Newsline

In This Issue

August 2009

Upcoming Events

1. ALLIANCE Institutes

Parent Center Updates

1. PEAL Center’s “Crop for a Cause”
2. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter!

Announcements & News

1. TA&D Project of the Month: National Dropout Prevention Center
2. OSEP Conferences Archives
3. 2009 OSEP National Early Childhood Conference
4. 2010 National Disability Policy Summit

Resources

1. Reducing Disproportionality Webinar Series
2. New Early Childhood Inclusion Video
3. High School Recovery Act Resources
4. TATRA Conference Resources
5. Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Curricula for Children 0-5 Years and Their Families
6. CELL Practice Guide: Alpha Fun

Technology

1. TraduceloAhora!

Nonprofit Management

1. The Resilient Organization Technology Disaster and Recovery Plan
2. Hiring a Consultant

Upcoming Events

ALLIANCE Institutes

September 14-16, 2009: Technology Institute in Minneapolis, MN
September 21-23, 2009: Management Institute in Minneapolis, MN

We look forward to seeing you in Minnesota!

Parent Center Updates

PEAL Center’s “Crop for a Cause”

The Pennsylvania Education Advocacy and Leadership (PEAL) Center, one of Pennsylvania’s Parent Training and Information Centers, is participating in a “Crop for a Cause” fundraising event. The local Allstate Snider Agency and Art-Tech are sponsoring a scrapbooking workshop to raise money for the PEAL Center. Attendees will receive brunch, dinner, goodie box, door prizes, and use of Art Tech’s scrapbooking tools. Congratulations to director Liz Healy and staff for this collaborative fundraising event! More>>

Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter!

Don’t forget that you can now connect with your Parent Center colleagues through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Check out the new videos that have been posted, start a discussion, or receive updates on the latest ALLIANCE news. If you have questions, contact kerryjo.johnson@pacer.org.

View the Parent Center YouTube channel!

Follow the ALLIANCE on Twitter!

Become a fan of the Parent Center Facebook page!

Check out the following sample of Parent Centers’ Facebook Pages to see how others are using this social networking tool. If your Facebook Page is not listed and you would like to include in a future edition of the Newsline, please email gretchen.godfrey@pacer.org.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) (CA)

Families Together (KS)

Oregon Parent Training and Information Center (OR)

Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) (VA)

 

Announcements & News

TA&D Project of the Month: National Dropout Prevention Center

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with disabilities (NDPC-SD), directed by Loujeania Williams Bost, is located at Clemson University in South Carolina. The project was established to help build states’ capacity to increase school completion rates for students with disabilities through knowledge synthesis, technical assistance, and dissemination of interventions and practices that work. Their Web site has a variety of useful resources for State Education Agencies, Local Education Agencies, parents, and students. More>>>

OSEP Conferences Archives

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has sponsored several major conferences over the last 6 months for technical assistance providers, state education agency personnel, and Parent Centers. Visit the conference Web sites for videos of presentations and other materials.

Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network (TA&D) Conference (March 23-24, 2009): The TA&D Conference focused on using innovative technologies to reach wider audiences, manage projects more effectively, communicate with colleagues, and support children’s and adult learning.

OSEP Project Directors’ Conference (July 20-22, 2009): The OSEP Project Directors’ Conferences included updates from the Office of Special Education Programs and current information on managing U.S. Department of Education grants.

OSEP Leadership Conference (August 17-19, 2009): The theme for the 2009 conference was Leading Change in Challenging Times and sessions covered topics related to State Performance Plan indicators, monitoring and verification visits, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and other critical issues such as dropout prevention and early childhood initiatives.

2009 OSEP National Early Childhood Conference

Registration information has been posted for the 2009 OSEP National Early Childhood Conference which will take place December 7-9 in Arlington, VA. Visit the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) Web site to view a draft agenda and register. More>>>

2010 National Disability Policy Summit

The National Council on Disability (NCD) will be hosting a national disability policy summit July 25-27, 2010 with the theme ADA 1990-2010 Retrospective and Future Policy Directions. They are currently seeking applications for attendees with experience from ten different tracks, including employment and education. Event details, including application instructions, are available online. More>>>

Resources

Reducing Disproportionality Webinar Series

The Regional Resource Center Program Disproportionality Priority Team presented a series of five webinars this spring on various aspects of the issue such as research, compliance, interventions, and next steps. PowerPoints and audio archives of the presentations are available online. More>>>

New Early Childhood Inclusion Video

CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge has released a new web-based video on policy, research, and key components of early childhood inclusion. A transcript of the video and related articles are also available. More>>>

High School Recovery Act Resources

The National High School Center has developed a Web page with relevant American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) resources. They recently posted documents with suggestions for using ARRA funds for high school improvement initiatives. More>>>

TATRA Conference Resources

Presentations and handouts from the Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) 2009 National Conference are now available online! Sessions focused on topics such as: issues affecting young adults with autism in work and postsecondary settings, transition services provided through state vocational rehabilitation agencies, transition initiatives of Centers for Independent Living, and state efforts to document post-school outcomes. More>>>

Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Curricula for Children 0-5 Years and Their Families

This publication by the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Early Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) provides guidance for early childhood programs in selecting a curriculum or intervention practice that best meets the needs of their setting, children, and families. More>>>

CELL Practice Guide: Alpha Fun

Alpha Fun is a Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) Practice Guide for parents of preschoolers. The tip sheet includes descriptions of toys and activities that will help young children learn the letters of the alphabet. Ideas include using letter blocks to spell the child’s name and forming letters out of bread dough. More>>>

Technology

TraduceloAhora!

The ALLIANCE National Parent Technical Assistance Center is a national partner with IBM’s TraduceloAhora automatic Spanish translation program. The free online software allows users to translate Web pages, Web searches, and emails. Parent Centers and the families and professionals they serve can register for this program to facilitate communication between English and Spanish speakers in school, medical, and other settings. Contact gretchen.godfrey@pacer.org with questions or for registration information. A training webinar is available on the ALLIANCE Web site. More>>>

Nonprofit Management

The Resilient Organization Technology Disaster and Recovery Plan

TechSoup has updated their disaster recovery plan to include guidelines for disaster planning. The tips are useful not only for natural disasters but are helpful suggestions for maintaining a healthy technology infrastructure that can be adapted as needed. More>>>

Hiring a Consultant

This article from Philanthropy News Digest describes the important steps in deciding to use, selecting, working with, and paying a consultant. More>>>

 

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