Teaching Students Skills 4 Life

Students with more significant disabilities often require instruction in daily living and independent living skills. These students also benefit from community-based instruction and work-related or job-related skills instruction. Special education teachers utilize high-leverage practices in special education and specially designed instruction to teach students how to become more independent in daily living activities and work-related activities. Among others, some high-leverage practices teachers utilize in instruction include adapting curriculum tasks and materials for specific learning goals, providing scaffolded supports, providing intensive support, and teaching students to maintain and generalize new learning across time and settings.

Brittney Faircloth, a Special Education Teacher from Laurens County Showcase Transition Program, and Riley Troili, a Special Education Teacher for 3rd, 4th, & 5th-grade students at Bleckley County Elementary School, worked together with East Central GLRS to organize Skills 4 Life Days, a two-day event hosted at Heart of Georgia RESA. This event allowed students to acquire essential life skills and provided teachers with valuable resources and activities that can be readily incorporated into their classrooms.

Heart of Georgia RESA Director Hugh Kight, Celebrity Chef at Laurens County Showcase Transition Program.

Mr. Hugh Kight, who serves as the Director of Heart of Georgia RESA, was invited to take on the role of celebrity chef at the Laurens County Showcase Transition Program. This Showcase Transition Program focuses on delivering employability and life skills training to young adults aged between eighteen and twenty-two with disabilities. As a celebrity chef during the event, Kight worked alongside the students to help them practice crucial skills like preparing, cooking, and serving food. In his session, Mr. Kight guided the students through preparing coleslaw, baked beans, blackberry cobbler, and smash burgers.

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Resources:

• High Leverage Practices in Special Education

• Community Engagement and Independent Living

• Community-Based Instruction to Teach Purchasing Skills and Social Behaviors

Heart of Georgia Parent Mentors

The Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership is a partnership that brings together parents and professionals to promote better communication and collaboration among families, educators, and the community to enhance outcomes for students with disabilities. Two new parent mentors, Shonna Conyer in Bleckley County and Beth Evans in Pulaski County, have recently become part of the team of parent mentors in the Heart of Georgia Region, joining Kathy Simmons in Dodge County and Matt Reese in Montgomery County. These mentors work in their districts to help and support parents of students with disabilities.

The work of the parent mentors is crucial in assisting and empowering parents of students with disabilities in their school districts. They offer guidance, support, and access to resources for other parents, working closely with educators, staff, and administrators to promote family engagement in school and district activities. This fosters a supportive environment where family involvement is encouraged and appreciated. Moreover, these parent mentors collaborate with the community to advocate for including students with disabilities as valued members of society.

A state-wide Parent Mentor Kick-Off Event was held on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at the Robert F. Hatcher, Sr. Conference Center at Middle Georgia State University, where parent mentors and special education directors from the Heart of Georgia Region came together with other parent mentors and special education directors from across the state for the Annual Parent Mentor Kick-off Event. The event, themed "Trailblazing to Success: Embracing New Paths on the Journey," served as a source of inspiration, facilitating collaboration between special education directors and parent mentors to discuss strategies for enhancing the work of parent mentors. To learn more about the Parent Mentor Partnership, visit the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership Website.

Empowering and Supporting Teachers of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities in Heart of Georgia Region

On August 29, 2024, the East Central GLRS organized the Teachers of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities Consortium at the OWL (Old West Laurens). The event gathered thirty educators who gained insights into effective strategies for working with students facing significant cognitive challenges. Leading the consortium were Riley Troili from Bleckley County Schools and Brittney Faircloth from the Laurens County School District. They facilitated professional development sessions and shared valuable resources covering topics such as daily schedules, interactive calendars, prioritization of IEP goals, progress monitoring, and data collection. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to engage in a hands-on make-and-take session to create materials for immediate classroom use. The upcoming sessions for this group will be the Skills 4 Life Days scheduled for October 24 and October 25, 2024, at the Heart of Georgia RESA. During these sessions, educators and students will participate in interactive workshops focusing on life skills, career exploration, and practical hands-on activities. For more information on Skills 4 Life, please visit the provided link.