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DIRECTORS' WELCOME | |
Dear Friends,
We hope this issue of the Region 4 Insider finds you surviving March Madness (continuation report-writing, grant application-writing)! The goal of the Region 4 Insider is to: inspire you with cutting edge resources, tips, and stimulating ideas; connect you with Region 4 Parent Centers and national OSEP-funded TA&D centers; and provide updates that will help you to strengthen your center and improve your ability to serve families.
HUNE, our most long-standing Region 4 CPRC, is featured in this issue. We have included preliminary information about the Region 4 Conference. We are grateful to the Conference Committee (Dorie France, Liz Healey, Dory Lawrence, Kay Lipsitz, Kim Rhodes) for their planning assistance. Information about the Language Access Plan, which you have to report on in Section C. of your Continuation Report due April 16th, is also included in this issue.
As we look towards Spring, we have some exciting things in the works based on information you all provided in this year's Region 4 Needs Assessment. We have some great webinars planned, including such topics as: Supporting Grandparents, more on Evaluation, and Disciplinary Procedures. We are hoping to schedule another topical Region 4 Summit in October. More site visits and some center exchange visits will be scheduled for the summer months. Please contact us if you are interested in receiving either.
As always, we are committed to providing you with high-quality, relevant, and easily accessible information and technical assistance to help us all improve our ability to serve families. Please contact us with Region 4 Insider feature ideas, questions, concerns, or requests for TA at any time. We are here to serve you!
Jan Serak & Courtney Salzer
Region 4 PTAC Co-Directors
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FEATURED PARENT CENTER |
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Hispanos Unidos para Niņos Excepcionales
HUNE (United Hispanic for Exceptional Children) is located in the heart of a Latino neighborhood in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since 1998, HUNE has supported urban families from very diverse backgrounds with emphasis in those who speak Spanish or have limited English. HUNE is an OSEP-funded Community Parent Resource Center.
Luz Hernandez is HUNE's founder and Executive Director. She has a Master's Degree in Global Affairs. Besides administrating the Center, Luz provides training to the employees and supports program implementation. Luz has been very committed to continually research and secure new funding sources to HUNE. She has been very active in Pennsylvania representing the needs of urban and Latino families in stakeholder activities related to education and system change.
Other staff members are: Julieth "Julie" Salazar, Carmen Cruz, Rosalinda Lopez and Peter Hayakawa. Julie, Administrative Assistant, has worked for HUNE 7 years. She is responsible for most of the office support, does intakes and answers I&R calls. Carmen, Advocacy Coordinator, provides intensive bilingual support to families. Rosalinda, Training Coordinator, is bilingual and provides training throughout the community to train families and professionals. Peter, HUNE's newest staff member, provides resource development for the agency.
HUNE's overarching principle is empowering parents of children with disabilities to obtain a free and appropriate quality education. HUNE provides unique services to the community, working with families on all levels. In addition to providing extensive training related to IDEA, HUNE acts as a liaison for parents and other community organizations. HUNE educates and connects families with other social services and disability resources, including health and behavioral clinics, SSI, housing assistance, and legal aid. HUNE receives referrals from hospitals, schools and community agencies. Volunteers assist with grant writing, translations, and presentations. An attorney provides pro bono nonprofit advice to HUNE. With the help of volunteers, HUNE is now developing a curriculum to train youth self-advocates.
HUNE is excited about their new lab with 8 computers available for their consumers. An "Internet 101" class is available for parents to become proficient in computer skills, as a tool to increase their involvement with their children's education and their empowerment. Luz and her staff are very pleased with the positive response to this new project. "We're never short with the number of parents who are interested in taking this class", says Luz and the HUNE staff.
Congratulations HUNE! And thanks for all your hard work.
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REGION 4 PTAC CONFERENCE
Indianapolis, IN
June 13-15, 2012 | |
Parent Center Nonprofit Management Certificate 2012
Twelve hours of training are required to receive a "mini-certificate" annually. Eight hours are offered during this conference. The additional 4 hours will be via webinars after the conference. All of the non-profit management sessions at the conference will be offered in the morning prior to the regular conference sessions. The non-profit programming is optional. However, those individuals desiring certification must attend All 3 of the non-profit management sessions during the conference and the webinars after the conference to be eligible for the certificate.
Effectively Managing Within a Multi Generational Workplace
(Wednesday, 6/13 / 8:00am - 12:00pm)
Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Jones, Gen Xers and Millenials, oh my! Put them all in one workplace and what do you do? For the first time in modern history we could very well have four generations functioning within one work environment. This session will explore engagement tools for each group. You will discover unique factors of each generation to help build successful teams.
Managing Staff in Nontraditional Environments
(Thursday, 6/14 / 7:45am - 9:45am)
Teleworking or telecommuting, a rarity in the 1990s, has become a more common practice today. Some companies report that up to 55% of its employees not only telecommute, they work from home all of the time. The work day and office space look a little different than 20, 10 or even 5 years ago. This session will take a look at ways of engaging, motivating and building a team remotely. You will identify challenges and benefits associated with the nontraditional worker and work space.
New Trends in Personnel Management
(Friday, 6/15 / 7:45 - 9:45am)
"It's always better to be prepared than surprised." Managers are struggling today to recruit, retain and motivate employees. It may be time to reexamine the traditional incentive models. Can personalizing work space improve morale? What is an unlimited vacation packages? Work-Life Balance? Flextime? This sessions will take a looks at a few trends used in the workplace to engage employees. You will discuss pros/cons of current trends. Also you will be encouraged to brainstorm and identify new possible models unique to your organization. |
NON PROFIT MANAGEMENT |
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RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS
Characteristics of a Good Recruitment Message
The opening of the Message is interesting enough to entice the potential volunteer to continue reading or listening. The body of the Message is appealing enough to interest the potential volunteer in considering the volunteer opportunity or, at least, in contacting the agency to get more information. Boring Messages are only likely to appeal to boring people.
