UDL Academy Overview

GOAL / The goal of the UDL Academy is to establish a team of school and district leaders who will shape the learning environment so that it addresses the variability of ALL learners, including students with disabilities, English language learners, and students.
Classroom Implementation: Lesson Development / To promote development and sharing of lessons, educators will work collaboratively to;
•use UDL framework to guide curricular and instructional decisions.
•use the UDL Exchange, an online environment for browsing and building resources, to create, remix, post, and share lessons/units, resources, and collections with other educators.
•teach lessons in their classrooms, and refine based on experience and feedback.
Outcomes and Deliverables
•Educators from each district/school will create 3 - 4 lessons and post them on the UDL Exchange.
School-based Implementation / Principals and school leaders will learn and implement proactive leadership and management techniques that support UDL as a school-wide framework for decision-making. They will:
•Assess educator knowledge, practices, and beliefs at the school level, related to instructional practices, student expectations, and professional learning.
•Conduct resource mapping process to leverage resources effectively to support implementation, identifying necessary resources, gaps and areas of duplication. Resource mapping areas may include: curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices; social and behavior supports, professional learning opportunities, focus, and structures; governance policies and procedures; and community and family outreach activities and involvement.
•Use data from the resource mapping process to align UDL with school policies, school structures, initiatives, practices, and procedures and allocate funding, time, and staffing to achieve the goals of UDL implementation.
•Identify measureable project outcomes.
Outcomes and Deliverables
•Principals/school leaders will have the knowledge, skills necessary to apply UDL within school based implementation project.
•Principals/school leaders will complete a resource map to identify and leverage resources to support implementation of UDL.
•Principals/school leaders will have procedures to measure progress to ensure that the project goals are being achieved.
District Implementation: Leadership Preparation / District leaders will participate in leadership and preparatory work that will ultimately set the stage for district-wide implementation. District leaders will:
•Participate in the UDL Educator Academy as an active team member. During the Academy, district leaders will work with their school-based team, their principals and other participating district leaders to prepare them for implementing UDL as a district-wide framework.
•As part of the workshop, district leaders will
•Assess District Readiness through a guided tool that facilitates resource mapping and decision making.
•Conduct resource-mapping process to leverage resources effectively to support implementation, identifying necessary resources, gaps and areas of duplication. Resource mapping areas may include: curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices; social and behavior supports, professional learning opportunities, focus, and structures; governance policies and procedures; and community and family outreach activities and involvement.
•Use data from the resource mapping process to align UDL with District policies, structures, initiatives, practices, and procedures and allocate funding, time, and staffing to achieve the goals of UDL implementation.
•Identify measureable project outcomes.
Outcomes and Deliverables
•District leaders will have the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare for an implementation initiative.
•District leaders will complete a resource map to identify and leverage resources to support implementation of UDL.
•District leaders will have procedures to measure progress to ensure that the project goals are being achieved.
Fund Use /
  • Consultants
  • Substitutes
  • Travel/mileage (to UDL trainings only)
  • Stipends for educators
  • Participating in or delivering school-based professional development
  • Leading a UDL Professional Learning Community (PLC)
  • Co-planning
/
  • Developing materials and assessments aligned to UDL principles
  • Participating in monthly conference calls or webinars with CAST
  • Other
  • Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System (MTRS) (related to stipends only)
  • Materials, supplies, and technology (for trainings or professional development)

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Funding for CAST’s development and delivery of the UDL Academy is provided

by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2012 – 2013)

For more information about the UDL Academy 1, link to