Washington Abstract or Conceptual Framework for State Systemic Change

Washington State has developed a comprehensive set of performance standards, the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs). The focus of the system is to align all student learning to the EALRs. The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) measures student performance towards the EALRs. Students with disabilities are expected to meet the EALRs and participate in the WASL, as appropriate. An assessment continuum has been developed to ensure students with disabilities participate fully in the assessment process.

In order to ensure children and youth with disabilities participate and succeed in achieving the EARLs, a partnership currently exists to facilitate and strengthen the educational systems needed to support these children and youth. The partnership includes Washing PAVE (Parent Information and Training center), Institutions of Higher Education, Educational Service Districts (regional), Local Education Agencies (LEA) and many others. As the system changes, other individuals and organizations with expertise will be identified and invited to join the partnership to ensure continuation and refinement of the system well beyond the funding period of the grant.

The mission of the Connecting IDEAs Project (CIP) is: to initiate, develop, and maintain a system for improving results of special education services in Washington. The goals that will guide the work of the partnership to meet the state’s mission and to build capacity to improve results for children and youth with disabilities are as follows:

• To improve the academic performance of students receiving special education services.
  
• To improve the post-school performance of students receiving special education services.
  
• To insure that eligible special education students receive a free appropriate public education.
  
• To enhance pre-service preparation opportunities for all personnel.
  
• To enhance in-service preparation activities.
  
• To retain and enhance skills of existing special education personnel.
  

The project will be evaluated on a systemic basis. Annual review of student data and project results will be used to adjust and refine the objectives and activities to maximize successful efforts under this project. CIP will enhance the opportunities to support children and youth to succeed in meeting a high level of academic achievement as defined by the Essential Academic Learning Requirements. The anticipated results will be a coordinated system to support children and youth with disabilities which ultimately benefits their families, education and service providers, professional development providers, organizations representing individuals with disabilities, and local communities.

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Washington Basic Information

Project Title	Connecting IDEAs Project
Primary Contact Person	Lou Colwell , Ed.D.
Address	Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Old Capitol Building P.O. Box 47200 Olympia, WA 98504-7200
Phone	360-725-6080 TTY 360-586-0126
Fax	360-586-1631
Email	Mcolwell@ospi.wednet.edu
Web site	http://www.k12.wa.us/specialed/
Date SIG Application was Written or Submitted	Feb. 13, 2001
Begin and End Dates for Funding	7/1/2001-6/30/-2006
Funded Amount:	$1,088,288.00 per year
Who Wrote the Application:	SEA Staff

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Washington Improvement Strategies

1. What products are planned for development?

• Web-based clearinghouse of local, regional, state and national training activities (in-service)
  
• Training "hot line" (in-service)
  
• Demonstration sites (research to practice)
  
• County Community Councils (secondary transition)
  
• IHE and demonstration site links (pre-service)
  
• On-line academy (recruitment and retention)
  
• Mentorship program (retention)
  
• Cadet training program (recruitment

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2. What interstate connections are planned?

• Contract with the University of Kentucky for training, implementation and on-going support of community transition councils using the "Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools" (STEPS) model.
  
• Contract with the University of Kansas for on-line academy implementation and support.

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3. What strategies are planned for service delivery?

• Establish model school sites in each IHE catchment area to demonstrate how students with disabilities are included in all curricular activities. Use model sites under the state inclusion project and BEACONS Project (model sites for structures and strategies to help students with challenging behavior) and school who have shown exceptional gains for all students in reading and math scores on the WASL.
  
• Demonstration sites will show a partnership with an IHE and must demonstrate parental involvement and inclusion of individuals with disabilities in planning, implementation and evaluation of the sites.
  
• IHEs and demonstration school sites will work together to effect system change in teacher training and local school level teaching practices.
  
• Present exemplary models on a website with "state experts" to assist districts in establishing demonstration sites.
  
• Provide stipends for teachers receiving practicum students.
  
• Conduct a yearly "best practices" conference as part of the state general and special education summer institute for dissemination of lessons learned and best practices implementation (National Diffusion Network model.)
  
