Project MAX starts with Presuming Compentence

Kelly Fonner

6/10/2016 9:44 PM

Project MAX was developed to raise expectations for students with the most significant needs and disabilities through the core principal of presumed competence. The purpose of Project MAX is to increase the capacity of Pennsylvania schools to provide all students, including those with complex instructional needs, with maximum access to and learning of the general education curriculum and the Pennsylvania Core Standards.

School based teams participate for 3 years of training and receive on-site coaching in the process of developing strategies for being able to plan and deliver effective instruction that meets the needs of diverse learners in Pennsylvania schools. This includes:

1. School leaders will have the competencies to implement policies, practices, and procedures that support the learning of all students, including students with complex instructional needs
2. Institutions of higher education will prepare educators and leaders with the competencies needed to teach all students
3. Parents will have high expectations of achievement for all students
4. Students with complex instructional needs will demonstrate growth and achievement in academic content
5. Students with complex instructional needs will engage in standards-aligned instruction using communication supports and assistive technology when needed

More information can be obtained from the attached flyer.

One of the training that the teams recently had access to attend was with the First Author Curriculum. This is a Writing Curriculum that includes a 14 point Developmental Writing Scale that is sensitive enough to assess the writing ability from those that are emergent scribblers to the level of 2nd grade paragraph writing abilities. It can be used with any age student.

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