Special Education Plan 2013-2024

Message from the State of Pennsylvania:
The PA Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) in collaboration with the Bureau of Special Education, has created a website of resources for families and general educators supporting complex learners at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The website, entitled "Family Resources for Students with Complex Learning Needs", is located at PaTTAN Family Resources WEbsite for Complex Learners and was developed by a representative group of consulatants supporeting the educational initiatives of family engagement, intellectual and/or significant cognitive disabilities, multiple disablilities, sensory impairments, and assistive technology and communication.  For the purpose of this website, a complex learner is a child, youth, or young adult with an intellectual or significant cognitive disability, multiple disabilities, and/or sensory impairment.
PATTAN recognized that everyone is doing their best to manage work, self-care, children's online education, and more during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Families and professionals supporting children with disabilities face additional challenges.  You are not in this alone.  The website will be updated periodically, so families and general educators are encouraged to check back routinely to access additional resources.







Special Education

Based upon the premise that all children can learn, PDE is committed to setting high standards for all students receiving special education services and programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Special Education is specially designed instruction, provided at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique learning needs of a child with a disability. School entities within the Commonwealth are required to provide annual public notice to identify, locate and evaluate children with disabilities and who require special education and related services.

 

 

Special Education Students

Identify the total number of unduplicated special education students.



Total students identified: 49

 



Identification Method

Identify the District's method for identifying students with specific learning disabilities.



The Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District implements the use of the discrepancy model for the identification of students with Specific Learning Disabilities.  Before testing students and determining if they have a need for special education services, teachers refer students of concern to the school's Dean of Students in Charge of Special Education. Once notified of concerns, the Dean collaborates and consults with various support staff (i.e. occupational therapist, physical therapist, school nurse, school guidance counselor, principal etc.) that can determine the most comprehensive approach in monitoring the students’ performance; this team approach is used to determine which assessment information/observations must be collected to accurately monitor the student's performance and determine what deficits may be presenting. During this time, the team may review student records to see if other factors such as attendance, discipline, etc. could be influencing how the student performs or functions within the general education classroom environment. Using this information, and based on the student's needs, the team would establish a specific timeline in which this monitoring would occur; the team would also determine a time to reconvene. After the multidisciplinary team makes their recommendations on what data needs to be collected, identified stakeholders need to monitor and provide input on the student's performance. Based on the information collected, the team can make specific recommendations on what needs/deficits the student is displaying as well as how to go about remediating the student's deficits. This data can be collected through various means (i.e., screenings, observations, classroom based assessments, etc.). If the student does not show growth after various accommodations are made to remediate performance, the team would decide if it is necessary to test the student for special education services or if remediation has been successful and must continue. If referred for special education services, the LEA issues a parental consent to perform a formal multidisciplinary evaluation intended to inventory the student’s strengths and weaknesses. It is conducted to determine the potential existence of a severe discrepancy between academic achievement or functioning and intellectual ability or potential. Intellectual potential is determined through the use of an IQ test intended to measure the student’s intellectual ability based on a series of cognitive tasks.  A severe discrepancy is signified by the presence of an achievement score that is considerably lower than the predicted achievement based on the student’s intellectual ability and/or intellectual potential as determined by the IQ test. In addition, several other determining factors are considered including:  classroom performance (including information based on formative and summative assessments), standardized assessment data (including benchmark assessments), teacher and parent input, observations of the student’s functioning, and a review of the student’s existing records.  A diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disability can be determined if the student possesses a significantly diminished achievement in one or more of the following areas:  oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, math calculation, or math reasoning in addition to classroom performance that is at least two grade or age levels below expected performance as per classroom standards-aligned assessments.  If the child meets the criteria of possessing a severe discrepancy between academic achievement and intellectual ability based on the aforementioned evaluation criteria, a diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disability will be provided.  However, eligibility for said diagnosis will be declined if the child lacks instruction in the area of reading or math or is of limited English proficiency.  A diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disability will also be declined if, as a result of the evaluation, the child is found to possess any of the following subsequent diagnosis:  Intellectual Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, or Autism Spectrum Disorder.   In these instances, services will be provided as per the subsequent diagnosis in order to adequately meet the needs of the student in question.

 

Enrollment

Review the Enrollment Difference Status. If necessary, describe how your district plans to address any significant disproportionalities.

The data is publicly available via the PennData website. You can view your most recent report. The link is: https://penndata.hbg.psu.edu/PublicReporting/DataataGlance/tabid/2523/Default.aspx



As per the 2016-17 Penn Data report information, a significant discrepancy exists for students with speech and language impairments at Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District by comparison to state norms. In 2016-2017, the state average of students with a speech and language impairment was at 14.7% whereas Turkeyfoot Valley Area school district's average was 32.2%. Being in a Title I school district, and located in a region that is considered to be economically disadvantaged, early intervention services for children and their families are offered but not always utilized. On occasion, students come into the school district already being serviced with an Individualized Family Service Plan, however, due to a recently implemented K4 through 2nd grade speech and language/occupational therapy program within the district, more students are being identified after enrollment as qualifying for SPL and OT services, thus resulting in the district's numbers of students needing speech and language as well as occupational therapy services being disproportionately higher. The benefit of this program within the district is that all students, not only special education students, receive direct instruction and support from our SPL and OT specialists in grades K4 through 2nd grade. It also means that students who receive special education services for speech and language and occupational therapy services receive additional support within the general education classroom; support beyond what is stipulated within their Individualized Educational Program. Due to the implementation of these services within the district, more students are being identified at a younger age as having speech and language as well as occupational therapy service needs, however, this is seen to be beneficial because the district is more quickly identifying and remediating student deficits in language and writing; by doing this, students have a greater opportunity to develop skills that will support their reading development.

 



Non-Resident Students Oversight

  1. How does the District meet its obligation under Section 1306 of the Public School Code as the host District at each location?
  2. How does the District ensure that students are receiving a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE)?
  3. What problems or barriers exist which limit the District's ability to meet its obligations under Section 1306 of the Public School Code?



1.  With regards to Section 1306 of the Public School Code,  Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District does not have any identified facilities naming the district as a host.  If we were a host district, we would work with IU 08 staff and staff from the facility to promote and offer opportunities for education and inclusion within Turkeyfoot Valley Area School Programs. 

2.  With regards to Section 1306 of the Public School Code,  Turkeyfoot Valley School District is not a host entity.  If we were a host district, we would have our Special Education Supervisors meet with educational staff from the facilities to make sure that all special education paperwork followed IDEA requirements and updates were scheduled as needed.  We would also discuss educating students in the LRE and how the facility could promote more inclusion throughout the community and within the school district.  We would work with IU 08 to promote inclusion within our public school system whenever possible for classes and activities.

