Statewide SPED Directors Meetings
A Reoccurring and Monthly Statewide SPED Directors meeting will be scheduled on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 8:30-9:30 via Zoom. These interactive meetings are geared toward disseminating information from the State Education Agency (SEA) to Local Education Agency (LEA’s) in addition to providing networking opportunities for those in the field with potential service providers.
Our next meeting will be December 13 at 8:30 am.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://mt-gov.zoom.us/j/86981783228?pwd=NWZ3WHhyZWV4bzZPSUlTUkRpeDVDdz09
Meeting ID: 869 8178 3228
Password: 187804
Dial by Telephone
+1 646 558 8656
Meeting ID: 869 8178 3228
Password: 187804
Find your local number: https://mt-gov.zoom.us/u/kckrMHRjez
Special Education Community of Practice
2023-2024 Schedule
October - May, 2nd Wednesday of the Month
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
These meetings are one-hour sessions held the second Wednesday of the Month from 3:30-4:30. There will be a short 10–20-minute presentation on a topic followed by a discussion around that topic. The purpose of these meetings is to provide technical assistance and support for Special Education teachers as well as help build a network for teachers throughout Montana. The next event is scheduled for Wednesday, December 13th, and will focus on IEP Tips and Alternate Assessments with John Gorton.
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The MT SSIP (State Systemic Improvement Plan)
The MT SSIP tailors specific TA/PD needs to your setting, staff, and/or student needs.
The Montana SSIP (SPED teachers, paraprofessionals, generalists, and administration are welcome).
The core of the MT SSIP is: Opportunity elicits student brilliance!
There are no forced expectations of your staff. The MT SSIP takes what teachers are already successfully doing and enhances it based on individual teacher requests, or data indicators.
It is completely value-added with TA/PD geared toward SPED-identified Indigenous youth tracking to graduation/completion (which has direct cross-over to any SPED identified students). For SSIP reporting purposes, your program would be able to count your 5th-year cohort as successful completers. (This count is not available for our state ESSA report cards so it wouldn’t reflect in that data.)
The MT SSIP is designed in a 3-tiered approach:
- Relationships
- All things Inclusion—what I call Inclusion done right!
- Invention Literacy—engaging youth in tech-related activities that strengthen/build their STEAM skills while meeting the Montana curriculum standards for Montana Computer Science standards, with computer coding falling under Algorithms and Programming. A side result may be that some youth find tech so interesting that they may choose to seek a career in a tech field (meeting those graduation transition goals for those young people).
Benefits of being a MT SSIP site:
- The MT SSIP allows you to count your 5th-year completers.
- We’re not here to ‘fix’ you—we’re here as collaborative partners in your equity model.
- Promising Practices—identify what your current Promising Practices are, not evidence-based practices.
- Provide insight into how the brain works (fragile brain).
- Exiting students who have matured out of needed IEP support.
This year’s SSIP is focusing on adjusting math instructional practices/student learning utilizing Dr. Jo Boaler’s research-based instructional shift in teaching Number Sense through Number Talks.
Another exciting feature of the MT SSIP is the debut of PD podcasts, Elevating Your Teacher Vibes. We will still engage in our virtual collaborative, the Critical Friends’ Network typically meeting 1 time per month, with the podcasts providing 5–10-minute listening opportunities to elevate teacher efficacy.
If you’d like to join the MT SSIP, please contact Annette Viciedo Young at ayoung3@mt.gov or 406-444-0299.
What’s Happening with CSPDs?
Below are three in-person events happening in December. If you are interested in learning more or registering for any virtual events, please check out the newly updated CSPD Statewide Professional Development Calendar.
December 1, 2023; 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Sleep Inn & Suites, 1006 South Haynes Avenue, Miles City
December 2, 2023; 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
MSUB College of Education, Room 122, Billings
Presenters: Ruth Ferris & Kathi Hoyt
December 5, 2023; 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
MSUB College of Education, Room 122, Billings
Presenter: Sara Evans
MCEC Education Conference in Missoula April 3-5, 2024 - Early bird registration ends December 17, 2023. CPI Training offered on April 2 as Pre-Conference with limited spots available.
C.I.R.C.L.E. Time (Community-Based Implementation of Resources using a Collaborative Learning Environment)
2023-2024 School Year
September - May, 3rd Tuesday of the Month
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Learning Community for Early Care and Education
The Learning Community for Early Care and Education is a monthly meeting dedicated to information sharing and collaborative relationship building. The purpose of this learning community is to focus on community-based solutions to meeting the needs of young children and their families.
TIPS OVERVIEW
The Training for Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS) is an online course specifically designed for educational interpreters. Four modules are sequenced to build upon
one another and take an average of 8 hours per week over a four-month period to complete. All activities are online so access to a reliable computer, web camera, and high-speed internet is required. The course topics in TIPS were designed based on critical skill sets identified by developers of the EIPA. TIPS online coursework consists of 4 modules: Preparing for the Learning Journey, Interpreting Educational Discourse, Fingerspelling in the Classroom, & Discourse Mapping in Education.
Costs are covered by the Montana OPI and offered at no cost to the participant. Space is limited. There is one upcoming offering for the TIPS course:
Dates: January 6, - May 4, 2024 (Application Deadline December 3, 2023)
Questions, contact Jennifer Harvey, jenn.harvey@usu.edu
Special Education General Information:
Contact Kelley Brown, 406-444-5661 or check out our webpage.
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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