Special Education Directors,

Due to popular demand, this training has been opened up to general and special educators and administrators.

The ADE/ESS Assistive Technology (AT) team is pleased to announce the next in our Related Service Providers Seminar Series: Processing Speed and Executive Function with Sarah Ward, CCC-SLP. This course is intended for General and Special Education teachers, Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, School Psychologists, Counselors, and Special Education Administrators.

Date:             Friday, April 7, 2023

Time:             8:00 am–4:30 pm

Fee:                $120.00  (Breakfast and lunch included)

Location:      Desert Willow Conference Center, 4340 East Cotton Center Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85040

Processing Speed and Executive Function 

In this practical strategies seminar, you will learn dozens of techniques for supporting students in developing independent executive function skills and in increasing processing speed. Executive function (EF) challenges, slow processing speed, and behavior deficits often go hand in hand. EF skills are the core cognitive skills involved in planning and self-directing toward the successful completion of academic and other goals. EF skills point our attention to where we need to go, keep the action plan in mind within working memory, block distractions, filter out extraneous information, and help us to resist temptations and to exhibit goal-driven self-control.

Processing speed difficulties can limit productivity and executive function skills to complete routines, follow instructions, finish homework, listen/read and take notes/summarize, integrate and encode information, write assignments that require complex thought, transition between tasks, acquire new material, and reason under time demands. Slow processing speed can bog students down in the details, and they cannot distinguish relevant from minor details and see the big picture. Learn practical ways to help students to develop independent EF skills and to improve their processing speed to increase the automaticity with which they can follow routines and directions, complete tasks, and manage complex assignments.

About Our Speaker:

Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP has over 25 years of experience in the treatment of executive dysfunction. Sarah is an internationally recognized expert on executive function and presents seminars on the programs and strategies she has developed with her co-director, Kristen Jacobsen. She has presented to over 1,600 public and private schools and organizations worldwide.

Registration:

Registration for this event must be completed in the Arizona Professional Learning and Development (APLD) registration system. You must be logged in to your ADE Connect account to complete the registration. If you do not have an ADE Connect account, you will need to create one before you register for the course.  

 Register for Processing Speed and Executive Function

For questions regarding this training, please email our AT inbox.

Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS is pleased to announce the opening of registration for Arizona's 2021 IDEA Virtual Conference, Renewal: Resilience to Results, scheduled for September 13–15, 2021.

The conference registration fee for professionals is $100.00 and can be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order.

Information about conference keynotes can be found on the conference webpage, which will continue to be updated throughout the summer.

Questions about the conference or registration can be sent to [email protected].

Special Education Directors,
Please see below for the IDEA Conference offerings in March:

March 2, 2021 from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Supportive Decision Making

Presented by George Garcia, Jon Meyers, Sey In, and Juliana Huerena

Searching for an alternative to Legal Guardianship for people with disabilities? Join us in this session to learn more about how Supported Decision-Making serves as a less restrictive alternative to Guardianship and how to develop a plan of support that will allow a person with a disability to keep his or her rights while getting the support he or she needs to live independently.

March 4, 2021 from 2:45–4:00 p.m.

The Burnout Cure

Presented by Chase Mielke

In this engaging, humorous, and heartfelt talk, Chase shares his experience as a veteran educator and provides key insights on how the science of small, positive moments creates thriving adults, learners, and communities. The audience will be empowered to take care of themselves so they can better take care of the young adults who need them. Participants will learn about:

• OPTIMISM—Refocus on the good in order to reignite our love for teaching,
• OWNERSHIP—Take control of our own well-being through simple, research-based actions that boost purpose and happiness,
• MINDFULNESS—Be present and turn minor moments into major momentum to thrive personally and professionally, and
• COMMUNITY—Cultivate positive relationships with kids and adults to build supportive and resilient cultures.
   

March 16, 2021 from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

         Skills to Pay the Bills: Let’s Explore Enthusiasm and Attitude!

Presented by Arizona Youth Leaders of Diverse Ability Incorporated

Join the Arizona Youth Leaders of Diverse Ability Incorporated for an opportunity to highlight your strengths related to positive attitude and enthusiasm. 

March 25, 2021 from 2:45–4:00 p.m.

