RESOURCES

Join us at the Fall Conference,
November 9-11, 2011

Focusing on the Future

 

Virginia CASE is proud to announce their collaboration with National CASE to provide a cutting edge conference to be held at The Lodge in Williamsburg on November 9 – 11, 2011.  

 

The registration form can be found in another section of this newsletter.  The conference begins on Wednesday, November 9, at 12 noon with lunch and keynote speaker, Stevan Kukic.  Registration also includes Wednesday lunch, Thursday breakfast, Thursday lunch (with Dr. Lou Danielson) and Friday breakfast (with Kathy Mehfoud and team).  The conference concludes at noon on Friday, November 11, following Kathy Mehfoud  and the ReedSmith team presentation of Sixty Tips in 45 Minutes, which is chocked full of legal tips to keep us on the straight and narrow road of compliance.  

 

Dr. Stevan Kukic opens the conference at the luncheon on Wednesday, November 9, at noon with his presentation, Back in the Day or Back to the Future, a look at sustainable school reform and the paradoxical commandments of leadership.  Dr. Kukic earned his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in School Administration and his M.A. in School Psychology and B.A. in Psychology from UCLA.  He was the Director for At Risk and Special Education for the Utah State Office of Education for 11 years, providing leadership for state and federal programs for these children and youth in need.  Dr. Kukic is a Past President of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. For five years prior to his state position, he directed a statewide center for technical assistance related to the education of students with disabilities.  He is also the past chair of the Professional Advisory Board for the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Center.  At the present, Dr. Kukic is Vice President of Strategic Sales Initiatives for Cambium Learning Group/ Voyager Learning specializing in reaching the tough to teach with proven and practical products, programs, professional development, and consultation.  He states that two of his favorite books are If you’re riding a horse and it dies, get off (Grant, J. & Forsten, C ) and The situation is hopeless, but not serious (Watzlawick, P.).  Clearly, this is a speaker you do not want to miss!

 

Dr. Lou Danielson presents at Thursday’s luncheon.  Louis Danielson, a national leader in the field of special education, has been involved in programs that improve results for students with disabilities for over three decades.  Dr. Danielson was awarded a doctorate of philosophy in educational psychology from Pennsylvania State University.  His career spans several roles in education including secondary school science and mathematics teacher in Jamestown, NY, school psychologist in Philipsburg, PA, and teaching at the university level. Until recently, he was the director of the US Department of Education’s Research to Practice Division in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).  He brings an unparalleled and unique depth of knowledge in both special education policy and research to his current position as a Managing Director with the American Institutes for Research and acting director of research for the National High School Center.

 

A frequent contributor to professional journals, Dr. Danielson has published extensively in the literature and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and events focusing on special education.  His particular areas of interest include policy implementation/evaluation and scaling up of evidence based practices, particularly tried intervention on the high school level.  Response to Intervention (RTI) has increasingly become a hot topic for implementation in high schools and VCASE looks forward to hearing Dr. Danielson.

 

The conference theme is Focusing on the Future, with many sessions related to the topic.  Many sessions are timely issues to Virginia Special Education leaders.  Some of the session titles include:  

 

• RTI Tool Kit:  Making It More than an Acronym;
• Five Big Ideas About Special Education and the Common Core;
• Policy Issues Involving Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality;
• iPad, youPad, We all Scream for iPads!:
• Internal Promotions: Growing Your Own Exceptional Administrators;
• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS):  Sustaining the Momentum; and
• Meet the Needs of Tier III Intervention Students and Increase State Assessment Scores.

 

To register for the CASE / VCASE conference, you may do so online at the CASE web site at www.casecec.org or you may complete the registration form found in this newsletter.  VCASE members are eligible for the CASE member rate ~ no, you don't have to be a member of CEC or CASE to receive this rate. You do have to have a Virginia address.

 

VCASE also has secured a special rate at the Woodlands Hotel on the Colonial Williamsburg complex at the state/government rate of $129 plus tax per night (a substantial savings) until October 7, 2011.  We do not have a special rate at The Lodge ($169 per night plus tax).  You must call directly to the Colonial Williamsburg Hotels to request this Woodlands Hotel special rate ~ just tell them that you are with CASE and VCASE (this rate is not on the CASE web site).  Again, you must have a Virginia address.  Of course, there are other hotels in the area for your review.

 

We have a wonderful opportunity to showcase what Virginia does well ~ educate students with special needs ~ at International CASE.  A special thank you to the 48 Virginians who submitted proposals for consideration for a session ~ looking good, Virginia!  See you in Williamsburg!