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CSDE outlines SSIP work on 3rd-grade reading; UConn DBI pilot expands to more districts
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Summary
The Connecticut Bureau of Special Education presented progress on the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) focused on third-grade ELA performance and described an expanding database individualization (DBI) pilot run with the University of Connecticut.
The Connecticut Bureau of Special Education presented an update on the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) focused on third-grade English language arts (ELA) performance for students with disabilities and described progress in a multi-year DBI (database individualization) pilot with the University of Connecticut.
Alicia Trakis, Bureau of Special Education, summarized indicator 17 and the state-identified measurable result: improving outcomes for third-grade students with disabilities on statewide ELA assessments. The SSIP combines infrastructure work — such as data systems, governance, and professional development — with evidence-based instructional strategies tied to the Connecticut literacy model and structured literacy approaches.
Trakis described the CAN I 4 DBI project, a CSDE-funded collaboration with UConn to support schools implementing DBI, an intensive-intervention process that uses a five-step cyclical model: select an evidence-based intervention aligned to a student’s needs; monitor progress; run diagnostic assessments and analyze data; design an individualized intensive-intervention plan; implement the plan and repeat the data cycle. Trakis said the DBI work is intended to improve implementation fidelity and accelerate student reading progress.
Trakis showed a UConn-developed progress-monitoring app used in the pilot and reviewed implementation history: a first-year pilot in six schools across four districts, a second-year expansion to 19 schools in nine districts, and a third-year cohort currently operating in 14 schools across seven districts. The tool provides charts and graphs to visualize student response to interventions and is being aligned to Connecticut’s progress-monitoring modules.
The bureau emphasized training and capacity-building: structured literacy professional development, Orton-Gillingham and Wilson system trainings, webinars with SERC, and educator-prep modules to lift district capacity to serve students with reading disabilities and dyslexia. Trakis asked council members to complete a brief stakeholder survey on the SSIP and DBI to collect feedback on implementation questions and outcomes of interest.
Trakis also said the SSIP leadership team includes internal CSDE partners from the academic office, the Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success, and the Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities, and that a DBI leadership team meets monthly to review progress and gather advisory feedback.
The council had brief follow-up questions about sustainment for schools in the pilot; Trakis said the implementation model uses a gradual-release approach so district and school staff take over DBI responsibilities with Yukon/UConn coaches moving to a supporting role.
The bureau will circulate the presentation and the stakeholder survey to council members for feedback.
