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Have you ever wondered why Curious George is so curious? Or why he has a penchant for mischief, is always getting into trouble, yet somehow seems to narrowly escape disaster time and time again?
The source of inspiration came from the couple who first created the children's books themselves, H.A. and Margret Reys. The Reys were German Jews that lived in Paris during the time of the Nazi reign. Because they were Jewish, they had to constantly search for safe places to hide from the Germans. Two days before the Germans marched on Paris, they fled on their bicycles carrying drawings that later became the character of Curious George. The theme of escaping disaster just in the nick of time throughout many of the Curious George episodes reflects the Rey's own experience in life.
The Reys fled from Paris to New York in 1940. While on board the ship, Margaret Rey used to sew miniature sweaters to keep the monkeys warm. However, her efforts proved to be in vain, as none of the monkeys were able to survive the long passage. The Reys also used this time to develop the literature for Curious George.
The original name for George was Fifi. When the Reys finally made it to America, they showed their manuscript to publisher Houghton Mifflin. Houghton Mifflin expressed doubts about the name Fifi, especially for a boy monkey. The Reys proceeded to change the name to George. In England, Curious George is known as ZoZo.
Although the monkeys did not survive in real life, through their literature, stories, and drawings, the Reys were able to create the story of a monkey that survived against all odds. Curious George is a monkey to which many of us aspire. This tried and true monkey may have a lot of flaws, but he has a heart full of gold and always learns his lesson. Please click on the link if you are interested in browsing our selection of Curious George toys. Although we can't guarantee your invinciblity, we promise that you won't be disappointed.


text: Power Equipment You've just completed a few landscaping jobs in a residential neighborhood and you have happy customers spreading the word about your great work. Now eager neighbors are asking for your services. Sounds like a good deal, but there are problems. You can't get your full-sized equipment into these small backyards, so your crew ends up hauling a lot of material by hand. More

subset: commoncrawl


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PSA guarantees that all cards submitted to it shall be graded in accordance with PSA grading standards and under the procedures of PSA.
Click here for an important note about PSA Security: A Buyer's Guide.


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Commencement Honors & Graduation Honors
Commencement is a milestone for soon-to-be Kent State alumni. As they near graduation, students and faculty members have the opportunity to receive a variety of commencement honors. Oftentimes these graduation honors are bestowed at the formal commencement ceremonies. Read the descriptions of the following commencement honors to get a better understanding of what has to be done in order to earn one. Click on any of the three links to see a list of individuals who have received these distinguished graduation honors in the past.
Honorary Degrees Find out which honorary degrees have been awarded to persons acknowledged in eminence in the arts, letters or sciences, in the professions, or in public service whose contributions are so significant that benefits are recognized and acknowledged on a state, national or international level.
President's Medals Links to a listing of faculty and administrative staff who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of Kent State University through extraordinary and unique service.
University Medallions Lists those who have contributed significantly to the university's well-being but who would not be eligible for an honorary degree or the President's Medal. Recipients are major benefactors of the university, those who have given significantly of time, effort and/or financial support to the university, its campuses, or to one or more of its programs and activities.


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I will never forget you, CBot. You will always be my one true love.
Originally Posted by akbar
Originally Posted by B-MCINTYRE
DRG hates everyone
Want to join EWN's original e-fed? Join EWNCW NOW!Want details? Just ask me!
To hell with insincerity. Fuck you!
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text:
The challenge of managing corporate content has never been greater. Growth in the corporate adoption of tablets, smartphones, cloud-based services and mobile productivity apps are changing the way organisations do business.
Understanding how to harness the benefits of cloud, mobility and enterprise content management is the key to transforming your business and IT. Organisations need agile and adaptive solutions to manage their business processes, integrate with existing systems and ensure content security and compliance, whilst collaborating securely both internally and externally.
The answer. Hybrid ECM. Combining the benefits of an on-premise solution, with the agility of the cloud, in a cost effective and efficient way.
In this webinar we will discuss:
- The benefits of a Hybrid ECM solution - the ability to connect people, content, systems and business processes securely on both sides of the firewall and on mobile devices
- The rise of the Mobile workforce: how to increase productivity — securely — by fuelling devices with business content
Presenter: Marc Fresko, Director and Founder, Inforesight Limited and Paul Hamption, Product Marketing Director, Alfresco
Date: 25 April @ 2pm UK time


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The massive fire, apparently caused by a broken natural-gas pipeline in San Bruno at about 6 p.m. Thursday, September 9, was completely visible across the San Francisco Bay in Bay Farm Island and western areas of Alameda in the early evening.
About a dozen Bay Farm residents discussed the cause of the blaze at 6:30 p.m., when there was still suspicion that a plane had crashed in the Peninsula.
Within the first hour of the blaze, a large cloud of smoke had formed, but it was being pushed south by the wind.
Planes could be seen departing out of San Francisco International Airport, as well as from the Oakland International Airport, and the Harbor Bay Ferry was operating.
One San Bruno resident posted a photo on the Bay Area News Group website, and local TV stations are carrying live photage of the fire.
Flames from the fire reportedly been as high as 50-60 feet high, and several homes and cars have been destroyed in the residential area of San Bruno where the inferno is situated.
Firefighters from Alameda County are helping to put out the blaze.


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All prices displayed are for U.S. Sherwin-Williams locations and are in U.S. Dollars.
Prices do not include taxes or other fees as applicable.
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Review of the book "Empire of Scholars: Universities, Networks and the British Academic World, 1850–1939" by Tamson Pietsch
Rev. of Where I Come From, by Vijay Agnew
Rev. of From white Australia to Woomera: the story of Australian immigration, by James Jupp
Examines the work of various religious organizations, such as the Women's Protective Immigration Society and the British Women's Emigration Association (BWEA), in assisting female emigrants to Canada around the turn of the 20th century. Groups like these were headed by middle- and upper-cl...
The Imperial Colonist, a widely disseminated journal founded in 1902, was produced by women and designed to promote female emigration to Britain's colonies and to educate Britons and colonists about the empire. Members of female emigration societies were elite British women with close ties to i...
Rev. of Sojourning sisters: the lives and letters of Jessie and Annie McQueen, by Jean Barman
Reviews the book "Mill Girls and Strangers: Single Women's Independent Migration in England, Scotland, and the United States, 1850-1881," by Wendy M. Gordon.; Reviews the book "Mill Girls and Strangers: Single Women's Independent Migration in England, Scotland, and the United States, 1850-...
Rev. of Migration and Empire by Marjory Harper and Stephen Constantine
Rev. of Gendered Passages: French-Canadian Migration to Lowell, Massachusetts, 1900-1920 by Yukari Takai
Rev. of Uprooted: The Shipment of Poor Children to Canada, 1867-1917 by Roy Parker
Rev. of The Slender Thread: Irish Women on the Southern Avalon, 1750-1930 by Willeen Keough
Rev. of Making up the State: Women in 20th-century Atlantic Canada by Janet Guildford and Suzanne Morton.
Rev. of A Happy Holiday: English Canadians and Transatlantic Tourism, 1870-1930 by Cecilia Morgan.


