Alternate Achievement Standards

Professional development is designed to build local capacity to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for postsecondary options. Professional learning includes tools, resources, and coaching designed specifically for teachers, leaders, administrators, and paraprofessionals who support students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Provide resources and training for teachers and administrators to ensure students are held to high expectations and provided access to the general education curriculum and aligned alternate achievement standards.  
Develop teacher capacity to support students with low incidence and significant disabilities to engage in the same instructional and non-instructional activities as their general education peers while meeting individual learning needs.
Create a community of educators through connection and collaboration with one another. 
Support families with access to resources and information.

Sessions provided in the 2022-23 school year included:

Virtual Session 1 – Classroom Setup for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Virtual Session 2 – Behavior Support Strategies for Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Virtual Session 3 – Instructional Strategies for Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Onsite Session 1 – Implementing the Alternate Achievement Standards
Onsite Session 2 – Behavior Support Strategies for Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Onsite Session 3 – Instructional Strategies for Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Sessions provided in the 2023-2024 are:

Alternate Achievement Standards Playbook
Webinar 1 – Supporting Communication in Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Webinar 2 – Strategies for Supporting Behavior for Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Webinar 3 – Unpacking Standards and IEP Goal Writing
Webinar 4 – Universal Design for Learning

Ongoing Training Opportunity

#310389- AAS Playbook: Online Modules for Teachers of Students with Significant Disabilities

The Alternate Achievement Standards (AAS) Playbook is a professional learning platform for teachers of students with significant cognitive disabilities. Teachers will complete self-paced modules, known as plays, which include videos, templates, and guidance documents embedded directly into the interactive play. The AAS Playbook consists of eight self-paced plays and four self-paced webinars that explore topics, skills, and strategies relevant to communication, instruction, and behavioral support of students with significant disabilities. In addition, educators can post messages to a community of teachers of students with significant cognitive disabilities from across the state and access the resource library. The AAS Playbook is entirely self-paced and available at your convenience.

Participants can earn a total of 68 hours by completing all eight Plays, and four webinars, and engaging the community features of Playbook.

The first play is released in October, with additional plays released monthly. The eight plays in the AAS Playbook include:

Play 1 - Build a Culture of Inclusive Practices
Play 2 - Build Communication Using Core Vocabulary
Play 3 - Implement Positive Behavior Support Strategies
Play 4 - Establish Roles & Responsibilities for Paraprofessionals
Play 5 - Unpack Alternate Standards
Play 6 - Collaborate with Related Services
Play 7 - Universal Design for Learning
Play 8 - Assistive Technology

Coaching in Playbook is supported by previously recorded webinars. The four webinar topics in the AAS Playbook include:

Webinar 1: Supporting Communication in Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Webinar 2: Strategies for Supporting Behavior in Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Webinar 3: Unpacking Standards and IEP Goal Writing
Webinar 4: Universal Design for Learning

The AAS Playbook will kick off with a live Zoom event on October 4. Registrants will receive an overview of the platform and can ask questions before starting the plays.

Registrants should enroll once in the section that best reflects their grade band of instruction.

Additional Information

View of Kickoff Event