Dr. Heather Sprague
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Sprague is an experienced Licensed Clinical Psychologist with a demonstrated history of working across settings in multiple roles ranging from direct mental health treatment to supervision /leadership, and program management and development. She is skilled in Non-Profit Organizations, Autism and Developmental Delays, Family and Individual Therapy, Assessment, Crisis Intervention, Evidence-Based Practice, Clinical Supervision, Training, Program Development, OPWDD, and State Education services. She has a strong background in healthcare services with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and a license to practice in New York State. She has a focus on Child, Adolescent, and Family Clinical Psychology.
Title: Developmental Disabilities & Autism Series
Descriptions:
Session #1: Overview of Developmental Disabilities & Autism
In this professional learning session, we will explore an overview of DSM-5-TR classified developmental disabilities. Specific attention will be given to Autism Spectrum Disorder and accompanying symptoms, as well as to recent changes to classifying language. Participants can expect to discuss early detection, as well as assessment and diagnosis. Time will also be spent investigating how school personnel can best support caregivers. Research-based instructional programming that may be utilized within the school setting, as well as possible school resources will be addressed.
Date: 10/13/2023
Time: 8:30 - 3:00
Location: 80 Munson Street, LeRoy, NY 14482
Intended Audience: PreK-12 Educators, and Administrators
Session #2: How to Gather Social History Information and Develop a Helpful Document
Writing a compliant and quality social history is a crucial component in the intake process, CSE referral, and all work with a student and their family. To be most effective, the provider needs to gather information about a student’s developmental, social, and educational experiences that is accurate and comprehensive. Understanding the student’s milestones, any Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), and critical family events is an important part of establishing an appropriate educational program. This session will afford participants an opportunity to develop best practices around building rapport with families, interviewing caregivers, and creating social history documents.
Date: 10/27/2023
Time: 8:30 - 3:00
Location: 80 Munson Street, LeRoy, NY 14482
Intended Audience: School Psychologists, Social Workers, Related Service Providers, Mental Health Providers, School Counselors
Session #3: Instructional Implications for a Student with Developmental Disability: Specifically Autism
Developing an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for any student with a disability is complicated, but especially challenging when considering a student with a developmental disability. This opportunity will highlight the importance of teamwork in such a complicated process and how Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) plays an important role in the IEP document. Time will be spent with a panel of individuals who work with children on the Autism Spectrum who will share tips and instructional practices.
Date: 11/17/2023
Time: 8:30 - 3:00
Location: 80 Munson Street, LeRoy, NY 14482
Intended Audience: PreK-12 Educators, and Administrators
John SanGiovanni
Biographical Sketch:
John SanGiovanni is a nationally recognized leader in mathematics education. John works as the Coordinator of Mathematics in Howard County, Maryland leading mathematics curriculum design, professional learning, assessment, and digital learning. He also works to develop new mathematics leaders at McDaniel College in Maryland. John is the author of more than two dozen books about teaching and learning mathematics and consults nationally for curriculum development and professional learning. He is active in professional organizations, recently serving on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and currently on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics.
Session #1: Passed Date
Session #2: Foundations for Fluency: Critical Number Concepts • September 28, 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM
Certain skills and understandings are good (and necessary) beginnings for fluency. This session unpacks what those skills and understandings are while providing classroom-ready resources for teaching and practicing them. This session also helps pinpoint where to provide intervention when student fluency stalls.
Location: Online
Intended Audience: K-8 General Education, Special Education & Intervention Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators
Session #3: Foundations for Fluency: Basic Facts • October 17, 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM
There is nothing basic about basic facts. Though fluency goes beyond basic facts, they do play a role in students’ growth and ultimately their overall fluency. This session examines proven approaches to realizing basic fact fluency. Instructional sequences and resources will be provided. This session also helps provide ideas for intervention and reteaching in later grades.
Location: Online
Intended Audience: K-8 General Education, Special Education & Intervention Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators
Session #4: Strategies for Addition and Subtraction • October 24, 8:30 – 9:45
There are five significant strategies for addition and subtraction of whole numbers laying the foundation for work with later number types. This session is a deep dive into those strategies highlighting what they are and how they work while providing classroom-ready resources to help you teach them.
Location: Online
Intended Audience: K-8 General Education, Special Education & Intervention Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators
Session #5: Strategies for Multiplication and Division • November 9, 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM
There are five significant strategies for multiplication and division of whole numbers laying the foundation for later number types. This session is a deep dive into those strategies highlighting what they are and how they work while providing classroom-ready resources to help you teach them.
Location: Online
Intended Audience: K-8 General Education, Special Education & Intervention Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators
Session #6: Fluency with Fractions and Decimals • November 28, 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM
There are seven significant strategies for fluency with fractions, decimals, and integers. This session dives into those strategies building on the ideas introduced in the previous whole number of sessions. Classroom-ready resources will be shared.
Location: Online
Intended Audience: Grades 3-8 General, Special Education, and Intervention Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators
Session #7: Assessing Fluency • December 5, 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM
To assess fluency well, we must assess all three parts of it. This final workshop closes the loop on fluency by focusing on how and when to assess, what to look for, and where to go next. It is perfect for any grade-level math teacher. Classroom-ready resources will be shared.
