March 2004
The articles published in the ALERT represent the opinions of the authors and are not an endorsement by the Association or necessarily representative of the views of the Association.
— From the
President
— From the Editor
— Affiliate News
— Strategic Plan
— Call for Nominations
— From the Board
— Professional Development
Calendar
— Disability Services Resources
— NJCLD & Documentation
— Design Award
— HEA Demonstration Projects
— eLearning Study
— RTI Symposium
— Online Learning
From the President's Desk
AHEAD President Grady Landrum updates us
on recent Board activities.
WOW! What an exciting and tiring weekend the board just finished in Charlotte, North Carolina, planning for the future of AHEAD. I think in the last ALERT I spoke highly of the people that represent you on the Board of Directors. I continue to be impressed by this group of people - their dedication and their willingness to put in long hours of planning before we met in Charlotte. We made tremendous progress on our task of creating a viable plan for the future of the organization, and as we flesh out more specific tasks and plans we will reach out to the membership and get them more involved in the process.
I do want to inform the membership that Kent Jackson has resigned his position of Secretary on the Board of Directors due to personal reasons. I want to thank Kent for all his service to the BOD over the last several years and the tremendous work that he was able to accomplish. If you want thank Kent for his time serving on the BOD drop him a card or shoot him an email letting him know that his service was appreciated.
Two quick reminders for everyone:
Announcements just went out concerning
elections and nominations for awards. Please take these seriously
and get involved if you can with this great organization. If you
know of someone who has had a great impact on your life and AHEAD
then please follow through and nominate them for the appropriate
award.
Miami Conference - keep this in mind as you receive registration information in the near future. We are looking at an exciting program with many wonderful concurrent sessions and plenary speakers that I think you will find interesting. The local committees and the program committee have been hard at work and things are starting to come together for a lively conference. I have seen the preliminary materials and it looks great. I hope to see all of you in Miami this July.
Grady Landrum
AHEAD President
From the Editor
Greetings,
I hope the winter weather isn't getting you down - a good antidote for that would be making plans for AHEAD 2004 in Miami! There's nothing like dreaming of sun, sand, and palm trees to make the winter seem bearable. Meanwhile, we continue our work for our students. This issue of the ALERT has some interesting information about the new trend for online learning, as well as some great new resources in the Disability Services Resources section. Please take some time to read the article on the Higher Education Act Demonstration Projects - we all need to raise our voices to keep these important projects going.
If you have any questions about the ALERT or would like to submit an article for a future issue, please e-mail me at <link>kejones@ucdavis.edu.
Keltie Jones
Editor
Affiliate News
Jean Ashmore, AHEAD Director of Constituent
Relations - US, provides updates on new affiliates and upcoming
events.
Welcome New AHEAD Affiliates
We are thrilled to announce the addition of
three new AHEAD Affiliates in recent months. They are New Mexico
AHEAD, Georgia AHEAD and IN-AHEAD (Indiana). This expands the
number of AHEAD Affiliates to nineteen. In addition to the three
new groups, there are affiliates in Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa/Illinois,
Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, the Nation's Capital, New
England, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah and West Iowa/Nebraska.
If your regional group is not an AHEAD Affiliate, consider the advantages of becoming an affiliate - access to the Affiliate Fund for monies to help with a planned event or project, direct support of a dedicated website and/or listserv for the affiliate, a complimentary registration for one person from the affiliate to attend the annual AHEAD conference, and the opportunity to network with leaders in other affiliates to share concerns, do joint planning, or to co-sponsor professional events. For more information on becoming an AHEAD Affiliate, go to the Membership section of www.ahead.org. In the Affiliate section under Membership you will get specifics on the process and the needed forms.
Upcoming Affiliate Events:
North Carolina AHEAD & International AHEAD
are sponsoring "Asperger's Syndrome and Psychiatric Disabilities
in Higher Education" on March 26 & 27. More info on the
NC AHEAD conference.
AzPAC (Arizona) State Conference
March 30, 2004
Mesa Community College, Phoenix area
Featured speaker - Jane Jarrow
Tennessee Association on Higher Education and Disability (TN-AHEAD) 10th Annual Conference: "Tuning Up During Times of Change." The TN-AHEAD Education Committee invites your participation in the annual conference on April 1-2, 2004 at the Courtyard Nashville Downtown. Join us in Music City, USA to "tune up" during these changing, challenging times. For more information, contact:
Melissa Butler
Education Chair, TN-AHEAD
Coordinator of Disability and Career Services
Rhodes College, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112
901/843-3994 (Phone)
901/843-3040 (Fax)
901/843-3018 (TTY)
Mbutler@rhodes.edu
MOAHEAD ( Missouri) is sponsoring the "Great Plains Regional AHEAD Conference" for Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and anyone who wants to join them on April 14-16 in Linwood, Kansas ( near Kansas City). Contact Cfelson@stlcc.edu for more info, registration due March 12.