The Iron is HOT: Using UDL in the Virtual Classroom

Presented by Paula Kluth

It’s undoubtedly important to teach in ways that honor learning differences and to structure lessons that are engaging, varied, and appropriately challenging. However, in this era focused on universal design for all, it is also critical to explore the underlying habits of mind related to “teaching them all.” This presentation centers on big ideas related to teaching and learning. The presenter, Paula Kluth, will discuss the role of “teaching up” and presuming both competence and complexity. She will explore the need to focus on student strengths, passions, and interests. She will also talk about the need to design lessons that are responsive and dynamic. This presentation will contain video clips, classroom stories, examples, and illustrations. It will provide both points of reflection and practical strategies. More importantly, it will feature ideas to help all teachers better respond to the diversity that exists in their classrooms every single day.

You can register by selecting sessions listed above or please visit the IDEA Conference web page:

• The Professional sessions will take place on Thursday afternoons from 2:45–4:00 p.m.
• Youth and Family sessions will take place on Tuesday afternoons from 4:00–5:00 p.m.
• Participants must register 48 hours in advance to guarantee needed accommodations.

If you have questions, please email the conference inbox.

Special Education Directors,

Are you looking for ways to shift the focus from compliance alone to educational programming designed for student progress toward meeting challenging goals? Are you interested in learning more about an opportunity to partner with an Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)-funded technical assistance center that provides information, resources, tools, and services to support local education agencies from kindergarten through secondary transition?

If so, please join the PROGRESS (Promoting Rigorous Outcomes and Growth by Redesigning Educational Services for Students with Disabilities) Center for one of three repeating virtual information sessions. Learn more about this possible partnership opportunity to support the development and implementation of high-quality educational programming that truly reflects the spirit of the IDEA.

Choose from one of three sessions:

• Register for December 10, 2020 from 5:30-6:30 pm EST. 
• Register for December 16, 2020 from 12:30-1:30 pm EST.
• Register for January 7, 2021 from 4:30-5:30 pm EST.

For more information, go to the PROGRESS Center website.

Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) Training for Administrators

 A new Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) training is being offered for elementary school and district administrators (special education directors, principals, assistant principals, and superintendents). Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) guides participants through current reading research and evidence-based practices that are necessary to develop a student’s early literacy skills and the elements of an effective literacy assessment system in order to improve K-3 reading instruction.

The entire five-day training is only $60.00.

The course will convene from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on each the following days.

• February 29
• March 21
• March 28
• April 4
• April 18

Training will be held at the Arizona Department of Education, 3300 N. Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85012.

For more information and to register, please follow this link.

Please see this important announcement regarding training for school-based sign language interpreters below. ADE/ESS contracts and works with TAESE to support assessment and training of school-based interpreters by TASK12. Training slots are limited, so don’t let this important opportunity pass by – please forward to your staff as appropriate.

The Training of Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS) is accepting registrations from Arizona sign language interpreters to participate in an intensive training that begins with a face-to-face on January 11, 2020 and is followed by three online modules over a five-month period. The aim of this training is to improve interpreter performance skills and ultimately benefit children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to:

LeeAnn Lundgreen TASK12 | www.task12.org Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education www.taese.org | Utah State University | Tel: 435.797.9045

Directors of Special Education,

ESS Program Management is sharing the following important dates for IDEA Funding and IDEA Fiscal Related activities. Included in this memo is an announcement of a half-day, in-person training at ADE Central on April 15, 2019.

Please share these important updates with your PEA’s Business Manager.

If you have any questions regarding anything mentioned in this update, please contact [email protected] or call 602-542-4013 to speak to an ESS Program Management Specialist.

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS has important announcements to share regarding the upcoming 2019 Post School Outcomes (PSO) Survey data collection season.

• The student list is now open. At your earliest convenience, review your student list for accuracy. This is also a great time to start working on exclusions.
• ADE is currently hosting two webinars associated with PSO.
  • PSO 2018 Statewide Results
  • 2019 PSO Survey Essentials

Review the PSO webpage for exact details on dates, times, and registration links.

• NOTE: There has been an update to one PSO Survey Essentials session (April 2 at 3:00 p.m.). It has been rescheduled to April 1 at 3:00 p.m. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your flexibility. Flyers and registration through the Events Management System (EMS) reflect the updates.

It is recommended that all staff who will be conducting the survey this upcoming summer, at a minimum, attend the PSO Essentials webinar. The main purpose of this webinar is to share and explain the changes to the 2019 PSO Survey.

Please feel free to view and distribute the attached flyers and to forward this email to staff that can benefit from the above-listed webinars. All are welcome to attend, and the ADE/ESS encourages all PEAs that will be participating in the 2019 PSO Survey to participate.

We look forward to supporting you throughout the various stages of this initiative. As a reminder, PSO staff can be reached at [email protected].