 

3. No problems or barriers exist due to not having any identifiable facilities or students under the provision of Section 1306.  If there was a facility, we would have Special Education Supervisors work with the facility and districts of residency to ensure that all paperwork is completed on a timely basis and that IEPs are being implemented for each student.  We would not foresee any barriers.

 

 



Incarcerated Students Oversight

Describe the system of oversight the District would implement to ensure that all incarcerated students who may be eligible for special education are located, identified, evaluated and when deemed eligible, are offered a free appropriate public education (FAPE).



In collaboration with the Intermediate Unit 08, Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District’s Annual Public Notice, including all required components, is published and released to the public through two local newspapers as well as through the district’s website.

In addition, students who are incarcerated at the Somerset County Jail undergo an informational interview as part of their intake procedure. This interview is intended to obtain information regarding: the student’s/inmate’s name, date of birth, most recently attended school, approximate grade level, dates of attendance and/or withdrawal, previous criminal history including facilities responsible for incarcerations and/or detention-based placements, and applicable special education-related diagnosis or services previously obtained. Based on the results of this interview, pertinent information regarding educational placement or services would be requested by the jail at which time the student’s/inmate’s education records would be released. An educational plan would then be formed to encourage completion of educational credits toward graduation. If an incarcerated student is found to need Special Education programs and services, Turkeyfoot Valley School District would contact the Somerset School District, the LEA representing the Somerset County Jail placement, to arrange delivery of services.

 



Least Restrictive Environment

  1. Describe the District procedures, which ensure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including those in private institutions, are educated with non-disabled children, and that removal from the regular education environment only occurs when education in that setting with supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
  2. Describe how the District is replicating successful programs, evidence-based models, and other PDE sponsored initiatives to enhance or expand the continuum of supports/services and education placement options available within the District to support students with disabilities access the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment (LRE). (Provide information describing the manner in which the District utilizes site-based training, consultation and technical assistance opportunities available through PDE/PaTTAN, or other public or private agencies.)
  3. Refer to and discuss the SPP targets and the district's percentages in the Indicator 5 section - Educational Environments. Also discuss the number of students placed out of the district and how those placements were determined to assure that LRE requirements are met.



When determining appropriate placements in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for students with disabilities, all domains of functioning are considered including (but not limited to): social, emotional and behavioral, physical, and academic levels of functioning.  In order to ensure that students with disabilities are provided with a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment, Turkeyfoot Valley works to form meaningful collaborative relationships between all members of the IEP Team including parents/guardians and outside agencies/service providers.  If the IEP team deems that the utilization of a program or service not provided by the LEA is appropriate, alternative resources are compiled, reviewed, and considered in order to most effectively meet the needs of the student(s).  

Turkeyfoot Valley maintains the position that students with disabilities are only removed from the LRE for academic classes when they are unable to perform satisfactorily at their academic level with the support of supplementary aids and services based on a review of the aforementioned domains of functioning. Supplementary aids and services include (but are not limited to): instructional support and accommodations through co-teaching, differentiated instruction, collaborative learning, modifications of curricular goals and objectives (when necessary), and alternative assignments; physical support via room arrangement, preferential seating, and individualized support; and social and behavioral support through social skills instruction, emotional/behavioral support (including counseling), behavior support plans, and cooperative learning (team-building) strategies. Supplementary aides and services vary in degree and intent within the district’s two interconnected buildings that house grades Pre-K through twelve.

Turkeyfoot Valley works diligently to implement, reinforce, enhance, and expand upon the services, supports, and placements currently offered to our students with exceptionalities. Turkeyfoot Valley employs an inclusion model that is supported by varying degrees of collaboration, consultation, and co-teaching throughout a continuum of resources and programs implemented by highly-qualified general education and special education professionals in conjunction with contracted service providers in order to encourage maximum integration of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Professional development opportunities that are aligned to PDE sponsored initiatives, and successful, evidence-based programs are offered to general education professionals, special education professionals, administration, and paraprofessionals in order to provide exposure to the most effective best-practices related to special education service and support delivery. 

Professional development has included (but is not limited to): Introduction/review of the most commonly occurring learning disabilities, characteristics, and strategies for supporting learners through inclusive practices; co-teaching and differentiated instruction strategies and supports; RTII foundations and best practices, trainings regarding the continued development of the district’s RTII model, and related RTII data-driven instructional support programs including DIBELS and STAR Math; standards-aligned curricular development through the use of the PA Standards-Aligned System (SAS) and PA Core Standards; as well as content-area trainings related to both elementary and high school students such as STEM development, LETRS trainings, Collin’s Tiered Writing Strategies, Power Teaching, Summit School and so forth.  These trainings, among others, were delivered in a variety of formats including face-to-face, interactive, conferences and online forums were offered to individuals as well as groups of professionals.  Training for respective programs was conveyed by an array of providers including: PDE/PaTTAN, contracted public and private service providers, the regional Intermediate Unit 8, as well as district-level specialists in an attempt to offer district professionals a comprehensive professional development experience aimed at increasing the effectiveness of classroom-based practices in supporting student needs. 

In addition to classroom-based interventions delivered by general education teachers, the LEA provides Itinerant, Supplemental, Full-Time learning support as well as Supplemental Life Skills support that are dependent upon the needs of the student(s). All students with disabilities who receive Learning Support in core academic areas also have the opportunity to fully participate in elective courses and extracurricular activities with their non-disabled peers. Other supplementary aids and services include but are not limited to: Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Social Work Services, Autistic Support Services, Hearing Impaired Support, and Emotional Support. Students who receive such aids or services are provided with said services within the same building as their non-disabled peers, which is typically done within the Turkeyfoot Valley through (interior) district and (exterior) contracted service providers including the Intermediate Unit 8. The LEA is continually working to maintain LRE for students within the district; the only exception to the placement of students outside of the district occurs when students require a more restrictive educational setting with services that are specialized to their individual needs. For instance, students who require Full-time learning support/or Life Skills/ Life Applications-based services that cannot be met within the district are provided with a placement aimed at meeting their unique needs. Currently, Turkeyfoot Valley has students within its own supplemental Life Skills/ Life Applications program that participate in learning life skills as well as work-based activities that will prepare them for life beyond high school. In addition, students who meet the criteria to qualify for Extended School Year (ESY) are afforded the opportunity to participate in the district’s ESY program held every summer. 

As per the available 2016-2017 Special Education Data Report State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicator 5:  Educational Environments, Turkeyfoot Valley met stated targets with 89.7% of special education students receiving services within the general education classroom for 80% or more of the day.  When reviewing data related to placement reporting for students in the general education classroom less than 40% of the day and students placed in other settings, data was not made numerically available due to small population size in the respective areas. 

