FW: CEC SmartBrief Special Back-to-School Report (Part I)

[Guest guest]

From: Randee

Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 7:50 AM

To: Parent to Parent Information List Serve

Subject: CEC SmartBrief Special Back-to-School Report (Part I)

View wireless version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/rxdkexnjfkmPduCiceiwCicNGPZN

News

for special education professionals | August 18, 2009

CEC Viewpoint

Kathleen Puckett,

2009 CEC President

·

A look back at summer

Summer vacation has flown by and it's time to gear up

for yet another school year.

I know many of you were taking well-deserved breaks, but much has

happened in the field of special education this summer.

Part I of this CEC SmartBrief Special Back-to-School Report looks at

the important stories you may have missed, including an informative

report on the use of seclusion and restraint and a U.S. Supreme Court

decision expanding parents' rights to reimbursement for

private-school placement costs.

We also talk with Gayle Solis Zavala, CEC's 2009 Clarissa Hug

National Teacher of the Year. Zavala offers tips for special

educators and talks about why it's important to be a member of CEC.

Part II, coming on Thursday, will provide a glimpse into what's in

store for the 2009-2010 school year and will offer CEC resources you

can rely on for help.

If you don't

receive CEC SmartBrief on a daily basis, we urge you

to sign up. CEC SmartBrief delivers the stories

making news in special education directly to your inbox -- for FREE.

Now, here's what you need to know as you head back to class.

Summer in Review

§ Math intervention should

focus on basics, federal guide says (6/17)

§ High court: Schools are required

to pay for private special education (6/22)

§ Who's right when it comes to

educating a child with special needs? (7/15)

§ Study aims to help children

with ADHD control impulses (6/4)

§ Is the U.S. prepared for an

increase in adults with autism? (6/28)

§ Stimulus breathes new life

into early-childhood special services (7/15)

§ Asperger's patients may need

a question to create a response (7/17)

§ CEC: Prevent restraint with

more positive approaches (5/21)

§ Major study will attempt to

uncover the causes of autism (6/9)

§ Obama picks Kansas education

commissioner for special-education post (7/7)

In the Field

§ An interview with

CEC's 2009 Clarissa Hug National Teacher of the Year

Gayle Solis Zavala

§ Gayle Solis Zavala has been a special educator for 24

years at Gove Elementary in Belle Glade, Fla.

Collaboration

between general-education and special-education teachers is something you

support very strongly. Why is that collaboration necessary? How do you

recommend schools best facilitate that?

Teachers need to be lifelong learners, and I've gained great insight from

both special- and general-education colleagues. Whether it is the car pool

conversations with general-education teachers on my daily trek to school or

formal learning team meetings organized once a week, we have always had a

lively exchange of ideas and problem-solving sessions. Through our personal

relationships, my students became their students and vice versa.

School leadership needs to create the climates we need to lean on each

other's strengths and to share resources. Professional development days

should include addressing the needs of all students and all teachers.

Allowing special- and general-education teachers to observe each other in

the classroom and have a question-and-answer after builds both an appreciation

for one another and a chance to share teaching strategies.

What do you enjoy

most about being a special-education teacher?

Wow. It's hard to limit my answer on this one, but one of the things I

enjoy most is working with students on their ability to communicate. It may

stem from beginning my career as a speech language pathologist or having

had a special attachment to an uncle who was severely hearing and speech

impaired.

Each child I have worked with has needed to communicate something, whether

it be hunger, comfortable positioning, retelling a personal anecdote, the

need for affection or to be left alone. Some of my students have begun with

limited vocabulary or low self-esteem. Others had emotional issues and it

created huge barriers that isolated them from successful social

interactions. Finding the path for each of my students to better

communicate their needs has been what I've celebrated the most.

Why is it

important for you to be a member of CEC? What does being a member mean to

you?

CEC has so much to offer teachers at every point in their career -- as

university students, classroom teachers, administrators and experts in the

field. It is a professional organization unlike anything else in the nation

for special educators. It supports and makes available current

evidence-based practices and encourages all teachers to share through the

magazines and journals as well as the state, national and international

conferences they sponsor. It provides the best in professional development

and networking opportunities. The policy and advocacy leadership we have in

Washington, D.C., is first-rate and is often called upon for their ideas

and knowledge on educational reform and policies that impact special

education nationwide.

Through my CEC membership, I have developed into a more knowledgeable and

confident individual. It has provided me opportunities to interact and

learn from top researchers, innovative teachers and professors, legislators

and their staff, along with parents who have a wealth of ideas and passion

for educating students with disabilities.

As we go into the

new school year, what is the one thing you recommend special-education

teachers focus on?

Classroom climate should be the No. 1 focus. I think it is important to

greet the students each day with a handshake or other friendly physical

contact. If the students are open to exchanging a few words about how they

are, it always seems to make such a difference in starting the day on a

positive note. I also like to schedule a time for good news. Students will

always have stories to tell -- but not always good news. And, of course,

every child is expected to be a respectful listener.

My last bit of advice is that teachers make time to relax and take time for

themselves when they are home. Teachers not only impart knowledge and new

skills to students, but they are also caretakers of hearts and feelings.

Teachers must take time to care for themselves so that they can be

physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to reach out to their

students each day.

For more of my ideas on classroom climate, visit the CEC blog Reality 101 for New Teachers.

Product

announcements appearing in SmartBrief are paid advertisements and do not

reflect actual CEC endorsements. The news reported in SmartBrief does not

necessarily reflect the official position of CEC.

This SmartBrief was created for rgabriel@...

Subscriber Tools

Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive |

Privacy policy

Advertise

Sales Account

Director:

Joe Riddle

x 228

§

Download Media Kit

Recent

CEC SmartBrief Issues:

§

Monday, August 17, 2009

§

Friday, August 14, 2009

§

Thursday, August 13, 2009

§

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

§

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Lead

Editor: Amy Dominello

Mailing Address:

SmartBrief,

Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005

©

1999-2009 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal

Information