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Color Coded o-rings make it easy to quickly identify the correct replacement o-ring when performing maintenance of your marker.
The Eye Pipe, patent pending, internal design houses multiple critical systems that ensure worry free performance. The polycarbonate pipe shields the self-cleaning anti-chop eye system from dirt and broken paint ensuring the eyes are always monitoring the breech and ball drop. The seamless pipe is wiped clean by the bolt tip o-ring on every cycle. The Eye Pipe system eliminates miss feeds, and double feeding. In addition it eliminates external eye plates and the potential of striped or corroded plate mounting screws.
The proven Hyper regulator design has been greatly improved. Now introducing the Hyper3™ in-line regulator. This new design is sleeker, smaller, consistent and offers precise increments of air pressure adjustment. Our new shim stack is more responsive and reacts quicker to pressure changes allowing better flow and a faster response. The size has been dramatically reduced allowing us to incorporate the soft rubber our proven Sticky Grips. In addition, the Hyper3™ air input swivel ring allows it to work with all bottom line configurations.
Dimensions: 9 x 8.5 x 1.35 Inches
Potential Rate of Fire: 1-34 BPS
Battery Type: 9 Volt
Battery Life: Approx. 40,000 Shots
Air Type: HPA/Nitrogen Only
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- 9 Volt Battery


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A middleweight bout between Derek Brunson (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Antonio Braga Neto (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is the latest addition to November's "UFC Fight Night 31: UFC Fight for the Troops 3" event.
UFC officials today announced the bout.
UFC Fight Night 31 takes place Nov. 6 at Kentucky's Fort Campbell. The bulk of the card is expected to air on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on Facebook. It's not known where Brunson vs. Neto will be placed on the lineup.


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"This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big," van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, from France. Rooted in imagination and memory, The Starry Night embodies an inner, subjective expression of van Goghs response to nature. In thick, sweeping brushstrokes, a flamelike cypress unites the churning sky and the quiet village below. The village was partly invented, and the church spire evokes van Gogh's native land, the Netherlands.
MoMA Audio: Collection, 2008
Curator, Joachim Pissarro: One might ask oneself what makes this particular painting so much a subject of love and admiration. And it is probably due to the fact that Van Gogh here does address some of the universal concerns that we all feel. He's thinking about his own destiny.
Director, Glenn Lowry: In the foreground are the dark silhouettes of cypress trees, often found in local cemeteries.
Curator, Joachim Pissarro: And these trees that are drawn almost like flames of fire very much allude to Van Gogh's ongoing concern with afterlife, with eternity, with death, and with all these different forces which indeed he does associate with the night.
And the way it is expressed here is not just through a particular symbol, like the cypresses, or the spire of this church. You have the quietness of this village in the middle of the night versus this unbelievable unfolding of swirling waves of energy that are turning upon themselves. It's a painting that renews itself ceaselessly. It's a painting that constantly moves within its own static frame.
The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, revised 2004, originally published 1999, p. 35
Van Gogh's night sky is a field of roiling energy. Below the exploding stars, the village is a place of quiet order. Connecting earth and sky is the flamelike cypress, a tree traditionally associated with graveyards and mourning. But death was not ominous for van Gogh. "Looking at the stars always makes me dream," he said, "Why, I ask myself, shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star."
The artist wrote of his experience to his brother Theo: "This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big." This morning star, or Venus, may be the large white star just left of center in The Starry Night. The hamlet, on the other hand, is invented, and the church spire evokes van Gogh's native land, the Netherlands. The painting, like its daytime companion, The Olive Trees, is rooted in imagination and memory. Leaving behind the Impressionist doctrine of truth to nature in favor of restless feeling and intense color, as in this highly charged picture, van Gogh made his work a touchstone for all subsequent Expressionist painting.
If you are interested in reproducing images from The Museum of Modern Art web site, please visit the Image Permissions page (www.moma.org/permissions). For additional information about using content from MoMA.org, please visit About this Site (www.moma.org/site).
© Copyright 2011 The Museum of Modern Art


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Moderators: Tonyblack, Jason, Toothy
your money loses weight on one end every month? Do they diet? You'll have to tell me their secretTaper as in taper off... wot my money does at the end of the month.
Bloister originally the correct spelling for Blister. But after the writers of the Magna Charta missed the o in bloister, blister was made by royal law the correct spelling. During the English civil war Bloister was used again as the correct spelling by Parliament. But after the death of Cromwell Blister was again made the right spelling by Charles II in 1662.
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Moderators: Tonyblack, Jason, Toothy
Dotsie wrote:1) She's clearly a bit bonkers
2) Children don't fit into neat little boxes? But then how do we pigeonhole them?
Catch-up wrote:I'm feeling so guilty right now. A couple days ago I called to get some soil delivered for our veggie garden today. I thought I said all the things I needed to say to get the right kind of soil. But, when they delivered it hubby said it was not the right stuff (he usually handles this stuff). So, they didn't charge us for the first delivery, brought a new delivery of the right stuff and just charged us for that. I feel like it's my fault and I'm feeling guilty that we have a pile of dirt we didn't pay for.
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Male Face Mask
Little is known about the functions of masks such as this one, since they fell out of use by 1910. It is thought that they might have had a role in boys' initiations into adulthood.
Among the Fang, the spirits of the dead are associated with the color white, suggesting a connection with the ancestral realm. White clay (kaolin) is also used by healers in medical practices. This face mask could have been related to either set of practices.
- Culture: Fang (Betsi subgroup)
- Medium: Wood, pigment
- Place Made: Gabon
- Dates: 19th century
- Dimensions: 11 1/8 x 7 x 2 1/4 in. (28.3 x 17.8 x 5.7 cm) (show scale)
- Collections:Arts of Africa
- Museum Location: This item is on view in African Storage Annex, East Gallery, 1st Floor
- Exhibitions:
- Accession Number: 2011.4.6
- Credit Line: Collection of Beatrice Riese
- Rights Statement: Creative Commons-BY
- Caption: Fang (Betsi subgroup). Male Face Mask, 19th century. Wood, pigment, 11 1/8 x 7 x 2 1/4 in. (28.3 x 17.8 x 5.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Collection of Beatrice Riese, 2011.4.6. Creative Commons-BY
- Image:
- Catalogue Description: Colored male face mask with carved coiffure, scalloped design above forehead, small pierced eyes, simple flat curved nose, and carved teeth. Much of white clay pigment has been abraded.
- Record Completeness: Best (83%)


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It's a fun game with a little soccer, rugby, basketball and dodgeball mixed in together. And after awhile you don't even notice the broomsticks. There will be a bunch of college teams playing in a round-robin tournament from 9AM to about 6PM. My daughter Beth plays for Texas State, so I'll be supporting the maroon and gold Bobqats.
Stop in any time, enjoy the games and say Hi!


