E-News—Issue 5, Number 8

Welcome to the August 2002 issue of E-News!

E-News is designed to keep individuals informed of new developments in urban education and inclusive schooling practices in urban schools. In particular, E-News includes brief items of interest around the work of the National Institute and other organizations engaged in similar work, current research, upcoming conferences and events, new online and off-line products and resources, and other news happening in the field.

Features this month

• National Institute Event: National Inclusive Schools Week Update (Dec. 2-6)
• Publication Highlight: President's Commission Report on Special Education
• Web Site of the Month: Center for Education, Diversity, and Excellence
• Events: CEC's 2002-03 Web seminar series
• Resources: Teacher shortage crisis; alternative routes to special education; free Speak to Write manual
• National Institute Support Desk

National Institute Event

National Inclusive Schools Week Update (December 2-6)

With school back in session, it's time to spread the word about the 2nd Annual National Inclusive School Week. To help you plan for the Week, the National Institute is offering an updated Celebration Kit containing publications that outline the benefits of inclusive schools, suggested readings for children and adults, celebration ideas and lesson plans, and materials to use in promoting the Week. The 2002 kit, which will be available in the fall, will also include ideas for older students, such as ways to involve civics and journalism classes, and student government clubs and organizations in serving-learning projects, essay and poster contests, and other activities that focus on the benefits of building inclusive schools and communities. Now is the perfect time to begin speaking with your school boards and other officials at the state and local level about declaring December 2-6 Inclusive Schools Week in your community--you may even want to engage your students in the process of obtaining an official proclamation. A new press release and sample proclamation will help you get started. Both documents are available for downloading from the National Institute's homepage: http://www.inclusiveschools.org.

Publication Highlight

A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families

Last fall, President Bush created a 24-member President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, charging it with the role of studying issues related to federal, state, and local special education programs. The Commission held open hearings and meetings across the country aimed at improving the educational performance of children with disabilities, during which members heard from 109 expert witnesses and more than 175 parents, teachers, students with disabilities, and members of the public. Hundreds of other individuals provided the Commission with letters, written statements, and research, representing the most expansive review of special education in the 27-year history of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Based on this information, the Commission released A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families on July 1. The report contains three broad recommendations:

1. Focus on results--not process
2. Embrace a model of prevention not a model of failure
3. Consider children with disabilities as general education children first

Download a free copy from the Commission's Web site: http://www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/whspecialeducation/reports.html

Web Site of the Month

Center for Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE)

CREDE, ( http://www.crede.ucsc.edu ), is a federally funded research and development program focused on improving the education of students whose ability to reach their potential is challenged by language or cultural barriers, race, geographic location, or poverty. The project's Web site publishes research findings and products in the areas of

• Language learning and academic achievement
• Professional development for diversity
• Preservice teacher education for diversity
• Schools, family, and community
• Mathematics/science and diversity
• Teacher, school, and systemic integration for effective reform

It also contains a host of free tools related to teaching, professional development, research, and policymaking.

Events

CEC announces a series of live, interactive Web seminars for 2002-03 school year:

• Behavior Intervention Planning: Using Functional Behavioral Assessments to Plan Realistic and Effective Interventions October 10, 2002
• Preventing Problem Behaviors: Successful Schoolwide, Classroom, and Individual Strategies to Stop Problem Behavior Before it Starts November 7, 2002
• Student-Led IEPs: Practical Strategies for Fostering Self-Determination November 14, 2002
• Creating Better IEPs: Practical Strategies for Developing Effective and Legally Compliant IEPs February 26, 2003
• Differentiated Instruction: A Practical and Powerful Way to Enhance Student Achievement March 11, 2003

Participants can earn continuing education units from the convenience of their school or office. Sign up for three or more events and save on the registration fees. For more information or to register, please visit http://www.cec.sped.org/pd/webseminar/index2.html.

New Resources

Article from the National Institute's director addresses the teacher shortage crisis

Based on research and interviews with beginning teachers and leaders of teacher preparation programs, the National Institute believes that teacher candidates who learn to practice in urban professional development schools are more likely to take jobs in urban areas and stay to teach, because they generally are better prepared and supported than graduates of regular teacher preparation programs. Read more about the successful programs that Dr. Elizabeth Kozleski describes in the latest issue of Urban Perspectives, the newsletter of the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative.

Download a complimentary copy from the Collaborative's Web site: http://www.urbancollaborative.org/members/news.html.

Alternative Routes to Certification in Special Education

The traditional sources of supply for special education classrooms, freshly minted graduates of college or university programs, have not been able to meet the current growing demand for teachers. School districts, particularly those in urban and rural areas, begin the school year with unfilled positions and lose even more personnel as the year progresses. A new monograph, The Proliferation of Alternative Routes to Certification in Special Education: A Critical Review of the Literature, defines and explores alternative routes to certification (ARC) in special education.

The efficacy of the various approaches and features associated with successful programs are highlighted. The review concludes with a series of recommendations for policymakers, higher education institutions, and teacher educators who are in the position of developing ARC programs. This publication is available for downloading from the National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education's Web site: http://www.special-ed-careers.org/whats_new.

Speak to Write Special Offer!

The Speak to Write project is offering the remaining copies of Speak to Write: Supporting the Use of Discrete Speech Recognition Technology for Struggling Writers manual free (the only cost is shipping and handling charges of $5.95)--ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. This manual is appropriate for technology minded special educators, speech pathologists, parents, and others who are looking for solutions for students who have severe writing difficulties. This manual is based on the research and field-work of the project and assumes the user has a basic knowledge of DragonDictate. It includes suggestions for implementation of speech recognition in schools, for individualization of training on DragonDictate, for integration of DragonDictate with language arts curriculum, and for developing "train the trainer" models. It also includes training tools and scripts that can be used with adult pairs or in the training of students. To order the Speak to Write Manual, visit http://www.edc.org/spk2wrt/manual_home.htm, or call the distribution center at 1-800-793-5076. All orders must be prepaid with a check or credit card by September 13, 2002. Note: The manual DOES NOT include the DragonDictate discrete speech recognition software which must be purchased separately through Dragon Systems or a reseller (the Speak to Write Web site - http://www.edc.org/spk2wrt/links - has some resellers listed).

National Institute Support Desk

For more information about the National Institute for Urban School Improvement, please feel free to contact us.