Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Camp Shriver – A Free Inclusive Summer Sports Camp For Children With And Without Disabilities, Mark Spolidoro, Barbara Gildea, Kathleen Ghio, Gary N. Siperstein

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Camp Shriver at UMass Boston is in its 9th year, providing a free and fully inclusive summer recreational program for children in the communities of Boston and Quincy.

Having served almost 1,000 campers, Camp Shriver at UMass Boston reaches out to children and families who have few opportunities, particularly families of children with disabilities.

Impact Of The Young Athletes Program On Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Quincy Public Schools, Christopher B. Denning, Kathleen Ghio

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Center for Social Development and Education (CSDE) and the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) are supporting the implementation of the Young Athletes (YA) program for preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Quincy Public Schools.

50-73% of children with ASD have significant motor delays compared to normative peers. Concerns include:

Delays in overall gross motor skills, including manual dexterity, balance, gait, motor coordination, and ball handling skills.
• Motor development appears to slow for two- and three-year-old children with ASD.

Young Athletes is a theoretically-based program designed to improve the motor development of children with disabilities (ages …

Pacific Visual Impairment Project, School For Global Inclusion And Social Development, University Of Massachusetts Boston, College Of Education And Human Development, University Of Massachusetts Boston, University Of Guam - Center For Excellence In Developmental Disabilities Education, Research & Service

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The primary goal of the Pacific Vision Impairment Project (VIP) is to increase the pool of fully credentialed, effective personnel educating students who are blind or have a Vision Impairment in remote areas where services either do not exist or need additional support.

Massachusetts Hospital School Program Evaluation Enhancing Transition To The Community, Russell Schutt

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Throughout the years, MHS has responded to the changing medical needs of children and young adults in MA and continues to be a model program nationally. Currently, MHS educates approximately 87 students from 58 MA communities. Since 2003, about 10-17 students have graduated each year. At age 22, young adults with disabilities transition from students to emergent adults living in the community. Students graduating from the Massachusetts Hospital School (MHS) are faced with opportunities and choices with respect to how and where they will live, work, study, socialize and receive ongoing medical care. In order to understand how well current …

Assessment And Curriculum Modification For Grade 1 Students With Disabilities In Tanzania: A Pilot Study, Angi Stone-Macdonald

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The purpose of this study was: 1) to analyze aggregated student assessment data from grade 1 students at a public government primary school in Northern Tanzania to determine the efficacy of a curriculum based screen tool, and 2)to examine current practices of inclusion for Tanzanian children in the early grades.

Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Partnership, Aimee D'Avignon, Laura Vanderberg, Felicia Wilczenski

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Inclusive Concurrent Education Partnership (ICE) has enrolled students with disabilities from local public high schools for the past 4 semesters, since the Fall of 2012. These students audit courses that match their personal interests in order to experience a fully inclusive higher educational setting. A total of 32 students have participated across the two years of program implementation.

Partnerships In Employment Brief: Engaging Families Of Youth With Intellectual Disabilities In Systems Change Efforts, Sean Roy

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This brief will highlight the reasons why parents and families are essential partners in any systems change effort. It will describe the importance of the family’s perspective, and how their experiences should be used to shape policy recommendations. It will offer strategies on how to engage parents and families in systems change efforts, and how to promote family involvement to state-level partners.

Urban School Counselor Preparation Through Service Learning: Development Of Multicultural And Social Justice Awareness (Tsccain), Amy Cook, Laura Hayden

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

Given the increasing diversity in our nation’s schools and communities, preparing school counseling students to understand and address systemic inequities are instrumental in the development of counseling skills and techniques. This session will provide counselor educators with methods to implement a uniform service-learning approach to teaching school counseling field experience seminars, while incorporating ideas for developing students’ multicultural competency and social justice awareness.

School For Global Inclusion And Social Development: Expanding The Umass Boston Community On A Regional, National, And International Level, David Temelini, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The School for Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD) is the newest graduate school at UMass Boston. We are the first graduate program in the world to focus on wellness, disability, and economic development from an international perspective. The first students in our master's program will start classes in January 2014, with our PhD program to launch in September 2014. SGISD's emphasis is on groups of people who are excluded from communities here in the U.S. and abroad, due to disability or other conditions. Instruction will be delivered on campus, online, and through international exchange programs.

Building The Capacity Of The Massachusetts Workforce Development System In Massachusetts To Better Serve Individuals With Disabilities, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Ensuring that community resources that are available to assist anyone with their job search and training needs are fully accessible and effective for individuals with disabilities.

Camp Shriver – A Free Inclusive Summer Sports Camp For Children With And Without Disabilities, Gary N. Siperstein, Mark Spolidoro, Barbara Gildea, Center For Social Development And Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Camp Shriver at UMass Boston provides a free and fully inclusive summer recreational program for children in the surrounding communities of Boston and Quincy. Through Camp Shriver, UMass Boston reaches out to children and families who have few opportunities, particularly families of children with disabilities.

