Overwhelmed by professional development? Don’t have time for a 90-minute webinar? We got you! Please join the Arizona Department of Education/Exceptional Student Services/Assistive Technology team for our spring series titled “Assistive Technology: Just One Thing” (JOT).

These fast, 30-minute sessions will showcase just one organizational or assistive technology tool or strategy that you can use in your classroom or teacher/therapist life. Are mornings or afternoons better for you? No worries—each JOT will be presented on Wednesdays at lunchtime and after school. Choose the time that works for you. The next spring session will take place on Wednesday, February 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and again from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. The topic will be “Visual Scene Displays with Click AAC”.

Visual Scene Displays (VSD) provide a way to represent meaning. They have been a part of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems for years. Here’s a new vision on using VSDs as language organization on your iOS or Android devices.  During this JOT, we will look at an exciting, free, still-developing AAC app that can be used to enhance and support students’ current AAC systems or that can be an additional tool for classroom instruction and activities. Join us for a look at the Click AAC app.  

Register for the 11:30 a.m. session

Register for the 3:30 p.m. session

If you have questions regarding this professional development opportunity, please email the AT Team inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Preschool Outcomes Reporting—New Report Available

Effective for the fiscal year 2024, Preschool Outcomes are now reported to Arizona Education Data Standards (AzEDS). The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) requires State Education Agencies to calculate the percentage of preschool children aged 3 through 5 with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) who demonstrate improved outcomes with Social Relationships, Use of Knowledge and Skills, and Taking Action to Meet Needs.

To assist Public Education Agencies (PEAs) with reporting, the SPED12 – Preschool Outcomes History report is now available in the AzEDS portal in the SPED section. This report provides a history of preschool outcomes reported by a previous PEA. This report will allow the current PEA to gain an understanding of the student’s outcome history. Your PEA will be able to see the current outcome information and any prior outcome information for a preschool student with a disability. Any outcomes reported after the student has left your PEA (example: future outcomes) will not populate in the report. 

To access this report, a user must have the ‘AzEDS Data Coordinator – SPED Reports’ role assigned in ADEConnect. Please contact your PEA’s entity administrator to provide the role.

Email the ESS Data Management inbox with any questions regarding Preschool Outcomes reporting.

In conjunction with AzEIP, ADE/ESS/ECSE is proud to announce that the 2024 Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Summit is scheduled for February 28–March 1, 2024, from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (MST). The three-day virtual conference will bring practitioners, administrators, leaders, and families together to share best practices for children with disabilities and of age birth to eight in:

• Early Intervention, helping families to transition children to preschool 
• Outcomes achieved through Early Intervention and preschool programming
• Instructional strategies for inclusive programs
• Supports to prevent and address challenging behaviors
• Resources to ensure that all children experience a team of professionals working with families to address the children's needs 

Registration for the Summit is now open on APLD.

Please bookmark the EI/ECSE Summit web page for updates and additional conference information.

We are also seeking presentations for the Summit. Requests for proposals are now available for Early Intervention proposals and Early Childhood Special Education proposals. Please consider submitting a presentation that represents the creative work and/or research you are doing in early intervention or early childhood special education.

ECSE appreciates your consideration in joining us to teach and learn as we work together to build high quality early childhood programs that meet the needs of all of our young children. If you have any questions, please email the ECSE Inbox.