E-News—Issue 7, Number 6

Welcome to the November 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 Inclusive Schools Week Update: Announcing two telephone
  seminars on "Working Together"
• Web Site of the Month: National Dropout Prevention Center for Students
  with Disabilities
• Professional Development Opportunity: Online Courses to Improve
  Reading and Writing
• New Resources: When Special Education and General Education Unite,
  Everyone Benefits; Addressing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
  Student Overrepresentation in Special Education; Access to Technology for
  Students with Disabilities
• National Institute Help Desk

National Inclusive Schools Week Update

In celebration of the 4th Annual National Inclusive Schools Week, the
National Institute, Northeast Regional Resource Center, and Office of
Special Education Programs' LRE Part B Community of Practice are pleased
to present...

WORKING TOGETHER:
Family, School, and Community Partnerships Across the Nation that Promote
Inclusive Communities for All Children

A Telephone Seminar Series

Working Together: Families and Schools
Monday, December 6, 2004
12:00 noon-1:30 p.m. Eastern
{SEMINAR CODE: NIU9023-0}

Learn how schools and families across the nation are working together to
make inclusive education a reality for all students.

Working Together: Schools and Communities
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
12:00 noon-1:30 p.m. Eastern
{SEMINAR CODE: NIU9024-0}

Discover how urban schools and communities across the nation are
collaborating to improve the quality of education and community life for
all students, including those with disabilities.

Site Registration Fee Per Seminar - $85

About the teleseminars:
Change is not a process that occurs in isolation. Families, teachers,
paraprofessionals, and other school personnel, state and local
administrators, and community members must reach out across all levels of
the system to improve the quality of education for students with
disabilities and to make sustainable changes in the system to better
support the principles of inclusive education. Each teleseminar will
include a panel discussion with school, family and community leaders from
urban schools. Participants will have an opportunity to call in questions
during the Question and Answer period.

Participants can invite as many people to participate as one telephone
connection can accommodate. When you register, you will receive
instructions on how to access the seminar from your telephone and how to
receive participant materials by mail or e-mail. Participants can pay
using a credit card, check, or purchase order. If you wish to use a
purchase order you must register by phone. All purchase orders must be
made out to Education Development Center, Inc.

Who should attend this program?
Classroom and special education teachers, school based leadership teams,
central office and building level leadership, parent leaders,
policymakers, and representatives of state education agencies.

Web Site of the Month

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

http://www.dropoutprevention.org/NDPC-SD/index.htm

Preventing dropout and improving school completion rates for students with
disabilities is a critical and immediate national goal. The National
Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) is a
new center funded by the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S.
Department of Education to address this issue. NDPC-SD is pleased to
announce the launch of their Web site, which will feature workshops,
professional development institutes, electronic communications, and other
Web-based resources to help local education agencies increase school
completion rates and decrease dropout rates among students with
disabilities.

Events

CEC Web Seminars

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is offering an innovative new series of Web seminars, specially designed for special education
administrators. These seminars provide practical strategies from experts
and address today's challenging special education issues.

Accountability: A Shared Goal
November 30, 2004; 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. EST
Judy L. Elliott, Ph.D.
The focus is now, more than ever, on standards-based results for all
students, including students with disabilities. In this time of limited
resources and competing priorities, schools and administrators are being
held to a higher level of accountability than ever before. This seminar
will explore data-based ways to promote systemic change that ultimately
impact staffing, achievement, and the provision of legally defensible
programs.

Bringing Services to Students Through Collaboration
January 18, 2005; 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. EST
Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
The purpose of this seminar is to outline, for special education directors
and other school professionals, a context for stressing collaborative
approaches to educating students with disabilities and other special
needs. In particular, it is designed to provide both an overview of
co-teaching, as well as detailed information about planning, implementing,
and evaluating co-teaching programs. Participants also will have the
opportunity to explore data related to co-teaching effectiveness and the
very real issues that sometimes occur when this approach to service
delivery is prioritized.
Each seminar costs $250 and participants can invite as many people to
participate as one Internet and telephone connection can accommodate. For
more information or to register, visit
http://www.cec.sped.org/pd/webseminar/.

Professional Development Opportunity

Two New Online Courses Designed to Improve Reading and Writing

Literacy Matters, a project that improves the literacy development of
middle grades and secondary school students, is offering two online
courses for English language arts, social studies, science, mathematics,
special education, Title 1, and ESL teachers in grades 4-12 and staff
developers.

Helping Struggling Readers Improve Comprehension
Six sessions: January 10 - February 28, 2005

This workshop focuses specifically on supporting students who struggle to
understand the meaning of what they read. Participants will explore the
different types of comprehension strategies: i.e., building vocabulary
skills, using teacher modeling, having students work collaboratively, and
building comprehension monitoring skills. As a final project, participants
will design and implement a lesson plan.

Improving Reading and Writing in the Content Areas
Six sessions: March 14 - May 2, 2005

This workshop will give teachers the tools they need to integrate literacy
strategies into content learning to help raise student achievement. By the
end of the workshop, participants will be able to locate Web-based tools,
strategies, and lessons that foster literacy skills in all content areas.
They will also have developed a preliminary lesson plan incorporating
these tools and strategies.

Additional information and registration forms may be downloaded from
http://www.literacymatters.org.

New Resources

When Special Education and General Education Unite, Everyone Benefits

The accountability requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB), coupled with debates over reauthorization of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), have brought increased attention to
special education. But educators differ in how they view this additional
scrutiny. Some fear that NCLB's accountability requirements related to
special education will be impossible to reach. Others see a much-needed
catalyst for improving the education of students with special needs. It is
too early to know which perspective will be most accurate. But one
certainty is that NCLB and plans for IDEA reauthorization are bringing
special and general education closer together than ever before. In light
of increased national attention on special education, WestEd's newest
issue of R&D Alert focuses on special education and addresses topics
related to the intersections of special and general education. Four
interesting articles highlight how the plight of students with
disabilities and other special needs is increasingly the concern of all
educators and how increased collaboration will benefit schools. To
download a PDF version of this topical newsletter, visit
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/744.

New Publication for Parents on "Addressing Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Student Overrepresentation in Special Education"
The National Institute's partner, the National Center for Culturally
Responsive Educational Systems, has released a new publication written by
Alfredo J. Artiles and Beth Harry addressing the overrepresentation of
culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education
programs. With clear and simple language, "Addressing Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Student Overrepresentation in Special Education:
Guidelines for Parents" introduces parents to the issue, explaining the
reasons why they should be concerned. This guide helps parents determine
whether there is a problem at their child's school and outlines several
actions they might take to positively impact the special education process
at their school by becoming involved. Free, downloadable copies are
currently available on NCCRESt's Web site:
http://www.nccrest.org/publications.html.

Access to Technology for Students with Disabilities

Schools are relying increasingly on Internet research, online learning,
and computer technologies. With these resources, students have vast
libraries of knowledge at their fingertips. However, some students with
disabilities cannot participate in these learning experiences. As a
result, ADA and IT Technical Assistance Centers have released an
information kit entitled Breaking Down Barriers: K-12 and Beyond to help
schools plan for the participation of students with disabilities in online
learning. The goal of the kit is to help K-12 teachers and administrators
better understand the importance of making educational technology
accessible. It is available free of charge to schools and includes a
printed information booklet, a CD with video materials and resource links,
and a poster depicting examples of accessible information technology. The
CD also has links to an accessibility checklist to help schools plan for
technology needs of all students. The kit can be ordered by calling
800-949-4232 (voice/TTY).

National Institute Support Desk

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