E-News—Issue 5, Number 4
Welcome to the March 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 Update: Celebrating the progress of our partner districts!
- Job Opportunity: Associate director of professional development/urban special education
- Web Site of the Month: Assistive technology for individuals with disabilities
- New Resources: Three new publications cover issues related to school reform
- National Institute Support Desk
National Institute Update
New publications chart the progress of the National Institute's five partner districts
Each year, the National Institute produces in-depth profiles of each of our partner districts - Boston, Chicago, Denver, Socorro/El Paso, and Washington, DC - to develop a clearer understanding of the ways in which all educators can better support the needs of students with disabilities. These profiles cover each district's policy environment, school organization and climate, and community context. These documents are also an important component to our evaluation system as we track the following outcomes across the five districts:
- Increased numbers in the proportion and number of children with disabilities served effectively in urban general education environments.
- Increased numbers of educators who demonstrate high quality skills in serving all students in urban general education environments.
- Higher numbers of teachers who graduate prepared to work in urban environments.
- Increased instances of students with and without disabilities engaged in meaningful, positive relationships within and outside of the urban school environment.
- Increased capacity of district staff at levels to improve communication and collaborative planning to improve student results.
District profiles for the 2000-2001 school year are available at http://www.edc.org/urban/district.htm (at this page, choose the school district(s) you'd like to read about).
Brief stories of the progress of the National Institute's partner school districts reform efforts are also featured in the latest issue of our Spotlight series. Downloadable copies are available at http://www.edc.org/urban/publicat.htm#spotlight/Spot5.pdf.
Events
Narrating dis/ABILITY: Autobiographical Accounts
April 29-30 (pre-conference April 28) Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, Syracuse, NY
This conference is recommended for anyone interested in disability rights, disability studies, and inclusive education. Keynote speakers include:
- Adrienne Asch - Luce Professor of Bio-Ethics, Wellesley College; co-author of Women with Disabilities
- Kenny Fries - Writer, professor, and editor of Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out
- Billy Golfus - Co-writer and co-producer of the award winning documentary When Billy Broke His Head
- Tito Mukhopadhyay - Author of Beyond the Silence
The registration deadline is April 24. A limited number of scholarships are available -requests must be made by April 5. Complete conference details and registration form can be found on the Facilitated Communication Institute Web site hosted at Syracuse University: http://soeweb.syr.edu/thefci/april2002bro.htm
RESCHEDULED: "Rethinking Learning Disabilities," a teleseminar with G. Reid Lyon has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 21 (11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST)
The National Institute's partner, the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative continues its popular series of phone seminars with "Rethinking Learning Disabilities," featuring presenter G. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child Development & Behavior Branch, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. Participants will have an exciting opportunity to interact with Dr. Lyon and probe his thinking about the relationship between reading disabilities and learning disabilities, the role both special education and general education play in the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities, and the importance of early intervention. The site registration fee is $195, which includes access from one telephone line - several people can participate together at your site - and one set of reproducible handouts.
Register by calling toll-free at 1-800-775-7654 (Seminar Code: USE6945-0 or online at https://www.krm.com/regonline/USEvcregs.nsf/USE6945-0.
Developing Local Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents with Emotional Disturbances and their Families: Family Involvement and Cultural Competence
July 10-14
Washington, DC
The National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health is offering Training Institutes on local systems of care for children and adolescents with or at risk for emotional disturbances and their families. The intent of the institutes is to provide in-depth practical information on how to develop and operate community-based systems of care and how to provide high quality, effective clinical interventions and supports within them. Featured speakers include former First Lady Rosalyn Carter and Native American storyteller, Dr. Terry Tafoya. A limited number of scholarships is available to assist family members of children and adolescents with emotional problems and youth, and child care services for children ages six months through 14 years is available.
For more information, contact the technical assistance center at 202.687.5000 or email institutes2002@mindspring.com.
Web Site of the Month
Institute offers free publications on secondary education reform
The Research Institute on Secondary Education Reform for Youth with Disabilities (RISER) is a project of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs that looks at the critical features of instruction, assessment, and support strategies that promote authentic understanding and achievement for all students. RISER's Web site - http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/riser/index2.html - contains a host of free publications, including "Reform, Inclusion, and Assessment," "Life After High School: Which Post School Outcomes Matter Most for Students with Disabilities and Without Disabilities in Restructured Highschools?" and "Standards and Scoring Criteria for Assessment Tasks and Student Performance."
New Resources
New book provides strategies for identifying and preventing child abuse and neglect
"Abuse and Neglect: The Educator's Guide to the Identification and Prevention of Child Maltreatment" by Barbara Lowenthal, Ed.D., Northeastern Illinois University
To help children succeed academically and feel better about themselves, educators, guidance counselors, school nurses, and other education specialists must learn to recognize and address instances of maltreatment: physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect. This new book arms education professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to manage this crucial responsibility, communicating the causes, symptoms, and effects of maltreatment and the practical strategies needed to identify and report it.
For more information about this book or other resources in the National Institute's library database, please visit http://www2.edc.org/urban/view.asp?653. Available from Brookes Publishing http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/lowenthal-5184/index.htm
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.