecticut State Department of Education’s report card for districts, Meriden’s achievement growth from 2015-2019 outpaced the state as well as the 33 Alliance urban districts identified as the most economically challenged districts in Connecticut. Meriden is seeing impressive gains with double-digit growth across grades on the required Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). Our SBA ELA and Math results indicate a closing of the achievement gap in grades 3-5. While all students showed positive scale score gains, students of color showed greater growth gains than white students.

Furthermore, student data dashboards indicate 96% of ninth graders are on-track for graduation, up from 75% several years ago. Since implementation, over 1,000 credits have been earned through our Personalized Learning Experiences program.

Most importantly, over the last five years, four-year graduation rates increased by 20%.

Behavioral indicators also show highly positive results: chronic absenteeism decreased by 23%, suspensions decreased by 82%, and expulsions decreased by 93%.

Additionally, we have seen a 20% increase in third-grade students reading on grade level.

• Employ strategies for all grade 9 students to be on-track to graduate in four years • Eliminate barriers to Advanced Placement courses and ensure these classes reflect the diversity of their district • Extend the responsibility of student success to all stakeholders

Analyzing the Impact Empowering educators, insisting on equitable learning environments, and tracking subgroup data regularly will ensure we have schools where all students succeed. On the

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The American Consortium for Equity in Education

As we launched our digital transformation, we kept students’ social and emotional wellbeing at the forefront of all our discussions.

Meriden’s Climate Suite of Tools includes an online Getting to Know You survey which allows teachers to access individual student responses, foster connections with students, and identify their interests.

Climate Survey scale scores for “sense of belonging” increased significantly for our students.

Breaking the Cycle Our MPS Team recognizes the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty and leveling the playing field for all students. They realize this is critical in a global society which will necessitate a workforce with requisite college, career, and life skills. If districts are serious about equity and access and ensuring success for all, they must have the full support of their Board, courageous and innovative leaders, dedicated and enthusiastic staff, and students who want to create a successful future for themselves and their families. For MPS, there is no turning back now; our students, staff and families believe in this work and our results speak for themselves!

Mark D. Benigni is superintendent of the Meriden Public Schools, co-chair of the Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents, and vice president for the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. He was recognized by AASA and CoSN as the first recipient of the 2019 Empowered Superintendent award and was honored as a 2015 Education Week Leader to Learn From.

Barbara A. Haeffner is director of teaching and innovation for the Meriden Public Schools. She is an advisory member of the CoSN Driving K-12 Innovation Committee and CoSN Emerging Technologies Committee.

Her collaborative work has led to the district’s recognition by Edutopia Schools that Work and by Google as a Reference District.

Lois B. Lehman is coordinator of grants and special projects for the Meriden Public Schools. She is an experienced grant writer and administers numerous federal, state and foundation grants for the district. She was instrumental in the district receiving the National School Board Association Magna Award for creating equitable learning environments.

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EQUITY AND ACCESS IN CANADIAN EDUCATION From MindShare Learning

“It takes a digital village to raise a child in the 21st century.”

FREE REMOTE RESOURCES FOR CANADIAN EDUCATORS AND LEARNERS Since our inaugural issue contribution in March, our world has changed dramatically due to COVID-19. Education has witnessed the greatest technological transformation in our lifetime. Necessity being the mother of invention, rings true!

Canada has not been immune to the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on our country in every possible way. A healthy education system is a key indicator of a prospering country. We are not all well, but we are coping.

Hope is what we must hang onto in order to overcome this global pandemic that has redefined priorities; education being a corner-

stone of communities is vital to the health and well being of our society.

Since the inception of COVID-19 some 12 weeks ago, we’ve made it our mission to support and share FREE Canadian remote learning resources thanks in part to our generous North American EdTech partners to ensure equity and well-being to level the playing field for teachers, student and parents across our vast Canadian landscape.

It takes a digital village to raise a child in the 21st century. Let’s ensure every child has a fair chance to learn and thrive.

THIS WEEK IN CANADIAN ED TECH With Psychology Professor Dr. Steve Joordens, UofT: Well Being During Challenging Times

As we prepare to get beyond COVID-19, we’re pleased to provide expert advice in a podcast with Dr. Steve Joordens from the University of Toronto.

As we enter week 11 in COVID learning time as I call it, I’ll be reconnecting with Dr. Joordens to explore how teachers and education leaders can best prepare for back to school in these most challenging times.

MindShare’s Chief Digital Publisher, Robert Martellacci caught up with University of Toronto psychology professor, Dr. Steve Joordens on a video podcast to address coping with COVID-19.

CLINICAL PRACTICE

MOVING TOWARD A CULTURE OF “WE”

By Rodrick S. Lucero, Ph.D.

Clinical Practice, Defined Partnerships between PK-12 schools and Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) have gained momentum as the foundation for effective clinical practice, and a rich conversation is now being held across the country. As we have defined it at The National Center for Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation (NCCPEP), clinical practice is a paradigm calling for teacher preparation courses, activities, and opportunities to be conducted at the school site in front of real students, real teachers, and in a real school.

EPPs bring their theoretical frames to the partnership, and PK-12 schools provide their practice frames to the partnership. These frames come together to form a clinical framework upon which to build effective teacher preparation with input from both research and practice, while also elevating learning outcomes for PK-12 students.

The partnerships allow for a more thorough analysis to assess gaps and craft a more cogent future direction as stakeholders engage with the learning process. The synergy built within partnerships is iterative, ongoing, and process-oriented and inclusive.

Clinical practice prepares us well for the rapidly changing landscape of a modern democracy

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requiring a responsive and individually-focused educational process.

Clinical Practice is founded on the principle of “simultaneous renewal” (Goodlad, 1993).

This concept realizes that in authentic partnership work, every participant has a realized, articulated benefit for their participation. This is a crucial element of effective clinical practice. The mutual-benefit context of clinical practice is locally situated because context matters!

Therefore, the construction of clinical practice is “messy” and difficult to replicate.

