MTSS and Act 173: Shaping a Culture of Continuous Improvement, Reardon, Spring 2023
| Course Number: | EDU 5515 C11 |
| Instructor: | Dr. Ric Reardon |
| Location: | Online |
| Dates and Times: | February 2 - May 17, 2023.6 Zoom meetings from 3:30-5:00 PM on the following dates with connected/aligned work happening in between: Feb. 2, Feb 22, March 15, April 12, April 26, May 17, 2023. |
| Credits: | 3 Graduate Credits |
| Tuition: | $1,195 |
Course Description
According to the Vermont Agency of Education’s 2019 MTSS Field Guide, “VTmtss is fundamentally about changing opportunity for all students. Unequal opportunities outside of schools, and the debilitating effects of those inequalities, have been widely acknowledged. Educators, policy makers and communities are coming to see that schools too often extend and exacerbate inequities. Schools struggle to provide effective support for the most vulnerable students and their families”. This will require a deep dive into school culture, or “the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions”, including the “physical and emotional safety of students, the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces, or the degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic, or cultural diversity” (Great Schools Partnership, 2019).
One way Vermont has proposed to address these concerns is through the passage of Vermont Act 173, which was designed to enhance the effectiveness, availability, and equity of services provided to all students who require additional support in Vermont’s schools. This course will examine the best practices aligned with the MTSS process and Act 173 to allow educators to envision the role they can play in “shaping a culture of continuous improvement” in their classrooms and schools, allowing them to directly address the 5 major priorities of Act 173:
- Ensure elementary core instruction meets the needs of most students
- Provide additional instructional time outside core subjects to students who struggle
- Ensure students who struggle receive all instruction from highly skilled teachers
- Create or strengthen a system-wide approach for providing positive social, emotional, and behavioral instruction
- Provide students with intensive needs with effective specialized instruction from skilled experts
Course Goals & Objectives
Will be provided soon.
Instructor:
Dr. Reardon has had a long career in education from K-12 teaching to district administration to higher education. He has expertise in school and district leadership, special education best practice, inclusion and equity and fostering collaborative supports. He is the Director of Education at Castleton University, where he supports the undergraduate and graduate licensure and non-licensure programs and he also directs the Castleton Center for Schools, which provides professional development opportunities for teachers, support staff and administrators in Vermont and beyond. He is involved with much committee and board work around the state and has provided private consultation and support in many of Vermont's counties. He has 2 grown children and he and his wife live in Rutland, VT. Dr. Ric Reardon
Required Texts
Required Texts are not included in the course tuition.
Will be added soon.For additional course information
(802) 468.1234
For additional registration information
(802) 468-1325