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eBrief
The State Support Team 1 Newsletter for Busy Educators
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November is National Family and Community Engagement Month
Family and community engagement greatly increases the likelihood that students will learn and thrive. Students are more prepared for school, more likely to achieve, and more likely to graduate when they are supported by schools, families, and communities working together in a coordinated manner. Regardless of income or background, research has shown that students with involved families:
- earn better grades and test scores
- enroll in higher-level courses and programs;
- are more likely to be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits;
- have better school attendance;
- show improved behavior and have better social skills; and
- graduate and go on to postsecondary education.
Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center
The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center is part of The Ohio State University’s Center on Education and Training for Employment, a translational research center within the College of Education and Human Ecology. Their website is filled with resources, tools and trainings for Ohio families and educators, as well as community partners, to aid in building effective family-school-community partnerships. If you missed the Ohio Family Engagement Leadership Summit this past September you can watch the recorded sessions HERE.
Family and Community Partnership Liaison Program
The Family and Community Partnership Liaison program was designed to meet the increased needs of vulnerable youth by connecting schools, families and students to community resources and local systems of care.
The Ohio Department of Education allocated federal COVID relief funding to the state’s educational service centers (ESCs) to employ a Family and Community Partnership Liaison. All participating ESCs have a Liaison designated to identify, create, and sustain partnerships to support vulnerable youth and families in their region. With the support of the Liaison, school districts and ESCs can foster transformative partnerships with families and communities to improve student wellness, increase family engagement, and serve the whole child. To contact the Family and Community Partnership Liaison servicing your school or district, view this directory.
Surrogate Parents for Children With Disabilities
A surrogate parent represents a student with disabilities in all matters relating to the identification, evaluation, educational placement and provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child. The superintendent of a student’s district of residence or a court appoints surrogate parents in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act and Operating Standards for Students with Disabilities.
If you are interested in becoming a Surrogate Parent, you can find find the training at https://ohiosurrogateparent.org/. If you are an educator looking for a list of certified Surrogate Parents in your area please contact Jill Barnhisel here at the SST.
Ohio's Parent Mentor Project
Parent Mentors are parents of a child with a disability who are employed by a local education agency or educational service center to help families and school districts by providing support, information and training services. Parent Mentors work in collaboration with families, schools, and agencies to create the conditions for success for children with disabilities. Ohio’s Parent Mentor Project offers all services free of charge to families. Additional information, resources and a list of the Parent Mentor for your school or district can be found on their website.
OMHAS - ODE Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation to SST Expansion Project
FY24 begins year 2 of implementation of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OMHAS) - Ohio Department of Education (ODE) - State Support Team (SST) Expansion Project. The project provides Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Programmatic Consultation in Ohio’s 16 State Support Teams (SST's). The focus of the ECMH Consultant is implementation and support of Ohio's Strategic Plan for Education and the Whole Child Framework as well as the following goals:
- Promote wellness & self-care for SST staff and district partners.
- Build capacity of ELSR Consultant to promote social emotional learning & early childhood mental health.
- Support regional SST initiatives such as PBIS, community collaborations, Family Engagement: Reset & Restart in addition to other SST team priorities.
Andrea Longenecker, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant at Harbor Behavioral Health Care in Toledo has been assigned to work with SST1. Andrea has 8 years of EC Mental Health experience. She is an avid runner, reader, certified yoga/mindfulness/meditation instructor as well as a mom of four children. She has created a Padlet full of early childhood mental health resources which you can access below. Questions or ideas for Andrea can be sent to our office. A copy of her November newsletter is also available HERE.
2024 Purple Star Award Application Open
The Purple Star Award recognizes schools that show a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military. Schools that earn the award will keep the designation for three years and will receive a special Purple Star recognition to display on site. A school will be honored with the Purple Star Award if it completes all the required activities, plus one optional activity. The Purple Star Advisory Board helps decide a school’s eligibility for the award.
