This is a one-day event for youth with disabilities and their parents/guardians to network and discuss issues of importance to youth and young adults with disabilities. The focus of the Summit will be Competence, Autonomy, and Relatedness and will be an activity-based day learning how to be more self-determined. This will echo the activities presented at the I’m Determined Annual Youth Summit in Harrisonburg held in June. The event is free to participants and includes lunch as well as travel reimbursement.

Registration is now open.

October 22
Radford University (Peters Hall)
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

OR

October 29
Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

The Family Engagement Network (FEN) is proud to introduce a new 5-minute video defining three key components of Compassionate Family Engagement:

• Compassionate Communication
• Compassionate Empowerment
• Compassionate Reflection

Click here to view the video. We hope you will take the time to watch the video and reach out if you woud like to request any assistance or have any questions. Visit our Family Enagement page to access resources and learn more about the FEN.

The Assistive Technology Network of Virginia addresses priorities of VDOE with coordination, implementation, and dissemination of information about the laws which define AT devices and services, the process of AT Consideration by Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams, AT assessment, Augmentative and Augmentative Communication (AAC), and AT resources.

In support of these priorities, the network has several initiatives which include:

Developing resources and documents for AT Considerations and Assessment

Developing and supporting local and regional AT teams with information, resources and training, including the annual Virtual TechKnowledgy Conference

Integrating AT solutions across the curriculum

This community of practice will utilize videos from the High Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities website to engage participants in active discussion and reflection around their teaching practices. During our time together we will watch short videos focusing on a specific high leverage practice (HLP), have a brief discussion about the practice, and then consider how it can be effectively implemented in the classroom.
 
Over the course of the four sessions, participants will examine and discuss how to establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment (HLP 7), provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior (HLPs 8/22), set goals (HLP 11), and how to systematically design instruction to a specific learning goal (HLP 12).

Session schedule  

September 8, 10:30am – 11:15am or 1:30pm - 2:15pm
September 22, 0:30am – 11:15am or 1:30pm - 2:15pm
October 6, 10:30am – 11:15am or 1:30pm - 2:15pm
October 20, 10:30am – 11:15am or 1:30pm - 2:15pm
(participants will meet through Zoom - click below to register)

Questions? Contact

Keli Bradbury, ktbradbury@radford.edu
Katie Ginn, kginn@radford.edu
Suzanne Graham, s-graham@radford.edu

Virginia Department of Education, VDOE, and Stetson & Associates, Inc.

A recently recorded webinar, Inclusive Practices Action Planning Tool, presented by Dr. Frances Stetson and participant resources have been added to the Inclusive Practices in Successful Schools: Virginia Action Planning Guide Module.

In partnership with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR), the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has developed and published a set of high-leverage practices (HLPs) for special educators and teacher candidates. The HLPs are organized around four aspects of practice:

1. Collaboration
2. Assessment
3. Social/emotional/behavioral
4. Instruction

From these four aspects of practice, there are 22 practices intended to address the most critical practices that every K–12 special education teacher should master and be able to demonstrate. The selected practices are used frequently in classrooms and have been shown to improve student outcomes if successfully implemented.