Artwork by boy with cerebral palsy tours nation

Alex McKay, 12, paints during his art class at Monart School of Art.

Not every artist can claim a national tour for their works, but Alex McKay, a 12-year-old artist with cerebral palsy, can say that of his drawing of a car in the "Celebrating Who I Am" exhibition. Painting is therapy and a creative outlet for Alex, his parents and teachers say. Alex, who uses a motorized wheelchair, has developed special techniques to compensate for muscle weakness while painting and drawing. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Girl Scouts honor girl for helping classmates with autism

Shannon Elizabeth Evans of Cary, N.C., earned the Girl Scouts' highest honor, the Gold Award, in recognition of her work with students with autism at her high school. Evans developed and administered programs to improve physical and social skills for students with autism, working with them one-on-one for two months. The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Recession pinches donations to camps for children with special needs

One Step At A Time, a summer camp for cancer and leukemia patients run by a Chicago-based organization, has suffered a more than 20 percent drop in donations.

Summer camps serving children with special needs are seeing a drop in donations, largely because of corporate cutbacks. Officials at Chicago-based Children's Oncology Services, which runs the One Step At A Time camp for cancer and leukemia patients, says donations are down more than 20%. "There have been some other challenging years, but I think this is one of the worst," said a program director for the American Diabetes Association in Illinois. Medill Reports (Chicago)

Police-schools partnership aims to develop student leaders

SMITHFIELD — At first glance, the Smithfield Leadership Academy looks much like dozens of camps in cities all across the state.

Schools in a Rhode Island district are partnering with the local police department to help students develop leadership skills and build relationships with police officers. "The goal is to have them be more engaged in school, increase their academic performance and have them show an increase in their school and community activities," said an administrator. The Providence Journal (R.I.)

Webcast archive: status hearing on DCPS reform

A status hearing on DCPS reform was held by the Senate Subcommitee on Govt Reform... here's the webcast.

Key minute segments:
67 - 70, 88-99, 126 - 132: Burris
132 -145 approx: Ashby answers Rhee's criticism.

Discovery Educator Network National Institute (DENNI 09)

Here's just a few of the photos taken at the DEN National Institute 09 held last week (July 13-17) at the gorgeous San Francisco Headlands Institute . The view of the Pacific Ocean was fantastic, I felt like home (I miss the Philippines)!

70 educators from 22 states across the country got together for this week long "tech boot camp" to connect, collaborate, and communicate through innovative 21st Century classroom tools and applications the best ways to engage our students in the classroom. It was amazing how much talented educators were there (and I thought I was already proficient! I realized that I got to sharpen more my tech skills), it was an honor to be with the real technology in the classroom experts and learn the best practices from them first hand. It was all food, work and play, no downtime for us!

Can't wait to go back to my classroom and meet my new students! This coming school year is going to be lots of fun for us!

Here's some highlights from the DENNI 09, pre-recorded from Ustream. Thanks to Discovery Education's Flickr photostream for the pics! Here's the CoverItLive Twitter notes from the Discovery onsite reporter (Alice M).

Den NI Q&A

View more presentations from lrougeux.

The Digital Natives...our students!

Just got home at 5:00 this morning from the DEN National Institute which was a great "tech boot camp" experience for me. 70 excellent teachers from 22 states (I'm the one from DC) got together at the Headlands Institute in San Francisco. Details later. But what did we talk about during this 5-day week long national institute? Technology of course, and our students! Here they are, the digital natives:

Girl with Down syndrome thriving on swim team

Courtney takes off for some laps.

Courtney Pyburn, a 12-year-old North Carolina girl with Down syndrome, trains and competes on her community swim team with children without disabilities and is flourishing. "Other sports, there's a roster," says her coach. "... And swimming, it's much more individual in that you're competing against yourself as well as the other teams." The News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.)

Pianist with visual disabilities earns international attention

Nobuyuki Tsujii, who cannot see, has become a classical music sensation after tying for top place in a prestigious international piano competition in June. The 20-year-old Japanese man learns pieces by memorizing recordings. Reuters

Special educator to take helm of groundbreaking district

Special-education pioneer Michael Brinkos has become the superintendent of a Pennsylvania district that began offering special education years before it was federally mandated. Brinkos was an early proponent of inclusion, and his district recently won state recognition for its inclusive nature. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Should a second stimulus be spent to save teachers' jobs?