Clinical practice partnerships in Los Angeles are not the same as in Chicago, or Savannah, or Santa Fe, as there exists a myriad of challenges, needs, policies, that are quantifiably different and locally prioritized. Clinical practice allows flexible partnerships to meet the needs of their local students, the teacher candidates who work with them, and the schools where they learn.

Clinical Practice benefits the educational journey of teacher candidates, PK-12 students, and veteran teachers, relationships at the heart of effective learning. Teacher candidates benefit by planning, delivering lessons, and assessing learning alongside veteran teachers at the school

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site. There is no substitute for working in classrooms to cultivate and catalyze a “teacher voice.” These authentic, formative experiences are the strong foundation upon which neophyte educators build a career. Graduates from clinical practice sites enter the field feeling more prepared for the challenges, and confident in their ability to manage classroom behaviors, effectively deliver relevant content, and engage students using proven pedagogical strategies.

PK-12 students enjoy access to two or three adults in the classroom who are guiding activities, small group instruction, and providing individualized instruction as candidates explore, discover, and hone their skills. This is being done, with real children, in real classrooms, in real schools, and (most importantly), under the tutelage of a real teacher who serves as a coach and mentor.

What Teacher Candidates Bring to the Table Teacher candidates receive immediate, actionable feedback upon which they can build a skillset that will buoy their career and set a trajectory of success and retention. The presence of candidates in the classroom decreases student-to-teacher ratios, allowing for a much more dynamic learning experience for everyone involved, where students have more access to an adult and the adults are able to provide individualized, student-focused support.

Teacher candidates offer another adult perspective for individual PK-12 students that could prove helpful as students strive to make meaning of their learning within the context they bring to school. Veteran teachers also recognize that they gain direct access to new theories, current research, and new pedagogical strategies when collaborating with teacher candidates, which, in turn, renews their practice and their overall effectiveness with their students.

In my work in clinical practice sites, veteran teachers report a high degree of validation, satisfaction and appreciation for the opportunity to share their expertise with the next generation of teachers. The mutual benefits introduced here are the basis for clinical practice.

The protocols of clinical practice serve all

students, candidates, and veteran teachers and include the development of learning goals, assessing progress, planning and delivering content as well as the meeting social-emotional needs of every child with whom they have contact. These protocols are woven together, inextricably and are an essential part of effective candidate preparation. Teacher candidates who are present and engaged in daily instruction and classroom activities significantly add to the whole-child focus of effective learning. Finally, teacher candidates serve as role models for students by encouraging PK-12 learners to pursue their post-secondary objectives. Everyone benefits!

A Paradigm Shift The sharing of responsibility for PK-12 learning outcomes and the effective preparation of teachers defines a marked paradigm shift in our profession. A purposeful conflation of the siloed roles was previously held by EPPs and PK-12 schools. The new paradigm requires a systemic look that defines continuous improvement as a cornerstone for iterative growth—a process that is ongoing, process-oriented, and responsive to the needs found within each EPP/PK-12 partnership.

In this paradigm shift, we see ourselves as one continuum of services reflecting learning outcomes for all learners, be they PK-12 students, teacher candidates and even veteran teachers.

This work focuses on the most important relationship in education: the sacrosanct relationship between teachers and their students.

Clinical Practice calls for EPPs and PK-12 educators to work collaboratively in planning and bringing research to practice in the preparation of all teachers and to elevate the learning of PK-12 students. Together, they craft experiences that prepare teacher candidates who are “Day #1 ready,” retained beyond the five-year mark, and inclined to reach back, as veteran teachers, to support and guide the next generation of high-quality teacher candidates.

The educational experts who can provide solutions to our problems of practice are those within our ranks—including PK-12 staff and EPPs who choose to see their important role on the educational continuum—in one profession focused on learning for all students. They will

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shape our narrative, a narrative that all educators own and celebrate.

MORE QUALIFIED, teachers.

Improving Teacher Retention and Diversity

In their fall, 2016 report, the Shanker Institute noted that teachers of color leave the profession for two primary reasons: feeling unprepared and the lack of autonomy in their classrooms. Clinical practice allows teachers to become prepared over time, so they can master their content while refining their delivery and assessment through a pedagogical lens. It leverages the science of pedagogy and pairs it effectively with content preparation to prepare the most highly qualified teachers possible.

One important aspect of this narrative is the discussion of one of the most assiduous problems of practice, currently facing professional educators; the dramatic decrease of teachers in classrooms, and the lack of diversity represented by those teachers.

The Learning Policy Institute has noted that between 2009 and 2014, the United States saw a 35% decrease in practicing teachers—a national decrease of more than 240,000 teachers.

Additionally, research indicates that 80% of all teachers are white and that 80% of those are women. These statistics represent a particularly difficult challenge for the profession.

It is the belief of The Center (NCCPEP) that Clinical Practice will support the solutions to this and many other problems of practice.

We need MORE QUALIFIED teachers, and MORE QUALIFIED teachers of color, not simply MORE teachers.

How do we accomplish that goal?

Teacher preparation One proven way is to ensure that new teachers are well prepared and “Day #1 ready” to meet student needs. The confidence they derive from being prepared will ensure their retention in the field. In fact, Linda Darling-Hammond has noted that teachers who are effectively trained in pedagogy and content, in programs that allow for iterative cycles of continuous improvement, leave the profession at only 12% within the first five years. This attrition rate is better than most other professions.

Those who are prepared in less pedagogically rigorous programs leave the profession at 48% within the first five years. We cannot fill our classrooms with MORE teachers, even though the allure of many alternative programs is compelling when facing teacher shortages. We must hold to

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and

MORE

DIVERSIFIED

We can, indeed, make a difference in the recruitment and retention of teachers of color by listening and acting upon their concerns.

Conclusion The paradigm shift discussed here is a move away from our institutionalized siloes to a culture of “WE”. This shared responsibility brings professional educators together in concert, in collaboration, in the fulfillment of a moral obligation to ensure that every student has the teacher they need. And that every teacher has had the pedagogically rich preparation that will ensure their longevity in the profession and their commitment to the next generation of highly effective teachers.

