ESU 4 Special Education - January 2012

ESU 4 Special Education
Vision: Courageously leading a dynamic revolution in Education!

The mission of ESU 4 is to improve student learning through a commitment to communication, accountability and leadership.

 
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What's Happening at ESU 4?

There will be quite a few opportunities for Professional Development for Special Education teachers in ESU 4 districts. While the many of the opportunities are in the Webinar format, we are planning a full day workshop on Monday, February 20th at the ESU 4 Learning Center in Auburn. We haven't been together as a group for a year or so... it will be good to re-connect and re-establish our networks. This Special Education Update will focus on the IEP, as well as hosting a positive and collaborative IEP meeting. There is more information about the Feb 20th workshop as well as other ESU 4 Sped offerings below this little article on this blog. Information may also be found on the "ESU 4 Special Education Workshops" link under the "Special Education" tab on the ESU 4 Homepage. And finally, to register for any or all of these opportunities, you must log on to the ESU 4 Registration website! 

As in the past, ESU 4's SCIP grant will support the attendance of parents, administrators, teachers, para-educators and other professionals at the Annual Autism Conference. This year's conference will be held in Lincoln at the Cornhusker Hotel. The focus of the event will be on Early Childhood. Therefore, those involved with early childhood programs will get first priority in attending this conference. I expect that registration for this year's conference will close quickly! The dates are Thursday and Friday, April 12th and 13th. Watch for emails concerning registration for this conference. 

Stay tuned for additional opportunities and updates! The "NeSA Season" will be soon upon us! Accommodations for students with disabilities will be hot topics. Mitzi, Suzanne and I hope to post a QuickTime video answering basic questions about accommodations on the NeSA for all students, as well as students with disabilities and ELL students, on the ESU 4 website. Stay up-to-date with NDE's advice and guidance by checking out resources on the NDE Special Education website... http://www.education.ne.gov/sped/nesa.html.

In the future, I'm hoping to post "Questions and Answers" on this blog; having this resource might be valuable! I don't know about you, but I'm always looking the same things up over and over again. My goal is to give you one spot to refer! Until then... I look forward to seeing you in my travels across the ESU, as well as on the internet! Have a terrific February...

2011-2012 Webinars:

The links to the webinar recordings are below as are the links for the handouts for each of the webinars. The handouts are hosted by DropBox. If you have any questions about accessing either the webinar recordings or the handouts, please let me know. The SAT webinar was not recorded, however, there may be an opportunity to participate in a 2nd SAT webinar, which will (hopefully!) be recorded!  
Special Education File Review Webinar: Getting our Files in Shape!   (12/8/2011)
Webinar Link

Handouts available at... http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24209470/File%20Review%20Training2.ppt

  





Top 5 Strategies for Supporting Behavior November 1, 2011 - Matt McNiff

Webinar link

Handouts available at...  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/242094/Top%20Five%20Relationship%20Strategies%20-%20Webinar%20for%20ESU%20456.pptx


Legal Webinar Series
Webinar #1 - The Year in Review (1/25/2012)
Year In Review Webinar Link  
Handout available at... Year In Review Powerpoint

Webinar #2 - Procedural Safeguards (2/8/2012)
The webinar recording will be posted here.
Handout available at...  ProceduralSafeguards-Webinar2.pptx

Winter/Spring Special Education Training Opportunities:

Ø  Special Education Law Webinar Series – Co-hosted by ESU 4 and ESU 6. All webinars will begin at 3:30 and conclude by 4:45 p.m. Register via the ESU 4 Registration website. Dates and Topics:

§  February 8 – Safeguards in Special Education (Ellen

§  February 29 – Predetermination (Nancy)

§  March 28 – Documentation X3! (Ellen

§  April 4 – Extra-curricular activities and the IEP (Nancy)

§  May 9 – Discipline/Restraint and Seclusion (Ellen)

Ø  Early Childhood Cadre Webinar – Friday, February 10^th. Time of webinar TBA. Topic: The Transition Relay Model: Preparing Preschoolers for Kindergarten Transitions.

Ø  ASD Cadre (Structured Teaching – Day 3) – Friday, February 10^th, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Ø  ESU 4 Special Education Update – Monday, February 20, 2012 @ ESU 4 Learning Center, 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Agenda will include Updates in special ed, Writing an appropriate IEP (including the PLEP, goals, and objectives/benchmarks), Hosting a productive IEP meeting, and more! Registration will be on the ESU 4 registration website. Information will be sent out in the newsletter and via email. 

Ø  CPI Training @ ESU 4, February 28 – 29^th, 2012. Registration via ESU 4 website.

Ø  Eastern Nebraska Transition Conference – Tuesday, March 20, 2012 @ SECC - 84^th & O Campus, Lincoln. This conference is intended for students with disabilities who are planning to go on to college and post-secondary training. There will be two strands. Juniors and Seniors with disabilities only. Registration is due from the schools to ESU 4 by January 6^th; I have to submit our registrations to LPS by Friday, January 13^th. 

Ø  ESU 4-5-6 Behavior Series featuring Dr. Kaye Otten – Thursday, March 29, 2012, @ Sheridan Lutheran Church, Lincoln. Registration is available on ESU 4 Registration Website. There will be a follow-up webinar to support the Q&A from this workshop featuring Matt McNiff, ESU 5. 

Ø  Annual ASD Conference, April 12-13, 2012 in Lincoln @ the Cornhusker. 

Ø  CPI Re-Certification training @ ESU 4 – April 23^rd. Registration via ESU 4 website. 

Ø  ESU 4-5-6 Behavior Institute, featuring Karen Haase, Matt McNiff, and Jolene Palmer; July 30-31, 2012 @ Sheridan Lutheran Church, Lincoln.   

HUSKER NATION: 

When is it a great day to be a Husker fan????
The correct answer is... ALWAYS!!!
Never stop playing the game!  Go BIG RED! GO Big RED! GO BIG Red! GO BIG RED  Educational Service Unit #4, Auburn, Nebraska