 



Behavior Support Services

  1. Provide a summary of the District policy on behavioral support services including, but not limited to, the school wide positive behavior supports (PBS).
  2. Describe training provided to staff in the use of positive behavior supports, de-escalation techniques and responses to behavior that may require immediate intervention.
  3. If the district also has School-Based Behavioral Health Services, please discuss it.



The Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District’s Behavior Support Policy (No. 113.2) was formed based on the tenets of the Positive Behavior Support initiative introduced through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  The district’s behavioral policy outlines the procedures by which all students, including students with disabilities, will be held accountable to stated behavioral expectations as well as procedures for the delivery of behavioral support and corrective action via staff and administration.  In order to effectively implement and support the aforementioned behavioral policy, several programs and trainings have been presented to the current teaching staff over the course of the last few years. 

Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training is offered to designated staff members annually.  Designated staff members include but are not limited to:  administration, faculty, paraprofessionals, guidance counselors, and the school nurse.  For the course of this plan, new full-time faculty members and full-time and part-time paraprofessionals will be offered the Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training throughout the course of their first full year of employment.  In addition, the Non-Violent Crisis Intervention certificate renewal sessions will be offered as needed. 

Other forms of professional development and training that have been made available to the faculty, staff, and administration at Turkeyfoot Valley that deal specifically with behavioral support include (but are not limited to):  De-escalation techniques,  non-violent crisis intervention (NVCI), emotional and behavioral disorder trainings, and positive behavior support techniques, methods, and strategies. 

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District continues to implement School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Practices, and when necessary, seeks guidance in improving the program through the Intermediate Unit. As a result of formation of this program, all students are offered behavioral support through the district’s School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) program that is aimed at encouraging positive and productive behaviors throughout the student population. The SWPBS team, in conjunction with the administration, staff, and faculty, has developed behavioral guidelines and procedures that mirror those of the district’s formal behavior policies.  Staff is updated annually on SWPBS expectations at the discretion of administration. The TVASD behavior support program offers students individual, small group, and large group incentives based on behavioral achievement. Some incentives and activities the district utilizes to positively support student performance include (but are not limited to): recognizing students on the district's "Tree of Excellence," students receiving principal's 100 club tickets for meeting or going beyond expectations, having the opportunity to participate in educational trips, and participating in give back projects to encourage student involvement in positively supporting the school and local community. This program has been highly successful in decreasing truancy as well as the number of discipline referrals issued to students.

For instances in which students are habitually truant, Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District has established procedures to reduce or eliminate truant behaviors. When a student has been absent without proper medical or parental excuses for three days, the schools truancy officer notifies the principal, the guidance counselor, and/or the school's Dean of Students in Charge of Special Education of the days absent, and a truancy elimination meeting is scheduled with the parents/guardians of the truant student. During this meeting, stakeholders will discuss and determine what key factors could be influencing the student's truant behaviors. From this, a plan of action to eliminate the truant behaviors is established as well as a referral to the school’s Student Assistance Program (SAP) team.

In conjunction with the SWPBS initiative, additional layers of behavioral support services have been put into place. Turkeyfoot Valley continues to utilize a school-based SAP approach to identifying students who need extra support within our student population; when necessary, the SAP team will collaborate with outside agencies to suggest additional individual and/or family-based supports or resources. Our SAP teams (Elementary and High School), meet bi-weekly, and are represented by members of the faculty, administration, guidance, and nursing departments; it serves as an intermediary for students identified as being “at-risk” emotionally, socially, behaviorally, functionally, and/or academically.  The program is designed to be a minimally invasive approach to related service support; therefore, participation in the SAP program is voluntary and left to the discretion of the identified students and their parents/guardians. 

Turkeyfoot Valley also offers contracted emotional and behavioral supports that vary in their level of frequency, duration, and intensity based on the identified needs of the individual students. Turkeyfoot Valley contracts with the Intermediate Unit 8 Social Work program, and with parental permission, offers one-on-one counseling and mentoring to students identified. Referrals to such programs can come from a variety of sources including faculty, staff, administration, the student’s family, or the student. In addition, Turkeyfoot Valley often works in collaboration with Somerset County Mental Health/Intellectual Disability services, Alliance Health Wraparound services, and Chestnut Ridge family behavioral health services. When necessary, Turkeyfoot Valley utilizes alternative placement facilities such as the Somerset County Children's Aid Home and the New Directions facility in Fayette County for both behavioral and therapeutic support. These supports have been highly effective in meeting the needs of our students.

In specific regards to our students with special needs, Turkeyfoot Valley continues to actively utilize the input gained from the aforementioned service providers, as well as in-house services and supports, in order to form behavior plans for students demonstrating a greater need for additional layers of classroom-based support.  Behavioral plans are informed through the use of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs), classroom observations, teacher input, and recommendations from involved medical and behavioral personnel. As a district practice, students falling within the category of being within the top 5% of discipline referrals are more closely monitored to determine if there is a need for classroom accommodations to remediate behaviors of concern, or if further assessments and observations would be necessary to implement a positive behavioral support plan. 

 



Intensive Interagency/Ensuring FAPE/Hard to Place Students

  1. If the LEA is having difficulty ensuring FAPE for an individual student or a particular disability category, describe the procedures and analysis methods used to determine gaps in the continuum of special education supports, services and education placement options available for students with disabilities.
  2. Include information detailing successful programs, services, education placements as well as identified gaps in current programs, services, and education placements not available within the LEA. Include an overview of services provided through interagency collaboration within the LEA.
  3. Discuss any expansion of the continuum of services planned during the life of this plan.



Turkeyfoot Valley enrolled student population is smaller than that of neighboring districts.  As such, the number of students requiring intensive social, academic, behavioral, or functional supports accounts for a very small percentage of the district’s overall enrollment.  Therefore, Turkeyfoot Valley contracts support services through neighboring districts and support agencies to ensure that the needs of all of our students are met.

For students who require emotional and/or behavioral interventions, Turkeyfoot Valley maintains a collaborative relationship with the agencies mentioned in the Behavioral Supports section including (but not limited to):  the Somerset County Children’s’ Aide Home Facility, New Directions in the Laurel Highlands School District, Alliance Health Wraparound, Blended Case Management, Children’s Behavioral Health Services, and Somerset County MH/MR.  In order to ensure the success of the aforementioned placements, there is a continual collaboration within and among placement coordinators regarding service delivery, academic and behavioral progress, and compliance.  Intensive interagency collaboration is also utilized for ensuring that students with identified disabilities who withdraw from the LEA are supported throughout their subsequent transition to a new placement.

