Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC)
How do Virginia Schools Utilize the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM™)?
Our new VDOE VT TTAC SIM website connects our schools in Virginia and the VA SIM Network to keep teachers learning!
- It connects Virginia educators with the KUCRL as a comprehensive, evidence-based adolescent literacy program that empowers teachers and enables students to succeed in school and beyond!
- It defines SIM through the downloadable SIM Overview Brochure . This assists educators with making decisions addressing student needs.
- It features SIM Instructional tools and interventions that work together to improve literacy and explicit instruction for both students and teachers.
- It highlights SIM Reading programs and directs you to Fusion Reading and Xtreme Reading for struggling adolescent readers in grades 6-12. Read below for more information about Fusion Reading in Virginia.
- It provides the VA SIM Network with useful resources. Would you like to see how SIM aligns with other instructional practices? Scroll to the bottom of the page.
If you have SIM going on in your schools or want to learn more about SIM in Virginia, check out our newest resource and celebrate SIM in Virginia!
SIM™ Supported Programs
Is Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports part of your school division? If your division has schools that have partnered with this framework, speak with your Systems Coaches to see if your data shows an academic need for SIM™ and/or Fusion Reading in your secondary schools. In addition, if you are interested in Micro-credentialing and/or becoming a SIM Professional Developer and/or a SIM Professional Development Leader, speak with your Systems Coach.
The Content Literacy Leadership Institute is a virtual leadership institute led by SIM Professional Development Leaders and their apprentices from around the United States. KUCRL offers both the Content Enhancement Routine and Learning Strategy strands of the Content Literacy Leadership Institute (CLLI) for prospective Strategic Instruction Model (SIM™) Professional Developers from June through October to accommodate educators schedules.
“The Fusion Reading Program (FRP) is a highly structured course designed to teach an array of high-leverage reading strategies within a scaffolded scope and sequence of instruction, practice, feedback, and ongoing assessments for progress monitoring. A major goal of FRP is to increase student motivation, engagement, and help them become college and career ready.” University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, Hock, Brasseur-Hock, & Deshler, 2009
Summer Training Highlights
Live, Virtual Critical Decision Points for Families of Children with Disabilities Training
The purpose of this training is to assist you in understanding these four things:
- What are some of the keys to your child's academic success?
- What decisions will you need to make regarding your child's educational path?
- At what point will you be making these decisions? In this training, we refer to these as critical decision points.
- What information will you need so that you can make the most well-informed decisions possible for your child?
Part One will be held Tuesday, July 27, 2021, from 6-8 p.m. Part Two will be held Tuesday, August 3, 2021, from 6-8 p.m. You will need to attend both sessions in order to receive all of the information. Registration will be limited to 100 participants, so please register early! The training will be provided by Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) staff.
Leading in the Science of Reading, a professional development session focused on the science of reading (SOR) for administrators and teachers. Dr. Emily Solari, coordinator and professor in the Reading Education program in the Department of Curriculum Instruction and Special Education at UVA, will present Five Misconceptions of Early Reading Assessment and Instruction. A panel, representing various school divisions who have used Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) as a pathway to build capacity in the Science of Reading(SOR) among their teachers, will answer questions and discuss their journey in shifting to evidence-based practices grounded in the SOR. Panel participants will include Galax, Virginia Beach, Poquoson, Martinsville, Roanoke City, Hopewell, Rockingham, Campbell, and Gloucester.
No registration is required for this event.
The mission of the Training & Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC) is to improve educational opportunities and contribute to the success of children and youth with disabilities (birth–22 years). This mission is two-fold; first, to increase the... read more about our mission