A Professional Development Model with a Focus on Disproportionality

1. A Professional Development Model with a Focus on Disproportionality Creating Culturally Responsive Educational Systems: A Focus on People, Policies and Practices NCCRESt

2. A Professional Development Model with a Focus on Disproportionality: The Journey Starts with Data By the Wisconsin Regional Service Network (RSN)

3. The State of Wisconsin • Population-5,581,000 million • School Districts-426 • Student Population-864,760 • Special Education Population-129,180 • Percent of Special Education-13.1

4. Wisconsin’s Twelve Cooperative Educational Service Agencies Number of Districts CESA 1 45 CESA 2 75 CESA 3 31 CESA 4 26 CESA 5 35 CESA 6 42 CESA 7 38 CESA 8 26 CESA 9 22 CESA 10 30 CESA 11 39 CESA 12 18

5. Wisconsin Regional Service Network-RSN • A Network of Special Education Directors and Coordinators for 20+ years • Activities center around: -- Leadership – Share with group & districts -- Professional Development - activities -- Information Dissemination/Communication • Meet 10 times a year with WDPI

6. Professional Development :It’s All About The Children • Given the overwhelming evidence that well-designed staff development, fully integrated with effective improvement practices, can increase student learning (Cohen and Hill, 2001; Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 2000; Elsmore and Burney, 1999; Joyne and Calhoun, 1996; Joyce and Showers, 2002; Loucks-Horsely, et. Al., 1998; Schmoker, 1996; Supovitz, Mayer and Kahle, 2000), the NSDC now states that the purpose of staff development is increased student achievement (NSDC, 2001)

7. -- The importance of data for driving school improvement and student achievement goals -- alignment of assessment with curriculum and instruction -- The provision of quality staff development with research-based content -- The necessity for learning communities that study what is effective and work collaboratively to learn and implement new knowledge -- The study of implementation of planned change -- The evaluation, both of formative and summative, of planned change for its impact on student learning; and -- The guidance of strong leaders—teachers, principals, central office staff, superintendents, and school boards—operating collaboratively to govern the staff development/school improvement systems The most effective ways to improve student achievement – A cluster of variables (Based on the NSDC standards & Iowa Professional Development Model)

8. Soapbox Time • If a school district is going to spend the money for professional development, why should they not follow the research based guidelines to get what the district needs?

9. Wisconsin Professional Development Model - RSN • Based on the Iowa Professional Development Model • Developed by Bev Showers, author and Deb Hanson, Iowa Department of Education • Follows the National Staff Development Standards • Adopted and studied by the Regional Service Network in ’04-’05

10. The Iowa professional Development Model • Based on NSDC Standards • Passed by the state of Iowa Legislature • Data based school plans due to the Iowa Ed. Dept. Sept. 2004

11. Operating Principles • Focus on Curriculum • Participative Decision Making (Schools & District) • Leadership • Simultaneity

12. What’s in an Educational System? NCCRESt

13. Wisconsin Professional Development Model - RSN

14. National Staff Development Standards • Three areas – Content, Context, Process • RSNs took the National Staff Development Survey for their CESAs • Set aside an hour of each RSN agenda to look at assessed standards • Looked at the Iowa Professional Development Model as a guideline for its use in Wisconsin

15. The Planned Change Process NCCRESt

16. Stretch

17. A Problem Solving Model Early and Ongoing Collaboration and Assistance (EOCA) Eileen Dagen, Director

18. Early and Ongoing Collaboration and Assistance DataUniversal – Selected – Targeted Options for Students

19. Native American Focus Tom Potterton – CESA 12 Special Education and RSN Director CESA # 12 Disproportionality Grant 2005-06 funds provided by WI Department of Public Instruction

20. Wisconsin Professional Development Model - RSN • Sp. Ed. Data Retreats@ • Based on Data from the Wisconsin Disproportionality Summer Institute 2005 • Dan Losen State Data • Each CESA given own data – RSN looked for state/individual need • State RSN grant based on PD cycle

21. Wisconsin Position Statement Disproportionality Workgroup Position Statement January 2006 Disproportionate representation of minority children in special education is a long recognized and well-documented problem. Not only do children of color have a higher risk of being identified as needing special education but they also have a higher risk of being placed in more restrictive settings. Published research reveals an extensive and impressive body of literature covering a myriad of intertwined social and educational issues. In our country, poverty and race are interwoven and, together, have complex and far-reaching effects. As one option for addressing issues of disproportionality, the Department of Public Instruction supports district use of Ruby Payne's *Framework for Understanding Poverty* - in part, because no comparable framework exists to discuss race; in part, because the training instills participants with a real feeling of systems change and ownership in classrooms. The Department expects districts that choose to use the Ruby Payne Framework to build upon it by explicitly looking at issues of race, ethnicity, and culture. The Department further expects districts to rigorously evaluate the *Framework*, as developed by Payne and utilized in districts, to assess educational benefits of the model and to determine the impact it has on identification and placement of minority children in special education.

