Wisconsin Personnel Development System (WPDS)

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Parent Leadership Hub Weekly E-Newsletter for December 3, 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.

'Just in Time Information' Now Available  

A new online repository of information is available for parents, youth and professionals who are searching for articles previously posted to the PL Hub Weekly E-Newsletters since October 2008. This repository of information will help the reader locate valuable information by topic, 'just in time'. Currently, there are web pages for 'Transition to Adult Life' and 'Family Involvement'. Future web pages will include 'Early Childhood' and 'School-Age Years'.

For our reader's convenience, all archived issues of the E-Newsletter will eventually be re-posted on the 'Just in Time Information' page of the PL Hub website. We hope this format will help our readers quickly access the resources they need, when they need them, and that it will be visited frequently. Additions are always welcome! To submit suggested resources and training products, simply follow the instructions and criteria provided in the introduction to each of the PL Hub Weekly Updates.

To visit the new 'Just in Time Information' web page go to: http://www.wispdg.org/pl/resources.html

 

Parent/Personnel Development Opportunities

1. Special Needs Resource Fair
   April 24, 2010 from 9:00-12:30 at the Burlington High School, 400 McCanna Parkway
   Burlington, WI 53105 (Located near the Wellness Center and Burlington Gateway Campus) For more information please contact Kathy Merlo Program Support Teacher/Resource Fair Chairman at the Waterford Special Education Cooperative/Burlington Area School District kmerlo@waterforduhs.k12.wi.us or 262-758-1734
   

Trainings on the Web

1. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Webcast
   A new DPI webcast goes over "The Nuts and Bolts of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)." PBIS is a systemic approach to proactive, school-wide behavior based on a Response to Intervention (RtI) model. PBIS applies evidence-based methods to boost achievement, enhance safety, decrease problem behavior, and establish a positive school culture. Schools implementing PBIS build on existing strengths, complementing and organizing current programming and strategies.
   

Family Involvement Resources

1. New Youth Leadership Guide: Tips from Youth with Disabilities
   A new leadership guide based on tips and recommendations from more than 30 Wisconsin young adults with disabilities is available on the Waisman Center's Natural Supports Project website: http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/naturalsupports/pdfs/
   YouthLeadershipTipSheet.pdf
   The website has many resources that schools, community groups and families can use to encourage and develop programs fostering relationships between youth with and without disabilities. The Natural Supports Project is funded by the Wisconsin Medicaid Infrastructure Grant through the Department of Health Services Office of Independence and Employment and implemented through the Waisman Center.
2. Google YouTube Captioning System
   Google's YouTube has added an automated captioning system and an automatic translation system for 51 languages. This will allow millions of YouTube videos to become available to people who do not speak English but could use the captioning technology to read subtitles in their native language. The captioning technology also allows search of the text, enabling research. To view this feature on the video, “Introduction to Special Education,” go to http://youtube.com/WisconsinDPI under the playlist of "Parent Info and Tips" or "Special Education." To activate the captions, move the cursor over the arrow at the far right of the control bar under the video screen, then up to CC and click. Move the cursor to the left of the CC over the arrow. A menu will appear that includes "Translate captions." Click there and a drop-down menu of languages will appear. Select a language and click on translate. Pictorial directions are included in Google blog site at http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/11/
   automatic-captions-on-youtube.html.
   YouTube video creators can add captions in English to videos by following directions at http://www.youtube.com/t/captions_about.
3. Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service
   This website focuses on the health, well being and development of children. Topics include how to play with children, weekly updates, support, links, resources, and ideas for creative play. www.cyh.com
4. Nibbles for Health
   The parent link on this website provides nutrition information for young children. Several additional links will take you to other government sites that are related to healthy children and the role of nutrition and play in keeping children healthy, happy, and engaged in productive play activities. www.fns.usda.gov
5. tumblon Website
   This website provides customized developmental information, allows you to record milestones, write stories, upload photos and keep family and friends updated on your child’s growth. www.tumblon.com
6. Pre-K Smarties
   Parents will find education resources, teaching tips, parenting articles, family freebies, and deals on the best educational tools. There is also a free downloadable Baby Tips eBook. www.preksmarties.com
7. Universal Pre-School
   Provides parents with information, ideas, and resources for parents who want to give their child a preschool experience within the home www.universalpreschool.com
8. New Q&A on Transportation
   The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has received requests for clarification of some of the IDEA regulations. A new question and answer document from OSERS on issues related to serving children with disabilities eligible for transportation has recently been published online at http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home.
9. Resources on Family Involvement and Vocational Rehabilitation
   Materials from "Family Involvement: Research to Practice," a session recently presented by TATRA Staff at the National Council on Rehabilitation Education's October 2009 conference, are now available online at http://www.pacer.org/tatra/. This session highlighted strategies promoting family involvement in the transition and vocational rehabilitation processes.

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.