Fort Dix, NJ

 

If you are interested in attending, please contact Carolyn Hayer at 973-642-8100 ext. 102 or by email at chayer@spannj.org.

The Administration's 13 proposed priorities for FY 2011 discretionary grants are focused around three areas: advancing key cradle-to-career educational reforms, addressing the needs of student subgroups and building capacity for systematic continuous improvement.  There are no specific TA priorities for special education spelled out. So even though there is a special line item in IDEA for TA, the US DOE could propose in the 2012 budget that it be subsumed into a different TA budget within DOE.  The proposed priorities are Improving Early Learning Outcomes; Implementing Internationally Benchmarked, College and Career Elementary and Secondary Achievement Standards; Improving the Effectiveness and Distribution of Effective Teachers or Principals; Turning Around Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools; Increasing Postsecondary Success; Improving Achievement and High School Graduation Rates of Rural and High-Needs Students; Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education; Promoting Diversity; Support for Military Families; Enabling More Data-Based Decision-Making; Building Evidence of Effectiveness; Supporting Programs, Practices or Strategies for Which there is Strong or Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness; and Improving Productivity.  Comments due September 7th. Federal Register Notice

The Dare to Dream America program provides an opportunity for youth (ages 13 to 25) to get involved in mental health awareness activities. Successful applicants are awarded a grant up to $1000 to do projects that promote mental health awareness. Dare to Dream America is brought to you by Youth M.O.V.E. National. To receive the application, e-mail Youth M.O.V.E. National at youthmove@ffcmh.org or click here to download and print. Applications are due September 15th.
 
The Flutie Foundation supports families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder by increasing awareness of the challenges of living with autism and helping families find resources to improve their quality of life and address those challenges.  The foundation funds education and advocacy for individuals with autism and supports therapeutic, recreational and social skills programs.  Education and advocacy programs include education and advocacy programs for all individuals on the autism spectrum; community awareness initiatives; and educational opportunities that provide practical experience for family members and professionals working in the field of autism.  The average grant ranges from $10,000-20,000; do not request more than $20,000.  Indirect costs of up to 10% of the total project budget will be considered.  Geographic focus includes Massachusetts and all other New England states, New York, and New Jersey.  All grant proposals must be submitted no later than September 24th.  Go to Flutie Foundation.

Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to drop out of high school or delay completing high school than other kids, a new study has found. The rate is twice that of students with no psychiatric disorder. Developing methods to help students with ADHD graduate high school could have significant long-term societal benefits, according to author. The researchers also found high drop-out rates among students with other mental health disorders. The study was published in the July online edition of the Journal of Psychiatric Research. USA Today.

The Autism Internet Modules (AIM) Web site, hosted by the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI), has posted a number of new AIM modules, including: Antecedent-Based Interventions, Computer Aided Instruction, Functional Communication Training, Naturalistic Interventions, Parent Implemented Interventions, Prompting, Reinforcement, Response Interruption/Redirection, Self-Management, Task Analysis, and Time Delay. To access the modules, register for a free account at Autism Internet Modules. Content for these modules was developed by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Learn more.

This new national study examines which stories are most effective when it comes to engaging and inspiring people to take action on behalf of children and youth.  The research finds that a focus on problems has some benefits, but can also backfire. Problem focused stories increase support for government action, but at the same time increase cynicism about the ability of government and citizens to solve these problems. Telling solutions stories, on the other hand, is an underused communications approach that can increase support for policies that benefit children.

This report from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) highlights 2009 data, including average costs of child care costs for infants, 4-year olds, and school-age children in child care centers and family child care homes across the country in every state. The average cost that parents paid for full-time care for a 4-year-old child in a center ranged from more than $4,050 in Mississippi to more than $13,150 a year in Massachusetts. The average center-based child care fees for an infant exceeded the average annual amount that families spent on food in every region of the United States. Monthly child care fees for two children at any age exceeded the median monthly rent cost, and were nearly as high, or even higher than, the average monthly mortgage payment in every state. The findings show that child care costs are high, they are rising, and they are high compared to family income, household expenses, and even college costs.  Data are from a 2009 survey of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) State Networks.  More information.

This Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics annual report addresses 40 indicators grouped by the topics of: family and social environment; economic circumstances; health care; physical environment and safety; behavior; education; and health.  Since 1997, the report has provided detailed information on the welfare of children and families, alternating between a comprehensive and a condensed version highlighting selected indicators, as is the case this year.

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, in collaboration with the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, recently published a new report entitled The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood (July 2010). The report discusses how positive early experiences strengthen developing biological systems, providing the foundation for good health, sturdy brain architecture and enhanced learning capacities.

The National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education (NCRECE) recently published findings from two studies that confirm the value of broad and comprehensive early childhood education curricula to children's later academic success and highlight the importance of two important school readiness indicators - children's fine motor skills and early understanding of their world.