With some talk of a second federal economic-stimulus package, one blogger suggests using a second wave of money for education to prevent teacher layoffs. Other spending suggestions include saving summer-school programs at risk of being cut or increasing the length of the school year. This Week In Education/Alexander Russo blog

Podcasting builds student confidence, tech skills

McKayla Dulaney gets a good laugh out of a practice voice recording of Sarah St. Jean (foreground) during a summer class for editing audio and preparing podcasts at Christiansburg Elementary School.

A Virginia teacher is building student confidence and technology skills through a summer program that teaches students to create podcasts. Angela Williams says students create and edit the audio and video broadcasts that can be watched and listened to on computers and MP3 players. She anticipates podcasts will one day be an alternative to book reports and projects. The Roanoke Times (Va.)

Students embrace cultural lessons via Internet chats with Afghans

Linar Etemadi, a fifth-grade teacher at Glenelg Country School, coordinated Internet chat sessions between her students and boys attending Roshan High School, in Afghanistan. Etemadi also started the Kites for Kids program in which students flew kites made in Afghanistan to raise money for several organizations -- such as Champs International, Marshall Legacy Institute and Healthy Afghan Children -- that help children in the war-torn country. Here, Etemadi poses with several of the kites and the Afghanistan flag. (Staff Photo by Sarah Nix)

Some Maryland fourth- and fifth-graders are using the Internet to connect with students in Afghanistan. The Afghan students discuss their country's hardships, including the dangers of land mines, and help refute any inaccurate views held by U.S. students about Afghanistan. Howard County Times (Columbia, Md.)

"Energetic," focused NBCT named head of teachers union in Virginia

Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer Frank Cardella, the Chesterfield Education Association's new president, listens intently during a community meeting at Crestwood Elementary School last week.

A National Board Certified Teacher has been named president of the Chesterfield Education Association in Chesterfield County, Va. Frank Cardella will serve two years and be on paid leave from his high-school science teaching position. "He's energetic. He's very focused," said outgoing CEA President Lois Stanton. "As a National Board Certified Teacher, he has a strong interest in instruction." Chesterfield Observer (Midlothian, Va.)

Camp treats adults with disabilities like rock stars

Margot Carlson, left, rests with her counselor Emma Tannehill before the start of Camp ReCreation at the Marywood Pastoral Center in Orange.

A California church camp is offering more than 90 adults with developmental disabilities a week of activities and fun, including karaoke, a talent show and a rock concert. Participants "gain a real sense of independence, a sense of camaraderie, a sense of feeling loved and accepted and that they can take on the world," said camp co-director Meghan Schinderle. The Orange County Register (Calif.)

Special educator with visual disability wins national award

Annee Hartzell Distinguished Educator of Blind Children award recipient

Washington teacher Annee Hartzell, who cannot see, has won the National Federation of the Blind's distinguished-educator award. Hartzell teaches students with visual disabilities and says her own disability may foster optimism in her students. Yakima Herald-Republic (Wash.)

Summer program prepares teens with visual disabilities for adulthood

From left, Madison Pugh, Derek Bliss and Katie Firmani are preparing for adulthood in the sighted world.

A Florida transition program for students with visual disabilities is helping them prepare for adulthood. The summer program aims to increase student self-confidence and independence as well as teach life skills. St. Petersburg Times (Fla.)

Lawsuit challenges California insurers' denial of autism therapy

California regulations that allow insurers to deny treatment coverage to children with autism violate state laws, a consumer group contends in a lawsuit. Insurers say they are following the law and covering most autism care. They say they are allowed to deny coverage for applied behavior analysis because it is too expensive and is educational rather than medical. Los Angeles Times

Maria Angala Receives Outstanding Special Education Teacher Honor

From the WTU E-Newsletter:

The Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) would like to congratulate Maria Angala on receiving the honor of Outstanding Special Education Teacher for the school year 2008-2009 from the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET).

NASET is a national organization dedicated to assisting teachers in the field of special education, and this honor is awarded to teachers who demonstrate outstanding achievement in the special education field.