ARK (Arkansas) AHEAD Spring Conference
"Building on the Basics"
April 15-16, 2004 at Degray State Park Resort, Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Contact Michael Washington, Washington_m@uapb.edu, for information
OK (Oklahoma) AHEAD Spring Conference
"Faculty and Disability Services: A Common Mission"
April 29-30, 2004 at Gordon-Cooper Technical Center, Shawnee,
OK For information go to www.okahead.org
MNAHEAD (Minnesota) State Conference
May 20, 2004
Place - to be determined
New England AHEAD and International AHEAD are sponsoring "Achieving Excellence in Disability Services: Responding to Students with ADHD and Psychiatric Disabilities" on May 21, 2004. For more info on the NE AHEAD conference.
Nation's Capital Area Disability Support Services Coalition presents "Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: Creative Solutions to Present and Future Challenges." University of Baltimore, Friday, June 4, 2004. The year 2003 marked the 25th anniversary of the Nation's Capital Area Disability Support Services Coalition (NCADSSC). Since 1978 this network for providers of disability support services has both witnessed and shaped many changes in the field of postsecondary education in the Baltimore-Washington area. Please join us as we come together to celebrate our many accomplishments while at the same time explore creative solutions to present and future challenges. For more information please contact Linda Schnapp, Chair at 410-772-4625 or at lschnapp@howardcc.edu.
Please contact me with any concerns you may have regarding AHEAD issues, in particular those related to the AHEAD Affiliate program.
Jean Ashmore, Rice University
Director of Constituent Relations - US
adarice@rice.edu, 713/348-5841
Strategic Planning
AHEAD Board Meets for Strategic Planning
Session February 20-22,2004.
Vickie Barr, educational consultant, AHEAD member and former Executive Director of the HEATH Resource Center in Washington D.C. recently served as the facilitator for a Strategic Planning Retreat for the AHEAD Board of Directors. In preparation for the retreat, Vickie said the process could be exhausting as well as exhilarating and she was correct. Prior to arriving in Charlotte, Board members, the Executive Director and AHEAD office staff were given a list of 22 questions to consider regarding AHEAD's future role within the broad domain of postsecondary education and disability.
The questions we pondered related to the needs of students with disabilities in K-12 settings and the cutting edge issues for Special educators working in this area. Retention issues were considered along with the actual percentage of time spent on job description items compared to the ideal percentage of time disability support providers wish they could allocate to specific job tasks. Legislative and external collaboration issues were examined in addition to the ideal list of services that AHEAD should be providing its members and the allocation of resources needed to do this. We were also asked to describe what AHEAD would look like in one year, five years and ten years. From these questions, we were finally asked to begin to draft a mission statement and a list of goals for the organization.
Thirteen people were present with their list of answers and Vickie's task was to lead the group through the process of identifying areas of focus, creating goals and agreeing on a mission statement. It was an arduous, time-consuming process but very affirming to see the commonality among the various members. Vickie, encouraged us to use the "Scream Test" and agree to issues for the "good of the all" as long as the issue wouldn't make us scream. I am confident that the group has produced a good starting document that will create a clear roadmap for our organization. Once the work is edited and refined, we look forward to sharing the results of this retreat with our membership. It is exciting to take time out of our busy schedules to ponder the future and create a shared view of our organization. Thanks to Vickie Barr for her infinite patience and leadership throughout this process.
Call for Nominations
Dear AHEAD member,
The Nominations Committee of AHEAD is looking for a few good leaders to fill positions on the Board of Directors: President-Elect, Treasurer, and Directors of Membership and Communications. The Awards Committee is looking for a few good leaders as well to receive this year's set of awards at our annual conference in Miami.
Volunteer membership on a board of directors of a professional association does three very important things:
- helps you establish working acquaintances with many of the key people in your profession;
- gives you unique opportunities for major accomplishments in furtherance of your professional career;
- allows all other members in your professional association the benefit of your knowledge, leadership, and management skills.
Not everyone is a leader, but if you are, AHEAD Board membership is one of the best opportunities to apply your skills and expand your talents more than you may have imagined. We are looking for leaders who not only understand the professions related to disability service in postsecondary education, but who are dedicated and capable of playing a vital role in managing this indispensable membership association and not-for-profit corporation.
Another exceedingly important activity of AHEAD is the recognition of the good work of people in, and associated with, our profession through the awards given at AHEAD's annual conferences. You can nominate yourself or someone else. If you can't think of anyone who should receive an award, call somebody in your state or region and talk about it. You may know more folks who deserve awards than you may think.
Please click the links below for full information:
Awards descriptions
Board of Director positions
NOTE: The deadline for nominations for the AHEAD Board of Directors and Awards is March 19, 2004.
I hope to see everyone at the conference this year.
