Iowa's Access for ALL

Answer from MeLissa Lawson

At this time uPar is free of charge for any district regardless of their implementation plan. That being said, I would caution you against just administering to select students that you feel may benefit. Throughout our work the last several years, we have found that when this was the approach we weren't highly successful in identifying the students who could benefit from a text reader.

For uPar, a district-wide license will be granted.

Answer from MeLissa Lawson

Read&Write is available through an application process. We will be looking at districts who are moving toward district-wide implementation of this tool at the universal tier of instruction. We know that this tool is beneficial to not only students on IEPs/504s/MTSS, but also those who are reading on grade level and prefer to use this method to access content. Within the implementation process districts may begin small and work toward full implementation, but we are looking at this being implementation with all students who benefit.

Read&Write is a district-wide license that will be awarded.

When completing the Read&Write application, we're looking for a comprehensive understanding of your planned implementation. Essentially, we want to know how you envision integrating Read&Write and leveraging insights from the Universal Protocol for Accommodations in Reading (uPar) within your district. Here are the key areas to address.

Data and insights from uPar

Summarize the data you've collected from uPar, including the grade levels assessed, the scope of implementation (individual grades, buildings, or district-wide), and key results (e.g., percentages of students reading at or above grade level, above independent reading level, or showing no benefit). This helps us understand the context of student needs.

Roles and responsibilities for implementation

• Administrator's role: Describe how administrators will ensure time for professional learning, assessment completion, and data review. Also, how they will ensure technology availability/usability and provide clear direction for accessible curriculum and technology use.
• Instructional coach's role: Detail how coaches will support staff with assessment and text reader use, integrate text readers into lesson planning, review usage data, facilitate PLC discussions on uPar and Read&Write impact, assist with statewide assessment accommodations, and problem-solve teacher questions.
• General education teacher's role: Explain how they will understand the tools' impact, ensure student access to technology, model Read&Write use, and monitor usage data. Special
• Education teacher's role: Similar to general education, plus providing individual student support, coaching advocacy skills, ensuring tool-to-need fit, and monitoring as tasks change.
• Paraprofessional's role: Summarize how paraprofessionals will support teacher activities after receiving training.

Professional Learning and student training plans

• Staff professional learning: Provide details on your plan for staff training and follow-up support, including specificity of training content, sequence, and timeline for teachers and paraprofessionals.
• Student training: Describe your plan to teach students the purpose and use of the tool, including details on training, follow-up support for students and families, sequence, and timeline.

Ongoing evaluation and feedback

• Data collection methods: Summarize how data will be collected and used to guide implementation changes (for example, analyzing Read&Write usage and survey data, periodic review of uPar student needs).
• Additional feedback: Share any insights on what worked or didn't work in your uPar and Read&Write implementation efforts, along with any additional support we can provide.

Providing these details helps us understand your commitment to successful integration and ensures we can best support your district's goals.

We review applications on a quarterly basis. We appreciate your patience as we process all submissions.

For any additional questions regarding the Read&Write application, please reach out directly to MeLissa Lawson.

Of course! Our webinars are always free and always recorded. If you missed the live session, you can register to receive access to the recordings.

Webinar 1: Iowa's Access for ALL

Webinar 2: Deep dive into uPar

Webinar 3: Data-based decision making with uPar

That's truly wonderful to hear and a clear testament to the hard work and dedication of your district's educators! Achieving high reading proficiency is a significant accomplishment. uPar isn't designed to replace your current assessments or suggest that your students aren't doing well. Instead, it offers a deeper layer of insight.

While traditional assessments tell us what students can read, uPar reveals how efficiently they read silently and comprehend. This is crucial because silent reading forms the basis of most academic learning. uPar helps pinpoint these nuances, enabling educators to fine-tune instruction and support every student in becoming an even more efficient, engaged, and powerful reader.