School Edition
Promising Pathways 2010
| April 10, 2010 | ||
| 8:00 am | to | 5:00 pm |
Mark your calendar for this years’ Promising Pathways Conference at Florida Gulf Coast University. Details about speakers will be available soon online at www.fgcu.edu/events/promisingpathways. This conference on autism will be presented for physicians, parents and educators with national experts in the research and study of autism and autism spectrum disorders. This is the third annual “Promising Pathways” Conference and will be held on April 10, 2010 in the FGCU Student Ballroom. The conference will offer pertinent information for professionals in the medical and educational fields as well as parents and caregivers, and all those affected by and/or interested in the study of autism. Check the website soon for updated information! Register early at https://registerce.fgcu.edu/dev_students.asp?action=browse&main=Autism+Conference&misc=532. For more information or question, please contact Beth at 239-992-4680 ext. 202.
Dr. Temple Grandin HBO Premier
HBO movie premier coming in February on the life of Dr. Temple Grandin. “Autism gave her a vision. She gave it a voice.” Claire Danes is the actress who portrays Temple Grandin. The following URL, http://tinyurl.com/yc2gsbx, will take you to the movie trailers for the HBO movie as well as information for the Future Horizons conferences in 2010. Temple Grandin will be a speaker at a number of the Future Horizons conferences this year.
Important Changes in Administration of FTCE and FELE Examinations
Paper based administration will no longer being offered and college based testing sites are being phased out. Testing will be computer based and conducted at Pearson VUE professional testing sites around the state. This will allow a wider range of times and days available for scheduling and quicker turnaround of scores. Please visit the website at http://www.fl.nesinc.com/ for more current updates.
Building New Theories about the Preschool Brain
For much of the past century, educators and scientists believed that children could not learn math before the age of five because their brains simply were not ready, according to The New York Times. Recent research has overturned this assumption, along with other conventional wisdom about the acquisition of geometry, reading, language, and self-control skills in class. The findings from a branch of research called cognitive neuroscience are helping to clarify when young brains are best able to grasp fundamental concepts. Teaching of basic academic skills, once based in tradition and guesswork, is now giving way to approaches based on cognitive science. In several cities including Boston, Washington, D.C., and Nashville, schools are experimenting with curricula to cultivate math skills in preschoolers. In others, teachers are using techniques developed by brain scientists to help children overcome dyslexia. And schools in a dozen states have begun to use a program intended to accelerate the development of young students’ frontal lobes, improving self-control in class. “Teaching is an ancient craft, and yet we really have had no idea how it affected the developing brain,” said Kurt Fischer, director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program at Harvard. “Well, that is beginning to change, and for the first time we are seeing the fields of brain science and education work together.” Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/health/research/21brain.html?_r=1&em.
Winter 2010 Florida RtI Update Newsletter
The Florida RtI Update is the newsletter published by Florida’s Problem-solving/Response to Intervention Project based at the University of South Florida. The Winter 2010 publication is now available for download at http://floridarti.usf.edu/resources/newsletters/2010/winter2010.pdf. To access the project’s website, go to http://floridarti.usf.edu. If you have difficulty downloading the newsletter, please contact Judi Hyde, Communications Coordinator, Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project at jhyde@tempest.coedu.usf.edu.
Growth Models and Students with Disabilities Report of State Interviews
This in-depth policy analysis begins with a background that briefly describes accountability requirements from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the assessments states use to meet this requirement. A comparison between the status model for determining performance levels and the growth models is given. Further, a description of three types of growth models that states in a federal pilot program use is given. A summary of the evaluation of this pilot program is provided as well. Fifteen states with approved growth models as part of their accountability system were interviewed. Findings are organized around the following topics:
- Special education staff involvement in the development of growth models;
- How students with disabilities are included in the growth models;
- Training provided on growth models;
- Reporting of growth model results; and
- Benefits and challenges of a growth model.
