Wisconsin Personnel Development System (WPDS)--E-Newsletter 9/24/09

Parent Leadership Hub Weekly E-Newsletter for September 24, 2009

This week's update is provided by WSPEI and WI FACETS to share statewide information regarding parent leadership and family involvement. Please visit the Parent Leadership Hub web page of the SPDG website at http://www.wispdg.org/pl.html for the current and archived weekly updates and to find information on these topics:

WSPEI website: http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/parent.html
WIFACETS website: http://www.wifacets.org
Resources- Product Order Form, and Educational Materials for Parents
Calendar of Events
Multi-Media Resources- Workshops Online, Video Series, and Webcasts

The Parent Leadership Hub supports parents/family members, educators and other community partners to build capacity regarding meaningful family involvement. The Hub serves three primary purposes:
(1) To support parents of children with disabilities between birth and 26 years of age to participate as partners in the professional development activities of each of the other Statewide Initiatives as they design, deliver and support professional development experiences; and
(2) To facilitate opportunities for parents/family members to build leadership skills; and
(3) To provide Content Focused technical assistance concerning family involvement.

Please, direct any questions to the PL Hub Co-Facilitators:
Mary Skadahl, WSPEI Statewide Project Director at 715-829-8932 or marys@cesa12.k12.wi.us
Dawn Wians, WI FACETS SPDG Coordinator at 608-827-5234 or dwians@wifacets.org

Deadline for submitting contributions to each week's issue is Tuesday noon. For time sensitive training advertisements, the information should be sent a minimum of two weeks prior to the event date; ideally a month ahead of time. Material appropriate for the weekly newsletter include web links to sources of family involvement/parent leadership resources and advertisements for statewide trainings for parents, youth or parent/educator audiences (we don’t post research articles, reports or news opinion articles). Your submittal may not be in the final copy if it was in a previous weekly email, the event date has passed or the web link doesn’t work. Please, send submittals to phyllis@banbury.com

NOTE: Note: If you would like to receive this weekly update or if you would like to have your name removed from the distribution list, please contact Mary Skadahl or Dawn Wians.
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Parent/Personnel Development Opportunities

September 29-30, 2009 Wisconsin Statewide Autism Training
Advanced Level: Assessment
Designed for educational personnel working in K-12 settings with students with autism. Advanced training requires participants to have either completed the DPI basic training or the equivalent. The advanced trainings will not cover basic concepts and information. Registration online only at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/autism.html.
Contact: Jeanne Hook at (608) 266-3928, Email: jeanne.hook@dpi.wi.gov
Contact 2: Brian Johnson at (608) 266-3648 Email: brian.johnson@dpi.wi.gov
Address: Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Madison WI
WI FACETS Trainings for October
October 17:
Section 504 & IDEA, Omatayo Support Group, WI FACETS Milwaukee Office, 10 am –12 pm
October 24:
Latino Autism Support Group and Workshop (topic TBA), Milwaukee, 10:30 am-12 pm
October 27:
What Can Parents & Educators Do to More Effectively Manage Conflict at Earlier Stages?
Go to http://www.wifacets.org/events.htm for more information on these trainings.
September 30, 2009 Wisconsin ASCD Annual Preconference Institute
October 1-2, 2009 Wisconsin ASCD Annual Fall Conference
Preconference program features Education Futurist Ian Jukes.
The conference features keynote speaker Ken Kay, President, Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Contact: WASCD at (262) 242-3771
Email: office@wascd.org
Website: http://www.wascd.org
Address: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel and Conference Center, Appleton WI
Fall School Crisis Preparedness Conference
The fifth annual School Crisis Preparedness Conference features more breakout sessions, new issues and expert presenters in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery to school crisis situations.
Contact: Mary Jean Erschen at (608) 592-5200
Email: mjerschen@citizenpreparedness.org
Website: http://www.citizenpreparedness.org/
October 1: Turtleback Conference Center, Rice Lake WI
October 7: Howard Johnson, Madison, WI
October 22: Country Spring Hotel, Waukesha, WI
October 27: Liberty Hall, Kimberly, WI
November 4: The Plaza, Eau Claire, WI
Family Respite Care Services, Inc 4th Annual Respite Conference
When: Wednesday, October 7th 9:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Where: Holiday Inn Express Convention Center, 3100 Wellington Place, Janesville WI Registration: Parents $25, Professionals $40, Students $15
Scholarships Available

Family Respite Care Services' statewide annual respite conference is for professionals and caregivers of all types: Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, CNA's, Personal Care Workers, Respite Organizations, County Professionals, Foster Parents, and anyone interested in respite resources, ongoing training and support on issues related to caring for an individual with a disability or special need of any kind.