For students whose needs require more intensive support that is able to be offered through individual or small group service delivery, Turkeyfoot Valley has implemented and continues to expand upon their in-house intervention-based programs.  In the elementary, students participate in RTII programming aimed at identifying and remediating reading deficits for students who are either identified as having a learning disability and/or those who are at-risk for continued academic decline without remediation. The RTII program also focuses on enriching reading strengths for our students who are continually achieving at or above their benchmark goals. The data gained as a result of the district’s benchmark assessments and RTII programming help to inform continued levels of academic intervention.  For students in grades Pre-K4 through 2nd, speech and language as well as occupational therapy services are provided to students in small and large groups to not only support their development of early language and writing skills, but to inform the general education teachers of techniques and strategies that SPL and OT specialists utilized to support reading development. For the students in grades seven through twelve, Turkeyfoot Valley continues to expand upon its existing cyber school program, which can be catered to fit the identified needs of the individual students. The cyber school program can be utilized to offer remediation, credit recovery, enrichment, or advanced placement based on the needs and age of the child. This program continues to be a valuable resource for all students. The district continues to expand upon both the course offerings and the technological availability of the cyber program to ensure FAPE for its students.  

Turkeyfoot Valley continues to offer an in-district Extended School Year program for eligible students. The program offers remediation of core concepts and skills to increase generalization and retention of said concepts and skills. Transportation is offered and instruction is provided by highly qualified Learning Support teachers and related service personnel. The ESY program is another facet of the interagency collaboration that takes place throughout the entire year. The Turkeyfoot Valley ESY program continues to be highly successful and is helping students maintain skills over the summer that are necessary in meeting individualized educational goals.   

 



Strengths and Highlights

Describe the strengths and highlights of your current special education services and programs. Include in this section directions on how the district provides trainings for staff, faculty and parents.



Staffing, Collaboration, and Student Supports:

Turkeyfoot Valley currently employs THREE full-time Special Education teachers and one, full-time licensed Special Education professional that serves as the Dean of Students in charge of Special Education, one licensed guidance counselor, a full-time Speech and Language Pathologist, and a part-time School Psychologist that is contracted through Ignite. Turkeyfoot Valley also contracts services for autistic support, hearing support, behavioral support, social work services, occupational and physical therapy, and counseling.  The utilization of highly-qualified teachers, in conjunction with various forms of co-teaching and collaboration, has helped to create a district-wide special education program that is designed for the needs of the students in grades pre-K through twelve. 

The special education support staff works closely with the general education teachers to ensure that optimal support, remediation, and enrichment (when applicable) are offered to students participating in Special Education programming. Various levels of collaboration are put into place to determine and track student progress as well as to inform academic decision making. Common planning times are utilized to review student data and ascertain appropriate changes to curricular programming when necessary. Clear and meaningful measures of communication are encouraged across administration, faculty, staff, and related service personnel to ensure cohesion within and among the various facets of the district’s Special Education Programs.

Professional Development:

Turkeyfoot Valley conducts an annual review of professional development needs and caters its professional development programs and sessions to the identified areas suggested as a result of the review.  Professional development focuses on the following major areas:  Instruction, Special Education, Technology, Assessment, and Community Awareness and Safety.  Each year, professional development options are revised based on current best practices and changes to federal, state, and local mandates.  The district then explores a wide array of training facilitators both locally and abroad. 

Contracted Training Services:  The Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District conducts yearly professional development opportunities aimed specifically at one or more areas of Special Education. Contracted training facilitators have included (but are not limited to):  the Intermediate Unit 8, PaTTAN training network, and contracted individual professionals.  Previous Special Education-related professional development sessions that have been offered include (but are not limited to): co-teaching, using technology in the classroom, BrainSTEPS, differentiated instruction, autism spectrum disorders, instructional strategies, Indicator 13 and 14, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, Family and Parent Support, and supplementary aids and services.

Special Education Staff:  Each year, the TVASD Special Education staff partakes in a variety of selected professional development opportunities.  These professional development opportunities are chosen by the individual staff members based on strategies and programs that best inform their daily practices. 

Annual Special Education Conference – In previous years, some special education staff has participated in the annual Special Education Conference held in Hershey, PA.  During this time, these members were privileged to hear testimony from other districts regarding current best practices in Special Education and successful program implementation as well as participate in various professional lectures. 

Monthly Special Education Team Meetings – The TVASD Special Education Department team, including the Dean of Students in charge of Special Education (Special Education Coordinator), school psychologist, special education teachers, related service teachers (speech therapist), and the school principal (when necessary), participate in monthly team meetings utilized to confer about enrollment status of students, caseloads, concerns, new best practices, changes to policies and procedures, data, and shared successes.

Providing Support and Training – The Special Education professionals at TVASD are also utilized to facilitate professional development training sessions.  The TVASD Special Education teachers and related service professionals have presented on the following topics:  Traumatic Brain Injury, hearing support, characteristics of learners and learning disabilities (including, but not limited to:  autism spectrum disorders, specific learning disabilities, other health impairment, intellectually disabled, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and gifted), modifications and accommodations, using technology in the classroom, universal design for learning, emotional and behavioral disorders, manifest determination, related services, and the referral process including child find procedures.  This, however, is not an exhaustive list of all professional development that has been offered by the Special Education staff within the last three years. 

General Education Staff:  All aforementioned staff trainings that are conducted by the TVASD Special Education Department as well as outside facilitators are delivered to the general education teachers.  Therefore, the general education teachers at TVASD receive annual trainings specifically related to the field of Special Education.

Paraprofessionals:  All part-time and full-time paraprofessionals at TVASD are required to satisfactorily complete either the Paraeducator Suite program (which is purchased through the district) and offered through Intermediate Unit 8; paraprofessionals can also accrue professional development hours through PaTTAN's Special Education online trainings for paraprofessionals.  Each year, TVASD paraprofessionals are also required to accrue a minimum of twenty hours of professional development related to educational practices and theory.  Paraprofessionals are requested to participate in Special Education training opportunities specifically.  The other forms of professional development outside of Special Education can be selected at the discretion of the individual paraprofessional and must be approved by the administration. 

RTII, Data Collection, and Data Management:  The Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District has worked diligently to establish policies and procedures related to meaningful data collection and management.   In addition to utilizing classroom-based measures and informal/formal assessments to collect performance data (i.e. Key Math 3, FastBridge, K-TEA, TWS-5, etc.), TVASD has put into place several programs that assist with progress monitoring for all students.  In grades kindergarten through sixth, students are monitored in Reading utilizing the DIBELS and BURST Reading Programs.  In mathematics, STAR math is used.  Each of these progress monitoring measures help to inform the elementary school’s RTII program.  In addition to these measures, the Study Island online learning tool is utilized to track student progress and inform instructional decision-making through benchmarking and progress monitoring.  In the high school, Study Island, the MAPS assessment and Summit Schools are utilized in a similar fashion to the data-based measures mentioned for the elementary.  The results from our diagnostic data inform daily instructional progressions as well as remediation and enrichment placements when necessary.   

