Post by Mayleng on Dec 30, 2003 12:20:20 GMT -5
My school psych friend posted this info on another site, thought you ladies here might find the information and site valuable.
quote:
Hi All:
While catching up on reading my e-newsletters there is some information in my December issue of IDEAnews that I wanted to share with you. To read the entire newsletter yourself the link is: www.ideapractices.org/ideanews/
1) Early Reading Proficiency and its Relationship to Accessing the Curriulum. This brief focuses on the importance of early reading success for educational achievement in general, as well as on how early reading success is a key to enabling students with disabilities to gain access to the general education curriculum. Excellent links are provided in this article in the references and bibliography section. They will be writing future briefs discussing many of the issues and concepts reviewed in this brief in greater detail, drawing on practical examples from the field, as well as the research base guiding state and district reading programs. Future briefs can be accessed at the web site of the Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8 at
www.k8accesscenter.org
2) The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities was refunded in October, 2003 and renamed the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). Under the auspices of the new grant, the National Dissemination Center plans to add the following components:
*Short questionnaires about the types of information needed about children with disabilities.
*An e-mail service you can join to receive periodic updates on emerging news and information.
*More listings on their State Resource Sheets (see #3).
*More general education listings in their resource libraries
*Information from research about "what works" with children with disabilities.
You can visit their website at www.nichcy.org
3) Finding help in your state...one of the best resources in the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) disability-related resources and created State Resource Sheets. These handy resource sheets will help you locate organizations and agencies within your state that include:
*Governors and U.S. Senators
*State agencies serving children and youth with disabilities
*State chapters of disability organizations and parent groups
*Parent training and information projects
Access the State Resource Sheets at www.nichcy.org/states.htm
4) Regional Educational Laboratories provide another resource. These laboratories are educational research and development organizations supported by contracts with the U.S. Education Department, Institute of Education Sciences. The network of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories works to ensure those involved in educational improvement at the local, state, and regional levels have access to the best available information from research and practice. You can find the Regional Lab closest to you by visiting www.relnetwork.org
5) Another way to access information in your state is through Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers located throughout the country. The U.S. Department of Education established this network to provide technical assistance services focused on the implementation of reform programs. The centers primarily work with states, local education agencies, tribes, schools and other recipients of funds under the No Child Left Behind Act. You can access a map and an online list of all the comprehensive regional assistive centers as well as links to each web site at www.ccnetwork.org/home.html
6) New Regulation Give Districts More Flexibility to Meet AYP (adequate yearly progress) Requirements. On December 9, 2003 U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced a new provision of the No Child Left Behind education reform law that will give local school districts greater flexibility in meeting the act's requirements for students with disabilities. Under final rules published in the Federal Register, states, school districts, and schools will have the flexibility to count the "proficient" scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take assessments based on alternative achievement standards. Without this flexibility, those scores would have to be measured against grade-level standards and considered "not proficient" when states measure adequate yearly progress. In technical terms, AYP refers to the percentage of students who much reach the state's definition of academic profiency each year in order for all students to be proficient by 2013-2014. States must specify annual objectives to measure the progress of all students, including specific subgroups of students-defined by poverty, race and ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency-to ensure every child reaches profiency in reading and math by 2013-2014. This year, for the first time, every state is required to publicly report which schools have not made AYP. This should be very interesting!! You can access the final regulations from the Federal Register from the IDEAnews newsletter. The link is really long and when I printed out the newsletter the last part got left off.
There's also a summary of a study that examines the attitudes of public school leaders about their jobs and the challenges they face, which was also interesting.
quote:
Hi All:
While catching up on reading my e-newsletters there is some information in my December issue of IDEAnews that I wanted to share with you. To read the entire newsletter yourself the link is: www.ideapractices.org/ideanews/
1) Early Reading Proficiency and its Relationship to Accessing the Curriulum. This brief focuses on the importance of early reading success for educational achievement in general, as well as on how early reading success is a key to enabling students with disabilities to gain access to the general education curriculum. Excellent links are provided in this article in the references and bibliography section. They will be writing future briefs discussing many of the issues and concepts reviewed in this brief in greater detail, drawing on practical examples from the field, as well as the research base guiding state and district reading programs. Future briefs can be accessed at the web site of the Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8 at
www.k8accesscenter.org
2) The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities was refunded in October, 2003 and renamed the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). Under the auspices of the new grant, the National Dissemination Center plans to add the following components:
*Short questionnaires about the types of information needed about children with disabilities.
*An e-mail service you can join to receive periodic updates on emerging news and information.
*More listings on their State Resource Sheets (see #3).
*More general education listings in their resource libraries
*Information from research about "what works" with children with disabilities.
You can visit their website at www.nichcy.org
3) Finding help in your state...one of the best resources in the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) disability-related resources and created State Resource Sheets. These handy resource sheets will help you locate organizations and agencies within your state that include:
*Governors and U.S. Senators
*State agencies serving children and youth with disabilities
*State chapters of disability organizations and parent groups
*Parent training and information projects
Access the State Resource Sheets at www.nichcy.org/states.htm
4) Regional Educational Laboratories provide another resource. These laboratories are educational research and development organizations supported by contracts with the U.S. Education Department, Institute of Education Sciences. The network of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories works to ensure those involved in educational improvement at the local, state, and regional levels have access to the best available information from research and practice. You can find the Regional Lab closest to you by visiting www.relnetwork.org
5) Another way to access information in your state is through Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers located throughout the country. The U.S. Department of Education established this network to provide technical assistance services focused on the implementation of reform programs. The centers primarily work with states, local education agencies, tribes, schools and other recipients of funds under the No Child Left Behind Act. You can access a map and an online list of all the comprehensive regional assistive centers as well as links to each web site at www.ccnetwork.org/home.html
6) New Regulation Give Districts More Flexibility to Meet AYP (adequate yearly progress) Requirements. On December 9, 2003 U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced a new provision of the No Child Left Behind education reform law that will give local school districts greater flexibility in meeting the act's requirements for students with disabilities. Under final rules published in the Federal Register, states, school districts, and schools will have the flexibility to count the "proficient" scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take assessments based on alternative achievement standards. Without this flexibility, those scores would have to be measured against grade-level standards and considered "not proficient" when states measure adequate yearly progress. In technical terms, AYP refers to the percentage of students who much reach the state's definition of academic profiency each year in order for all students to be proficient by 2013-2014. States must specify annual objectives to measure the progress of all students, including specific subgroups of students-defined by poverty, race and ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency-to ensure every child reaches profiency in reading and math by 2013-2014. This year, for the first time, every state is required to publicly report which schools have not made AYP. This should be very interesting!! You can access the final regulations from the Federal Register from the IDEAnews newsletter. The link is really long and when I printed out the newsletter the last part got left off.
There's also a summary of a study that examines the attitudes of public school leaders about their jobs and the challenges they face, which was also interesting.