How do we meet the needs of every learner every day? By leveraging clinical practice to invite historically marginalized populations to join our profession as well prepared teachers. These challenges are massive, but if they are to be solved, PK-12 and EPPs must come together, see ourselves as one profession, harness the incredible thinking that exists among our colleagues, and aspire to be educators sharing our craft in our culture, the culture of “WE.” Dr. Rodrick S. Lucero’s career ranges from PK-12 schools, university work, to serving at the national level where he led The AACTE Clinical Practice Commission, whose report, “A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation” was released in January, 2018. Currently, Dr. Lucero serves as a consultant and has founded The National Center for Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation (NCCPEP).

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SPONSORED CONTENT

CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

NOT ALL LEARNING IS ONLINE, BUT EVERY LEARNER SHOULD BE.

By John Harrington There is a growing gap between students who have access to a fast Internet connection and those who do not. This gap is sometimes referred to as the Digital Divide.

More recently, the term “homework gap� has been used. But no matter how you refer to it, for students who lack the necessary resources, the inability to get online is a barrier to their success. Like access to running water and electricity, Internet access plays a vital role in providing students a quality education. It is time for our society to address digital equity by ensuring that every learner is online. Not all learning is online, but every learner should be.

NO INTERNET ACCESS AFTER SCHOOL Funds For Learning estimates that there are 36

7.2 million family households in the United States who are not online -- millions of Americans who lack and cannot afford Internet access at home. For students, this means an inability to complete homework assignments, collaborate with their peers, review materials from their teacher, or access a Khan Academy video to help them understand a concept. They cannot check their grades, take a practice quiz, or ask a question via chat. In the best case, they can a visit the local library (inside, or, more likely, outside in the parking lot). But that is hardly an ideal learning environment.

WHAT CAN BE DONE? There is good news. The challenge facing our communities is surmountable. This is a not a

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“moon launch” situation requiring us to stretch the limits of human knowledge. No, on the contrary, we can readily address now.

It turns out there is quite a bit that can be done and there are legions of individuals lining up to help. The same technologies that connect most Americans to the Internet are accessible, or nearly accessible, to many of those who do not have it already. For a broad segment of the disconnected population, the cables or wireless signals needed are relatively close by. In a study conducted by Funds For Learning in 2016, we found that there were one million Americans living in public low-income housing within a quarter mile of a school or library with Internet access.

In other situations, school buses and library book mobiles loaded with Wi-Fi have been used to bring the Internet further out into the community. Cellular data plans and special “point-to-point” connections can also be used. The point is this: in almost every circumstance in which a student is offline, there exists a way to bring them back across the digital divide, and many of those options are quite affordable.

NO FEDERAL SUPPORT If the technology is there, what is stopping online education? The piece missing is a serious commitment from the federal government to address the need of off-campus Internet access for students. A lack of financial support, combined with regulations that prohibit off-campus Internet

access, is the primary barrier to closing the digital divide. There are no federal funds specifically earmarked to address this need.

For years, many of us in the “EdTech” community have been calling for additional aid to help these students. But no support has been made available. Furthermore, there is a perverse wrinkle in the current federal regulations. Schools and libraries are prohibited from extending their Internet connectivity to the community around them.

If a Wi-Fi signal stays on school property, that is okay. But if a student uses that Wi-Fi signal across the street, then the school risks losing federal funding.

ACTION IS NEEDED The lack of Internet access for students is a systemic problem that results in limited academic opportunities for far too many children. These impediments then fuel cycles of poverty and other social ailments. We can and should do better. It starts with understanding and communicating the need.

Leaders and decision makers in Washington, DC, cannot address situations if they are not aware of them. We each have a responsibility to educate members of Congress and federal regulators to make sure they comprehend the scope of this problem, and then we need to hold them accountable to help our communities.

By prioritizing federal funding and cutting through unnecessary red tape, we can help connect all students to the Internet.

John Harrington is the CEO of Funds For Learning, a nationwide consulting firm committed to helping schools and libraries connect students to the Internet.

Learn more about Funds For Learning.

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VIEWPOINT FROM CASE

(Council of Administrators of Special Education)

NAVIGATING COVID-19: PROVIDING LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

By Phyllis Wolfram

The Council of Administrators of Special Education continues to support their members and all leaders seeking guidance in special education. As early as March 2020, CASE began collaborating with local directors across the nation, the Office of Special Education Programs, national partners, and many others.

CASE developed a series of webinars providing guidance as schools began to close due to the spread of COVID-19. These webinars are currently located at www.casecec.org and available to all. It is important to note that CASE focused on “Four Priorities” throughout each of the webinars:

1) Focus on the safety, health, and welfare of students and staff members in your community.

• Follow the CDC and State Guidance Documents even during the summer as you are planning for ESY and reopening.

• Plan for possible challenges with health and welfare in the long term.

• Focus on mental health for your staff and for students - what are you doing to keep balance?

2) Provide FAPE - Deliver services to as many students as you reasonably can in the best way you know how.

• Continue to provide as many services as possible through remote learning as you can.

• Provide Extended School Year services as you typically would have (just provide them virtually) • Make services and supports individualized for students with disabilities.

3) Document your efforts; make sure documentation is focused, consistent, 38

detailed and demonstrates a good faith effort to provide good services.

• Assist your teams with staying organized with all of the “paper” and virtual records.

• Organize yourself and your team over the summer for what the Fall will look like (i.e., evaluations, meetings, etc.)

4) Compliance during the pandemic IDEA wasn’t built for this.

• Comply with meeting notification requirements in the best way you know how.

• Attempt to meet timelines as best as possible.

• Follow through with state guidance documents.

CASE will continue to support our members and those working in the field of special education as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and return to normal or maybe our “new normal” of educating our students. Visit the CASE website for more information at www.casecec.org.

Phyllis Wolfram, Executive Director of CASE, has worked in public education for 37 years.

