Monday Message: 10.12.20

Good evening! We hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. The PRC team was grateful to have the opportunity to join our colleagues in a Professional Day of Learning focused on Equity – an important concept for our community. As we acknowledge AAC Awareness Month, we capped off the evening with a number of parents/guardians who participated in our first session of our Project Core for Parents – a series of learning opportunities based on the fundamental belief that all students can learn to communicate in increasingly complex ways. If you’d like to join us for the series, details are below.

Tomorrow a busy week continues as we launch our APS Virtual 2020 Dyslexia Conference, and are also excited to announce APS’ first Crisis Prevention Training Intervention Training for Parents and Caregivers that will begin next week. Don’t miss this week’s sessions on Recognizing and Supporting a Student with More than Dyslexia, Lexia Core 5 Reading and A Step in the Writing Direction.

Last week, APS shared information on revised Return to School plans. The Office of Special Education is aware that there are questions on implications of these revisions for students receiving special education services, and plans to share responses and clarifications within the the next few days. If the Parent Resource Center can be of support to you, please reach out to us at 703.228.7239 or prc@apsva.us

Have a great week, and we hope to see you at one of our upcoming virtual events soon.

Arlington Public Schools and Parent Resource Center Sessions and Meetings

Project Core Parent Series
Mondays, October 12 – January 11: 8:00pm – 8:45pm
(No sessions on December 21 or December 28)
Registration is required. Register online here.
Project Core is a 12-part series of learning modules that aims to build capacity to support students of all ages with disabilities and complex communication needs who are emerging in their communication and literacy skills. While this series was designed for educators, we believe that the information is important for families so they can support the development of their children’s communication skills in the home, community environments, and partner with school staff to support learning.
Learn more

Crisis Prevention Intervention Training for Parents and Caregivers
Morning Introductory Session: Tuesday, October 20th: 10am – 10:30am
Evening Introductory Session: Tuesday, October 20th: 8pm – 8:30pm
From time to time, families may be seeking support to respond to children exhibiting angry, hostile and/or noncompliant behaviors. How parents/guardians respond can make a difference.
Join us for an opportunity to learn together with Arlington Public Schools (APS) Behavior Specialists and other team members trained in crisis prevention. These sessions are designed to help parents/guardians learn strategies to help respond to behavioral challenges in safe and effective ways to remain calm, de-escalate behaviors, provide supportive alternatives, allow time for decisions, and work together with children to defuse difficult situations and solve problems.
Each session will provide a live, introductory session with facilitators, independent, asynchronous interaction with training modules during the two week session, and a follow-up session with the facilitators.
Although this session is free of charge, we do ask families to commit to participating in both live sessions and completing the training modules independently. Have questions or need more information? Please contact the Parent Resource Center at prc@apsva.us or 703.228.7239.
Registration is required, and space is limited. Register online here.

Arlington Public Schools Virtual 2020 Dyslexia Conference
A series of free, online sessions

• Recognizing and Supporting a Student with More than Dyslexia
  Tuesday, October 13th: 7pm-8pm
  Presenter: Brian Razzino, Ph.D. Register here
  This session will discuss behavioral and subjective aspects children can face and display. Too often these can include behavioral problems (ADHD, ODD, conduct problems) as well as anxiety and depression. Participants will learn more on the experiences children face, resultant social-emotional-behavioral warning signs, and an introduction to strategies which help support their growing child.

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• Lexia Core 5 Reading – NEW SESSION!
  Wednesday, October 14th: 7pm-8pm
  Register here
  Join this session to learn about dyslexia and the challenges students with dyslexia face. Together we will explore the definition of dyslexia and why students struggle. We’ll also discuss the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy instruction, explore how Lexia Core5 Reading supports students with dyslexia and other learning differences, and present activities that engage and support students at home.

