E-News—Issue 5, Number 7

Welcome to the June 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

• Publication Highlight: A report on special education from the families who use it
• Events: Free grant-writing workshop (July 18-19); international conference on learning disabilities (October 10-12)
• Call for Papers: Multiple Voices calls for manuscripts on the education of minority children
• New Resources: CEC's IDEA reauthorization recommendations, implementing the No Child Left Behind
• National Institute Support Desk

Publication Highlight

When It's Your Own Child: A Report on Special Education from the Families Who Use It

The Public Agenda's latest study, When It's Your Own Child, examines special education as seen by the parents who entrust their children to the system. Most of parents polled in this study say the stigma attached to special education is fading, and two-thirds give their local programs high ratings. But they give mixed results on whether the right kids are getting help. Seven in 10 say too many children with special needs lose out because their parents do not know what is available to them, and more than half say it is up to parents to find out how to help their child because "the school is not going to volunteer the information." Nearly two-thirds also say some kids with behavior problems get misdirected into special education?but at the same time, few think their local school was in a rush to find a problem with their child.

Free copies of the report may be downloaded at http://www.publicagenda.org until July 10 (a quick registration process is required). After July 10, only print copies will be available for $10, plus $2.50 shipping/handling. To order, call 212-686-6610.

Call for papers

Multiple Voices calls for papers on the education of minority children Multiple Voices, the journal of the Division of Diverse and Exceptional Learners (DDEL), has announced a call for papers related to the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners with exceptionalities. The November issue of Multiple Voices will provide a comprehensive response to the controversial National Academies of Sciences' report "Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education" (available online at http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074398/html). Manuscripts should enhance the understanding of problems, trends, and research-to-practice issues pertinent to the education of minority children. The deadline date for submitting manuscripts is August 31, 2002. For more information and manuscript guidelines, please contact Cheryl Utley at 913.321.3143 ext. 273 or email cautley@ukans.edu.

Events

Apply now for a free grant-writing workshop

LASER (Linking Academic Scholars to Educational Resources), a project of the Office of Special Education Programs, is sponsoring a free grant-writing workshop at Howard University in Washington, DC. This workshop is designed to support researchers of special education who are planning to apply for the directed research or model demonstration projects, which were recently announced in the Federal Register: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2002-2/061902c.html .

Researchers are required to come to this workshop with a draft of their proposal in order to receive feedback and allow adequate time to prepare for the July 22 proposal deadline. The two-day program is free-of-charge. Participants will receive mentoring, research support, on-site computer usage, and lodging and airfare (if needed).

Visit Project LASER's Web site (http://www.coedu.usf.edu/laser) for more information and to download an application, which are due Monday, July 8. Specific questions can be addressed to Project Director Dr. Brenda Townsend (813.974.1384 or btownsen@tempest.coedu.usf.edu) or Mr. Tracy Dace (813.974.1423 or tdace@tempest.coedu.usf.edu).

24th International Conference on Learning Disabilities

October 10-12 Adams Mark Hotel in Denver, Colorado This annual gathering of classroom teachers, diagnosticians, researchers, teacher trainers, and consultants features presentations and hands-on workshops that focus on the following strands: developing professionals, legal and policy issues, language differences and learning disabilities, literacy, mathematics, positive behavioral supports, assessment, and transition skills across the life span.

Keynote speakers are Louisa C. Moats of the University of Texas, Houston, who will discuss "Preventing and Treating Reading, Spelling, and Writing Difficulties by Using Research-Based Practices," and Alba Ortiz of the University of Texas, Austin who will present "Is It a Language or Cultural Difference, or Is It a Learning Disability?"

For more information or to register, visit: http://www.cldinternational.org/c/@xwCOZdvFnmMU6/Pages/conference.html

New Resources

CEC takes on the reauthorization of IDEA

Perhaps there is no hotter topic in special education right now than the upcoming reauthorization of IDEA. The Council for Exceptional Children weighs in with its opinions in a new document that covers the following IDEA policy issues: finance, disproportionate representation, qualified personnel, increasing accountability while reducing paperwork, identification and eligibility: learning disabilities, discipline procedures, and early childhood. Copies of "IDEA Reauthorization Recommendations" may be downloaded at http://www.cec.sped.org/gov/IDEA_reauth_4-2002.pdf .

Implementing the No Child Left Behind Act: What It Means for IDEA

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, many questions have been raised about its implications for special education. This prompted the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) to develop a document that identifies those areas in the act that have clear implications for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). NASDSE views the document as "moving target." As it receives more information from the Department of Education, it will updated. Copies are available for downloading at http://www.nasdse.org/downloadnclb.htm.

Teach Our Children Well: Essential Strategies for the Urban Classroom

By Betty Doerr, Helen Maniates, and Margaret Golden. Focusing on rapport, tradition, pride of place, a sense of belonging, a standard of personal best, academic engagement, and support to independence, Teach Our Children Well shows

• how the personal authority that teachers exert, coupled with rapport with each child, motivates students to strive for their personal best
• how academic engagement with a supportive, organized physical environment provides students with a chance to achieve long-lasting learning
• how time spent building respect among students produces a sense of belonging
• how, with such a scaffold for learning in place, students increasingly internalize what they have experienced and start functioning independently and successfully.

This book is full of activities, projects, and student work samples that will help elementary school teachers make their classroom climates more learner friendly. For more information or to order from the publisher, please visit: http://www.heinemann.com/shared/products/E00387.asp.

National Institute Support Desk

Previous issues of E-News can be viewed at: niusi.obiki.org/enews.htm.

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