Angala serves on the WTU Executive Board as the Vice-President of Special Education and works as an Inclusion teacher for 6th, 7th and 8th grades at Jefferson MS. She has been with DC Public Schools for the past 6 years and decided to go into the teaching profession because of her love for children.

"I think that the key to effective instruction is understanding how your students learn and finding the best way to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge for them," stated Angala. A few months ago, Angala won a Promethean ActivClassroom Board through a national blogging competition.

Angala's blog "Digital Anthology" is an online extension of her classroom where she posts information about her class and is a resource for information for her students, parents and other special education teachers. Her other blog "Teacher Sol" is solely for educators and contains special education resources, news and issues.

Angala is a National Board Certification candidate in the Exceptional Needs Specialist category which is the highest level of certification for educators in the country.

You can follow Angala on Twitter by clicking here.

1st Filipino Teacher to Receive the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award

From the WTU E-Newsletter:

Aris Pangilinan, along with 20 other teachers from across the region, was recently presented with the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award. The Washington Post presents this award to exceptional teachers in the Washington, DC area, and along with this honor, award winners each receive $3,000.

Pangilinan, a math teacher at HD Woodson SHS where he has been working for the past five years, is the first Filipino to receive this award. Born in San Juan, Batangas, he came to the United States in 2003. He encourages his students to study and appreciate the concept of math through innovative and best teaching practices.

"I am so blessed to be one of the five teachers in the system to be a recipient of the most recent educator internship opportunity," said Pangilinan. "Filipino teachers now teaching in the US continue to make a difference in the lives of young people and the community where they belong."

Pangilinan was also selected to be an intern in a new program within the DCPS central office where he will have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process at the central office and to gain first-hand experience in urban education reform at a macro-level. He has received several other awards, including: DCPS Distinguished Educator and Excellence in Education Award, Best Buy Teach DC Award and One of the Best Teachers of HD Woodson Senior High School.

To read more about other Agnes Meyer Award winners, click here.

Editorial: Duncan's teacher-pay plan has merit

Teachers are the most important factor in student success and the best teachers should be rewarded, according to a Washington Post editorial praising U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's push for teacher merit pay. Duncan's plan calls for increasing the Teacher Incentive Fund from $97.3 million to $487.3 million. The Washington Post

Studies: Small changes in genetic code tied to schizophrenia

New research published in Nature suggests that genes affecting the immune system may be linked to schizophrenia. Above, an illustration of the DNA double helix.

Small genetic changes in brain development, memory and the immune system may trigger schizophrenia, according to three new studies published in the journal Nature. Similar genetic changes have also been tied to depression and bipolar disorder, says Dr. Tom Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. National Public Radio

Toyota developing wheelchair steered by user's brain waves

Toyota is researching technology that could someday allow people with disabilities to control wheelchairs with their thoughts. A computer program in a cap worn by the user transforms brain waves into commands to move forward, right or left. Disability Scoop

D.C. Teachers Become Central Office Fellows

From The Washington Post's blog, DC Wire:

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, who presided over the firing of 250 teachers last month, is also continuing her attempts to build bridges with District educators by bringing six of them into her office for a five-week summer fellowship.

The teachers are: Aris Pangilinan (math), HD Woodson High School, a winner of the 2009 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher award presented by The Washington Post Educational Foundation; Brooke Buerkle (social studies), Columbia Heights Educational Campus, named Outstanding First Year Teacher by DCPS in 2008; Cynthia Robinson (first grade), H.D. Cooke Elementary, who serves on the board of the Capital Area National Association for Bilingual Education; Lynn Lahti-Hommeyer (elementary science resource), Bruce-Monroe Elementary@ Parkview, honored at a 2006 White House ceremony with a presidential award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching; Margaret Slye (literacy professional developer), Scott Montgomery Elementary, a former Teach For America corps member, and Tondra J. Odom-Owens (fifth grade), Savoy Elementary, who co-wrote the current fourth grade learning standards in reading and language arts for DCPS.

Two of the well deserving Fellows are colleagues close to my heart, Aris Pangilinan who's making us Filipino teachers proud, and Tondra Owens (NBCT) who was with my National Board Certification class with George Washington University.

Did I apply? Yes. Did I make it? Obviously no :( I need to do better in phone interviews; there'll be next time.