School Psychologist "On the Job" reflections...

This is a copy of my post to the NASP School Psychologist "On the Job" blog:

I'm at home today due to a ill-timed stomach bug. I plan to spend some of my time resting as I work on reports and review some student data.

As the school year comes to an end, I often have mixed feelings. On one hand, like the students, I can't wait until the first day of my summer break (all 5 weeks of it!) and jump into the pool... On the other hand, it is a time of reflection about the school year and what I've done in my little corner of the school psychology world to make things better, and also reflect on the direction I need to take for the upcoming year, giving some thought to current research.

I'd like to devote this post to one of my interests, improving outcomes for youth with disabilities.

In my opinion, the best measurement of intervention outcomes is what happens to the lives of the children and teens as they transition to adulthood. Despite our well-intentioned efforts, often focused at the elementary level, high school students with disabilities continue to drop out of school at an unacceptable rate, especially in urban school districts.

If you skim through recent journal articles in the field of school psychology, it is obvious that most university-sponsored research targets the lower grades. This research is important, but it is not enough, given the data that we have regarding outcomes for youth with disabilities. My hunch is that many university school psychology educators have minimal experience working at the high school level, otherwise we'd have many more journal articles devoted to secondary-level research and best practices!

As a profession, are we losing sight of the bigger picture? How much do we understand what is going on at the high school level regarding third-tier interventions for students who receive special education services? At this level, what are the roles and responsibilities of the school psychologist regarding progress monitoring and assessing treatment integrity? How does this fit in the IEP and transition planning process? Who is responsible for putting together the secondary school psychology road-map?


When I returned to work this school year full time, I hadn't worked in a regular high school setting for about three years. One of my goals was to re-acquaint myself with research related adolescent literacy, drop-out prevention for students with disabilities, and transition planning. Below are some of the resources and links I found along my way:

NASP: School Psychology Forum: Research into Practice

Adolescent Literacy
IES Practice Guide: Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices

The Content Literacy Continuum

ARCC- Appalachia Regional Comprehensive CenterAdolescent Literacy Resources & Toolkit

National Institute for Literacy: What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy pdf (2007)

Note: The above publication has specific strategies for instruction included in the appendix, with some useful graphic organizers.

Learning Disabilities Online: Adolescent Literacy and Older Students with Learning Disabilities (pdf)

National Center for Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) Adolescent Literacy Resources

Edutopia: How To Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom

Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School: A Look at Approaches to Tiered Intervention

This publication explains the need for and challenges of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) at the high school level. This brief introduces the RTI model, illustrates two RTI approaches, discusses implementation issues, and provides a list of resources for more information.


Transition, Dropout-Prevention for Students with Disabilities

Effective Interventions in Dropout Prevention: A Research Synthesis
The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Intervention on Dropout for Youth with Disabilities pdf
Brian Cobb, Pat Sample, Morgen Alwell and Nikole Johns, Colorado State University

What Works Transition Research Synthesis

Making Connections Across Indicators to Improve Post-School Outcomes
Cathy Hammond, Ph.D., Loujeania Williams Bost, Ph.D.

Evidence-Based Dropout-Prevention Programs

Collecting Post-School Outcome Data: Strategies for Increasing Response Rates pdf

What Works Clearinghouse: Dropout Prevention

National Post-School Outcomes Center

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was established in January 2004 to support states in assisting local education agencies to increase school completion rates and decrease dropout rates among students with disabilities. NDPC-SD is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is part of OSEP’s Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network designed to support the national implementation of provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Our Focus
The mission of the NDPC-SD is to build the capacity of states to provide local education agencies with enhanced services related to dropout prevention and re-entry programs to increase school completion rates for students with disabilities. In keeping with our mission, the primary focus of our Center is threefold:

1.to synthesize research and practice into actionable information that can be readily used by states to develop and/or enhance dropout prevention programs for students with disabilities. This actionable information includes, but is not limited to, producing research-based manuscripts, information monographs, and a toolkit of evidenced-based strategies to serve as technical assistance documents for administrators, educators, policymakers, and other service providers in designing dropout prevention programs.
2.to provide effective technical assistance and dissemination activities to "scale up" the use of research-validated programs and interventions in dropout prevention. We believe effective technical assistance to be a systematic process for transferring knowledge about dropout prevention research, practices that work, and policies to assist states and their stakeholders to accomplish goals and plans for systems change in reducing dropout rates and improving school completion rates for students with disabilities. Part of our agenda will consist of translating work being done in other venues into actionable information that states can readily use.
3.to expand state and local practices through intense technical assistance and coaching, which will lead to the development of model sites—exemplars that others can replicate.

Books
McEWan, Elain K. 40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in Content Classrooms, Grades 6-12 (2007) National Association of Secondary School Principals & Corwin Press

Beers, Kylene, Probst, Robert.E., & Rief, Linda (Eds.) Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice (2007) Heinemann

Ohler, Jason Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity. (2007) Corwin Press

Resource Update: Adolescent Literacy, Digital Storytelling, RTI & Data-based Decision Making

Although January is the first month of the new year, it also marks the mid-point of the school year, a good time for those of us who work in schools and related academic settings to reflect a bit about what really matters.

I thought I'd dedicate this post to a review resources that might be useful when planning for the second semester.

Books
On the last day before break, I noticed that my school district's professional development library had expanded well beyond my expectations. I had to restrain myself from checking out too many books!

