What is SAGE?
SAGE, which stands for Special and Gifted Education, is a committee within the RISD Council of PTAs dedicated to the unique needs of special and gifted education students.
Mission
We endeavor to promote a close alliance between parents and educators of diverse learners in hopes of benefitting all children.
Initiatives
SAGE campus, council and area representatives will develop strong relationships with parents, teachers, administration, PTAs, and local and state-wide legislators.
We implement our mission through:
- Education
- Support
- Communication
- Advocacy
Committee for the 2009-2010 school year:
Denise Lindemann, SAGE Chair (sdlindemann@yahoo.com)
Bonne Abadie, Sub-Chair for Gifted and Talented (bonnie@northdallasmartialarts.com)
Carrie Morris, Sub-Chair for Special Education (carriemorris4@yahoo.com)
Please check the Council Calendar (http://www.risdcouncilptas.org/Calendar/tabid/110/Default.aspx) to find SAGE program information. If you have questions or would like to share details on an upcoming program please forward details to Denise Lindemann (sdlindemann@yahoo.com).
Special Education
Carrie Morris, RISD Council of PTAs SAGE Sub-Chair
carriemorris4@yahoo.com
Included below is a summary of topics most relevant to student(s) and their families that are either (1) learning how the special education process works, (2) are at the beginning stages of referral or evaluation, or (3) already receive services and wish to learn even more. This overview of special education is merely a starting place. Please visit the website links listed below for more in-depth information.
Please also use the search tools available online to find specific information for your family’s needs. The special education process can appear to be a bit overwhelming in the beginning. The good news is that there are many parents that have been where you may be right now and want very much to help shorten the learning curve for you. Most importantly, please know that you are not alone!
Top websites to bookmark for quick reference:
Texas Project First (http://www.texasprojectfirst.org/) is an excellent starting place for learning about special education in Texas. It was designed by parents for parents and is a project of the Texas Education Agency. This website is in both English and Spanish.
Texas Parent to Parent (http://www.txp2p.org/) is a nonprofit organization created by parents for families of children with disabilities, chronic illness and other special needs throughout the state of Texas. The majority of their staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers are parents of children with disabilities or chronic illness and have many years experience providing parent to parent support.
Getting Started
Here is the list of the steps involved with the special education process for children aged 3+ (http://www.texasprojectfirst.org/SEProcessStep.html):
Step 1: Request
Step 2: Notice of Rights
Step 3: Evaluation
Step 4: ARD/IEP Planning Conference
Step 5 & 6: The ARD/IEP Meeting
Step 7: On-going Assessment and Data Collection
Step 8: Examine Data and Make Recommendations
Educational Care and Partnership
Special education is federally regulated under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) and is the law for you to understand. Please visit http://www.texasprojectfirst.org/IDEA.html for a comprehensive yet-easy-to understand outline of IDEA’s four parts. Be sure to locate the definition of FAPE (Free and Appropriate Education) and LRE (Least Restrictive Environment). Another terrific resource for legal guidance is Wright’s Law (http://www.wrightslaw.com/us.htm).
The special education process brings together your family, your child, your local school campus personnel, and members of the special student services department to become your child’s “team.” There are many dedicated, compassionate, and knowledgeable people within RISD that strive to provide your child with the services most appropriate for his/her educational success.
Think of your team as your partner network. The most effective way to participate in the process is to think in terms of collaboration and facilitation. Ask questions. Ask them again if you did not understand them the first time. This can feel like a complicated process but together you and your team can accomplish a great deal by collaborating for solution. The ultimate goal is to ensure that your child is in the most effective position for success.
What promotes collaboration?
- Remembering our common purpose
- Giving everyone a voice
- Communicating well and with respect
- Assuming good reason and intention
- Valuing the team and its members
- Trusting the collaborative process
Resources
Extensive information is available to assist you through the special education process. In fact, there are so many it is overwhelming to know where to turn and know which resources will provide what you need when you need it. Listed below are several sites that I have come to reference regularly. It is not possible to list every website but this is a great start.
