BSE Bulletin for Educators
May 2022
Would you like to see your school featured in an upcoming issue of BSE Bulletin?
We are looking for quick tips and tangible tools that teachers can begin using in their classrooms right away. If you are using a strategy or tool that you would like to share with others, we’d love to hear from you! Send an email to bsebulletin@pattankop.net to submit your story.
An annotated version of a special education form provides guidance to assist IEP Teams in completing the form accurately.
The following annotated school-age forms are currently available:
- Individualized Education Program (IEP) with COVID-19 Guidance
- Invitation to Participate in the IEP Team Meeting
- Communication Plan for a Child who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- Parental Consent to Excuse Members from Attending the IEP Team Meeting
To access annotated special education forms:
1. Go to www.pattan.net.
2. Click on Special Education Forms at the top of the home page.
3. Use the Filter buttons: By Age Group, By Language, and most importantly, select YES in the filter for obtaining the Annotated version.
4. Click GO. The list of desired annotated documents will show up in the results list.
You can download the documents to your computer for easy reference or save as PDFs to share via email.
"Take Five" - Self-Regulation Resources
- Take 5 to Breathe
- Five Protective Factors
- Give Yourself a High Five
- Tools to Take 5
- The Incredible 5-Point Scale
These tools are part of a larger project titled Leveraging Technology to Build Capacity: Developing an Autistic Support Remote Learning Resources Google Site for SDP Educators, which was developed by Dr. Michelle Nutini, Autism Support Coordinator at the School District of Philadelphia.
For more information about the project, click the link below or visit: https://youtu.be/Q0u_3VBLZX0
- Do students require information to be presented in more than one way in order to understand it?
- Do students' learning styles require a nonstandard assignment for them to communicate understanding?
Submit assignments as video/audio files vs. written/typed submissions using:
Eliminate answer choices and/or provide embedded hints/coaching for students using:
Read online text aloud to students and/or translate the text to students' native language using:
Accommodations for All Learners is a website, developed by teachers for teachers, to assist in finding digital tools to help support learners in need of accommodations. Information shared with permission.
Under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, if you teach full time for five complete and consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency, and meet other qualifications, you may be eligible for loan forgiveness of up to $17,500 on your Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and your Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans.
Eligibility Requirements:
You must not have had an outstanding balance on Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans as of Oct. 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after Oct. 1, 1998.
You must have been employed as a full-time, highly qualified teacher for five complete and consecutive academic years, and at least one of those years must have been after the 1997–98 academic year.
You must have been employed at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves low-income students (a "low-income school or educational service agency").
The loan(s) for which you are seeking forgiveness must have been made before the end of your five academic years of qualifying teaching service.
Wondering whether you can get your federal student loans forgiven for your service as a teacher? Learn more about the program to see whether you qualify!
The Pennsylvania State Personnel Development Grant, Middle School Success: The Path to Graduation (P2G), was recently recognized by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the meaningful work provided to more than 77 school teams across the state. To date, this work has benefited over 1,000 students with disabilities.
P2G provides intensive, ongoing professional development and coaching using evidence-based instructional and adult learning practices to build the capacity of schools to address the academic and behavioral needs of middle school students with disabilities, in particular, students identified with emotional and behavioral disorders.
For additional information about P2G, contact:
Jacki Lyster - jlyster@pattan.net
Tracy Ficca - tficca@pattan.net
Proven successful as one of P2G's evidence-based interventions, the Check & Connect Program assigns mentors to students to check in on their attendance, behavior and course grades, establishing positive teacher-student rapport, connection to the school environment, and a positive adult influence in their lives.
To find out more about applying high-quality, relevant research to your own setting, visit Pennsylvania Evidence Resource Center at https://www.evidenceforpa.org/
Special education is often seen as a destination; and once they get there, students may not be part of the problem-solving team. As we try to support all students, particularly with intensive intervention, it's important to make sure that students with special needs are being progress monitored and have more intensive interventions available for them.
Developed by the National Center on Intensive Intervention, this video addresses the importance of ensuring that students with disabilities have access to supports across the tiers of tiered frameworks. This video is part of MTSS Quick Pick Recordings, which are recordings designed to provide brief videos of actionable practices that can be used to enhance support for students within a multi-tiered system of support.
Many people have difficulty identifying their true feelings. When asked about their feelings, most people will usually say they feel bad, sad, mad, good, or fine. But underneath these blanket statements are many words that better describe how we feel. Taking the time to slow down and identify what we are really experiencing can help us feel better and can improve our communication and relationships with others.
"How to Identify Feelings - So You can Deal with Them" is a free download from Mental Health America.
We're working hard to increase our outreach to educators, paraprofessionals, administrators, and families. Now it's easier than ever to stay updated on PaTTAN's offerings with our new Instagram and LinkedIn accounts!
Please feel free to share our social media pages through the various channels that you may have. We hope to spread awareness on PaTTAN's resources, events, and opportunities that can help support Pennsylvania's LEAs, school districts, and families.