Here is my short list, which reflects my interests in adolescent literacy, drop-out prevention, and technology integration:

McEWan, Elain K. 40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in Content Classrooms, Grades 6-12 (2007) National Association of Secondary School Principals & Corwin Press

Beers, Kylene, Probst, Robert.E., & Rief, Linda (Eds.) Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice (2007) Heinemann

Ohler, Jason Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity. (2007) Corwin Press


Online Resources:
Jason Ohler's Website


Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center

"The Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) at Edvantia is one of 16 regional comprehensive and 5 content centers that make up the Comprehensive Center Network funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The purpose of the comprehensive centers is to provide state education agencies with intensive technical assistance to address the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements and meet student achievement goals."

The ARCC website contains a database of evidence-based resources, rated on the level of evidence provided that supports effectiveness.
Here's a list of resource toolkits found on the ARCC site. (Be prepared to spend more than a few minutes browsing through the info!)

• Adolescent Literacy
• English Language Learners
• Formative Assessment
• High School
• ICT Assessment
• Leadership
• Migrant Education
• Parent Involvement
• School Improvement
• Special Education
• State Systems of Support
• Teacher Quality

National Center on Student Progress Monitoring

Note: This site focuses mostly on K-5 topics, but does have some resources appropriate for the secondary level.)
"The National Center on Student Progress Monitoring (NCSPM) has exciting downloadable articles, PowerPoint presentations, FAQs, and additional resources about student progress monitoring, Curriculum-Based Measurement, applying decision making to IEPs and other researched based topics. All of our publications are designed to inform and assist audiences in implementing student progress monitoring at the classroom, building, local or state level."
NCSPM's Web Resources:

• Accountability and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
• Administrative Support
• Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM): An Introduction
• Curriculum-Based Measurement in the Classroom
• Data-Based Decision Making
• Family Resources

• Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)
• Math
• Progress Monitoring Tools
• Reading
• Research
• Response to Intervention (RTI)
• Written Expression
• Other

Links to "other resources" from the NCSPM website look interesting!

Rapid Assessment Found to Improve Student Achievement Comparisons of student achievement effect sizes suggest that systems in which student performance in math and reading is rapidly assessed between 2 and 5 times per week are 4 times as effective as a 10% increase in per pupil expenditure, 6 times as effective as voucher programs, 64 times as effective as charter schools, and 6 times as effective as increased accountability, according to an article published in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Evaluation. Rapid assessment, which is a form of student progress monitoring, is defined by the article's author as "systems that provide nonjudgmental testing feedback [to teachers] immediately after each test." To read the entire article, The Cost-Effectiveness of Five Policies for Improving Student Achievement, Stuart Yeh, American Journal of Evaluation, 2007; 28: 416-436 (a small fee is charged), go to http://aje.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/28/4/416 High School Center Releases Document on RTI The National High School Center has recently released a new document, entitled "Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School: A Look at Approaches to Tiered Intervention," that explains the need for and challenges of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) at the high school level. This brief introduces the RTI model, illustrates two RTI approaches, discusses implementation issues, and provides a list of resources for more information. http://www.betterhighschools.org/docs/NHSC_RTIBrief_08-02-07.pdf

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities
"The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was established in 2004 by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) as part of OSEP’s Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) Network, which supports the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). NDPC-SD was specifically established to assist in building states’ capacity to increase school completion rates for students with disabilities through knowledge synthesis, technical assistance, and dissemination of interventions and practices that work. NDPC-SD is located at the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) at Clemson University."

• Dropout Prevention (pdf) (2008) (IES Practice Guide, National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance)

• Cobb, B., Sample, P., Alwell, M., & Johns, N. (2005). The effects of cognitive-behavioral interventions on dropout prevention for youth with disabilities. Clemson, SC: National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (pdf)

• PowerPoint: Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative Fall Meeting, National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities, Clemson University (2007) Dropout Prevention for Students with Disabilities: What the Research Tells Us
  

AdLit.Org "All About Adolescent Literacy: Resources for Parents and Educators of Kids in Grades 4-12"

• Classroom Strategies

National Institute for Literacy

• What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy (pdf)(2007)

Note: The above publication has specific strategies for instruction included in the appendix, with some useful graphic organizers.

Learning Disabilities Online

• Adolescent Literacy and Older Students with Learning Disabilities (pdf)

National Center for Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET)

• NCSET Adolescent Literacy Resources
  
  

Edutopia: How To Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom


Related Resources:
Youthhood.org, a website for teens: "Childhood Meets Adulthood"

• Teacher Dave McDivitt & Making History at Oak Hill School: Video Games that Teach
  

Youth.org link: Digigirlz High Technology Camps (Microsoft)

I hope these updated resources are helpful!

Dropout Data and Links from Edutopia, Graphics from Xplane

image from XPLANE the visual thinking company

According to an article from Edutopia, "the 1.2 million students who should have graduated with the class of '07 will cost the nation $329 billion in lost income over the course of their lifetimes. About two-thirds of all prisoners are high school dropouts."

Here is a link to another article from Edutopia:

Last Chance High: An Urban School District Success

Related Resources:

National Dropout Prevention Center/Network

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

National Center on Secondary Education and Transition

If you are working in a school or program that has demonstrated success with at-risk teens, share your story and related data! This will be useful to school-based problem-solving teams that are adapting RTI - Response to Intervention- to meet the needs of struggling students at the high school level.

Note: XPLANE created the 2.0 version of "Shift Happens", the remake of a presentation about the impact of new technologies on our youth - and the world- for teachers at Arapahoe High School in Centennial. Colorado. More information can be found on the Fischbowl Blog.