• Establish, train and support county community councils to enhance secondary transition outcomes.
  
• Incorporate "best practice" in transition into secondary summer institute and other conferences.
  
• Implement a consolidated monitoring process including tools to survey parents.
  
• Integrate the results of consolidated monitoring into personnel preparation and parent training activities.
  
• Implement competency-based personnel preparation in at least eight public and private IHEs with the state providing stipends and forgivable loans.
  
• Align programs in two community/technical colleges with the paraeducator competencies recently adopted by the state. Participants will receive annual stipends or forgivable loans.
  
• Establish an in-service clearinghouse. Support a position with the state PTI to maintain the clearinghouse.
  
• Establish and support a "training hotline" as an alternative for those without internet access to the clearinghouse.
  
• Work with the PTI to develop and disseminate a calendar of regional, state, and national training opportunities.
  
• Collaborate with one IHE and one community college to maintain an on-line (K-20) special education personnel preparation academy. Support participants with stipends who complete on-line coursework.
  
• Establish and support a special education mentorship program in each of the state’s 20 UniServ councils.
  
• Establish a "cadet teacher" program to link mentors with at least two schools. Provide stipends and release time for mentors.

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4. What partnerships are intended?

• Link to the "Washington Reading Corps" (a collaborative effort between schools, community volunteers and the Washington Service Corps to provide tutoring to young struggling readers) and "Washington Reads" (Reading Excellence Act Grant) to assist in identification of model schools for demonstration sites.
  
• Establish partnership with the Governor’s Office of Employment of the Disabled to enhance transition of students from school to work.
  
• Intra- and interagency collaborative effort to fund an early childhood special education competency-based endorsement program.
  
• Also see Question 5 for contracted partners

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5. What type of contracts or subgrants are intended to partners, LEAs, IHE, PTIs, and others (including lead agency under Part C)?

• Contract with state PTI to collect, coordinate and disseminate all available training information at the state, regional and national level. Link clearinghouse to state, PRI center, Educational Service Districts (ESDs), universities, colleges, technical schools, personnel organizations/associations.
  
• Contract with the University of Kentucky for STEPS training in community councils and ongoing support.
  
• Support pilot of early childhood special education competency-based endorsement requirements in at least one IHE.
  
• A series of contracts to align curriculum in selected institutes of higher education with local district demonstrations school sites.
  
• Contract with the University of Kansas to initiate an on-line academy for rural and remote sites.
  
• Mentorship training: Stipends will be provided for 20 mentors to provide support to novice teachers in special education and assist in implementation of cadet teaching programs for elementary and middle school children who might wish to consider the profession of SE teacher.
  
• Stipends to on-line academy participants.
  
• Money will be available to demonstration site staff to compensate them for additional time and responsibility associated with supervising student teachers and/or paraprofessionals, establishing practicum opportunities and conducting seminars.

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6. How will resources be pooled with other resources?

• Some of the demonstration school sites will be supported by an annual legislative mandated inclusion project proviso in the state budget.
  
• Annual "best practices" conferences will be supported by federal discretionary funds.
  
• Consolidated monitoring activities will be supported by federal special education discretionary funds.
  
• Support and implementation of the on-line academy and provide participants stipends will be done by consolidating grant funds with federal discretionary funds.
  
• The Center for Change in Transition Services at the University of Washington was started in 1992 with a Transition System Change Grant and is now funded by a state legislative proviso and the state special education section. Half of the SE section amount will now be exclusive to the development and maintenance of the county community councils described in this grant.
  
• Funds from the state legislatively mandated inclusion project and the RSVP Washington project will be combined for the development, implementation, and support staff of collaborative demonstration sites projects.
  
• Since the evaluation component is directed at evaluating the State Improvement Plan, which is supported by the SIG, the OSPI will fund evaluation activities.

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7. How 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?

Coordinate grant funds with the Part C lead agency to support pilot of early childhood education special education competency-based endorsement requirements and teacher training programs.

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