Technology and Online Learning:  In an effort to diversify our instructional practices and increase academic opportunities for all of our students, technology has been integrated heavily within the entire district. All students in grades k-12 have IPads. In the elementary, the use of SMART boards and LCD projectors for instructional support has been proven to be successfully integrated; in the high school, classrooms have been equipped with Promethean boards and LCD projectors in which students can access and utilize information being covered through their IPads. In addition, and most recently, students in grades 6-8 have had the opportunity to participate in the districts newly implemented Summit Schools program. Students participating within this program have been trained with and use IPad's to access an online curriculum; teachers providing instruction have been trained and understand how to utilize student IPad's in conjunction with the online curriculum to facilitate learning. Through teacher facilitation, this rigorous program offers students the opportunity to learn and achieve at their own pace. For instance, when working with students who have specific learning needs, Summit Schools teachers have the ability to provide specific accommodations/modifications to meet those needs; when working with students who need enrichment, it provides them with the ability to advance through the program at their own pace. Overall, Summit Schools focuses on helping student’s development cognitive skills to support their academic understandings and utilizes a grading system based on the growth model. It is a goal of the district to expand Summit Schools to other grade levels. By doing so, students will be better prepared to enter some form of post-secondary education or gainful employment in career field of their interest. Ultimately, all of these technological integrations have proven to be successful and will continue to be implemented.

The district houses two computer labs that are used on a flexible schedule between both elementary and high school students. All classrooms within the district have integrated technology through the use of IPad's and laptops. In both the elementary and high school, the labs are used to support curriculum-based activities as well as facilitate the use of district selected assessments to monitor student progress. Additionally, two other computer classrooms have been developed and are utilized to support high school students in understanding technology-based curriculums, in providing high school students with after school tutoring (for the district's involvement in the Summit Schools Program), in supporting students understanding and mastery of Microsoft Office software applications, and in providing a means in which Turkeyfoot Valley’s Online programs (Odysseyware, Summit Schools and Online Campus) can be provided.

The TVASD Odysseyware program is utilized for: enrichment/dual enrollment, providing ESL classes, diversifying of courses offered, and remediation through credit recovery when needed; therefore, this program offers a plethora of learning options to our students that were never before available in our rural district.  This program has proven to be useful in differentiating our instructional options for many students of all abilities. 

Curriculum Development:  The Turkeyfoot Valley School District works to continually develop curriculum measures aligned with best practices and current mandates and standards. 

Child Find Activities:

TVASD exercises adherence to general Child Find guidelines and obligations are fulfilled through annual reporting procedures via the Intermediate Unit 8.  Child Find procedures and guidelines are made available to the public via the annual reporting notice published in the Somerset Daily American and Johnstown Tribune Democrat in the fall of each school year.  In addition, TVASD conducts pre-K and kindergarten registration in the spring which consists of locally-administered functional screenings conducted by speech therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists as well as the utilization of the Bracken to determine potential delays.  This is done in conjunction with collaborative input gained through IU 8 Early Intervention programs and Head Start programs.  Transitioning of students with from early intervention, Head Start, and local pre-school programs is based upon such collaboration and support. 

In addition to these early identification measures, at the elementary level the use of data meetings and common planning times in correlation with the district’s RTII program have been seen to help identify areas of need and address them via focused interventions.  Subsequently, these procedures have assisted in the development of a more informed decision-making process regarding the identification of students with disabilities.  On the high school level, data meetings and common planning times are also utilized in order to help adjust remediation as necessary.

Transition:  Procedures for the effective transition from early childhood programs into the Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District have been in place for many years. The district works with the Intermediate Unit 8 as well as other outside agencies (i.e. The Family Center) to identify students who are of school age so that they can be enrolled and positively supported in their transition to our Pre-k program. In addition, procedures aligned to Indicator 13 Transition requirements for students age 14 and older have also been in place and continually updated over time. Turkeyfoot Valley utilizes classroom data, interest inventories, and skills assessments to assist our high school students with disabilities in making appropriate choices for their post-secondary goals after high school.  The continuous alignment of student transition goals with student's individualized educational programs, to ensure local learning opportunities is an ongoing goal of the TVASD Special Education Department.

Parent Involvement:  Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District encourages the involvement of parents in daily educational and extra-curricular endeavors.  TVASD works to communicate events, policies, procedures, and so forth through various means including School Reach phone calls and text messages as well as via the school’s webpage(s).  TVASD incorporates parent-connect opportunities within the yearly calendar as well as offers Parent Informational Sessions on a wide variety of topics several times throughout the year. To ensure that parents receive assistance in supporting their children's educational experience and to determine what trainings should be offered to parents, parent training surveys are given at each IEP meeting. 

 

Least Restrictive Environment Facilities

Identify any facility where students are placed outside of the school district. List the Facility Name, choose the Type of Facility from the drop down menu, indicate the Type of Service (ES, LS, AS, etc.) and specify the Number of Students Placed in the facility from the district.

  • New Directions


Type of Facility:

Approved Private Schools

Type of Service:

Emotional and Behavioral Health Services

 

Special Education Program Profile

Identify all current and proposed programs operated by the school district or operated within school district's buildings.

A program can be thought of as a “teaching position”. Your program profile outlines the various positions you have at your district that provide Special Education services. Each program is a position. Within each program, a position may have 1 or more “segments”. A segment equates to an FTE and the total of all segments cannot be more than 1 FTE.

Begin by clicking the “+ Program” button to add a new program. Then, click the “+ New Segment” button to add the specifics for that program. Enter the building location, grade and type, the type of support and level of support, the low and high age, the caseload and the FTE. Click the “Submit” button. You will return to the Create Program page. (NOTE: your program is not yet saved). If additional segments need to be added, repeat the process by clicking the “+ New Segment” button again and completing the information.

If the program (or position) is brand new, put a checkmark beside the “This program has not previously operated within this district” and then complete all the questions that display.

After all appropriate segments have been added, click the “Create” button. This will save your program. You can then add the next program and its associated segments.

Please note, once changes are made to your District’s Program Profile, you must CLICK HERE to submit your Program Profile changes to the Bureau of Special Education as part of the SEPRN workflow.

 

  • Program Position #1 Unrevised


Operator:

School District

Program Details – Hide Details

Program Information


Type:

Class and Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 25, 2016

Reason for the proposed change:

Expanding continuum of services

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Itinerant

Learning Support

5 to 13

12

0.35

Justification: Supports are offered at different times either individually or with peers of a similar age. Additional .25 of FTE is Gifted Services.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary School

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Itinerant

Emotional Support

5 to 13

1

0.15

Justification: The students will not exceed age range groupings.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoo Valley Elementary School 

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Learning Support

9 to 12

1

0.15

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary School

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Emotional Support

9 to 12

1

0.1

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary School

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

  • Program Position #2 Unrevised


Operator:

School District

Program Details – Hide Details

Program Information


Type:

Class and Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 30, 2016

Reason for the proposed change:

Instead of using an outside contractor, the school has hired a full-time employee. This classroom was already approved as a special education classroom.

