Purpose: As the work of S³TAIR goes forward, faculty continue to be called upon to join with teams of educators to document promising practices in their regions in the targeted areas of literacy instruction, positive academic and behavior interventions and supports, and effective special education instruction. In coordination with the Regional Task Force Liaisons, S³TAIR Regional Field Facilitators, and the Statewide S³TAIR Coordinator, this initiative will support the engagement of institutional faculty in the work of documenting and validating nominated effective practices during site visits in all 7 regions of NYS. Building on a successful year in 2008-2009 during which 47 visits occurred, the purpose of these visits is to examine practices nominated through the S³TAIR Project and determine their validity as evidence based effective practices. When their practices are validated, schools may choose to apply for grants to support their interaction as peer mentors with schools that have a need for improvement in the area of the validated practice. Schools that receive grants as Effective Practice Model Schools will then be linked to Replication Schools to attempt to increase the likelihood of success for the Replication School. At least one Replication Schools will be identified and continue to be supported throughout the course of the Project. Peer mentor relationships between Effective Practice Model Schools and Replication Schools will continue as long as they continue to be productive for both parties; in the case that a Replication School needs change, new partnerships will be developed to support their work.

Scope of the Work: The work of this initiative will include participating in site visits to schools that have been nominated through the S3TAIR Project nomination process as having effective, evidence based practices that have resulted in positive outcomes for students with disabilities in one or more of the target areas. Participating faculty will collaborate with a team comprised of the Regional Field Facilitator and the Coordinator of Field Facilitation to examine nominated practices. Teams will follow a site visit protocol to ensure consistency of practice across the regions. Participating faculty will have responsibilities prior to, during, and after the visit, for a total of no more than three days of activity:

• Prior to the visit, participating faculty will be provided with copies of the nomination and a completed survey and follow up phone interview with the nominated school, and will participate in a phone conference led by the Regional Facilitator. During this phone conference, visitors will discuss any particular information or data they wish to request in advance from the school, and will determine visit roles (division of labor for efficiency during the visit).


• The visit itself will occur over a one or two day period, determined by the size and complexity of the nominated practice (e.g., more than one site, replication across multiple grades). Visits will include review of materials and data providing evidence of effectiveness, interviews with district or school personnel who influenced adoption of the practice, participated in training and/or monitoring fidelity of implementation, evaluation of the effectiveness of the practice, etc.; observation and interviews with staff who implemented the practice, students who have been affected by the practice, and if appropriate, family members who have been involved in supporting the practice.


• Upon completion of the onsite effort, the final task involves individual completion of the site visit rubric and a phone conference to achieve consensus on the team’s recommendation to validate or not to validate the practice. Part of this final task will include development of recommendations to the visited program to support even greater success with the nominated practice.

Expected Outcomes: The outcome of this initiative will be the validation of up to 40 promising practices distributed throughout the regions of the state. Schools whose practices are validated will have their practice documented in an online Clearinghouse of Effective Practices and have the opportunity to apply for a grant to support their participation as a peer mentor to a Replication School in need of improvement in the area of the validated practice. The site visit protocol will continue to be evaluated and improved as a result of the collegial interaction and debriefing on the process among the visitors. It is anticipated that faculty who participate as site visitors will also take away knowledge of how nominated schools implemented the practices, overcame obstacles, and achieved success, potentially leading to changes in how these faculty deliver instruction at their own institutions Results of the site visits will be shared with Regional Field Facilitators, Regional Liaisons, and the Statewide Coordinator as well as with the Task Force as appropriate.

Selection of site-visit participants: A number of potential faculty site visitors will be registered in each region. Selection of participants for the site visits will be made from among those who have registered for the Initiative at www.inclusion-ny.org, Selection will depend on the schedule availability of faculty, faculty expertise in particular areas being evaluated (literacy instruction, positive academic and behavior supports and interventions, and effective special education instructional practice), the location of the sites to be visited, and the convenience of travel to these sites. Faculty may participate cross-regionally. Regional Liaisons and Regional Field Facilitators will inform the HESC about faculty participating in site visits so that payment can be arranged. Please address your questions about these site visits and about the process to Peter Kozik at plkozik@syr.edu.

If you had already applied for Initiative 24 and 24A, then you are automatically included in the selection for 24B.

Award: Each faculty member participating in a validation study will receive a stipend of $250 per day for the one, two or three day effort. A form for travel reimbursement and a form for documenting the work, signed by the Regional Field Facilitator, will be provided for return to the HESC. Awards will be made by purchased service agreements with the individuals working as validation team members. Payment will be issued once the pilot validation and study are complete and travel reimbursement and documentation forms are submitted.

Time frame: Registration for participation in this initiative will remain on-going through December 31 st, 2009. The HESC may close registration sooner depending on the availability of funds and the completion of all the site visits scheduled for this year.