To register please call 608-758-0956 or visit <http://www.rockcountyrespite.org/conference.html>
Scholarships available for parents upon request
FREE childcare - first come, first served with completed registration form. Space is limited!
Chicken Soup For The Soul Parent Workshops
If you would like some extra ideas that will help with daily challenges then you are welcome to come to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” parent workshops this 2009-2010 school year.
Central-Denison Elementary School library, 900 Wisconsin Avenue in Lake Geneva.
6:00 - 7:30p.m Childcare will be offered if you call ahead. Refreshments and home-made chicken soup.
2009-2010 Workshop Dates:
Thursday, Oct. 8 “Coping Skills: Teaching Kids Nine Essential Skills” “Teaching Kids Cooperation and Responsibility”
Thursday, Nov. 12 “Seven Steps to Homework Success– A guide for Solving Common Homework Problems”
Thursday, Feb. 25 “Helping Kids With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sensory Challenges”
Thursday, April 15 “Helping Kids with Learning and Attention Difficulties”
For more information contact Mrs. Chris Slawson at: (262) 348-4000, ext. 4214 or christine.slawson@badger.k12.wi.us
October 14-15, 2009 Wisconsin Statewide Autism Training
Advanced Level: Addressing Challenging Behavior
Designed for educational personnel working in K-12 settings with students with autism. Advanced training requires participants to have either completed the DPI basic training or the equivalent. The advanced trainings will not cover basic concepts and information. Registration online only at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/autism.html.
Contact Jeanne Hook at (608) 266-3928, e-mail jeanne.hook@dpi.wi.gov
Contact 2: Brian Johnson at (608) 266-3648, e-mail brian.johnson@dpi.wi.gov
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Madison WI
October 20, 2009 Wisconsin Promise - Schools of Recognition Awards
State Award Program
Schools throughout the state are honored for their academic achievements. For the 2009-10 school year, 138 schools will be honored.
Contact: Berland Meyer at (608) 266-5197, berland.meyer@dpi.wi.gov
Contact 2: Mary Kleusch at (608) 267-3163, mary.kleusch@dpi.wi.gov
Address: Monona Terrace and Capitol, Madison WI
October 23-24, 2009 Multi-Sensory Science Education Conference
This year’s conference will have a theme of teaching students with visual impairments, but also include talks and workshops on science demonstrations, science theater, using haptics for students with disabilities, and kinesthetic teaching techniques. Through a series of talks and hands-on workshops, learn how to integrate these exciting teaching techniques into your classroom and hear about new research findings on multi-sensory teaching and learning. Preregistration required at https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/greenberg2/web/Science%20
Education/Multi-Sensory_Science_Education/Home.html
Contact: Andrew Greenberg at (608) 890-1534, Email: greenberg@chem.wisc.edu
Contact 2: Cary Supalo, Email 2: cas380@psu.edu
Address: University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Chemistry, Madison WI

Fundamentals of Family Involvement Workshop
You and your team members will learn to identify and use the 6 Types of Partnerships, create an action team for partnerships, and connect partnership activities and practices to your school improvement goals.

Participants will be aware of how effective partnership practices can improve student achievement and behavior and discover how to involve parents in your school improvement efforts. Send a team to an interactive and practical work session based on the research of Joyce Epstein.

2009-10 Dates, Locations

Sept. 29, CESA 2, Milton
Oct. 26, CESA 10, Chippewa Falls
Nov. 18, CESA 4, West Salem
Feb. 3, CESA 11, Turtle Lake
March 3, CESA 2, Milton

Oct. 19, CESA 5, Portage
Nov. 16, CESA 5, Portage
Nov. 19, CESA 3, Fennimore
Feb. 17, CESA 1, Brookfield
March 16, CESA 8, Gillett

Lunch and Refreshments will be provided! No registration fee. All schools welcome. Funded by the DPI REACh Initiative. The ideal team includes at least 2 parents, 2 teachers, 2 other staff and the principal. Students and community members encouraged!
For more information, contact Penny Bruskin, VISTA Leader, DPI Family-School-Community Partnerships Project Telephone: 608-261-6332; email: penny.bruskin@dpi.wi.gov