Sincerely
Randy Borst
Immediate Past President - AHEAD
From the Board
Kent Jackson resigns as Board Secretary.
The Board of Directors announces that Kent Jackson resigned as Board Secretary due to personal reasons in the second year of his three year term. Randy Borst has been appointed to fulfill the remainder of his term. The AHEAD Board wants to acknowledge and thank Kent for his six years of dedicated service in a number of leadership positions for AHEAD.
Kent Jackson was a member of the Board of Directors from October 1997 through December 2003. First, as Director of Constituent Relations, U.S. (our current name for the position). Next in 2000, Kent fulfilled the duties for the Board Secretary who had to resign due to a job change; and finally, in 2002, Kent ran and was elected to a three-year term as Secretary. Kent was with the association through very difficult and challenging years when AHEAD struggled to move forward through the implementation of new technology and an office move. The period of the late 1990s and the first couple years of the new century presented our association with some of its most difficult challenges, and through it all, Kent's calm voice and hard work helped put AHEAD on the path of becoming a well-connected, responsive, premier provider of support and information for its members.
Farewell, Professor Jackson -- did we mention that while on the Board of Directors Kent became a tenured professor of education at the University of Indiana Pennsylvania? -- we will miss you and thanks for all your hard work.
Professional Development
Take advantage of these upcoming events,
conferences, and other opportunities to increase and share your
knowledge.
Calls for Presentations and Articles:
ALERT submission and publication dates:
The ALERT is now being published every other month. Here is the schedule for submissions:
Submissions Due: Publication Date:
April 2, 2004 April 30, 2004
June 4, 2004 June 25, 2004
Please keep those articles coming!
Upcoming Conferences and Expositions:
Check out these offerings from our colleagues
in the fields of disability and higher education:
CSUN's 19th Annual International Conference "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" March 15-20, 2004 ~ Los Angeles, CA. CSUN's 19th Annual International Conference, "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" will be held at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport and Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotels, March 15-20, 2004. A Preregistration brochure with complete information about the conference will be available in early January 2004. Check their website for conference information updates at: http://www.csun.edu/cod.
North Carolina AHEAD & International AHEAD are sponsoring "Asperger's Syndrome and Psychiatric Disabilities in Higher Education" on March 26 & 27. More info on the NC AHEAD conference.
AzPAC (Arizona) State Conference
March 30, 2004
Mesa Community College, Phoenix area
Featured speaker - Jane Jarrow
Tennessee Association on Higher Education and Disability (TN-AHEAD) 10th Annual Conference: "Tuning Up During Times of Change." The TN-AHEAD Education Committee invites your participation in the annual conference on April 1-2, 2004 at the Courtyard Nashville Downtown. Join us in Music City, USA to "tune up" during these changing, challenging times. For more information, contact:
Melissa Butler
Education Chair, TN-AHEAD
Coordinator of Disability and Career Services
Rhodes College, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112
901/843-3994 (Phone)
901/843-3040 (Fax)
901/843-3018 (TTY)
Mbutler@rhodes.edu
MOAHEAD ( Missouri) is sponsoring the "Great Plains Regional AHEAD Conference" for Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and anyone who wants to join them on April 14-16 in Linwood, Kansas ( near Kansas City). Contact Cfelson@stlcc.edu for more info, registration due March 12.
ARK (Arkansas) AHEAD Spring Conference
"Building on the Basics"
April 15-16, 2004 at Degray State Park Resort, Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Contact Michael Washington, Washington_m@uapb.edu, for information
PEPNet Announces the PEPNet 2004 Conference, "Planning for Success: Initiatives for Positive Outcomes" Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 21-24, 2004. The Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet) will hold its biennial conference April 21-24, 2004, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This conference will provide opportunities for further professional development as well as for networking with peers who provide similar services. In addition to the full conference, several pre-conference half-day workshops will be scheduled. Check www.pepnet.org for more information.
"Untangling the Web: Making Online Teaching and Learning Accessible" on April 22, 2004, to increase awareness of the need for U.S. colleges and universities to provide students with disabilities the flexibility, convenience, and quality of online learning their classmates are already afforded and to initiate discussion on how collaboration might facilitate a solution. Issues to be addressed by a panel of national experts during the telecast include: challenges and goals of accessibility; roles for various constituencies inside the university, for example, faculty, administrators, counselors, and students themselves; as well as legal obligations the institutions must meet. Education, government, and not-for-profit organizations are invited to contact PBS at www.PBSals.org/live to gain access to the satellite telecast.
OK (Oklahoma) AHEAD Spring Conference
"Faculty and Disability Services: A Common Mission"
April 29-30, 2004 at Gordon-Cooper Technical Center, Shawnee,
OK For information go to www.okahead.org
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College will host its second Professional Development Institute , entitled "Opportunity Knocks: Opening the Doors of Higher Education to Students with Disabilities" on May 4-5, 2004, in Cincinnati, OH. More information to follow as it becomes available, or contact JaneJarrow@aol.com.
