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Collection on Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP)

With a focus on success for all students, personnel in every role in the school community need to know how they and their colleagues can collaborate and contribute to reach the goal of success for all. Collaboratively developed through the IDEA Partnership and approved by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the SISP Collection provides tools to learn about and more fully utilize specialized instructional support personnel in school improvement. The Collection includes: three tools to learn about the perceptions of the school community on SISP, a customizable workshop with PowerPoint slides, Presenter Guide and activities; Dialogue Guides to support your conversations about the topic; a 'plain English' glossary of terms; and links to additional resources. Take a minute to visit The Collection on Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP)and give us your thoughts on how you might use it.  

Virtual Mentoring on using the SISP Collection and other Collections developed through the IDEA Partnership are available to local education agencies committed to convening dialogue on important issues and leading change with their stakeholders. For more information on Collections and Virtual Mentoring contact: Diane Oglesby: diane.oglesby@nasdse.org 

Association (APTA), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA).

• Related Services: Common Supports for Students with Disabilities (Star Legacy Module)

  News from Our Partner Organizations

Expanding Career Readiness Through Career and Technical Student Organizations

This paper is part of ACTE's Career Readiness Series that showcases how elements of the career and technical education system support three skill sets, including students' academic, technical and employability skill development. ACTE shows how career and technical student organizations create opportunities that help students learn all three skill-sets through leadership development, academic and career development and community service.

Easter Seals
Easter Seals is partnering with Special Needs Apps for Kids (SNApps4Kids) which is a community of parents, therapists, doctors and teachers who share information on using the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices with children who have special needs. A website (http://www.snapps4kids.com/ ) offers reviews of more than 30,000 apps for use in special education.

Education Commission of the States &

National Center on Time & Learning

Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar

This report is designed to help education leaders better understand the complexities of time-related policies and their implications by exploring how policymakers and educators have dealt with the matter of school time at the federal, state and local levels. It offers a number of recommendations highlighting fresh ways that policy and research can best support efforts to expand learning time in schools.

National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

Building and Supporting an Aligned System: A Vision for Transforming Education Across the Pre-K-Grade Three Years

 Executive Summary   

 Full Report   

This report recommends 10 steps that address funding, federal and state policy integration, workforce development and standards and assessments for young children to guide school work in aligning early childhood and elementary education.

Doing What Works (DWW)

Increased Learning Time: Beyond the Regular School Day

Research has shown that high quality increased learning time programs help close achievement gaps. This new DWW topic provides research-based resources to support after-school, summer and weekend programs and expanded learning time.

Institute of Education Sciences (IES)

National Assessment of IDEA Overview: IDEA National Assessment Implementation Study Executive Summary and Report

The congressionally mandated study provides a national picture of state agency implementation of early intervention programs for infants and toddlers (IDEA Part C) and both state and school district implementation of special education programs for preschool- and school-age children (IDEA Part B). The study is based on surveys of state agency directors and a nationally representative sample of district special education directors conducted in 2009.

One key finding indicates most school districts implement Response to Intervention (RTI), use RTI data when determining specific learning disability (SLD) eligibility, and support RTI with district general funds.

NICHCY has two new resources that educators can put to immediate use in the coming school year.

• Do Special Education Interventions Improve Learning of Secondary Content? A Meta-Analysis

This report examines the evidence base for some of the most commonly used strategies to teach middle and high school students with disabilities science, social studies and English. The researchers examined seven interventions: mnemonic strategies, spatial organizers, classroom learning strategies, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), peer mediation, study aids, hands-on or activity-oriented learning and explicit instruction (direct teaching),

• Using What Works

This resource is a companion webpage that connects the reader with more information about the seven interventions listed above and additional resources.

 

& Dissemination Network

Project Forum @ NASDSE

• Neuroscience and Special Education

This brief policy analysis provides an overview of how findings from neuroscience are being applied to special education, describes outcomes from the research bridging the two fields and discusses how institutions of higher education and others are creating interdisciplinary links between the two.

• State Performance Plan Process and Indicators: A Policy Forum

This policy forum proceedings document provides a synopsis of the participants' input on the positives and concerns about the State Performance Plan Process and Indicators (SPP/APR) system and their suggestions for changes.

National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP)

Leading Collaborative Efforts between General and Special Educators (archived webinar)

This webinar focused on the various models that have emerged for collaboration between general and special education teachers.

IRIS Center

• Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices 

This module covers many topics such as second language acquisition, sheltered instruction, differentiated instruction and vocabulary instruction.

• Related Services: Common Supports for Students with Disabilities

This module examines the nature of related services, the supportive services or activities necessary for some students with disabilities to maximize their educational outcomes and the practitioners who deliver those services.

Early Childhood Outcomes Center

Outcomes for Children Served Through IDEA’s Early Childhood Programs

This summary of recent data suggests that high percentages of children birth through 5 years of age who receive services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's (IDEA) early childhood programs show greater than expected developmental progress and many are exiting the program functioning within age expectations.

News from Other Centers and Organizations

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Current Population Survey (CPS): Data on the Employment Status of People with a Disability

These are estimates for the nation as a whole; data are not available for states or local areas.

• Current monthly data: Employment Situation news release (Monthly, beginning with January 2010), Table A-6
• News release: Labor Force Characteristics of Persons With a Disability (Annual) 
• Database: Retrieve historical data series 
•  FAQ: Frequently asked questions 
• Research articles and additional information