Inclusive Concurrent Education Partnership, Aimee D’Avignon, Laura Vanderberg, Felicia Wilczenski, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston;

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Inclusive Concurrent Education Grant was implemented at the beginning of the fall 2012 semester after a planning period covering the spring and summer of 2012. Seven students from Boston Public Schools participated in the program’s first semester at UMass Boston, auditing a class each chosen from their personal interests. Five students completed.

The objective of the Inclusive Concurrent Education partnership is to provide secondary students with significant intellectual disabilities an opportunity to take an undergraduate course at UMass Boston. The goals are to provide an opportunity for these students to pursue their interests and to learn such skills as …

Partnerships In Employment: Benchmarking Toolkit, Jean Winsor, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Policy shifts over the past 20 years have created an agenda that calls for a sustained commitment to integrated employment for individuals with disabilities. But despite these clear intentions, unemployment of individuals with disabilities continues to be a major public policy issue.

For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), the disparity in labor market participation grows. Data suggest only 14.7% of individuals who receive supports from state IDD agencies work in either individual or group integrated employment, and 19% of individuals who receive day services from a state IDD agency participate in a service designed to support integrated employment …

Description Of Supported Employment Practices, Cross-System Partnerships, And Funding Models Of Four Types Of State Agencies And Community Rehabilitation Providers, Kelly Haines, Joseph Marrone, John Halliday, Michael Tashjian, Martha Klemm, Susan Stoddard, Susan M. Foley

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

In 2005, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) awarded the VR Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) to the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and its partners, InfoUse in Berkeley, California and the Center for the Advancement and Study of Disability Policy. In 2010, NIDRR provided supplemental funds to the ICI so that the VR-RRTC could include a focus on the provision of supported employment (SE) services. This SE research would focus on vocational rehabilitation (VR)agency partnerships with other state entities, and sources and models for long-term funding (extended services). The …

Minority Students On The College Track, Amy Cook, Arthur Mccann

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a student drops out of school every nine seconds, with Latino and African American students being disproportionately represented. Findings from a survey study will be discussed, including evidence-based interventions to promote college attainment among Latino and African American students.

Community University Project For Literacy (Cupl), Carol Chandler-Rourke

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Community-University Project for Literacy (CUPL) provides an academic structure for undergraduates to work as tutors in community-based learning centers. Students who enroll in CUPL commit to tutoring four hours each week at a community learning program while attending a credit-bearing academic seminar at UMass/Boston offered each semester. That is the Language, Literacy and Community in the Fall semester and ESL Tutor Training Seminar in the Spring semester.

The New England Tace Center Provides Technical Assistance & Continuing Education, Cecelia Gandolfo, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The New England TACE Center provides technical assistance (TA) & continuing education (CE) to the public vocational rehabilitation (VR) system and their partners. This center is part of a national network of 10 TACE Centers. The New England TACE serves: 10 State VR agencies; 2 Native American VR programs; VR provider agencies; Independent living centers and-1-Stop career centers.

Camp Shriver – A Free Inclusive Summer Sports Camp For Children With And Without Disabilities, Gary Siperstein, Barbara Gildea, Center For Social Development And Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Camp Shriver at UMass Boston provides summer recreational programming for children in the surrounding communities of Boston, Brockton and Quincy. Through Camp Shriver, UMass Boston reaches out to children and families who have few opportunities, particularly families of children with disabilities.

Opt4college: An Online Educational Transition Curriculum For Youth With Disabilities And Special Health Care Needs, Nerlie Ogilus, Miriam Heyman, Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Susan Foley, Judy Palfrey, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Through this project, we have identified the following: 1. Students with disabilities and/or special health care needs are disproportionally under-represented secondary institutions; 2. Making the transition from secondary to post secondary institutions requires self determination and advocacy; 3. Although there are other programs with this transition, few focus on both educational and medical transitions for students with disabilities and ore special health care needs.

Think, Hear, See, Believe… College: Developing Protocol With Young Advocates To Prepare And Disseminate Accessible And Usable Information, Maria Paiewonsky, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Consortium for Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities is committed to engaging students with IDD in all inclusive research, training and technical assistance, and dissemination activities. Fulfilling this commitment has meant exploring accessible formats and appropriate content with and for students with IDD so they can actively participate in Think College research, website development, writing, discussions and advocacy.

Service Works!: Collaboration Between Vocational Rehabilitation And National Service Programs As An Avenue Towards Employment For Vr Clients, Sheila Fesko, Allison Hall, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Volunteering and engaging in community service are effective avenues for personal and professional development, service participants actively contribute and to strengthen their communities. For people with limited vocational experience, national service can be part if a long-range employment plan. Service can allow VR clients to develop vocational skills, gain work experience, engage in career exploration build professional networks.

