Region 17 Meaningful Access

Student Responsibility Forms encourage student accountability while giving students the opportunity to explain why they chose not to follow a classroom expectation. Students receive a form when they do not meet a classroom expectation, such as following directions after a teacher request. In addition to increasing personal responsibility, the form also serves as documentation that can be used by the teacher during parent-teacher conferences or administrative meetings. Click here for implementation tips and form templates.

The Teacher Toolkit. (n.d.). Student responsibility forms. https://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/student-responsibility-forms

The skill to take a quick pause before responding to an emotional situation. Stop and give yourself extra time. It can practiced to set an intention of who you want to be. Responding from a place of intentionality and skill versus emotion and regret is a strategy that is good for all of us and one we can model for our students so they acquire the skill as well.

One of the most powerful neuroaffirming shifts we can make is moving from reacting to student needs to designing for all from the start. We can begin by asking reflective questions about students on the edges during unit and lesson design:

• Where might students experience barriers?
• How can I present this content in multiple ways?
• How can students show their learning in different ways? -- Lee Ann Jung

By regularly working in activities that get students to recall content they’ve learned in the past and apply it, teachers can ensure deeper understanding.

Edutopia. (2025, September 26). Making retrieval practice a classroom routine [Video]. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/video/making-retrieval-practice-a-classroom-routine

When an entire class uses mini whiteboards to make thinking visible, teachers can be confident everyone is focused on the task at hand and increases student engagement!

Edutopia. (2025, October 24). Increasing participation with individual whiteboards [Video]. https://www.edutopia.org/video/increasing-participation-with-individual-whiteboards

As you teach or review concepts, intentionally incorporate manipulatives and give students opportunities to actively use them as they build conceptual understanding. This also allows you to monitor their thinking in real time, identify misconceptions, and determine what may need to be retaught or clarified so students can successfully demonstrate their learning on independent work and assessments. Don’t overlook a critical part of developing math skills—using manipulatives to build understanding.

Elements of a goood math intervention:

• EVIDENCE-BASED research
• hands on
• opportunities for student talk/collaboration
• appropriate learning level
• progress monitoring and tracking
• based in both brain and education research
• fidelity to implementation (staff training and scheduling)

• True mastery: clear evidence of both conceptual understanding and skill proficiency
• Independence from scaffolds: the ability to work and apply learning independently without support your constant support.
  

Note-Taking That Actually Improves Learning

A resource from AVID Open Access highlights how digital tools can strengthen student learning when paired with intentional note-taking strategies. While digital tools can enhance organization and collaboration, they aren’t required—paper-based templates can be just as effective. The key is consistency in the structure so students can focus on thinking and learning, not the format.

Effective note-taking isn’t just writing things down - it’s an active, multi-step process that improves understanding, retention, and application of learning.

The 5-Step Focused Note-Taking Process

1. Create Notes
Students choose a purpose, format, and digital tool (e.g., two-column notes, mind maps, sketchnotes). Flexibility is key—different formats serve different learning goals.

2. Process Notes
Learning deepens when students interact with notes by highlighting, organizing, questioning, and revising—not just recording information.

3. Connect Thinking
Students extend understanding by making connections to prior knowledge, adding questions, linking resources, and collaborating with others.

4. Summarize & Reflect
Students synthesize learning through summaries that can be written, visual, audio, or video-based, helping solidify key ideas.

5. Apply Learning
The ultimate goal is transfer—using notes to complete tasks like projects, discussions, assessments, or real-world applications.

Why It Matters

• Digital tools increase accessibility, organization, and collaboration
• Engagement comes from interacting with notes—not just taking them
• Students build deeper understanding through processing, connecting, and applying

AVID Open Access. (n.d.). Digital-focused note-taking strategies and tools. https://avidopenaccess.org/resource/digital-focused-note-taking-strategies-and-tools/

When students record themselves reading aloud using an app—and then listen back to reflect on their own pacing and expression—their fluency improves over time. Students need explicit instruction in reading AND practice!