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A resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events, and things in Minnesota history.
Hamline University, Red Wing, c.1865. Photograph by Kenneth M. Wright Studios.
Hamline University, Red Wing, c.1863.
Hand-painted pendant made by Henrietta Barclay Paist between 1920 and 1929.
Handicraft Guild, 89 South Tenth, Minneapolis, c.1909. Photographer: Elgin R. Shepard.
Black and white photograph of Hanford L. Gordon, c.1867.
Hans Mattson. Photograph by Joel Emmons Whitney c.1864.
Hans Mattson, Daguerreotype c.1863.
Hans Mattson. Cabinet photograph c.1885 by William R. Miller.
Harriet Scott at Fort Snelling, c.1837. Oil on canvas painting by David Geister, 2013.
The Harrington House, c.1875.
Made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008. Administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.
Minnesota Historical Society • 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 (Map) • 651-259-3000 © .
Send questions or comments to mnopediamnhs [dot] org. View our Privacy Policy.


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Threading up my bobbins with pretty green thread got me thinking about how much quilting I was about to embark upon. I know you shouldn't do the maths, but hey….so I have worked out 2520 inches, which is 64 metres and that is before I consider whether I do vertical rows as well. Heehee better get a wriggle on…
Oh dear my machine needs a little dust…anyhow…Ready set go….


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Another Microsoft Trojan? Sinofsky might just want a RIM job
You are the Mussolini of Microsoft: you have the engineering operations of Windows and Office running on time, smashing their reputation for lateness.
You've run the $18bn Windows business unit for Microsoft, the world's largest software company, and been in charge of the division building Office, the planet's dominant personal productivity suite on the PC.
Your name was even starting to be dropped as a possible chief executive of Microsoft on the back of your latest creation, Windows 8. Yet after 23 years' of loyal service you suddenly find yourself without a job.
What's next?
This is the question for Steven Sinofsky, who until Tuesday was the president of one of Microsoft's biggest business units – Windows and Windows Live.
If you believe Sinofsky, he's not looking for a job right now: he's taking a break between product cycles, a move he's encouraged others to make.
But no mentally functioning individual would, or should, believe this, given the importance of the work he was performing and his responsibilities inside Microsoft.
It's not like Sinofsky needs the work: his 2012 remuneration package was worth more than CEO Steve Ballmer's, amounting to $8.5m. This included $658,333 in salary, an $1.5m bonus and stock and other allocations


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Quinoa is a grain-like seed that can be used as an alternative to wheat or other grains to make flour. A nutritious addition to your meals, add Organic Quinoa to vegetables, meats, soups and cereals to create a medley of delicious dishes.
Setton Farms
Organic Quinoa
12 oz Container / Item #037102
Disclaimer: This scientific independent research is provided by Aisle7 and is for informational use only. Puritan provides this information as a service but does not endorse it. Likewise, Aisle7 does not recommend or endorse any specific products.


text:
Inside The Ring with Sue Elliott9:30 AM
Seattle Opera Gala6:00 PM
La boheme Preview - Frye2:00 PM
La boheme Preview - West Seattle6:30 PM
La boheme Preview - Third Place Books7:00 PM
La boheme Preview - Green Lake2:00 PM
La boheme Preview - Kitsap Library (Sylvan)2:15 PM
Seattle Opera on KING FM8:00 PM
Heron and the Salmon Girl2:00 PM
La boheme Preview - Freeland12:00 PM
La Bohème Preview - Coupeville2:30 PM
Chorus Staging Rehearsal7:00 PM
Seattle University Lecture Series7:00 PM
La boheme Preview - Edmonds6:30 PM
La bohème Radio Preview8:00 PM
Presidents Day- Ticket Offices Open 9am to 3pm
La boheme Preview - Ballard2:00 PM
Mainstage Opera Dress Rehearsals7:00 PM
La bohème Preview- Seattle Central Library12:00 PM
La Boheme Crown Donor Dinner5:00 PM
La Bohème Preview- Everett2:00 PM
La Bohème Family Fun Workshop10:00 AM
Happy Hour with BRAVO!6:00 PM
Pre-Performance Talk6:00 PM
BRAVO! Night7:30 PM
La Bohème7:30 PM
Post-Performance Q&A11:00 PM
Pre-Performance Talk12:30 PM
La Bohème2:00 PM
Post-Performance Q&A5:30 PM
Seattle Opera proudly announces a trilogy of operas created especially for our youngest opera goers and their families. Sung in English, the Our Eath trilogy explores stories of a Pacific Northwest river including marine life, freshwater ecosystems and forests.
In the first opera, Heron and the Salmon Girl, the salmon fail to return to the sea one spring. Animals such as Orca, Heron, Turtle and a grumpy fisherman embark on a journey upriver to find the missing fish. This performance features the Seattle Youth Symphony and Seattle Opera soloists and Youth Chorus, conducted by Stephen Rogers Radcliffe. The program also includes Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll" and Wesendonck Lieder, sung by former Seattle Opera Young Artist Adina Aaron.
Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue
Tickets: $10 Ages 5 - 18 and Seniors, $20 Adults, Free for 4 and Under
Puccini's unmatched gift for melody adds remarkable poignancy to the simple joys and heartbreaking sorrows of a group of
young Parisians in this universally popular classic – a smash hit for over a century. Charming camaraderie and sincere emotional truth make these characters among the most appealing in opera. Their surging passions and pathos, masterfully conveyed by a tune-filled romantic score, make La Bohème easy to love – and impossible to forget.
Receive all the latest news from Seattle Opera plus special offers too.
Check out and become a fan of Seattle Opera now on Facebook!
Save up to 50% on tickets and have fun with people your age.
La Bohème: Marcus DeLoach (Schaunard), Ashraf Sewailam (Colline), Gun-Brit Barkmin (Mimì), Scott Piper (Rodolfo), and Michael Todd Simpson (Marcello)
© Rozarii Lynch
Performances at: McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Administrative Offices & Mailing Address: 1020 John Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Copyright ©2015 Seattle Opera. All rights reserved.