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Itinerant

Speech and Language Support

5 to 12

30

0.9

Justification: The provider works in groups that do not exceed age range.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary School

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Itinerant

Speech and Language Support

12 to 19

4

0.1

Justification: Supports are offered at different times either individually or with peers of a similar age.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

  • Program Position #3 Unrevised


Operator:

School District

Program Details – Hide Details

Program Information


Type:

Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 25, 2016

Reason for the proposed change:

Expanding continum of services

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Itinerant

Learning Support

12 to 16

20

0.5

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Itinerant

Emotional Support

12 to 16

5

0.15

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Learning Support

12 to 16

1

0.25

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area Jr./Sr. Highschool

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Emotional Support

12 to 16

1

0.1

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

  • Program Position #4 Unrevised


Operator:

School District

Program Details – Hide Details

Program Information


Type:

Class and Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 29, 2017

Reason for the proposed change:

Expanding continuum of services.

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Itinerant

Learning Support

11 to 17

15

0.5

Justification: This classroom is located in a previously approved special education classroom site. Students are provided supports individually or within small groups with peers of a similar age. **Teacher serves as Gifted Support Teacher for .25 FTE.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Itinerant

Learning Support

14 to 21

1

0.15

Justification: Students are provided supports individually or within small groups with peers of a similar age.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary 

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Itinerant

Emotional Support

11 to 19

1

0.1

Justification: Supports are offered at different times either individually or with peers of a similar age.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

  • Program Position #5 Unrevised


Operator:

School District

Program Details – Hide Details

Program Information


Type:

Class and Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 29, 2017

Reason for the proposed change:

Expand continuum of services. This classroom is located in a previously approved special education classroom site.

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Life Skills Support

11 to 19

3

0.3

Justification: Support Services are offered individually or with peers of a similar age. Support Services are offered individually or with peers of a similar age. This designation takes into account: block scheduling of core content areas (Reading and Math), as well as related services including speech/language therapy and occupational therapy.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Learning Support

11 to 19

1

0.25

Justification: Support Services are offered individually or with peers of a similar age. Support Services are offered individually or with peers of a similar age. This designation takes into account: block scheduling of core content areas (Reading and Math), as well as related services including speech/language therapy and occupational therapy.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Itinerant

Learning Support

11 to 19

2

0.25

Justification: Support Services are offered individually or with peers of a similar age. Full-time designation takes into account: block scheduling of core content areas (Reading and Math), as well as related services including speech/language therapy and occupational therapy.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Jr./Sr. High School

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

Supplemental (Less Than 80% but More Than 20%)

Life Skills Support

5 to 12

1

0.2

Justification: Expand continuum of services. Support services are offered individually or with peers of a similar age. This is located in a previously approved special education classroom.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary School

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

  • Program Position #6 Unrevised


Operator:

School District

Program Details – Hide Details

Program Information


Type:

Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 25, 2016

Reason for the proposed change:

Expanding continuum of services

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Itinerant

Emotional Support

12 to 21

5

0.1

Justification: Students receive supports individually or in small groups with peers of a similar age. **Teacher serves as Dean of Students (Special Education Coordinator) for .90 FTE.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District

A Junior/Senior High School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

  • Program Position #7 Unrevised


Operator:

Outside Contractor for the School District

Program Details – 

Program Information


Type:

Position

;

Implementation Date:

August 29, 2017

Reason for the proposed change:

Expand continuum of services. This classroom is located in a previously approved special education classroom site.

Program Segments


Level of Support

Type of Support

Age Range

Caseload

FTE

Itinerant

Deaf and Hearing Impaired Support

5 to 19

1

0.02

Justification: Supports are offered at different times either individually or with peers of a similar age.

Location 1

Grade

Building Type

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary

An Elementary School Building

A building in which General Education programs are operated

 

 

 

Special Education Support Services

Identify all current support staff information who are employed by the district. Support personnel may include Special Education Directors, Supervisors, psychologists, social workers, paraprofessional, related services practitioners such as OT and PT. This list is not conclusive. Enter the building(s) and Teacher Full Time Equivalent number.

  • Paraprofessionals


Location:

TVASD Elementary School and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

3

Edit

  • Speech and Language Pathologist


Location:

Turkeyfoot Elementary and High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

1

Edit

  • Dean of Students in charge of Special Education/Special Education Coordinator


Location:

TVASD Elementary School and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

0.9

Edit

  • Occupational Therapist


Location:

Turkeyfoot Elementary and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

0.6

Edit

  • School Psychologist


Location:

Turkeyfoot Elementary and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

0.5

Edit

  • Social Worker


Location:

Turkeyfoot Elementary and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

0.4

Edit

  • Autistic Support


Location:

Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

0.08

Edit

  • Physical Therapist


Location:

Turkeyfoot Elementary and Jr/Sr High School

Teacher Full Time Equivalent:

0.06

 

Special Education Contracted Services

Identify all current contracted support services including the operator (contractor, such as IU, agency or individual contract) and the amount of time per week that the operator is at the district. Do not list Speech and Language Support, Hearing Impaired Support, Vision Impaired Support Autistic Support etc. that are contracted through the Intermediate Unit. Those services must be listed on the Program Profile not on the Contracted Support Services.

  • CAMCO Occupational Therapist


Operator:

Outside Contractor

Amount of Time per Week:

22.5 Hours

Edit

  • CAMCO Physical Therapist


Operator:

Outside Contractor

Amount of Time per Week:

40 Minutes

Edit

  • Social Worker


Operator:

Intermediate Unit

Amount of Time per Week:

15 Hours

 

Turkeyfoot Valley Area SD/District Level Plan/Special Education Personnel Development

The requirement for personnel development in the Districts’ Special Education Plan must include staff training in special education utilized by the school through the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) and the Intermediate Unit (IU).

Districts need to list the trainings that will be provided to teachers and staff for upcoming years per Special Education planning cycle. Topics for the trainings need to be in some aspect of Special Education and must be provided by the PaTTAN or IU technical assistants.

Autism

Hide Details

Description:

TVASD administration, faculty, related service personnel, paraprofessionals, and interested parents will be provided with professional development and training regarding updates/changes to diagnosis of autism, best practices for LRE inclusion, behavioral strategies, and instructional support. The district is in the process of updating its sensory room to positively support students with autism spectrum disorders as well as emotional/behavioral/social concerns. TVASD will allow any student showing emotional, social, behavioral, social, or functional concerns to utilize the sensory room in maintaining behaviors of concern. By updating resources within the sensory room and annually informing staff and parents about how the resources available can be utilized to positively support student needs,TVASD will be able to identify the top 5% of students not showing improvement with consistent behaviors of concern. The LEA will more closely monitor those students to determine if a formal positive behavioral support plan should be created to remediate behaviors of concern. This will result in a 2% increase in the number of autistic support students integrated/placed in the LRE ovfer the course of this plan. 

