August 2010
New IRIS Center Assistive Technology Module
The IRIS Center is pleased to announce the posting of our latest STAR Legacy Module, Assistive Technology: An Overview, developed with the invaluable guidance of Dave Edyburn of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Exceptional Education. To view Assistive Technology: An Overview, go to http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/at/chalcycle.htm
The school year is underway, and Ms. Adelaide is pleased at how well she and her students are working together. She enjoys challenging her students to think like scientists even as she recognizes that some of them struggle with the academic demands of her class.
Early one morning, Ms. Adelaide is introduced to Terry, a new student who will be joining her second-period science class. Terry has an IEP because of a learning disability, an IEP that includes assistive technology to help him in the classroom. Terry tells Ms. Adelaide that he is a proficient user of this technology and that one day he wants to be a scientist.
As Ms. Adelaide leaves the office, she smiles to herself about Terry’s confidence but she nevertheless feels a bit apprehensive. Will she be able to learn all that she needs to know about these assistive technology tools? And how adept at using the tools will she have to become?
As always, we encourage you to share all of our materials (http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/) with your colleagues and students. If you have any questions concerning IRIS materials, please contact Kim Skow at 800-831-6134, kimberly.a.skow@vanderbilt.edu, or iris@vanderbilt.edu.
MPI Launches ELL Information Center with National and State Student Academic and Demographic Data
MPI Launches English Language Learner (ELL) Information Center with Videos, Fact Sheets and Maps with National and State Student Academic and Demographic Data
The Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy today launched a new resource, an ELL (English Language Learner) Information Center that offers videos, data and maps that chronicle the growth and academic performance of the ELL student population across the United States.
The ELL Information Center offers videos, fact sheets and other data that trace the rapid growth of ELL students — native-born and immigrant — as well as their performance on standardized tests. The data offerings are national as well as state-by-state. The ELL Information Center is at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/ellinfo.html.
“More than 5 million children — representing nearly 11 percent of the students enrolled in U.S. public schools — are English language learners,” said Margie McHugh, co-director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. “As immigrants have moved beyond traditional gateway states such as California, Texas and New York, and as No Child Left Behind Act provisions have made schools responsible for the progress of ELLs, school districts across the United States are having to develop educational services for this fast-growing group almost overnight.”
In a series of fact sheets and a pair of videos, MPI discusses:
- The increase in the number of students classified as ELLs, which has risen from 3.5 million in 1998 to more than 5 million in 2008, as total enrollment remained basically flat.
- The growing share children of immigrants represent of the nation’s total child population, rising from 13.5 percent in 1990 to 25 percent today. Half of all children in California are from immigrant families. Reflecting immigrants’ dispersal across the United States, more than a third of all children in Nevada have at least one parent who is an immigrant, as do almost one-quarter of children in Washington state and Rhode Island.
- Today, half of all ELL students are kindergarten and elementary school age, and the other half are roughly split between middle and high school age. Over three-quarters of ELLs of elementary school age were born in the United States.
- ELL students are graduating at substantially lower rates than their non-ELL peers. In Texas, for example, 39 percent of ELLs received high school diplomas, compared to 78 percent of all students.
“While existing data on high school graduation rates are certainly not heartening, many local districts and schools are succeeding in helping ELL students graduate in four to seven years and realize their higher education and career dreams,” said MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix, who is co-director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.
Said McHugh: “By offering up the latest research and information about ELL students and their academic performance, we hope to inform the efforts of policymakers, educators and community stakeholders across the country who are grappling with how to best serve the interests of these children and the larger communities in which they live.”
Additional fact sheets offered in the coming months will cover topics such as the top languages spoken by ELL students, their performance on state and national standardized tests and a demographic profile of their families.
The videos can be downloaded from the ELL Information Center. Educators, community organizations or others wanting to obtain copies of the videos for airing can contact MPI Communications at info@migrationpolicy.org.
Save the Date for an All Day Workshop with Dr. Michael First MD
| February 26, 2011 |
Join us for an all day workshop with Dr. Michael First titled, “DSM Diagnosis in Clinical Practice: Current Principles and a Preview of Coming Attractions (DSM-5).”