 
Key Readings on Policy Levers to Promote Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity in Early Childhood (July 2010), by Mariajosé Romero
 
An Annotated Bibliography on Policy Levers to Promote Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity in Early Childhood (July 2010), by Mariajosé Romero
 
An Annotated Bibliography on Children's Development of Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity (July 2010), by Mariajosé Romero
 
English Language Proficiency, Family Economic Security, and Child Development (June 2010), by Curtis Skinner, Vanessa R. Wight, Yumiko Aratani, Janice L. Cooper, and Kalyani Thampi

On 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") issued an Administrator's Interpretation (No. 2010-3) clarifying the circumstances under which a person stands "in loco parentis" to a child for purposes of taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").  The FMLA entitles employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for the birth or placement of a son or daughter, to bond with a newborn or newly placed son or daughter, and to care for a son or daughter with a serious health condition. "Son or daughter" is defined to include biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, and a child of a person standing "in loco parentis." Persons who are in loco parentis to a child include those with day-to-day responsibilities to care for and/or financially support a child. Thus, employees who have no biological or legal relationship with a child may nonetheless stand in loco parentis to the child and be entitled to FMLA leave. According to the Administrator, "[a] simple statement asserting that the requisite family relationship exists is all that is needed in situations such as in loco parentis where there is no legal or biological relationship."

HHS Rule on Preventive Services: Bright Futures For All Children By Guest Blogger: By Judith S. Palfrey, MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics

 

One of the earliest provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to take effect is Section 2713, which requires health plans to cover, at absolutely no out-of-pocket cost to families, preventive care services outlined in Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bright Futures is the definitive standard of pediatric well-child and preventive care developed by an evidence-informed, active collaboration led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).  Perhaps the best-known aspect of Bright Futures is the schedule of "well-baby and well-child visits" it establishes--31 visits between birth and age 21 years (to pediatricians and other clinicians, it is also known as the "periodicity schedule"). The interim rule clearly states that all components of pediatric well-child visits--including physical exams, immunizations, hearing and vision screening, developmental and behavioral screening, and anticipatory guidance--in accordance with the Bright Futures periodicity schedule must be free of financial barriers, including co-pays and deductibles. Insurers may not exclude any of these services from coverage, and cost-sharing cannot be imposed on families.  This landmark investment in preventive services will eventually allow all families, regardless of income, the opportunity to visit their pediatrician regularly during their children's most critical years of development. Having coverage for the clinically appropriate well-child visits will allow pediatricians to identify and treat health problems in children before they start. This, in turn, should help bring down the prevalence of chronic conditions that place significant financial and physical strain on children and families.

Health literacy is the ability to read, understand, and act on health care information. Healthy People 2010 defines health literacy as "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions."  The Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. has a series of Health Literacy Fact Sheets available.

The National High School Center has recently released a new document that analyzes Response to Intervention (RTI) in several high schools. Tiered Interventions in High Schools: Using Preliminary "Lessons Learned" to Guide Ongoing Discussion represents the initial work of the High School Tiered Interventions Initiative (HSTII), a collaborative project of the National High School Center, the National Center on Response to Intervention, and the Center on Instruction, and summarizes what HSTII has learned thus far about effective RTI implementation in high schools. It provides a brief description of the RTI framework and the essential components of RTI, illustrates how the essential components of RTI were implemented at eight visited schools, and highlights contextual factors unique to high schools and examines how these factors can affect school-level implementation of tiered interventions.

This brief examines the relationship between childhood trauma and involvement in the juvenile justice system.  While research shows that up to 34 percent of children in the United States have experienced at least one traumatic event, between 75 and 93 percent of youth entering the juvenile justice system annually are estimated to have experienced some degree of trauma.

Eight civil rights organizations including the NAACP have released a letter stating that the U.S. Department of Education is promoting ineffective approaches for failing schools. They view the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition as leaving out many minority students. Citing federal data, the groups find just three percent of the nation's black students and less than one percent of Latino students are impacted by round one of the Race to the Top.

For a time in the mid-2000s, small schools were booming.  They were supposed to transform the large, failing American high school, to engage students and boost their achievement to ready them for college.  But the results have been mixed, national and local research shows.  Students at small high schools were more likely to graduate, have positive relationships with their teachers, and feel safer.  Still, they did no better on standardized tests than did their peers at big schools.

The National Network of School Improvement Leaders (NNSSIL), a collaborative project of CII and CCSSO, facilitated a recent webinar featuring school improvement efforts in rural districts was presented to over 40 registered participants and their guests.  "Supporting Rural Schools and Districts" featured Andrea Browning, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum; Bryan Setser, Chief Executive Officer of North Carolina Virtual Public School, North Carolina Department of Education, and Mark A. Bounds, Deputy Superintendent, Office of School Leadership, South Carolina State Department of Education. Learn more about the challenges, opportunities, and strategies used by teachers and principals to improve student learning in rural districts. The featured webinar is available along with an archive of other valuable resources and presentations.

This is a critical analysis of the July 2010 draft of CCSSO's Model Core Teaching Standards. (The CCSSO document is being circulated for public comment and hopefully our analysis will help stimulate suggestions for improvements.) The report is the latest in a series from the UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools analyzing proposals and blueprints for transforming schools from the perspective of how well they delineate ways to enable equity of opportunity for all students to succeed at school.