Parent Education
- Partners Resource Network (PRN) (http://www.partnerstx.org/) is a non-profit agency that operates the statewide network of federally funded Parent Training and Information Centers (PTI's) in Texas.
- Region 10 Service Center (http://www.region10.org/) offers a ton of courses you can take to learn about a variety of topics.
Parent Support Groups
- Beginning the fall 2009, SAGE will host a Parent Support Group based on the needs of families within RISD. Please refer to the calendar on the RISD Council of PTAs website (http://www.risdcouncilptas.org/Calendar/tabid/110/Default.aspx) for details. Please join us and give your input! Our goal is to create a supportive network of families and also bring resources and presenters that help us all deepen our knowledge of the special education process within RISD and
- There are a variety of online support groups you can find on Yahoo by visiting the Yahoo Groups page and searching on a specific disability. For example a search on Autism Dallas brought up 11 groups.
- If you are looking for a live meeting, visit The Special Needs Kids Directory (http://www.specialneedskidsdirectory.com/page/7014188) to locate a meeting in the DFW area.
Community/Area Resources
State Funding and Long-Term Planning
Gifted & Talented
Bonnie Abadie, RISD Council of PTAs Sub-Chair
bonnie@northdallasmartialarts.com
Definition of Gifted and Talented:
A "gifted and talented student" is a child or youth who performs at, or shows the potential for performing at, a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:
1. exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
2. possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
3. excels in a specific academic field.
Getting Started
My child has been identified as gifted through RISD. What does it mean? What do I do now?
Join our parent support group for parents of gifted children to network and learn more about resources, seminars, teaching tools and options for your gifted child within RISD and our community.
Visit some of the top websites relating to raising a gifted child. (see below)
Attend webinars and seminars sponsored by the RISD SAGE committee as well as surrounding school districts with excellent Gifted and Talented programs such as Carrollton/Farmers Branch and Plano ISD.
Educational Care and Partnership
My child has been in the REACH program for several years now. How do I keep him/her challenged? What else can I do for my gifted child?
Continue doing all of the above things.
Get more involved with the support group by finding speakers and other resources to pass along to other parents - network!
Work with your child’s teachers to help them understand the idiosyncrasies of your child.
Enroll your child in camps over the school breaks and summer for added enrichment. There are trade shows in the area that bring together the camps geared towards gifted and talented students. If you experience a camp or trade show that that was really exceptional, please let me know so I may advise other parents involved with SAGE.
The Gifted/Talented Listserv will provide updates about programs and services related to gifted education. Additionally, subscribers will be notified when new information is available on the TEA Gifted/Talented Education webpage. http://millertea.state.tx.us/list
Resources
All of these resources have a wealth of information on them. Instead of pulling tidbits from them, please visit them often. They will provide you with the help you need in supporting and advocating for your child.
· http://www.sengifted.org SENG: Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted
· http://www.hoagiesgifted.org Hoagie's Gifted Education Page
· www.txgifted.org TX Gifted
· www.nsgt.org National Society for the Gifted & Talented
· www.nagc.org National Association for Gifted Children
· www.giftedbooks.com Great Potential Press
· www.giftededpress.com Gifted Education Press
· www.tip.duke.edu Duke University Talent Identification Program
· www.gifteddevelopment.com Gifted Development Center
· http://ritter.tea..state.tx.us/gted/GifTal.html The Texas Education Agency’s link
Dyslexia/Reading Difficulties
Debra Levy, RISD Council of PTAs SAGE Sub-Chair
jeff_debra@sbcglobal.net
Getting Started
Have you ever wondered about reading? Doesn't it seem like a magical process and that one day, your child just starts reading words on a page, and that is IT – they are on their way to literacy?!
Well, reading really doesn't work “like magic,” and it really is a complex process. It begins from the time a baby is born, in the predictable and caring ways that parents interact with their child, in how they “name and discuss” the world with their child. Every time parents interact with a child, they are laying the neural pathways for language development, making connections between feelings and objects in their world and the spoken word. Young children soak up the spoken word.