She has served as a local director in three districts, including the largest urban district in Missouri. A former CASE President and Chair of the Policy and Legislative Committee, she chaired on the CASE Ad Hoc Committee on IDEA Reauthorization and the CASE Task Force; Design for the Future. Phyllis has also served on the Board of Directors for the Council for Exceptional Children and the CEC IDEA Reauthorization Workgroup. In 2017, Missouri CASE honored Phyllis with the Distinguished Service Award and in 2018, CASE honored her with the Harrie M. Selznick Distinguished Service Award.

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CLOSING THE DISTANCE DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING

By George Farmer

With spring break now behind us, districts are facing the reality that schools may not open for the remainder of the school year.

The social distancing order created a rush for districts to execute the best home instruction processes for stakeholders.

Parents are making their best attempts to balance work and managing student workloads, while educators strive to provide academic support from a distance.

Without physical contact with students, teachers are relegated to communicating with parents and students via video conferencing platforms or communication applications. In schools, close contact breeds personal care and comfort for students. Class jokes and nonsensical moments are priceless and build classroom camaraderie. Consider the school cafeteria, a gathering place where students can eat and have a good time with their peers. For many students, these experiences are irreplaceable.

School provides a safe place and escape from the unfortunate reality in which some students live. Half of United States public school students rely on free or reduced lunch. These 20 million students depend on breakfast and lunch five days a week. Many children in the United States are also dealing with abuse and neglect.

For them, school is a necessary means of survival.

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For educators, working with students is more than a job. It is the essence of equipping students and providing them with life skills. In other instances, educators are the reassuring voice of positivity amid dark circumstances.

Walking into the school building is a glimmer of hope and, for the time being, an escape from the pressures of unstable home lives. Fear and uncertainty during COVID-19 can produce unusual behaviors in students.

The work of an educator, now more than ever, is so crucial.

Now is not the time to harass students and parents about incomplete assignments. Now is the time to become more compassionate and show families we care about their students above anything. It is essential to keep students close, not push them away with nagging about assignments.

Closing the distance during this time of social distancing is essential. Children display their emotions in various ways. Recognizing changes in behavior and attitudes is a critical component of closing the social distance gap.

Indicators of Distance During Social Distancing Similar to traditional school settings, there are key indicators that suggest a need to extend extra reach to students. Typical signs in students to watch for include:

Excessive worry or sadness During this period of social distancing, there is much fear and anxiety for children and adults.

Every educator knows their students; if educators notice a change producing worry or

sadness in students, it is a clear indicator of the need to pay close attention and notify the administrator.

A decline in student performance As schools enter into the fourth marking period, students have created patterns of production and trends that are recognizable by teachers. A reduction in student performance should send flags of concern to educators.

Be mindful of conversations taking place between students No matter the age group, students talk. Be aware of discussions amongst students that may indicate a student requires support. As the adult in the room, the tendency is to talk more and listen less. Education has shifted; one of the most powerful tools as a teacher is to listen.

Providing Stability and Personal Care Through Distance Learning The comfort of seeing their peers and teachers gives students relief during stressful times, and a sense of regular routines can help add stability to their lives. As schools continue to use virtual learning platforms, continued methods will help create and maintain established community cultures that were built during the first three marking periods.

Maintain contact with students The traditional school setting would bring students and teachers face to face five days a week. When possible, educators should create opportunities and safe spaces through video conferencing to meet their classes. Video

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conferencing can be even more beneficial to struggling learners who may find comfort in knowing their teachers are available and ready to assist.

pajama party where there is a designated day for everyone to wear their pajamas. Crazy socks, hair, or hats are always a fun and creative option to build the classroom community.

Now is not the time to shy away from students who have demonstrated behavioral challenges in the past. More encouragement and support may be the attention necessary to build student-teacher relationships.

Create consistent meeting times dedicated to students who need extra help and have numerous missing assignments.

Student Spotlight

Class Incentives Most classrooms have a reward system designed to reinforce a positive classroom climate. While schools have shifted to distance learning, maintaining that classroom culture is essential. A positive reward system for students can prove beneficial when encouraging participation and appropriate computer usage.

Rewards can be fun and straightforward.

Although schools are forced to practice social distancing, grades can still have a virtual

Students of all ages enjoy positive affirmation.

Taking the time at the end of the lesson to highlight a student can be monumental for some students—in fact, praise may provide the jumpstart some of them need to become and stay motivated. Positive recognition requires an intentional decision to look for opportunities to affirm students. Educators may need to start small and build on more significant concepts—the important thing is to be committed and consistent.

During these unstable and fearful times, it is essential to demonstrate for students a level of stability and personal care. While educating students remains the priority, no learning can take place without a high level of care and attention. Now is the time for educators to exercise their creativity and extend an outpouring of concern to close the distance during the social distancing mandate.

George Farmer has dedicated over a decade in education teaching kindergarten through 12th grade. Earning his MsEd with a specialization in Leadership in Educational Administration, George is an administrator at an elementary school in Camden, New Jersey. As a doctoral candidate specializing in educational leadership, his guidance in education was featured in FrontRunnerNJ.

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The American Consortium for Equity in Education

An edWebinar Report from edWeb.net STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING THE DIGITAL EQUITY GAP

By Eileen Belastock, Certified Education Technology Leader View the recording for thie webinar at https://home.edweb.net/strategies-for-closing-the-digital-equity-gap/ According to Davis, Fuller, Jackson, Pittman, and Sweet (2007), the definition of digital equity is “equal access and opportunity to digital tools, resources, and services to support an increase in digital knowledge, awareness, and skills.” In a recent edWebinar sponsored by ISTE, Sarah Thomas, Educator, and Founder of the EduMatch movement, Nicol Howard, Assistant Professor, School of Education at University of Redlands, CA, and Regina Schaffer, Technology Specialist at Middletown Township School District, NJ, embrace this definition and explain that school districts need to consider four critical components in their drive to close the digital equity gap happening in K-12 districts and classrooms.

