April 22-23, 2009

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Thanks to Everyone

This years institute was both well received and well attended. We thank all of the attendees for their involvement and feedback. Our thanks to the presenters. All of them did a wonderful job.
As promised, many of the presentations are available in PDF format by going to the "Agenda" page and clicking on the presenattion title.

We look forward to seeing everyone again at HDC Institute 2010.

Response to Intervention

The topic of this years HDC Institute is Response to Intervention. Participants will become involved in lively discussions with national experts about Response to Intervention (RtI) and Early Intervening Services (EIS). You can expect to meet and confer with successful implementers of RtI including Louisiana’s own T.I.E.R.S. Group (Teams Intervening Early to Reach All Students) who have experienced proven increases in student performance and other indicators of school success. Everyone attending will gain information on proven strategies for implementing RtI including professional development, academic and behavioral interventions, implementation measures, and program evaluation strategies

What is RtI?

Response to Intervention' (RtI) is an emerging approach to the diagnosis of Learning Disabilities that holds considerable promise. In the RtI model, a student with academic delays is given one or more research-validated interventions. The student's academic progress is monitored frequently to see if those interventions are sufficient to help the student to catch up with his or her peers. If the student fails to show significantly improved academic skills despite several well-designed and implemented interventions, this failure to 'respond to intervention' can be viewed as evidence of an underlying Learning Disability.

One advantage of RtI in the diagnosis of educational disabilities is that it allows schools to intervene early to meet the needs of struggling learners. Another is that RtI maps those specific instructional strategies found to benefit a particular student. This information can be very helpful to both teachers and parents.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Dr. Matthew Burns, University of Minnesota
Dr. Burns' research focuses on improving instruction for children with varying abilities and disabilities. He explores the application of learning and ecological theories to assessment and subsequent instruction. More about Dr. Burns

Dr. Alan Coulter, LSUHSC - Human Development Center
Dr. W. Alan Coulter is the director of the National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring (NCSEAM), a project funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs and operated by the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in New Orleans. More about Dr. Coulter

Dr. Kristin Johnson-Gros, Eastern Illinois University
Dr. Kristin Johnson-Gros is an assistant professor of school psychology at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston. She has worked with, and consulted for, school districts in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Illinois. She was the state’s lead writer on RTI and has produced several presentations and publications. More about Dr. Johnson

Dr. Kris Kaase, Mississippi Department of Education
Kris Kaase is the Deputy Superintendent for Instructional Programs and Services for the Mississippi Department of Education. In this capacity, he oversees curriculum, reading, vocational and technical education, special education, the Mississippi Virtual Public School, and the statewide assessment program. More about Dr. Kaase

Dr. Wayne Sailor, University of Kansas
Dr. Wayne Sailor has been researching methods of school and family community integration on the behalf of children with disabilities for several decades. More about Dr. Sailor

Dr. Mark Shinn,, National Louis University
Dr. Shinn is a nationally recognized contributor to research and practice of scientifically based progress monitoring and universal screening using Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM), publishing more than 50 journal articles and book chapters on the topic and editing two major CBM books. He was one of 6 members of the Technical Review panel for the OSEP-funded National Center for Student Progress Monitoring More about Dr. Mark Shinn

Dr. Michelle Shinn, Executive Directive of Student Services
Michelle M. Shinn, Ph.D. is an Elementary Principal and Executive Directive of Student Services in Lake Forest, IL. She has worked for the past 12 years as a school psychologist, trainer, and administrator in urban, surburban, and rural school districts to facilitate educational change in both general and special education More about Dr. Michelle Shinn

Dr. Amanda Van Der Heyden, Independent Researcher
Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, PhD, is a private consultant and researcher living in Fairhope, Alabama. Dr. VanDerHeyden previously has held faculty positions at the Early Intervention Institute at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and in the School Psychology Program at University of California at Santa Barbara.. More about Dr. Van der Hayden

Dr. Rodney Watson, Louisiana Department of Education
Rodney Watson is currently serving as the Assistant Superintendent for the Office of School and District Assistance with the Louisiana Department of Education. A veteran educator, Mr. Watson has worked for 32 years as a public school teacher, a local education administrator More about Dr. Watson

Human Development Center.1900 Gravier Street. 10th Floor.New Orleans, LA. 70112. (504)568-4248