Northeast Regional Center For Vision Education, Laura Bozeman, Robert Mcculley, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Northeast regional center for vision Education is committed to improving education for people with visual disabilities. We offer in-person and online training in three main areas: teacher of students with visual impairments orientation and mobility and vision rehabilitation therapy. Graduates of our programs are trained to help people with visual disabilities provide access to high quality education, seek employment and travel independently.

The Power Of Expectations, Meg Grigal

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

The existence of a special issue of the Journal of Policy and Practice on Intellectual Disabilities focusing on postsecondary education for individuals with intellectual disabilities demon-strates that there are increasing expectations that people withan intellectual disability can and should be given the choice of going to college. And similar to other groups of young peoplewho have gone to college, their path toward college and theoutcomes that they seek and achieve from college will vary considerably.But unlike other college students, the experiences of these young (and not so young) college students with ID may notmerely reflect their personal preferences for and …

Improving Educational Outcomes Of English Language Learners In Schools And Programs In Boston Public Schools, Miren Uriarte, Faye Karp, Laurie Gagnon, Rosann Tung, Sarah Rustan, Jie Chen, Michael Berardino, Pamela Stazesky, Eileen De Los Reyes, Antonieta Bolomey

Gastón Institute Publications

Using 4 years of student-level demographic, enrollment and testing and school-level characteristics, this study analyzes the enrollment and outcomes of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Boston Public School between SY2006 and SY2009 and assess the relative impact of individual and school level factors in testing outcomes of ELLs. The study reports on the improvement in ELL dropout rates and testing outcomes during the period of observation. It reports also on the outcomes of ELLs at different levels of English proficiency and finds (1) higher dropout rates and lower testing performance among low English proficiency students; (2) a minimal proportion of …

Learning From Consistently High Performing And Improving Schools For English Language Learners In Boston Public Schools, Rosann Tung, Virginia Diez, Laurie Gagnon, Miren Uriarte, Pamela Stazesky, Eileen De Los Reyes, Antonieta Bolomey

Gastón Institute Publications

Against a backdrop of increasing BPS ELL enrollment, district ELL leadership transitions, state and federal policies affecting ELL education, and with the knowledge that many teachers and administrators within the Boston Public Schools are expert practitioners with ELL students, we addressed the following research questions:

• In which BPS schools were ELL students performing at a consistently high level or showing steady improvement during SY2006-SY2009?
• What were some of the practices that these schools’ staffs credited with their success with ELL students during SY2006-SY2009?
• Which of the practices identified by school staff were shared among the selected schools?

Through case study …

Data Note: Setting Higher Employment Expectations For Youth With Intellectual Disabilities, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Integrated employment is a critical goal because it leads to greater economic self-sufficiency, social inclusion, and personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, high schools do not always include integrated employment as a primary goal in the transition plans of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Moreover, in some cases sheltered employment is listed as the primary goal.

An Imperative For Change: Bridging Special And Language Learning Education To Ensure A Free And Appropriate Education In The Least Restrictive Environment For Ells With Disabilities In Massachusetts, Maria De Lourdes B. Serpa

Gastón Institute Publications

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing group of school-age students in public schools across the nation, and in Massachusetts. In this state, even as the total student enrollment declines slightly, the number of ELLs grows steeply. They number 68,820 in the 2010-2011 school year, an increase of 9,662 from the year before.

The number of ELLs identified as also having a disability doubled in Massachusetts (a striking increase of 115.4%) from 2001-2002 to 2010-2011. The proportion of ELLs placed in Special Education has increased by 5 percentage points, from 9.8% to 14.8%. This time period coincides almost exactly with …

Data Note: Students With Autism: Setting Higher Expectations For Postsecondary Education, Alberto Migliore, Jaime Lugas

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Setting expectations and goals in high school is key for a successful transition into adulthood. Postsecondary education is a particularly important goal because higher levels of educational attainment are associated with increased quality of life, including better employment outcomes. Unfortunately, the transition plans of students with autism do not often include postsecondary education as a goal.

Latino/A English Language Learners: Closing Achievement/Opportunity Gaps To Increase College-Going Rates, Amy Cook, Rachelle Pérusse

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

By the 10th grade, 40% of adolescent Latinos/as drop out of school, with Latino/a English language learners (ELLs) dropping out at an even higher rate. A survey-based study conducted in the Northeast revealed many evidence-based interventions that school counselors implement on behalf of Latino/a ELLs to improve academic achievement. This session will provide you with the skills and knowledge to work with some of the most challenging cases involving Latino/a ELLs and how to close achievement/opportunity gaps. Discussion and sharing information about various school counselor practices will be encouraged.

Employment Activities And Outcomes Of College-Based Transition Programs For Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Amy Dwyre, Meg Grigal

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Think College Insight Brief #3 reports findings of a 5 year research and technical assistance grant related to the paid employment outcomes of students who attended dual enrollment postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities on college campuses in Maryland and Connecticut.