When: 

4 half-day live sessions (Not Recorded) 
Friday, January 22, 2021, 11:30 AM - 4:00 PM EST
Saturday, January 23, 2021, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST
Friday, January 29, 2021, 11:30 AM - 4:00 PM EST
Saturday, January 30, 2021, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST

Note: The room will be open 30 minutes before the start of the session for sign in, technology check, and welcoming remarks. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early in order to start on time.

ATTENTION: Participants must attend all 4 sessions, complete class homework assignments in Google Classroom and Flipgrid, and the follow-up activity in order to receive the materials for the Florida school district valued at $425.

Where:

Zoom Meeting Room (It will NOT be recorded.), Google Classroom, and Flipgrid

Description:

Please join us for four half-day sessions presented by Jessica Wamsley, M.Ed. Foundations for Literacy is a one-of-a-kind, evidence-based curriculum designed specifically for preschool students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It can also be used as an intervention for kindergarten through 2nd grade.

For intervention-level results, educators will need to implement Foundations for Literacy an hour each day, four days a week throughout the school year. Targeted learning objectives include vocabulary, narrative skills, alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and reading decodable words and short connected text. Each lesson includes strategies for differentiating instruction using fun, multi-sensory, age-appropriate, integrated activities.

Over 150 classroom teachers across the country have successfully implemented this intervention in listening and spoken language (LSL) and total communication (TC) classrooms. The Center on Literacy and Deafness (CLAD) has evidence that it is effective in improving children’s language and literacy skills. Click here to see sample lessons.

Presenter: Jessica Wamsley

From an early age, Jessica knew she wanted to grow up to be a teacher. She entered Vanderbilt University as a Special Education major where she discovered it was possible to combine her passion for teaching and sign language to impact a very special group of students with hearing loss. She would go on to continue her education at Vanderbilt Medical School to receive a Masters of Deaf Education focusing on oral language development. With 10 years of experience, she has taught in a variety of private and public settings at all grade levels with both oral and total communication methods. Jessica was a part of the research test group with CLAD when the program was being piloted, and she has been implementing Foundations for Literacy for four years in Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Intended Audience: (Max 30 participants)

• Prekindergarten Teachers of the D/HH
• Elementary Teachers of the D/HH
• Early Interventionists working with Students who are D/HH
• Exceptional Student Education Educators working with students who are D/HH
• Administrators of D/HH Programs (Will not receive materials)

Permission in writing from principal or supervisor is required for participation in this professional development opportunity. A sample letter is provided.

Priority will be given to teachers who provide instruction to students in prekindergarten through second grade five days a week. In order to provide equitable access to the content and materials, only the first registrantant from each Florida school district will be admitted to the training, as determined by registration time stamps. Once RMTC-D/HH has received 30 applicants, a wait list will be compiled in order of the registration time stamps. If space allows, additional district staff may be accepted.

This training will focus on the implementation of Foundations for Literacy in BOTH Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) and Total Communication (TC) or ASL/English Bilingual environments.

Objectives:

Participants will 

• explain the difference between code-based and meaning-based literacy skills and identify instructional activities for each;
• determine if a student should use sound-based phonology or visual (fingerspelling-based) phonology for reading connected text;
• teach letter-sound correspondence and/or letter-handshape correspondence and  teach the corresponding word recognition strategy strategies; and
• use dialogic reading strategies to support student's pragmatic and expressive language development. 

Four Day Agenda 

Registration is free for Florida school district personnel currently working with students who are D/HH.

Upon completion of ALL four training sessions (16 points), class assignments in Google Classroom and Flipgrid (4 points), and follow-up mentoring (10 points), participants will receive the curriculum (valued at $425).

In-service Points: 

If you wish to earn in-service credits towards the renewal of a Florida Educator’s Certificate, it is recommended that you contact your school district’s professional development office BEFORE beginning a course to verify the requirements you must fulfill. RMTC-D/HH will provide a certificate upon completion of the course and submission of any follow-up activity requirements. The suggested inservice points for this training is up to 40 points based upon attendance, completion of class assignments, and follow-up activities.

Required Follow-Up Activity (10 points): 

Participants will be asked to record themselves teaching at least 20-30 minutes of a lesson from Foundations for Literacy and then submit it to the RMTC-D/HH team to receive coaching feedback from the trainer, Jessica Wamsley.

Additional Optional Support: (10 Points)

Professional Learning Community Meetings

Foundations for Literacy Trainer and Coach, Jessica Wamsley, will lead five, one-hour technical assistance sessions. Bring your questions, ideas, celebrations, and challenges to share with the group. Jessica will facilitate the conversation.

RMTC-D/HH is a discretionary project funded by the State of Florida, Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education Student Services through federal assistance under IDEA Part B and through a cooperative agreement with the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.