Location: Online
Intended Audience: K-8 General Education, Special Education & Intervention Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators
News You Can Use
Regional Computer-Based (CBT) Fall Training Session
The New York State Education Department is offering a Regional Computer-Based (CBT) Fall Training Session for school/district-level administrators. The purpose of this session is to focus on administration and software preparation for computer-based testing. Training topics include:
Nextera Admin
Nextera Test Delivery
Questar Secure Browser
ScorePoint
CBT administration best practice
CBT technology tips
Tips for troubleshooting common issues during CBT administration
Resources for CBT support
While the focus will be for schools/districts newer to CBT, administrators from all schools/districts are welcome to attend. Registration opens September 5, 2023; a link will be sent to the 3-8 Testing Contacts listserv. Details for this session are as follows:
NYSED Regional Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Training Session
Thursday, October 26, 2023
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
RIT Inn & Conference Center, 5257 W Henrietta Rd, Henrietta NY 14467
STUDENT BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT: AMENDED REGULATIONS
Amendments to the Commissioner’s regulations concerning basic student management practices became effective August 3, 2023. Early familiarity with these regulation changes is important because the amendments apply now and because there are related requirements that districts should start working on right away. Please use the two buttons below to access SED's July 13, 2023 Field Memo, and an article that introduces the amendments. Should you have questions please contact:
Steve Mahoney
Labor Relations Attorney
Continued Professional Learning
The School Improvement (SI) newsletter strives to continue providing professional learning for school administrators, teachers, and staff that fit your district's needs. This section of the newsletter will provide readers with timely and relevant learning aligned with evidence-based practices. If you would like more professional learning on topics outlined in the newsletter, please contact the SI department. Our contact information is located at the bottom of the newsletter. Enjoy!
MTSS-I: Tier 3
Tier 3, within the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, is the highest level of support offered to students who demonstrate significant academic or behavioral challenges. Approximately 10-15 percent of students may need Tier 3 and subsequently Tier 2 services across a school year. These students will continue to receive core instruction, but also receive individualized and intensive interventions tailored to meet their specific needs. According to the MTSS Center (2021), Tier 3 interventions are designed to address the unique and substantial needs of students who have not responded adequately to universal (Tier 1) and targeted (Tier 2) interventions. These interventions typically involve more frequent monitoring, specialized instruction, and close collaboration among educators, families, and specialists.
McIntosh and Goodman (2016) emphasize that Tier 3 interventions should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the student's strengths and areas of difficulty. These interventions are not one-size-fits-all; rather, they are customized to address the specific barriers a student faces. These scholars also highlight the importance of frequent progress monitoring to gauge the effectiveness of Tier 3 interventions and make timely adjustments if needed.
Sugai and Horner (2021) stress that a problem-solving approach is crucial at Tier 3. In their view, this approach involves a deeper analysis of the student's challenges, the development of individualized intervention plans, and continuous collaboration among educational professionals, parents, and specialists. This process ensures that the interventions are both evidence-based and responsive to the student's needs. Tier 2/3 academic services target off-grade-level skills gaps, rather than reteaching course content or providing homework help or test preparation. Contact time for Tier 2 should include 30 minutes, three times a week, and for Tier 3 should be about daily for 30 minutes. There should be a cap on group size ( whereas, Tier 2: 7 students; Tier 3: no more than 3 students) (Wright, 2021).
In summary, Tier 3 in an MTSS framework represents a focused effort to support students with significant academic or behavioral difficulties. It involves individually tailored interventions that take into account the unique challenges faced by each student. Collaboration, comprehensive assessment, frequent progress monitoring, and a problem-solving approach are essential components of successful Tier 3 interventions. This tier aims to empower educators and specialists to provide intensive assistance that enables students to overcome their challenges and achieve their academic and behavioral goals.
School Improvement Spotlights
Following the keynote, participants were exposed to breakout sessions where a number of facilitators from Genesee Valley BOCES, component districts, and outside vendors extended the learning from the content included in Dr. Jones’ keynote. Additional breakout sessions focused on topics that reflected the diversity of needs within the Genesee Valley region’s schools and districts. The topics that were included in breakout sessions included:
School Library Book Challenges
Explore SEL Benchmarks
SEL and Personnel Management
Navigating Artificial Intelligence in Schools
A District’s Tiered Approach to SEL Support
Leadership Mentoring
Integrating Technology with SEL
Alternatives to Suspension
Capital Project Planning
Over the course of the two-day event, several of the Genesee Valley component districts took advantage of the time and meeting spaces that Holiday Valley has to offer, hosting their own district planning retreats.
Genesee Valley BOCES would like to thank the Superintendent Subcommittee (SISC), as well as many other leaders in the region, for sharing their knowledge with all the region’s leaders in education at the 2023 Leadership Institute.
Next year’s Leadership Institute will be held on July 31st and August 1, 2024 at Holiday Valley Inn & Conference Center, in Ellicottville, New York. We look forward to another great event next summer!
Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities (PLOs)
September
APPR Re-Certification for Lead Evaluators of Teachers (September 2023 Cohort)
Preparing for Phase III of NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards
Instructional Coaching Cohort Onboarding Session (New Cohort Members Only)
October
Follow School Improvement on Twitter
Don’t forget that you can follow the School Improvement Team (SIT) on Twitter. The team is often posting information about upcoming professional learning opportunities, educational resources, and strategies for the classroom. You can stay in tune with what is happening at Genesee Valley BOCES and the SIT by following #gvbocessit.
Need Support?
Website: http://www.gvboces.org/services.cfm?subpage=208119
Location: 80 Munson Street, Le Roy, NY, USA
Phone: 585.344.7923