Connecticut Abstract or Conceptual Framework for State Systemic Change
Two strategic themes have been identified for this grant:
1. Meeting the diverse learning needs of all Connecticut's Infants, Toddlers, Children, and Youth (Birth to 21), including literacy needs.2. Documenting and addressing current and future personnel shortages via a broad based systems change effort in higher education.
The themes were identified as a result of an extensive needs assessment process. The Connecticut State Department of Education intends to address these themes through the formation of a statewide partnership team for leadership and through RFPs and incentives that support partnership teams of schools, institutions of higher education, state agencies, community organizations, and parents.
Efforts will focus on ten specific activities.
The first three activities are administrative in nature and focus on establishing:
1. A project officer to administer the grant.2. A formative and summative cluster evaluation process for grant activities.
3. A continuous improvement strategic planning process through the Connecticut State Improvement Partnership Team.
The remaining seven activities describe strategies for addressing one or both of the two strategic themes. Each activity is presented with an expected outcome and indicators for measurement. The specific data to be collected for the formative and summative evaluation component of each activity is presented in the final evaluation section.
The seven activities include:
1. Implementing systems changes in institutions of higher education.2. Implementing a coordinated data collections system to project Connecticut's education work force pool.
3. Recruiting students into pre-service training to serve low-incidence populations and secondary special education populations, and to increase minority representation in special education and related services programs.
4. Recruiting students into training programs for bilingual speech pathologists.
5. Developing a training program for teachers of students with visual impairment.
6. Coordinating the many initiatives across Connecticut working to encourage and enhance parental involvement.
7. Creating district level model programs to improve children/student outcomes in the areas of literacy, behavior, and transitions.
|
Project Title |
Connecticut State Improvement Grant |
|
Primary Contact Person |
Elizabeth M. Schmitt |
|
Address |
Bureau of Special Education & Pupil Services CT Department of Education 25 Industrial Park Road Middletown, CT 06457 |
|
Phone |
(860) 807-2052 |
|
Fax |
(860) 807-2047 |
|
|
|
|
Web site |
http://www.state.ct.sde
|
|
Date SIG Application was Written or Submitted |
December 15, 1999 |
|
Begin and End Dates for Funding |
July 1, 2000 to June 20, 2001 |
|
Funded Amount |
$920,000.00 |
|
Who Wrote the Application |
Collaborative effort by staff from the Connecticut State Department of Education, the Special Education Resource Center and the RMC Research Corporation. |
Connecticut Improvement Strategies
1. What products or activities are planned by the SIG?
The following sections describes each of the ten activities which will address the two strategic themes of:
1. Improving system's abilities to meet the needs of diverse learners.2. Reducing personnel shortages in low-incidence disability populations within an increase in representation of minority personnel.
Each activity is presented with expected outcomes for the activity as well as indicators to measure progress.
Activity A: Establish a Project Officer to Administer the Grant Activity
The project operations coordinator will be employed by the Bureau of Special Education and Pupil Services and housed in the Special Education Resource Center facility.
Expected Outcomes: Functioning office space is established and occupied by project staff.
Indicators: The hiring of staff and purchasing and use of equipment.
Activity B: Establish a formative and summative cluster evaluation process for the grant activities.
A contract is to be awarded to Glen Martin, Associates of Troy, New York to use a cluster evaluation model to coordinate and implement the multi-site and multi-project evaluation. Basic elements of the cluster model include:
1. Identification of common themes, purposes and outcomes across all projects.2. Technical assistance to the cluster of projects.
3. Collaborative data collection.
4. Networking conferences that build stakeholder knowledge and skills, facilitate sharing, promote connections with other staff and experts in the field, and provide access to and information about resources.
Expected Outcomes: Formative and summative evaluation of the funded projects; increased skills and knowledge of personnel implementing RFP and contracted projects.
Indicators: Filing of reports, provision of technical assistance, and high quality of evaluation.
Activity C: Institute a continuous improvement strategic planning process by the State Improvement Plan Partnership Team.
