Week in Review - November 5, 2021


NASET

WEEK IN REVIEW

National Association of Special Education Teachers

November 5, 2021                 Vol 17 Issue #45



Dear NASET Members and Guests,

Welcome to NASET's WEEK in REVIEW.  Here, we provide you with the latest publications fromNASET to read and or download, as well as some of the most interesting articles that have happened this week in the field of special education. We hope you enjoy this publication.  Feel free to send us articles for this publication or let us know your thoughts about the WEEK in REVIEW at news@naset.org. Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,


WHATS NEW AT NASET

November 2021- NASET Special Educator e-Journal

Table of Contents

  • Special Education Legal Alert. By Perry A. Zirkel
  • Buzz from the Hub
  • Communication Challenges Elementary School Teachers Experience Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Consequences to Those Impacated Areas. By Matthew Miller
  • 5 Steps to Working with Your School Board
  • Family Engagement and Children with Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Educators and Parents
  • Book Reviews
    • The New One Minute Manager. By Jessica Garcia
    • Impactful Instructional Leadership & Framework for Success. By Natalia M. Hayter
    • The Making of a Manager: What to do When Everyone Looks at you. By Austyn Johnson
  • Acknowledgements

Read More



Horse Riding Confirmed as a Viable Mobility Treatment for Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a common disability among children, characterized by abnormal gait patterns and the inability to maintain posture and balance. While the condition is incurable, physical therapy treatments can go a long way in improving movement and balance. One such treatment approach is hippotherapy (HPOT), which uses horse riding to improve functional mobility in children with CP. Although supported by scientific studies as an effective treatment approach for (CP), there is, unfortunately, little data concerning how HPOT results in improvement. Recently, a team of researchers from Korea and the United States addressed this question, investigating physical interaction metrics between horses and children with CP during HPOT. "My original research interests lie in the rehabilitation of people with neurological impairment, specifically gait and balance. Read More

Mentors Help Students with Learning Disabilities Gain Confidence, Become Self-Advocates

Dana Dickens likes it when her former students check in with her and when they do, several will ask if their old school — P.S. 76, the Asa Philip Randolph School for the Humanities in New York City — still offers a specific mentoring program that they remember fondly but, to others, may seem like it would have difficulty attracting participants. That’s because it meets on Fridays after school and it’s only for students with learning differences. But for 14 years, the school's Eye to Eye program has been the desired meeting place for middle school students struggling with attention, executive functioning, dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Read More

Thousands of Chicago Public School Students — Most of Them Students with Special Needs— Still without Bus Services

A few dozen students who missed the first two months of classes because of Chicago Public Schools’ early year busing troubles are expected to get service by the end of this week, officials said Wednesday. That milestone would mark the bare minimum in fixing the problems families have faced as the district has experienced a massive bus driver shortage, officials said. There remain thousands of other students who have been getting to school by having to rely on alternative transportation methods when they’re entitled, in some cases by federal law, to district buses. In all, about 3,800 of the more than 16,000 children who typically ride buses are still without service. A little over 2,300 of them are in special education. Kimberly Jones, CPS’ transportation chief, told the Board of Education at its monthly meeting Wednesday that 97% of those children who still don’t have bus routes have been getting to school on their own. Read More

How an Understudied Trait has Skewed Autism Studies for Decades

About 15 years ago, psychologist Geoff Bird began to question a long-held tenet in autism research: the idea that all people with autism struggle with empathy. For Bird, it just didn’t make sense. In his experience, both autistic and non-autistic people vary widely in their ability to sense or feel another person’s emotions — the scientific definition of empathy. And yet there was a body of research suggesting that people with autism are frequently unable to intuit what another person feels. Two of Bird’s colleagues proposed a solution to the riddle: What if, instead of lacking empathy, some people with autism can’t recognize their own emotions, a little-known trait called alexithymia? Wouldn’t that impair their ability to share someone else’s? Read More

 



Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities Ready to Grow, Change More Lives

Logan Lavery is living the life she never thought she’d live. She’s a college student at the University of South Florida’s St. Pete campus. She’s living in on-campus housing, making friends and joining campus groups like the dance and puppy lovers clubs. Lavery, an outgoing 19 year old, is an inaugural student of USF’s UMatter program, which provides young people with intellectual disabilities “the learning, social skills and career training to set them up to be competitively employed and live independently.” Lavery has become the program’s unofficial spokesperson. “I am outgoing. Not shy at all,” she said with a smile. “And if you meet me, you’re going to love me a lot.” Read More

Workers with Disabilities Face Unique Challenges Amid Pandemic, Rutgers Study Finds

