Shepherdsville Elementary School Based Universal Design for Learning Grant University of Louisville College of Education and Human Development October 10, 2007 Significance of the Project The Universal Design for Learning project would be highly beneficial to Shepherdsville Elementary for several reasons since we are a new school that is serving a challenging population. Currently our enrollment is 561 students from preschool to 5th grade and our current level of students receiving free and reduced lunch is 72%. The present special education population in our building is approximately 14% with 50% of all students being referred to special education not qualifying. In addition, Shepherdsville Elementary also has identified achievement gaps in the areas of students with disabilities, male students, and students who receive free and reduced lunch. (See appendix A) At Shepherdsville Elementary, we are fortunate to have an administrator who sees the importance of technology. Our principal, Mr. David Pate, has been a driving force behind getting technology into the classrooms. However, the presence of technology is not the same as the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) practices. Although some of our current teachers are making strides in the area of using digital media in the classroom, as a whole, it is still seen as an after thought. With this grant, we will be able to move to the next level and begin to incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) practices as standard teaching practices in our school. The two questions to be addressed by this grant are as follows: (1) Will the integration of UDL principles into our daily curriculum allow all students to achieve at higher rates thereby closing achievement gaps? (2) Will the integration of UDL principles increase the accuracy of our special education referral process by identifying students who continue to struggle despite the integration of UDL practices? This project will provide the resources necessary to train a team of teachers (TAT, Teachers as Trainers) representing each grade level. Seven classrooms will serve as models teaching our staff and district about the benefits of UDL. However, we do not want to stop there. Each member of the TAT will be responsible for the implementation of UDL practices within their grade level teams. This will in effect allow us to train our whole school in best practices of UDL. In order to carry out this great undertaking we plan to form a group of teachers to be trainers (TAT) and work with the School Implementation Team (SIT). The TAT will receive 5 days of professional development in UDL practices. After each professional development session the TAT will work with their grade level teams to implement and model what they have learned. All professional development will receive continued support during our staff meetings. Quality of Project Design This project will be divided into two different components. The first component will be to determine if the integration of UDL principles into our daily curriculum will allow all students to achieve at higher rates thereby closing achievement gaps. While student learning is the goal of every school, Shepherdsville Elementary is in a unique position to see whether UDL practices will make a difference in our overall student achievement. Bullitt County Schools has implemented the use of Think Link testing as a district- wide assessment occurring three times a year. The first Think Link assessment was administered in September and will be our baseline for this project. Results of the September Think Link assessment will be used to identify those students who are struggling to achieve at rates commensurate with their peers. As UDL practices are integrated into our daily instruction, the future Think Link assessments will be used to document the success of all students, particularly those students identified in our baseline assessment. The second component of this project will be to see if the integration of UDL principles will increase the accuracy of our special education referral process by identifying students who continue to struggle despite the integration of UDL practices. By creating this UDL environment our school will be closer to implementing the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. Data from the Think Link assessment, Success Maker, Diagnostic Reading Assessments, Scholastic reading Inventories, CTBS, and CATS will be used to document student growth. UDL Practices and Daily Instruction: It is the goal of this project for UDL practices to be used in every aspect of our daily instructional routines. This means that from instruction to assessment our students and teachers will be using UDL principles at all times. With the resources we already have in place, many of our teachers are already on their way to utilizing UDL practices in their daily instructional routines. The use of the LCD projectors and AIRLINERS to present digital text and media has become an every day occurrence in many rooms. For these teachers it has become a way of teaching and not just a last second modification to accommodate struggling students. This year we have also pushed forward with attaining more of our curriculum resources in digital formats. This will allow a greater freedom for the students to access the curriculum in non-traditional ways. Students in our fourth and fifth grade classrooms are able to check out copies of the digital text books for school or home use allowing students a greater freedom in accessing the curriculum. Finally, we are beginning to look at technology and assessment. This is still a new area to our staff although a few of our teachers are leading the way with digital projects. It is the goal of this project to help educate our staff on the importance of assessment based on UDL principles. As a result, we expect our school to reach more students at higher rates with better results. Professional Development Plan: Our professional development plan will center on training a team of people (TAT) who will be responsible for training other members of our staff. (See appendix C for Budget) The TAT will consist of the members of the School Implementation Team (SIT committee) and a representative from each grade level. This will allow each trained member to meet with their grade level teams and share what they have learned. The professional development for this project will be broken down into four areas: (1) Planning for Universal Design Learning, (2) UDL and the Curriculum, (3) Student Access, and (4) UDL and Assessment. In order to carry out these trainings, members of the TAT will attend a total of 5 days of training during the school year. This will be an in-house training led by the SIT team. Each member of the TAT will receive appropriate materials and resource to support these trainings. In turn, the TAT will return to their teams and help model and teach UDL practices. By doing this we will have seven model classrooms set up and running during the school year. The content of each session will be as follows: 1. Planning for Universal Design Learning will be a 2-day training led by the SIT for all members of the training team (TAT) to work through the Universal Design for Learning Facilitator’s Kit from Don Johnston Professional Services. 2. UDL and the Curriculum will be a one day training for members of the (TAT) to work together with district and school level leaders to apply UDL practices to the core curriculum. 3. Student access will be a one-day training for the (TAT) to look at ways to incorporate UDL practices into student access of the daily curriculum. 4. UDL and Assessment will be a one-day training the (TAT) to develop practices in the use of UDL in the area of assessments. Each of these professional development opportunities will be designed to model best practices of UDL and to equip the teachers with the skills needed to implement UDL in their classrooms. Quality of Project personnel The personnel who have been chosen for the implementation of this project represent a range of abilities and qualifications in the area of Universal Design for Learning (Please see appendix B). The committee is made of school- level administrators, regular education teachers, special education teachers, and a school psychologist. Each of these members share a commitment to excellence in the classroom and hold high expectations for student achievement believing that the use of technology is an integral component for the future success of all students. Each member brings a unique set of experiences and knowledge to the project while focusing on maximizing student learning as the ultimate goal. This project is fully supported by our principal, Mr. David Pate, who has worked very hard to make sure that every teacher is provided with the resources they need to be successful. In the area of technology, Mr. Pate has been the driving force at Shepherdsville Elementary investing in AIRLINERS and LCD projectors for the classrooms. We began with six of each last year and as of October 1, 2007; we are up to 15 AIRLINERS and LCD projectors. Our goal is to have one in every classroom by the end of the year. Direct support from our central office will come from three areas: The Technology Integration Specialist (TIS), the Assistive Technology consultants, the School Psychologist and the Curriculum Coach. These individuals are already connected to Shepherdsville Elementary as support staff from the district and have committed to supporting our move to embrace UDL practices. In addition, the Director of Special Education, the District Technology Coordinator, and Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning fully stand behind this project. Quality of Management Plan Table One: OBJECTIVES ACTIVITIES PERSON RESPONSIBLE TIMELINE MILESTONE SIT committee and training team will gain understanding of the UDL program Professional Development "Planning for Universal Design Learning" Project Director and SIT committee November 2007 Training team completes 2 day training Training team will gain understanding in the area of UDL and the daily curriculum Professional development "UDL and the curriculum" Project Director and SIT committee December 2007 Training team will begin implementing UDL practices in daily lesson plans Training Team will gain understanding of how to create learning opportunities for student access Professional Development "Student Access" Project director and SIT committee January 2007 Student assignments will reflect students access to UDL practices Training Team will gain understanding of how to create authentic assessment that is based on UDL principals Professional Development "UDL and Assessment" Project Director and SIT committee February 2007 Student assessments will demonstrate the integration of UDL practices Classroom teachers will receive training from training team on UDL practices Monthly Team Meetings Training Team Monthly November 2007 – June 2008 Lesson plans will reflect integration of UDL practices Faculty and Staff will gain understanding of UDL practices and language Monthly team meetings and Bi-weekly Staff Meetings Training team and SIT committee Monthly November 2007 – June 2008 Lesson plans will reflect integration of UDL practices Time Commitments: The project manager will be responsible for over seeing the scheduling and planning of all professional development opportunities associated with this project. In addition the project manager will be responsible for milestone checks and the collection of evidence to support the progress of the project. Other members of the SIT committee will assist the project manager in these areas. The TAT will be responsible for facilitating UDL practices at their grade level. These members of the TAT will meet a minimum of once a month with their team members in order to model best practices and train their team members. TAT members will also be responsible for establishing their instructional classroom as a UDL model. District personnel will be available to aid this project on an as-needed basis. Adequacy of Resources Currently our existing resources in the area of technology are as follows:15 LCD Projectors, 15 AIRLINERS (interactive smart board slates), 29 Computers in a Computer lab, 141 Classroom and office computers, Internet access on all computers, Enchanted Learning, A to Z Reading, Read, Write, Gold, Harcourt Kentucky Science series with digital text, Harcourt Social Studies Series with Digital Text, Everyday Math with Digital Text, 5 Scanners, Scan converters in every classroom, Televisions in every classroom, VCR/DVD players in every classroom, 1 Digital camera, 3 Document cameras, 1 Digital video camera, Teacher web pages for every teacher, voice amplification system in every classroom, Microphones and headsets for computers, Reading Counts, Destiny, Britannica Online, and United Streaming. District resources in the area of technology include access to assistive technology consultants to help train staff members in implementing assistive technology in the classroom setting. The district also provides a Technology Integration Specialist, who provides strategies for integrating technology in daily lesson plans. Appendix B School Implementation Team Qualifications Katrina Lee Katrina Lee is our half time Assistive Technology consultant and half time Speech Language Pathologist for the district. She began her career in Bullitt County as an SLP in 2005, and expanded in 2007 to the role of Assistive Technology Consultant. Prior to her employment in Bullitt County, Katrina worked with students with autism through the Kelly Autism Program at Western Kentucky University. This job provided Katrina with her first experience in using assistive technology to help students succeed. Katrina received her BS and MS in Communication Disorders from Western Kentucky University and her Rank I in Assistive Technology from the University of Louisville. Katrina has experience with several different types of technology, including: Writing With Symbols, Inspiration, Kidspiration, Intellikeys, Boardmaker, Speaking Dynamically Pro, Edmark Reading, as well as several different types of communication devices. Her responsibilities include assessments, training, and consultation in the area of assistive technology, as well as evaluating and treating students with communication disorders. Katrina’s professional affiliations include: American Speech Language and Hearing Association, Kentucky Speech Language and Hearing Association, and the Kentucky Board of Speech Language Pathology. Tyler Lee Tyler Lee is our half time Assistive Technology consultant and half time Speech Language Pathologist for the district. He first started as a SLP for the district in 2005 and fall of 2007 added another role to his career as an Assistive Technology Consultant for the district. Tyler received his BS and MS in Communication Disorders from Western Kentucky University and his Rank I in Assistive Technology from the University of Louisville. Tyler’s favorite part of his job is the interaction of working with the students and trying to aid them in any way he can. His responsibilities include assessments, training, and consultation in the area of assistive technology and evaluating and treating students that have communication disorders. Tyler’s special interests and experience in the area of Assistive Technology include the following: Augmentative Communication Devices, Integrating technology in the classroom, alternate forms of assessment, specialized reading, math, and writing software programs, alternate computer access methods, and low tech solutions in the area of Assistive Technology. Tyler’s professional affiliations include: American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), Kentucky Speech Language and Hearing Association (KSHA), and the Kentucky Board of Speech Language Pathology. Carrie Gary I have received a Master's degree in elementary education from Indiana University Southeast. I have college credits in technology based curriculum. This is my fifth year of teaching experience in an elementary classroom. I have knowledge and experience of software/equipment such as: PowerPoint, word processing, excel, internet, airliner, projector, basic pod casting, digital cameras, and united streaming. Technology is an important part of my daily instruction in my classroom. Rick Lumpkins My classroom experience is brief as I am beginning my fifth year as an intermediate educator at the elementary level. This year marks my fourth year using technology heavily in my classroom instruction. I utilize Corel and PowerPoint as my basis instructional methods. My classroom is adequately equipped to support full technological instruction. I am heavily including embedded videos and on screen testing within my units. Technology plays a major role in my educational experience for my students. My relevance to this project would include helping to coordinate curriculum to fully utilize the materials and to assure that educators using the materials are getting the most up to date professional training that is available. My educational experience includes a rank 1 form the University of Louisville in Curriculum and Instruction, Masters of Arts in Teaching from Spalding University, and a bachelors of Science in Agricultural Entomology form the University of Kentucky. Michele Grey I am currently serving as a 4th/5th grade teacher at the intermediate level. I earned my bachelors degree and my masters’ degree in elementary education. I have also completed my rank 1 in technology. I am currently using technology as a daily part of my instructional practices. I am received training and am comfortable using LCD projectors, AIRLINERS, digital text, power points, document cameras, united streaming, and many other aspects of technology. Amy Maddox, LMS/STC I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Intermediate Education with an emphasis in Language Arts and Social Studies from Lindsey Wilson College in 1996. I spent four years teaching 7th grade Language Arts and Reading in a low- income, high minority school in South Carolina. In 2003, I earned a Masters’ Degree in Library and Information Science from Spalding University. Currently, I am the Library Media Specialist and School Technology Coordinator for Shepherdsville Elementary. This is the fourth year I have held this position at the elementary level. I have experience with both PC and Macintosh formats, and utilize daily applications for both including all Microsoft Office and iLife products. In addition, I have experience using a variety of multimedia, presentation, and management software and hardware across both formats. Megan Sayler Megan currently works as a school psychologist for Bullitt County Schools. She has previous experience working in Fayette County and Scott County, KY. Megan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisville. She attended the University of Kentucky for graduate school where she earned a Masters degree in Educational Psychology and an Educational Specialist degree in School Psychology. Her current research interests include executive functioning and neuron-psychology. Pat Wollam I am a special education teacher that works with the students who have learning disabilities and mild mental disabilities. I earned my bachelors degree from Cumberland College in the areas of history and religion. I later returned to school and earned my Masters degree in special education in the areas of learning and behavior disabilities. I am currently working on my rank 1 in the area of assistive technology. In the area of classroom technology I have been trained in or am comfortable using READ/WRITE/GOLD , Power points, Success Maker, Smart Board notebook, use of an AIRLINER, Use of LCD projector, United Streaming, teacher web page, and other internet resources. Appendix C BUDGET – year 1 = $5,000.00 Materials Universal Design for Learning Facilitator’s Kit $535.00 Materials for training team $465.00 The Universally Designed Classroom 29.95 x 8 = $239.60 Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age 26.95 x 8 = $215.60 Misc. Supplies $ 9.80 Professional Development In-House 2-day UDL Training of SIT and Team Leaders $1,600.00 "Planning For UDL" 1 day Training of SIT and Team Leaders $800.00 "UDL and the Curriculum" 1 day Training of Sit and Team Leaders $800.00 "Students Access" 1 day Training of Sit and Team Leaders $800.00 "UDL and Assessment" Total Budget $5000.00