Honest Conversation

hotspots, low-cost broadband, private LTE networks and even WiFi on buses have the potential to ensure that students have 24/7 access to their education. It is recommended that school districts assemble a digital equity team that can tackle the arduous tasks of accessing digital equity resources and leveraging those resources. By engaging and partnering with community stakeholders and organizations such as service providers, cable companies, and software companies and seeking grant opportunities, school districts will have access to digital equity resources and possible subsidized funding.

Innovative Approaches

It is essential that edtech leaders engage in candid discussions with crucial district stakeholders to identify critical digital equity barriers such as access, connectivity, and opportunities. These conversations have the potential to shift mindsets about digital equity by focusing on changes that will better support students’ access to their education. At the district level, culture and tone that support honest conversations is essential to the digital equity process to ensure that all stakeholders feel comfortable and supported during those difficult digital equity conversations.

At the classroom level, modeling and encouraging innovation extend those digital equity conversations through reflection and reevaluation of best practices.

School leaders, coaches, and classroom teachers need to pay attention to all of the needs of students by bringing the districts’ innovative approaches for closing the gap into the classroom. It is essential to understand that closing the digital equity gap is more than just ensuring that students have access to the internet.

It is also about opportunities that can be possible when students are introduced to innovative lessons and activities in the classroom. Coaches and classroom teachers need to evaluate their current practice and determine the best tools, devices, and software that is appropriate for each student. We may think that an innovative approach will benefit all students in their learning process but only through the evaluation and looking beyond the classroom use can innovation narrow the digital equity gap.

Professional Learning

Looking Forward

When we think about professional learning in this new era of education, it is not a linear process. Multiple levels are happening simultaneously at the district, school, and teacher/coach levels.

Strategic planning and implementation, while extremely vital to district digital equity plans, are a long-term solution. Schools and teachers/coaches cannot wait for months and years to do their part to close the homework gap. Schools need to create a sense of urgency by supporting the professional learning of their teachers and coaches. Through edtech conferences such as ISTE, coaching programs such as Digital Promise and DigCit, teachers and coaches can be trained to teach in innovative ways that include critical components in digital learning and digital inquiry.

History can be the best teacher when we talk about providing high-quality access to opportunities for learning to students. The K-12 Horizon report and the rapid influx of innovation in our society in the last 15 years have all played a significant role in education. Artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and the affordability of devices for learning are shaping what we can expect as the future of learning. We as educators need to embrace and deliver transformational opportunities that ensure digital equity for our students. Even some U.S. senators are committed to digital equity in school districts with pending Digital Equity Act of 2019 legislation. Although this is not funding that will directly go to the school districts, it will address the WiFi connectivity issues that rural communities are struggling to solve. If the bill passes, it would significantly impact the homework gap for our students and school communities.

Overcoming Barriers When it comes to overcoming digital equity barriers, CoSN Digital Equity Toolkit is a crucial resource packed with digital equity options for school districts. As edtech leaders and stakeholders work to eliminate the homework gap, solutions such as mobile

This edWeb.net broadcast was sponsored by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education).

ace-ed.org

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VIEWPOINT FROM AASL (American Association of School Librarians) AASL SURVEYS FIND SCHOOL LIBRARIANS ESSENTIAL DURING CLOSURES

By Mary Keeling

From March to May 2020 AASL conducted three surveys of school librarians to gather progressive data during weekly, sometimes daily, changes to school closures. What was evident in each survey was the school librarian’s determination to meet the needs of every learner, educator, administrator, and member of their community during this unprecedented time in history.

At the onset of school closures, school librarians focused their efforts on curating and expanding access to online resources and offering virtual assistance (90 percent and 82 percent respectively). Approximately half of respondents reported that they continued instruction on research methods, digital citizenship, and access to electronic resources through a variety of distance learning methods. Forty percent engaged in reading promotion through virtual book clubs and other promotional strategies. A small number (fewer than 15 percent) offered access to print materials through various delivery systems such as curbside pick-up.

While working with students, school librarians also worked with faculty to provide support for the transition to distance learning. Most respondents (85 percent) offered much-needed resource curation or technology tools for remote/virtual classroom instruction. School librarians provided assistance for whatever classroom teachers and educators needed, including co-teaching, professional development, and answering fair use/copyright questions. More than 70 percent of respondents offered resource training and technology set-up/troubleshooting for educators.

Most early learning plans for students were optional because it was anticipated that face-to-face schooling would resume. Although school districts made efforts to continue learning through a combination of distance learning technology and packets, results were mixed.

Survey respondents reported that 40 percent of students completed work as expected. However, 20 percent of students did not log in, turn in work, or otherwise participate in distance learning.

Expectations of student accountability varied widely.

Half of schools maintained expectations that students complete and turn in work. Forty percent of schools reported no formal accountability for student learning, and 20 percent of schools shifted their focus from academic learning to student safety and well-being.

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School closures have shined a light on what most educators already realize: the great disparity in learners’ access to technology. The biggest hurdle reported by survey respondents for students was access to technology for completing schoolwork. School librarians reported that fewer than half of students had full access to a device and broadband Internet. At the other end of the spectrum, 10 percent had no access to the Internet, 12 percent had unreliable access, and 20 percent needed to use their phone or a tablet to complete work. While respondents offered parents, caregivers and guardians curated resources for at-home activities (80 percent) and technology support (61 percent), the learning setting created increased hurdles for students to complete assignments. Parent/guardian/caregiver ability to monitor and manage learners was a hurdle reported by 79% of respondents.

One thing school closures made clearly evident: school librarians were recognized by their school community as the go-to person for learners, educators, and parents. AASL knows school librarians have always transformed teaching and learning in the shifting educational landscape, and through these difficult times AASL will continue to highlight the invaluable leadership role school librarians play in their communities.

View the AASL School Library Closure Survey reports at https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/author/aasl/.

Mary Keeling is district supervisor of school libraries for Newport News (VA) Public Schools where she has developed and led implementation of a district-wide inquiry process model. She is the 2019-2020 president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). She was a 2015-2016 Lilead Fellow, chaired the 2015-2018 AASL Standards and Guidelines Implementation Task Force, and has written for many school library-related publications. She published "Supporting You, Supporting the Standards: AASL's Implementation Plan" in the November/December 2017 issue of Knowledge Quest.

