Category: Updates

A new brief from the National Council on Teacher Quality found that a large majority of states haven’t taken steps to make sure their teachers have sufficient knowledge to teach reading. According to the organization, just 11 states require licensing tests for both elementary and special education teachers to measure their knowledge of reading instruction. The other 40 states either don’t have sufficient licensing tests in place for both groups of teachers or have no test at all.  READ MORE

Teachers have had to become data experts in recent years, especially with the shift toward personalizing learning to target students’ individual strengths and weaknesses. But in addition to feeling pressed for time, teachers also express other barriers to making the most of the data available to them. For one, not all data is equally useful. In a survey released last year by ACT, teachers said that school assessments, special education data and district assessments were the most useful, while student, parent and teacher surveys were the least helpful in making data-informed decisions.  READ MORE

A widely cited 2007 study claimed that teachers greeting students at the classroom door led to a 27 percent increase in academic engagement. The problem? It included just three students. Now a new, much larger and more credible study — comprising 203 students in 10 classrooms — validates that claim: Greeting students at the door sets a positive tone and can increase engagement and reduce disruptive behavior. Spending a few moments welcoming students promotes a sense of belonging, giving them social and emotional support that helps them feel invested in their learning.  READ MORE

When most people consider the concept of brain training to improve learning, they tend to think of those online game programs or puzzles that are purported to give the brain a “workout” by practicing memory and problem solving skills to sharpen the mind. Others consider more advanced techniques aimed at optimizing brainwave activity through neurofeedback or stimulation therapies.  READ MORE

As students have returned to school, they have been greeted by teachers who, more likely than not, are white women. That means many students will be continuing to see teachers who are a different gender than they are, and a different skin color. Does it matter? Yes, according to a significant body of research: Students tend to benefit from having teachers who look like them, especially nonwhite students. The homogeneity of teachers is probably one of the contributors, the research suggests, to the stubborn gender and race gaps in student achievement: Over all, girls outperform boys and white students outperform those who are black and Hispanic.  READ MORE

A bubble machine and a table lined with cookies and coloring books welcomed families coming for a midsummer meet-and-greet at Noble Minds Institute for Whole Child Learning, a new charter school in the Carrollton neighborhood. One new student, a 5-year-old boy wearing an eyepatch, seemed scared by the new surroundings; he clung to his father and made noises of distress. This didn’t faze the school director, Vera Triplett, at all.  READ MORE

The 2018 U.S. Congressional Midterms are approaching. As special educators, it is our job to promote civic responsibility with the needs of children and youth with exceptionalities in mind. It is equally important to be aware of the education positions of each candidate so that you vote knowing how your decision will impact you as a professional and children and youth with exceptionalities. CEC’s goal is to ensure that you have the information you need to become an educated voter and active participant in our society.  READ MORE

WA-CASE members who will be attending the PNW Special Education Law Conference in Portland next week are invited to join your fellow WA-CASE members for an evening of food, beverages and socializing! Feel free to bring prospective CASE members with you to this no-host casual event!

Date:  Monday, Oct 1

Start-Time: 5:30 pm

Location: Wayfinder Beer.  304 SE 2ND AVE PORTLAND OR

As special educators, our primary mission is to provide an exemplary, world class education to our students with exceptionalities. This includes adapting the curriculum, modifying assignments, and providing accommodations to ensure our students have access to the general curriculum and an equitable chance of succeeding. One component of that charge is to increase the inclusion of our students as much as possible. Students with exceptionalities often feel different from their peers who are typical and will isolate themselves as a result. One way to combat this is to increase the acceptance of all students by all students and to expose students with exceptionalities to as many opportunities of inclusion as possible. For some that may be eating in the cafeteria with their peers or moving through the halls during transition, so they feel visible and like everyone else. Read more.

 

What are some ways you include your students into the general education setting? Share with us on Twitter @CECmembership.

 

CEC member, Richard Williams, contributed this content.

A major standardized test-maker is being accused of illegally disclosing students’ disabilities. In a class action lawsuit filed this month, a group of students is accusing ACT, Inc. of sharing information about their disabilities on score reports sent to colleges as well as wrongly selling the information.  READ MORE