eNEWS | subscribe to eNEWS
From: nccrest@cudenver.edu
Date: 01/02/05

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

Volume 2, Number 8 December 2004
*************************************************************

In this issue:

==> NCCRESt Update: ELL conference presentations are available!
==> Publication Highlight: Addressing Diversity in Schools
==> Events: Native American Training and Information Network Conference
(January 31-February 1); Our Combined Voices (February 2-5); Positive
Behavior Support Conference (March 10-12)
==> New Resources: Inclusive Education Panel Discussion and Interview with
Dr. Howard Gardner; Increasing Rates of School Completion; Public
Education and Black Male Students
==> Web Site of the Month: The National Dropout Prevention Center for
Students with Disabilities
==> News Briefs: President signs IDEA reauthorization bill into law; John
Hager is the New Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services
==> NCCRESt Support Desk
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PLEASE SHARE NCCRESt NEWS WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

NCCRESt UPDATE

==> ELL conference presentations are now available!

Presentations from NCCRESt's national conference, "English Language
Learners Struggling to Learn: Emergent Research on Linguistic Differences
and Learning Disabilities," which was held in November, are now available
on NCCRESt's Web site: http://www.nccrest.org/events.html. CD-ROMs of the
presentations will be available in January. Additionally, both the Journal
of Learning Disabilities and Teachers College Record will be publishing
the conference papers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHT

==> Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Today's classrooms require teachers to educate students varying in
culture, language, abilities, and many other characteristics. To meet this
challenge, teachers must employ not only theoretically sound but also
culturally responsive pedagogy. Teachers must create a classroom culture
where all students regardless of their cultural and linguistic background
are welcomed and supported, and provided with the best opportunity to
learn. For many students, the kinds of behaviors and types of discourse
required in school contrast with their families' cultural and linguistic
practices. This new practitioner brief from NCCRESt defines culturally
responsive pedagogy and explains how it might be used to effectively
address the instructional needs of a diverse student population.

Free, downloadable copies are available from NCCRESt's Web site:
http://www.nccrest.org/publications.html.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EVENTS

==> 4th Annual Native American Training and Information Network (NATIN)
Programs and Families United for Our Children with Disabilities
January 31 - February 1, 2005 * Washington, D.C.

NATIN's annual meeting provides opportunities for tribes and agencies to
collaborate and address disabilities issues with a united voice. Keynote
speakers will include Dr. Troy Justesen, Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education and Victoria
Vasquez, Deputy Under Secretary and Director, Office of Indian Education,
US Department of Education.

For more information, visit http://www.nativefamilynetwork.com/NATIN.htm

==> Our Combined Voices: Making a Difference for Children with
Disabilities

Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers
8th Annual National Conference
February 2-5, 2005 * Washington, D.C.

This national conference will provide opportunities for collaborative
research-based learning experiences that support positive outcomes for
children. There will be time to network with colleagues from other parent
centers, Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA & D) network
representatives, and representatives from the Office of Special Education
Programs (OSEP).

The Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers is funded by OSEP to
provide technical assistance to federally funded Parent Training and
Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers.

For more information, please visit http://www.taalliance.org/conference/.

==> The 2nd International Association for Positive Behavior Support
Conference
March 10-12, 2005 * Tampa, FL

This conference is designed to provide families, professionals, support
providers, researchers and school personnel with new behavior support
skills and the latest research findings in the positive behavior support
field. In addition to presentations, the conference will offer
skill-building workshops on school-wide behavior support, measuring
outcomes, early intervention, and other practical applications. Plan to
attend the largest conference on positive behavior support ever assembled.

The conference will include an urban roundtable to allow researchers and
implementers opportunities to network with school-wide positive behavior
support projects. Drs. Wayne Sailor and Cheryl Utley, both of the
University of Kansas, will co-facilitate the discussion. Dr. Utley is a
Co-Principal Investigator of NCCRESt.

For additional information, please visit
http://apbs.org/secondconference/confanncmnt.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW RESOURCES

==> Don't miss "Inclusive Education: From Benevolence to Belonging"
--includes a fascinating interview with Dr. Howard Gardner on his MI
theory!

Sponsored by the Clark County School District (CCSD); the National
Institute (NIUSI), a partner of NCCRESt; the Mandalay Resort Group, and
the Nevada Partnership for Inclusive Education Development Center, this
program was organized as part of the 4th Annual National Inclusive Schools
Week. It was taped on December 9, 2004 and will be available on
www.inclusiveschools.org through January 31, 2005 (Windows Media Player is
required).

It included a one-hour panel discussion with Dr. William Ouchi, Professor,
Anderson Graduate School of Business, UCLA; Dr. Howard Gardner, Professor,
Harvard University (via Satellite); Dr. Asa Hilliard, Professor, Georgia
State University; Mr. Norman Kunc, Owner, Axis Consultation & Training;
and Dr. Lynne Miller, Professor, University of Southern Maine.

