Weekly Update 11.13.2014
TEA Information
TEA Notification Error
The PMI division has received numerous phone calls and e-mails from campuses and districts receiving notifications in error regarding overdue submissions of their targeted improvement plan and/or PSP progress reports. The ISAM team is checking into the system and working with the IT department to find the glitch.
TEA apologizes for this system error and will update all users in a timely fashion with additional information as we know more.TEA appreciates your consideration and understanding as this issue istroubleshooted. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact the ISAM inbox at .
TEA Launches Redesigned Website
Commissioner of Education Michael Williams today announced the launch of a redesigned website (tea.texas.gov) for the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The new-look TEA website brings many added features designed to be visually appealing and more user-friendly.
“Our website redesign project aimed at much more than just making the site look nicer,” said Commissioner Williams. “For more than a year, we have been working internally and with stakeholders outside the agency for a design that helps get people to what they are looking for quickly.”
Commissioner Williams noted that while the previous TEA site design was functional and provided access to a lot of valuable information, the ongoing feedback from users centered on the difficulty in locating specific information.
The updated TEA website provides clearer avenues to information, creates dropdown menus to the most accessed data, and pulls together information areas (regardless of which TEA department produces the information) to help users get a complete picture of an issue or program. In addition, TEA has committed to making each area throughout the site easier for everyone to understand with text in plain language.
In addition to a new design, the TEA website can now be accessed via a shorter URL. Visit the TEA website at tea.texas.gov.
2014 Higher Education Resource Guide for Students with Disabilities
The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities’ (TCDD) 2014 Higher Education Resource Guide for Students with Disabilities includes information for future college students, parents, high school counselors and other educators. For students who are not college bound, information is available about other educational options and choosing a career. The guide also includes information regarding the full process of preparing for higher education. You can download the guide or order a printed copy.
For Your Information
Autism Circuit: Call for Applications
As a part of a grant from TEA, Region 13 is creating the Autism Circuit to promote professional development for evidence-based practices for students with autism. The goals of this project are to 1) increase the number of educators in Texas who are skilled in the implementation of EBPs, 2) build capacity in districts across Texas, and 3) provide examples/models for educators to reference.
A cohort of up to 400 educators will be recruited to participate in webinars and follow-up coaching through a virtual professional learning community to allow participants to ask questions, make comments, and upload implementation artifacts. The cohort will be supported by regional specialists.
See the attached form that explains the project further and includes the application (hard copy and online survey options). Please send this to those whom you believe would be interested in and qualified for this project. The initial application deadline is December 15, 2014.
If you have any questions, contact Cathy Williams, , or Darcy Schiller, .
Region 4 Upcoming Professional Development
From Etiology to Intervention: An Overview of Autism Research
As the number of students with autism continues to rise, it becomes even more important that education professionals are up to date on the latest research. However, keeping up with all of the new information on autism can be an overwhelming task. Join this session to receive an overview of the most recent findings in the study of autism. Dr. Celine Saulnier, the Clinical Director for Research at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, Georgia, will provide an overview of the latest information on autism including 1) etiology, 2) early detection, 3) comprehensive evaluation, 4) executive functioning/self-regulation, and 5) intervention.
Session ID: 1052767
Date: December 11, 2014
Time: 9:00 – 4:00
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Cathy Williams, , 713-744-6801
Structured Teaching: It’s More Than Just Work Systems
Join this 4-day series to gain in-depth information on creating a structured classroom to support the learning and behavior of students with autism and other disabilities. During this professional development series, participants will learn 1) the principles and research base for structured teaching; 2) how to apply structured teaching principles to support students of varying ages and ability levels; 3) how to implement structured teaching in a variety of settings including special education classrooms, general education classrooms, and the community; 4) how to teach students to use structured teaching components; and 5) how to “re-structure” systems when students are not responding positively. Participants will also create materials, use these materials to practice implementing structured teaching in their classrooms through “homework” assignments, and receive feedback.
Session ID: 1066332
Dates: January 27, 2015; February 17, 2015; April 28, 2015; May 12, 2015
Time: 9:00 – 4:00
Fee: $180
Contact Information: Cathy Williams, , 713-744-6801
Building An Inclusive School Series
Developing and maintaining an “Inclusive School.” Bring a campus core team and learn the key components in developing and/or maintaining an inclusive school. Day One’s focus is on Inclusion Philosophy, Inclusion Committee, LRE, Case Management, and the IEP Decision-Making Process. Day Two will focus on scheduling and effective instructional frameworks. The final day will address inclusion models, common planning, classroom management/routines, and behavior. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058463
Date: 1/20/15, 2/17/15, 4/7/15
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 207, MCC 205, MCC 203
Fee: $135
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
Co-Teaching Series: Basic, Advanced and Ultimate Co-Teaching Practices
Developing highly effective co-teach teams. Come as a co-teach team to increase instructional intensity more than a one teacher classroom. Day one (Co-Teaching) explores implementing high quality instructional frameworks with the six (6) co-teaching approaching. Day two (Advanced Co-Teaching) explores the variations of the co-teaching approaches, the stages of effective co-teacher development, and common planning. Day three (Ultimate Co-Teaching) will dive deeper into analyzing one another beliefs and philosophies of education. Evaluate your partnerships to development a highly effective team. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058465
Date: 1/21/15, 2/18/15, 4/8/15
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 207, MCC 101, MCC 205
Fee: $135
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
KTEA-3 and WISC-V Update
Attend this session to become familiar with the updated Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition (WISC-V), newly published in 2014.
