Confused? Frustrated? Unsure what that abbreviation stands for?
Educational Acronyms: A Guide to Deciphering Educational Lingo
compiled by: Stacy Cepiel and Jeffrey Gilchrist
Disclaimer: Following is a list of many commonly used (and some not so common) educational acronyms. Some are used more than others, but the list is intended as a guide or quick reference tool when you come across that term you need to look up quickly. Though it may look comprehensive, there are certainly more terms that can be added. New acronyms are created all the time, and while some are general educational acronyms, others are district or school specific. The first page here lists acronyms specific to the City School District of Albany, followed by a list of general educational acronyms.
Video Clip: Educational Acronyms
Albany City School District Commonly Used Acronyms:
Albany Schools/Programs:
ACTC (or Abrookin): Abrookin Career and Technical Center
AHS: Albany High School 9-12
ALC: Alternative Learning Center
ASH: Albany School of Humanities PreK-6
AHES: Arbor Hill Elementary School PreK-6
CSDA: City School District of Albany
DCS: Delaware Community School (formerly PS 18) PreK-5
EPES: Eagle Point Elementary School (formerly PS 27) PreK-6
GMES: Giffen Memorial Elementary School PreK-6
HG: Harriet Gibbons
MAPS: Middle School Alternative Program
MMS: Montessori Magnet School PreK-5
NAA: North Albany Academy(formerly PS 20) PreK-8
NSES: New Scotland Elementary School (formerly PS 19) PreK-5
PSAA (or SAA): Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy PreK-5
SHMMS (Or MMS): Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School 6-8
SPA: Sheridan Preparatory Academy PreK-5
TLC:Tender Loving Care
TOAST: Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology PreK-5
TOPS: Tutorial Opportunities Program for Students
WHMS (or HMS): William Hackett Middle School 6-8
AP: Advanced Placement
APEX: Online School for learning
A-Plus: Albany Partnership for Learning and Uniting Services
APSTA: Albany Public School Teachers Association
APSUE: Albany Public School Union Education
Avid: Advanced Via Individual Determination
BYOL: Bring Your Own Lunch
CIO: Chief Information Officer - Mark Place
CLO: Chief Learning Officer - Elizabeth Ten Dyke
DCI: Director of Curriculum and Instruction- Karen Bechdol
ICC: Instructional Coach Coordinator
Help Desk (Technology): 475-6195
ILD: Instructional Leadership Director
Kenneth Lein - Supervises North Albany Academy and elementary schools feeding to William S. Hackett Middle School: AHES, DCS, EPES, NSES, TOAST
Tonda Dunbar - Supervises elementary schools feeding to Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School: ASH, GMES, PSAA, PHES, MMS, SPA
OSB: Other School Busines
OGPD: Office of Grants and Program Development - Eileen Leffler
PAR: Peer Assistance Review
Smart Scholars: after school literacy program for intermediate students
T & L Dept: Teaching and Learning Department (coaching and support team)
TOPS: Tutorial Opportunities Program for STudents
General Educational Acronyms
504 Plan: A plan for students with a disability that impacts access to curriculum
AACTE: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
ABA: Applied Behavior Analysis
ACT: American College Test
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder
ADL: Activities of Daily Living
AEA: Adult Education Act
AFL-CIO: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
AFT: American Federation of Teachers
AHSIP: American Home School Instructional Plan
ALF: Area Labor Federation
ALST: Academic Literacy Skills Test (teacher certification test)
AIS Academic Intervention Services
AMO: Annual Measurable Objective
AP: Advanced Placement
APR: Annual Performance Report
APPR: Annual Professional Performance Review
ARIS: Achievement Reporting and Innovation System
ARRA: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
ASCD: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
ASL: American Sign Language
AT: Assistive Technology
ATAS: Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills
ATE: Association of Teacher Educators
ATS-W: Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (teacher certification)
AU: Autism
AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress
BCTL: Building Curriculum Team Leader
BEDS: Basic Educational Data System
BEP: Behavior Education Program
BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills
BIP: Behavior Improvement Plan (Behavioral Intervention Plan)
BLT: Building Leadership Team
BOCES: Board of Cooperative Educational Services
BOD: Board of Education
BR: Building Representative
BSP: Behavior Support Plan
BST: Behavior Screening Tool
CAI: Computer Assisted Instruction
CAEP: Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preperation
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
CASS Council of Administrators of Special Services
CBA: 1) Collective Bargaining Agreement
2) Curriculum-Based Assessment
CBM: Curriculum Based Measurement
CCDEB: County Children with Disabilities Education Board
CCLS: Common Core Learning Standards
CCR: 1) College, Career Ready
2) Committee Conference Report
CD: Cognitive Disability
CDOS: Career Development and Occupational Studies Learning Standards
CEC: Council for Exceptional Children
CEIS: Comprehension Early Intervening Services
CEP: Comprehensive Education Plan
CESA: Cooperative Educational Service Agency
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations
CICO: Check-in Check-Out
CLC: Central Labor Council
CMO: Charter Management Organization
COBRA: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
COTA: Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant
CP: Cerebral Palsy
CPSE: Committee on Preschool Special Education
CREATE: Culturally Responsive Education For All: Training and Enhancement
Critical Friends: A protocol from National School Reform Faculty
CSE: Committee on Special Education
CSEIS: Comprehensive Special Education Information System
CSHCN: Children with Special Health Care Needs
CST: Content Specialty Test (Teacher Certification Exam)
CT: Consultant Teacher
CTE: Career and Technical Education
DASA: Dignity for All Students Act
DB: Deaf-Blindness
DD Council: Developmental Disabilities Council
DDI: Data-Driven Instruction
DDIA: Data Driven Instruction and Accountability
DEAR: Drop Everything and READ
DF: Deafness
DI: Differentiated Instruction
DHFS: Department of Health and Family Services
DiSC: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness (understanding your work style)
DPR: Daily Progress Report
DFR: Duty of Fair Representation
DOED: U.S. Department of Education
DOH: Department of Health
EA: Educational Assistant
EAS: Educating All Students test (Teacher Certification test)
EBD: Emotional Behavioral Disability
EBP: Evidence Based Practice
EC: Early Childhood
ECDC: Early Childhood Direction Center
ED: Emotional Disturbance
EDGAR: Education Department General Administrative Regulations
edTPA: (teacher certification process - takes the place of the ATS-W)
EI: Early Intervention (Program)
EIO: Early Intervention Official
ELA: English Language Arts
ELL: English Language Learner
ELP: Early Learning Profile
ELT: Education & Learning Trust
EMSC: NYS Ed. Department’s Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary & Continuing Ed.
EMO: Education Management Organization
EPO: Educational Partnership Organization
ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center
ERS: Employees’ Retirement System
ESEA: Elementary & Secondary Education Act
ESL: English as a Second Language
ESOL: English to Speakers of Other Languages
ESP: Education Support Professionals
ESY: Extended School Year
ETS: Educational Testing Service
F&P: Fountas and Pinnell
FACETS: Family Assistance Center for Education, Training and Support
FAPE: Free and Appropriate Public Education
FBA: Functional Behavior Assessment (or Functional Behavioral Analysis)
FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
FLSA: Fair Labor Standards Act
FMLA: Family Medical Leave Act
FOIL: Freedom of Information Law
FTE: Full-Time Equivalency
GE: General Education
GED: General Equivalency Diploma
H&S: Health and Safety
HBI: Homebound Instruction
HEDI: Highly effective, Effective, Developing, Ineffective (the score you receive on the APPR)
HHS: Health and Human Services
HI: 1) Hearing Impairment
2) Home Instruction
HMO: Health and Human Services
HOH: Hard of Hearing (sometimes written as HH)
