Articles Of Interests

Paraprofessional to Teacher Program goes statewide!

The Personnel Development Partnership grant is making available to all ESE paraprofessionals holding an Associate’s Degree and seeking a teaching degree in ESE full tuition scholarship to complete their teaching degree. Known as COPE II locally this wonderful program is now available statewide and is currently taking applications.The Para-to-Teacher Support Program provides financial assistance for paraprofessionals to earn a bachelor’s degree in special education. The program provides tuition support and book stipends for a minimum of two courses per semester to paraprofessionals who are currently working in Florida’s public schools assisting students with disabilities. Upon completion of the program the participant agrees to teach students with disabilities in a Florida public school for a minimum of two years for every academic year of tuition support received. Interested? For more information contact Peg Sullivan, PDP Project Coordinator, at (239) 560-7748.

Pathways for Progress: Mathematics Access Points for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

The Accommodations and Modifications for Students with Disabilities project at Florida State University has created a materials for a three-hour workshop with two sessions designed to help educators who serve students with significant cognitive disabilities learn about the revised Mathematics Sunshine State Standards and Access Points adopted by the State Board of Education in August 2008.  The workshop materials may be used for professional development about the new mathematics access points.  Workshop sessions enable participants to examine the content and organization of the revised standards and access points and learn a systematic process for determining the appropriate level of complexity of the access points for instructing individual students.  Materials are available for downloading on the Teaching Resources for Florida ESE Website http://www.cpt.fsu.edu/ese/cs/ap/ma.html.  Contact Marty Beech at (850) 921-0687 for more information.

Nominate someone special for JoLeta Reynolds Award!

It’s time to consider nominees for the 4^th Annual JoLeta Reynolds Service to Special Education Award.  Winners will be announced at, and receive complimentary registration to, LRP’s 30^th National Institute on Legal Issues of Educating Individuals with Disabilities in Las Vegas.  The award is presented to one or more individuals who demonstrate dedication, excellence, and integrity in carrying out the demanding and rewarding responsibilities of serving special needs children and their families or who support those who serve this exceptional population.  The award is named in honor of JoLeta Reynolds, who played a key role in the 1997 IDEA reauthorization and helped develop the law’s implementing regulations as senior policy advisor under the assistant secretary of education.  Employees of federal, state, and local educational agencies who have had an impact on the quality of special education services through leadership, instruction, special projects, innovation, management, or program design or improvement are eligible of nominations.  For more information please refer to http://www.lrpinstitute.com/joleta.html.

Dual Language Learners in Early Care and Education Settings

An increasing number of children are exposed to more than one language right from birth. Dual language learning has many benefits including stronger connections to family, culture, and community. This tip sheet provides ideas for ways professionals working with very young children can support dual language learners. Learn how to incorporate play, gestures, and repetition into your work with children and families. Download at http://www.zerotothree.org/site/R?i=V2R04ARLwVgNuhXZ3hwI-A.

New Training Curriculum from NICHCY

The Building the Legacy training curriculum was produced by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) at the request of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education. The curriculum is intended to assist in understanding and implementation of the IDEA 2004 Part B regulations. The training curriculum has five overarching themes with multiple training modules beneath each theme.  View the curriculum and download modules at http://www.nichcy.org/Laws/IDEA/Pages/BuildingTheLegacy.aspx.

Poverty Dramatically Affects Children’s Brains, as in Stroke, Study Finds

Certain brain functions in some low-income nine- and ten-year-olds show patterns equivalent to the damage from a stroke, according to a new study to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, USA TODAY reports. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that poverty afflicts children’s brains through malnutrition, stress, illiteracy, and toxic environments. Research shows that the neural systems of poor children develop differently from those of middle-class children, affecting language development and “executive function,” or the ability to plan, remember details, and pay attention in school. For the new study, researchers used an electroencephalograph to measure brain function of 26 children while they watched images flashing on a computer. The children pressed a button when a tilted triangle appeared. “It is a similar pattern to what’s seen in patients with strokes that have led to lesions in their prefrontal cortex,” which controls higher-order thinking and problem solving, says lead researcher Mark Kishiyama, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley. “It suggests that in these kids, prefrontal function is reduced or disrupted in some way.” Research also suggests that these effects are reversible through intensive intervention such as focused lessons and games that encourage children to think out loud or use executive function. Read more at http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-07-childrens-brains_N.htm.

Changes to IDEA Regulations

On May 13^th, 2008, the federal Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register.  The comment period closed on July 28, 2008, and the more than 700 comments were carefully reviewed.  We received notice this week that the final regulations were published on December 1^st, 2008, in the Federal Register.  These regulations address:

• parental revocation of consent after consent to the initial provision of services has been provided
• State or local educational agency’s (LEA’s) obligation to make positive efforts to employ qualified individuals with disabilities
• representation of parents by non-attorneys in due process hearings
• State monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement of the Part B program
• allocation of funds, under sections 611 and 619 of the Act, to LEAs that are not serving children with disabilities

These regulations go into effect on December 31^st, 2008, and are available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-28175.htm.

New Factsheets from ODEP

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)has just released three new fact sheets in a new and easy to read format that provide constructive disability employment information for parents, youth and employers.

Creating a Path to Employment: Tips for Parents with Children with DisabilitiesWork in the 21st century is more team-based than ever. Start by exploring the world of work together.  View this factsheet at http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/creating_path_to_Employment.pdf.
Essential Skills to Getting a Job: What Young People with Disabilities Need to Know Often referred to as “soft skills”, work ethic, communication, teamwork and critical thinking are all must have’s for youth in today’s job market. View this factsheet at http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/essential_job_skills.pdf.
Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce: Including Talents of Young People with Disabilities Youth with disabilities bring fresh, new perspectives that enrich strategies for meeting business challenges and achieving success. View this factsheet at http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/shaping_tomorrows_workforce.pdf.

Cleaning for Healthy Schools Toolkit Now Available!

The Cleaning for Healthy Schools Toolkit is a training tool for increasing knowledge and commitment to adopt best practices for green cleaning in schools and child-care centers.  Four easy-to-use learning modules include audio presentations with PowerPoint slides that can be customized for schools to introduce and implement green cleaning for practices that help safeguard student and adult health.  The Cleaning for Healthy Schools Toolkit is an open source resource, industry free, externally reviewed tool to develop programs and policy for school communities.  The free, online Cleaning for Healthy Schools Toolkit Presentations are available online at http://www.cleaningforhealthyschools.org/. 

Curriculum, Learning, and Assessment Support Project

The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services announces the start of a new project focused on students with significant cognitive disabilities: Curriculum, Learning, and Assessment Support Project (CLASP). CLASP will be housed at Tallahassee Community College. Virginia (Gina) Horton from Orange County Public Schools is the project manager and Bennett Buckles from St. Lucie County School District is the project consultant. CLASP is designed to support access to the general curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the Florida Alternate Assessment through appropriate instruction aligned with the Sunshine State Standards Access Points. CLASP will develop and disseminate the training and technical assistance necessary for school districts to develop self-sustaining programming, professional development, and effective instructional practices for students with significant cognitive disabilities with an emphasis on the core content areas of Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science. For more information please contact Karen Denbroeder at (850) 245-0475 or at karen.denbroeder@fldoe.org.

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