Transcript Slide 1

K-12 Education
Leadership Academy
Michael Morris
Executive Director
National Disability Institute
Background Information
 Southeast Disability and Business Technical
Assistance Center (Southeast DBTAC)
 One of 10 regional centers
 Funded by the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the
U.S. Department of Education.
Background Information
 The Southeast DBTAC, since 1991, has
been a major component of government
sponsored efforts to build awareness,
understanding and knowledge utilization
that improves voluntary compliance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Background Information
 Southeast DBTAC serves an 8 state region:
 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
 For 15 years, the Southeast DBTAC has partnered
with employers and the disability community to
overcome barriers and develop constructive
solutions to improve access and accommodations in
the workplace and every type of public space.
Background Information
 In 2001, the Southeast DBTAC was asked to
expand its mission to promote the use of
accessible information technology (IT) across
educational environments.
 K-12
 Higher Education
 To be responsive to the needs of the region,
we created a 21-member Educational Leadership
Team (ELT) comprised of representatives of
educational agencies and institutions from each
of the eight states.
Background Information
 The ELT which I chair has met annually to set
priorities for building the capacity of schools,
community colleges and universities to offer
accessible IT across all educational environments.
 Based on priorities, a variety of projects have
been funded to increase our understanding and
knowledge of what is possible to level the playing
field for all students with disabilities.
Background Information
 Southeast DBTAC sponsored projects have:
 Helped states set policy standards for K-12
accessible IT in the classroom;
 Defined best practices for access at a
community college level;
 Brought teams together from higher education
institutions that paired IT experts and disability
student services staff to learn together about
technology solutions that advance access.
Background Information
 This K-12 Educational Leadership Academy:
 Sponsored by the Southeast DBTAC in
cooperation with the North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction.
 First time effort to bring the lessons learned
from the higher education leadership
academies to you as the critical decision
makers, teachers, and coordinators with
students at a younger age.
Lessons Learned
 To push for change in educational agencies and
institutions, there needs to be cooperation and
collaboration.
 No one teacher, coordinator, policymaker, or
other decision maker can achieve accessible IT
in an education environment without the support
and investment of multiple stakeholders.
Lessons Learned
 Adoption of innovation begins with awareness and
development of understanding of the importance
and benefits of accessible IT as tools that
promote learning for all students.
 Innovation requires knowledge acquired to be put
to use with the support of additional training and
technical assistance.
Lessons Learned
 Change in policy is required to sustain system
changes in the classroom, on a website, and in
procurement practices.
Leadership
 This conference is a first time effort to build
the capacity for change in North Carolina.
 You are the pioneers and have the
potential to lead.
 To change what happens for students with
disabilities in K-12, we have to first change
ourselves.
Leadership
Awareness
Knowledge
Adoption of Innovation
Policy Development
Policy Implementation