12:40 – 1:00: Stories continued: Podcast Playlist
These pre-recorded sessions feature stories related to SPDGs’ work.
Improving Transition to School-Age Through Collaborative Partnerships
Jacqui DiDomenico, Statewide Family Network Coordinator, Pennsylvania
This session will describe the journey to improve transition for our youngest learners and their families. The state’s Special Education Advisory Panel expressed concern that families are not receiving the same level of supports as their children transition from early intervention to school-age special education services. FAMILIES TO THE MAX (F2MAX), Pennsylvania’s Statewide Family Network, gathered representatives from agencies across the state that support parents and families in the areas of early intervention, mental health, mentoring, and special education. This group is working collaboratively to address this concern by designing a plan to improve and intentionally bridge the transition experience that families face. This work strives to meet parents where they are, increase opportunities for parents to have a voice and take on leadership roles, establish a central location for resources, and develop and support the role of Transition Ambassador in regional intermediate units.
Technical assistance to improve data quality: A decade of partnership with the SPDG program
Shauna Harps, Technical Assistance Provider, and Brad Keller, Technical Assistance Provider
Technical assistance (TA) providers at Westat have partnered with SPDG leadership since 2013, initially through the Data Quality Initiative and subsequently through the Center to Improve Program and Project Performance (CIPP). Through the partnership, the TA team has helped improve the quality of Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data SPDG grantees report in annual performance reports. The podcast will highlight some of the ways in which the TA team has partnered with SPDG leadership over the past decade to improve data quality and consistency.
Instructional Coaching: the Extension of Professional Learning
Dr. Sally Crowser, Coaching Coordinator/Trainer, South Dakota
Instructional Coaching has power in extending professional learning beyond the two to three days of training. As a coaching coordinator for SPDG grant in our state of South Dakota, my story includes how our coaches moved the Science of Reading and foundational reading forward in our schools. Instructional Coaching is a missing key in many schools.
Montana’s Tiered System of Supports: Our SPDG Story
Tamara Lysons, SPDG Director, and Anne Carpenter, Program Support Specialist, Montana
Lessons learned from the prior SPDGs in Montana and how our current SPDG is designed for rural Montana schools, using implementation science, with a focus on building systems capacity at the district level.