Saturday February 26, 2011
Florida Gulf Coast University
Michael B. First M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University. Dr. First is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on psychiatric diagnosis and assessment issues. Dr. First was co-principal investigator on the “Future of Psychiatric Diagnosis” conferences that developed research agendas for the upcoming DSM-5. Dr. First is the Editor of the DSM-IV-TR. He has trained thousands of clinicians and researchers in diagnostic assessment and differential diagnosis. He has provided expert opinion and testimony on several high profile cases including the federal trial of the accused Al Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. For more information please contact Jill Isaacson at jisaacso@fgcu.edu.
Prudential: Spirit of Community Awards
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people in grades 5 through 12 who have demonstrated exemplary voluntary service to their communities. Maximum award: $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. Eligibility: Students grades 5-12 who have conducted a volunteer service activity within the past year. Deadline: November 1, 2010. Applications are available at http://spirit.prudential.com/view/page/soc.
Prudential: Spirit of Community Awards
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people in grades 5 through 12 who have demonstrated exemplary voluntary service to their communities. Maximum award: $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. Eligibility: Students grades 5-12 who have conducted a volunteer service activity within the past year. Deadline: November 1, 2010. Applications are available at http://spirit.prudential.com/view/page/soc.
U.S. Government: Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program
The Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program provides opportunities for teachers to participate in direct exchanges of positions with colleagues from other countries for a semester or academic year. By living and working in the cultures of their host countries, Fulbright teachers gain an understanding and appreciation of the similarities and differences in national cultures and education systems. Maximum award: year-long or semester-long direct exchange of teaching positions with a counterpart in another country teaching the same subject(s) at the same level. Eligibility: full-time U.S. teachers. Deadline: October 15, 2010. Applications are available online at http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/cte.cfm.
Clorox: Power a Bright Future Grants
Clorox Power a Bright Future Grants aim to provide necessary resources to help support school programs that enrich kids’ lives. Maximum award: $50,000. Eligibility: Anyone at least 18 years old at time of entry can nominate an accredited K-12, public or private school program. Deadline: September 27, 2010. For more inforamtion please refer to http://clorox.promo.eprize.com/brightfuture/?affiliate_id=Inbound5.
Landis Stetler Scholarship Available
The Florida Council of Administrators of Special Education (Florida CASE) and the Florida Council for Exceptional Children are pleased to announce the availability of the 2010 Landis M. Stetler ESE Leadership Scholarship.
The Florida Council of Administrator of Special Education (CASE), a Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has established a scholarship program to award a financial scholarship in the name of Dr. Landis Stetler, a pioneer and great leader in exceptional student education (ESE) in the state of Florida and the nation. The award is made annually at the Florida CEC conference, and Florida CEC will maintain the fund for the scholarship.
Specific criteria and a 2010 application are available on the Florida CEC website http://www.floridacec.org/9clearwater2010.htm. This year two scholarships will be awarded; one to an undergraduate with a declared major in exceptional education in the amount of $1,000.00 and a second scholarship to a graduate student in exceptional education in the amount of $2,000.00. We encourage you to distribute the application packet to any students in your program who you think may qualify and might benefit from this award.
Please note the short timeline for completion of applications. The deadline for receipt of applications is September 10, 2010.
Dollar General Literacy Foundation Announces Waiting List Reduction Grant Program
Responding to increased demand for adult literacy services, the new grant program is designed to help nonprofit adult literacy organizations remedy their waiting list issues and get more students involved in educational programs sooner. The waiting list reduction grant will help literacy programs find ways to immediately engage potential students in learning activities. Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to nonprofit adult literacy organizations to help them provide adult basic education, GED diploma preparation, or English as a second language instruction to more students sooner. Deadline: September 30, 2010. For more information, please visit http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=305000029.
TASH: Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Awards
The TASH Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Awards honor important contributions of individuals and school districts in advancing inclusive education and equitable opportunities for students grades K-12, particularly those with the most significant disabilities and support needs. Awardees will be selected from these categories: Inclusive Education Administrator of the Year; Inclusive Education Teacher of the Year; Inclusive Education Advocate of the Year; Most Promising Inclusive School; Most Promising Inclusive School District. Maximum award: All awardees will be recognized at the TASH 2010 Conference in Denver, Co., December 8-10, 2010, in the conference program, on the TASH website and at the general session. Attendees will receive a commemorative plaque, and TASH will promote awardees’ accomplishments to the trade media and local press. Eligibility: school districts and education professionals that work inclusively with students K-12 with disabilities. Deadline: October 1, 2010. For more information or to apply, please visit http://www.tash.org/awards_breakthroughs.html.