Midwest Alliance for STEM: Events for Students (Fall 2009)
Wednesday, November 4 (9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.)* - University of Wisconsin-Madison, Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 -- Featuring the latest in: ¬ Motor vehicles, ¬ Speech recognition, Telecommunication,
Innovative design, Rehab robotics, Wheelchair designs. Additional info (no registration is required!): Email Sarah Lincoln at Sarah.Lincoln@dhs.wisconsin.gov or Monica Kamal-Rossa at Monica@SCI-Madison.org.
ACCESS (Adults Connecting In The Community To Experience Social Success)
Program is coming to Kenosha and Racine. This program offers opportunities for adults ages 18+ with disabilities to learn independent living skills, community safety and increase their opportunities for socialization and relationships through community based activities. Program participants are able to select from a wide range of events specifically tailored to meet their personal interests, levels of independence and desire for socialization. If you are interested in this type of programming, please let your case manager know that Easter Seals can provide this. Amber Mavroff, Transition Services Director at, 414.571.5566 ext. 408 or at amberm@eastersealswise.com . Check out our website www.eastersealwise.com.
CESA 5 Workshops On Facilitating Parent Involvement
During the 2009-2010 year CESA 5 will be facilitating four workshops facilitating parent involvement. Two of the workshops focus on reading and math. Content for these two workshops will be taken from the math and reading training modules from the National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring (NCSEAM). These sessions will provide various reading and math strategies that support reading and math in the home.

The third workshop will be a follow up workshop to the math and reading modules and gives school districts the opportunity to showcase what types of parent involvement they have been facilitating in their district to encourage family-school partnerships in the reading and math areas during the year. Planning time will be scheduled in during this workshop to allow districts the opportunity for setting goals for the upcoming school.

Our fourth workshop focuses on reaching families who have children ages 0-6 and professionals. The “Dance” of Parent Professional Partnerships, will look at strategies to enhance these relationships through effective communication. For questions about workshop content, contact Martha DeYoung at (608) 742-8814, ext. 255, or email deyoungm@cesa5.k12.wi.us
These trainings address Part B Indicators #3, 6, 12 & 8, Part C Indicators #2, 4, & 8, and Teacher Standard #10.

Register at http://www.myquickreg.com For a registration brochure, go to http://www.myquickreg.com/site_uploads/events/343/Improving
%20Relationships%20and%20Results_09_10.pdf For questions about workshop registration contact Jo Ann Senzig at (608) 742-8814, ext 272, or email senzigj@cesa5.k12.wi.us

Phone Workshops

WI FACETS Phone Trainings for October
October 1
Phone Workshop: Functional Behavior Assessments, 7-8 pm
October 8
Phone Workshop: Dispute Resolution Options, 12-1 pm
October 15
Phone Workshop: Self Advocacy, 7-8 pm
October 28
Phone Workshop: Positive Beginnings Supporting Young Children with Challenging Behavior, 12 – 1 pm
Telephone – Toll-free call to participate
Information: 877-374-0511; smcfarland@wifacets.org
Register 1 week in advance. Workshop materials & call-in information will be mailed
Go to http://www.wifacets.org/events.htm for more information on these trainings.

Family Involvement Resources

Midwest Alliance for STEM: Opportunities for Students (Fall 2009)
Midwest Alliance <http://www.stemmidwest.org> has upcoming events and opportunities for students and recent alumni with disabilities in Wisconsin.

For High School Students (Grades 9-12) and First Year College Students:
Become a Midwest Alliance Mentee. Apply online at http://stemmidwest.org/default.asp?contentID=516
Let us help you, or your student, find an internship! Apply online at
http://stemmidwest.org/default.asp?contentID=517

For College Students (Technical and Community, 4 year, Graduate School)
Become a Midwest Alliance Mentor. Apply online at
http://stemmidwest.org/default.asp?contentID=516

We will help you look for an internship, and provide you with a $1,000 stipend at the completion of 80 hours of time spent. Apply online at http://stemmidwest.org/default.asp?contentID=517
September 30, 2009 Fourth Annual Higher Education Day
A single day dedicated to thousands of futures.
Higher education institutions and educational and financial organizations will join together to raise awarenss of the accessibility of higher education and to provide information about financial assistance and saving for college.
Website: http://highereducationday.wi.gov

DISCLAIMER
Inclusion of information in this e-mail does not constitute an endorsement by the Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative, Wisconsin FACETS, the Department of Public Instruction, the U.S. Department of Education, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.