February Newsletter

The Access Center has released a new resource, "Teaching Matters: The Link Between Access to the General Education Curriculum and Performance on State Assessments." This information brief is an introduction to the linkage between classroom practice and student performance on State assessments. It provides practitioners and administrators with an overview of instructional practice and content, based on rigorous academic standards, to heighten awareness regarding the connection between access to the general education curriculum and student performance on large scale assessments.

Co-Teaching Webinar
The Access Center's District Information Sharing Community hosted a webinar on January 25th, "Supervising Co-Teaching Teams: Whose Line is it Anyway?" This webinar, presented by Dr. Stacia Rush, explored how general educators and special educators view co-teaching, and then how general and special education supervisors can develop a common lens for supporting and evaluating performance. You may view the PowerPoint slides and webinar recording from this event on our website.

Oklahoma is in the process of changing the way that professional development (PD) is being delivered to the state's teachers and administrators. Traditionally, the state has used its Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) network to provide PD. However, Oklahoma has moved to delivering PD through a small state-level team. Due to the team's size, however, the initiative's outreach is limited by both manpower and funding. The Access Center has agreed to assist Oklahoma on a short-term basis with its professional development needs. During a week-long period in late February/early March, the Access Center — along with a team of Oklahoma State Department of Education staff — will travel to three regions within the state. In these regions, Access Center staff will conduct day-long workshops for special education administrators and teachers on differentiated instruction, co-teaching, and strategies for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Educators throughout the state will have the opportunity to attend any or all of the three workshops.

What Works Clearinghouse Launches New Help Desk
On January 20th, 2006, the What Works Clearinghouse of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences announced the launch of an Evidence-Based Education Help Desk. The Help Desk's mission is to provide policymakers, practitioners and researchers with practical, easy-to-use resources to advance evidence-based education. Specifically, the Help Desk will provide resources to assist in conducting rigorous evaluations of educational programs, sponsoring such evaluations and identifying and implementing evidence-based programs. You can access the Help Desk through its website (http://whatworkshelpdesk.ed.gov) or via phone or email at 1-866-WWC-9799 (8am-8pm ET Mon-Fri) or by email at info@whatworks.ed.gov. Help Desk resources include how-to guides such as "Key Items to Get Right When Conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial in Education" and "Identifying and Implementing Evidence-Based Educational Practices: A User-Friendly Guide."

AIR Establishes National High School Center
The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) has recently launched its Web site at www.betterhighschools.org.The High School Center will serve as a central source of in-depth knowledge, expertise, and analysis on high school improvement. The National High School Center is part of a national network of Content and Regional Comprehensive Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education to help build the capacity of states across the nation to effectively implement the provisions and goals of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The High School Center is one of five content centers covering a spectrum of topical areas especially relevant to NCLB and school improvement.

ED Issues Peer Review Guidance for NCLB Growth Model Pilot Applications
Last November, the U.S. Department of Education invited States to participate in a pilot project where growth models would determine whether schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) under ESEA Title I, Part A (No Child Left Behind). At that time, the Department provided details about the seven core principles that would be used to evaluate the state growth model proposals, along with an overview of how the models would be reviewed (via a peer review process). State applications to be a part of the growth model pilot are due on February 17, 2006.

President Bush Issues FY 2007 Education Budget
For Fiscal Year 2007, the President has requested $54.4 billion in discretionary appropriations for the U.S. Department of Education, a decrease of $3.1 billion, or 5.5 percent, from the FY 2006 level.