Archive for the 'Policy' Category

NJCLD Jan 08

Published by JohnL on 23 January 2008 in Administration, News and Policy. 0 Comments

Last weekend on behalf of the Division for Learning Disabilities, I attended the semi-annual meeting of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD). The NJCLD has a long and distinguished history, one that I ought to describe in a page or post, but that’s the basis for another post, but not this one.

The basis for this post is to alert folks that NJCLD will soon publish new papers that discuss important topics about Learning Disabilities. One of them is the long-in-development treatment of adolescent literacy. Watch for it. It should appear in the summer of 2008.

Another is a very brief paper about the construct of Learning Disabilities. It also should appear in the summer (I hope), in time to be in the portfolios of people who will be discussing special education issues in the next US Congress and presidential administration.

MS tiff about funding

Published by JohnL on 16 January 2008 in Administration, Comments, Dyslexia, News and Policy. 0 Comments

Mississippi (US) Governor Haley Barbour and the state legislature for Mississippi appear to be at political loggerheads about education funding, according to an article entitled “Gov. Haley Barbour: Version 2.0 — Katrina still in his sights: Ongoing hurricane recovery, funding Medicaid and education gains top Barbour’s agenda” by Sid Salter of the Clarion Ledger. Mr. Salter’s article has a broader focus than education, but there are several paragraphs which caught my attention. In them, Mr. Salter reports about Gov. Barbour and Representative Cecil Brown disagree about the targets for education funding. Funding of programs for reading instruction, including programs addressing dyslexia, appear to be among the casualties in this disagreement.
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NZ gets started

Published by JohnL on 11 January 2008 in Administration, Comments, Dyslexia, Families, News, Policy and The Press. 4 Comments

In an article entitled “NZ ‘failing kids who struggle to learn,’” Lane Nichols of the Dominion Post reported about a critical evaluation of New Zealand schooling. It seems that NZ schools have been failing to address the problems of students with Learning Disabilities and some parents of those students have complained. Shades of Eli Tash in Milwaukee (WI, US) in the 1960s!
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NCLD on FB

Published by JohnL on 8 January 2008 in News, Policy and The Press. 3 Comments

Thanks to Nancy Mamlin, I learned that the National Center on Learning Disabilities (NCLD; the well-financed, not-for-profit, lobbying group based in New York, NY, US; see earlier entry about Carrie Rozell’s valuable contributions) has a presence of Facebook. I joined.

It’s good to see that this cause has a presence in that venue. Though I haven’t taken the time to sift through them all and there may be some clunkers among them, I found some encouraging comments there.

I’m on FB as myself, not some pseudonym, by the way. Feel free to send me a notice, if you’re there. Of course, if you’re already on FB, you can join the cause using this invitation. Note that there is a link to NCLD in the sidebar.

Nancy, I may have joined directly, so I’m not sure whether it will show up as coming through your invitation. I fear you won’t get credit for recruiting me. Sorry.

Schwab Learning to Great Schools and Sparktop to Professor Garfield Foundation

Published by JohnL on 11 December 2007 in ADHD, Comments, Dyslexia, Families, News and Policy. 0 Comments

After many years of valuable service to the Learning Disabilities community, Charles and Helen Schwab are passing along their popular Web sites, Schwab Learning and Sparktop, to two other organizations. The Schwabs will shift their focus to other mays to help children and youths with Learning Disabilities and their families.

Thanks for all the good work!

CHARLES AND HELEN SCHWAB FOUNDATION SELECTS TRANSITION PARTNERS FOR SCHWAB LEARNING
GreatSchools and Professor Garfield Foundation to Inherit Learning Disability (LD)-Focused Web Content

SAN MATEO, Calif. (December 11, 2007) – The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation announced today its intention to merge its award-winning Schwab Learning websites with two nonprofit organizations, selected from an invitation-only review process, to continue operations for SchwabLearning.org, dedicated to helping parents of children with learning and attention problems, and SparkTop.org, the first website designed exclusively for 8 – 12 year olds who struggle with learning.

In September 2007, the Foundation announced that it will shift its focus from its operating program, Schwab Learning — a free direct service program with a twenty-year history of helping families of children with learning and attention problems — to concentrate on grants.

“In making this transition it was important to find partners who share our commitment to providing the best possible information and resources to the millions of families impacted by learning difficulties. We reached out to a select group of partners and ultimately selected two organizations who have the potential to reach even more parents and their kids who struggle with learning,” said Jodell Seagrave, managing director of Schwab Learning.

GREATSCHOOLS TO ACQUIRE SCHWABLEARNING.ORG
In a move that ensures LD resources and support reach an even wider range of parents, San Francisco-based GreatSchools will be the recipient of SchwabLearning.org content. GreatSchools, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving K-12 education by inspiring parents to get involved, will also continue to support SchwabLearning.org’s community of parents of kids with LD. Rather than ending an era, the transfer of Schwablearning.org to GreatSchools presents a dynamic future for supporting the needs of millions of families whose children struggle with learning. By joining forces, GreatSchools will preserve Schwab Learning’s mission and high-quality offerings, while welcoming Schwab Learning parents into a community of more than 33 million Americans – each committed to school and life success for their children.

“We are honored that the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation has entrusted GreatSchools with this valuable resource,” said Bill Jackson, the founder, president and CEO of GreatSchools. “We believe that SchwabLearning’s information and engaged parent community will help us increase our value to parents whose children struggle with learning. We are committed to building on this outstanding work to benefit millions more parents in the coming years.”

