Office of Student, Community and Academic Supports

Rhode Island has a long and proud history of ensuring that students with exceptionalities receive support and intervention to achieve high expectations and exit public education as productive citizens, life-long learners, and contributing members of the workforce.

The goals of the Office of Student, Community and Academic Supports ensure that children with diverse learning needs and children receiving special education services are provided equal access to a public education and that schools develop effective strategies for meeting the needs of these unique learners.

The Office of Student, Community and Academic Supports is responsible for advancing the education of:

• Children and youth with disabilities who require Special Education
• Children and youth who are Multilingual Learners (MLL) 
• Children and youth who are Disadvantaged and/or Participate in Title I, who are Experiencing Homelessness, and/or who are Neglected, Delinquent or At-Risk
• Children and youth who are Learning Beyond Grade Level
• Children and youth through Expanded Learning Opportunities, such as after-school or summer programs, which support learning opportunities for students outside of the regular school day or school year.
• Children and youth through Health and Safety efforts to ensure nurturing school environments.

News

State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)

RIDE has received a five year personnel development grant to support the implementation of a Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) to improve outcomes related to academic, social-emotional and behavioral functioning for students with or at-risk for disabilities. In addition, the grant will enhance the statewide system for personnel preparation and professional development and increase the capacity of school district personnel and pre-service candidates to implement the Multi-tiered System of Support consisting of prevention, high quality instruction, evidence-based intervention and evaluation. This grant was developed in partnership with the Sherlock Center at RI College.

• Summary of the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) [PDF, 290KB]
• Infographic Overview of the SPDG 
• Project Narrative [PDF, 584KB] and Appendix [PDF, 248KB]
• New BRIDGE-RI Course for Early Learning Providers and Educators: Alisa Baron PhD, CCC-SLP and Vanessa Harwood PhD, CCC-SLP from URI have teamed up to create the first course in BRIDGE-RI for the Early Childhood Language and Literacy Development Series titled, “Early Language and Literacy Development in Monolinguals”. In this self-paced course, you will learn about language development in young monolingual children, including information on typical development and possible “red flags” that may signal a need for further evaluation. Strategies to foster a language-rich environment in early care and early childhood settings, and guidelines on how and when to refer a child when there is a language delay, are also included. This course is for Early Learning Providers and Educators who can earn certificates for PLUs upon successful completion. This course is a prerequisite for course 2 which focuses on multilingual learners, which will be available for enrollment in the spring of 2023. Create an account and join us for this interactive and informative course that will help you to better understand language development in monolingual students.