- KTEA-3: This training will highlight the new features including four additional subtests, revised Oral Expression, parent intervention suggestions, digital administration, and the Intervention tool available in the scoring software. Administration, scoring, and interpretation will be covered.
- WISC-V: Particular emphasis will be placed on the changes from the WISC-IV to the WISC-V, including the revision goals, new subtests and test content, enhanced measurement of fluid reasoning and learning ability, and the revised factor structure. This workshop will also provide a look into how touch-screen digital technology can be used for test administration with the WISC-V. Administration, scoring, and interpretation will be discussed. Also, we will examine how the WISC-V can be used for CHC cross-battery assessment.
The session will end with case studies to span both tests.
Session ID: 1083790
Date: December 9, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Region 4 ESC
Fee: $45
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Special Education Webinar - Practical Strategies for Differentiating Language Differences from Impairments in English Language Learners – Webinar 1
Participate in this webinar session to explore topics related to special education issues and considerations. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Presented by: Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin, Ph.D.
There is an increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) in America’s schools. This workshop addresses nonbiased assessment strategies and materials that can be used to differentiate language differences from language impairments in ELL students from any linguistic background. Objectives: 1) Describe how second language acquisition and bilingualism impact a child’s overall language development. 2) Explain how typical second language acquisition and bilingualism phenomena can masquerade as symptoms of a language impairment. 3) List typical patterns of Spanish-influenced English (e.g., d/th substitution) that are signs of a speech sound difference, not a disorder. 4) Summarize federal laws and guidelines 5)Identify potential sources of bias
Session ID: 1075080
Date: December 9, 2014
Time: 10:00AM-12:00PM
Location: online
Fee: $No Charge
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Cross-Battery Assessment (Basic)
Receive comprehensive instruction on using and applying the basic principles of the current methodology of XBA (as outlined in the Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment, 3rd Edition) including the newly revised software (DMIA, PSW-A, C-LIM) that accompanies the volume and which is designed to facilitate and automate the process. Participants will be given instruction in a step-by-step manner covering the foundations of CHC theory, the basic psychometric rules that govern construction of composites that adequately represent desired theoretical constructs, guidelines for integration, analysis, and interpretation of scores from language, cognitive, and academic batteries, and instruction on the use of XBA software in conducting evaluations. In addition, participants will be instructed via specific case study examples that illustrate application of XBA and use of the software tools in evaluation of learning disability, including extensions for assessing the validity of test scores when working with English language learners. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state and/or federal grants.
Session ID: 1063883
Date: December 11, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Galena Park ISD-Zotz Center, 13801 Holly Park, Houston, 77015
Fee: $45
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Cross-Battery Assessment (Advanced)
The purpose of this workshop is to provide participants with advanced comprehensive instruction in using and applying the principles of the current methodology of XBA (as outlined in the Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment, 3rd Edition) including the newly revised software (DMIA, PSW-A, C-LIM) that accompanies the volume and which is designed to facilitate and automate the process. Participants will be given instruction in a step-by-step manner covering the foundations of CHC theory, the basic psychometric rules that govern construction of composites that adequately represent desired theoretical constructs, guidelines for integration, analysis, and interpretation of scores from language, cognitive, and academic batteries, and instruction on the use of XBA software in conducting evaluations. In addition, participants will be instructed via specific case study examples that illustrate application of XBA and use of the software tools in evaluation of learning disability, including extensions for assessing the validity of test scores when working with English language learners. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state and/or federal grants.
Session ID: 1066819
Date: December 12, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Galena Park ISD-Zotz Center, 13801 Holly Park, Houston, 77015
Fee: $45
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Understanding and Nurturing the Communicative Competance in Young Learners with Significant Disabilities
Come and learn about communication assessment and instruction for young learners with multiple disabilities who are non-verbal. Explore instruction, practical exercises, and case studies to demonstrate the strategies being described. Gain insight on how to encourage children with significant disabilities including children with vision and hearing loss, to demonstrate and further develop their ability and desire to communicate. Specifically this workshop will include understanding how to use the Communication Matrix (Rowland 2004) assessment, research based instructional strategies for the child at the pre-symbolic level of communication, and instructional strategies for the child who may be ready for communication through Tangible Symbol Systems such as pictures, photos and/or 3 dimensional symbols but is not yet able to use abstract symbols.
Session ID: 1077741
Time: 8:30AM -3:30PM
Date: January 7-8, 2015
Registration Fee: $90.00
Location: Region 4 ESC
Contact Information: Angela Standridge at or 713-744-6831
Instruction and Management to Prevent the Use of Restraint and Seclusion
This session provides an overview of how effective instruction and classroom management techniques can be used by typical classroom teachers to maximize the probability of student success. The focus will be on prevention with strategies aimed at maintaining learning environments and facilitating student success. Video vignettes will be used to discuss how problem behaviors are best handled from an instructional perspective to prevent escalation and the need for restraint and seclusion.
Session ID: 1063925
Time: 8:30AM -3:30PM
Date: January 13, 2015
Registration Fee: $45
Location: Region 4 ESC
Contact Information: Clynita Grafenreed at or 713.744.6345
PODD Communication- Multi-modal Communication Strategies for Children who have Complex Communication Needs
This course will demonstrate the use of a Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD) approach developed by Gayle Porter (Melbourne, Australia). Generic templates for multi-page "light tech" communication books have been carefully designed to support genuine communication for a variety of functions throughout the day. These templates may be customized for a range of access methods and other individual needs. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1081926
Time: 8:30AM -4:30PM
Date: May 7-8, 2015
Registration Fee: $100.00
Location: Region 4 ESC
Contact Information: Angela Standridge at or 713-744-6831