Archived newsletter — April 2022. This issue preserves historical information; events, contacts, and resources may have changed.
News You Can Use
Annual Performance Report (APR) Program Measures are now due to your Project Officer. Please note that you can find the package and the recorded informational webinar here.
OSEP’s Project Directors’ and Leadership Conference will again be virtual. Please register and mark your calendars for July 19-21.
SIGnetwork is looking for volunteers to help us plan our Program Area Meeting at the Project Directors’ Conference and our SPDG National Meeting in October. Please email Jennifer Coffey (Jennifer.Coffey@ed.gov) or Kelsey Leib (signetwork@uoregon.edu) to volunteer. Estimated virtual meeting time = 8 hours over multiple months.
Looking to combat special educator shortages?
Join CEC, the @CeedarCenter, and other national partners for a 12-part #CECShortages webinar series on evidence-based strategies to strengthen and diversify the workforce here.
OSEP is currently welcoming applications for three competitions in the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities (ETechM2) program area. Find more information for all these competitions on the New OSEP Funding Opportunities webpage.
- New Competition for Innovative Technology-Based Approaches for Assessing Children With Disabilities (84.327V)! The 327V Notice Inviting Applications was published March 3, 2022 and applications are due May 2, 2022. The contact is Rebecca Sheffield (Rebecca.Sheffield@ed.gov; 202-245-6725).
- Stepping-Up Technology Implementation (84.327S). For the FY 2022 competition, this priority is Supporting Early Childhood and K-12 Educators of English Learners (ELs) with Disabilities and ELs at Risk to Deliver Literacy Instruction Based on the Science of Reading. The 327S Notice Inviting Applications was published February 22, 2022 and applications are due April 25, 2022. The contact is Richelle Davis (Richelle.Davis@ed.gov; 202-245-7401).
Additionally, we are often in need of colleagues outside of OSEP who have expertise in educational technology, special education, assessment, project management, and evaluation to include on our standing panel of reviewers. If you have experience and interest, please reach out to Jennifer Coffey (Jennifer.Coffey@ed.gov).
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SPDG Success!
Through the Florida SPDG, schools implement Check & Connect and/or the Strategic Instruction Model, two evidence-based programs that impact achievement and graduation. Three-year trend data show that the dropout rate for students with disabilities are decreasing in high schools that are implementing Check & Connect (from 12.1% to 9.2%) and the cohort graduation rate for students with disabilities is increasing (from 76.8% to 84.9%). Of the students who participated in a Strategic Instruction Model intervention course, 90.5% improved their reading skills (average pre-test score of 29% increased to average post-test score of 69%).
Improving Professional Learning
Research Roundup
Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4–9 (ed.gov)
IES’ What Works Clearinghouse has released its newest educator practice guide “Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4-9.” Kim St. Martin, of the Michigan SPDG, is one of its authors!
Inside the guide you will find recommendations, procedures, potential implementation challenges and practical solutions.
Making Your Work Easier
Schools and families across the country faced unprecedented challenges during the shift to remote schooling that occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to hear from parents and educators about what was helpful to them as they navigated the blurred divisions between school and home in fall 2020. Our new brief, Improving School-Family Communication and Engagement: Lessons from Remote Schooling during the Pandemic, outlines seven lessons that we drew from the insights shared by parents and educators working and living in the South, West, and Southwest Sides of Chicago.
Key Lessons
Lesson One
Virtual meeting options provided more flexible scheduling opportunities for parents to communicate with educators.
Lesson Two
Mobile apps increased timely communication between parents and educators.
Lesson Three
Translation features in mobile apps allowed for direct communication between educators and parents who speak languages other than English.
Lesson Four
Schools enlisted all staff members, including non-instructional staff, to serve as additional resources to help cultivate additional relationships between schools and parents.
Lesson Five
Schools created inclusive, family-focused co-curricular events that helped deepen their relationships with parents.
Lesson Six
Schools created virtual and in-person forums where parents connected with one another and deepened their sense of community.
Lesson Seven
Understanding students’ family and community contexts helped schools to reach—and know how to be reached by—families during the pandemic.
Spotlight on OSEP/TA
Data-Informed
OSEP Fast Facts: Students with Disabilities who are English Learners (ELs) Served under IDEA Part B, which explore our IDEA, Section 618 data with the specific lens on one of the fastest-growing populations of students with disabilities served under IDEA.
Podcasts of the Month
The Power of Inclusion on the Education Suspended podcast
Carrie Mueller, the State Director for Best Buddies Iowa, as well as Gavin and Natasha, a Best Buddies pair highlight why inclusion matters in schools and remind us that everyone needs a friend. Gavin and Natasha share how Best Buddies has changed their lives and how focusing on fostering relationships has the potential to truly change the world.
The Future of Smart, also on the Education Suspended podcast.
Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen reminds us that if we want to look forward and change this system, we must start by first looking back and understanding how we got here. She shares her knowledge about the history of our educational system and explores how that history has left so many students with the belief that they are not smart. Ulcca also highlights that we must focus on our sphere of influence and not be afraid to make changes in the systems we directly work in.
If You Have the Time
Attracting Personnel Changing Public Perception
This OSEP brief provides strategies for changing public perception on the value of educators. Research findings, exemplars, and a spotlighted resource demonstrate some right next steps to improving public perception of educators.