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• A Step in the Writing Direction
  Thursday, October 15th: 7pm-8pm
  Presenter: Therese Pickett, Implementation Specialist, Voyager Sopris Learning
  Register here
  Come explore practical, multi-sensory writing strategies to improve students’ reading and writing skills. These strategies can be applied to a multitude of literacy tasks, and can easily be adapted to various ages and skill levels.  This will be a hands-on session. Please have the following handy during the session:
  • 6 Sticky notes, any size or color
  • Green, yellow and red or pink highlighters, crayons, or colored pencils
  • Several sheets of lined notebook paper

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  Practical Strategies for Parents
  Friday, October 16th: 6pm-7pm
  Presenters: Kelley Hyner, ATSS Supervisor and Dr. Donna McConnell, ELA Elementary Teacher Specialist
  Register here
  This session will provide practical strategies for supporting phonemic awareness and phonics for parents and caregivers, and is best suited for those supporting early elementary school students.

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  The Science of Reading – NEW SESSION
  Tuesday, October 20th: 7pm-8pm
  Register Here
  Presenter: Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D., CALT-QI, Principal Educational Content Lead, Lexia Learning
  Join this session to learn about dyslexia and the challenges students with dyslexia face. Together we will explore how teachers, administrators, and parents can help address those difficulties, including better understanding and employing Structured Literacy. With increased requirements for schools and districts to select evidence-based instructional programs, a great deal of focus has been placed on Structured Literacy and the Science of Reading. However, there is confusion regarding the definitions of these terms and how this impacts the application of effective reading instruction strategies.
  In this session, Dr. Suzanne Carreker, of Lexia Learning, also discusses why educators can trust the Science of Reading to inform reading instruction and how this gold-standard evidence is applied in the classroom through Structured Literacy, which is essential for students who struggle to learn to read because of dyslexia or other difficulties and beneficial for all students.

• View Additional Conference Sessions
  • Dyscalculia: What We Know and Strategies to Help
    Monday, October 26th: 7pm-8pm
    Register Here
  • Read & Write Literacy Software Tool
    Thursday, October 29th: 7:30pm-9pm
    Register here

Save the Date: Arlington Special Education Advisory Committee (ASEAC)
Tuesday, October 27th: 7pm – 9pm

Understanding Transition Services and What Needs to Happen
Wednesday, October 28th: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Register here
Arlington Public Schools Transition Services, Parent Resource Center and Program for Employment Preparedness (PEP) are sponsoring a Transition Series this year, which will feature monthly transition topics. October’s topic is Understanding Transition Services and What Needs to Happen. Speakers will include representatives from:

• The ARC of Northern Virginia
• Arlington’s Community Services Board (CSB)
• Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
• Program for Employment Preparedness (PEP)

For further information contact Christina Eagle at 703-228-5738 or christina.eagle@apsva.us, or Kelly Mountain at 703-228-7239 or Kelly.mountain@apsva.us

Arlington County Events

FLIP IT!®Dates TBA – Register here ASAP to indicate your day/time preferences
All parents face day to day challenges communicating with their children, now more than ever. FLIP IT!® is a weekly 1-hour virtual series that meets for 7 weeks to provide tools for parents of older elementary students and teens to increase communication with their children and their families.
Facilitated by Arlington County’s Michael Swisher, the Parent and Community Engagement Specialist, and Leonardo Espiña, the Parent Education Coordinator.Interested in attending?  Reply here
Learn more and view Flier

Community Webinar/Virtual Learning Opportunities/Meetings

CHADD of Northern Virginia and DC (NOVA DC CHADD)
Annual Resource Fair
Tuesdays, October 6 – October 27, 2020: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
LEARN MORE

• • October 13, 2020 | 7:00 PM–8:30 PM The Secret Power of a Growth Mindset in Children and Adults with ADHD
  • October 20, 2020 | 7:00 PM–8:30 PM Why Autonomy is So Important for Kids with ADHD (And for Everybody Else)​
  • October 27, 2020 | 7:00 PM–8:30 PM Calming the Chaos: Productivity and Peace of Mind​

Falling Into Place: Celebrating Family Resilience
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Formed Families Forward, a family-run organization serving foster, adoptive and kinship families in the northern Virginia region, is pleased to invite families and professional partners to Falling Into Place: Celebrating Family Resilience FREE family fun event on Saturday morning, October 17. The virtual event is designed for the entire family; separate programming and activities are available for children ages 6-12, for teens, and for parents, caregivers and professionals. REGISTER at https://whova.com/web/famil_202011/.