E-News—Issue 7, Number 3

Welcome to the April 2004 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: Building stronger relationships between school personnel and families; PI examines impact of Brown
• Events: Still Separate, Still Unequal (April 26-30); CEC (April 14-17); TASH teleconferences (various dates)
• Web Site of the Month: Access Center
• New Resources: Inclusive Urban Schools; Research on Resiliency; Policymaker’s Primer on Education Research
• National Institute Help Desk

 

National Institute Update

Building stronger relationships between school personnel and families

The National Institute for Urban School Improvement is pleased to announce a new series of publications focused on building stronger relationships between school personnel and families in urban communities.

Family members play significant roles in the education of children and youth. When family members talk to their children about schooling, participate with school personnel, and support their children's efforts, those students achieve more, attend more regularly, and are more motivated and engaged as learners. At the same time, many urban schools struggle to get parents to come to meetings and events. Schools may be unwelcoming and/or intimidating to some parents, especially those whose primary language is other than English, who are working hard to raise their income level out of poverty, or who may feel shy about developing relationships with teachers. Building the capacity of urban schools to address these and other issues in an effort to improve the connections between families and school personnel is an important aspect of the National Institute's agenda.
The Family-School Linkages Project of the National Institute has released the “Did You Know?” series, which includes brief, research-based summaries that are designed to improve the communication, linkages, and relations between school personnel and the families of their students. Current titles include:

• 10 Things Any School Can Do to Build Parent Involvement…Plus 5 Great Ways to Fail!
• About the Difference Between "Parent Involvement" and "Family-Community Linkages"
• About Families and Schools as Partners
• About a Recent Review of Research on Family-School Linkages
• About the Role of "Cultural Capital" for Families
• What High School Students Think About Their Families Being Involved in School
• What Parents of Kids with Special Needs Think About Their Child's Educational Program
• What We Mean by "Family and Community Connections with Schools"

Free, downloadable copies of the publications in the "Did You Know?" series are available on the National Institute's Web site:http://www.inclusiveschools.org. Spanish versions of these publications will soon be published.

New National Institute Principal Investigator publication examines the impact of the Brown

National Institute Principal Investigator Dr. Cheryl Utley of the Juniper Gardens Children's Project, University of Kansas and Dr. Festus Obiakor of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, are the authors of "Educating Culturally Diverse Learners with Exceptionalities: A Critical Analysis of the Brown Case." In this article, they examine the Brown case and its impact on the historical contexts of special education as they affect culturally diverse learners with exceptionalities. Available in the March issue of the "Peabody Journal of Education." To download a copy, please visit http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327930pje7902_10

Events

A free online discussion sponsored by the National Institute’s partner, the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt) Still Separate, Still Unequal: Special Education & Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954

Monday, April 26 to Friday, April 30, 2004

Co-facilitated by Dr. Beth Harry and NCCRESt Principal Investigators, Drs. Alfredo J. Artiles, Janette K. Klingner, Elizabeth B. Kozleski, and Cheryl A. Utley

Fifty years after the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case, we still must combat discrimination:

• the discrimination of students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are commonly over-represented in special education
• the discrimination of children and youth with disabilities who are segregated in separate classrooms
• the discrimination of students who attend our nation’s overcrowded, rundown, ill-staffed urban schools

This weeklong online event will link the historic Brown case to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 and the current day disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education. It is designed to bring together a wide array of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and others concerned about finally fulfilling the promise of Brown.

Dr. Harry of the University of Miami, Florida, will guide participants in a historical overview of Brown and current research and data related to the separate and unequal education that still prevails for both children and youth of diverse backgrounds and those with disabilities. NCCRESt's principal investigators will share a conceptual framework for reducing disproportionality in special education and ensuring a culturally responsive education for all students. Participants will be encouraged to offer their own thoughts and strategies related to achieving true educational justice for all in modern day America.

For more information or to log onto the discussion, please visit NCCRESt's Web site: www.nccrest.org.

Council for Exceptional Children's Annual Convention & Expo April 14-17, 2004 • New Orleans

Several sessions at CEC's annual convention will focus on the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students. The National Institute will be involved in two of these programs.

On Thursday, April 15 (8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.), National Institute Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Cheryl Utley will be presenting a publications workshop titled "Research, Scholarship, and Knowledge: The Power of Insider Cultural Worldview." Dr. Utley will be joined by Drs. Festus E. Obiakor, Bridgie Ford, and James Patton.

