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Your support will help to defray operating costs. |
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 Evanston Citizens for Appropriate Special Education (CASE) provides Community, Advocacy, Support and Education for families of students with special needs.
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Happy Spring! At this time of year, you may be attending transition IEP meetings or annual review IEP meetings. If you have questions or concerns about this process, we are here to help. Attend one of our Parent Connections meetings to receive information and support.
Read the advocacy alert updates regarding special education funding for Evanston schools and the D202 Board Goals. We continue to make excellent progress on both fronts.
I hope you find the information in this newsletter informative and interesting. If you have ideas for content you would like to see, let me know at mail@evanstoncase.org.
Warm regards,
Cari Levin, LCSW
Founding Director
Evanston CASE
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May Parent Connections Meetings
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Please join us for our May Parent Connections Support Group meetings:
Evening Parent Connections Support Group Meeting
May 11th 7:00-9:00 pm at 1940 Sherman, Suite A. in Evanston.
Brown Bag Lunch Parent Connections Support Group Meeting
May 18th 11:30-1:00 at 1940 Sherman Ave. Suite A in Evanston.
Bring your lunch and join us!
Let us know you are coming by calling (847) 556-8676 or email at mail@evanstoncase.org. Drop-in's are welcome.
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Getting SMART IEP Goals
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From Wrightslaw.com
Pat and Pam Wright are the leading experts in Special Education law and advocacy. Their website is full of information that answers almost any question parents may have.
"An IEP goal is not unlike a personal goal. With an IEP goal, we create an educational program for a child with special needs. An IEP goal describes what we hope the child will achieve, or the intended outcome of instruction."
"The outcome is stated as an action we expect to see. Goals must be measured in an objective way. We have to be able to see the action or count it or score it. When we state goals clearly as actions, measuring progress comes naturally from the goal. A goal must establish a criterion for acceptable mastery."
To read about SMART goals, click HERE
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Institute for Therapy Through the Arts
Summer Programs
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The Institute for Therapy Through the Arts is offering a variety of programs this summer.
1. Kids Can Be Heroes
Comic Art and Costume Play for Pre-Teen Boys
2. Friendship Can Be Magical
Art and Drama for Teen Girls
3. B.E.A.T.S.
Building Expression with Autism Through Song
For children ages 3-5 with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
For more information regarding times, availability and cost, call (847) 425-9807 ext. 590
www.itachicago.org
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| Dyslexia Videos | |
Did you miss our presentation on Dyslexia last month? Here are some interesting videos on the subject:
"What is Dyslexia? - Kelli Sandman-Hurley" Watch HERE
"What I Wish Teachers Knew About Dyslexia" Watch HERE
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| What is Dyscalculia? |
From childmind.org
"Difficulty with reading is what people most associate with learning disorders, but there are some kids who struggle with numbers rather than words. A math-based learning disorder is not the same thing as math anxiety - the nervousness that makes it hard for some kids to perform well on things like math tests. This disorder makes it hard to grasp basic math functions and concepts, and it's called (awkward name!) dyscalculia."
To read the whole article, click HERE
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Executive Functioning and Minecraft
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From learningworksforkids.com
"Minecraft's vast scope and open-ended gameplay make it a great platform for learning. For children with ADHD, the game can be particularly helpful in teaching key cognitive skills like Planning, Focus and Organization. By setting some simple gameplay goals and challenges, parents and educators can shift the parameters of play, turning the game into a powerful tool for developing thinking skills with which children with ADHD commonly struggle."
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ADVOCACY ALERT UPDATE:
D202 Board Goals |
The D202 Board held a special meeting to discuss their goals on April 11th. CASE has advocated for inclusive language for Goal #1 both in writing and in speaking to the Board.
The language for Goal #1 provided to the Board by Evanston CASE is as follows:
"ETHS will increase each student's academic and functional trajectory to realize college/career readiness and independence, while eliminating racial predictability, as well as the predictability of outcomes for low income students, students with disabilities and English language learners."
Here is a summary of some of the comments from the Board during that meeting:
- Mark Metz said he didn't want to not include the other categories, but that he didn't want to treat them the same as race.
- Doug Holt said that we had all agreed that race was the number one concern, and that the CASE language does subordinate the other concerns by introducing them with "as well as." He said it walks that line of providing the emphasis on race.
- Pat Savage-Williams (President of the D202 School Board) said she'd like stronger words to make this more explicit. She further said that black students with IEPs have a different experience at ETHS than white students with IEPs. She said race must remain central, and we must not dilute our focus on that.
Ultimately, there was no concrete decision made on language for Goal #1. However, a suggestion from Mark Metz seemed to be the most promising:
"ETHS will increase each student's academic and functional trajectory to realize college/career readiness and independence. Recognizing that race is the most intractable burden in our society, we will seek to eliminate the racial predictability of achievement. We will also seek to eliminate the predictability of achievement based on disability, income, and English language proficiency."
- Dr. Witherspoon offered an alternative to Mark Metz's three-sentence proposal, keeping the first two sentences the same, but changing the third one to: "We will also address other disparities, such as disability, income, and English language proficiency."
- Jonathan Baum said that disability, income and ELP are not mere "disparities" that need to be "addressed". He referenced Illinois State Report Card Data that clearly shows that disability, income and ELP are predictabilities, just like race is, and that ETHS needs to pledge to eliminate them. He supported Mr. Metz's language.
It is our impression that the Board will approve language for the goals at their May 9th meeting. We will continue to keep you up to date on this important issue.
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ADVOCACY ALERT UPDATE:
Special Education Funding Legislation
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As you know, The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has proposed education funding changes which will adversely affect Evanston students with disabilities. In order for these funding changes to occur, they must be authorized by the Illinois legislature.
CASE has been busy trying to protect the interests of Evanston students with disabilities by engaging in the following activities:
1. Creating a petition on Change.org, which currently has 313 signatures, to protest the funding changes; (sign the petition HERE)
2. Contacting Evanston legislators by phone, email, and in person to educate them about how the changes will affect Evanston students and asking them to vote against them;
3. CASE Director of Public Policy Julie Corbier de Lara appeared before the ISBE Board to protest funding changes and educate the Board members as to how those changes will adversely affect Evanston students with disabilities. Julie spoke to some ISBE board members and the State Superintendent after the meeting and received positive feedback. She was able to connect with the CFO of ISBE a few days after the meeting to clarify some of the funding details and reiterate our concerns.
4. Writing editorials in the Round Table to educate and engage the public regarding the funding issues.
5. Lobbying the Tribune and Sun Times to write an article about CASE'S activities on this issue. We were contacted by a reporter from the Trib but the article has not been published yet.
6. Continuing a dialogue with Board members and staff of D65 and 202 to keep them abreast of our endeavor to support them and our kids around this issue.
While CASE has been busy trying to advocate for our students, we cannot do it alone. Please write a letter of protest to your state legislators and mail or fax it to them. Your legislators are: Senator Daniel Biss, Senator Heather Steans, Representative Robyn Gabel, Representative Kelley Cassidy and Representative Laura Fine.
Legislators are extremely interested in what their constituents have to say. You are the ones who vote them in or out and they want to know what you think so they can do the best job they can for you. Please let them know what you think.
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