text:
Fairmont is a leader in the global hospitality industry, with a distinctive collection and a worldwide reputation for excellence. Hotels under the Fairmont banner offer guests an extraordinary place that is created by combining unique architecture and structure, expressive decor and artistry, and magnificent features all in one great location. Add great service to this and the result is an extraordinary experience that would make your memory of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts a long and lasting one.
JetPrivilege members will earn 500 JPMiles per Qualifying Stay.
Applicable at all Fairmont Hotels & Resorts worldwide.
To earn JPMiles please quote your JetPrivilege membership number at the time of reservation and present your valid membership card at the time of check-in.
Qualifying Stay is a stay for which members have paid Eligible Rate. Eligible Rate for which members will earn JPMiles for their stay are all room rates with the exception of: Special rates given to tour groups, incentives and conferences; rooms booked through the hotel company's own employee travel program; inter-company or partner employee discount rates; travel agent industry rates; airline employee rates; special promotion rates; free or barter room nights; stays in connection with frequent traveller awards or gift vouchers; long-stay rates; charges billed to a master account.
At the time of reservations or check-in, please confirm with the hotel if the room rate being availed by you qualifies to earn JPMiles. Jet Airways will not be responsible for credit of JPMiles on non-qualifying stays / rates.
JPMiles will be credited to only one JetPrivilege member if both occupants in a room are Members.
JetPrivilege programme terms and conditions apply.
In case of haven't received your JPMiles for a qualifying stay, please send a query to email@example.com.
Back to JetPrivilege Partners
© Jet Airways (India) Ltd.


