Students will use the new Massachusetts IEP, excerpts from the texts Responsive Collaboration for IEP & 504 Teams (Johnson-Mussad & Peltier, 2022) and Conflict to Collaboration A School Leader’s Guide to Unleashing Conflict’s Problem-Solving Power (Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), Case Study Analysis, and Mock Team Meetings to analyze and practice skills needed to successfully chair an IEP Initial, Annual, or Re-evaluation Team meeting.
Learning Outcomes
This thirty-hour course will provide teachers with strategies for working as a Special Education Team Chair. Participants will leave:
- Understanding the Team Process from the perspective of a Team Chair;
- With an understanding of disability types, evaluation, eligibility criteria, placement decisions, amendments, manifestation determinations, and due process as relates to students with disabilities;
- Being able to identify the impact of culture, conflict, and team dynamics on decision-making;
- Understanding MTSS as it relates to Literacy, Mathematics, and Behavior;
- With a familiarity with the new IEP and disability PLAFFPS.
Audience
All PreK-12 special education staff who are currently working as team chairs or have interest in acquiring the skills for a team chair.
About the Instructors
Kathleen Bernklow is the Director of Student services in Wellesley. She holds a BA in English from University of Massachsuetts Lowell, an MS in Special Education and Elementary Education from Wheelock College, and a Ph.D. in Leadership in Education from University of Massachusetts Lowell, where her original research focused on resilience and retention of special education teachers. Kat began her career as an assistant teacher and lead teacher in a Montessori school, and has since worked in Approved Special Education and Public School systems in Massachusetts for over 25 years. Additionally, Kat has worked closely with the Education Testing Service (ETS) and the National Board of Testing Standards (NBPTS) on the implementation of the Special Education certification, and spent 4 years training teachers to score certifications, and another 3 years managing scoring sites for ETS/NBPTS.
Mary Bruhl is the Director of Student Services in Medfield. She holds a BA in Psychology and Russian from Holy Cross, an MEd in Severe Disabilities with a Concentration in Deafblindness from Boston College, an MEd in Teaching of Students with Visual Impairment from UMass Boston and a Certificate in Administration from Lesley University. Mary completed doctoral work in Applied Behavior Analysis as well. Mary has worked as a teaching assistant, a teacher and an administrator in Public School systems as well as Approved Special Education Schools in Massachusetts for 20 years.