Person Responsible:

Dean of Students in charge of Special Education/Special Education Coordinator

Start Date:

8/28/2018

End Date:

6/4/2021

Program Area(s):

Professional Education, Special Education, Student Services, Educational Technology

Professional Development Details

Hours Per Session:

2.0

# of Sessions:

1

# of Participants Per Session:

30

Provider:

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District, PaTTAN, and/or IU 08

Provider Type:

Other: School Entity, PaTTAN, IU

PDE Approved:

No

Knowledge Gain:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

Research & Best Practices Base:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists:

  • Enhances the educator’s content knowledge in the area of the educator’s certification or assignment.
  • Increases the educator’s teaching skills based on research on effective practice, with attention given to interventions for struggling students.
  • Empowers educators to work effectively with parents and community partners.

For school or LEA administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles:

  • Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania’s academic standards.
  • Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning.
  • Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results.

Training Format:

  • LEA Whole Group Presentation
  • Series of Workshops
  • Department Focused Presentation
  • Online-Synchronous
  • Online-Asynchronous
  • Professional Learning Communities

Participant Roles:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Principals / Asst. Principals
  • Supt / Ast Supts / CEO / Ex Dir
  • School counselors
  • Paraprofessional
  • Classified Personnel
  • New Staff
  • Other educational specialists
  • Related Service Personnel
  • Parents

Grade Levels:

  • Elementary - Primary (preK - grade 1)
  • Elementary - Intermediate (grades 2-5)
  • Middle (grades 6-8)
  • High (grades 9-12)

Follow-up Activities:

  • Team development and sharing of content-area lesson implementation outcomes, with involvement of administrator and/or peers
  • Lesson modeling with mentoring
  • Joint planning period activities
  • Journaling and reflecting

Evaluation Methods:

  • Classroom observation focusing on factors such as planning and preparation, knowledge of content, pedagogy and standards, classroom environment, instructional delivery and professionalism.
  • Standardized student assessment data other than the PSSA
  • Participant survey
  • Review of written reports summarizing instructional activity

 



Reading NCLB #1

Hide Details

Description:

The Turkeyfoot Valley will continue to utilize professional development trainings including (but not limited to):  LETRS, adolescent literacy, Reading Apprenticeship, DIBELS, Burst Reading, vocabulary, differentiated instruction, RTII, curriculum development, reading strategies, writing instruction and so forth for select faculty members per sessions. In addition, Turkeyfoot Valley will continue to provide all students in grades k4-2nd with classroom-based preventative therapy as well as speech and language services. By providing these trainings and services, and by promoting the importance of speech and writing skills in relation to reading, students who are in greater need of services will be more apparent to staff. Furthermore, when looking at student assessment data and reviewing their classroom performance, students who consistently show lower performance during benchmark assessments will be recognized as needing remediation. If consistent remediation is not successful, the team will determine if the student should be evaluated for special education services. These practices will assist students in showing a 2% increase in PSSA scores as per the PVVAAS growth model over the course of this plan.

Person Responsible:

Administration/Special Education Coordinator

Start Date:

8/28/2018

End Date:

6/4/2021

Program Area(s):

Professional Education, Special Education, Student Services, Educational Technology

Professional Development Details

Hours Per Session:

1.0

# of Sessions:

10

# of Participants Per Session:

15

Provider:

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District, PaTTAN, and/or IU 08

Provider Type:

Other: School Entity, PaTTAN, IU

PDE Approved:

No

Knowledge Gain:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

Research & Best Practices Base:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists:

  • Enhances the educator’s content knowledge in the area of the educator’s certification or assignment.
  • Increases the educator’s teaching skills based on research on effective practice, with attention given to interventions for struggling students.
  • Provides educators with a variety of classroom-based assessment skills and the skills needed to analyze and use data in instructional decision-making.
  • Empowers educators to work effectively with parents and community partners.

For school or LEA administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles:

  • Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania’s academic standards.
  • Provides leaders with the ability to access and use appropriate data to inform decision-making.
  • Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning.
  • Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results.

Training Format:

  • LEA Whole Group Presentation
  • Series of Workshops
  • School Whole Group Presentation
  • Department Focused Presentation
  • Online-Synchronous
  • Online-Asynchronous
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Offsite Conferences

Participant Roles:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Principals / Asst. Principals
  • Supt / Ast Supts / CEO / Ex Dir
  • Paraprofessional
  • Classified Personnel
  • New Staff
  • Other educational specialists
  • Related Service Personnel

Grade Levels:

  • Elementary - Primary (preK - grade 1)
  • Elementary - Intermediate (grades 2-5)
  • Middle (grades 6-8)
  • High (grades 9-12)

Follow-up Activities:

  • Team development and sharing of content-area lesson implementation outcomes, with involvement of administrator and/or peers
  • Analysis of student work, with administrator and/or peers
  • Creating lessons to meet varied student learning styles
  • Peer-to-peer lesson discussion
  • Lesson modeling with mentoring
  • Joint planning period activities
  • Journaling and reflecting

Evaluation Methods:

  • Classroom observation focusing on factors such as planning and preparation, knowledge of content, pedagogy and standards, classroom environment, instructional delivery and professionalism.
  • Student PSSA data
  • Classroom student assessment data
  • Review of participant lesson plans



Behavior Support

Description:

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District administrators, teachers, staff, paraprofessionals and related service providers will continue to be trained in areas regarding School-Wide Positive Behavior Support and Non-Violent Crisis Intervention.  In addition, trainings and professional development opportunities will be offered to all professionals above and interested parents regarding emotional and behavioral disorders, best practices for classroom/behavioral management, coping strategies, creation and implementation of behavior plans, and so forth. These trainings will make all stakeholders aware of specific strategies that can be used to remediate behavioral occurrences within and outside of the classroom so that they can positively manage, support and maintain a positive and constructive classroom environment. By implementing these trainings over the course of this plan, stakeholders will gain a greater understanding of how to support student's behavioral needs, which will result in the top 5% of students with office discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions to be more closely monitored and supported through the most current educationally supported social/behavioral interventions within their general education learning environments.  For those students who are identified as being in the top 5% in which behaviors have been supported with inconsistent success, the LEA will issue a permission from the parent/guardian to conduct a functional behavioral assessment so that a positive behavior support plan can be developed and implemented. These practices will assist in showing a 2% decrease in the overall number of discipline referrals over the course of this plan.

