Current Projects
- Development of Tools, Structures & Processes for the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP)
Funded by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), this project works collaboratively with the Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) to develop resources designed to help children with disabilities make progress toward meeting Ohio’s academic standards and with ODE to carry out the OIP.
Resources that have been developed include those for school administrators and educators to help the use data as the basis for making education decisions. Examples include How does your school Measure Up – an electronic data tool that presents visual displays and explanations of data included in the Local Report card for all school buildings and districts in Ohio so educators can use the information to work toward improving student achievement in specific grades and topics and to communicate the results effectively to parents and the community; Help your district/school Move Ahead – an electronic data tool to help administrators strengthen a data culture where all educators are involved in using data to improve student performance. Both resources are available for free use at www.ohioschoolleaders.org. Project staff members were intricately involved in the development of the ODE Decision Framework, an electronic spreadsheet that imports ODE data for districts and schools directly into the spreadsheet so it is readily available for use by districts and schools for their data needs including completing the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP) for the U.S. Department of Education.
Project staff members are involved in an ongoing basis to present the resources noted above to State Support Teams (SSTs), Education Service Centers (ESCs), and for Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA), the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), and at meeting of other education organizations.
Work with the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC) to support the roll-out of the Ohio Leadership Development Framework. The Web site, www.ohioleadership.org, was developed by Project Staff to house the supporting resources. The Web site has now been transferred to the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) to house electronic modules related to leadership. Project staff members have been involved in the development of the modules.
Work with ODE to continue the development of a School Improvement Diagnostic web site for collecting data from the state review teams as they visit school districts across the state. www.sidiagnostic.org.
Work with OEC to develop resources to support those involved in special education in Ohio to ensure that all children with disabilities receive a quality education tailored to their unique needs according to the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act 2004 (IDEA) and the Operating Standards for Ohio’s Educational Agencies Serving Children with Disabilities. Developed the Web site, www.edresourcesohio.org, to house resources for OEC including the following where Project staff made substantial contributions:
- Procedures and Guidance for Ohio Educational Agencies serving Children with Disabilities (Guidance Document);
- Developed new IEP and ETR forms and reformatted remainder of the required forms and the optional forms;
- Annotations for the new IEP and ETR forms; and
- Questions and Answers related to the ETR, the IEP, the Services Plan, EMIS, Nonpublic, and Other.
Project staff are now in the process of developing an electronic Standards-based IEP resource that will be available on the ODE Web site and on www.edresourcesohio.org and in developing the agenda for the Ohio Special Education Leadership Conference that will be held October 1-2, 2009 at the Columbus Convention Center.
- Ohio Early Learning Content Standards
CSNP’s Early Childhood Quality Network (ecQ-net) coordinates professional development efforts statewide. Funded by ODE through a collaboration between OEC and the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness, this project provides for an extensive professional development program relating to all four areas of Ohio’s Early Learning Content Standards (OELCS): English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The primary audiences for the program are teachers working within district operated programs, those funded through preschool special education unit funding, kindergarten teachers, community based-child care centers and Head Start teachers and their administrators who are working with children with an identified disability or developmental delay. Other members of the early childhood professional community are invited to attend on a space available basis. A network of faculty from Ohio institutions of higher education instruct the professional development modules related to implementing the mathematics, science and social studies standards within early childhood settings along with content related to integrating curriculum across the standards and relating early childhood curriculum to the Individualized Education Process (IEP).
The English Language Arts modules are delivered through a network of 16 Early Language and Literacy Specialists (ELLS) The work of the ELLS will be directly integrated into Ohio’s 16 State Support Team Regions (SST) and includes:
- Ohio Teacher Leader Project
- Participants will learn coaching techniques and create a progress portfolio that will illustrate teacher growth and the transferring of “additive knowledge”.
- Preschool Literacy Core Curriculum
- This intensive module has been developed to assist in understanding the ways in which early childhood educators can provide quality learning experiences and intentional teaching strategies that support the early literacy development of young children.
- State Institutes for Reading Instruction (SIRI)
- Professional development modules designed to build participants' capacity (knowledge base/skills) around specific components of early literacy concepts and skills-including oral language, writing, assessment, print, children’s literature.
- Ohio Parent Information Network (OH-PIN)
The OH-PIN project, funded by the Head Start State Collaboration Office, coordinates eight partner agencies that contribute essential information for Ohio parents on early education and care issues. A web portal captures information and disseminates this information from each of the partner agencies. The project has received continuation funding from ODE for FY2010.
- Professional Development Module for Serving Preschool English Language Learners (ELL)
Funded by ODE for a two year period, the year one activities have designed and produced a 15 contact hour, three session professional development module for Even Start and other Early Childhood Staff that will be implemented in FY2010.
- Technical and Logistical Support
CSNP technical and logistical staff members provide a variety of types of support for projects both internal and external to the University. These currently include:
- Math Coaching Project, EHE School of Teaching and Learning/OSU Newark: A variety of technical and logistical services are provided to facilitate the implementation of this state wide project.
- Trans-Management, Inc.: Technical support is provided to this federal contractor to enable the regular operation of the Head Start Knowledge and Information Management Services (HSKIMS) and the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC).
Recently Completed Projects
- Early Learning Initiative Application Readers
- Funded by ODE, this project organized the overall proposal evaluation process for the statewide Early Learning Initiative (ELI) grant competition held in the spring of 2009.
- Florida Exceptional Student Education Process
- This three-year project developed an online data entry and reporting process that will allow all Florida school districts to manage their students' educational planning process for exceptional students. Training and online tutorial were also developed along with systems to integrate the planning process with the state's student information system.
- Ohio Winning Teams Professional Development Materials
- Funded by ODE, this project re-purposed video for an ODE archive to develop two new DVD-based professional development resources related to child development and recommended practices for early childhood classroom teachers. The products will be disseminated by ODE in FY2010 and are entitled: 1) Into Practice: Development and Learning, and 2) Into Practice:
- Preschool Special Education Institute
- Funded by ODE, this statewide Institute was informed through a survey of all preschool special education programs in the state conducted during the summer of 2008. The Institute was conducted in September and focused on the federally mandated implementation of the Early Childhood Outcomes Summary process.