The document closes with a discussion of the complexity of adding a growth model to a state’s accountability and assessment system; obstacles to including students who participate in alternate assessments based on alternate academic standards in a growth model; and progress in instruction and assessment for this population of students that could ease these obstacles. View this report at http://projectforum.org/docs/GrowthModelsandStudentswithDisabilities-ReportofStateInterviews.pdf.
FAAST Affordable Housing in Florida
In response to the housing crisis directly affecting individuals with disabilities and their families, the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, Inc. (FAAST) completely updated their Affordable Housing Website with the most current inventory of affordable housing throughout Florida, in collaboration with the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies. For more information go to http://www.faast.org/housing.cfm.
US DOE RtI and Early Intervening Services
The US Department of Education has posted information about Response to Intervention and Early Intervening Services. Since publication of the final regulations, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education has received requests for clarification of some of these regulations. This is one in a series of question and answer documents prepared by OSERS to address some of the most important issues raised by requests for clarification on a variety of high-interest topics. Read more at
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cdynamic%2CQaCorner%2C8%2C.
NIUSI Leadership Academies
These are being shared again as the modules include many of the skills needed for successful implementation of RtI, and are definitely worth a look!
The National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI) has developed a set of leadership academies that are designed to support urban schools as they develop inclusive teaching and learning environments for their students. Each academy is designed as a 3-hour learning experience for building leadership teams who come together on a regular basis to explore the process of becoming inclusive. The following topics are included; Building Leadership Teams, Mining Data, Inclusive Schooling, Universal Design for Learning, Co-teaching and Assessment. Check it out at http://urbanschools.org/professional.html.
Free Webinars to Focus on Students with Significant Disabilities
Partners In Transition, in collaboration with TASH, is pleased to announce a series of webinars focusing on students with significant disabilities. All webinars will take place on a Tuesdays from 3:00 to 4:15pm EST. To access the webinar service, go to http://www.onlineconferencingsystems.com/iel/. All webinar materials will be posted on www.PartnersInTransition.org afterward.
Webinar Topics:
February 9: Educational Supports and Person Centered Planning for Youth with Significant Disabilities
How do we utilize person centered planning strategies to guide the IEP and ITP development process? What Post-Secondary opportunities and supports are available to students with significant disabilities and how do we connect them to these opportunities? How do we know what educational areas and options to look at? Some of the strategies we should be incorporating (an improving upon) within our own services should involve promoting self-advocacy skills, self determination and autonomy for our students. We should be looking at ways to do this throughout their school years. Family involvement is an important part of this process and is a key to ensuring success. We will share some person centered planning strategies that will help guide us through this process and look at educational options and supports for students with significant disabilities.
March 9: Work-based Learning Experiences & Employment Supports for Youth with Significant Disabilities
The only way to get people “ready” to work is by actually working; helping people by giving them access to real jobs and work based learning experiences. Work is not only a valued role that provides an income, it is a societal expectation. The best way we can promote career and employment success for the students we support is by providing actual paid work experiences while they are still in school. Areas we will cover: career planning; environmental matching; positive behavior supports at work; job carving and job supports; collaborating with families & finding a job; building a resume; and social security work incentives.
April 6: Navigating the Community for Youth with Significant Disabilities
What are the “Good things in Life?” Most people would say that having valued social roles, healthy relationships, being able to access the places & activities you enjoy, and having a home of your own would be a good start. But, how do we assist individuals with significant disabilities to access these things? What community living options are available? What supports are available? Can someone live in their own place if they need 24 hour supports? What about transportation? Healthcare? How about hobbies, recreation and social FUN stuff? What about waiting lists? How are we involving families, raising expectations, and promoting interagency collaboration in this process? We will discuss all this and more in this session.
To register please send an email including your name and the webinar(s) in which you would like to participate to thompsont@iel.org. If you have any specific questions, or would like to see specific issues addressed in the presentation, please include them in the email. Information, additional materials, and any ‘homework’ will be sent approximately a week prior to the event. If you have any other questions or need materials in alternate formats, contact Tara Thompson at thompsont@iel.org or (727) 253-3117.
