Technical Assistance

Helping States Work

A major goal of NDPC-SD is to provide effective technical assistance activities to "scale up" the use of research-validated programs and interventions in dropout prevention. We believe effective technical assistance can help states build capacity to achieve the goal of reducing dropout rates and improving school completion rates for students with disabilities. It is a systematic process involving the transfer of knowledge about dropout-prevention research, practices that work and policies that support school completion.

NDPC-SD employs a three-tiered approach to the delivery of technical assistance. At the broadest level, technical assistance is indirect and is fairly general in nature. This technical assistance includes the Quarterly Teleseminars/Web events, the quarterly e-newsletter (Big IDEAs), a variety of print resources and other materials, as well as the Center's website. At the second tier, NDPC-SD offers direct technical assistance in response to inquiries and requests from states, local education agencies, and other stakeholders. Technical assistance of this nature is delivered remotely or on-site, and is available on a more limited basis. Included in this category are assistance with planning analyses of SPP/APR indicator data; designing improvement strategies and plans for the SPP/APR; developing probes for dropout indicators; selecting evidence-based programs; and hosting and participating in capacity-building forums and conferences. At Tier 3, the Center will partner with select states and local education agencies to develop dropout-prevention and re-entry initiatives and to build model sites. SEA and LEA efforts in Tier 3 are guided by The NDPC-SD Dropout Prevention Intervention Framework.

Related External Website Resources

• OSEP TA&D Matrix
• OSEP Exiting Community of Practice

Related Links

• APR/SPP Guidance
• SPP Toolkit Series
• Conference Materials & Presentation