text:
In high-performing schools, administrators, teachers, students, and parents share and commit to clearly articulated and understood common goals based on the fundamental belief that all students can learn and improve their performance. There is clear evidence of school practices to support this belief.
Each year, Connecticut's families enroll excited children in early childhood programs to embark on a wonderful learning opportunity. Recent compelling research about how preschoolers learn has helped educators recognize the influence of quality instruction on children's development. The State Department of Education has created this Guide to Early Childhood Program Development to help stimulate this dynamic and essential experience for children.
To improve practice by: engaging in shared inquiry and learning with people who have a common goal, and implementing that learning. (external website)
Many schools with a Clear and Common Focus make their goals and progress transparent to the community through the display of data walls and data graphs. Whether they are hand-drawn or computer-generated, these data displays show students, parents, teachers, and other community members the students' progress toward greater achievement.
To see examples of data graphs, click on the link below:
For more information about how to create your own data walls, read the article located at this link:
Report on the Imperative for Professional Development in Education
In this publication, released by the Albert Shanker Institute in conjunction with a professional development forum cosponsored with Achieve, Inc. (see below), Harvard professor Richard Elmore argues that education reforms that are based on standards and accountability will fail unless policymakers also adopt a strategy to ensure that educators have the knowledge and skill they need to help students succeed. The bottom line, says Elmore, is not in issues of governance and process, but in how the quality of instructional practice affects student learning.
Promising Practices in CT Schools
Public schools and schools systems, as they are presently constituted, are simply not led in ways that enable them to respond to the increasing demands they face under standardsbased reform. Further, if schools, school systems, and their leaders respond to standards based reforms the way they have responded to other attempts at broad scale reform of public education over the past century, they will fail massively and visibly, with an attendant loss of public confidence and serious consequences for public education. The way out of this problem is through the large scale improvement of instruction, something public education has been unable to do to date, but which is possible with dramatic changes in the way public schools define and practice leadership.
This Best Practice Model for School Leader Evaluation and Professional Development is designed to use multiple sources of data systematically collected by teachers and administrators, through the process of teacher evaluation and professional development. The school leader, in turn, analyzes this information and uses it as the basis of his/her own evaluation and professional development.
Three key elements of effective professional development programs are described; these elements capture the characteristics of these programs that are critical for sustaining improvement. First, professional development programs that contribute to sustained improvement are relevant to ongoing improvement initiatives. Second, they are long term and integrated into daily practice. Finally, they provide teachers with targeted, timely feedback about their use of the knowledge and skills acquired through professional development.
Although the exact nature of data collection, analysis, and use may vary from school to school, the key elements of an effective data program include (1) purposeful data collection and analysis; (2) designated resources and other supports, such as time and an appropriate data management system; and (3) strategies for communicating about the process of data collection and use as well as the findings. Each of these elements is discussed in the sections that follow.
This article presents suggestions about creating staff development time in schools. The author describes three ways a school district in Marietta, GA creatively found time for their staff development, then also presents issues and suggestions offered by consultants who have worked with school systems on this issue. School administrators and teachers can use this article as a way to start discussions on finding staff development time in their schools.
High-performing schools show evidence that each teacher believes "all students can learn and I can teach them." Staff members are dedicated to helping every student achieve challenging state and local standards. All students are engaged in an appropriately ambitious and rigorous course of study in which the high standards of performance are clear and consistent and the conditions for learning are modified and differentiated. This results in all students being prepared for success in the workplace, postsecondary education, and civic responsibilities.
This multimedia presentation is designed to provide a tool and a process for helping Connecticut educators develop standards-based IEPs.
It is presented in three parts:
If you're having difficulty viewing the presentations, you'll need the most recent version of Adobe's Flash Player installed in your browser, and a broadband Internet connection.
Directions for the Tutorials
This presentation provides instruction on a tool that promotes the design of standards-based IEP goals and objectives. This presentation can be used for individual, small group, or full staff professional development. The training is broken up into three separate parts that are sectioned into components intended to be used sequentially. Each module contains hands-on opportunities to apply the skills taught in the presentation. The three parts can be viewed in either a single sitting or over several sittings. If you choose to view them in a single sitting, the total recommended time for viewing the presentations and the completion of the hands-on activities is 3 hours. If you choose to view them in more than one sitting, it is recommended that you plan to complete at least one part in its entirety within a sitting. It is also recommended that each sitting occurs reasonably close in time to maintain the flow and continuity of the learning. E.g., Part 1 is viewed on Monday; parts 2 and 3 are viewed on Tuesday. Listed below are the recommended times for each part.
Part 1: 1 ½ hours
Part 2: ½ hour
Part 3: 1 hour
Before Using This Tutorial:
Tips for Selecting a Case Study:
Suggestions for Group Use:
Using the content from the "Developing Standards-based IEP" modules (see above), this hands-on demonstration covered how to access the word bank module and establish professional learning communities aimed at aligning IEPs to the CT Core Standards.
Bill Bannish & Stephen Proffitt, Educational Consultants, SERC
The Connecticut Preschool Assessment Framework is a curriculum-embedded tool for assessing 3- and 4-year-old children in their preschool classrooms. It was developed as a companion to the Connecticut Preschool Curriculum Framework (1999) and articulates comprehensive performance standards or learning outcomes. These curriculum and assessment frameworks provide a system for using standards in both planning curricula and assessing children's progress. They enable teachers to plan and implement a curriculum that addresses specific learning standards and to observe and assess children's progress in achieving these standards. This system focuses curriculum planning on standards, or learning outcomes, rather than primarily on activities.
Connecticut's Preschool Curriculum Framework was developed by the State Department of Education Bureau of Early Childhood Education and Social Services, with the assistance of the EASTCONN regional educational service center. This document incorporates information and perspectives from a wide array of resources.
Ruth D. Kirsch, Ph.D., LCSW
Children arrive at school with different "standard equipment": abilities, skills, needs, and readiness to learn. For example, some students have few opportunities to develop the early skills that support reading success. An accompanying ISSS Brief, Vocabulary Instruction Through Stories and Expansion, explores some innovative approaches to help develop those skills. But student success is not limited to reading and math. In order to be successful in life, children must also develop healthy personal skills, both interpersonal ("plays well with others") and intrapersonal -- those skills that are necessary to deal with adversity and promote emotional health. This Brief addresses the latter category: students' ability to respond to life stressors, generally labeled coping or resiliency skills.
These skills start to develop early in life as an interaction of the infant's temperament and the responsiveness of his or her environment, most especially the development of a secure, trusting attachment to a caregiver. Resiliency skills continue to develop and to be refined throughout one's lifetime; they can be learned at any age. Often, resiliency is thought of as a "protective factor" since it tends to counteract, or mitigate against, "risk factors" such as biological compromises, development delays, emotional difficulties, poverty, and family circumstances. Resiliency is defined as the ability to maintain personal competency despite encountering adverse situations, misfortune, or stressful events. From a child's perspective, resiliency might be described as:
Essential resiliency skills also serve to protect against a variety of adverse life outcomes: acting-out behavior (eg., bullying), substance abuse, sexual promiscuity and accompanying sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and suicide. To accomplish prevention, research recommends developing skills in self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (Greenberg et al., 2001). Furthermore, research suggests that prevention is best accomplished through comprehensive programs designed to teach all of the skills, rather a program targeting one adverse outcome such as substance abuse.
Schools are an excellent place to foster healthy development in youngsters whether teaching the "Three Rs" or AP chemistry. Each adult can support resiliency development by
Viewing students' strengths and teaching appropriate behavior skills is an essential component of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS). To learn more about SERC's PBS Initiative, click here.
Direct instruction in resiliency skills can be accomplished through comprehensive, universal social-emotional learning curricula. A recently published document, Safe and Sound, provides a listing of research-based programs. Written from a "consumer's perspective," the publication provides a wealth of information about the components of each program and their efficacy. To download a copy of the document, click here: www.casel.org. For additional information about resiliency and the benefits of comprehensive programming, visit http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu.