Tutt, P. (2026, April 7). Streaming toward reading fluency [Video]. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/video/streaming-toward-reading-fluency

A MiddleWeb article highlights the importance of using the final minutes of a lesson intentionally rather than treating them as downtime. These “brain-boosting” activities help reinforce learning, deepen thinking, and increase student engagement.

Simple, flexible strategies can be used across content areas, such as:

• 3-2-1 reflections (summarizing key ideas)
• “Wow and How About?” (identifying new learning and posing questions)
• Random question generators to prompt quick thinking and connections. (
• Two Truths and a Lie (example) also encourage students to analyze content, distinguish misconceptions, and apply understanding in creative ways.

The key takeaway: short, purposeful closure activities can strengthen retention, promote critical thinking, and make learning more meaningful—turning “extra minutes” into powerful opportunities for student growth.

Ratliff, S. D. (2025, April 1). Brain boosting activities help lock in the learning. MiddleWeb. https://www.middleweb.com/52070/brain-boosting-activities-help-lock-in-the-learning/

Make sure students participating in state assessments have consistent access to the instructional accommodations outlined in their IEP and that they are explicitly taught how to use them effectively. Accommodations only make a difference when students understand how and when to use them because they’ve been practiced regularly in the classroom.

Think of it this way: if you handed me a bag of magic tricks, you wouldn’t see any magic. I’m not a magician, and I haven’t been taught how to use them. Without that instruction, those “tools” would only confuse or distract me. The same is true for our students, accommodations must be taught, practiced, and reinforced to truly support their success.

Questions on allowable accommodations and who is eligible? Use the DCCR or give me shout and we can talk through the guidance.

A research-backed summer school solution delivered over five focused weeks, designed to reduce regression, strengthen decoding, and provide meaningful data to guide fall placement and intervention decisions. This program provide teacher training and support, instructional materials, and assessment and data and currently offered for free!

As you collect student data on goals, make sure you focus on one skill at a time. It's difficult to collect data and track progress on multiple goals. To facilitate progress monitoring and creating a clearer IEP, include one skill per goal that is observable and measurable.

Region 17 has a team to collaborate with and support you with IEPs! Reach out to Kasey Murillo for more information.

• 4/22 LAMP: Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning

• 4/23 Moving Forward with LAMP

• 4/29 - 4/30 Literacy for ALL!

• 6/1 Executive Function and Its Role in Literacy Development

• 6/4 MTSS TIER: Interpreting Data

• 6/9 Joyful Learning with Dr. Paula Kluth

• 6/10 Conflict, Connection & Clear Limits

• 6/11 Behavior Rewired: Reframing Behavior for Alternative Campuses/DAEPs

• 6/11 Unlocking Handwriting: Multisensory Strategies for Targeted Dysgraphia Intervention Repeated Session, Designated for New Attendees Only

• 6/12 SLP Webinar: Understanding the Autistic Brain

• 6/15 Serving Dually-Indentified Students

• 6/16 POWER Moves: High Impact Strategies for Active and Engaged Learning

• 6/16 TELL ME, TOO! AAC and Literacy for Elementary and Middle School Classrooms

• 6/26 Ignite Student Learning (come and get a book!)

• 6/29 - 6/30 Math for All!

• 7/1 -7/2 Literacy for All!

We’re excited to kick off the summer with our annual Paraprofessional Conference on May 27–28, 2026. Join us for two days of learning, collaboration, and practical strategies designed to empower paraprofessionals in supporting student success. Get ready for inspiring sessions, hands-on tools, and opportunities to connect with colleagues across the region. Join us for two "Wicked" days of learning, connection, and professional growth and leave empowered, inspired, and ready to make an even greater impact for students!

Instructional Services, Accommodations, and Assessment for Special Education

edesantiago@esc17.net
806-281-5858
1111 West Loop 289, Lubbock, TX, USA