Person Responsible:

Administration/Dean of Students in Charge of Special Education

Start Date:

8/28/2018

End Date:

6/4/2021

Program Area(s):

Professional Education, Special Education, Student Services

Professional Development Details

Hours Per Session:

1.0

# of Sessions:

3

# of Participants Per Session:

20

Provider:

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District, PaTTAN, and/or IU 08

Provider Type:

Other: School Entity, PaTTAN, Intermediate Unit

PDE Approved:

No

Knowledge Gain:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

Research & Best Practices Base:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists:

  • Increases the educator’s teaching skills based on research on effective practice, with attention given to interventions for struggling students.
  • Empowers educators to work effectively with parents and community partners.

For school or LEA administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles:

  • Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania’s academic standards.
  • Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning.
  • Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results.

Training Format:

  • LEA Whole Group Presentation
  • Series of Workshops
  • School Whole Group Presentation
  • Department Focused Presentation
  • Online-Synchronous
  • Online-Asynchronous
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Offsite Conferences

Participant Roles:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Principals / Asst. Principals
  • Supt / Ast Supts / CEO / Ex Dir
  • School counselors
  • Paraprofessional
  • Classified Personnel
  • New Staff
  • Other educational specialists
  • Related Service Personnel
  • Parents

Grade Levels:

  • Elementary - Primary (preK - grade 1)
  • Elementary - Intermediate (grades 2-5)
  • Middle (grades 6-8)
  • High (grades 9-12)

Follow-up Activities:

  • Joint planning period activities
  • Journaling and reflecting

Evaluation Methods:

  • Participant survey
  • Other: Informal and formal observations of implementation in various environments



Paraprofessional

Description:

Throughout the course of this plan, paraprofessional participants will receive a minimum of 20 hours of training and/or professional development each year over the course of this plan. Paraprofessionals can complete training hours needed through Paraprofessional Suite (IU08 consortium program), through PaTTAN trainings online, through district inservices or through other private professional development providers with administrative approval. Paraprofessionals will utilize training opportunities to support teachers in implementing the most effective and current educational practices.   

Person Responsible:

Administration/Special Education Coordinator

Start Date:

8/28/2018

End Date:

6/4/2021

Program Area(s):

Professional Education, Special Education, Student Services, Gifted Education, Educational Technology

Professional Development Details

Hours Per Session:

1.0

# of Sessions:

20

# of Participants Per Session:

9

Provider:

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District, PaTTAN, and/or Intermediate Unit 08

Provider Type:

Other: School Entity, PaTTAN, IU

PDE Approved:

No

Knowledge Gain:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

Research & Best Practices Base:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists:

  • Enhances the educator’s content knowledge in the area of the educator’s certification or assignment.
  • Increases the educator’s teaching skills based on research on effective practice, with attention given to interventions for struggling students.
  • Provides educators with a variety of classroom-based assessment skills and the skills needed to analyze and use data in instructional decision-making.
  • Empowers educators to work effectively with parents and community partners.

For school or LEA administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles:

  • Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania’s academic standards.
  • Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning.
  • Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results.

Training Format:

  • LEA Whole Group Presentation
  • Series of Workshops
  • Live Webinar
  • Department Focused Presentation
  • Online-Synchronous
  • Online-Asynchronous
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Offsite Conferences

Participant Roles:

  • Paraprofessional
  • Other educational specialists
  • Related Service Personnel

Grade Levels:

  • Elementary - Primary (preK - grade 1)
  • Elementary - Intermediate (grades 2-5)
  • Middle (grades 6-8)
  • High (grades 9-12)

Follow-up Activities:

  • Team development and sharing of content-area lesson implementation outcomes, with involvement of administrator and/or peers
  • Other: Observations, discussions/interviews

Evaluation Methods:

  • Classroom observation focusing on factors such as planning and preparation, knowledge of content, pedagogy and standards, classroom environment, instructional delivery and professionalism.
  • Participant survey
  • Other: Observations, discussions/interviews



Transition

Description:

TVASD Special Education Department personnel, guidance counselors, related administrators and service providers will be given training related to Indicator 13 and proper implementation of TVASD transition plan documents. TVASD will create a transitional map to provide guidance on what transitional services are available to students between kindergarden through grade twelve. This transitional map will be kept as a living document, getting updated as transitional supports change. All general education teachers will be provided with professional development (on an annual basis), so that they are made aware of the implementation and updates of this map, it's use in relation to supporting students during and after high school as well as indictor 13 requirements of the district. The training and professional development of staff, in conjunction with the continual development of Turkeyfoot Valley's Transitional Map, will result in all students having the opportunity to participate in a minimum of two transitional activities annually. By implementing these practices, educators will be more capable of supporting student's interests and needs; thus allowing students to more confidently and accurately make decisions about post-secondary education, employment and independent living. Both means of training/professional development will result in an overall increase of 2% of students being placed in a post-secondary setting and/or obtaining competitive employment over the course of this plan. 

Person Responsible:

Administration/Special Education Coordinator/Guidance Department

Start Date:

8/28/2018

End Date:

6/4/2021

Program Area(s):

Professional Education, Special Education, Student Services

Professional Development Details

Hours Per Session:

1.0

# of Sessions:

3

# of Participants Per Session:

10

Provider:

Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District, PaTTAN, and/or IU 08

Provider Type:

Other: School Entity, PaTTAN, IU

PDE Approved:

No

Knowledge Gain:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

Research & Best Practices Base:

This is an optional narrative for Special Education.

For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists:

  • Enhances the educator’s content knowledge in the area of the educator’s certification or assignment.
  • Increases the educator’s teaching skills based on research on effective practice, with attention given to interventions for struggling students.
  • Empowers educators to work effectively with parents and community partners.

For school or LEA administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles:

  • Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania’s academic standards.
  • Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning.
  • Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results.

Training Format:

  • LEA Whole Group Presentation
  • Series of Workshops
  • School Whole Group Presentation
  • Live Webinar
  • Department Focused Presentation
  • Online-Synchronous
  • Online-Asynchronous
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Offsite Conferences

Participant Roles:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Principals / Asst. Principals
  • Supt / Ast Supts / CEO / Ex Dir
  • School counselors
  • Paraprofessional
  • Classified Personnel
  • New Staff
  • Other educational specialists
  • Related Service Personnel
  • Parents

Grade Levels:

  • Elementary - Primary (preK - grade 1)
  • Elementary - Intermediate (grades 2-5)
  • Middle (grades 6-8)
  • High (grades 9-12)

Follow-up Activities:

  • Analysis of student work, with administrator and/or peers
  • Joint planning period activities
  • Journaling and reflecting
  • Other: District-wide transition plan implementation

Evaluation Methods:

  • Classroom student assessment data
  • Participant survey
  • Portfolio
  • Other: Post-secondary student surveys