Special Education Today

Forgetting What Works…

Posted on 17 February 2012 by Special Ed.

Dear Readers,

I am so silly. I always forget what works for me. A couple of my students have been struggling. I’ve worked in Education for 10 years now. I should have pulled from my store of knowledge. But, sometimes we can become so overwhelmed that we forget (as I did) what works for us. Once I came to my senses, I quickly made fluency folders from pages I copied from Practicing Basic Skills in Reading & Practicing Basic Skills in Language Arts by Ray Beck, Peggy Anderson, & A. Denise Conrad.

At first I only made fluency folders for the struggling readers. Then I realized that almost every student needs help in some capacity. So, although there are 7/15 students working on fl (Read more...)

Posted in book reviews, In the know!!, Learning to read, resources, teaching | Comments Off

Sleeping Hearing Officer; Internet Gotcha

Posted on 17 February 2012 by Jim Gerl

From Jim Gerl over on Special Education Law Blog.

sleep (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

Many special education folks heard this week about a sleeping hearing officer.This is a sad story, and here is the link to the Fox TV story.

My first reaction to the story was that it was inexcusable for the hearing officer to doze off during the hearing. Imagine how the parents felt; were they getting a fair hearing? What if you were the school district and the ho was so interested by the testimony about your school that he took a nap? This can't be good!

I spend all year extolling the virtues of the special ed hearing officer. This kinda thing does not help me in that regard.

But another part of the story bugs me as well. Is (Read more...)

Posted in Arab Spring, fair hearing, Gerl, gotcha, hearing officer, Legal Information, Sleep, Special Education, special education law | Comments Off

Theresa: One person, making a difference

Posted on 16 February 2012 by CEC

From CEC over on Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers.

This past weekend I attended the Illinois Council for Children with Behavior Disorders Winter Drive-In Conference. While not all of my students have behavior disorders, they do have a wide-range of disabilities and I found that a lot of the information and strategies can be applied to all of my students. I attended a special workshop about teaching self-management skills to students, and I am so excited to get to implement it in the next couple of weeks. I also attended sessions on best practices for working with aggressive youth, and another on using wikis, blogs, and other technology. Ideas are swirling in my head, and I am practically giddy with excitement to try them out with my students (Read more...)

Posted in Blogger Theresa, Professional development, Reading and Writing, Teacher Support | Comments Off

Richard: Student to inmate and back again (hopefully)

Posted on 14 February 2012 by CEC

From CEC over on Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers.

This past week was full of new experiences. One of my students, David (pseudonym used) got in to some trouble over the weekend with the local police and fire department. Long story short, he was unmedicated that day, angry over something that happened at school with a classmate, and decided to release his anger at home.

When he was absent on Monday, I called home to make sure he was OK. When his mom reported that he would be back the next day, all was well. A few hours later, she sent me an e-mail saying he will be out for the week, with no explanation. I assumed he was sick and went to the doctor. The next day I get a note from our lead counselor telling me to pack his things and pos (Read more...)

Posted in Blogger Richard, Managing Behavior, Planning Ahead | Comments Off

The President’s FY 2013 Budget: What does it mean for Special and Gifted Education?

Posted on 13 February 2012 by Kristin McDonald

From Kristin McDonald over on CEC Policy Insider.

Today, the President released his budget for FY 2013. CEC is pleased that the President clearly is committed to education and has offered an alterative vision for the automatic cuts set to take place January 1, 2013 if Congress doesn’t act. But, CEC is concerned with the emphasis on new programs at the expense of core programs. Read Deborah Ziegler, CEC’s Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy Services statement below and see a chart highlighting the President’s proposals for special and gifted education at the bottom.

CEC Calls for a Greater Investment in Core Programs in FY13 Budget:
Special and Gifted Education

The following is a statement from Deborah A. Ziegler, Associate (Read more...)

Posted in Administration, U.S. Congress | Comments Off

CEC Responds to House ESEA/NCLB Proposals

Posted on 13 February 2012 by Kristin McDonald

From Kristin McDonald over on CEC Policy Insider.

Over the past year, the U.S. House of Representatives Republican lead Education and Workforce Committee has introduced a series of bills, meant to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB). In the beginning of 2012, Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the final two bills, The Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act. While CEC is hopeful that Congress will complete a full reauthorization of the law, CEC cannot support these bills.

CEC expressed some key concerns about this legislation in a letter to Chairman Kline sent last week. The letter highlights issues which taken together lead to (Read more...)

Posted in NCLB/ESEA, U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Education | Comments Off

Secretary Duncan Announces New Teacher Initiative: Submit Your Questions Now!

Posted on 13 February 2012 by Kristin McDonald

From Kristin McDonald over on CEC Policy Insider.

On Wednesday, February 15 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will announce a new teacher initiative. You can watch live on U-stream from 3:30 – 4:30 PM EST as Secretary Duncan talks about a new initiative to Transform the Teaching Profession and launch a National Conversation about Teaching.

The event will include remarks from Secretary Duncan and a live town hall which CEC will participate in. In addition to watching live on U-stream, teachers can submit questions for the town hall via Twitter using the hashtagh #TeachTalk. Submit your questions now!

Posted in U.S. Department of Education | Comments Off

Special Educator’s Toolkit

Posted on 12 February 2012 by Cindy

From Cindy over on Special Needs Resource Magazine.

We’ve been so busy that we forgot to show where the new book is available. Here are two sites to try for great prices in the US on The Special Educator’s Toolkit. It’s also available in several other countries.

Amazon

Books A Million