Trainings in Facilitation Skills

COVID-19 and Special Education

View information for educators and parents to support students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 resources for special education

ADR Office Hours

Have you taken CDE’s Improving IEP Teams: Skills for Resolving Conflict training, or the IEP Facilitator training? Do you need support in using the tools from either training? Drop in to our Alternative Dispute Resolution Office Hours, every Tuesday, from 3:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. and ask your questions! We can also support you in using the tools/skills in your virtual IEP meetings. Office hours will begin August 31^st - May 31^st!

See you there!

Join the ADR Office Hours

Want to learn facilitative skills?

Improving IEP Teams: Skills for Resolving Conflict training focuses on improving facilitative skills and creating more effective IEP meetings.

Improving IEP Teams: Skills for Resolving Conflict

All IEP team members can benefit from learning dynamic facilitative skills to move beyond conflict. Because parents and educators may not share identical perceptions of the child or goals for the student, conflict may arise. Facilitative skills are helpful every day, at every meeting, and before disagreements become disputes.

This workshop is for any IEP team member interested in improving the IEP team process, including special education directors and coordinators, parents, special education teachers, general education teachers, school psychologists, school social workers, and other related service providers.

Skills and knowledge taught in the six-hour Improving IEP Teams workshop include:

Knowing key IDEA terminology
Planning agendas for productive meetings and to ensure meaningful participation
Understanding how and why conflict naturally occurs in the IEP process
Developing strategic questioning and active listening techniques to build relationships
Clarifying positions versus interests to develop improved outcomes for students

Register now for the VIRTUAL Improving IEP Teams: Skills for Resolving Conflict Training!

May 19^thand May 26^th, from 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Click here to register.

Additional Trainings

Virtual Improving IEP Teams Training for Advocates!

April 2^nd and April 9^th, 2021, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. A Zoom link will be sent to those registered.

This training will provide the Improving IEP Teams: Skills for Resolving Conflict content with a focus on:

Aligning your role as an Advocate with the IEP process
Using skills to improve IEP meetings for your clients.

Click here to register.

Contact us for more information on future trainings!

Improving Collaboration During Virtual Special Education Meetings

Choose one date:

April 13^th, April 22^nd, or April 29^th, 2021 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

All IEP team members can benefit from learning dynamic facilitative skills to support effective collaboration during Special Education meetings. Adjusting these skills for use in a virtual meeting setting can improve communication, enhance collaboration, and lead to more productive meetings. Facilitative skills are helpful every day, at every meeting, and before disagreements become disputes.

This workshop is for any Special Education team member interested in improving the collaboration during the special education process, including special education directors and coordinators, parents, 504 coordinators, special education teachers, general education teachers, school psychologists, school social workers, and other related service providers.

Special Education facilitator, Katherine Rains, JD, will address the following skills during the two-hour workshop:

Preparation for a successful virtual meeting
Developing tele-facilitation meeting guidelines and agendas to set expectations
Using charting and other tools to enhance communication during virtual meetings

Click here to register.

Want to learn facilitative skills?

Special Education Facilitator Training

June 9^th, 16^th, and 23^rd, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. each day. Total of 12 hours (9 in sessions and 3 for work outside of the sessions)

You must attend all three sessions to receive credit.

If you have attended our One-Day Improving IEP Teams: Skills for Resolving Conflict, and you would like to continue your training to neutrally facilitate IEP meetings, sign up now!

This training includes:

Facilitation versus Advocacy
Constructing Productive IEP Meetings
Convening Productive IEP Meetings
Facilitating Open Discussions
Matching Resources to Resistance
Resolving Impasse
Facilitator Challenges
Ending a Facilitated IEP Meeting
Closing Facilitation
The Closure Letter
Understanding Your Role
Practice, Practice, Practice….
Self-Assessment and Feedback

Click here to register.

Registered participants will be emailed a Zoom link and access to a Google folder prior to the training.

Please Email Mary Anne Fleury for more information on any of the trainings.

Specific training in your district can also be arranged. Just email and we’ll get a date on the calendar!

Contact:

Mary Anne Fleury, Ph.D.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist
Exceptional Student Services Unit
1560 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 866-6649
Email Mary Anne Fleury

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