The American Consortium for Equity in Education

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EASTERN KENTUCKY: KVEC’S FIGHT FOR DIGITAL EQUITY IN ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST IMPOVERISHED REGIONS

By Dessie Bowling, Robert Brown and Jeff Hawkins

Remote Learning Tools Are Key Components of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative’s Initiatives to Address Equity and Access The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) is a non-profit 501c3 educational service agency established in 1969 by 8 small school districts. Today, we serve more than 55,000 students and 3,000 educators within our 23-member districts in rural eastern Kentucky.

These districts are in some of the most distressed counties in America in terms of poverty, education, and employment.

This graphic identifies the economic status of counties according to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) metrics.

The state population increased by 10.2% during this time, while county populations in the KVEC service area decreased by 11.4%. Unfortunately, current population loss trends are expected to result in a reduction in representation for our region in the State Legislature following the 2020 census report.

Rural communities need equitable representation so that Americans have their voices heard

The Fifth Congressional District is home to 22 of KVEC’s districts and ranks as the third-highest United States congressional district for percentage of population at or below the poverty threshold, according to the Food Research and Action Center data analysis of 2017.

Districts in the KVEC region are high poverty, low income, rural and remote, according to Federal Department of Education Guidelines. Although the average free and reduced lunch participation rate for the KVEC region is 73.5%, not all students eligible to participate for multiple reasons (i.e., parental permissions, social stigma, etc.). Based on 2018-19 School and Community Nutrition Qualifying Data (school-by-school count), the free and reduced lunch qualifying average for the region is 96.4%.

The region has long been dependent on a mono-economy driven by the coal industry. The decline in coal production has led to unemployment and population loss. The regional Workforce Investment Board serves all KVEC districts; they noted 34,539 fewer people working from June 2012 to September 2018 and lost

Despite the grim statistics, our K-12 public schools have documented growth over the past four years. Collectively, they have a higher College and Career Readiness level than the state average (KVEC region = 72.5%, KY = 66%) and a higher graduation rate (KVEC region = 94.4, KY = 89.7) as noted on KDE school report cards.

All counties in KVEC’s membership are designated as distressed

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47,421 people from the labor force in the 23-county area. Kentucky as a whole saw an increase of 84,935 people working and added 80,117 to its labor force during this same timeframe (Kentucky Center for Statistics, 2012-2018).

The American Consortium for Equity in Education

While most of the state has emerged from the deep recession of a decade ago, the recovery has remained elusive for our rural communities. The decreasing state revenue in real dollars generated means an increasing attempt to offset this loss through local funding. However, in an area where coal mines remain closed and families have relocated to find work, local dollars are not adequate to keep pace.

The funding gap between the haves and have-nots is growing. The amount of lost revenue resulting from combating COVID-19 remains to be seen, but it will surely have a negative impact on school funding.

The challenges facing children of poverty and those who serve them are real, but not impossible to overcome. As we tackle the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must continue providing exceptional learning experiences for all our K-12 students to ensure they aren’t left behind.

In normal times, KVEC staff and educators would have a focused effort on the annual FIRE Summit (Forging Innovation in Rural Education), and other professional learning summits designed to uplift and celebrate the innovative work of educators and students. These are not normal times.

In March, the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to reimagine teaching and learning It also caused educators to re-envision how best to deliver instruction whether via paper packets or distance learning. At KVEC, we continue providing support and resources, delivered to the greatest degree possible, in a virtual environment via distance technology.

Schools in our region have been working for several years to build an effective digital environment for teaching, learning and leading.

Kentucky was the first state in the country with internet connections in every school district; and,

the Kentucky Department of Education continued to expand their educational technology initiatives becoming the first state to provide 100 kilobytes of fibered internet access per student in 2015.

East Kentucky schools led the way in achieving 100% digital connectivity for every learner in schools across the region. At school, students have access to a robust and reliable technology system through the Kentucky Educational Technology System. However, the region’s rugged terrain and sparse population distribution impacts widespread availability to high-speed internet connectivity (due to profitability for providers and affordability for consumers) and the schools’ universal connectivity is not shared across our rural communities.

Since 2011, access to a wired connection of at least 10mbps has improved from 79.9% to 96.3% of Kentuckians. While that is good, 257,000 homes (primarily in KVEC’s rural service area) are without access to a wired connection capable of 25mbps download speeds and another 142,000

ace-ed.org

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National Institute for Learning Development

12%

Did you know approximately 12% of all students struggle with some form of learning difficulty? Schools often lack the financial resources and human capital to identify and support these students. Once identified, many educators lack the training and knowledge to effectively transform the students’ learning experience.

homes (again, primarily in KVEC’s service area) are not served by any internet provider (Cooper, T., 2020, February 06).

Residents in the KVEC region must budget their financial resources High levels of unemployment and a high percentage of people dependent on government transfer payments cause families to make difficult financial choices. Internet connectivity is often left out of a family’s budget, making student engagement and completion of learning goals via distance learning challenging at best.

1) Video Production filming tips and free screen-casting resources to help teachers create, and upload on-line lessons using Google Forms and Autocrat.

2) DIY STEM Videos – Are you stuck at home?

Are you yearning to build something with your hands? The Holler Boyz have the videos for you.

KVEC supported schools in the move toward a 1:1 learning environment, developed TheHoller.org into a multi-component, place-based social learning platform, invested in digital badging, micro-credentials, online learning, and digital connectivity. We have a highly skilled staff capable of adapting quickly and innovating by necessity.

3) Open Education Resources (content, grade level) – Online Teaching & Learning Resources for NTI.

When Kentucky closed school buildings to students on March 16th, many people believed the move toward virtual learning would be short-term and that students would be back in their classrooms by April first. As we learned more, our leadership team recognized that schools may not reopen for students by April first and the need for virtual learning could extend well beyond.

5) A National Micro- Credential Virtual Summit that will enable presenters and participants to learn from and with national thought leaders and practitioners –June, 2020.

