The State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)’s main focus is to create more highly qualified special education personnel. The main two goals are to help support students in the Least Restrictive Environment and to make sure that they are working each year to prepare students for adult life. The grant plans to make this happen by working on the following six areas:
· Secondary Special Education Teachers with Core Content Knowledge
· Revised Special Education Certification Standards
· Highly Qualified Special Education Leaders
· Highly Qualified Paraeducators
· Highly Qualified School Psychologists
· Highly Qualified Educational Interpreters
SPDG funds come from the Office of Education Programs (OSEP). The PEAL Center has a contract with PaTTAN and will approach the SPDG goals with three main activities: Tiny Fingers to Tiny Voices, Project for Parents Engaged in Advocating for Change in Education (PEACE), and the School Leaders Symposium.
Tiny Fingers to Tiny Voices is an American Sign Language Course for children, birth to age six, and their families that may be having difficulty with communication.The class is presented like a preschool class where the children learn over 100 signs.People that are taking the course receive DVDs with the signs used in the course to give to any professional working with the child.This will help all people involved in the child’s life to understand the sign language the child is using.
Project for Parents Engaged in Advocating for Change in Education (PEACE) is a project promoting parent leadership.This project consists of several sessions where parents get to interact with highly qualified speakers about different topics of educational reform that are currently priorities in Pennsylvania.In 2009 we are focusing on the Northwest PA region and throughout the five years of the grant we will cover different regions of Pennsylvania that are within the PEAL Center’s area.We have also included other information that may be useful to parents in their role as a leader such as an overview of special education law, communication skills, and the history of the right to education.Overall we hope to build a sense of community amongst the members and encourage them to become leaders at the local, regional and state levels.
School Leaders Symposium is a training day for principals, school psychologists, and special education administrators on creating schools where students are educated in the Least Restrictive Environment with the appropriate supplementary aids and services.Participants are invited from districts identified as Tier 1 and Tier 2 according to Least Restrictive Environment monitoring data.Content will include the essential role of parents in their child’s school program, knowledge of evidence based instructional practices, and effective teaming.