The panel discussion highlighted the need to ensure that all students are
actively involved in learning. Internationally prominent scholars and
reformers were brought to the table for a public dialogue to explore and
discuss ways in which curriculum can be better constructed to meet the
needs of all learners. Hundreds of CCSD teachers, administrators,
community leaders, and families attended this event.

Dr. David Riley, Executive Director of the Urban Special Education
Leadership Collaborative and Director of Networking and Dissemination for
NIUSI and NCCRESt, conducted a follow-up interview with Dr. Gardner. The
interview with Dr. Gardner focuses on his MI theory, which can help
teachers to understand the importance of designing classrooms,
instruction, and curricula that meet the individual needs of many kinds of
students.

==> Essential Tools: Increasing Rates of School Completion

The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition has released a
synthesis of research-based dropout prevention strategies with examples of
interventions that show evidence of decreasing dropout rates and improving
school completion for students with and without disabilities. Although
there is not yet a solid foundation of research on dropout intervention
and prevention from which to make strong conclusions, there is information
that educators, administrators, and policymakers can use to help develop
and implement interventions. The tool is designed to help produce the
following outcomes:
* Increased awareness and knowledge of current theory and research on
dropout prevention and intervention.
* Increased awareness and knowledge of data-based interventions that show
evidence of effectiveness.
* Improved programming addressing dropout prevention and intervention for
students with and without disabilities, resulting in increased rates of
school completion.
To download a free copy, visit
http://www.ncset.org/publications/essentialtools/dropout/.

==> Public Education and Black Male Students: A State Report Card

The Schott Foundation for Public Education has released a state-by-state
report card regarding the percentage of black males who earn high school
diplomas. It is intended to highlight disparities in the quality of
education provided to African Americans by examining state high school
graduation rates of Black and White non-Hispanic males. Graduation rates
are calculated as the percentage of the students enrolled in ninth grade
receiving diplomas with their cohort at the end of twelfth grade. In
2001-2002 59% of African American males did not receive diplomas with
their cohort. Two states—South Dakota and Maine—graduated less than 30% of
their small number of Black male students on schedule. Thirteen
others—Wisconsin, South Carolina, New York, Nebraska, Montana, Ohio,
Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and
Hawaii—graduated only between 30% and 40% with their peer group. While
this report highlights the end results of the school experience, it also
directs attention to contributing disparity factors, such as special
education designations, in- and out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and
National Assessment of Education Progress results, where available. The
consequences of this widespread, deep, systemic failure to educate African
American males as efficiently as their White counterparts are educated
include the following: high unemployment and imprisonment rates, little
chance to attend and graduate from college, and unstable families, to name
a few. To download a free copy of the report, visit
http://www.schottfoundation.org/serv01.htm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH

==> The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/NDPC%2DSD/index.htm

Preventing dropout and improving school completion rates for students with
disabilities is a critical and immediate national goal. The National
Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) is a
new center funded by the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S.
Department of Education to address this issue. NDPC-SD is pleased to
announce the launch of their Web site, which will feature workshops,
professional development institutes, electronic communications, and other
Web-based resources to help local education agencies increase school
completion rates and decrease dropout rates among students with
disabilities.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEWS BRIEFS

==> President Bush signs new IDEA Reauthorization Bill

On December 3, President Bush signed the Individual with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization bill into law. At the foundation of
the bill are the findings of the President Bush's Commission on Excellence
in Special Education, which in 2002 called for special education reform
based on paperwork reduction, early intervention, parental choice, and
academic results for students. H.R. 1350 is designed to improve results
for students with disabilities by shifting the focus away from compliance
with duplicative, burdensome, and confusing rules, and placing a renewed
emphasis on ensuring children with disabilities are actually learning. The
bill aims to improve educational results for students with disabilities
by:
* Making special education stronger for students and parents
* Ensuring school safety and reasonable discipline
* Reducing unnecessary lawsuits and litigation
* Supporting teachers and schools
* Reforming special education funding, and building on historic funding
increases

A complete copy of the bill is available online at http://thomas.loc.gov
and type in HR 1350.

==> Senate Confirms John Hager as the New Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Bush's nominee John H. Hager of
Virginia to be the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services at the Department of Education. Mr. Hager recently
served as Assistant to the Governor for Homeland Security in Virginia as
well as Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mr. Hager
earned his bachelor's degree from Purdue University and his master's
degree in business administration from Harvard University. Prior to
entering politics, Hager held executive positions with the American
Tobacco Company.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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
issues free of charge by following the directions at:
http://www.nccrest.org/newsletter.asp.
Or, follow the directions below:
Create an email message to: majordomo@mail.edc.org
Leave the subject line blank
In the body of the message, type: subscribe nccrest
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------