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Project Information: Objectives & Activities; General Education Reading Liaisons (TEA); Special Education Materials

Availability: At this time, SERP materials are only available for licensing large quantities for training purposes. Contact licensing @ mail.utexas.edu for more information.
Content Questions: Diane Pedrotty Bryant,
Project Director
dpbryant @ mail.utexas.edu

SERP Objectives and Activities

2001-2002 | 2000-2001 | 1999-2000

2001-2002

Objectives

Disseminate SERP Elementary Institute materials.
Improve secondary struggling readers' achievement in reading and access to the general education curriculum.
Conduct focus groups to determine the feasibility of using the SERP Institute materials with students who have AI or VI.
Maintain communication of SERP activities with role groups throughout the state.

Activities

A presentation on the SERP Elementary Institute materials was made to all general and special education reading liaisons at the statewide reading liaisons meeting on January 14 and 15, 2002. The SERP team worked collaboratively with TEA and Education Service Centers to conduct training-of-trainers. Conference presentations were conducted for the remaining year.
Development of a professional development guide for teachers who teach secondary struggling readers was completed. A training video was produced to accompany the materials.
Two focus groups, AI and VI, will be conducted. One focus group of a combination of AI and VI also will be conducted to discuss the use of the SERP Elementary Institute materials for basic literacy development and the idea of adapting the SERP Elementary Institute materials to meet the needs of students with VI and AI.
The first Reading Initiative and Special Education (RISE) Task Force meeting was held on September 19, 2001. Two subsequent meetings were held in February and June 2002.

2000-2001

Objectives

Provide adaptations for the “Red Book,” Beginning Reading Instruction: Components and Features of a Research-Based Reading Program.
Develop a professional development guide for the SERP Elementary Institute. Identify key basic literacy information from the K-2 Teacher Reading Academies and provide adaptations for struggling readers and writers.
Produce a training video for the SERP Elementary Institute.
Work cooperatively with TEA and Education Service Centers to assist special education service center liaisons in planning Regional Institutes and in inviting special education participants. Work cooperatively with ESC Region XIII to invite ESC special education representatives/liaisons to attend reading meetings.
Provide professional development on Vaughn Gross Center professional development guides to Education Service Center special education liaisons and special education teachers at Vaughn Gross Center Regional Institutes.
Provide staff development on Vaughn Gross Center materials (overview) at professional conferences.
Provide the Read for Success Summer Program to middle school students who are struggling with literacy skills. A four-week, intensive reading and writing program for struggling secondary students was conducted during the summer.

Activities

Adaptations were completed for the “Red Book.” These adaptations suggest activities that can meet struggling children's literacy needs. The adaptations were added as a third section to the “Red Book.” The title of the third section is Eight Essential Elements for Adapting Instruction to Facilitate Beginning Reading Success for Students with Special Needs.
The Institute materials were developed. The guide includes five major sections including Introduction (e.g., Adaptations Framework), Phonological Awareness, Word Study & Spelling, Fluency, and Comprehension. Each section is discussed in terms of definition/description/components, instructional guidelines, and instructional activities and adaptations that are designed to meet the needs of students who struggle with reading and writing.
The video production is completed. The video consists of five segments: Introduction (Institute welcome and overview), Phonological Awareness, Word Study, Fluency, and Comprehension. It highlights effective, research-based reading and writing strategies for elementary struggling readers and writers. It also shows examples of how instructional activities are adapted to meet the students' specific needs.
SERP representatives attended the reading liaisons meeting in McAllen. A presentation on SERP activities was made to new special and general education reading liaisons to provide background information about the activities for the year of 1999-2000. In addition, a presentation was made on Center professional development guides produced before 1999-2000. A formal presentation was made to all reading liaisons on Vaughn Gross Center professional development guides produced during 1999-2000.
The Vaughn Gross Center was invited to conduct five Regional Institutes this year, including: San Angelo, ESC XV; El Paso, ESC XIX; Wichita Falls, ESC IX; Huntsville, ESC VI; and Houston, ESC IV.
Presentations were conducted at the Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) conference on October 21, 2000; Learning Disabilities Association of Texas (LDAT) on October 26, 2000; Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) on February 8, 2001; Texas Council for Exceptional Children (TCEC) conference on March 2, 2001; Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) Spring Regional conference in April 2001; Council of Chief State School Officers conference in May 2001; and Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education (TCASE) in July 2001.
A four-week, intensive reading and writing program for struggling secondary students was conducted during the summer. Collaborative planning for this summer's program took place with Austin ISD and the UT Department of Special Education.

1999-2000

Objectives

Identify reading practices used by special and general education elementary teachers of students with reading disabilities.
Study the role of the special education teacher in school-wide reform, including providing services in inclusive settings.
Provide adaptations for the Vaughn Gross Center professional development guides.
Develop a network of ESC special education reading liaisons.
Provide professional development on Vaughn Gross Center professional development guides at Vaughn Gross Center Regional Institutes.
Support the implementation of the Read for Success Summer Program for secondary students who are struggling with literacy skills.

Activities

Observations of resource room teachers from three school districts were conducted. The purpose of the observations was to identify reading practices being implemented in resource settings. Observations of reading practices of general education teachers whose students attended resource rooms also were conducted.
A focus group on inclusion was initiated with general and special education teachers from two school districts. Four teams of two teachers from several schools met to discuss ways to implement and evaluate reading practices for students with special needs in inclusive settings.
Adaptations for six professional development guides were completed. These adaptations provide suggestions for activities that can meet the literacy needs of students with special needs.
Special education reading liaisons were identified in each Education Service Center. These liaisons assist in the implementation of SERP activities.
The Vaughn Gross Center was invited to conduct three Regional Institutes this year. The first institute was held in Odessa; the second was sponsored by Region V; and the third was sponsored by Regions I, II, and III.
Information about SERP was presented to administrators at the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education in January 2000.
A four-week intensive reading and writing program was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin and Austin Independent School District. Test results from the program indicated that, overall, students made academic gains in the four-week summer program.