The application window for the 2024 class of Purple Star Designees will open on November 1, 2023 with a registration deadline of December 15, 2023. Awardees are announced each April, the Month of the Military Child. Last year Northwest Ohio had 46 schools receive the esteemed award. A list of those schools as well as additional information can be found on our website.
SST 1 Sponsored Networks and Professional Development
Any session marked with Closed is no longer open for registration
Specially Designed Instruction Book Study | November 7, 2023 | 11:00 - 12:00 | Virtual (Closed)
Statewide CTE/SPED Leaders Network | November 8, 2023 | 9:00 - 11:00 | Virtual
Specially Designed Instruction Book Study | November 8, 2023 | 1:30 - 2:30 | Virtual (Closed)
New Special Ed Administrator Meeting | November 9, 2023 | 9:00 - 11:00 | Virtual
EC PBIS Modules 5-6 | November 10, 2023 | 9:00 - 12:00 & 1:00 - 4:00 | Wood Co ESC (Closed)
Specially Designed Instruction Book Study | November 10, 2023 | 12:15 - 1:15 | Virtual (Closed)
PBIS District Training with the DSFI | November 14, 2023 | 9:15 - 11:00 | Virtual (Closed)
Literacy Leaders Network | November 16, 2023 | 9:00 - 11:00 | Virtual
Preschool Leader Network | November 21, 2023 | 9:30 - 11:30 | Virtual
The State Support Team Region 1 office will be closed November 22 - 24, 2023
Integrating Supports for Students with Disabilities | November 28, 2023 | 9:30 - 12:00 | Virtual
Retention Strategies in the Math Classroom Grades K-6 | November 29, 2023 | 8:30 - 3:30 | ESC of Lake Erie West (Closed)
Retention Strategies in the Math Classroom Grades 7-12| November 30, 2023 | 8:30 - 3:30 | ESC of Lake Erie West | (Closed)
Supporting Students with Disabilities for Graduation and Beyond | November 30, 2023 | 8:30 - 3:00 | Wood Co ESC (Closed)
MTSS for Young Children Book Study | December 6, 2023 | 11:00 - 12:00 | Virtual (Closed)
Adolescent Literacy Across the Content Areas | December 8, 2023 | 9:00 - 3:00 | ESC Lake Erie West
CTE Coffee Hour | December 12, 2023 | 9:00 - 10:00 | Virtual
New Special Ed Administrators Meeting | December 14, 2023 | 9:00 - 11:00 | Virtual
Preschool Office Hour | December 19, 2023 | 9:30 - 10:30 | Virtual
UDL and CTE: Instructional Tools for Your Teaching Toolbelt | December 19, 2023 | 9:00 - 3:00 | ESC of Lake Erie West (Closed)
State Deadlines and Dates
11/8: Register for Principal Chat Series
11/14-17: Register for OCALICONLINE 2023
11/16: Register to attend statewide Ohio Materials Matter High Quality Instructional Materials webinar
11/17: Apply for U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools program
11/20: Register for Ohio Dual Language Summit 2023
11/30: Complete Consolidated School Report
12/13: Register for Principal Chat Series
12/14: Register to attend statewide Ohio Materials Matter High Quality Instructional Materials webinar
If you like our eBrief, you will like our Level Up with Literacy Newsletter
Level Up with Literacy is a quarterly digital publication that provides information and resources to help you ensure all learners have access to high-quality language and literacy instruction and appropriate interventions from birth through grade 12. If you aren't currently getting Level Up with Literacy and would like to start receiving it you can sign up HERE.
Lynn McKahan, Director
Our office will be closed November 22-24
Happy Thanksgiving!
There are no copyright restrictions on this document; however, please cite and credit the source when copying all or part of this document. This document was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, (Award #H027A200111, CFDA 84.027A, awarded to the Ohio Department of Education). The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and no official endorsement by the Department should be inferred.