The Rutgers Program for Disability Research recently conducted an academic report titled “Fact Sheet on Disability and Telework During the Pandemic,” which details the employment issues that people with disabilities are currently facing. Before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, workers with disabilities were found to be more likely than those without disabilities to work from home, with 5.5 percent and 4.4 percent doing so respectively, according to the report. But now, workers with disabilities are less likely than those without disabilities to be doing home-based work, according to the report. Read More

Just Having Standards Isn’t Enough — Study Finds Teachers Use High-Quality Curricula in States That Actively Promote Them

The number of teachers using curriculum aligned to academic standards has ticked up since 2019, rising more quickly in states that have adopted policies incentivizing the use of high-quality materials than in others, according to a new report from the RAND Corp. Teachers are much more likely to use standards-aligned math curriculum than English language arts, and more likely to use it in elementary and middle school grades than high school, researchers found. The results buoy a four-year-old effort by 13 states to push teachers to use higher-quality classroom materials. States belonging to the network, organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers, generally saw quicker adoption of curricula vetted for quality by the nonprofit ratings group EdReports. Read More

North Texas Dad DIY’s Wheelchair Costumes Each Halloween for Son with Special Needs

For Joe and Amber Holland, Halloween isn’t just a day to dress up and collect candy, but a day for their 11-year-old son Ben to no longer be recognized by his special needs, but by his incredible costume. “When you have special needs, you have a lot of needs typically and so sometimes that limits you,” said Ben’s mom, Amber Holland. “But this one night, there’s no limitations.” From an army tank, to a fire truck, his parents and two sisters create larger than life costumes that fit around his wheelchair. “Just seeing the kids interact with him, and just treat him as just another friend…it’s the best thing in the world,” Joe Holland said. Every year, about five days before Halloween the crew gets started, spending an estimated 60 to 70 hours in his garage. Read More

 

 



TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

This week's trivia question: This telethon would broadcast for up to 21½ hours,starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon on the holiday itself. The show was hosted by comedian, actor, singer and filmmaker Jerry Lewis from its 1966 inception until 2010 in order to raise money for this association. Changes in the format of telethon have occurred over the past 11 years in order to continue to raise money for this association, abbreviated MDAA. What is the name of the association that this telethon raised money for on an annual basis for so many years?

If you know the answer to this week's trivia questions, email it to us at contactus@naset.org by November 9, 2021. If you are correct, you will be acknowledged in next week's NASET's Week in Review


3 Qualities People with Disabilities Want From People without Disabilities

If as we so often say, people with disabilities don’t want pity, then what do we want? The most obvious answer may be something like “justice” or “equality.” But those are structural issues that belong in discussions of economics, law, and politics. That’s all important to talk about, but what do disabled people want, personally, from other people? Compassion? Not really. Compassion isn’t a bad thing. Compassion can be an important motivation for doing right by disabled people. But both pity and compassion suggest a similar kind of softness that’s nice on the surface and in the short term, but tends to be thin, weak, and temporary. Read More

Special Olympics Program Helps Schools Get Unified on Inclusivity

When the bullying prevention side of the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program became clear to the Lansing Public School District in Michigan, an initial launch quickly expanded from five schools to the entire district. Students can join monthly Lunch Bunches, where all learners, with and without cognitive and physical disabilities, can meet up for monthly events such as trips to bowling alleys and swim classes, or participate in unified sports teams. But the lunch program in particular, which started at the elementary level, was one that helped the district make the decision to move forward with expanding to all of its schools. Read More

Schools Debate: Gifted and Talented, or Racist and Elitist?

Communities across the United States are reconsidering their approach to gifted and talented programs in schools as vocal parents blame such elite programs for worsening racial segregation and inequities in the country’s education system. A plan announced by New York City’s mayor to phase out elementary school gifted and talented programs in the country’s largest school district — if it proceeds — would be among the most significant developments yet in a push that extends from Boston to Seattle and that has stoked passions and pain over race, inequality and access to a decent education. From the start, gifted and talented school programs drew worries they would produce an educational caste system in U.S. public schools. Many of the exclusive programs trace their origins to efforts to stanch “white flight” from public schools, particularly in diversifying urban areas, by providing high-caliber educational programs that could compete with private or parochial schools. Read More

 



The Pandemic Pushed Colleges to Record Lectures. The Practice May Be Here to Stay