The Connecticut State Improvement Plan Partnership Team (CSIPPT) will engage in a strategic planning process to ensure continuous improvement in the state. The Team will use quarterly meetings and telecommunications to review the progress of the State Improvement Plan and State Improvement Grant activities for both Part B and Part C of IDEA '97 in conjunction with other information regarding the status of services to individuals with disabilities in the state.
Expected Outcomes: The CSIPPT will serve as a model collaborative partnership to ensure continuous improvement by monitoring activities under the current SIP/SIG as well as by planning future coordinated projects. Efforts will be coordinated with OSEP's continuous improvement activities, as appropriate.
Indicators: Demonstrated linkages between team recommendations, implementation of program activities and attainment of goals; meeting criteria similar to the criteria for the Malcolm L. Baldridge award; enhanced connections across federal programs within the Connecticut State Department of Education and across other state agencies; initiation of efforts outside or beyond this particular grant; and maintenance and expansion of membership.
Activity D: Implement Systems Change initiatives in Institutions of Higher Education.
RFPs will be developed to award two (2) competitive grants to Connecticut Institutions of Higher Education. The grants will serve to fund systems change projects to prepare all teachers to teach in a unified educational system, in classroom settings with diverse learners and diverse learning needs. Curriculum, instructional methods, practicum and student teaching experience, as well as the organizational structures of the institution, will all be addressed. Projects must include the blending of regular and special education curriculum; methods/strategies to match instruction to learners needs; modeling of team teaching and co-teaching; close on-site work with school districts; collaboration across the college and university departments engaged in teacher preparation; involvement of families, community organizations, state agencies and local agencies as partners; and training content area IHE faculty (e.g., mathematics, science and social studies) in special education and literacy strategies that can be integrated into the curriculum.
Expected Outcomes: Expected outcomes include the preparation of educational staff at the pre-service level to meet diverse learning needs; the expansion of higher education faculty who will have a knowledge of research-based reading strategies; the adequate preparation of teachers who will enter the field with the skills needed to identify and remediate reading problems at the earliest possible time; and a model of early identification and early intervention to prevent increased learning problems due to lack of appropriate reading instruction.
Indicators: Changes in Connecticut's certification that will move towards a more unified system; discernable changes in the planning, structure and delivery of instruction in Institutions of Higher Education; change in referral and identification rates of children with disabilities across Connecticut.
Activity E: To implement a data collection system to project Connecticut's educational work force pool.
An RFP will be developed to design a well coordinated data collection system which will be used to identify the potential pool for future candidates for school district related service positions, special education teachers of low-incidence populations and secondary special education teachers.
Expected Outcomes: A coordinated data system will be in place that will accurately project the future pool of qualified candidates, and assist in the planning of recruitment strategies and in increasing the capacity of IHEs to meet the needs of Connecticut's children with disabilities.
Indicators: Agency collaboration; data maintenance; and data accessibility.
Activity F: Recruit students into pre-service training programs to serve low-incidence population and secondary education populations, and to increase minority representation in special education and related service programs.
Grants will be offered to an IHE to recruit 30 students into training programs for areas of critical need. These incentives will also serve to increase minority representative in special education and related services training programs. The grants, managed by IHE, will be available to assist with tuition and related costs of enrollment.
Expected Outcomes: Increased diversity of Connecticut's educational work force, as well as an adequate supply of appropriately trained qualified candidates.
Indicators: Lack of shortages in the secondary special education, low-incidence populations, and increase in minority representation.
Activity G: Recruit students into training programs for bilingual speech pathologist.
A contract will be awarded to Southern Connecticut State University to contribute to the tuition and other related costs for six graduate students.
Expected Outcomes: Speech pathologists will be available who are qualified to provide services to bilingual children.
Indicators: Enrollment in the program; graduation from the program; and employment rates of bilingual speech pathologists.
Activity H: Develop a training program for teachers and students with visual impairments.
An RFP will be used to fund an IHE to develop a training program to prepare teachers of students with visual impairments in collaboration with a regional or nationally recognized teacher preparation program.
