PLUK News feed

Fulfilling the Promise - 35th Anniversary of IDEA - Wrightslaw

• Fulfilling the Promise - 35th Anniversary of IDEA - Wrightslaw

  tags: IDEA special education

  • In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.

Advances in mobile technology provide the blind with new tools - The Boston Globe

• Advances in mobile technology provide the blind with new tools - The Boston Globe

  tags: smartphones blind visual impairment

  • Zhenya Pankova sends and receives 200 text messages a day. That’s typical for a ninth-grader. But to read her texts, she presses her Samsung cellphone to her ear. Pankova is blind.

Autism program adapts as number of students grows | StarNewsOnline.com

• Autism program adapts as number of students grows | StarNewsOnline.com

  tags: autism

  • "In the middle and high schools, for high-functioning students, they have an elective class where they work on their organizational and social skills, speech therapists and disability awareness, like what is autism and how does this affect me to give them some vocabulary to work with," she said. "There have certainly been mistakes made with Eric at school, but I can't be too harsh because I've made them too. However, the school system has processes in place that help figure out interventions and solutions. My son is on track to get a regular high school diploma but, without the support of this program, without someone to intervene if he was having a moment, he would crash and burn."

Youth Council upcoming GED Initiative Promotional Sessions - Billings/Butte - Dec. 14 & 16, 2010

The Governor’s State Workforce Investment Board Youth Council is supporting a statewide GED Initiative. You have been identified as a person who clearly understands the economic needs of our state, and the importance of a competitive workforce.

Prior to launching the Initiative, two regional promotional sessions have been scheduled to discuss the economic impact of high school dropouts and the importance of statewide support for the GED Initiative. At each meeting, we will discuss how every community can play an active role in reaching out to local youth to bring them back into the education pipeline and open the doors to further education and career opportunities.

The first session is:
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Hampton Inn – 5110 Southgate
Billings, MT
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
AGENDA | FACT SHEET

The second session is:
Thursday, December 16, 2010
War Bonnet Inn – 2100 Cornell Ave
Butte, MT
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
AGENDA | FACT SHEET

Bringing representatives from various agencies together to prepare for the Initiative launch will ensure that we have a successful campaign and Montana has the credentialed workforce necessary to move our state forward. A recent study showed Montana’s dropout rate among students 16 to 19 years old was 9% - the sixth highest rate in the nation.

If you plan on attending, please RSVP to Carol Flynn at cflynn@mt.gov. Additionally, please feel free to forward this invite to anyone you feel would be interested and can assist with the Initiative.

There is an App for That: Apps for Early Learning ages 0-8 - Webinar - Dec. 9, 2010

Click Here to Register for this Webinar

What:
Having Trouble Navigating through all of those apps? Over 250,000 app have been developed for the iPad, iTouch, and iPhone. This webinar will discuss fun and interactive apps that can be used by kids who experience various disabilities.

Statewide Family Network Survey on Mental Health Systems Development

Click Here to Participate in the Survey

As the federal Statewide Family Network Agency under the Child, Adolescent and Services Systems Program (CASSP), Family Support Network’s mission is to establish a child and family focus in all programs serving children and adolescents with mental health issues in Montana. Our goal is to strengthen families through advocacy and education by partnering with local agencies and the federal Center for Mental Health Services. With this mission in mind, we want to alert you on a survey developed to help assess mental health systems development.

In order to measure the core values and principles within the mental health service delivery system in Montana, we invite you to complete a survey available on our website at www.mtfamilysupport.org called A Strategic Progress Assessment Report (SPAR) under the services tab.  You may also access the survey by going to the website:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BFBT26W.  With this information we hope to identify service gaps within the various regions of Montana, the degree to which the family and child are involved as partners in the individual’s treatment plan and whether providers are sensitive to providing services within the cultural norms of the family and are community based. 