Enter Digitalachia Our team consistently takes a proactive approach to facing challenges and did so in this case by generating solutions to get out in front of the COVID-19 pandemic and put supports in place to address immediate and long-term needs. Out of that work, Digitalachia was developed to inspire creativity and enable educators to network in real-time and share professional learning experiences.

Through KVEC’s learning platform, a collection of free resources and online professional development tools are available to aid in virtual learning and teaching. In addition, KVEC staff remain available for enhanced Zoom meetings and Twitter chats with educators to assist and support.

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These resources are located at digitalachia.com for educators and parents providing instruction for students in the nontraditional way:

4) A Virtual FIRE Summit that will enable more than 230 regional educators and school teams to demonstrate their innovative solutions to a broad audience –May, 2020.

6) Special Education Spring Conference converted to an on-line framework available to all participants anywhere/anytime –May, 2020.

7) Expanded Zoom meetings and Twitter chats with leadership, educators and students.

The Futuring Team The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of an equitable, digital teaching and learning environment. To answer this and other challenges facing our rural communities, KVEC created a Futuring Team.

KVEC leadership, superintendents and other school leaders are looking ahead to challenges around the next curve in the road. It is essential that our rural school communities create a framework to predict and prevent rather than react and repair.

The American Consortium for Equity in Education

Goals for the Futuring Team concentrate on 4 broad categories driven by critical questions:

• How do we ensure stable and accessible Health Care/Mental Health/Safety systems?

• What jobs will emerge, and which ones will decrease?

Public Education • How can the current situation lead (or even accelerate) a transformation in public education that results in a more effective structure better adapted to personalized learning, access, opportunity and equity?

• Is it possible to create a highly functioning, hybrid system of public education that improves the current system? This could be inclusive of investigating alternative school calendars interlacing face-to-face sessions with virtual at home instruction including technical education in blended models.

• Acknowledge that technology is part of the solution but is not the only necessary component of the solution. Many homes do not have the luxury of multiple technological devices that can be shared across grade spans.

Community • How do we begin a discussion with districts, caregivers, businesses, religious leaders, and other community members that a new system is needed not only for this current COVID-19 situation but to ultimately be ready for the next big thing?

• What technology do non-education agencies have that can be shared freely among schools/districts and vice versa?

• What processes do we currently have in place to demonstrate that public schools provide a level of physical, mental and emotional health services to students? Can these be provided through a digital platform?

Governance and Infrastructure • Revenue and Resources • Continuation of safety net structures • Brick and mortar structures as cornerstones • Access to Government • Access to Democratic Process • Universal Access to Broadband – How to advocate? How to provide information to the public(s) so there is equity no matter the zip code, no matter the socio-economic level?

These and other considerations will expand the work within Digitalachia and drive the Futuring Team’s evolving agenda. KVEC has experience in developing and implementing remote learning models to assist equitable access to learning resources for rural students. Building on and creating new structures and partnerships will enable a model to be developed to better address the current COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges that will emerge.

We believe this will be a transportable model that could be used in other rural areas to begin the conversation of equity in education across our nation.

Resources found at Digitalachia.com and on theholler.org are available for educators and students at no cost.

To learn more, check out our website and feel free to ‘holler’ at us any time.

Work/Employment • What will future work look like and where will this work take place (home, telework, etc.)?

• How do we do “hands-on” work – being makers of things, growing food, delivering, fixing things, electricity, plumbing?

ace-ed.org

Contributing to this article: Dr. Dessie Bowling, Associate Director Dessie.bowling@hazard.kyschools.us Robert Brown, Lead Policy Analyst Robert.brown@hazard.kyschools.us Dr. Jeff Hawkins, Executive Director Jeff.hawkins@hazard.kyschools.us

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LANDMARK COLLEGE

An Integrated Approach to Teaching Students Who Learn Differently While many colleges offer special programs for students with learning disabilities (LD) and other learning challenges, Landmark College is one of the only accredited colleges in the United States designed exclusively for students who learn differently, including students with learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

For almost 40 years, our combination of research-based learning strategies and academic support has proved successful in preparing students for the rigors of college-level work. As the field of learning disabilities and differences expanded, our approach to working with students has grown more varied, but always with a constant unyielding mission to provide best practices for all.

ACADEMIC ADVISING

In addition to classes, students in their first year at Landmark College participate in weekly academic advising sessions while engaged with the advising curriculum. As students progress in their coursework, they become increasingly independent and meet with their advisor less frequently. Students pursuing their bachelor’s degree work with degree specific advisors. The academic advisor is central to the system which supports individual student performance.

THE LANDMARK COLLEGE DIFFERENCE

Landmark College offers the same range of student services found at any college—from counseling and health services to student life and athletics. The difference at Landmark College is that these professionals, like our faculty and academic advisors, bring specific expertise in, and a passion for, working with students who learn differently.

Working together, we help students discover their path as confident, empowered, and independent learners. We integrate our innovative learning strategies into everything we do.

CENTERS FOR ACADEMIC SUPPORT

Landmark College’s Centers for Academic Support offer unparalleled support to students who learn differently, at no additional charge. The Drake Center for Academic Support is the first place students turn for help with reading, writing, and study skills. Academic support centers within individual departments offer drop-in support and one-on-one scheduled appointments with Landmark College faculty.

COUNSELING & HEALTH

Counseling Services are available to provide support to students dealing with stress and other personal, social, or academic difficulties. Health Services offers support for physical issues.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION COACHING

Through the office of Coaching Services, Landmark College’s Professional Certified Coaches work with students who have a variety of learning profiles and struggle with executive functioning.

INTEGRATED SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM

SUMMER PROGRAMS

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES & CURRICULUM

Whether located on our Putney, Vermont campus or at one of our programs in California and Colorado, the instructors consist of current Landmark College faculty as well as teachers from the surrounding areas who are experienced in working with students who learn differently.

Students with autism who are academically prepared for college may still face significant challenges navigating the social curriculum and adjusting to the more fluid routine of the college student. Landmark College recognizes the need to provide additional programming to assist students with autism to meet their college goals. Our integrated services model for ASD support services provides a structured living and learning environment that combines an effective pedagogical approach with tailored social and other programmatic supports.

