The ADE/ESS Assistive Technology (AT) Team is pleased to announce the second presentation in our 2024—2025 AT National Presenter Series: Technology Tools to Support Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation for K-12, with Elisa Wern, M.Ed., OTR/L, ATP. This presentation is intended for special education administrators, special education teachers, general education teachers, OTs, PTs, SLPs, and assistive technology specialists.

Date/Time:                  Wednesday, November 13, 2024 - 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM (Seats are limited; register now!)

Fee:                                $25 - lunch on your own

Where:                          Conference Center at Rio – Rio Salado College (2323 W. 14th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281)

Elisa Wern is an Occupational Therapist with a master’s degree in special education and is a RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional (ATP). With over 20 years of experience in pediatric therapy, she presents at various state and national conferences, including regional training, AOTA, CEC, PATINS A2E, ATIA, Closing the Gap, OTAP/ECHO TIES Project, CATE, TalkingAAC, and AAC in the Cloud. Elisa is the Local Assistive Technology Specialist for Alachua County Schools in Gainesville, Florida, where she coordinates AT services for the district and serves as the Lead Occupational Therapist. In her spare time, she runs a private practice, AT & OT Consulting and Coaching, supporting students and families primarily through teletherapy evaluations, consultations, and interventions, as well as providing consultation for companies. She proudly served as a Year 1 Mentor as a Joy Zabala Fellow and coordinates the Facebook group book study on Comprehensive Literacy for All.

Session Description:
In today’s diverse classroom environments, fostering executive functioning and self-regulation skills in students is critical for their academic and personal success. This session is designed for K-12 educational staff and therapists who seek to integrate educational and assistive technology tools into their practice to enhance these essential skills. Participants will explore a range of innovative technological solutions, including low- and no-tech tools, apps, software, and devices, which can aid in improving organization, time management, task initiation, emotional regulation, and more.

Session Outline

• Overview of Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation: Understanding the key components, the research behind them, and their importance in student development.
• Assessment and Identification: Tools for assessing executive functioning and self-regulation challenges specific to the educational setting and occupational therapists.
• Technology Solutions: Detailed exploration of specific tools such as digital planners, reminder apps, visual schedules, and resources.
• Implementation Strategies: Practical guidance on integrating these tools into daily routines and individualized education plans (IEPs) and 504 Plans.
• Case Studies, Research, and Best Practices: Real-world examples of successful technology integration and its impact on student outcomes.
• Interactive Demonstrations: Hands-on opportunities to explore and experiment with selected technology tools.

By the end of this session, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively leverage technology to support the executive functioning and self-regulation needs of their students, leading to more independent and successful learners. The session includes hands-on time with no-tech, low-tech, and technology-based applications and strategies, featuring a mix of free and paid resources to support executive functioning.

Register for Technology Tools to Support Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation for K-12.

If you have questions about this training, please email [email protected]

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Special Education Data Updates Webinar: Wednesday, October 16, 2024

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next live Special Education Data Updates webinar on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):   

• Reminders 

• Trending topics 

• Top Three Integrity Errors 

• Q&A    

Please register by clicking this link. Registration is required to attend. If you have any questions, please email the ESS Data Management inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Reporting Special Education Students Attending Secondary Transition Programs and October 1 Child Counts 

On February 13, 2024, Public Education Agencies (PEAs) were notified that new school sites must be created if they meet specific criteria. In the process, it became necessary for PEAs to report students in Secondary Transition programs located in businesses or colleges, including creating new entities for these programs. 

We appreciate your patience while we create these new entities in our systems and update AzEDS and integrity rules to allow reporting. We anticipate PEAs will be able to successfully report their students attending Secondary Transition programs in AzEDS by November. 

Special Education students attending Secondary Transition programs must be counted for the October 1 Child Count if they received services on October 1.  

Once AzEDS has been updated to allow the reporting, we will send a follow-up alert with guidance. 

Please email the ESS Data Management inbox with any questions or concerns. 

The Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE), in partnership with ADE/ESS, is pleased to offer Saturday Mornings with the NRCP to paraeducators, related service providers, teachers, and administrators working in Arizona public education agencies.

The National Resource Center for Paraeducators, Related Service Providers, and Interveners (NRCP) hosts the two-hour sessions on the second Saturday of each month through July 2025. The sessions are based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Core Competencies for Special Education Paraeducators and include topics such as paraeducator roles and responsibilities and effective behavior management strategies.

Upcoming webinars will occur on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Please be aware of your time zone and adjust accordingly. Topics include the following:

October 12, 2024

Prevention and Intervention for Severe Behavioral Issues

November 9, 2024

Strategies for Paraeducators Working in Secondary Settings

December 14, 2024

Student and Staff Wellness: Trauma-Informed Practices for Kids and Preventing Educator Burnout

Teacher and paraeducator teams are encouraged to sign up together. The $100 registration fee includes twelve live webinars and extended access to the recordings via a Canva site until August 2025. Those who register will receive information on how to access the recordings.

Register for Saturday Mornings with the NRCP.

