PACER Center
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Champions for Children with Disabilities
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May 2008
National Technical Assistance Center:
PACER Center, 8161 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55437 (888) 248-0822, www.taalliance.org
In This Issue:
Parent Center Update
- Arkansas PTI Staff Featured in Local Paper
- Advocacy Center Holds Successful Fundraiser
Announcements & News
- ALLIANCE Institutes
- Family Center on Technology and Disability Online Discussion
- Title I Proposed Regulations
Resources
- RTI Responder
- National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability Publications
- New Inclusion Resource Guide
- National Council on Disability Data Report
- Tangible Steps Toward Tomorrow: New Designs for Early Education
- IRIS Modules in Spanish
- Inclusive Schools Network
Technology
- New CAST Resources
Fundraising
- CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
To find the Technical Assistance Center in your Region please visit www.taalliance.org/ptidirectory/
Parent Center Updates
Arkansas PTI Staff Featured in Local Paper
Shelby Knight, PTI Coordinator for the Arkansas Parent Training and Information Center, was recently featured along with her family in a story about autism in the Jonesboro Sun. The article talks about the experiences of Shelby’s son Jeremiah as he went through school and his hopes for a job after graduating in June.
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Advocacy Center Holds Successful Fundraiser
The Advocacy Center, PTI for the state of New York (excluding New York City), held a fundraiser on May 9, 2008. “Night of Hot Jazz and Cool Art” took place at Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY and featured a jazz concert and a silent auction with work from a variety of artists. Congratulations to the Advocacy Center for a meeting their fundraising goals and holding a successful event! The PTI director for The Advocacy Center is Jason Blackwell.
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Announcements
ALLIANCE Institutes
Planning for the ALLIANCE Institutes is underway. The Transition Institute is being held July 9-11 in Chicago and the Leadership/Management Institutes will be held September 22-24 in San Diego. If you have not yet registered for your hotel reservations, please do so by Friday May 24. Registration is available online in the Parent Center log-in section of the ALLIANCE Web site.
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Family Center on Technology and Disability Online Discussion
This month’s Family Center on Technology and Disability online discussion is exploring assistive technology visual supports and strategies – the current status of research and implementation, best practices, and emerging trends. The discussion continues until May 30 and is being moderated by Brenda Fossett of the British Columbia School for the Deaf and Linda Hodgdon of Cornerstone Communication Center and author of Visual Strategies for Improving Communication and Solving Behaviors in Autism. The Family Center on Technology and Disability is an OSEP-funded technical assistance project that supports organizations and programs that work with families of children with disabilities.
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Title I Proposed Regulations
On April 22, 2008, Secretary Spellings announced proposed regulations to clarify provisions in Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act. The proposed regulations focus on accountability and transparency, uniform and disaggregated graduation rates, and parental notification for supplemental educational services and public school choice. Four public meetings have also been announced to discuss the proposed rule changes.
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Resources
RTI Responder
The National Center on Response to Intervention has published the first edition of its monthly newsletter The RTI Responder. The newsletter features announcements on related trainings, publications, web resources, and research. Sign-up to receive the e-newsletter.
National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability Publications
The following new information briefs and resources from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability highlight the roles of various stakeholders in assisting youth to have successful transitions into the workforce:
Youth and Disability Disclosure: The Role of Families and Advocates
Vocational Assessment and Its Role in Career Planning
Navigating Tunnels and Cliffs: Empowering Families and Caregivers to Assist Youth with Mental Health Needs in Preparing for Work
Tunnels and Cliffs: A Guide for Workforce Development Practitioners and Policymakers Serving Youth with Mental Health Needs
New Inclusion Resource Guide
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation has recently published a 14 page booklet: Paths to Inclusion: A Resource Guide for Fully Including Youth of ALL Abilities in Community Life. The guide is free and provides an overview of inclusion, examples of best practices, and links to helpful resources.
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National Council on Disability Data Report
The National Council on Disability recently released Keeping Track: National Disability Status and Program Performance Indicators. The report includes data on 18 “quality of life” indicators selected by stakeholders to measure the progress of people with disabilities over time in a holistic manner. The document also outlines recommendations for ongoing research that aligns with New Freedom Initiative policies. More >>>
Tangible Steps Toward Tomorrow: New Designs for Early Education
This new publication from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation provides ideas on transforming early education in ways that are culturally and community-responsive. Challenges and strategies are offered to support families, teachers and schools. More >>>
IRIS Modules in Spanish
Several of the IRIS Center’s training modules and other materials are available in Spanish and can be accessed by clicking the En Español button on the IRIS home page. The most recent addition is Vea Leer a Jane: Enseñándoles a Leer a Criaturas con Variadas Discapacidades (See Jane Read: Teaching Reading to Young Children of Varying Disabilities).
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Inclusive Schools Network
A new Web site has been developed as an outgrowth of the annual Inclusive Schools Week. The Inclusive Schools Network, created by Education Development Center, Inc., is a web-based resource that is being built and expanded to promote inclusive educational practices through research briefs, training materials and events, and discussion forums.
More >>>
Technology
New CAST Resources
CAST has just released five new free tools to help teachers meet the challenge of individualizing instruction to meet the diverse needs of students in their classrooms.
UDL Editions by CAST
UDL Editions by CAST are classic texts from world literature presented in a flexible online interface that provides just-in-time, individualized supports for struggling readers, and added-value features that engage novice and expert readers alike.
CAST UDL Book Builder™
Free online tool enables educators to develop their own digital books to support reading instruction for children aged 3 and up.
CAST Strategy Tutor
Free online tool to support students and teachers doing reading and research on the Internet.
CAST UDL Curriculum Self-Check™
Free online tool that helps educators build options and flexibility into each element of the curriculum (goals, methods, materials, and assessments) in order to reach and engage all students.
CAST UDL Lesson Builder™
Free online tool that teaches educators to customize standards-based curriculum to meet individual learning needs.
Fundraising
CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
The CVS Charitable Trust giving program focuses on organizations that make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities. The trust funds projects that work with children with disabilities ages birth to 21 in the areas of physical activity, early intervention, and health and rehabilitative services. Applications must be submitted online and are due June 15.
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Featured ALLIANCE Publications
Why Parent Centers? Why the ALLIANCE?
Explains how Parent Centers serve families and how the Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers serves the nation’s 100 Parent Centers. Data on Parent Center effectiveness and contact information is included.
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Parent Centers Helping Families: Outcome Data 2006-2007
Data collected and compiled by the ALLIANCE about the numbers of people served by the nation’s Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs).
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ALLIANCE Map
Map of the United States shows the Parent Training and Information Centers, Community Parent Resource Centers, and the regional and national offices of the Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers. Contact information for each Parent Center is on the back.
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PACER's site offers many PDF files for download, which require 
