SETS team

The SETS team deploys to support identified schools under the intensive support model upon receipt of a referral and review of school needs.  Intensive support is provided on a time-limited basis and is tied to an improvement goal for the special education team. The SETS program coordinates intensive support through collaborative partnerships with other programs in the Department of Special Services (DSS) including PreK-12 Special Education Instruction (SEI), Behavior Intervention Services (BIS), and Procedural Support Services, as special education teams continue to utilize these traditional support structures once the intensive support concludes.

SEIMC team

The SEIMC is deployed based on school requests for support within an assigned region. Special education department chairs and school-based administrators may request the support of a SEIMC for special education teachers in their building. Requests are reviewed and then assigned a priority rating, below, to determine support availability and intensity. There is a high focus on supporting high incidence K-12 special education teachers who work with students who access the general curriculum standards of learning and those who support students who access the adapted curriculum. Teachers in early childhood special education, preschool autism, and enhanced autism are supported by other DSS support structures.

• Priority 1:  Teacher Resident and first year provisional Special Education Teachers
• Priority 2:  Provisional Special Education Teachers beyond year 1 and novice Special Education Teachers
• Priority 3:  Experienced Special Education Teachers as referred by administrators   

Collaborative Support

The SETS program coordinates and develops professional development for the Great Beginnings program for all newly hired special education teachers in FCPS. Content is created in collaboration with other offices across FCPS and is aligned to meet the needs of special education teachers based on the students they serve. Additionally, the SETS program works collaboratively with personnel from human resources, local universities, and the Office of Professional Learning to support provisionally licensed special education teachers. Support of new and provisionally licensed special education teachers supports FCPS’ goal of providing all students with access to a high-quality education and the support they need to be successful.

The SETS program works collaboratively with other central office teams to coach special education teachers on the use of tools and resources to collect, organize, analyze, and report students’ progress.  Student assessments are guided by the Special Education Instruction (SEI) program, Behavior Intervention Services (BIS) program, and students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEP).

SETS team

Under the intensive support model, the SETS team utilizes qualitative and quantitative data to collaboratively determine targeted goals for special education teams.  Data sources include, but are not limited to, observations, review of IEP, and review of special education structures.

SEIMC team

The SEIMC team sets individual goals with each supported teacher, which guides the coaching and mentoring support provided.  The work of the SEIMC team is guided by teacher surveys assessing their needs across various areas of support at the beginning of the year, midyear, and end of the year. 

Individualized school and teacher needs determine materials that may be required for intensive support and coaching. The SETS program works in collaboration with school-based leadership teams and other offices in DSS to identify and select support material. SETS personnel work in collaboration with BIS and SEI to determine additional support for individual student needs in the areas of behavioral, social-emotional, and instructional programming. 

The SETS program utilizes adult learning theory and the integration of high-leverage practices in special education in the professional development curriculum for the Great Beginnings program.  All professional development is aligned to the knowledge, skills, and understandings that special education teachers must have to support students with disabilities in FCPS.

A primary focus of the SETS program is to support the development of high-quality special education services, either through individual teacher support through the SEIMC team or through intensive support from the SETS team. The SETS program builds intentional relationships with school-based personnel and other central office teams to create a cohesive support structure for new special education teachers and for identified special education teams.

The areas of focus for the SETS program for the 2023-24 school year are:

• Continued identification and coordination of services for schools in need of intensive support, and special education teachers in need of targeted mentoring and coaching.

• Coordination and development of targeted professional development to support the induction and retention of newly hired and provisionally licensed special education teachers in FCPS through the Great Beginnings Program.

• Ongoing coordination of the special education teacher licensure cohorts, including regular collaboration with the Office of Professional Learning, Human Resources, and university partners for the recruitment and retention of special education teachers in FCPS.

• Collaborative support for professional development activities designed to increase the knowledge and skills of special education paraprofessionals.

• Support for the annual Special Education Conference.

• Areas of future focus include:

• Increasing the opportunity for practice-based learning opportunities within the special education Great Beginnings program.

• Further development of resources for school-based mentors and department chairs to support the needs of provisionally licensed special education teachers.

• Providing support for special education department chairs in facilitating the success of novice special educators and special education teams

• Expansion of opportunities for coaching and mentoring skills for special education leaders

Goal #1

By June 2024, the SEIMC team will increase the number of collaborative meetings across central office and school based teams by 20% compared to the 2022-23 school year in order to build collaborative partnerships and teacher capacity.

Goal #2

During the 2023-24 school year, the SETS team will create and facilitate trainings and learning opportunities for special education department chairs to build and strengthen special education best practices, coaching and mentoring skills, and developing structures and systems for special education teams. 

Goal #1

During the 2022-23 school year, the SETS program will create, or coordinate, differentiated targeted monthly professional development aligned to the experience and program placement of special education teachers engaged in the Great Beginnings program.

Data: During the 2022-23 school year the SETS team provided over 1,500 hours of support for the Great Beginnings Program, which consisted of 10 cohorts with approximately 380 participants. This included the creation and coordination of fourteen learning opportunities across high-incidence cohorts, plus the coordination of the content and logistics for the adapted curriculum, enhanced autism, early childhood, and speech and language cohorts.

Goal #2

During the 2022-23 school year, the SETS team will engage in ongoing coaching conversations which will support teacher development of best practices in data collection as evidenced by 80% of teachers supported reaching “proficient” on a data collection rubric by the end of the intensive support period.

Data: Throughout the 2022-23 school year, the SETS team provided over 2,700 hours of support to teachers at identified schools through coaching conversations, professional development, and other activities to support the development of best practices in data collection.  All teachers supported reached at least proficient data collection practices based on a data collection rubric by the end of the school year.

Goal #3

By the end of the 2022-23 school year, the number of teachers supported by the SEIMC team who self-report “some support” or “little support” on the beginning of the year needs assessment conducted by the SEIMC team will increase by 10% across the twelve areas measured.

Data: The SEIMC team provided 2,300 hours of support to special education teachers in Fairfax County Public Schools.  Based on self-reported data in twelve categories of support, the data shows a 10% or more increase in teachers requiring little or some support in 6 categories.  Four additional categories showed an increase in teachers requiring little or some support.   Special education teacher needs vary throughout the year and as new tasks or mandates are added as well as when novice teachers begin to understand the job more deeply.