The attached flyer includes additional information about the professional learning series. Please email Laura Lema with any questions.

The State Educational Agency Communication Disability Council (SEACDC) is made up of SLP contacts from various state departments of education across the United States. The Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services is represented in this council. The SEACDC is hosting a free, virtual School-Based Speech-Language Pathology Symposium on Oct 17–18, 2024.

The symposium will cover various topics from national-level presenters who have graciously volunteered their time to provide state-of-the-art information relevant to school-based practice.  SEACDC is not an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) continuing education (CE) provider. However, a certificate of attendance for professional development hours will be generated for each session attended. These will be accepted for renewal of ASHA CCC. SLPs do not need to be ASHA members to attend. These sessions will not be recorded. Please share this with your speech-language pathologists. Flyer may be found here.

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (1:00–5:00 p.m. EST)

Session 1 - Inclusive Preschool Services - Stephanie Bear

Session 2 - Multilingual Learners - Hunter Smith 
Session 3 - Speech Sound Production - Kelly Farquharson

Session 4 - IDEA and Eligibility Determination - Angie Neal

Friday, October 18, 2024, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (1:00–5:00 p.m. EST)

Session 1 - Collaborative Goal Writing - Charity Avery & Amy Goddard 

Session 2 - The Continuum of Services and LRE - Tiffany White 

Session 3 - Feeding and Swallowing - Kristen West 

Session 4 - Development Language Disorder (DLD) - Katharine Radville and Tim Deluca

Register for the School-Based SLP Symposium.

Special Education Directors,

We invite all educators to our upcoming free virtual professional learning series on Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

This series is an excellent opportunity to deepen your understanding of UDL principles and how they can be applied to create more inclusive, accessible learning environments for all students.

These virtual sessions will focus on providing practical strategies that can be implemented across diverse classroom settings, supporting the success of all learners. We encourage your schools to take advantage of these no-cost virtual learning sessions to deepen knowledge and understanding and enhance instructional practices to ensure every student succeeds.

The registration links are in the attached PDF flyer or on the following website: ADE UDL Virtual Sessions for September-November.

Thank you for your continued dedication to fostering inclusionary education. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the facilitator at [email protected].

We look forward to your participation!

Special Education Directors, 

We are pleased to present “A Deep Dive into Speech Sound Disorders: Intervention Only” with Amy Graham, CCC-SLP. Too often, professional development for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) covers everything but intervention. In this full-day course, school-based SLPs will learn how to provide effective intervention for articulation errors and motor, speech, and phonological disorders. 

“A Deep Dive into Speech Sound Disorders: Intervention Only”  

Date:               Friday, October 11, 2024 

Time:               8:30 a.m.−4:30 p.m. 

Fee:                 Free (Space is limited, and lunch is on your own.) 

Where:            HELIOS Education Foundation 

Address:          4747 North 32nd St. Phoenix, AZ 85018 

About Amy Graham, CCC-SLP: Amy is a speech-language pathologist, an international speaker, a frequent podcast guest, and a creator of speech therapy resources for SLPs who treat speech sound disorders.  

Register for A Deep Dive into Speech Sound Disorders. 

Please note that each district/charter is limited to sending no more than 10 speech-language pathologists to this workshop.

If you have questions about this event, please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Special Education Data Updates Webinar: Wednesday, September 18, 2024

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next live Special Education Data Updates webinar on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):   

• Reminders 

• Trending topics 

• Top Three Integrity Errors 

• Q&A    

Please register by clicking this link Registration is required to attend. If you have any questions, please email the ESS Data Management inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

FY25 October 1 Data Collection Phase I Training 

Annually, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is required to report special education (SPED) data to the federal government. The October 1 Data Collection (ODC) is part of that process and is required by all Public Education Agencies (PEAs). ODC has three phases:  

• Phase I: Child Count Verification and Personnel  
• Phase II: Child Count Reconciliation 
• Phase III: Child Count Non-Reconciliation  

During Phase I, PEAs must provide ADE with the number of students participating in their SPED program on October 1, 2024. PEAs will also report Personnel data and Parentally Placed students (if applicable). 

ESS Data Management invites you to attend one of our Phase I training courses, virtually or in person.

Virtual Training:                                                                  

Date:               Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Time:               1:00 – 3:00 pm

Registration:    Zoom, click here to register

In-Person Training:

Date:               Thursday, October 3, 2024

Time:               1:00 – 3:00 pm

Location:         100 N. 15th Ave., Room 101, Phoenix, AZ 85007

Registration:    ADE Professional Learning and Development (APLD)

Please email ESS Data Management with any questions. 

We look forward to assisting you in meeting your data reporting requirements. 

ADE/ESS is pleased to release flowchart representations and reference documents for several evaluation processes: initial evaluation, reevaluation, and independent educational evaluation (IEE). These guidance materials have incorporated feedback from various special education stakeholder groups. ADE/ESS hopes these visual resources will aid all constituents in understanding these complex processes.  An upcoming ESS Professionals Check-In will provide a guided overview of these resources.

Please contact your PEA’s assigned Program Support and Monitoring specialist or email [email protected] for questions.