MPACT ENews
 

September 1, 2013

 

 Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence

Serving Missouri Families!

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Greetings!

Did you miss an issue of the MPACT ENews? Delete it by mistake? Wish you could find a past article? Well you can! To view current and past issues of the MPACT ENews visit our  website.Top

SAVE THE DATE!

5th Annual TRANSITION SUMMIT 
October 24th, 2013  
Truman State Building, Jefferson City, MO

Watch the MPACT website for Registration and other Information as it becomes available. 
Teaching Kids to Handle Bullying
Bullying can leave lasting emotional scars on a kid. And the way teachers, parents and other adults respond to bullying can affect the way kids perceive and respond to it. Stopbullying.gov defines bullying behavior; identifies the warning signs of bullying and ways to prevent it; helps adults recognize kids who may be at risk; and provides information on how to respond to bullying when it happens.
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In This Issue
SAVE THE DATE
Teaching Kids to Handle Bullying
Keeping Students Safe From Bullying
TheSource Web Site
Eliminating the "2 Percent Rule"
Annual Performance Reports Released
MPACTs First Steps Webpage
Parent Mentor Program
MPACT Online Trainings
Upcoming Trainings
Give the Gift of Knowledge
Quick Links
Surveys- How are we doing?
Keeping Students With Disabilities Safe From Bullying
It is vital that all students, including students with disabilities, are engaged in positive, safe, and nurturing school environments in which they can learn, develop and participate.  The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is issuing guidance in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter that provides an overview of school districts' responsibilities to address bullying of students with disabilities. 
TheSource Web Site
TheSource web site is intended to provide useful, relevant, and quality resources for educators, parents, and other interested parties.  The website houses the latest information on the special education outcome indicators in the State Performance Plan (SPP) specified by the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is designed to provide assistance to results teams who are seeking information to improve outcome data for students with disabilities.  The site is free and open to anyone interested in the latest research-based or evidence-based effective instructional practices.
 

DOE Proposes to Eliminate "2 Percent Rule" in Assessing Students with Disabilities  

The U.S. Department of Education proposed regulations to transition away from the so-called "2 percent rule," thus emphasizing the Department's commitment to holding all students to high standards that better prepare them for college and career. Under the existing regulations, States have been allowed to develop alternate assessments aligned to modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAAS) for some students with disabilities and use the results of those assessments for accountability purposes under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

 

Under the proposed regulations, a State already administering alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards could no longer administer such assessments after the 2013-14 school year. The Department stands ready to provide technical assistance to States as they transition away from the 2 percent standards and assessments.

 

Please check out the full Press Release here.

 

Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until October 7. Comments can be submitted online to the regulations.gov site. 


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State Releases Annual Performance Reports for Districts and Schools

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has released the first set of annual performance reports (APRs) for Missouri schools based on the state's newly revised accountability system.

 

The annual performance reports show how well each public school and school district is meeting the state's education standards. The reports are used to review and accredit Missouri's school districts.

  

The Press Release, a Statement from Commissioner Nicastro, The 2013 Annual Performance Report and  the 2012 Comprehensive Guide to the Missouri School Improvement Program are available on the DESE website.

 

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Does Your Child Receive First Steps Services? Visit MPACT's First Steps Page

For more information regarding First Steps services, how to qualify, First Steps online training, or MPACT First Steps resources follow this link:  

http://ptimpact.org/PartC/PartC.aspx  

 

To share your story regarding First Steps services that your child has received click this link: http://ptimpact.org/PartC/OurStory.aspx 

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MPACT Parent Mentor Program

MPACT Parent Mentors are available to offer support and guidance to parents of children with disabilities throughout the IEP process.  Parent Mentors are volunteers who receive 24 hours of initial training, ongoing monthly training, and technical assistance from MPACT staff with regard to special education law, the IEP process, conflict resolution, and effective communication.  Their goal is to help parents build a collaborative partnership with the school district so their child may receive an appropriate education. Click here to view the list of current MPACT Parent Mentors.
 

If your school district has had a MPACT Parent Mentor in attendance at an IEP meeting, please take a moment to complete a brief online survey if you have not already done so.  A separate survey should be completed for each mentor who has provided services to parents in your district.  These surveys assist MPACT and DESE with identifying and addressing areas of success and improvement with the Parent Mentor Program.

For more information about MPACT or if you have questions regarding the status of a Parent Mentor, please contact MPACT by telephone at (800) 743-7634 or by e-mail at [email protected].    You can also view the MPACT website at http://www.ptimpact.org.  

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FREE Online Trainings offered through MPACT

Our free online trainings will help parents  to understand the special education process in the state of Missouri. You can access the MPACT online trainings listed below by going to the Training page  on our website and clicking on Online Training. 
  • Extended School Year
  • Special Education: What I Need to Know
  • IDEA Transition Requirements
  • Transition to Post Secondary Experiences (Part 1 & 2)
  • Connecting Goals to Coordinated Activities and Services for Transition
  • Transition Resources - Disability Disclosure
  • Soft Skills

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Free MPACT Trainings
MPACT trainings are provided free of charge to parents of children with disabilities. To sign up for an upcoming training, follow the links below, then click on the 'SIGNUP' button located next to the training name. Fill in your name, email address, phone number, the name of the training you wish to attend and the date it is being offered.

 

While registering for a training is not mandatory it does ensure that the trainer has an adequate amount of handouts. This also allows MPACT to contact you should a training need to be cancelled or rescheduled. To view a comprehensive list of all trainings provided by MPACT go to http://ptimpact.org/Training/Training.aspx

 

Please be sure to double check the website training pages for any updates or changes to trainings offered.

 

The Art of Effective Advocacy

 

Bullying Prevention: What Parents Can Do

Disagreement Resolution Processes  - NEW!

10/24/13   Springfield

12/16/13    St. Louis  

 

IDEA Boot Camp

 

How to Write Measurable Annual Goals

09/23/13   St. Louis 

10/17/13   St. Louis 

 

Journey to Adulthood - NEW!

10/08/13   Hermann

 

Parents Facilitate and Youth Take Action - New!

09/19/13  Cassville  

11/12/13   Hermann

 

Positive Behavior Interventions

 
Special Education Mediation
 
Student-Led IEPs 
10/24/13  Cassville - cancelled.  Watch for rescheduled session.
01/27/14   St. Louis


Understanding ADHD

Writing Post Secondary Goals for Students with ASD
10/07/13  St. Louis  

  

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 Give the Gift of Knowledge - Donate to MPACT

MPACT welcomes donations in any amount and will acknowledge all donors in our Annual Report and on our MPACT Facebook page. Agency, organization and business donors making a contribution of $200.00 or more will be recognized by placing their name and logo on our website's donation page. Individual donations of $50.00 or more will be added to our Friends of MPACT list. Donations may be made by credit card through PayPal on our website or by sending a check to the state office: MPACT, 8301 State Line Rd., Ste. 204, Kansas City MO, 64114. Every donation will receive a receipt for tax purposes.

 

Please help us to continue to provide the support that families of Missouri's children with disabilities are requesting by making a donation to MPACT. MPACT is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.   

 

MPACT Donation Letter

 

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Question? Comments? Suggestions? Send them to [email protected] or 

contact the MPACT State Office at 1-800-743-7634.