Weekly Update 10.16.2014
TEA Information
PBMAS Reports Available
The 2014 Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System (PBMAS) state and region reports are available now at the following links:
Texas Education Agency - PBMAS State Reports
Texas Education Agency - PBMAS Region Reports
TEA, Texas School Safety Center Partnerfor Oct. 19-25 Safe Schools Week
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) today renewed their annual partnership for the 2014 Texas Safe Schools Week, Oct. 19 - 25. TEA and TxSSC share a mutual goal of assuring all public schools are places where students, parents, teachers and administrators feel secure during the course of every school day.
"Every student in Texas must be provided an effective and safe learning environment," said Commissioner of Education Michael Williams. "Safe Schools Week reminds us all to reflect on the plans and policies in place and update them as needed so that our campuses are prepared and safe in every potential situation."
Dr. Victoria Calder, the executive director of the Texas School Safety Center, echoed those remarks, saying that, “Every school should have emergency plans in place to address all hazards, whether natural or manmade; and, our educators, community partners, students and parents should be aware of practices to establish and maintain safe schools and then work together to keep Texas’ students and schools safe and secure.”
In a joint Texas Safe Schools Week proclamation, Commissioner Williams and Director Calder urged all Texas school districts to practice emergency drills, review emergency plans and highlight the importance of safe and secure schools – not only during this week but throughout the year.
Gov. Rick Perry has also declared Oct. 19 - 25, 2014, as Safe Schools Week in Texas. In his gubernatorial proclamation, Gov. Perry noted the importance for schools and communities to work together to assure children are secure from harm and able to thrive in their academic environment.
"As our next generation of leaders, young Texans are our most precious resource and brightest rays of hope for the future," said Gov. Perry in his Safe Schools Week proclamation. "It should be our top priority as parents, teachers, community leaders and concerned citizens to guarantee their safety and well-being, especially while they are attending school."
During the course of Texas Safe Schools Week, the Texas Education Agency and Texas School Safety Center, which is an official university-level research center at Texas State University in San Marcos, will partner to spotlight specific safety issues faced by school districts on a daily basis. Topics to be addressed during the week will include school planning and preparedness, educator requirements, bullying, mental health and student safety. Texas Safe Schools Week is held annually in conjunction with the national America's Safe Schools Week.
To read the Governor's Safe School Week proclamation, the joint TEA-TxSSC proclamation or to learn more about Texas Safe Schools Week topics, visit the Texas Education Agency website at the Texas School Safety Center website at
For Your Information
Senate Bill 460
TEA has indicated that the following free online trainings meet the requirements of SB 460:
At Risk for High School Students
- At Risk for Middle School Students
Region 4 Upcoming Professional Development
Accessing the General Curriculum through Best Practices: Instructional Practices in Secondary Science
Explore Tier I instructional strategies that support greater student access to the general curriculum (AGC) through a universal design for learning (UDL) framework. This collaborative session will assist inclusive support personnel. Examine fundamental concepts (within the enrolled grade level) to identify common barriers that present challenges for students with disabilities, at-risk students, and ELLs. Analyze ways to bridge the gap to support success on the general STAAR®assessment using brain-based strategies.
Session ID: 1059525
Date: November 23, 2014
Time: 9:00 – 4:00
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Kirsten Omelan, , 713-744-6361
Access to General Curriculum (AGC) Stakeholder Meeting
Discuss current national, state and local information on curriculum, assessment and instructional issues as it relates to students with disabilities accessing the general education curriculum. Identify trends and issues affecting districts/campuses across the region, give feedback on services provided and those needed by Region 4 ESC and network with other professionals across the region. Registration is limited to stakeholder members. This group will be comprised of staff designated by LEA Directors of Special Education.
Session ID: 1059215
Date: November 19, 2014
Time: 9:00 – 12:00
Fee: None
Contact Information: Amy Doolan, , 713.744.6337
Motor Sensory Labs and Classrooms: Concepts, Strategies, and Applications for the School Environment
Do you have students who seem to "hunger" for movement or physical support? Ready Bodies, Learning Minds was created to support the developmental, motor, sensory, and academic growth of allstudents. The Ready Bodies Motor Labs are designed to be implemented as an individual activity, as a classroom center or activity, as adaptive physical education, or as a campus-wide curriculum. In this two-day training, participants will 1.) learn of the essential connection between motor/sensory development and the ability to perform tasks necessary for independence, behavioral control, and academic achievement; 2.) receive information regarding the research base for the program; 3.) see multiple demonstrations of lab set-up and activities; and 4.) practice lab activities. Participants will also receive the curriculum guide for the motor lab: Ready Bodies, Learning Minds: A Key to Academic Success© Ready Bodies, Learning Minds Activity Guide©.
Session ID: 1052452
Date: October 28 & 29, 2014
Time: 8:30-4:00
Fee: $90
Contact Information: Cathy Williams, , 713-744-6801
Video Modeling: Classroom and School-Based Applications
Join this workshop for hands-on practice developing, filming, and implementing video modeling intervention in classrooms and schools. During this training, participants will 1.) be shown how video modeling has been used in school districts around the country, 2.) be given the opportunity to practice all of the steps needed to create and deliver video modeling interventions using an iPad or other commonly available technology, and 3.) be shown how to monitor and chart student progress. As a result, participants will leave with practical skills and knowledge they can immediately add to their existing practice.
Session ID: 1056370
Date: November 12, 2014
Time: 9:00 – 4:00
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Cathy Williams, , 713-744-6801
Framework for Creating An Inclusive Campus: Strategies and Processes for Instructional Leaders
Learn the key components in Building An Inclusive School. This session provides district/campus leaders with an overview of all the components in the Building An Inclusive School Series (Session ID’s: 1058443 and 1058463). Components consist of Inclusion Philosophy, Inclusion Committee, LRE, Case Management, IEP Decision-Making Process, Scheduling, Effective Instructional Frameworks, Inclusion Models, Common Planning, Classroom Management/Routines, and Behavior. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058452
Date: 10/21/14
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 205
Fee:$45
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
Paraprofessionals: Effective Support in the Inclusive Classroom
Learn about the changing role of the paraprofessional and how to work as a team with general and special education teachers. The session will address problem solving, communication, collaboration, and learning skills. The session will also address working with teachers, students, and parents; collaborative learning approaches; and student behavior management techniques. Teams of teachers and paraprofessionals who work together are encouraged to attend. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058453
Date: 10/22/14
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 100BC
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
The Teacher and Paraprofessional Team: Enhancing Communication and Instruction
Explore practical strategies for improving communication, problem solving, and team performance. Topics to be addressed include leadership, team personalities, the team building process, time management strategies, and effective communication. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058151
Date: 11/4/14
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 207
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
High Tech/Low Tech: Instructional Techniques for Teachers or Paraprofessionals
Learn how to implement various high tech and low tech tools and assistive technology into your classroom. Explore strategies that can produce greater instructional intensity in your co-teach classrooms than if only one teacher was present. Devices and tools covered in this course can also be incorporated into one teacher classrooms. Get hands-on practice with computer software programs, assistive technology, ipads, and apps that will assist students to gain greater access to the general education curriculum. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058454
Date: 11/4/14
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 203
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
IPADs in the classroom
Investigate a wide variety of applications (apps) in all four content areas as well general apps to support student in accessing the general curriculum. Activities in the sessions will demonstrate how to incorporate apps into the classroom environment. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1058455
Date: 11/11/14
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 207
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
Paraprofessionals: Supporting Students Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Learn methods for supporting the instruction of students who are deaf or hard of hearing in the inclusive classroom. Explore content-based strategies, accommodations and supplemental aids designed to meet the needs of struggling learners. Become familiar with low tech tools that support concept development and provide multiple means of representation. Learn strategies for supporting the language and communication acquisition of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Session materials and costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1066802
Date: 11/13/14
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m
Location: MCC 104
Fee: $45
Contact Information: Tony Goedicke at or 713.744.6579
Multidisciplinary Approach to Dyslexia Identification
Enhance your understanding of the dyslexia identification process through a differential diagnosis approach using the combined expertise of Educational Diagnosticians, Licensed Specialists in School Psychology, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Teachers that assess for dyslexia. Participants will consider the domains to assess for dyslexia from multiple perspectives and how to use cognitive processing, cross-battery assessment, and speech-language evaluation as part of the evaluation process to differentiate between dyslexia and other disabilities.
Session ID: 1067220
Date: October 22, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Region 4 ESC – MCC201
Fee: $45
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Introduction to the Delis Rating of Executive Functions (D-REF)
Attend this session to become familiar with the Delis Rating of Executive Functions (D-REF), a behavior rating scale designed to assess behaviors that may reflect difficulties with executive functioning. Clinicians and school psychologists working in a variety of settings can use this instrument to evaluate children with: ADHD-Combined, ADHD-Inattentive, Traumatic brain injury, Autism/Asperger& Syndrome, Neurological/psychiatric disorders, and Learning disabilities. The D-REF can enable the identification of patterns of clinically relevant symptoms; identify symptoms that create the most stress for the parent, teacher, and child for intervention; identify symptoms relevant to diagnostic criteria; and track changes in behavior after intervention.
Session ID: 1090808
Date: October 23, 2014
Time: 1:00PM-4:00PM
Location: Region 4 ESC – MCC203
Fee: $30
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
NEPSY-II Overview: From Assessment to Interpretation
Attend this session to learn how to administer and interpret the NEPSY-II, a comprehensive instrument designed to assess neuropsychological development in preschool and school-age children, between the ages of 3 and 16, providing the clinician with age-appropriate assessments of cognitive functioning. This training will provide an overview of the NEPSY-II; cover the tests of sensorimotor functions, the tests of attention, the tests of visual-spatial and language processes, the tests of memory and learning, the tests of executive functions and social perception; and present supplemental interpretation resources for the NEPSY-II.
Session ID: 1101796
Date: October 30, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Humble ISD, 20200 Eastway Village Drive, Humble, TX 77347
Fee: $45
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Application of XBA-3
Attend this session to develop skills for using the XBA-3 process. This sessions allows limited enrollment so that participants will be provided an opportunity to collaborate and problem solve using real life cases with direction from a highly renown professional in the area of XBA. Participants should have a good understanding of XBA-3 and have had an opportunity to use this process prior to attending this session.
Session ID: 1075474
Date: October 31, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-12:00PM
Location: Galena Park ISD – Zotz Center, 13801 Holly Park, Houston, TX 77015
Fee: $30
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Application of XBA-3
Attend this session to develop skills for using the XBA-3 process. This sessions allows limited enrollment so that participants will be provided an opportunity to collaborate and problem solve using real life cases with direction from a highly renown professional in the area of XBA. Participants should have a good understanding of XBA-3 and have had an opportunity to use this process prior to attending this session.
Session ID: 1075475
Date: October 31, 2014
Time: 1:00PM-4:00PM
Location: Galena Park ISD – Zotz Center, 13801 Holly Park, Houston, TX 77015
Fee: $30
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Issues in Cultural Diversity for the LSSP
Attend this session to consider and discuss current issues in cultural diversity as it relates to the field of school psychology. This session will satisfy the annual requirement for 3 hours of cultural diversity training that is required by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
Session ID: 1104002
Date: November 7, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-12:00PM
Location: Region 4 ESC – MCC205
Fee: $30
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Ethics for the Licensed Specialists in School Psychology
Examine ethical situations that commonly occur for individuals providing psychological services in the schools (licensed psychologists, LSSPs, and licensed psychological associates). This session will review relevant rules of practice, ethical standards, and legal implications, in a case study format. Session and materials costs are partially funded through state or federal grants.
Session ID: 1104060
Date: November 7, 2014
Time: 1:00PM-4:00PM
Location: Region 4 ESC – MCC205
Fee: $30
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Houston Metropolitan Educational Diagnostician Association 39th Conference (2014)
Houston Metropolitan Educational Diagnosticians Association (Hou-Met), a local chapter of the Texas Educational Diagnosticians Association (TEDA), promotes professionalism, excellence, and continuing growth for diagnosticians to provide individuals with disabilities quality educational services in the Houston-Metropolitan area. This will be the 4th year that Hou-Met and Region 4 Education Service Center have collaborated to provide the annual conference for special education evaluation personnel and the 39th Annual Hou-Met Conference. The purpose of this conference is to provide the latest information on evaluation for eligibility and facilitate networking opportunities for school personnel involved in the evaluation of children with disabilities. Attend this annual conference to learn more about current special education evaluation issues.
Session ID: 1032814
Date: November 11 & 12, 2014
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Region 4 ESC
Fee: $125
Contact: Kara Zwolinski at or 713-744-6562
Best Practice in Social Skills Instruction: A Function-Based Perspective
Social skills instruction has long been recommended for improving social competencies for students with disabilities. Typically, it is left up to schools implement effective intervention strategies to alleviate these children’s interpersonal difficulties and improve prosocial behaviors (Gresham, 2010). This workshop will provide an overview of the best-practice research in function-based social skills instruction that can be utilized as Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions. The workshop will discuss the role of assessment and share strategies for conducting social skills assessment to inform effective social skills instructional planning. The workshop will utilize video examples to demonstrate effective instructional practices for social skills groups. In addition, we will discuss logistical considerations (e.g. grouping, instructional time, location) to increase efficacy of social skills instructional groups. Lastly, we will discuss strategies for supporting maintenance and generalization of social skills instruction over time and across settings. Special considerations for instructing elementary students with disabilities will be highlighted.
Participants who attend this session will learn:
a. Best-practices for delivering effective social skills instruction.
b. Why and how to take a functional approach to assessment of social skills. c. How to plan for group social skill instruction implementation.
d. Strategies to maximize maintenance and generalization of social skills.
e. Special considerations for students with disabilities.
Session ID: 1059717
Date: November 11, 2014
Time: 8:30AM-3:30PM
Location: Region 4 ESC – MCC201
Fee: $45
Contact: Clynita Grafenreed or 713-744-6345