...that reflect and respect Race, culture, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, language, ability, and generational status.
Product Type
Courageous Conversations About Race by Glenn Singleton and Curtis Linton
Facilitator's Guide: Courageous Conversations on Race
Field Guide
This field guide is a companion to the book Courageous Conversations about Race by Singleton and Linton.
We Can't Teach What We Don't Know by Gary Howard
Gary Howard addresses the crucial relationship between educator and student and provides suggestions for personal reflection.
National Council for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt)
Resources for social justice materials and culturally responsive pedagogy.
The Free Child Project (501(c)3 Nonprofit):Social Justice Webpage
List and description of organizations with long-standing work in the area of Social Justice.
The following resources are available at the SERC Library and have been selected for their value in helping schools achieve High Standards and Expectations in their daily practice.
Available through the SERC Library
Gill, V. (2001). The eleven commandments of good teaching: Creating classrooms where teachers can teach and students can learn. 2nd Ed. CA: Corwin Press. (view in card catalog)
Scheidecker, D., & William, J. (1999). Bringing out the best in students: How legendary teachers motivate kids. CA: Corwin Press.(view in card catalog)
Krovetz, M (1999). Fostering resiliency: Expecting all students to use their minds and hearts well. CA: Corwin Press.(view in card catalog)
Lunenburg, F. (2000). High expectations.An action plan for implementing goals 2000. CA: Corwin Press. (view in card catalog)
This book offers a blueprint for helping schools and students achieve high standards. It provides school leaders with action strategies for beginning or revisiting their reform efforts. Discussion of specific strategies for school leaders is included. References are provided at the end of each chapter for additional readings.
Ladson – Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. CA: Jossey-Bass. (view in card catalog)
In this book, Ladson-Billings illustrates the inspiring influence of a select group of teachers who keep the dreams alive for African American students. Her portraits, interwoven with personal reflections, challenge readers to envision intellectually rigorous and culturally relevant classrooms that have the power to improve the lives of not just African American students but all children.
DVD & Facilitators guide
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (Writer/Producer) (2005). Breaking through barriers to achievement. Alexandria, VA: Author
This DVD and guide provide four programs to assist strengthening student achievement. Program 1, Understanding the Role of Resiliency explains the strong link between achievement and resiliency, Program 2, Building Resiliency in the Classroom, reveals the teaching strategies and classroom practices that boost achievement by fostering resiliency in students, and Program 3, Sustaining Resiliency in Students, explores the characteristics of resiliency in depth through the profiles of several resilient students. Two workshop formats with handouts and readings give you many options for presenting a compelling program to audiences throughout your school community. (view in card catalog)
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (Writer/Producer). (2006). Best practices in action: Using analogies to enhance background knowledge. Alexandria, VA: Author.
This 28 minute DVD is designed to be used in teacher inservices, meetings or workshops to demonstrate the use of analogies to build student background knowledge of academic subjects. This is a research-based instructional strategy. Teaching students to identity similarities and differences by creating analogies can help them apply this higher order thinking process as they study new information. A Texas Teacher of the Year demonstrates how she uses analogies in her diverse 3rd grade classroom as she introduces material in a social studies lesson. (view in card catalog)
Schools that function successfully as professional learning communities are able to readily acclimate and respond to new policies and other changes. In a professional learning community, teachers and administrators (1) share a vision focused on student learning, (2) share leadership and decision making, and (3) work and learn together as they continually examine instructional practices — all of which are supported by strong personal and professional relationships, time for collaboration, and good communication.
School leadership is focused on enhancing the skills, knowledge, and motivation of the people in the organization and creating a common culture of high expectations based on the use of skills and knowledge to improve the performance of all students. Leadership fosters a collaborative atmosphere between the school and the community while establishing positive systems to improve leadership, teaching, and student performance.
There is mounting evidence that Connecticut, as well as the nation, is facing a steady decline in the number of individuals interested in pursuing a career in educational administration. Such a decline could affect the future quality of Connecticut's school leadership and, ultimately, student achievement. In September 1999, the State Board of Education approved a set of general recommendations on this issue and proposed a state-level committee to develop more specific solutions.
Villani, S. (2002). Mentoring programs for new teachers: Models of induction and support. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
This book offers a number of ways in which schools can support and empower teachers by providing mentoring programs that help train and retain teachers.
Gabriel, J.G. (2005). How to thrive as a teacher. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
The author explores the responsibilities and rewards of teacher leadership, offering practical, positive advice on: identifying leadership qualities and building a team; enhancing communication and earning respect; overcoming obstacles and implementing change; energizing colleagues and strengthening morale; and improving student and teacher acheivement.
Covey, S. R. (Writer/Director). (n.d.) Beyond principle-centered leadership: Empowerment. Washington, DC: Quality Learning Services.
This video is based on the author's book First Things First and reports on standard practices of highly effective people and how they stay empowered within their organizations.
This Inventory is designed to provide a profile of educational leadership. It consists of 68 statements that describe performances contained within the CSDE Standards for School Leaders. The ELSI was originally designed to promote self-appraisal and reflection focused on the School Leader Standards and this version has been adapted for school leaders interested in collecting the perceptions of staff with regard to observable performances over the course of a year.
This Self Inventory is designed to provide a personal profile of educational leadership. It consists of 69 statements that describe performances contained within the CSDE Standards for School Leaders.
A monograph prepared for the Connecticut State Department of Education Division of Teaching and Learning Bureau of Research and Teacher Assessment.
PreambleSubsection (a)
This Code of Professional Responsibility for School Administrators reaffirms and codifies the principles and standards that have guided the school administrator profession over the years. The principles set forth in this code are intended to guide the conduct and assist in the appraisal of conduct for the members of the profession and the public they serve.
In high-performing schools, supportive learning environments provide positive personalized relationships for all students while engaging them in rigorous and relevant learning.
This interactive learning module, prepared by SERC consultant Smita Worah, Ph.D., discusses communication and the basics of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
Please follow the links below to view H1N1 resources.
Memo for CSDE: School Nurses Identified as H1N1 Vaccine Priority Group
Memo from CSDE: Surgical Mask Distribution to School Districts
CSDE: Reminders and Updates on H1N1 Influenza Guidance for Schools
CSDE: Guidance on Flexibility and Waivers for SEAs, LEAs, Postsecondary Institutions, and Other Grantee and Program Participants in Responding to Pandemic Influenza (H1N1 Virus)
2009 H1N1 Flu: Symptoms & Basic Steps
2009 H1N1 Flu: 10 Ways You Can Stay Healthy at Work
2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine - Live, Attenuated (the nasal spray vaccine)
2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine - Inactivated (the "flu shot")
Mark McQuillan, Commissioner of Education, discusses Connecticut's Framework for SRBI.
Connecticut's Framework for SRBI from CT SERC on Vimeo.
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Throughout 2008-2009, the State Department of Education, in collaboration with SERC, has presented a series of forums focusing on building the capacity of districts to implement Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI) that are aligned with Connecticut's Framework for RtI. Forums have included an address by both a national expert who delved into one specific aspect of implementing SRBI and CT educators who described the practicalities of implementation in their school/district.
Presentation Title:
George M. Batsche, Ph.D., University of South FloridaBuilding Capacity for the Implementation of SRBI
View accompanying PowerPoint presentation while you watch the video.
Michael Coyne, Ph.D., University of ConnecticutThe Role of Special Education in an RtI Model
Jack Fletcher, Ph.D., University of HoustonWhy SRBI? Enhancing Outcomes for All Students
Matthew K. Burns, Ph.D., University of MinnesotaProblem Solving and RtI: It All Begins in Tier I
Jo Gusman, the founder of New Horizons in Education, Inc., is a former teacher and nationally-known presenter who specializes in the area of English language learners. She offered a workshop through SERC on October 29, 2008.
Throughout 2008-2009, the State Department of Education, in collaboration with SERC, has presented a series of forums focusing on building the capacity of districts to implement Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI) that are aligned with Connecticut's Framework for RtI. Forums have included an address by both a national expert who delved into one specific aspect of implementing SRBI and CT educators who described the practicalities of implementation in their school/district.
Craig A. Albers, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, MadisonMonitoring Student Progress and Fidelity of Implementation
Connecticut Blooms with Cultural and Linguistic Richness
