Essential Bulletin for Educators
September 2023
Use this routine to encourage students' curiosity and to increase their motivation.
This routine provides practice developing questions that provoke thinking and inquiry. Brainstorming such questions helps students explore the complexity, depth, and multi-dimensionality of a topic.
This tool is also provided in Spanish.
From Project Zero - https://pz.harvard.edu/
Personal connection and relationships are critical in being a culturally responsive educator and as a gateway to engagement in learning.
This template includes a structure and sample questions for one-on-one chats to open dialogue with students and to learn more about how they are experiencing school.
From CASEL - The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning envisions all children and adults as self-aware, caring, responsible, engaged, and lifelong learners who work together to achieve their goals and create a more inclusive, just world.
Intensive Skills Training for Students with Emotional Behavioral Disorders is a 3-day, on-site training for educators who want to learn evidenced-based instructional practices for working with students with emotional behavioral disorders.
Teachers and administrators often struggle with offering a balance of quality instruction while establishing behavior management systems that result in all students having success. In this session, a review of effective instructional strategies and procedures for the delivery of high-quality instruction for students across all settings will be provided.
Locations/Dates/Times for the 3-day, in-person trainings:
PaTTAN East (Malvern): Sept. 26, 27, and 29, 2023 from 9:00AM to 4:00PM
PaTTAN Central (Harrisburg): October 3-5, 2023 from 9:00AM to 4:00PM
PaTTAN West (Pittsburgh): November 20-22, 2023, from 9:00AM to 4:00PM
The Random Moment Time Study (RMTS) system is live.
It's time to update the participant lists for the October-December 2023 quarter. We appreciate the time and effort involved in meeting these expedited deadlines. To ensure we meet your needs, we are offering multiple training opportunities. These include RMTS Participant Trainings and open “Coffee Hour” sessions.
We hope to see every LEA represented during our webinars. Please register for the training(s) date and time that works best for you. If you have any questions, please contact our help desk via e-mail at pasupport@sivicsolutionsgroup.com, or phone (877) 916-3222.
This 30-hour PIL approved course aims to build upon principals’ working knowledge and skill set needed to successfully innovate and program for students with disabilities.
The growing field of research at the intersection of the position of principal and special education yields evidence-based practices that support outcomes for students with disabilities. PULSE coursework incorporates a variety of essential topics throughout the three instructional days, such as the use of data practices, instructional strategies, and innovations to improve student achievement, legal literacy, and implementation of and sustaining evidence-based practices.
Applications for the fall PULSE series are due by 10/6/23.
Whether you are a general or special educator, building principal, or special education administrator supporting students with significant cognitive disabilities, look for the new logo to identify resources about "instruction and assessment for all."
Visit the DLM website for high quality instructional and professional development resources that support classroom instruction. See how instruction leads to opportunities after high school in the High Expectations for Student Success video available on the DLM website (Vimeo link provided below).
The Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program (SAP) is a systematic team process used to mobilize school resources to remove barriers to learning.
Pennsylvania's Student Assistance Program (SAP) began in the mid-1980s to address student barriers to academic success. SAP teams review referrals and connect students to services. State leadership conducts an annual SAP team survey and collects data.
Family engagement does not always mean "families come to our school buildings."
Consider:
- Inviting families to participate in virtual meetings.
- Offering varied times for meetings to fit families’ busy schedules.
- Holding meetings in community rooms throughout your school community (e.g., local businesses, churches).
Charissa Rychcik, McGuffey School District
Celebrate the small stuff.
- Call families just to check in or to congratulate their child on academic, social, or behavioral success. Putting those "pennies in the bank" can help to build positive relationships when tough situations arise.
- Make sure parents know that you're rooting for their successes, too!
Laurie Havrisko, Greater Latrobe School District
Lean on your PTA for ideas and recommendations.
Consider:
- Cultural Events.
- Community Experts who could share their knowledge.
- Families’ areas of need.
Michael Getz, McKean Elementary School
Survey families. You don't know what they think/need/want/like/don't like until you ask!
Consider:
- Creating a brief survey polling families about their preferences, suggestions, and needs.
- A Family Engagement Needs Assessment, which can be utilized to examine your family engagement practices, procedures, and programs. This survey can be modified to meet your specific needs. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DJZttmnA4ymUHVDm7dDXMW98-moXIodh?usp=sharing
Teresa Giardina, HMS School for Students with Cerebral Palsy
Thank you to PaTTAN's Enhancing Family Engagement teams for providing these tips!
To learn more about how YOU can increase family engagement, visit our Family Engagement webpage at https://www.pattan.net/Supports/Family-Engagement
Let our Family Engagement team assist you with your family engagement needs. Please contact us at familyengagementconnect@pattankop.net
Check out this downloadable template!
Click the link below for an editable, printable Back-to-School calendar with celebratory dates marked throughout and a list of celebrations for each month of the year with linked resources.
From Technotes - https://blog.tcea.org/
We all feel anxious sometimes, but some children experience anxiety that is so serious, it can be diagnosed as a disorder.
A child may have an anxiety disorder if their anxiety:
- Is unrealistic.
- Doesn’t go away.
- Makes them start avoiding everyday things.
The article and video linked below describe different kinds of anxiety that are common with children.
From Child Mind Institute - https://childmind.org/
Everything you need to create an inclusive classroom.
Find a collection of resources to support a variety of educational topics, curated by Microsoft Education. Quick Guides include:
- Live Captions for PowerPoint
- Speech to Text (Dictate)
- Office Lens
- Reading Coach in Immersive Reader
- Speaker Coach
- Translate
- Math Solver
- Reflect (for student wellbeing)
- Planner
The mission of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services.