The AAP Rights & Permissions Advisory Committee presents "THE RPAC ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Accessiblity Session," Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Location: TBD, New York, NY
Sessions include: Accessibility Legislation, DRM and Accessibility, Accessibility Technology Demonstrations, Rights & Permissions implications, Focus on Users with Richard Harris
For more information, check www.mla.org/conference_on_disability
MNAHEAD (Minnesota) State Conference
May 20, 2004
Place - to be determined
New England AHEAD and International AHEAD are sponsoring "Achieving Excellence in Disability Services: Responding to Students with ADHD and Psychiatric Disabilities" on May 21, 2004. For more info on the NE AHEAD conference.
Nation's Capital Area Disability Support Services Coalition presents "Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: Creative Solutions to Present and Future Challenges." University of Baltimore, Friday, June 4, 2004. The year 2003 marked the 25th anniversary of the Nation's Capital Area Disability Support Services Coalition (NCADSSC). Since 1978 this network for providers of disability support services has both witnessed and shaped many changes in the field of postsecondary educatin in the Baltimore-Washington area. Please join us as we come together to celebrate our many accomplishments while at the same time explore creative solutions to present and future challenges. For more information please contact Linda Schnapp, Chair at 410-772-4625 or at lschnapp@howardcc.edu.
"The 16th Annual Postsecondary Disability Training Institute (PTI)," June 8 - June 12, 2004 will be held at the Grand Summit Resort Hotel at Mt. Snow (West Dover), Vermont. The objective of this Training Institute is to assist concerned professionals to meet the unique needs of college students with disabilities. Participants can select from a variety of Strands and Single Sessions taught by experts in the field that provide participants with in-depth information and adequate time for questions and follow-up activities. Check our web site for Institute information and updates at vm.uconn.edu/~wwwcped/04pti.htm.
The Fifth International Conference on Higher Education and Disability, Innsbruck, Austria: July 27-30, 2004 THEME: "Scanning the Horizon: Global Perspectives on Higher Education and Disability." The conference, organized by the University of New Orleans Training, Resource & Assistive-technology Center (TRAC) and the University of Innsbruck, is aimed at post-secondary educators, administrators, disability service providers, members of international exchange programs and persons with disabilities. Program presenters will share practical experience with the major educational stages of university students with disabilities including preparing for college, maximizing the university experience, and moving from graduation into the world of work. Seminars will also cover innovative approaches for preparing individuals for a career in disability support services, for training persons already in the field, or for providing disability awareness training in other fields. Additional topics will include aspects of organization and participation in foreign exchange programs by and for persons with disabilities. FOR UPDATED INFORMATION VISIT: www.unotrac.org
"Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) Summit" - Winnipeg: September 8th - 10th 2004. DPI's world summit will be an opportunity for national assemblies, disability organizations, NGOs, international development agencies as well as goods and services providers in the disability field to discuss and share information. A major objective for DPI is the promotion of equality and diversity within DPI. The theme for the Summit will be diversity of people and their cultures and will focus on women, youth and indigenous and Arab people. At the Summit workshops, DPI will share collective and individual struggles for social and economic inclusion in civil society. For more information or to register, visit: www.dpi.org.
Other Professional Development Opportunities:
DAIS Academy Course Offerings:
(MEMBER BENEFIT!!! Remember, AHEAD members receive a 10% discount) Five policies have been identified for review between January and May, 2004. Each policy will be handled as a discrete topic and will be discussed for 3 weeks. For more information and registration details, visit the DAIS Academy at www.daisacademy.com
Disability Services Resources
Please note that inclusion in the ALERT does
not signify an endorsement by AHEAD.
