Kirk & Casey Martin - Chicago February workshops?

Here is an announcement from Kirk & Casey Martin, a father-son team that presents family-friendly workshops throughout the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. Learn more about them at http://www.celebratecalm.com/  Can we put together an event here in Woodstock?

This would be a natural for Woodstock District 200 to organize, and it wouldn't cost them a penny. Do you have a contact at D200 who could make it happen?

Do you want to help families in Chicago?
We need you to act now.
 

This is a little different, but if you are up to the challenge, we are as well. Many of you know that we are big supporters of an orphanage and children's home for abused children in Chicago. Casey and I have two goals:
   1) Help struggling parents, kids and teachers in Chicagoland through workshops.
   2) Raise money to support Hephzibah Children's Home.
 
The only three open dates we have to come to Chicago during the next three months are February 11, 12 and 14. We want to conduct Workshops throughout the area in local schools, churches and synagogues. Our events give families and educators very practical, concrete strategies that really work.

                        Click here to see a LIVE EVENT in action.

http://www.celebratecalm.com/workshops.html
            New video of teacher and parent workshops are now on the website.

Choose which workshops you want at your school or church.

 

- Enjoy a calm home ~ eliminate yelling, arguing and meltdowns.
- Improve focus, behavior and grades in school.
- Create stress-free mornings, homework and bedtime.

- Eliminate defiance and disrespect.

In order to raise money for Hephzibah, we are going to donate every single penny from workshop fees and CD sales to Hephzibah. Not just proceeds. Every penny. We'll cover our own travel and hotel costs. We just want to make a huge difference because the good people at Hephzibah are saving and rebuilding children's lives.

Because we are donating all of our fees, we have no vested interest--we just want sponsors to have an investment so they enthusiastically spread the word.

This is a rare opportunity to impact your community in many ways. Let's fill these three dates with enthusiastic school and church sponsors.

                            3 Easy Steps to Schedule a Workshop
1. Please forward this email to your PTA, Principal, school counselors or church leader. Let them know how Celebrate Calm has impacted your life.

2. Reply to this email or call Brett at 888-506-1871. We can customize a program based on your specific needs and budget. We are easy to work with!
 
3. We have no special needs when we present. We just need an auditorium, library or cafeteria with chairs. We provide workshop flyers to help promote the workshop. It's that easy!

                           Call 1-888-506-1871

Let's make a huge difference in people's lives to begin 2011.  Thanks and we can't wait to see you again!

How would your life change if you could:

Advocacy tips for SpecEd Parents

Do you know how to advocate properly and effectively for your kid?

Check out the tips in this week's issue of Pete & Pam Wright's e-newsletter. www.wrightslaw.com/howey/10tips.advocates.htm

What should you do? And not do?
www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.do.dont.margolis.htm

There are many good ideas in those articles. They will work - in an ideal world. However, your kid may not stay in school long enough for you to get many of them into play. After all, kids still graduate at age 18 (and some at 22, after three additional years of "transition" classes). And then you'll be a "non-parent" in the eyes of your school, and all you'll be able to do is watch from the sidelines while other parents fight the same old battles.

I've been told that school folks hate the word "advocate" and that it shouldn't be used by parents or by the people they hire or ask to help them. Oh, yeah? Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't even need an advocate?

Several years ago a Special Ed administrator told me that every teacher is an advocate for every student. Well, you could have fooled me! How he wrote that with a straight face, I'll never know. In fact, I don't know that he did have a "straight face", when he wrote that, since he was sitting at his computer in his own office.

Do you know what happens when a teacher stands up for a Spec Ed student and bucks the "system"? i.e., bucks her administrator?

It's called, "Where do you think you'll enjoy working next?"

And the same with the Spec Ed administrator who fights for what is right - for what a School District is required by laws to do for special ed students. Same question?

New ISBE booklet for Special Ed Parents

A new booklet has been published and made available by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for parents of students in Special Education. We all know how difficult it can be to keep track of our child's information for IEPs and other Special Education-related matters.

Some parents are lucky enough to have the focus, time and organizational and office management skills of a legal secretary. These parents set up filing systems and tabbed notebooks, and they religiously file papers in the right place at the right time, the first time.

ISBE's booklet is the "Illinois Student Records Keeper for Parents Whose Students Receive Special Education Services.". You can download its 56 pages from the ISBE website or from the website of the Parent & Educator Partnership, which is where I learned about this.

The publication date is October 2010. (You've already heard about this from your school district; right?)

The booklet is at http://www.pepartnership.org/media/37861/student_records_keeper.pdf

If you prefer to go directly to the Illinois State Board of Education website and download the booklet there, you can go to www.isbe.net and click through the following path to the booklet:
On the homepage, find the section near the top for "Parents/Students"
Click on "Special Education"
On the right side under Resources, click on "Parents"
Scroll down to the bottom and click on "Student Records Keeper..."

Look around while you are at this index. My guess is you'll find some other very interesting and helpful booklets and brochures.

Anything for Special Ed parents yet?

Is Woodstock District 200 School District providing any services to parents of students in Special Education yet?

It made an attempt at a survey of SpEd parents last April, when survey forms were to be distributed to the parents of all 1,000+ students in Special Education. Only about 60-70 surveys were completed, which caused me to wonder how many parents didn't get them or were discouraged from completing them.

How could a parent be discouraged from completing them? Little comments like "You know nothing will change" might discourage a parent. Or, "I was supposed to give this to you" wouldn't be particularly encouraging.

However, about 60 parents did complete them and the interest in programs and training was representative of what all parents might want.

And what happened after that? The survey results were compiled. And .... and  ...   and, nothing...

There are a few parents who, over the past few years of their own child's years in District 200 Special Education, fought many battles for their child's rights. The rights under Illinois School Law and the laws of the Federal government. Some of these parents are willing to continue to devote time to improvement in the Woodstock District 200 Special Education Department and operations.

But they can't make anything happen now, because they no longer have a child in the system. However, parents of current students can make something happen. For example, read the Memorandum of Chris Koch, State Superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. He wrote this particular Memorandum back in about 2004, when he was Director of Special Education for ISBE. At that time he asked all Superintendents, Special Ed Directors and staff to disseminate that Memo to parents of all Special Ed students. Did it happen?

No way. Not even after it was brought to the attention of both the Superintendent and the then-Director of Special Ed (who is no longer with District 200). I think it is still on the ISBE website, but now buried well down. Basically, it reminded School Districts what they must do for parents of Special Ed students.

Maybe that's why it was never disseminated to parents...

Anti-bullying townhall meetings in Alabama

Two large townhall meetings will be held in Alabama this month, organized by K.A.R.M.A., which stands for Kids Against Ridicule, Meanness and Aggression.

See the December 18th article on this blog (below), and see today's article on www.woodstockadvocate.com/ for more information about the townhall meetings. The dates are January 23 in Montgomery and January 24 in Birmingham.

For more information about K.A.R.M.A., go directly to www.TheKarma.org