Students in Connecticut schools speak a diverse array of languages, from Akan and Algonquian to Zande and Zurate. During the 2007-2008 school year, a total of 161 dominant languages were spoken by Connecticut's public school students in grades K-12. One in seven students had a dominant language other than English (72,417 students in Connecticut's schools). Of those students, 41.3% were assessed as English Language Learners (28,879 students). For detailed information regarding dominant languages in Connecticut public schools, English Language Learners in Connecticut, identification and services, and the performance of English Language Learners and former English Language Learners, please read the Connecticut Department of Education's July 2008 Data Bulletin on English Language Learners in CT. [Document available below.]
Of particular note in the CSDE Data Bulletin on ELLs in CT (July 2008) are the performance levels of former English Language Learners as compared to the native English-speaking (non-ELL) students in the same grades. The data indicate that in the 2007-2008 school year, former ELLs (i.e., those students who have exited from ELL status by achieving linguistic proficiency on the designated state test – the LAS Links – and academic proficiency by achieving all grade-level performance standards on all subtests of the CMT) performed "as well or even better than non-ELL students, particularly on the writing section" of the CMT (CSDE Data Bulletin on ELLs, July 2008, page 7).
Connecticut State Department of EducationDivision of Assessment and AccountabilityBureau of Data Collection, Research and EvaluationDATA BULLETIN - July 2008
Using Scientific Research-Based Interventions: Improving Education for All Students
Teachers, administrators, and families want all children to succeed. There are many ways to get children who are struggling to learn the additional help they need to be successful. One way is with the use of "scientific research-based interventions" (SRBI).
This booklet reviews what SRBI are and includes questions you might want to ask your child's school or program to learn more about how they are using SRBI as a framework to improve teaching and learning. Also included here are ways families can be a part of the decision-making process and what to do when you have concerns about your child's progress.
Download the Family Guide to RTI (pdf, 494kb)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/Prosaf.pdf (PDF)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/DEPS/Special/Prosaf_fullversion.pdf (Full Version)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/DEPS/Special/ProsafSpan.pdf (Spanish)
Federal laws have issued clear expectations for schools regarding their obligations to educate diverse groups of students well. This legislation includes the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). NCLB aims to ensure the academic growth and achievement of all students regardless of their race, ethnicity, fluency in English, disability, or socioeconomic status. IDEA 2004 continues the federal mandate, in effect since 1975, for schools to provide all children with disabilities a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE), and also contains some important revisions with clear implications for general as well as special education. These revisions encourage the implementation of research-based interventions that facilitate success in the general education setting for a broad range of students. In particular, school districts are allowed to use a process known as Response to Intervention (RTI)as part of identification procedures for learning disabilities, by far the largest category under which K-12 students in special education are served, roughly half of all special education students nationwide (see www.ideadata.org).
RTI models grew out of research suggesting that traditional approaches to identifying learning disabilities are seriously flawed and that students sometimes end up in the special education system not due to genuine disabilities, but other factors, such as inadequate general education practices and limited opportunities for extra help for struggling students (e.g., Fletcher et al., 1994; Lyon, 1996; Spear-Swerling and Sternberg, 1996), including those students acquiring English. RTI involves providing scientific, research-based instruction and intervention matched to student needs, with important educational decisions based on students' levels of performance and learning rates over time. Rather than limiting the provision of instructional and social/behavioral supports for those students classified under a particular label or program, supports are provided to all students, based on individual needs.
The basic principles underlying RTI hold considerable promise for helping Connecticut schools to improve education for all students and address the large disparities in performance within the state. These basic principles have been embraced by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) for a number of years, as well as supported by state legislation and policy. Furthermore, numerous ongoing projects and initiatives in Connecticut, such as those involving collaborations among researchers, teacher educators and public schools, provide a strong foundation for the implementation of RTI.
Donna D. Merritt, Ph.D., CCC
School nurses, particularly those in elementary schools, may have the broadest perspective of the students in their building, as they can observe children grow and communicate in various settings over multiple years. Their experience with typical development is a valuable reference point for appraising speech and language skills in children with disabilities as well as those presenting indications of being at risk. As school nurses have frequent contact with teachers, other student support services professionals, and families, they can be instrumental in sharing information about speech and language concerns. Their perspective and input can be influential in preventing speech and language problems, intervening early, or facilitating referral for a speech and language evaluation if needed.
During hearing, vision, and scoliosis screenings, school nurses have occasions, albeit brief, to engage in conversation. Sick visits to the nurse often result in more extended interactions. Although these situations may not reliably reflect a child's day-to-day speech and language skills, they can yield useful information. Explaining physical symptoms or describing a playground accident are demanding communicative contexts for children, as they must be able to convey both the past and the present, what they have experienced, and what they are currently feeling, through words, gestures, or facial expressions.
A checklist of typical speech and language milestones for school-age children in preschool through grade 6 has been developed especially for school nurses as part of SERC's professional development training, The Nursing Component of the IEP.
Click here for a printable version of Typical Speech and Language Development for School-Age Children: A Checklist for School Nurses (Portable Document Format (.pdf), 138kb)
A note of caution for school nurses using the checklist …
Autism Society of America www.autism-society.org
This site provides general information on autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including diagnostic information, treatment options, and dealing with challenging behaviors. News, that includes current research, events, and conferences, is available. Access to local chapters of the Autism Society is provided also.
The CT Autism Spectrum Resource Center www.ct-asrc.org
Recent information pertaining to research, legislative updates, and resources on autism spectrum disorders is available on this site. This site also contains conference and advocacy information.
Connecticut Families for Effective Autism Treatment (CT FEAT) www.ctfeat.org
Visit this site for information on diagnosis and treatment interventions of autism spectrum disorders. Families are provided with networking opportunities and resource information through recommended readings, discussions of legal issues, conference updates, parent support meetings, and advocacy.
The Yale Child Study Center Developmental Disabilities Clinic and Research www.autism.fm
This site contains clinical information on autism spectrum disorders associated with the work of Ami Klin, Ph.D., and Fred Volkmar, Ph.D. Information on current research studies, PDD resources, and conference updates may be found.
This guidance document has been written to assist school districts in implementing Section 10-233c of the Connecticut General Statutes. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2009, however it requires that I issue guidelines by October 1, 2008, to aid districts in making the determination about whether suspensions should be in-school or out-of-school. By providing this information now, school boards and building administrators will have time to prepare for and adjust to the changes required by the law and to reassess the effectiveness of their current suspension policies.
The authors examine black, white, and Hispanic children's differing experiences in early childhood care and education and explore links between these experiences and racial and ethnic gaps in school readiness.
This NJCLD paper addresses critical issues related to the literacy needs of adolescents with LD and advocates for effective reading and writing instruction for these students. To improve adolescent literacy, key areas requiring attention include, but are not limited to, the following:
Ruth D. Kirsch, Ph.D., LCSW
In any space where teachers congregate, a frequent topic of discussion is the distracting behavior of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Typically the statement "If he would only sit still!" elicits compassion and war stories about similar students. No one challenges the statement, or even inquires about what might happen if Johnny did sit still. What would happen?
In high-performing schools, parents and community members help develop, understand, and support a clear and common focus on core academic, social, and personal goals contributing to improved student performance and have a meaningful and authentic role in achieving these goals. The school community works together to actively solve problems and create win-win solutions. Mentoring and outreach programs provide for two-way learning between students and community/business members.
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/StudentGuideIdea03.pdf (PDF)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/StudentGuideIDEA03Span.pdf (Spanish)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/Parents_Guide_SE.pdf (PDF)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/DEPS/Special/Parents_Guide_SE_Span.pdf (Spanish)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/Resources_Families.pdf (PDF)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/DEPS/Special/Resources_Families_Span.pdf (Spanish)
Greater Expectations: Connecticut's Comprehensive Plan for Education 2001-2005http://www.state.ct.us/sde/whatsnew/greater_expectations.pdfThis comprehensive plan addresses one part of the State Board of Education's statutory requirement to provide leadership to school districts with respect to preschool, elementary and secondary education, special education, vocational education and adult education by developing a comprehensive plan every 5 years.