Programs:
Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, is
offering a new Master's in Special Education program: Learning
Disabilities and Culturally Responsive Academic Instruction. The
program prepares teachers to work with ethnic minority students
with learning disabilities and minority students at risk for school
failure. Detailed information about the program is available at
peabody.vanderbilt.edu/depts/sped/general/funding.html
QUESTIONS about program may be to Jen Vail
Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
Office: 415 MRL
(615) 322-8366
Email: jennifer.l.vail@vanderbilt.edu
Success from the Start: Preparing Students with
Disabilities for their First Semester in College. This program
trains currently-employed professionals to develop, implement,
and evaluate the impact of college-preparation programs for students
with disabilities who have been accepted into postsecondary institutions
but have not yet begun classes. Each six-week professional development
course will be delivered via the World Wide Web. Participating
professionals will: (a) work interactively in small groups to
develop a face-to-face college preparation program to offer at
their respective local schools; and (b) work on a group project
to create a face-to-face college preparation program to offer
at their respective local schools. Course work and participation
equates to the requirements needed to earn three-continuing education
units. Final Session: March 22 - May 1, 2004. For more information
contact:
Center on Education and Work
School of Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison
964 Educational Sciences Building
1025 West Johnson Street
Madison WI 53706-1796
Phone: 800-446-0399
Fax: 608-262-3050
Web: www.cew.wisc.edu/disted/
Teachers College, Columbia University has three programs of interest to those working with students with disabilities:
M.A. and Ed.M. programs in Disability Studies in Education. Disability Studies is an emerging interdisciplinary field of scholarship that critically examines issues related to the dynamic interplays between disability and various aspects of culture and society. Disability Studies unites critical inquiry and political advocacy by utilizing scholarly approaches from post-positivist social sciences as well as the humanities and the arts. When specifically applied to education issues, Disability Studies promotes the importance of infusing analyses and interpretations of disability throughout all forms of educational research, teacher education, and graduate studies in education. Disability Studies in Education Master of Arts is for people who already hold a special education certificate or who do not want to get certified. That is also 32/34 credits. It is an interdisciplinary degree requiring 9 credits of study outside education. We have identified classes in a number of different areas of study--religion, sociology, cultural studies, etc.
Teaching Students with Disabilities: Learning dis/Abilities program is for people with general education certificates. It is from 32 to 34 credits. The applicants must be teachers (and, therefore, do an internship for two semesters) or they should have completed student teaching for two semesters. Because they come in already certified, they get a professional certificate.
The third program we are involved in is the Dual certificate Pre-service Program in Elementary/Childhood Education and Teaching Students with dis/Abilities with a Concentration in Learning Disabilities Master of Education program. The program includes both agency-based and school-based change projects as well as methods of postpositivist research. In addition to work in education, students will select nine credits of electives in one relevant field such as social policy (politics, economics, rights activism, advocacy, and legal issues), cultural studies (history, anthropology, film and other media, sociology, and diversity issues), religion (Jewish and ecumenical studies, comparative religion), technology (computers, universal design, assistive technology), or the arts (visual, performing, and literary).
For more information about these programs or Teachers College, visit www.tc.columbia.edu where you can request information and apply online. The final deadline to apply for Fall 2004 is April 15, 2004.
Publications:
Donald Frazier has begun publishing THE FORUM
- an electronic newsletter on serving students with disabilities
in higher education. Check out the latest issues at www.thedisabilitiesforum.com.
The CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICY (Centre de politique sociale et économique européenne) announces the release of their research "Feasibility study about comparable statistics in the area of care of dependant adults in the European Union" that has been published by EUROSTAT. You can download the full report from the following address: Feasibility study
Their report on "Illness, Disability and Social Inclusion" has been published by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. You can download it from the following site: Illness, Disability and Social Inclusion
EPLibrary announces availability of the 2003 Edition of "Nursing with Disabilities: Change the Course" by Donna Carol Maheady, Ed.D.,C.P.N.P.,RN. The road to a professional life in nursing for people with disabilities can be a long, and often times, arduous one. It is paved with obstacles on a personal, professional, and social level that mainstream society is never forced to encounter. Dr. Donna Maheady, the mother of a sixteen year old daughter who has been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Seizure Disorder, finally brings to light the true stories of nurses who have traveled down these long hard roads and have achieved their goals of becoming respected medical professionals. In addition to being inspirational and motivational, this book is also an important educational tool for all teachers, professors, and students in nursing programs, as well as practicing nurses. EP Library is a special needs book store carrying more that 1000 titles in over 50 categories that are need specific and general in nature. Company Website: www.eplibrary.com
"Accessible Meetings and Conventions"
By Ciritta "Cricket" Park, CAE
Whether you are planning a meeting for 10 or a convention for 10,000, a workshop for an hour or a full-week of events, this incredible resource guide is a "must have" for the meeting or event planner. This terrific book is written in a friendly, easy-to-use style, chock full of great information on how to make sure that your event is completely welcoming to ALL attendees; particularly those who have disabilities.
Topics included in this 100+ page manual include:
- The Foundations of Accessibility
- Setting the Stage for Accessible Meetings
- Site Selection Guide
- Staff
- Emergency Procedures
- Program Accommodations
- Transportation
- Accommodations
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- Etiquette Tips for Attendees/Guests with Disabilities
- The ADA Checklist for New Lodging Facilities
- Everyone who plans meetings or events of any size or length should have a copy of this wonderful resource on their desk.
AHEAD members price: $22.50/each
Non-members price: $30.00/each
20+ copies: only $20.00/each
NJCLD & Your Documentation
Dear AHEAD Member:
This is the second letter that has gone out on this subject so if you responded initially, please don't respond again. Thanks! We are contacting you to ask you to participate in an important project that we are undertaking as AHEAD's representatives to the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD). The NJCLD has existed since the early 1970's when members of organizations serving individuals with learning disabilities founded it. Today, the NJCLD consists of members from the American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association, Council for Learning Disabilities, Division for Learning Disabilities, International Reading Association, Learning Disabilities Association of America, the National Association of School Psychologists, International Dyslexia Association, Division for Children's Communication Development, National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Association of Educational Therapists. In all, the group represents more than 300,000 constituents.
