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Twenty-two high school students with disabilities will attend a University of Montana seminar designed to facilitate a smooth transition to college July 20-23.“Movin’ on in Montana,” a collaboration between UM’s Disability Services for Students, the Rural Institute and Montana Vocational Rehabilitation, will bring together high school students from across the state to learn about disability rights, different expectations between high school and college, and how to use academic support. The students also will meet UM students with disabilities.

Click here to register!What:The focus of this year's conference is to explore school mental health work within a 3-tiered context; we will take a strategic look at how our work can be understood as a multi-tiered system of support.  We will examine how existing support structures such as High-Fidelity Wraparound, Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI), Montana School Counseling Program, and Comprehensive School and Community Treatment, framed within the three tiers, could provide a continuum of academic and positive behavior supports.  Nationally recognized speakers Dr. Lucille Eber and Dr. John VanDenBerg will share their expertise.If you are interested in sharing your good work at the state conference, please apply to present!  Three 75-minute presentations will be selected and showcased during the second day of the conference.  We are looking for presentations that address the mental health needs of students within the 3-tiers and/or focuses on meeting student need within one specific tier.Click here if you are interested in presenting!Whether you can attend the conference or not, we ask you to contribute to this work by taking this brief survey about the provision of mental health services in your school.  This survey has been given each year and we use the data to inform statewide planning concerning school mental health.  Your perspective is critical, so please take this survey and pass it on to others in your school community who may offer additional insights.  Thank you for taking this survey today. Click here to take the survey!When:March 1-2, 2012Where:Red Lion Colonial Hotel Helena, MTContact:Susan Bailey-AndersonPhone: 406-444-2046Email: sbanderson@mt.govWebsite: www.opi.mt.gov

Catholic schools are offering programs for children with disabilities more and more, with schools serving students diagnosed with everything from Asperger’s syndrome to intellectual disability. Though traditionally out of reach for faith-based schools given the high cost of providing special education services, determined parents are fund-raising and getting grants to develop programs at Catholic schools across the country. In fact, the number of Catholic elementary schools with a resource teacher to assist students with special needs grew from 28 to 42 percent between the 2001-2002 school year and 2008-2009.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan paid a visit to Wilde Lake High School Tuesday and called the Columbia school a microcosm of the educational world: diverse and inclusive. Duncan and Assistant Secretary of Education Alexa Posny joined Wilde Lake Principal James LeMon and school system Director of Special Education Patty Daley in a round table discussion. They questioned a panel of about 20 students, parents, school staff and Howard County Public School System staff about inclusive practices for special needs students at the school.

The OPI-Division of Special Education will be offering a series of 5 webinars on secondary transition.  Providing great secondary transition services to high school youth can be challenging.  This webinar series, presented by Montana teachers and providers, will give multiple strategies on implementing secondary transition in a rural district or a large district that has provided great results for the Montana school districts that have used them.  A flyer with descriptions of each of the webinars can be found at: http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/SpecED/Link/10NovWebinarBestPractices.pdf The webinars are free and no registration is required. The webinars will start at 3:30 p.m. and last about an hour each.  One renewal unit will be offered for each live webinar.  The webinars can be attended individually or the whole series.  The webinars will be posted on the OPI Web site after the live webinar.  Please forward this information to high school teachers and other personnel that you think may be interested. Questions regarding this series can be sent to Nikki Sandve at nsandve@mt.gov or call (406) 444-0299.

Click here to register for this event What: This three hour training is designed for counselor/administrator teams to work together to learn the basic principles of the Montana School Counseling Program Model.  The training will include roles and responsibilities of counselors and administrators within the program and steps for implementation of the Model.  Participants will have an outline of an implementation plan and be able to begin the implementation process. The goal is to provide high-quality, Level I training for Montana school counselors and administrators. Participants will learn the tools to: establish a school counseling program as an integral component of the school?s academic missions; ensure students have access to counseling services; identify and deliver the knowledge and skills acquired in the Academic, Career, and personal/Social Domains; promote specific guidelines and strategies to engage culturally different students/parents in counseling and the educational process; and, sponsor a culturally appropriate approach to counseling that is aligned with the spirit and intent of IEFA. Where: Montana State University - Billings College of Education Building, Room 122 Billings, MT Scheduled Trainings: March 11, 2011 9:00am-12:00pm April 1, 2011 9:00am-12:00pm April 13, 2011 9:00am-12:00pm Cost: http://www.msubillings.edu/smart/training/schoolcounseling.htm There are no fees for this training but registration is required.  Mileage reimbursement will be paid for those outside of the Billings area.

What: The Division of Special Education has scheduled an All Teacher Training on the dates and locations below. The training will review the special education process and forms. All trainings will be from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Locations: September 13 September 14 September 15 Browning, September 13 Browning Public Schools Board Room Ronan, September 14 Ronan Middle School Auditorium Butte, September 15 Alternative School Auditorium (1050 S. Montana Street) Lewistown, September 13 Fergus County High School Auditorium Terry, September 14 Terry High School Hardin, September 15 Hardin Middle School Auditorium To register, please go to: http://www.opi.mt.gov/regforms/speced/

Click here to download brochure with full session schedule (PDF) What: With an extraordinary command of facts and thought leadership, Zhao describes how schools have to keep pace with a world that is being dramatically transformed by globalization, the "death of distance," and digital technology. Instead of falling in line with mandates for standardization, his prescription is for educators to: Expand the definition of success beyond math and reading test scores. Personalize schooling so that every student has an opportunity to learn. View schools as enterprises that embrace globalization and digital technology. A.C.E. has opened registration for the September 12, 2011 PIR day to be held at Laurel High School. Yong Zhao, author of the book Catching Up or Leading the Way, will be the general session speaker and ACE is pleased to offer several break-out sessions along with CSPD and MRESA 3. There is a $60.00 per person fee for those who would like to attend but are not part of an ACE member school. The PIR day program is attached and you can register for the day by clicking on this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TVPQFGZ When: Monday, September 12, 2011 Where: Laurel High School Laurel, MT For more information: Contact Andrea Fischer, Director, ACE at 406-690-9872 or afischer.acemt@gmail.com

Most people think of online learning as a quiet, solitary experience. But over the past few months, after interviewing students, parents, and educators, a different sort of picture has emerged. We’ve learned about who teaches and learns online, and why, what works and what doesn’t, and perhaps most importantly, whether online learning affords the same quality of education as that of traditional schools.

Teachers at one of Denver's poorest schools have discovered a key to improving student achievement that's as easy as stepping out the door. High-performing schools in affluent neighborhoods are usually buzzing with parents — moms and dads volunteering, chauffeuring or helping out in classrooms. But at schools in high-poverty neighborhoods, the opposite tends to occur — many of them have little to no parental engagement. Indeed, teachers rarely see a parent in the building unless a kid is in trouble. That's why Fairview Elementary teachers are going to the families. Every year, educators try to visit the homes of every child in the school — getting to know the families and discovering more about their students.