Reading, however, is not “natural” or automatic like spoken language. Children gradually connect letters on a page to letter sounds. Through interactions with text and early literacy “play” they are introduced to letter shapes and begin to make letter-shape-letter-sound connections. More formal instruction begins when children enter school. Formal, explicit and skilled instruction in “the building blocks of reading” is essential for all children to become fluent readers.
Ultimately, if a child struggles with the tasks of mapping sounds to print (and putting sounds into sequence when reading, writing and spelling) after appropriate classroom instruction, parents may begin to wonder if their child has dyslexia.
http://www.interdys.org/faqs
Dyslexia is a neurological, or brain based, learning disability and impacts phonological processing ability (the association of sounds to print). Dyslexia is not a developmental lag; more time or a slower teaching approach will not be adequate to fix the reading difficulty. There are varying degrees of impairment with dyslexia, but no matter its severity, a student requires a research-based, specific, explicit and multisensory instruction to overcome it. Early identification is critical for the best educational outcome. ( www.interdys.org/faqs )
Educational Care and Partnership
If you have a specific concern about reading, the State of Texas has a Dyslexia Handbook http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/elar/index.html that is full of great resources. It details Texas’ state requirements for teaching all children how to read, and includes procedures to be followed if children are not making adequate progress. It pinpoints the unique difficulties of dyslexia with a specific definition, and provides the legal framework for identification of these children. Texas has had a dyslexia law since 1984, and it requires each district to provide identification and intervention services.
Communication with your child’s teacher is critical. RISD teachers regularly benchmark the reading progress of students from Kindergarten onward, so be sure to keep an eye on the results of any benchmarks or tests.
Resources
Learn more about the reading process and dyslexia. After doing some investigation, talk about any concerns with teachers, staff and counselors. Talk with friends and neighbors who may know someone with dyslexia, to see what they have learned about helping their child along the way.
As mandated by state and federal law, RISD currently utilizes a research-based, core reading curriculum for reading instruction, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It uses phonics based instruction and uses enriching literature selections. There are parent and student sections of the website for exploration: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/rdg.jsp
Parents can help children become good readers. http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/Parent_br.pdf
This article describes the reading process generally, and areas of possible concern:
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6253
A detailed discussion of dyslexia (via a quick audio and a slide show!) is available on the Texas Education Agency's Region 10 website: http://www.region10.org/dyslexia/Documents/understandingDyslexia.pdf
This resource is an excellent introduction for teachers, counselors and parents who want to know more about dyslexia, and dispels many myths about it.
General information on dyslexia can be viewed at www.region10.org/dyslexia
and by going to the Texas Education Agencies site http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/elar/index.htm1.
The International Dyslexia Association is a wealth of information, facts and resources: http://www.interdys.org/" www.interdys.org
RISD has a parent’s dyslexia support group for the families of identified students! Members of the group are available for support and resource assistance for any concerned parent. You can contact a member of the group by emailing pdeg_risd@sbcglobal.net.
* Form available for download under the "Forms" tab on this site.
RISD Council of PTAs Enrollment Form
SAGE | Special and Gifted Education
This form is for anyone interested in joining our database for information regarding the diverse learner. This enrollment enters your email into the SAGE database (only) for announcements of speakers, school and community events relating to these diverse learning areas and will be kept confidential.
Date:_____________________ RISD Home Campus:___________________
New? _________ Update? ___________
Contact Information for SAGE communications only: (Please print carefully)
Parent Name:_____________________________________________________
Email:___________________________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________________
Home Phone: _(____)__________________ Cell: _(____)_________________ (indicate preferred method for contact)
Translation Services Required (specify language):________________________
Check one of the following: Written ______ Spoken_____ American Sign_____
Student(s) Information (To help us better locate information relevant to your need(s):
Name Grade School Sp Needs G&T Dyslexia
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Support Group Inquiry/Request
Do you want to be contacted regarding joining a support group? Circle Yes or No
If so, please specify:
_____ Specific Need (please state):_______________________________
_____ General Special Needs
_____ Gifted and Talented
_____ Dyslexia/Reading Difficulties or Concerns
RISD Council of PTAs SAGE Committee (2009 – 2010)
**Return via email to Denise Lindemann or mail to 7812 Querida Lane, Dallas, 75248