Under the auspices of the NJCLD we have been exploring documentation and eligibility issues for students with learning disabilities. We began last January by inviting members of the NJCLD organizations to join in a roundtable to begin to define the complex issues that we all face concerning the documentation of a LD and eligibility for services. All of those present agreed that in order to open up the communication between K-12 and postsecondary DS personnel we had to collect a lot of information from many factions. We are doing that by facilitating focus groups at some of the organization's national meetings, and inviting input from many sources. Our next step involves YOU.
We would like to review documentation guidelines, standards, procedures, and whatever you use to determine if a LD student is eligible for services at your institution. We would also like to know if you have nothing in writing but use some other process to determine eligibility. Please let us know also what type of institution that you are at (2 year, 4 year, etc.) We are asking that you submit this information via electronic format to clendman@insightbb.com or by mail to Christy Lendman, 3022 Utah Place, Rockford, IL 61108 by March 23rd. Once all of the information is submitted it will be analyzed by a graduate student at Penn State under the supervision of Dr. Charles Hughes. Dr Hughes is a faculty member at Penn State and a member of the NJCLD.
Thank you for participating in this important project. As information becomes available from this project we will make sure that AHEAD members have access to it. Part of our comprehensive workplan includes broad dissemination of our findings.
Sincerely yours,
Lydia S. Block
Christy Lendman
Design Award
AHEAD Member Receives Prestigious Design
Award.
Elaine Ostroff, longtime AHEAD member and co-founder of Adaptive Environments in 1978 and Executive Director from 1979-1998, has been awarded the Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education. Elaine is only the third American honored since 1978 when the Misha Black Medal was created by the Royal College of Art, the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry of the RSA, The Design and Industries Association and The Chartered Society of Designers. They were joined by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996.
Previous awardees include Serge Chermayeff (USA), Ettore Sottsass (Italy), Kenji Eduan (Japan), Santiago Calatrava (Spain) and Sir Christopher Frayling (UK).
Mary Mullin, Chairman, of the Sir Misha Black Memorial Medal Committee said:
"Elaine Ostroff has been a persuasive influence on design education at all levels and an indefatigable champion of design that respects the needs and capabilities of older and disabled people, reflecting their aspirations and potential. Importantly it is teaching those who legislate, finance, commission and produce, that thoughtful design can create a more inclusive and better world."
Lobby for Higher Education Act Demonstration Projects
Stan Shaw, Professor and Co-Director of the Center on Postsecondary
Education and Disability, encourages AHEAD members to tell their
representatives in Congress about the importance of continuing
funding for Demonstration Projects.
HEA Demonstration Projects
Stan Shaw, Professor and Co-Director of the
Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability, encourages AHEAD
members to tell their representatives in Congress about the importance
of continuing funding for Demonstration Projects.
The proposed re-authorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) calls for a third round of Demonstration Projects beginning in 2005. Unfortunately, President Bush has once again (this is the third time) "zero funded" Demonstration Projects for the next fiscal year. The AHEAD community has been successful in getting Congress to include funding each year but it has taken a great deal of effort on our part. Here are my suggestions for action:
Contact all of your Congressional delegation (House
and Senate) asking for their support for continued funding and
for the new round of funding in the Higher Education Act; Most
important is to check the attached list of members of House and
Senate Appropriations Committee members from their to ask for
continued funding of HEA Demonstration Projects; and
Contact members of the Education Committees from their state to
ask for support for Demonstration Projects in the re-authorization
of the HEA.
The immediate issue is next year's funding. The re-authorization
of HEA is likely to wait until after the election, so we probably
have considerable time. You can use the "talking points"
outlined below and information from the last issue of the Journal
of Postsecondary Education and Disability which featured the first
round of projects.
We won this battle the last two years, we should again if we all do our part.
Talking Points:
Postsecondary Disability Demonstration Projects
- HEA
In support of Demonstration Projects to Ensure Quality Higher Education for Students with Disabilities:
We need to continue currently funded projects focused on training higher education personnel to assure equal opportunity for college students with disabilities.
Funding for IDEA has reaped incredible rewards for students with disabilities in terms of increased services, participation in the general education curriculum, high school graduation, and effective transition planning for moving from high school to employment and postsecondary education. Students with disabilities are now seeking admission to postsecondary education in the largest numbers ever. Although the percentage of college students with disabilities has grown from 2.6% to almost 10% of the postsecondary population in the last 25 years, participation in postsecondary education and, more important, graduation does not approach that for students without disabilities.