Dr. Utley will also be serving as a co-facilitator of the Multicultural Summit, which will be held on Saturday, April 17th (8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.). Attendees will participate in small group discussions focused on critical issues concerning culturally and linguistically diverse students. Additional facilitators will include: Betty Greene-Bryant, CEC; Janette Klingner and Alfredo Artiles, National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems; Anh-Kay Pizano and Tracy Dace, Linking Academic Scholars to Educational Resources; Norma Lopez-Reyna, the Monarch Center; Evelyn Astwood, National Alliance of Black School Educators; and Rachael Gonzales, Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners.

For more information or to register, please visit CEC's Web site: http://www.cec.sped.org/neworleans/reg.html

TASH Announces Two New Series of Telephone Conferences

Series 1: "Inclusive Education: Effective Strategies to Access the General Ed Curriculum and Achieve Inclusive Outcomes for Children with Significant Disabilities"

• The Effects of "Pull Out" on Community and Learning (April 27)
• If Everyone Agrees This is SO Important, Why Do So Few Kids Have Friends? (April 29)
• Alternatives to Over-Reliance on Paraprofessionals (May 5)
• 6 1/2 Lessons for Inclusive Educational Outcomes (May 12)
• Beyond Access: Students with Autism Learning General Ed Curriculum (May 18)
• The Least Dangerous Assumption in Practice (May 21)
• Communication Supports within General Education Classrooms (May 24)

Series 2: "The Future of Adult Services: Managing New Directions in Uncertain Times"

• Creating High Energy Organizational Culture (May 20)
• Out-Maneuvering the System (May 27)
• Using Self-Determination Tools to Achieve Flexible Supports (June 1)
• CMS's Independence Plus Initiative (June 8)
• Recapturing Person Center Plans (June 10)Building Meaningful Daytimes (June 15)
• The Real Challenges of Individualized Supports (June 16)
• Paying Customers Are Not Enough (June 22)

For more details, including registration rates, please visit: http://www.tash.org/teleconferences/index.htm

Web Site of the Month

The Access Center

The Access Center ( http://www.k8accesscenter.org ) is a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education to improve educational outcomes for elementary and middle school students with disabilities. The center is dedicated to providing assistance that strengthens state and local capacity to help students with disabilities effectively learn in the general education curriculum. Highlights of their Web site include Information Sharing Communities on topics such as accommodations and supports, alignment of IEPs to standards, and parent/family engagement as well as a new document entitled Strategies to Improve Access to the General Education Curriculum Information Chart. The chart details the following for ten research-proven practices: student characteristics addressed, practice description, how it improves access, supporting research, implications for practices, and sources of additional information.

New Resources

Inclusive Urban Schools

"Inclusive Urban Schools," edited by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, uses nine in-depth case studies of actual city schools or districts to explore key issues in urban inclusive education. Two of the National Institute partner districts--Houston and New York City--are highlighted in this compilation of articles.

Readers will:

• Examine how districts addressed crucial topics in inclusion; such as early literacy instruction, diversity, peer relationships, access to the general curriculum, curricular adaptations, and transition;
• Discover practical ideas and lessons—complete with sample forms and worksheets—that you can be used with students of varying grade levels and disabilities;
• Explore the history of the inclusion effort; and
• Learn from leading researchers, who expand on the lessons learned and provide information about implementing inclusive reforms.

For more information, visit http://www.brookespublishing.com

Research on Resiliency: What Have We Learned?

Ten years ago, resiliency theory was relatively new to the fields of prevention and education. Today, it is at the heart of hundreds of school and community programs that recognize in all young people the capacity to lead healthy, successful lives. In her new book, "Resiliency: What We Have Learned," Bonnie Benard cites hundreds of studies that emphasis the crucial role that families, schools, and communities play in supporting, and not undermining, this biological drive for normal human development. Of special interest is the evidence that resiliency prevails in most cases by far--even in extreme situations, such as those caused by poverty, troubled families, and violent neighborhoods. Benard’s analysis is a discussion of what the research has found along with descriptions of what application of the research looks like in successful efforts to support young people. Several chapters are available for free or the book can be purchased online at http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/712.

Policymaker's Primer on Education Research

The Education Commission of the States and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning have launched "Policymaker's Primer on Education Research," a new online interactive document to help education leaders better understand and evaluate education research. This tool is designed to help policymakers and other interested individuals answer three questions:

1. What does the research say?
2. Is the research trustworthy?
3. How can the research be used to guide policy?

The hope is that users will be better able to make evidenced-based decisions about education policies, gain a better understanding of research methods, and become more informed consumers of research. For more information, on this first-of-its kind effort, visit http://www.ecs.org/html/educationIssues/Research/primer/index.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.