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Click here to download the 2011 Parent Institute Registration Form What: The Montana Office of Public Instruction and the Montana Association of Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) present the 2011 Parent Institute.  The institute titled "Pathways to Excellence: Parenting High-Ability Children" features nationally recognized expert Margo Long. When: The institute will be held on Friday, June 3, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mountain Where: Helena, MT Cost: $25.00 and includes lunch and materials. For further information: Visit the Montana AGATE webpage at: http://www.mtagate.org and click on the link for the institute.

Visit the NAMIWALK website for more information and to register for this event What: Each fall, a group of dedicated volunteers and staff hold the NAMIWalk to generate the resources and awareness that allow NAMI Montana to complete its critical mission of supporting, educating, and advocating for Montanans with severe mental illnesses and their families.  NAMI Montana will be holding its eighth annual NAMIWalk in Helena at Memorial Park on September 25th.  It's set to be our best walk ever.  We've got goals of having over 2,500 Walkers and raising $125,000. When: Sunday, September 25, 2011 Where: Memorial Park Helena, MT More Information: Please go to the Walk website to sign up to be a Team Captain, to be a Walker, or to donate.  Find out about how to start a team and the duties of a Team Captain here.   If you don't feel comfortable signing up online, please send us an email at info@namimt.org or give us a call at (406) 443-7871 and we'll send you a packet of information.

Click here to download full flyer with registration information What: Montana Fair Housing is a full service, private, non-profit organization dedicated to the reduction and eradication of housing discrimination in our state. It is illegal to discriminate against a household because of: race, color, national origin, familial status, sex, religion, a disability, creed, marital status, age, and in Missoula, sexual orientation and gender identity. Fair housing laws protect you against intimidation, coercion, and harassment. Should you file a complaint of housing discrimination, Fair Housing laws prohibit retaliation. This webinar is presented free of charge. When: Thursday, September 8, 2011 10:00am - 12:00pm Mountain Where: Northwest MT Association of Realtors 110 Cooperative Way Kalispell, Montana

While many classrooms have evolved over the years to better work with students with disabilities, the school gym and athletic fields may be the exception. A 2010 report from the federal Government Accountability Office concluded as much, finding that "education has provided little information or guidance on PE or extracurricular athletics for students with disabilities, and some states and districts GAO interviewed said more would be useful."

We want to help you make the most of the latest technologies and innovative ways to use them as we settle into the 2009-10 school year, so we've put together a brand-new free resource for you: the PDF Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media. Full of succinct and practical ways to prepare our students for 21st-century success, this guide will help you deliver the relevant and meaningful education all students deserve.

A new study published online in Environmental Health Perspectives shows no correlation between blood mercury levels in 2-5 year old children and autism or developmental delay. This study adds to the growing evidence that environmental exposure to mercury, from any source, is not a risk factor for autism.

Access your free digital copy by clicking on the cover image

Read it page by page, click on links to advertisers, search by key words, download a PDF (note: 14 MB file). It's our way of saying "Thank You" for the support and encouragement we've received from members of the autism community over the last 10 years.

Test scores on state assessments for students with disabilities have increased in recent years, according to a new study released today. The Washington-based Center on Education Policy examined state mathematics and reading test results from the 2005-06 school year to the 2007-08 school year. Those state tests are used to determine whether schools and school districts are making adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Schools today face the challenge of providing appropriate services to a diverse and increasingly numerous student population diagnosed with ASD. In order to achieve this goal, evidence-based practice is essential in the schools. To assist school professionals as they strive to help these students reach their potential, the National Autism Center has produced a comprehensive 245-page manual, Evidence-Based Practice and Autism in the Schools. The manual outlines relevant topics, including the current state of research findings, professional judgment and data-based clinical decision making, values and preferences of families, and capacity building. Each chapter sets a course for advancing the efforts of school systems to engage in evidence-based practice for their students on the autism spectrum.

Bullying, particularly among school-age children, is a major public health problem. This compendium provides researchers, prevention specialists, and health educators with tools to measure a range of bullying experiences: bully perpetration, bully victimization, bully-victim experiences, and bystander experiences.

Click here to download the Application (PDF)

What: Participants from around the world attend the TASH Conference to learn more about best practices in the field of significant disabilities, network and share information, and most importantly, stake their claim in a movement to include people with disabilities in all aspects of life. We hope you’ll join us! When: November 30 - December 3, 2011 Where: Atlanta, Georgia Who attends the TASH Conference? People with disabilities Parents, siblings and other family members Educators (General Education and Special Education) School Administrators Researchers College Professors Students Click here to learn more about submitting a proposal to present at the 2011 TASH Conference. Proposals are due by May 6, 2011, at 5 p.m. ET.

Cheryl Jorgensen of the National Inclusive Education Initiative at the University of New Hampshire presented on core principles and practices of inclusion for students with autism. Original webinar date: March 24, 2011: View the Archived Webinar  Download the PowerPoint

What: Montana Digital Academy announces live math help in May, 2011 aimed at K-8 students in Montana. Montana Digital Academy's Direct Academic Student Help desk, or DASH, has been providing live, one-on-one tutoring in math and other subjects since October, 2010.  We are expanding DASH's mission in May to experiment with ways that we can utilize our University of Montana students to help struggling students throughout Montana. Starting May 2, DASH will run two weeks of live, after school tutoring sessions with our staff to try our remote tutoring model.  We will provide access through GoToMeeting, an excellent online tool for bringing people together in different locations. For a flyer to share with your students, click here. For our live session page or to get more information, go to our Math Help Live Wikispaces page here.

The U.S. Department of Education today announced new guidance for schools and districts on how to keep parents and students better informed about what student data is collected and how it is used. In the guidance issued by the Department’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center, schools and districts are urged to be proactive in communicating how they use student data. Information should be available to answer common questions before they are asked.

Student absenteeism in Montana is the worst in the nation, and it’s off the charts among the state’s American Indian students, according to a new national study of student attendance and test scores.

Quick, name the most common chronic disease of childhood in the United States. I bet you didn't say dental caries, or as any kid who has heard the ominous whirring sound of a dentist's drill would call them, "cavities." Fifty-nine percent of kids between 12 and 19 have at least one cavity, and poor and minority children are disproportionately affected, according to this study by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

As part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today issued guidance to schools reminding them that bullying is wrong and must not be tolerated – including against America’s 6.5 million students with disabilities.