HOUSSE: High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation
HR: Human Resources
HSA: Health Savings Account
IAES: Interim Alternative Educational Setting
IB: International Baccalaureate, a recognized leader in the field of international education
IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act
IDEIA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (December 2004)
IEE: Independent Educational Evaluation
IEP: Individualized Education Plan
IHIP: In Home Instructional Program
IHO: Impartial Hearing Officer
IOOV: In Our Own Voices
IP: Improper Practice
IESP: Individualized Education Services Program
IFSP: Individualized Family service Plan
ILC: Independent Living Center
IPRC: Identification, Placement and Review Committee
IQ: Intelligence Quotient
ISS: In School Suspension
IST: Instructional Support Team
JIT: Joint Intervention Team
K-12: Kindergarten through Grade 12
KUD: Know, Understand, Do (used when planning curriculum - rigorous curriculum design)
KWL: A Know, Wonder, Learned (graphic organizer)
LAB-R: Language Assessment Battery-Revised
LAP: Local Action Project
LD: Learning Disability
LDAA: Learning Disabilities Association of America
LEA: Local Education Agency
LEP: Limited English Proficient
LMRDA: Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
LPP: Local Performance Plan
LOTE: Language other than English
LRE: Least Restrictive Environment
LPS: Low Performing Schools
LRS: Labor Restrictions Specialist
LRW: Listening, Reading, Writing
MAP Measures of Academic Progress (the score you receive on the test from NWEA)
MAPS: Management, Academic, Physical, Social (4 required areas in PLPs)
MD: Multiple Disabilities
MH: Mental Health
MLP: My Learning Plan
MOA: Memorandum of Agreement
MOU: Memorandum of Understanding
MR: Mentally Retarded
MS: Middle School
MSDS: Material Safety Data Sheet
NAPT: National Association for Pupil Transportation
Naviance: helps students and families connect from the classroom to life goals, and also for searching for colleges
NCBI: National Coalition Building Institute - an international non-profit leadership development network dedicated to the elimination of racism and other forms of oppression
NCLB: No Child Left Behind
NEA: National Education Association
NLRA: National Labor Relations Board
NSTA: National School Transportation Association
NTI: Network Team Institute
NTSB: National Transportation Board
NUA: National Urban Alliance
NWEA: Northwest Evaluation Association
NYSAA: New York State Alternate Assessment
NYSAP: New York State Assessment Program
NYSESLAT: New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test
NYSITELL: New York State Identification Test for English Language Learners
NYSUT: New York State United Teachers
OASAS: Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services
OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCR: Office of Civil Rights
OCFS: Office of Children and Family Services
ODD: Oppositional Defiant Disorder
ODR’s: Office Discipline Referrals
OHI: Other Health Impaired
OI: Orthopedic Impairment
OISM: Office of Innovative School Models (SED)
OMI: Office of Mental Health
OMRDD: Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
OSEP: Office of Special Education Programs
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSS: Out of School Suspension
OT: Occupational Therapist/Occupational Therapy
PAC: Political Action Committee
PBIS: Positive Behavior Intervention Support
PBL: Project-Based Learning
PD: Professional Development
PD: Pupils with Disabilities (PD) data
PDD: Pervasive Developmental Disorder
PDD_NOS: Pervasive Developmental Disorder-not otherwise specified
PDP: Professional Development Program
PEL: Preferred Eligibility List
PERB: Public Employees Safety and Health
PESH: Public Employees Safety and Health
PINS: Person In Need of Supervision
P.L.94-142: The Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
PLC: Professional Learning Communities
PLOEP: Present Level of Educational Performance
PLP: Present Levels of Performance (also PLEP or PLOP)
POD: Problem of the Day
PPES: Principal Performance Evaluation System
PPO: Preferred Provider Organization
Pre-K: Pre-Kindergarten
Project Aspire (Adolescence Special Education Preparation for Inclusive and Reflective Educators: program through the College of St. Rose, designed to help the co-teach model