Expected Outcomes: Teachers for students with visual impairments are available and a training program exists which is easily accessible in a neighboring state.
Indicators: Enrollment; graduation rates; and sufficient numbers of teachers for students with visually impairments.
Activity I: Coordinate all initiatives across Connecticut working to encourage and enhance parental involvement.
A contract will be awarded to the Connecticut's Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) to examine all the parent initiatives in the state. CPAC will coordinate efforts with the Bureau of Early Childhood Education and Social Services, the Bureau of School, Family, Community Partnerships and the Bureau of Adult Education, and the Bureau of Mental Retardation's Part C Program to identify
effective parent programs and to identify areas of need. Emphasis will be on initiatives to support the parents of children at risk of school failure and children with disabilities Birth through 21. Subsequent RFPs will be issued to fund initiatives in gaps identified by CPAC.
Expected Outcomes: The number of parents actively participating in their child's educational program will increase; there will be an improved quality of early intervention/educational programs to address children's needs; the quality of IFSPs and IEPs will improve.
Indicators: Increased parental participation, satisfaction, and effectiveness of initiatives.
Activity J: Create model program development projects in the LEAs around critical issues to improve children/student outcomes.
An RFP process will be used to award 8-10 competitive grants per year to LEAs to develop model programs to improve children/student outcomes in the areas of literacy, behavior, and transitions from both Connecticut's birth to 3 system to school and from secondary school to post-secondary situations. LEAs must identify team of partners to include institutions of higher education (IHE), community organizations, and parents; provide a written presentation of the model to be utilized for dissemination and replication; and use state of the art technology in their projects.
Expected Outcomes: Improved educational systems to address children/student's needs in natural environments and general education settings; and increased successes in promoting the learning, growth, and development of students.
Indicators: Collaborative quality of model programs; skills and knowledge gained by participants; demonstrable results; indicators of student success.
2. What interstate connections are planned?
Though there are currently no specific interstate connections planned in the SIG, the contract with Glen Martin, Associates in Troy, New York, as well as the intention to involve neighboring state(s) in the participation of the development of a regional training program for teachers of the visually impaired should be noted.
3. What strategies are planned for service delivery?
Please see question 1.
4. What partnerships are intended?
The development of collaborative partnership is emphasized throughout the State Improvement Grant. The establishment of a state-wide partnership team (CSIPPT) to guide and direct the continuous improvement strategic planning process reflects the state leadership strategy. Other activities include partnerships to be developed through RFPs that provide incentives to local education agencies, institutions of higher education, state agencies, and community and parent organizations.
Specific contracted services include:
In addition, specifics of contracts or grants are mentioned for the following purposes:
5. Who are the partners?
Please see question 4.
6. What types of contracts or subgrants are intended to partners, LEAs, IHEs, PTIs and others (including lead agency under Part C)?
Please see question 4.
7. How will resources be pooled with other resources?
This Connecticut State Improvement Grant is the direct result of significant earlier work involved in the development of the Connecticut State Department of Education's "Connecticut Agenda." The "Connecticut Agenda" set forth a position statement on educating students with disabilities, principles of good practice, and goals and objectives with accompanying strategies. The development of the Connecticut State Improvement Plan was tied directly to the "Connecticut Agenda" and the Connecticut State Improvement Grant speaks to aspects of the Connecticut State Improvement Plan. Therefore, every effort has been made to coordinate initiatives and to pool resources related to those initiatives. "This has afforded continued momentum and commitment critical in effective and meaningful systems changes, rather than the perception of "Yet another innovation"."
8. What specific SIG products, activities, initiatives and strategies are pertinent to Part C (birth to 3, infants, toddlers and their families) services and activities in your state?
Specific mention of strategies or initiatives pertinent to Part C:
Part C is specifically mentioned in the areas of enhancing parental involvement and in implementing system change initiatives in two institutions of higher education and in the development of district model programs. The latter two specify that an expected outcome will be a model of early identification/early intervention developed and disseminated across Connecticut to prevent increased learning problems due to lack of appropriate reading instruction or early reading problems.