The Report of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (2002) states that "students with disabilities who elect to continue their education at the post-secondary level … face significant barriers to achieving their goals" (p. 48).
The U.S. Department of Education (2000) reports that students with disabilities "who enroll in a two-year program with the intention of transferring to a four-year school do not, and students with disabilities are less likely to persist in earning a postsecondary degree or credential than peers without disabilities" (p. 16).
Given the figures from the U.S. Department of Labor
that a college education has become a minimum requirement to successfully
compete in the global marketplace, improved access to postsecondary
education and strategies to enhance graduation rates of students
with disabilities must become a priority.
Data from the National Center for Education Statistics do in fact
demonstrate that students with disabilities who graduate from
college exhibit similar labor market outcomes as their counterparts
without disabilities (i.e., the annual salaries of the two groups
do not differ significantly).
In addition, if President Bush's New Freedom Initiative (Bush, 2001) to expand educational opportunities and increase the ability of people with disabilities to integrate into the work force and live independent, self-sufficient lives is to become a reality, access to postsecondary education and strategies to enhance graduation rates from postsecondary education for students with disabilities must become a priority.
These Demonstration Projects directly support the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education charge to "Support higher education faculty, administrators and auxiliary service providers to more effectively provide and help post-secondary students with disabilities to complete a high quality post-secondary education" (p. 45).
Funding these projects will reap enormous benefits for individuals with disabilities in terms of their college graduation, successful transition to employment, and self-sufficiency as citizens of a nation that prides itself in its diversity and equality of opportunity.
eLearning Study Initiated
The Adaptech Research Network announces a
study of accessibility of various eLearning approaches in Canadian
higher education.
Le texte français suit. / French text follows.
The Adaptech Research Network (www.adaptech.org) is commencing a three-year study that will examine the accessibility for students with disabilities of the various forms of eLearning now used in Canadian colleges and universities. By investigating current and forecasted eLearning trends in Canadian higher education, we will: (1) identify facilitators and barriers for students with disabilities and (2) generate and disseminate best practices for both the higher education and postsecondary ePublishing communities. The research will involve: postsecondary students with disabilities (including learning disabilities) who have used some form of eLearning; professionals who provide disability-related supports on campus; individuals who lead and/or support eLearning initiatives in their institutions; faculty who have taught students with disabilities using some form of eLearning; and publishing industry executives responsible for postsecondary ePacks and eCourses.
This eLearning study is one component of a larger three-year initiative that has received funding through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada's Initiative on the New Economy. Led by the University of Manitoba's Director of Disability Studies, Deborah Stienstra, the other components focusing on Canadians with disabilities are Workplace, Public Information, and eDemocracy. For further information on these other projects, contact Dr. Stienstra by e-mail at (stienstr@Ms.UManitoba.CA).
For further information about the eLearning study or to get involved, e-mail Catherine Fichten (catherine.fichten@mcgill.ca).
Le réseau de recherche Adaptech (www.adaptech.org) entame une etude de trois ans qui examinera l'accessibilité, pour les étudiants ayant des incapacités, de diverses formes de cyber-apprentissage employées à l'heure actuelle dans les collèges et les universités canadiennes. L'investigation des pratiques courantes et des tendances prévues dans l'enseignement supérieur nous permettra (1) d'identifier les facteurs facilitateurs ou à l'inverse les obstacles rencontrés par les étudiants ayant des incapacités et (2) de générer puis de disséminer une liste des meilleures pratiques à la fois à la communauté de l'enseignement supérieur et à l'industrie des publications électroniques. La recherche inclura des étudiants de niveau post-secondaire ayant des incapacités qui ont utilisé une forme quelconque d'apprentissage virtuel (y compris des étudiants ayant des troubles d'apprentissage), des professionnels qui rendent disponibles des soutiens spécialisés aux étudiants ayant des incapacités sur les campus, des individus qui mènent ou encore soutiennent les initiatives d'apprentissage virtuel de leurs institutions, des membres du professorat qui ont enseigné à des étudiants handicapés en employant une forme ou une autre de cyber-apprentissage, ainsi que des cadres responsables de la publication de matériel pédagogique électronique (manuels et cours virtuels).
Cette étude représente une des composantes d'un projet d'envergure de trios ans subventionné par l'Initiative de la nouvelle économie (INE), une branche du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH). Les autres composantes de cette étude visent plus particulièrement les personnes ayant des incapacités dans le milieu du travail, dans le domaine de l'information publique et au niveau de la cyber- démocratie. Ces facettes de l'étude seront coordonnées par Deborah Stienstra, la directrice des études sur les handicaps de l'université du Manitoba. Pour plus d'informations sur ces projets, veuillez contacter Dr Stienstra par courriel (stienstr@Ms.UManitoba.CA).