PROFESSOR GARFIELD FOUNDATION TO ACQUIRE SPARKTOP.ORG
SparkTop.org content will transition to the Professor Garfield Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Garfield creator Jim Davis, committed to engaging children in learning. A strong desire to expand content for children who struggle with learning, existing partnerships with Schwab Learning and a longstanding respect for the work of the Professor Garfield Foundation were key factors in this selection. The transition of SparkTop.org into the Professor Garfield Foundation combines two highly acclaimed resources in children’s media and literacy. A recognized leader in education, Jim Davis and his powerful Garfield brand will now directly support success for kids with learning disabilities.

“One of the unexpected joys of being in this line of work has been hearing from the parents of children who learned to read thanks to the Garfield comic strip,” said Davis. “After nearly 30 years of doing the strip, we’ve heard this often enough that we’re convinced the strip is a great teaching tool – the simple combination of words and pictures stimulates learning. That’s why we created the Professor Garfield Foundation and the Professor Garfield website. We all learn in different ways, or as SparkTop.org says, ‘No two brains spark alike.’ It’s very gratifying that the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation are electing Garfield to carry on their vision. It’s a responsibility we take seriously. It will encourage us to redouble our efforts to help kids grow and learn.”

Charles and Helen Schwab established their private foundation in 1987 with the first iteration of Schwab Learning, when very few resources were available to families of children struggling with LD. Since 1987, the Foundation has invested more than $90 million in resources to serve the LD community, beginning with the original Parent’s Education Resource Center through the creation and management of today’s award-winning websites, SchwabLearning.org for parents and SparkTop.org for children. This guidance and support has provided an invaluable resource for millions of families free of charge.

“The merger of our websites with these two organizations will ensure that our resources continue to evolve, thrive and support parents of children struggling with learning difficulties,” said Charles Schwab, chairman of the board for the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation. “Helen and I are confident that those families who have depended upon our websites will be in capable hands as we focus our philanthropic efforts on grant-making to worthy organizations in the areas of learning difficulties, human services, education, civic and cultural arenas.”

About the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation and Schwab Learning

The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, established by the Schwabs in 1987, is their private Foundation, and separate from The Charles Schwab Corporation and from the Charles Schwab Corporate Foundation. More information on the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation can be found at www.chsf.org.

Schwab Learning is a nonprofit program of the Foundation dedicated to helping kids with learning and attention problems to be successful in school and life. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, Schwab Learning develops and delivers resources that provide parents of kids with learning difficulties, and kids themselves, with practical information, empathic support and trustworthy guidance. Schwab Learning services are delivered through two websites — one designed specifically for parents at www.SchwabLearning.org and another created expressly for kids ages 8-12 at www.SparkTop.org. More information on Schwab Learning can be found at www.schwablearning.org.

About GreatSchools (http://www.greatschools.net)

GreatSchools Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization working to improve K-12 education by inspiring parents to get involved. Its online media property, GreatSchools.net, is the nation’s premier provider of K-12 school information, reaching 33 million users last year, an estimated reach into 33% of the nation’s K-12 households. GreatSchools provides school information on its free Web site, GreatSchools.net, and through its free email newsletters thanks to the support of foundations and corporations that understand the importance of parent involvement in a child’s education.

About The Professor Garfield Foundation

The Professor Garfield Foundation will strive to become a world leader in the direct free delivery of innovative digital learning around the world with a primary emphasis on children’s literacy. Through the use of content that is engaging and pedagogically sound, The Professor Garfield Foundation will help individuals learn to read and write in English and to experience and enjoy “edutainment” in other important educational areas.

For the past 26 years, Garfield creator Jim Davis has been hearing from parents about how Garfield helped their child learn to read. Countless teachers tell Jim how they use Garfield and his friends as a powerful tool to motivate and teach children in the classroom. “Garfield” is therefore a famous and suitable icon for a venture that blends entertainment with learning.

Links:

Alexa Posny says laws don’t work

Published by JohnL on 6 December 2007 in Administration, Comments, Dyslexia, Families, News and Policy. 1 Comment

Alexa Posny, former Director of the US Office of Special Education Programs and now Commissioner of Education for the US state of Kansas, refused to support efforts by a parent group seeking legal recognition of dyslexia in Kansas. Writing under the headline “Education chief won’t endorse push for law recognizing dyslexia” in the Wichita Eagle, Jillian Cohan reported that Commissioner Posny told the Kansas Coalition for Dyslexia Legislation that she does not think legal efforts to provide services are effective.

Education chief Alexa Posny told the Kansas Coalition for Dyslexia Legislation that she agrees early identification of reading disorders is essential. Ideally, she said, Kansas institutions of higher learning should include training for future teachers on how to best help struggling readers.

The meeting was part of the coalition’s push for laws specifically recognizing dyslexia. When coalition member Terry Sader asked if Posny might offer guidance as the group lobbies the Legislature, Posny said she doesn’t think such measures work.

“When we want people to do the right thing for kids, they need to do that because it’s the right thing to do,” she said.”…Any time you make it mandatory, it’s not highly effective.”

Dyslexia almost always should be covered under federal and state protections for people with learning disabilities, Posny said.

I have to agree with Ms. Posny about part of her statement and strongly disagree with her about another part. She’s right when she asserts that dyslexia is included under Learning Disabilities. Thus, a statute protecting students with dyslexia would be redundant.

However, I must strongly disagree with her assertion about “doing the right thing.” I do, indeed, want people to do the right thing for students, but if schools were doing the right things for students, then there would have been no need for laws such as PL 94-142 and its successors. In fact, however, there was and continues to be ample evidence of schools not doing the right thing for students (just track Pete and Pam Wright’s or Charles Fox’s sites). Instead, schools fail to identify students who have real special education needs and also fail to provide services that meet those needs.

Reduced to its basic form, Ms. Posny has just argued that she does not think IDEA works.

Link to Ms. Cohan’s article. Link to an earlier story on the meeting. Links for the Wrights’ Wrightslaw site and Mr. Fox’s SpecialEdLaw Blog.