On March 12 and 13, 2020, the University of Michigan cancelled class to prepare the whole campus for emergency remote teaching starting on March 16. In that brief interim, the institution made Zoom available to everyone—possibly the fastest rollout of any tech in the university’s history, says Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer. The video platform allowed professors to host live classes virtually, complete with real-time speech-to-text transcriptions. It also enabled them to record lectures or class discussions for students to watch and rewatch anytime. That option proved useful for students with unreliable internet access at home, those living in far-away timezones, and those who had trouble following along with professors who were teaching while wearing masks. Read More

Deep-Learning Model May Accurately Predict Autism Diagnosis

A new deep-learning model appears to outperform a widely used screening test at flagging toddlers with autism. The algorithm, described in Science Advances on 6 October, generates predictions based on patterns of conditions that often co-occur with autism.“We’ve known for some time that children with autism suffer from much higher rates of many diseases, including immunological and gastrointestinal conditions,” says lead investigator Ishanu Chattopadhyay, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago in Illinois. “In this study, we tried to leverage the underutilized aspects of the medical history to assess individual risk.”Doctors typically screen children for autism at 18 and 24 months of age using parent questionnaires, such as the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), the accuracy of which can be affected by cultural and language barriers. Read More

Making the Most of Your Edtech Toolbox

If you’re a school or district leader, you may be familiar with technology licenses. Schools and districts provide technology licenses to give administrators, faculty, and staff a set of tools to use on campus. A technology license can help to unlock multiple tools and resources, but only if faculty and staff are aware of whether or not these licenses exist and how they can help transform learning. Awareness and information on available technology licenses significantly reduce the amount of time spent searching for technology tools that can help elevate academic instruction, staff professional development, and general productivity. However, if everyone’s unaware of what’s available, the licenses could remain unused. To make sure that you, your faculty, and your staff are making the most out of available resources, here are ways for you to maximize technology license use at your school or district. Read More

Using Technology to Support 10 Executive Functioning Skills

The challenges we have faced when returning to our campuses this year are more than just academic. Some of our students haven’t been in a classroom for almost two years. Academic progress and social and cognitive development may be substantially affected, and executive functioning skills are one such impacted area. Teachers already face the arduous task of educating future generations. Because we are charged with meeting academic and social needs, it’s important for our approach to be more intentional to support cognitive skills. Teaching is a social endeavor. Interaction is essential for the transmission of knowledge from one person to another. In addition to crucial social interactions with classmates, far-reaching implications result when students can’t benefit from daily interaction with teachers. Students returning to school to join their friends and classmates this year have a steeper hill to climb. Read More

 



JOB POSTINGS

* Special Education Teacher - STARS is owned and operated by Occupational Therapists. You will be an employee and receive full benefits. Summers off with year-round pay and year-round appreciation. With a proven track record, STARS is able to offer you an unbeatable support system and resources. STARS is hiring for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. STARS places Special Education Teachers throughout the Phoenix, Tucson and the surrounding area public schools. To learn more- Click here

* Middle School Special Education Teacher - Christopher Columbus Charter School is located in in the heart of South Philadelphia's "Italian Market" area. At its inception in 1999, the school served students in grades K, 1, 2, and 3. Each year a grade was added, until it became a K-8 school. Presently, the school is serving 772 students. There are two facilities: the North Building, located at 916 Christian Street, houses students in grades K-5, and the South Building, located at 1242-46 South 13th Street, houses students in grades 5-8. Christopher Columbus Charter School students are a microcosm of the city. CCCS is a multicultural school serving families with various levels of income. To learn more- Click here

* Preschool Special Education Teacher - Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center has openings at our Buffalo, Amherst, and Fredonia locations for Preschool Special Education Teachers in Western New York. We are open to considering Early Childhood Teacher candidates who are willing to obtain additional Students with Disabilities, Birth - 2 certification. Tuition assistance may be available. To learn more- Click here

* Middle School and High School Special Needs Teacher at the Anglo-American School of Sofia - We are a school of extraordinary families and outstanding teachers. We are an inspiring educational community - nestled in the stunning foothills of Mount Vitosha on the outskirts of Sofia. We are an exceptional IB world school offering children from 4 to 18 years a world class educational experience. We take pride in academic achievement, and value creativity and athletic talent with equal vigor. We offer a curriculum and approach that looks beyond the classroom and prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities that the world has to offer. To learn more- Click here

* Coordinator, Residential Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities - Lakeland University seeks a mission-oriented individual passionate about creating a more inclusive world to develop and coordinate an innovative residential program for students with intellectual disability slated to open on its campus in Fall 2022. The program is designed to provide students with a residential collegiate experience while preparing them for the next steps in their lives, whether that would be continuing with higher education or moving into employment and the community. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher - This position is responsible for the instruction of educational programs and curricula for exceptional students. The Emotional Support Special Education Teacher develops and implements the Individual Education Plan (IEP) for each student and collaborates with members of the instructional team in the planning and implementation of behavioral and academic interventions and supports to ensure students receive a quality educational program. To learn mor- Click here

