Transcript The National Agenda for Children and Youths with Visual

The National Agenda: Moving Forward on
Achieving Educational Equality for Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Students
Mary Hartnett, Mary Cashman-Bakken
Deaf Education Summit • April 22, 2010
What is the National Agenda?
• Collaboration between parents,
professionals, and consumers to
achieve the common vision of improving
education services for students who are
deaf and hard of hearing
• A journey with a destination but without
a complete roadmap
2
Snapshot of NA Structure
•
•
•
•
Steering Committee
Advisory Committee
Goal Leaders (for development)
CED Organizations and State
Departments of Education Reps.
• Parents, Professionals and Consumers
who helped build it
3
National Agenda Committee
Steering Committee Members
• Ms. Claire Bugen
– Superintendent, Texas School for the Deaf
• Dr. Jay Innes
– Director, Gallaudet Leadership Institute
• Mr. Dennis Russell
– Superintendent, New Jersey School for the Deaf
• Mr. Lawrence Siegel
– Attorney, National Deaf Education Project
4
National Agenda Committee
Advisory Committee Members
• Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf, Inc.
(AGBAD)
– Donna Sorkin, Kathleen Treni and Todd Houston
• Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of
Hearing (ACE-DHH)
– Rich Lytle, Karen Dilka and Margaret Finnegan
• American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC)
– Cheron Mayhall, Natalie Long and Barbara Raimondo
5
National Agenda Committee
• Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and
Programs for the Deaf (CEASD)
– Ed Corbett, Harold Mowl and Joe Finnegan,
• Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf (CAID)
– Carl Kirschner, Liz O’Brien and Robert Hill
• CEC-Division of Communication Disorders
– Carmel Yeager
• State Departments of Education and Local Education
Agencies
– Marsha Gunderson, Iowa and Carol Schweitzer, Wisconsin
• National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
– Nancy Bloch, Kelby Brick, and Roz Rosen
6
National Agenda Core Values
• Language and communication access and
development is central to learning and the
well being of deaf and hard of hearing
children (Preamble, NA)
• With parents, professionals and consumers
as partners we do have the power to change
the educational landscape for deaf and hard
of hearing children
7
Background (2001)
• A Call To Action
– based on NASDSE Guidelines and COED Report
• Group met to model an agenda similar to the
National Agenda for the Blind
• Goals developed since starting work in 2001
– still in process
• 8 states have created plans that address
improvement of outcomes for students who are
deaf and hard of hearing.
8
Background (2001)
• Presentations on the National Agenda at
conferences and workshops
• Data from over 40,000 comments reviewed by
goal leaders and Steering Committee
• Eight goals are re-drafted based on reviews by
professionals, parents, and consumers
• National Agenda established
• Logo and Website developed
9
National Agenda (NA) Vision
1. Build a grassroots movement
united behind definitive
national goals
2. Establish national, regional,
state, and local NA to provide
mechanism of collaboration
National
State &
Local
Strategies
3. Advocate for a communication
and language-driven
educational delivery system
whereby every deaf and hard
of hearing child will be
provided with a quality,
literacy-focused, language-rich
education.
10
National Agenda Goals Overview
• Each National Agenda Goal includes:
– Goal Statement
– Background
– Proposed Goals
• Rationale
11
National Agenda Goals Overview
The National Agenda proposes the following
goals for re-making the educational
delivery system for deaf and hard of
hearing children and thereby freeing them
to learn.
12
Statement of Principles
• A new educational, communication-driven
paradigm is required if deaf/hh children are to
be served effectively. What would be common
for all these children under this new paradigm
would be an effective, communication-driven
system that meets the needs of all deaf and
hard of hearing children, regardless of their
communication mode or system or placement
requirements"
13
Goal 1: Early Identification and Intervention
The development of communication,
language, social, and cognitive skills
at the earliest possible age is
fundamental to subsequent
educational growth for deaf and hard
of hearing students.
14
Goal 2: Language and Communication Access
All children who are deaf and hard of
hearing deserve a quality
communication-driven program that
provides education together with a
critical mass of communication, age,
and cognitive peers, as well as
language-proficient teachers and
staff who communicate directly in
the child’s language.
15
Goal 3: Collaborative Partnerships
Partnerships which will influence
education policies and practices to
promote quality education for
students who are deaf and hard of
hearing must be explored.
16
Goal 4: Accountability, High Stakes Testing,
and Standards-Based Environments
Instruction for students who are deaf
and hard of hearing must be datadriven and must focus on multiple
measures of student performance.
17
Goal 5: Placement, Programs, and Services
The continuum of placement options
must be made available to all
students who are deaf and hard of
hearing, with the recognition that
natural and least restrictive
environments are intricately tied to
communication and language.
18
Goal 6: Technology
Accommodations, assistive and
adaptive technologies, and emerging
technologies must be maximized to
improve learning for students who
are deaf and hard of hearing.
19
Goal 7: Professional Standards and Personnel
Preparation
New collaborations and initiatives
among practitioners and training
programs must address the serious
shortage of qualified teachers and
administrators.
20
Goal 8: Research
Federal and state dollars should be
spent on effective, research-based
programs and practices.
21
States’ Efforts
A Blueprint For Closing The Gap
Developing a Statewide System of Service
Improvements for Students who are
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Report of The Colorado Deaf
Education Reform Task Force
• State Reform
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Georgia
Kansas
Colorado
New Mexico
California
Arkansas
Pennsylvania
Texas
Bill of Rights
22
Examples of Spin-off Projects
•
•
•
•
Join Together Technology Grant
Responses to No Child Left Behind
Responses to IDEA Re-authorization
IEP Documentation of Special Factors
considerations for Communication and
Language
• Website Development
• Discussions of Quality Indicators for Programs
that serve children who are deaf and hard of
hearing
23
Uses of the National Agenda
•
•
•
•
Vehicle to garner political support for change
State planning
Support for parents
Organizer for communications
– e.g., newsletters to parents, position papers
• A focus on what unites us
• Organizer for conferences
• Organizer for personnel preparation
24
Benefits
• Encourages partnerships across the country, within
the state, within the LEA, within the special schools
and local programs.
• Facilitates parents, professionals and consumers in
forming partnerships
• Enhances communications among professionals
• Empowers professionals and parents to make
change (when state or government supports are not
available)
• Leadership opportunities on national, state and local
levels
25
Challenges
•
•
•
•
•
Editing the work of multiple authors
Decisions about Publications
Funding
Data Collection
States and organizations need technical
support
26
Affirmation of Beliefs
Children and youths who are
deaf and hard of hearing will
receive an appropriate
education in their most
appropriate learning
environment when…
27
Affirmation of Beliefs
– there is the earliest possible exposure to language
and communication
– parents are partners
– there are sufficient trained personnel
– there are programs to ensure the development of
age-appropriate communication, language and
literacy
– assessments are valid for the population
– there is an array of placement options
– texts and instructional materials and technology are
available at the same time as for hearing peers
– there is full access in communication driven
placements
28
Conclusion
• When education services are not what you
want them to be:
– Believe you can make change
– Believe others want to join you in making change
– Believe we are stronger united by our common
interests and,
– Believe you will arrive at your destination, even if
you don’t have the entire road map
29