SERC’s LRE/Inclusion Audience

Month Size
Professional Development Opportunities
2010/2011 Calendar-at-a-Glance
Making Adequate Yearly Progress for Students with Disabilities 45
In an effort to help districts address the challenge of making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the Connecticut State
Department of Education, in collaboration with SERC, is providing an opportunity for schools teams to reflect on
current practices, share ideas, and collaboratively solve problems to improve the academic achievement of students with
October

disabilities. Each school team in this professional development activity will examine the philosophies, policies,
structures, school culture, and practices that support and also hinder academic achievement for students with
disabilities; analyze school data; identify strategies to assist students with disabilities in meeting goals for the
Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT); and begin to develop a school
improvement plan to include coordination of professional development, data review, and collaborative planning time.
School‐based teams should include a building‐level administrator, special education administrator, and general and
special education teachers, and related services personnel.

Donnah Rochester, SERC Consultant and Diane Smith, Ed.D, SERC Consultant
Thursday, October 28, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
SERC Classroom, Middletown

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A Step by Step Approach for Inclusive Schools: Cadre 1
A Step by Step Approach for Inclusive Schools is a comprehensive three‐day program to expand the capacity of school
staff to implement an inclusive system, meet several of Connecticut’s State Performance Plan Indicators, and make
continuous improvement in addressing the P.J. v. STATE of CONNECTICUT, BOARD of EDUCATION Settlement
Agreement goals. The program was developed by Stetson and Associates, Inc., a Houston‐based educational consulting
firm. Since building inclusive education systems necessitates leadership and successful collaboration between general
and special education, participating school teams should consist of the following members: a principal, a general
education teacher, a special education teacher, and at least one student support services professional. Schools may
expand their team membership to seven (7) participants if they choose to include school or district‐level leaders. School
principals are required to attend all three days with their school‐based teams. Participants in this professional
development activity will improve outcomes for students with disabilities by developing systems‐based strategies that
ensure access, participation, and progress in general education; utilize an objective student‐centered process in making
collaborative decisions about types and levels of specialized support; and be prepared to build the capacity of their
colleagues in implementing a system of responsible inclusive practices in their respective schools.
November

SERC Consultants
Wednesday, November 03, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Thursday, November 04, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
SERC Classroom, Middletown (all three days)

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A Step by Step Approach for Inclusive Schools: Cadre 2
Event description is the same as A Step by Step Approach for Inclusive Schools: Cadre 1

SERC Consultants
Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Crowne Plaza, Cromwell (all three days)
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Accessing the Content and Assessing Achievement for Students with
Significant Cognitive Disabilities
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) requires that all students have access to the general
education curriculum, but access means more than just placement in the general education classroom. All students have
the right to be engaged in the general curriculum content and participate in alternate assessments based upon grade‐level
content standards. Creating grade‐level content for students with significant cognitive disabilities, while challenging for
educators enables students with significant disabilities to define high‐quality life outcomes, acquire community life
skills, have an equal educational opportunity, and have increased opportunities for self determination (“Creating Access
to the General Curriculum With Links to Grade‐Level Content for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: An
Explication of the Concept.”, Browder et al, 2007). This two‐day professional development activity involves planning,
developing, implementing, and sustaining responsible inclusive practices for students with significant disabilities,
particularly in the areas of language arts, mathematics, and science. In order to improve outcomes for all students, teams
of participants will align the general education curriculum standards across symbolic levels, embed state standards
using universal design and systematic instruction in the core areas of language arts, mathematics, and science, and learn
the different ways in which grade‐level content can be modified to reflect standards.

Bree Jimenez, Ph.D., Researcher, UNC Charlotte, and

Angel Lee, Research Associate, UNC Charlotte
Thursday, December 02, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Friday, December 03, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Marriott Courtyard, Cromwell (both days)

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Designing Standards-Based IEPs to Support Progress in the General
Education Curriculum
December

To successfully include a student in the general education curriculum, general and special educators and student support
services professionals must collaborate in new ways to meet the demands of developing high‐quality individualized
education programs (IEPs). This four‐day, job embedded workshop will provide opportunities for participating teams to
explore issues such as methods of assessment, alignment within an IEP, specially designed instruction, and the use of
assistive technology. Participants in this professional development activity will determine if the design of a student’s
IEP yielded educational benefit; be able to determine the types of assessments that provide present levels of
performance data, and monitor the progress of IEP goals and objectives; analyze the gap between the expected
performance of ALL students and a specific student’s current level of achievement; and use a collaborative
decision‐making process to ensure effective implementation of an IEP.

Required Preparation: Participating team members must bring IEPs on a specific student for a three‐year period with
identifying information removed.

Kathryn Weingartner, SERC Consultant

Friday, December 10, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Friday, December 17, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Friday, January 07, 2011, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Friday, January 21, 2011, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
SERC Classroom, Middletown (all four days)
What Every PPT Chairperson Should Know
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Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), students with disabilities are given assurances of a
free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Local education agencies, to ensure that this
happens, must comply with procedural requirements of the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) process and design
individualized education programs (IEPs) that are aligned and provide educational benefit. Within schools, the PPT
chairperson should ensure that the compliance requirements of the PPT process are met, that assessment data and goals
and objectives are directly linked to the general education curriculum, and that decision‐making about placement occurs
after the goals and objectives are developed. The PPT chairperson works as part of the PPT to develop an IEP for
students with disabilities that provides access and opportunities for meaningful participation and progress in the general
education curriculum. Participants in this professional development activity will receive an overview of the legal
rationale behind an IEP and an explanation of the PPT process and how it is to be documented.

Kim Mearman, Assistant Director at SERC, and Donnah Rochester, SERC Consultant
Thursday, December 16, 2010, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
SERC Classroom, Middletown