Pour toute information supplémentaire ou pour vous impliquer dans le projet du cyber-apprentissage, veuillez contacter Catherine Fichten (catherine.fichten@mcgill.ca).
Responsiveness-to-Intervention Symposium
Report
Julie Tollefson from the University of Kansas
reports on a two-day symposium sponsored by the National Research
Center on Learning Disabilities.
The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities, a collaborative project of staff at Vanderbilt University and the University of Kansas, recently sponsored a two-day symposium focusing on responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) issues.
The speakers, discussants, and participants assembled for this symposium represented the wide diversity of individuals with a vested interest in LD determination issues. Advocates, instructional staff, researchers, and state-level education officials brought their collective and considerable expertise to the discussions.
Speakers offered insight into how RTI models have been implemented in some districts and the challenges confronting those districts. Other speakers focused on RTI implementation in research sites.
"What emerged during the symposium is that there is no one model of RTI," said Don Deshler, NRCLD co-director. "The presentations and subsequent discussions really highlighted the range of views and issues the field is struggling with in regard to RTI models and LD identification."
RTI refers to individual, comprehensive student-centered assessment models that focus on applying a problem-solving framework to identify and address a student's difficulties.
During a luncheon address to symposium participants, Lou Danielson, Director of OSEP's Research to Practice Division, noted that the creation of NRCLD is the latest in a series of OSEP activities stretching back to the 1970s that address LD issues. In the past few years alone, OSEP sponsored the Learning Disabilities Summit: Building a Foundation for the Future; commissioned papers on a range of topics related to LD; convened a researcher roundtable that resulted in agreement on eight statements related to LD; and brought together representatives of the member organizations that make up the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, who developed a series of statements and recommendations presented to OSEP in the report Finding Common Ground.
Both Danielson and Renee Bradley, Special Assistant in OSEP's Research to Practice Division and NRCLD's project officer, emphasized the importance of the symposium and NRCLD's work in this area.
NRCLD was funded to conduct follow-up research, provide training, disseminate synthesized research-validated information, and provide national technical assistance on issues in the area of identification and assessment of children with learning disabilities.
The Responsiveness-to-Intervention Symposium was the first national meeting sponsored by NRCLD to provide an opportunity for open discussion of topical issues. Sessions were organized around six questions:
- How should screening for secondary intervention occur?
- How should secondary intervention be formulated?
- What are the feasibility and consequences of RTI?
- How should "unresponsiveness" to secondary intervention be operationalized in an RTI approach to LD identification?
- How should "unresponsiveness" to secondary intervention be operationalized in an RTI approach to LD identification?
- How many tiers are needed within RTI to achieve acceptable prevention outcomes and to achieve acceptable patterns of LD identification?
"The symposium offered a forum for the open debate of some of these issues," Deshler said. "We believe everyone involved-from the student with LD to parents to teachers to researchers-will benefit from these discussions."
To continue the dialogue begun during the symposium, NRCLD will post papers and PowerPoint slides from the symposium on its web site, www.nrcld.org.
NRCLD co-directors and co-principal investigators are Dan Reschly, chair of the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University; Doug Fuchs, special education professor at Vanderbilt; and Donald D. Deshler, director of the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas. Lynn Fuchs and Don Compton, Vanderbilt, and Daryl Mellard, University of Kansas, are co-principal investigators.
Online Education
It's "out of this world," but it
shouldn't be out of reach for individuals with disabilities. by
Andrea C. Martino, APR, Director, Public Relations, University
of Maryland University College
There have been any number of exaltations about the online phenomenon in higher education and for good reason. Web-based learning is sometimes the only way many people with disabilities can access educational opportunities. Suffice it to say, the online wave in higher education has advanced at "warp speed" and shows no signs of slowing. University of Maryland University College (UMUC), a leader worldwide in online education, alone amassed more than 100,000 online enrollments just last year.
While the numbers of students choosing to pursue education online is, indeed, phenomenal, unfortunately there remains a "digital divide" for many with special challenges, making online education quite inaccessible to them. For this reason, and through the generosity of organizations like Verizon, NEC Foundation of America, and SBC Communications Inc., UMUC is working to determine best practices in making online education accessible for these learners. Joining now with PBS Adult Learning Services, the university will telecast via satellite "Untangling the Web: Making Online Teaching and Learning Accessible" on April 22, 2004, to increase awareness of the need for U.S. colleges and universities to provide students with disabilities the flexibility, convenience, and quality of online learning their classmates are already afforded and to initiate discussion on how collaboration might facilitate a solution.
Issues to be addressed by a panel of national experts during the telecast include: challenges and goals of accessibility; roles for various constituencies inside the university, for example, faculty, administrators, counselors, and students themselves; as well as legal obligations the institutions must meet. Education, government, and not-for-profit organizations are invited to contact PBS at www.PBSals.org/live to gain access to the satellite telecast.