PSAT: Pre-Scholastic Achievement Test
PSRP: Paraprofessional School-Related Professionals
PST: Pupil Services Team
PT: Physical Therapist/Physical Therapy
PTA: 1) Parent Teacher Association
2) Physical Therapy Assistant
PTO: Parent Teacher Organization
PTSI: Pupil Transportation Safety Institute
PWD: Preschooler with a Disability
RA: Representative Assembly
RCD: Rigorous Curriculum Design
RCT: Regents Competency Test
REACH: Responsive Education for All Children Initiative
READS: Reading Evaluation and Demonstration of Success Initiative
RFP: Request for Proposals
RIP: Reduction in Force
RO: Regional Office
RR: Resource Room
RSD: Regional Staff Director
RS: Related Services
RT: Recreational Therapist
RTF: Residential Treatment Facility
RTI: Response to Intervention
RttT: Race to the Top
S.A.I.G.: Social/Academic Instruction Group
SAP: School Age Parents
SAT: Scholastic Aptitude Test
SAVE: Save Schools Against Violence in Education Act
SBM: Site-Based Management
SBS: School Based Services
SCANS: Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills for Employment
SCEP: School Comprehension Education Plan
SDD: Significant Developmental Delay
SDM: Shared Decision-Making
SEA: State Educational Agency
SED: State Education Department
SEDCAR: Special Education Data Collection, Analysis & Reporting
SEIT: Special Education Itinerant Teacher
SEL: Social Emotional Learning
SEP: Special Education Plan
SERT: Special Education Resource Teacher
SES: 1)State Educational Services
2) Supplemental Education Service
SEQA: Special Education Quality Assurance Unit, VESID, SED
SETRC: Special Education Training Resources Centers
SERB: State Employment Relations Board
SHI: Superintendent Home Visit
SI: Speech/Language Impairment
SIFE: Student with Interrupted Formal Education
SIG: School Improvement Grant
SIP: State Improvement Plan
SIRS: Student Information Repository System
SLATE: Stimulate Learning through Applying Technology to Enhance Achievement
SLD: Specific Learning Disability
SLO: Student Learning Objective
SLP: Speech and Language Pathologist
SNA: 1)School Nurse Association
2)Special Needs Assistant
SP: Services Plan
SPC: Special Class
SPDG: State Personnel Development Grant
SPED: Special Education
SPP: State Performance Plan
SQRT: School Quality Review Teams
SRI: Stands Reviews Initiative
SRO: State Review Officer
SRP: School-Related Professionals
SRS: Student Response System
SSEC: School Safety and the Educational Climate
SSI: Supplemental Security Income
SST: Student Study Team:
STEM: Science Technology Engineering and Math
STEP: 1) Short Term Education Program
2) System for Tracking Education Performance
SURR: School Under Registration Review
SWD: Students With Disabilities
SWIS: School-Wide Information System
SWP: School-Wide Program
TAG: Technical Advisory Group
TAS: Targeted Assistance
TACIT: Technical Assistance Center for Innovation and Turnaround
TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury
TCIS: Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for School
TCS: Transition Coordination Sites
TEACCH: Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication related handicapped
Children
TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TED: Teacher Evaluation and Development
TIPS: Teacher Improvement Plans
TPA: Third Party Administrator
TRE: Technology Resources for Education
TRS Teachers’ Retirement System
UFT: United Federation of Teachers
ULP: Unfair Labor Practice
UPK: Universal Pre-Kindergarten
USDOE: United States Education Dept
VADIR: Violence and Disruptive Incident Reporting - now part of the data collection process for School Safety and the Educational Climate (SSEC) reporting
SSEC - PART 1 collects data regarding violent and disruptive incidents (VADIR)
SSEC - PART 2 collects data regarding incidents of harassment and/or discrimination covered under the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)
VESID: Office of Vocations & Educational Services for Individual with Disabilities
VI: Visual Impairment
VR: Vocational Rehabilitation
VOTE-COPE: Voice of Teachers in Education - Committee on Political Education
WIA: Workforce Investment Act