Thank you for your help in providing data to help direct the course of children’s mental health services in Montana.  If you have questions regarding the survey or are interested in helping your region develop a family centered mental health delivery system by participating on Parent Councils in your region, please call 406-256-7783 or email:  nfarrar@mtfamilysupport.org.   You can reach us via mail at Family Support Network, Nancy Farrar P. O. Box 21366, Billings MT 59104. 

Visit our website at www.mtfamilysupport.org.  

Help Us Make a Healthier Nation - Webcast - Dec. 2, 2010

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites you to be part of the launch of Healthy People 2020. The event will take place on December 2, 2010 from 9:00 to 11:00 am MT. Please attend either in person or participate via Web streaming.

The program will include remarks from the HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard K. Koh and members of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020. There will be an introduction and orientation to the Healthy People 2020 Web site and objectives, followed by a panel discussion about the uses of Healthy People 2020. The launch will be held at the Jack Morton Auditorium of The George Washington University, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052. The event also will be available via Web streaming. You can ask LIVE questions via Webcast and Twitter. The event on December 2, 2010 will mark the beginning of Healthy People 2020, and the official release of the decade's national health promotion and disease prevention objectives.

In setting the country's health promotion and disease prevention agenda for the past three decades, Healthy People has articulated overarching goals and tracked movement toward established targets. As we prepare for the next decade, the initiative aims to unify the national dialogue about health, motivate action, and encourage new directions in health promotion, providing a public health roadmap and compass for the country. Your work to implement Healthy People 2020 throughout the decade will be critical to improving the health of the nation. We look forward to your participation. Now the real work begins!

To attend the launch or participate via Web streaming, register by visiting: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020_reg/register.aspx

Please email questions to: healthypeople2020@air.org.
Follow Healthy People on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/gohealthypeople

Innovative Partnerships: Improving State Systems for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - Webinar - Dec. 1, 2010

Register for the event at http://www.mchcom.com

Please join us for a webinar on Wednesday, December 1st, from 11:00 – 12:15 pm MT  

This webcast will provide information and examples regarding innovative partnerships to improve state systems for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Other Developmental Disabilities. These partnerships within states allow for engaging key stakeholders in addition to leveraging resources and improving sustainability of services and coordination of care.  The webinar will consist of a panel representing several states and organizations across the country engaging in unique public/private partnerships that can help advance important projects, programs, and policies to support children, youth, and families affected by autism spectrum disorders.

Rimrock Trailways taking input on how to better serve bus riders

• Rimrock Trailways taking input on how to better serve bus riders - Annotated

   

  tags: Montana transportation

  • Need a little help at a great price to get where you are going
    in Montana? The owners of Rimrock Trailways are making a trip
    across the state to listen to input from riders and potential
    riders of their buses.

    "We really want to hear from bus riders across the state -
    specifically what they like about our service and what we can do to
    improve," said Eric Forseth, owner of Rimrock Trailways. "In the
    process of holding workshops in Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman,
    Helena, Billings and Miles City over the next couple of weeks we
    hope to learn how to better serve students and other riders.
    Everyone wins in the end, we get people where they want to go, and
    we provide the services that are truly needed."

As NCLB deadline gets closer, more schools look at shrugging off compliance

• As NCLB deadline gets closer, more schools look at shrugging off compliance - Annotated

   

  tags: Montana NCLB

  • Billings School District 2 trustees were listening to a report
    on No Child Left Behind compliance, hearing about which schools had
    the requisite percentage of children testing at grade level in math
    and reading, required by the 2002 federal law.

    The report was something of a mixed bag. In some cases, white
    students were performing better than their minority counterparts
    and students from more affluent homes were doing better than those
    from poorer families.

    But taken all together, 89 percent of Billings students were
    reading at or above grade level and 74 percent were doing math
    at that same level -- a good step above the 83 percent required for
    reading and the 68 percent required for math.

    And that's the problem, trustees were told. Starting next year,
    the requirements jump significantly.