* Middle School and High School Special Needs Teacher at the Anglo-American School of Sofia - We are a school of extraordinary families and outstanding teachers. We are an inspiring educational community - nestled in the stunning foothills of Mount Vitosha on the outskirts of Sofia. We are an exceptional IB world school offering children from 4 to 18 years a world class educational experience. We take pride in academic achievement, and value creativity and athletic talent with equal vigor. We offer a curriculum and approach that looks beyond the classroom and prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities that the world has to offer. To learn more- Click here

* College & Career Development Teacher - Gateway Academy is the only private day school in the State of Arizona, specializing in a pure population of students diagnosed with High Functmmng Autism. We are seekmg a unique individual who is orgamzed, creative, has a positive mindset, is solution minded, energetic, fun, and whose passion is to make a difference in student's lives. Ultimately, assisting our students to find their unique path to success! This position requires working with students individually and in a group setting of 10 to 24 students, and collaborating with a variety of school personnel, outside agencies, families, and community partners. To learn more- Click here

* Interim On-call Paraprofessional - The Paraprofessional should be flexible, self-motivated, and a team player. To be successful as a paraprofessional, the candidate should demonstrate patience, compassion, and empathy when working with students, as well as professionalism when representing DREAM. The candidate should have strong management and organizational skills, as well as excellent communication and interpersonal skills. To learn more- Click here

* Early Childhood Special Education Teacher - Located in St. Louis, City Garden is in its 14th year as a charter school, having received a second 10 Year Charter with the state of Missouri in 2017. We began in 2008 with 53 students; we now have 400 children in preschool through eighth grade. As we grow, we continue to seek individuals to join us who share our vision for academic excellence for all children and holistic Montessori education, rooted in equity and social justice. To lean more- Click here

* Executive Director, Program for Students with Exceptionalities - Pittsburgh Public Schools employs over 4,000 individuals in various capacities to support the academic achievement and strength of character of the 25,000 students we serve. Candidates must be enthusiastic about the fundamental goal of advancing student achievement in an urban public school district. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher, Animas Valley Elementary School, 1.0 FTE - Durango School District 9-R is accepting applications for a Special Education Teacher - Animas Valley Elementary School. Must meet CDE and ESSA's requirement for Special Education Teacher. Includes full benefits and begins ASAP. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher - Avondale House is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit agency that provides educational services to children with autism/ Avondale House offers a generous benefit program that includes medical with an employer contribution, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, vacation, holiday, and sick leave. To learn more - Click here

* Learning Disabilities Teacher, ES/MS/HS - Provides and is accountable for the planning, assessment, instruction, communication, human relations, safety, and management of a classroom or assigned instructional setting. Supports FCPS mission to inspire, enable, and empower students to meet high academic standards, lead ethical lives, and demonstrate responsible citizenship. To learn more - Click here

* Emotional Disabilities Teacher, MS/HS - Supports FCPS mission to inspire, enable, and empower students to meet high academic standards, lead ethical lives, and demonstrate responsible citizenship. Provides and is accountable for the planning, assessment, instruction, communication, human relations, safety, and management of a classroom or assigned instructional setting. To learn more - Click here

* Multiple Disabilities Teacher, ES/MS/HS - Provides and is accountable for the planning, assessment, instruction, communication, human relations, safety, and management of a classroom or assigned instructional setting. Supports FCPS mission to inspire, enable, and empower students to meet high academic standards, lead ethical lives, and demonstrate responsible citizenship. To learn more - Click here

*Special Education Teachers - Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (PA Virtual), an online school providing over 20 years of home-based, public education to K-12 students across Pennsylvania, has a vacancy for Special Education Teachers. All Pennsylvania Counties are welcome to apply!! To learn more- Click here

*Special Education Teacher - Plan, prepare and deliver a quality instructional program based upon student Individual Education Plan goals, state standards, district curriculum, and effective instruction to students of diverse backgrounds and learning needs in inclusive settings. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher, Institutional Settings- The Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) has an opening for a licensed Special Education Teacher for 2021-2022 School Year to work in Department of Youth Services program sites in the Metro Region of Massachusetts as a member of our Special Education in Institutional Settings (SEIS) team. We are especially excited about candidates with experience working in institutional settings. To learn more- Click here

If you are an Employer looking for excellent special education staff - Click here for more information


FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

Aristotle

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