Originally founded as a two-year college, Landmark College began offering four-year degrees in 2014. We now offer an array of baccalaureate and associate degrees, with optional minors and concentrations.

Landmark College offers summer programs to assist a wide range of students with learning differences, including middle school students, high school students, graduating high school seniors, and students enrolled at colleges around the country. All of the programs are designed to enable students to identify their learning strengths and differences. Students learn specific strategies to be successful in formal academic settings and grow personally and academically in an intentional and supportive academic community.

Landmark College offers a diverse selection of courses in anthropology, English, business, communications, humanities, philosophy, psychology, history, literature, math, science, foreign languages, theater, video, music, art, physical education, and other disciplines.

For all entering students, the curriculum sequence begins with skillsdevelopment courses, designed to address the key areas of writing, reading, communication and study skills. Self-management, as well as the development of self-understanding and self-advocacy, are also important parts of this firstsemester curriculum.

Initial courses are offered at non-credit and credit levels. This allows students to be placed in classes where they are able to succeed, from the start. Due to our rigorous academic standards, more than 50% of incoming students begin in non-credit courses, with most moving into credit courses after one or two semesters.

VISIT OUR CAMPUS

Landmark College offers several Open Houses on Saturdays each semester. You can also schedule a visit with our Admissions office any week day during regular business hours by calling 802-387-6718 or emailing admissions@landmark.edu.

LEVERAGING SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAMS IN SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

By Melissa Clark How technology helps us engage and work with students who can’t be serviced by their own school systems due to complex communication needs and behavior disorders.

Like many speech language pathologists, I used to scour the Internet, wading through websites and links in search of social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum materials for my students with special needs. I had some favorite websites, but the navigation was difficult. I’d click on multiple links, never really knowing if I’d find the right skill that I was looking for. For example, one link might send me to Pinterest. Once there, I’d navigate through multiple items or to a blog that I’d have to read through. It was pretty time-consuming.

In 2016, I found an Everyday Speech video about “Compromising” on YouTube. I liked the visuals and the bubbles that appeared over the characters’ heads (since I was already talking with my students about ‘talking bubbles’ and ‘thinking bubbles.’) I also liked the video modeling and how we could see appropriately-aged characters dealing with real-life situations.

MAKING TEACHING EASIER Here at New Horizons Regional Education Centers, we work with students who can’t be serviced by their own school systems due to complex communication needs and behavior disorders. I work with all grade levels, and have been using a social emotional learning program for about three years now. Here’s why:

1. It simplified my life.

I use the platform with our elementary school and middle school students, plus a couple of high school students. Knowing each of their goals, I can just open the program and pick the appropriate curriculum or learning experience on the spot. Sometimes I’ll just go through and preview a couple of options, just to make sure.

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The American Consortium for Equity in Education

Overall, it’s very easy to use, my students love it, and they’re very engaged with it. That really helps to streamline things in my classroom and simplifies the teaching experience.

2. I can teach real-life situations.

I loved the very first video that I ever watched—that free clip on how to compromise. I really like how you can see the whole process of the facial expressions on the students, who are in real-life situations and interacting with one another. Through video modeling, my own students can then act out, imitate, and/or tell about a time that they had a similar experience in their own lives. That makes it really simple to extract those scenarios and help students apply them in their own lives.

3. It’s a great student engagement tool.

The platform works in a 1:1 situation, in small groups, or when I’m working with entire classrooms. For example, I've gone into some pretty chaotic classrooms, where the kids were refusing to engage with a structured activity, or where something is going on that they want to be a part of. I load up the program, pick a lesson at the spur of the moment, the videos pop up, and the classroom calms down and gets engaged.

This means that I don’t have to pull students out one-on-one to teach them— particularly if they don’t want to leave their peers. They can all enjoy and benefit from the games and activities as a group.

4. Students get real-life lessons.

Kids are engaged when they see individuals their own age doing something, and the video modeling helps them make a personal connection to the concepts we’re discussing. We do a lot of work with perspective-taking and empathy.

Having a variety of ways to show a concept — with the videos and emojis and snapshots with different expressions — is engaging and useful for real-life situations.

5. I’m connecting personally with my students.

As a speech language pathologist, I want to be able to make personal connections with all of my students. For example, I have one student who’s been working with the platform’s thinking and talking bubbles for a while and he's very familiar with those concepts. We’ve reached a point where I can say to him, "Oh, can you keep that in your thought bubble?” or ask, “Should that be a thought bubble or a talking bubble?" He knows exactly what I'm talking about. So not only do we use the platform for structured activities, but I can also bring up those concepts when he needs to use them in the moment.

The SEL program also does an excellent job of adding new materials on a regular basis, which makes it easy to find things that come up in my students’ lives. It’s a huge time saver, and I’ve been very impressed with it.

Melissa Clark is a Speech Language Pathologist at New Horizons Regional Education Centers. ace-ed.org

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WriQ was awarded Tech & Learning’s Best of Show at ISTE

accelerate student writing proficiency with personalized, automated feedback With hundreds of papers to go through one at a time, it can be a time-consuming and subjective manual task to grade by hand. Keeping track of students’ writing ability can also be daunting for many educators.

Until now.

WriQ automatically grades papers digitally.

Grading is faster, more accurate and consistent giving clear visibility of writing progress over time against peers and standardized norms.

Providing you with those much needed benchmarks on a student, classroom and district level to effectively improve writing performance, whilst providing meaningful, accurate feedback on a student level on an ongoing basis.

Accuracy

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A FEW RECENT DISCUSSIONS: PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN A REMOTE EDUCATION WORLD PBL Works Editor in Chief John Larmer TWO SUPERINTENDENTS DISCUSS EDUCATIONAL EQUITY Dr Luvelle Brown & Dr. Khalid Mumim MENTAL HEALTH & STRESS STRATEGIES IN K-12 EDUCATION Kevin Baird & Josh Knutson

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