Community of Practice & Workgroups

During this first session, Dr. Jennifer Coffey laid the groundwork for the community by framing GrantWISE as a space for fiscal and programmatic excellence in discretionary grants. She highlighted the purpose of the group, upcoming meeting dates, and several core topics we’ll return to over time — including procurement, internal controls, subrecipient monitoring, cash management, budgeting resources, and APR-related budget explanations.

This month’s conversation will be facilitated by a panel of experienced SPDG evaluators exploring how to set meaningful measures for student outcomes that go beyond state test scores. Topics will include formative assessments of academic skills, student engagement and attitudes, and improvements in social-emotional and behavioral health and well-being. You’ll come away with fresh ideas and practical strategies for measuring outcomes that are more proximal to your interventions.

Presenters:

This session provided an overview of the federal requirements and best practices guiding the transition from IDEA Part C early intervention services to IDEA Part B. Sharon Lunn, ECTA, and Michelle Lewis, DaSy, shared key responsibilities for Part C and Part B programs, highlighted state experiences and challenges, and introduced tools, resources, and technical assistance to support effective transitions. Participants had the opportunity to reflect on current practices in their own states and consider strategies for strengthening transition planning and implementation.

This session, presented by Dr. Maegan Rides At The Door, Director of the National Native Children’s Trauma Center, explores trauma-informed healing for Native children, families, and communities.

Our focus was on measuring family engagement. Special guests from New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming projects (FY 2024 SPDGs) shared their plans for family engagement and how they intend to measure their impact.

This session will focus on "How states are obtaining student outcome data & drilling down to the student level."

Here are links to some of the resources that were shared:

Integrated Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Website

This session focused on how to craft messages that not only inform but also engage and drive action. We discussed and explored best practices for audience engagement, message clarity, and effective outreach strategies.

Key Take Aways: