Request for Proposal
Grant title: School-Based
Universal Design for Learning Intervention
Grant
Shepherdsville Elementary
527 W Blue Lick Rd
Shepherdsville, Kentucky 40165
(a) Significance of Project
The Universal Design for Learning Response To Intervention 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
current special education population in our building is approximately 14%
with 35% of all students being referred to special education not qualifying
for services. In addition, Shepherdsville Elementary has identified
achievement gaps in the areas of students with disabilities, male students,
and students who receive free and reduced lunch.
Shepherdsville Elementary has been privileged to have taken part in
the Universal Design for Learning grant during the last school year. During
the implementation of the UDL grant Shepherdsville saw an increased student
involvement with an overall increase in student learning as indicated
through our ThinkLink monitoring. Shepherdsville Elementary also saw a
decrease in the number of special education referrals from the previous two
years with a higher accuracy rate of identifying students with special
needs. Having seen the impact that UDL had on our school over the last year,
Shepherdsville Elementary is ready to continue the push of UDL into other
areas.
The area of reading is one of intense focus at Shepherdsville
Elementary as many of our students do not have access to a variety of
printed materials at homes. Students with limited access to literacy-
building materials often progress at a slower rate than their peers. Our
2006 - 2007 CATS testing results show that as a school Shepherdsville
Elementary has 38% of 4th and 5th grade students performing below
proficiency. This is 10% more than the state average of 28% for the same
time period.
It is the plan of Shepherdsville Elementary to use this grant to
combine what we have learned from our previous Universal Design for Learning
grant with the best practices and ideas of Response To Intervention in the
area of reading. Our staff will do this by identifying the students whose
scores are within the targeted range. The target group will be determined by
using a district-wide Curriculum Based Measurement system which will
identify the lowest 20% in the county. These students will then work in the
regular classroom setting as part of a literacy group model and will also
receive 2 sessions a day of computer-based interventions. The sessions will
include Success Maker Reading and Earobics. The target students will be
tracked and the students program will be assessed and change as needed.
In order to share our experience with other schools in our district we
plan to maintain a UDL website and UDL wiki site. These sites will allow
Shepherdsville Elementary to display their plan and information in a user-
friendly format while also providing the opportunity for other schools to
ask questions or make recommendations.
(b) Quality of the project design
As a district, Bullitt County Schools will be targeting students
who struggle in the area of reading. Schools will be identifying students
whose scores are within the lowest 20% of the district based on a county-
wide Curriculum Based Measurement system. Each school will be responsible
for tracking these students and documenting their intervention strategies.
It is the plan of Shepherdsville Elementary to incorporate the best
practices of Universal Design for Learning with in our Response To
Intervention Plan. In order to do this effectively, we will work with the
target groups for reading in the first and second grade. The identified
students will continue to work as members of their collaborative literacy
models. In addition these students will also receive additional work
sessions using researched-based intervention programs. These programs will
be technology-based and will be made available to the students through
classroom computer centers. Each student will work on the chosen programs
for the prescribed number of sessions and for the length of time as advised
by the supporting research. The programs to be used are Success Maker and
Earobics. Shepherdsville Elementary already has 30+ site licenses for
Success Maker and will use project funding to purchase site licenses for the
Earobics program.
It is the goal of this project that 85% of the targeted students will
demonstrate grade-level skills in the area of reading by May of 2009. In
order to reach these goals, students will receive interventions in the areas
of Comprehension, Vocabulary, Fluency, Phonological Awareness, and Phonics.
Data used to determine a student's success or need for further remediation
will be collected from teacher observation during tier 1 literacy groups and
from Success Maker and Earobics UDL/RTI programs. Data will be collected
from each reading area (Comprehension, Vocabulary, Fluency, Phonological
Awareness, and Phonics) so that remediation can be targeted to strengthen a
students’ areas of challenge. When the progress data is reviewed, the RTI
Committee will use individual student's rate of progress to decide the
student’s further remediation .
(c) Quality of project personnel (15 points)
The group of individuals who have been chosen for this project are
considered to be stake holders in our RTI project. Some members serve on our
RTI team responsible to the district for our school RTI program. This group
includes the principal, the guidance counselor, the curriculum coach, the
school psychologist, and the special education consultant. These members
will be referred to as the School Accountability Team or SAT. Adding to this
team are the additional stake holders of the first grade and second grade
team leaders, the Reading Recovery teachers, and the Project Director who is
a special education teacher (See Appendix for list of individuals and
qualifications).
Additional Support:
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 needed for success. In the area of technology, Mr. Pate
continues to be the driving force at Shepherdsville Elementary, having fully
support our efforts in the area of Universal Design of Learning during the
previous school year. This exceptional level of support is continuing as we
begin to explore how UDL practices can be used to strength our Response To
Intervention program in the area of reading.
Direct support from our central office will come from the following areas:
The Technology Integration Specialist (TIS), the School Psychologist, the
Special Education Consultant, 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 the area of Response To Intervention. In addition, the Director of
Special Education, the District Technology Coordinator, and Assistant
Superintendent of Student Learning fully stand behind this project.
(d) Quality of the management plan
Our management will be laid out in several areas. First, we will
provide professional development regarding UDL practices for the SAT.
Secondly, staff will monitor and report progress. Third, will be the area of
remediation and the final component of our management plan is project
oversight.
The Principal and Project Director will schedule and deliver the
needed professional development. . Each classroom teacher will be
responsible for collecting progress data for all students in the targeted
group. Progress monitoring will be kept in a specified manner and will be
accessible at all times by the SAT Further remediation matters will be
considered by the SAT .Teachers will be responsible for submitting a summary
report to this committee periodically as mandated by each intervention
program in use. Project oversight including all training and data collection
for the grant, sharing of data, and all reports will be the responsibility
of the project director in consultation with the SAT.
BUDGET:
The budget for our project will consist of 2 major components. The first
component will be the purchase of 50 site licenses for the Earobics program.
These licenses will be used to target individual students at the Tier 2
level. The second component will be used for Professional Development and
release time for the committee members who will be responsible for the
webinars and planning sessions. Our budget is as follows:
Earobics 50 site licenses $12,000.00
PD 20 staff hours $3,000.00
(e) Training and Support
In order to carry out our UDL/RTI project, the RTI Committee will meet
once a month during the district early- release days. Additional training
will occur, as needed, during team meetings, faculty meetings, or
before/after school meetings. All members of last years UDL training team
will be available as needed to address any UDL questions that may arise
throughout the course of this project.
All committees will work together to plan and prepare for all
training activities. The project director will be responsible for creating
and maintaining an accessible website for the posting and sharing of goals
and progress. The website will be further used to publish the results at the
end of the project.
Appendix A
CONTACT INFORMATION AND SIGNATURES
District Name
Bullitt County Name of Project Director
Patrick Wollam
Name of School
Shepherdsville Elementary Mailing address
10408 Nanka rd
School Mailing address
527 W Blue Lick Rd
City, State, Zip
Louisville, Ky 40272
City, State & Zip Code
Shepherdsville, Ky 40165 Email address
patrick.wollam@bullitt.kyschools.us
Phone number
502-543-7737
Phone number
502-935-3772
Fax number
502-543-7838
Fax number
502-543-7838
Appendix B
Timetable Event Responsible Party Goal Milestone Event
Week 1- 3 Identification of target groups SAT, Classroom Teachers
establish target group as set forth by District standards and use of
Curriculum Based Measurement Lowest 20% established and RTI schedule is
developed to accommodate targeted students
Week 1- 3 Selection, acquisition, and installation of RTI/UDL Programs
Principal, Project director, SAT, District Technology Director
select 1 additional RTI program to be used at tier 2 to be used in
conjunction with our Success Maker program Earobics program is
purchased, installed, and available in target classrooms
Week 1- 3 Professional Development in area of RTI, Progress
Monitoring, Success Maker, 2nd Additional program Project Director and
Principal train staff with the skills necessary to carry out the
implementation and monitoring of the UDL/RTI model First and Second
grade teachers are able to fully implement UDL/RTI programs and carry out
all monitoring activities independently
Week 9 and every 6 weeks following Review of student progress
Project Director, SAT, RTI Committee
Committee will look at current student progress and make decisions as to
exiting program, adjusting program, further remediation Students are making
continual progress towards grade level reading, struggling students have
area of challenge identified and targeted
Monthly RTI Committee Meeting SAT/RTI Committee review of
progress, continued training, troubleshoot
Open discussion of process.
Monthly Reporting of data to UDL website Project director
Updating of RTI/UDL site to allow others to see progress of
project. All relevant information to be posted at
www.sesudl.wetpaint.com
APPENDIX C
SIGNATURES PAGE
Name Position Signature
David Pate Principal
Patrick Wollam Project Director
UDL Integration Team Members
Lisa Overstreet Guidance Counselor
Christina Beam Curriculum Coach
Megan Sayler School Psychologist
Trish Collins Special Education Consultant
Karen Liebert Reading Teacher
Anna Schneider Reading Teacher
Marla Brown First Grade Team Leader
Dionna Bickley Second Grade Team Leader
Keith Davis Superintendent
Monica Tharp Director of Special Education
Jim Jackson District Technology Coordinator
Terry Price Director of Elementary Education
