In an effort to support educators and ensure excellence and equity for all students, Stetson & Associates, Inc. is pleased to provide a free webinar series.
Our team of experts will provide information, tools, and resources on topics from effective inclusion and scheduling to behavior basics and specially designed instruction. Educational leadership from both Special Education and General Education are welcome and encouraged to attend one or all of the webinars.
Stetson & Associates has received countless requests for our training and workshops addressing these topics. We look forward to you joining us for this series as we work together to achieve educational excellence for all students.
Side by Side: Teachers and Paraeducators in the Classroom
There is little doubt the need for skilled paraeducators in schools is significantly higher than it was just a few short years ago. The number of paraeducators hired has increased approximately 41% in the past 10 years, while the number of students and certified teachers has remained almost the same. Now more than ever, it is important to build productive partnerships between paraeducators and their supervising teachers and maximize the resources paraeducators bring to the classroom. This webinar is relevant for teachers or paraeducators and provides innovative planning and discussion tools to build effective working relationships and improve the impact of their work in the classroom.
Participants will:
- Describe the roles of the paraeducator and distinguish between the roles of a teacher and a paraeducator;
- Respond to scenarios related to paraeducator skills;
- Use a simple format to guide scheduling the paraeducator’s time and the support to be provided by the supervising teacher;
- Recognize that teachers are typically not trained to supervise paraeducators and need some support themselves in order to effectively delegate tasks, model expectations and evaluate paraeducator performance;
- Gain tools and techniques for using the resource of paraeducators more effectively.
Presenter:
Frances Stetson, Ph.D.
February 28, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes
Facilitating IEP Meetings
An IEP meeting is one in which a student’s individualized education program is discussed, developed, and reviewed. Members of the IEP team collaborate to create the final version of the plan. IEP meetings benefit from skilled and capable facilitators who can assist the team in crafting agreements that lead to better educational programs for students with disabilities. Facilitation makes the meeting process easier and helps team members communicate and solve problems more effectively. Every team member can use facilitation to improve the process and outcome.
This webinar will introduce participants to the Facilitated IEP process and identify critical communication skills and process strategies for effective facilitation. Additionally, we will explore strategies for dealing effectively with challenging situations in IEP meetings. If you want to elevate your facilitation skills in order to build relationships and reach decisions that make a positive difference in the lives of students with disabilities, this webinar is for you!
Presenter:
Cyndi Short, Ed.D.
March 7, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes
Moving Speech Services Out of the Closet and into the Classroom
Speech Language Pathologists have historically followed a pull-out model for service delivery often in a hidden in a small room or closet. It is time to bring these valuable services into the classroom, with a stronger investment in student’s instructional curriculum. The value added of speech services can support student personal competences, a teacher’s use of instructional strategies, and overall improved student outcomes. ASHA supported tools will be shared that facilitate school-based scheduling, lesson planning and collaboration, and role responsibilities that facilitate instructional partnerships and promote the implementation of inclusive speech services.
Presenter:
Brandi Breaux, M.A.
March 21, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes
Progress Monitoring
This session will explore the how and why of progress monitoring as an integral part of IEP implementation. Progress monitoring provides a data driven way to assess student acquisition of knowledge, a meaningful way to reflect on teacher instruction, and meets the requirement of federal and state laws under IDEA. As educators prepare progress reports and analyze student data, what responsibility belongs to the special educator, the general educator, and what is shared? We will explore these questions as well as provide tools and strategies that can be used for each component of the progress monitoring process.
Presenter:
Judith Moening, Ph.D.
Presenter:
Rachel Kent, M.Ed.
April 4, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes
Paraeducators: Providing Meaningful Support to Improve Student Outcomes
This webinar will address ways to build capacity in paraeducators so they have a deeper understanding of the needs of their students and feel equipped to support students in a more effective and efficient way. Participants will:
- Discuss the difference between an accommodation and a modification and understand there is a hierarchy of instructional support.
- Review the use of documentation tools to capture the type and level of support provided to students
- Review various effective instructional and positive behavior strategies that work to support students across disability categories. Paraeducators can positively affect student learning outcomes by understanding and using accommodations and strategies, some of which are individualized to the learner.
- Discuss ways to provide support to students that will increase independence and without creating “Helplessness.”
Presenter:
Tim LaCourt, M.A.
Presenter:
Kristi Henderson, M.Ed.
April 18, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes
Instructional Coaching
Now more than ever, school leaders are looking for dynamic ways to support teachers that don’t involve leaving the classroom and providing subs! Instructional coaching offers such an alternative whereby a mentor/coach works with teachers to provide a steady stream of job-embedded feedback based on classroom observations to accomplish a mutually agreed upon goal and increase student success. As reported by Education Week in fall 2018, "on average, coaching improves the quality of teachers’ instruction and its effects on student achievement by 0.49 standard deviations and 0.18 standard deviations, respectively."
This webinar will present the research-based foundation of the “coaching cycle” and the characteristics common to successful applications by leaders who have worked around barriers to adapt the cycle to local needs.
Presenter:
Cindy Nelson, M.Ed.
May 2, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes
Evaluating Accommodations in the IEP
Students receiving special education services seem to develop a “collection” of accommodations over the years, as IEP committees agree on new supports listed in software drop-down menus and rarely remove those that are no longer necessary or effective. Often, this collection of accommodations is overwhelming for teachers and implementation is either incorrect or misunderstood. This session will focus on the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of current accommodations while ensuring the IEP committee is recommending accommodations that align to present levels of performance and truly reflect what the student needs to be successful.
Presenter:
Rachel Kent, M.Ed.
May 16, 2023
2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT
60 minutes