22. Several Mini-Grants Offered in the State CESA Consortium A consortium of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) received a grant to position the CESAs as the lead agencies to provide professional development regarding disproportionality in special education. The CESA consortium is developing the following resources: statewide task force recommendations regarding nondiscriminatory assessment; comprehensive and interactive resource kits on disproportionality issues; and web-based professional development regarding disproportionality. In addition, the consortium is using mini grant funds to train CESA representatives to become leaders and trainers regarding: Framework for Understanding Poverty Model Disproportionality in Special Education.

23. COMPARISON OF HOW CYCLE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PARALLELS with RSN Disproportionality Focus ________________________________ CESA data analyzed at Summer Institute Collecting/Analyzing Student Data Through a three-year PD plan- Reduce Disproportionality to 1:1 risk ratio Program Evaluation (Summative) Goal Setting & Student Learning -Agendas -Book Study forms/ online transcript - TOT verification -Statewide disproportionality number Disproportionality Focus for RSN PD Cycle -Dan Losen research -aha! Process -NCCREST -Non-disc rim. Assessment Selecting Content Ongoing Data Collection (Formative Evaluation) Ongoing Components & Mentor Visits Designing Process for Professional Development -Kits -aha! TOT -Book Study group -Panel Presentation via Webcast - Non-discriminatory testing workshops Collaboration Implementation PD Model - RSN Model Training/Learning Opportunities

24. Components of the Cycle Big picture in working with the state agency and the state workgroup Our RSN meeting The book study The Tool Kit Webcast Non-biased assessment group Sectionals at conferences

25. Collecting and Analyzing Student Data

26. Wisconsin RSN Concerns • Collectively, as RSNs, data reported: - high incidence rates in cognitive disabilities (CD/MR) African-American populations - high incidence rates in emotional behavioral disorders in African-American & American Indian populations - low graduation rates for African-Americans who have disabilities

27. Other concerns • OHI – African American populations • CESA 12 – Native American populations • Each CESA RSN took charge of their individual CESA districts’ data

28. Goal Setting and Student Learning

29. Goal Setting and Student Learning • RSNs wrote grant around collaboration and implementation • Impact the whole state • Work towards ulitmate goal of 1:1 risk ratio

30. Selecting Content • Dan Losen Research/Books for Book Study • Selection of aha Process/Trainers • Disproportionality Tool Kits • Non-Discriminatory Assessment Workgroup

31. Designing Process for Professional Development

32. What is Quality Professional Development? The new IDEA 2004 tell us to use the definition of staff development used in NCLB-from NCLB The term ‘Professional Development’ Activities that: • increase knowledge and skills • part of a broad school/district wide educational improvement plan • are high quality,sustained, intensive and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and the teacher’s performance in the classroom • PI 34 – standards based licensure

33. What is quality Professional Development (continued) • based on scientifically based research strategies (READS, WSTI) for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers • aligned to state standards and your schools curriculum, • collaboratively developed with parents, school board, etc. and for all, including paras, special education/ELL teachers • using appropriate technology • regularly evaluated for impact on school/students • using data and assessments (WINSS)

34. Professional Development • Powerful Design (from NSDC – Critical Friends – Book Study • Tool Kits – RSN Network Dissemination • Non-Discriminatory Assessments – RSN and School Psychologists • Aha! Process Training

35. Ongoing Cycle- Formative Assessments • RSN Network meets 10+ times per year • RSN Director/Coordinator is responsible for carrying out each component of the grant • Reports are heard each month(problem solving and sharing)

36. Program Evaluation Grant Report

37. The Grant - Ongoing Book Study Group entitled Racial Inequity in Special Education, editedby Dan Losen and Gary Orfield – CESA 1 facilitator - Disproportionality Tool Kits available at each CESA for district use – WDPI and CESAs 2,7 & 11 compiling and coordinating the kits for the state. - Disproportionality Testing – Instruments to be reviewed and included in the kits by WDPI and CESA 12. • Poverty Training mini-grants available for each CESA – some purchased materials, some used to become aha! Trainers, some had aha! Trainers come for presentations. It’s not time or money! We have to be creative.

38. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Disproportionality issues and concerns Panel discussion- participants receiving grants – What’s working? Principal discussion on High Expectations Special Education Data Point Indicators Follow-up from the grants – What are the next steps in 2006- 2007? WebCast on Disproportionality– Spring 2006

39. New Wisconsin Promise: Quality Data = Quality Schools POWERFUL DESIGN – PD research based model and NSDC materials Innovative Configurations – Vision – Through Data Collection (Sp. Ed. Data Retreats@, EOCA, etc. the disproportionality numbers will decrease to the OSEP ratio of 1:1 RSN web page-24/7 Assistance http://www.wi-rsn.org/pd/index.htm Doing Staff Development?What does the Data Say?

40. What is Systemic Change? NCCRESt • SimultaneousRenewal in Multiple Levels of the System

41. Thank you ! • Eileen Dagen – Early and Ongoing Collaboration and Assistance Initiative (EOCA) Edagen@cesa1.k12.wi.us • Tom Potterton- Native American Disproportionality Grant Tomp@cesa12.k12.wi.us

42. Thank You ! Sue Wellnitz RSN Coordinator, CESA 5 wellnitzs@cesa5.k12.wi.us Barb Behlen RSN Coordinator, CESA 6 bbehlen@cesa6.k12.wi.us