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From: nccrest@cudenver.edu
Date: 08/10/04

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NCCRESt News, the electronic newsletter of the National Center for
Culturally Responsive Educational Systems

Volume 2, Number 6 June/July 2004
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In this issue:

==> NCCRESt Update: NCCRESt presents at OSEP Conference; English Language
Learners Struggling to Learn
==> Publication Highlight: NCCRESt releases "Addressing Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Student Overrepresentation in Special Education:
Guidelines for Parents"
==> New Resource: Teaching Transformed: Achieving Excellence, Fairness,
Inclusion, and Harmony
==> NCCRESt Support Desk
 
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NCCRESt UPDATE

==> NCCRESt presented at OSEP's Leadership and Research Project Directors
Conference

Drs. Elizabeth Kozleski, Alfredo Artiles, Janette Klingner, and Beth Harry
represented NCCRESt at the Leadership and Research Project Directors
Conference sponsored by the Office of Special Education Programs, July
14-16th. This session, "Investigating Culturally Responsive Practices in
Classrooms," focused on research methods that help researchers explore and
understand the contexts in which learning occurs for students from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The presenters
discussed narratives from their own research studies and discussed the
implications for continued improvements in methods and understanding.
 
For more info, please visit http://www.osepresearchpd.org/agenda.htm.

==> Download the agenda for NCCRESt's National Research Conference:
English Language Learners Struggling to Learn: Emergent Research on
Linguistic Difference and Learning Disabilities

Sponsored by NCCRESt, along with Arizona State University, the Council for
Exceptional Children, and the National Association for Bilingual
Education, the conference will present original, emergent scholarship on
the differences between second language acquisition and learning
disabilities. The impetus for the conference is the unprecedented growth
of the English language learner population, the emergence of empirical
evidence about the number of inappropriate referrals of ELLs to special
education, the challenges associated with distinguishing between the
characteristics of "normal" second language acquisition and learning
disabilities, and the alarming dearth of research on these and related
issues.

The conference will be held November 18-19, 2004 at the SunBurst Resort,
Scottsdale, AZ. Registrations are now being accepted, and space is
limited. For more information, to view the conference agenda, or to
register, please go to http://www.nccrest.org/ell_conference.html. Direct any questions to Carolyn Ottke-Moore at
Carolyn.Moore@cudenver.edu.

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PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHT

==> "Addressing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student
Overrepresentation in Special Education: Guidelines for Parents"*

Alfredo J. Artiles, Arizona State University
Beth Harry, University of Miami

*This is an adapted version of a brief prepared for the Center for
Effective Collaboration and Practice and was reprinted with their
permission.

The overrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse students
in special education programs is a complex problem occurring at many of
our nation's schools. With clear and simple language, "Addressing
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student Overrepresentation in
Special Education: Guidelines for Parents" introduces parents to the
issue, explaining the reasons why they should be concerned. This guide
helps parents determine whether there is a problem at their child's school
and outlines several actions they might take to positively impact the
special education process at their school by becoming involved.

Free, downloadable copies of "Addressing Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse Student Overrepresentation in Special Education: Guidelines for
Parents " are currently available on NCCRESt's Web site: http://www.nccrest.org/publications.html. Look for briefs on culturally responsive pedagogy and literacy later in
July.
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NEW RESOURCES

==> Teaching Transformed: Achieving Excellence, Fairness, Inclusion, and
Harmony
Tharp, R.G., Estrada, P., Dalton, S.S., & Yamauchi, L.A. (2000).

This book's purpose is to convey a vision of the ideal classroom for
today's students and academic standards. To transform teaching in schools
and classrooms, this book brings together the elements of educational
research, the national standards movement, and theories of education and
social science. The common thread for the transformation of classrooms is
through organized instructional activities at the classroom level, as the
common pathway to achieve school reform. The classroom is viewed as the
pathway because all aspects of education (e.g., policy, resources,
programs, and professional development) are funneled through the activity
of the teachers and students

Throughout the book, the authors examine the research literature and
illustrate through classroom examples the standards and conditions for
effective pedagogy. For the reader, they present a developmental analysis
of the transformed classroom, in a practical step-by-step manner, from a
unitary organization such as rank and file seating for a teacher-led
recitation script into a more differentiated organization containing
varied, simultaneous related, and appropriate activity settings.

Available from the publisher, Westview Press:
http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/perseus-cgi-bin/search
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NCCRESt SUPPORT DESK

If you have comments or questions about NCCRESt News, or have information
you would like us to distribute to the list, please email nccrest@cudenver.edu. If you were sent NCCRESt News indirectly, you may subscribe to future
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Send the message.

Archives of NCCRESt News are available at
http://www.edc.org/hypermail/nccrest/
For more information about NCCRESt, please contact:
Shelley Zion, Project Coordinator
National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt)
1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 625
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 303-556-3990
Fax: 303-556-6141
Email: shelley.zion@cudenver.edu
Web: www.nccrest.org
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NCCRESt is a technical assistance center funded by the Office of Special
Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Project Officer: Grace
Zamora Duràn. Award No. H326E020003.
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