Presenter: Dr. George Batsche, professor and co-directors of the Institute for School Reform at the University of South Florida. He is also co-director of the Florida Statewide Problem-Solving/Response to Intervention Project for the Florida Department of Education. In the past 15 years, the majority of Dr. Batsche’s work has focused on systems of implementing academic behavior interventions and at-risk students.

To register, contact Amy Baldwin (see contact information below).

• Research validated or research based, what’s the difference?
• How much data? Which data? Whose data? How often? And what do I do with all of it!?
• Will my changing demographic affect the way my teachers need to teach?
• How systematic is systematic and how explicit does instruction have to be?
• Is my core part of the reason I need an RtI plan?

This session will focus on the dual focus necessary to move toward an effective RtI implementation. Designed for administrators who must lead the change initiative, the session centers on both the how and why of RtI.

Speaker: Almitra Berry, M.Ed.

The Six-Minute Solution:

• In same-level pairs, students do repeated readings of one-minute nonfiction passages as their partners note the number of words read correctly – an effective peer-monitoring and feedback system that keeps students motivated and on task.
• The Six-Minute Solution builds students’ reading fluency – essential for text comprehension-and is a valuable complement to any reading curriculum or as an intervention program.
• It can be used in Tier 1 or as a Tier 2 intervention

• Actively involves and motivates all students in tasks they can perform successfully.
• Increases student opportunity to read.
• Expands instructional resources in the classroom.
• Provides for positive and productive peer interaction.
• Allows students with disabilities to spend more time in least restrictive environment and increases their access to the general education curriculum.
• Is affordable and easily implemented.
• Can be used in Tier 1 or Tier 2.

Teachers will Learn:

• The Benefits and research behind PALS
• The components of 2-6, and Teacher Directed PALS
• How to set up PALS
• How to manage PALS in your classroom
• Practice each instructional routine in PALS
• Watch model lessons Using PALS

A complete core program that uses:

• Two major strands and four instructional levels address a wide range of reading problems.
• The decoding and comprehension strands can be used separately as a supplemental reading intervention or combined for use as a comprehensive reading intervention program.
• Multiple points of entry and fast-cycle options appropriately address skill levels of students in Grades 4-adult.
• Fully integrated assessments monitor progress and guide movement through the program.
• Can be used as a Tier 3 intervention.

By implementing REWARDS®, educators will help struggling readers:

• Break words containing two to eight parts into manageable, decodable “chunks”
• Accurately read more multisyllabic words in sentences and content-area textbooks
• Read content-area passages accurately and fluently
• Enhance oral and silent reading fluency
• Improve comprehension as accuracy and fluency increase

Participants will learn:

• The research about REWARDS®
• How to use the program
• How to set up and manage REWARDS®
• Watch model lessons of REWARDS®
• Practice teaching REWARDS® lessons

Participants will learn:

• The Benefits and research behind PALS
• The components of Kindergarten, First Grade, and Teacher Directed PALS
• How to set up PALS
• How to manage PALS in your classroom
• Practice each instructional routine in PALS
• Watch model lessons Using PALS

Two sessions are available:
Ingham ISD – March 24, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Shiawasee RESD – March 4, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Seating is limited. Register today!

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is providing substantive, research-based professional development opportunities by organizing and supporting several regional SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) workshops for teams of ESL and general education (content area/classroom) teachers from local school districts. Each workshop will accommodate approximately 40-50 persons. Sponsored by MDE and Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center, leaders from the Center for Applied Linguistics (Washington D.C.) will conduct the four-day workshops with the assistance of Michigan teacher-leaders who have completed SIOP train-the-trainer sessions earlier in the summer.

The workshops will be held in three regions in Michigan with significant demographic representation of ELLs. The specific locations for the summer workshops will be:

Oakland Schools (NW Detroit metro area): July 19-22, 2010
Ottawa ISD (Holland area): August 9-12, 2010
Ingham ISD (Lansing area): August 23-26, 2010

School district teams should have the following characteristics:

• Participants currently teach at an elementary or secondary school where ELLs are a part of the student population;
• Participants attend as members of school teams of 3-6 teachers, including both ESL/bilingual and grade level/content area teachers working with ELLs;
• Participants are willing to collaborate with members of their school team during and beyond the workshop as they implement the SIOP Model in their classrooms;
• Participants are willing to engage in follow-up activities (e.g. SIOP coaching) during the school year.

Administrators from districts sending teams to a regional SIOP workshop will be requested to attend a special “overview of SIOP” session held in conjunction with the April 26, 2010 MDE-sponsored ELL Directors Meeting in Lansing. Administrators attending this session will learn more about their teachers’ SIOP training and begin to anticipate practical ways to implement aspects of the SIOP model in support of ELLs in content area classes.