The body of the Message presents information in an order that psychologically matches how people will think about the offer:
- Need: Is there a problem
- Solution: Can this job help solve it?
- Fears/Questions: Will I be capable of helping with it?
- Benefits: What's in it for me?
- Contact Point: How do I get involved?
As a general rule, spend more space on need than on logistics. People will first decide whether you're worth volunteering for and then decide whether they can fit you into their schedule. The need you stress may be yours, your clientele's, or a perceived need/benefit of the volunteer.
*The Message is easily understood. The Message is intelligible and avoids jargon, unless it is included for a specific reason. The Message has been tested for ease of comprehension by someone other than the author of the Message. Remember: What Can be Misunderstood, Will Be.
*The Message gives a complete picture: problem, type of work, requirements, timeframe, person to talk with. The Message doesn't make the potential volunteer have to do any extra work in order to understand what is going on.
*The contact information for the Message gives the name of a person, preferably including their first name, not just the name of the agency. Volunteering is a personal decision and people like to talk with other people about it. |
TECHNOLOGY | |
Creating a Technology Advisory Committee
at Your Nonprofit-
"You don't have to go it alone"
Have you ever tackled a big project on your own only to find yourself confused and flailing, wishing you had someone to turn to for advice? If so, you know firsthand the importance of an advisory committee.
Why Create a Technology Advisory Committee?
There's a lot you don't know about technology: No one person can keep track of it all, so even if you're tech-savvy, listening to other techies can inform you about what's possible, what isn't and what the real costs are.
There are things you don't know about your constituents: Clients, board members, donors, and volunteers have needs and concerns that change constantly. Ask them what they want from a technology and what they want from your organization.
There are things you don't know about your colleagues: What are their success and frustrations with technology? What tools, training and support services do they need?
You need evangelists: The members of your tech team will communicate your technology vision to other colleagues, board members, volunteers and other constituents.
*This article, by Chris Peters, was adapted from an IT workbook created by TechSoup's MaintainIT Project, an effort funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to gather and distribute stories around maintaining and supporting public computers
Read the full article here. |
MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE | |
Language Access Plan
Federal agencies and recipients of federal funding, including the Parent Centers, are required to have a plan for language access. The legal authority for this requirement is Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Executive Order 13166.
The PTAC Multicultural Workgroup conducted a webinar on 7/14/11 for parent centers about developing a language access plan. Find the presentation, self-assessment and plan development tools at the Region 1 PTAC Network site page. This site includes an example of a language access budget.
This year, all parent centers have been asked to confirm in Section C of their Continuation Report that they have a Language Access Plan in place or to include information about their progress on development of a plan. Our March 15th Region 4 webinar on Continuation Reports provided the following example to use in Section C. when a plan was not yet completed:
Section C. We have begun developing a Language Access Needs Assessment and plan, involving 3 key staff and 2 board members. We hope to develop a draft by June 1, 2012, and finalize and adopt it at the August Board meeting.
The Region 4 Conference will include a session about the Language Access Plan. It will be very valuable if you complete your self-assessment prior to this session. If you are able to do that, you could also add the following to your Continuation Report:
Section C. We will complete our Language Access Needs Self-Assessment by 6/8 in order to participate in the 6/13/12 Language Access Plan technical assistance session at the Region 4 Conference.
A U.S. Department of Justice brochure highlights federal requirements for language access,Limited English Proficiency: What Federal Agencies and Federally Assisted Programs Should Know about Providing Services to LEP Individuals.
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LEGAL UPDATE |
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In late February, NASDSE (National Association of State Director's of Special Education) has updated the publication, A National Update of Case Law 1998 to the Present under the IDEA and Section 504/A.D.A. The publication is free and can be downloaded on the NASDSE website.
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TA&D NETWORK | |
The IRIS Center is a national center that aims to provide high-quality resources for college and university faculty and professional development providers about students with disabilities. IRIS seeks to obtain this goal by providing free, online, interactive training enhancements that translate research about the education of students with disabilities into practice. Their materials cover a wide variety of evidence-based topics, including behavior, RTI, learning strategies, and progress monitoring.
The IRIS Center announced the posting of its latest STAR Legacy Module, Differentiated Instruction: Maximizing the Learning of All Students.
View the Module |
FYI | |
Dr. Thomas Peacock will present our Region 4 Webinar on May 1, 2012.
Dr. Peacock, an enrolled member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Anishinabe), is an associate professor of education at the University of Minnesota- Duluth. His research and publication interests focus on American Indian education and policy issues, including Ojibwe history.Dr. Peacock's most recent book is "To Be Free - Understanding and Eliminating Racism." He received his masters and doctorate in educational administration from Harvard University. Dr. Peacock has served as a teacher, counselor, director of Indian education for the Duluth Public Schools, secondary school principal, and superintendent of education for the Fond du Lac Reservation. |
IMPORTANT DATES 2012 | |
April 16
Continuation Reports are Due!
April 27
FY2012 PTI and CPRC Applications Due!
May 1
Region 4 Webinar - Dr. Thomas Peacock*
2:00 - 3:30 CST
June 13-15
Region 4 PTAC Conference - Conrad Hotel, Indianapolis, IN
(attendance is mandatory)
July 11-13
National PTAC Institute, Minneapolis, MN (attendance is optional)
July 30-August 2
OSEP Leadership Conference, Washington, DC (attendance is mandatory)
September 19-21
National PTAC Institute, Minneapolis, MN (attendance is optional) |
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