Connecticut's Blueprint for Reading Achievementhttp://www.state.ct.us/sde/dtl/curriculum/currcbra.htmThis is the report of the Early Reading Success Panel, published by the CT State Department of Education in 2000. It contains a general overview of basic research finding about reading and specifies the competencies required for reading success for children in kindergarten through grade 3.
Early Literacy Development: A Focus on Preschool http://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/early/literacy.pdfThis CT State Department of Education concept paper examines what literacy is, how to promote literacy with preschoolers and how to assess literacy development.
Connecticut's Preschool Curriculum Framework and Benchmarks for Children in Preschool Programs http://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/early/Frmwrkbench.pdfThis State Department of Education, Bureau of Early Childhood Education and Social Services document outlines content standards and performance indicators in the areas of personal and social development, physical development, cognitive development and creative expression/aesthetic development
"Family Friendly" Services for Preschool Special Educationhttp://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/early/friendly.pdfThe purpose of this guide is to provide guiding principles, recommended practices and tools which school district preschool special education personnel can use to provide "family friendly" services.
Preschool Special Education Programhttp://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/early/pssed.pdfThis outline of the CT State Department of Education's Bureau of Early Childhood Education and Social Services program for preschoolers with special needs describes its purpose, philosophy, eligibility and legislative authority.
A Guide to Using the Position Statement on School-Family-Community Partnerships in Early Care and Education Programshttp://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/readiness/alerts/TA-SR-00-01guide.pdfThis document examines how to develop comprehensive school-family-community partnerships in preschool settings. It looks at six partnership standards and offers sample activities.
Position Statement on School-Family-Community Partnershipshttp://www.state.ct.us/sde/board/partnerships.pdfThis CT State Board of Education Position Statement encourages schools to develop comprehensive school-family-community partnerships by developing programs related to six standards.
CT State Board of Education – Position Statement on Preschool Services and Programshttp://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/early/PreschoolPositionStatement.pdfThis State Board of Education position statement outlines the qualities of preschool programs and activities which will maximize the development of preschoolers.
Accreditation Facilitation Project (AFP) http://www.ctcharts-a-course.org/accreditationf.htm
Commission On Children http://www.cga.state.ct.us/coc
CT Department of Public Health Child Day Care Licensing Program http://www.dph.state.ct.us/BRS/Day_Care/day_care.htm
CT Voices for Children Website http://www.ctkidslink.org
CT-Charts-A-Course http://www.ctcharts-a-course.org
DSS Child Care Team http://www.dss.state.ct.us/ccare/ccare.htm
Hartford Area Child Care Collaborative http://www.hartnet.org/haccc/
Hartford Association for the Education of Young Children http://www.haeyc.org
Dialogue on Early Childhood Science, Mathematics and Technology Educationhttp://www.project2061.org/tools/earlychild
The authors describe various parenting behaviors, such as nurturance, discipline, teaching, and language use, and explain how researchers measure them. They note racial and ethnic variations in several behaviors. Most striking are differences in language use. Black and Hispanic mothers talk less with their young children than do white mothers and are less likely to read to them daily. They also note some differences in harshness.
A major concern for parents as well as teachers is how to help children who experience difficulty in school. All parents want to see their child excel, and it can be very frustrating when a child falls behind in either learning to read, achieving as expected in math and other subjects, or in getting along socially with peers and teachers. Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-step approach to providing services and interventions to struggling learners at increasing levels of intensity. RTI allows for early intervention by providing academic and behavioral supports rather than waiting for a child to fail before offering help.
Some new federal laws have directed schools to focus more on helping all children learn by addressing problems earlier, before the child is so far behind that a referral to special education services is warranted. These laws include the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Both laws underscore the importance of providing high quality, scientifically-based instruction and interventions, and hold schools accountable for the progress of all students in terms of meeting state grade level standards. RTI is a process designed to help schools focus on these high quality interventions while carefully monitoring student progress. The information gained from an RTI process is used by school personnel and parents to inform instruction and to determine the educational needs of the child.
In this article, you will learn to create paper trails by documenting contacts with the school — conversations, meetings, and other events.
You can use low-tech tools — logs, journals, and calendars. You saw how to use a contact log to document telephone conversations and meetings.
You will think about the powerful decision-making Stranger when you write descriptions of events, concerns, and problems.
In high-performing schools, teaching and learning are continually adjusted on the basis of data collected through a variety of valid and reliable methods that indicate student progress and needs. The assessment results are interpreted and applied appropriately to improve individual student performance and the instructional program.
The purpose of the Educational Benefit Review Process is to provide a structured reflective process to assess the whether an IEP is reasonably calculated to provide educational benefit. This process assists educators and families in examining the characteristics of IEPs that increase student access to, participation in, and progress in general education by providing an appropriate education. The purpose of the Educational Benefit Review Process is to determine whether the design of the IEP was reasonably calculated for the student to receive educational benefit.
This document provides a background into the development of the Educational Benefit Review Process, as well as an overview of the process itself and a bibliography of resources.
It appears your Web browser is not configured to display PDF files. click here to download the PDF file.
Webinar regarding Evaluation Timelines Data Submission for Indicator 11 presented on June 12, 2009 by Dr. Jacqueline Kelleher, Consultant, CSDE.
Evaluation Timelines Data Submission from CT SERC on Vimeo.
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Special/Complaints.pdf (PDF)
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/word_docs/DEPS/Special/Complaints.doc (WORD)
NEW TOOL: You can easily create your own graphs of student performance on academic and behavior objectives to demonstrate the progress that has been made!
Download the Monitoring Template (hint: right-click the link, choose "Save Target As..." from the menu. 31kb, Requires Microsoft Excel).
Academic and Personal Success for Every Middle and High School Student
Reform of Connecticut's high schools was first identified as a major policy objective in 2001 when Associate Commissioner Sternberg wrote a concept paper describing how high schools might reorganize their practices to engage a new generation of adolescents. The effect of this paper, coupled with additional research and concerns over No Child Left Behind, resulted in the Department sponsoring a statewide conference on high school reform in 2005. This conference launched the work of The Connecticut High School Advisory Committee which developed a "Framework for Connecticut's High Schools: A Working Guide for High School Redesign." Shortly thereafter, the State Board of Education made high school reform Priority 3 of its 2006 five-year comprehensive plan, "A Superior Education for 21st Century Learners."
Federal laws have issued clear expectations for schools regarding their obligations to educate diverse groups of students well. This legislation includes the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). NCLB aims to ensure the academic growth and achievement of all students regardless of their race, ethnicity, fluency in English, disability or socioeconomic status. IDEA 2004 continues the federal mandate, in effect since 1975, for schools to provide all children with disabilities a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE), and also contains some important revisions with clear implications for general as well as special education. These revisions encourage the implementation of research-based interventions that facilitate success in the general education setting for a broad range of students. In particular, school districts are allowed to use a process known as Response to Intervention (RTI) as part of identification procedures for learning disabilities, by far the largest category under which K-12 students in special education are served, roughly half of all special education students nationwide (see www.ideadata.org).
RTI models grew out of research suggesting that traditional approaches to identifying learning disabilities are seriously flawed and that students sometimes end up in the special education system not due to genuine disabilities, but other factors, such as inadequate general education practices and limited opportunities for extra help for struggling students (e.g., Fletcher et al., 1994; Lyon, 1996; Spear-Swerling and Sternberg, 1996), including those students acquiring English. RTI involves providing scientific, research-based instruction and intervention matched to student needs, with important educational decisions based on students' levels of performance and learning rates over time. Rather than limiting the provision of instructional and social/behavioral supports for those students classified under a particular label or program, supports are provided to allstudents, based on individual needs.
A template for these reports, prepared by Thelma Harms, Ph.D., is available here in two formats:
Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition : The Stamford Binet is one of the oldest cognitive measures and is widely used because it taps a broad range of skills. The SB assesses mental abilities in four areas: Verbal reasoning, Abstract Visual Reasoning, Quantitative Comprehension and Short-term Memory. It is used for individuals from age to through adulthood. Publisher: Riverside Publishing Co.
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence, Revised: The WPPSI- R is a downward extension of the widely used Wechsler Scales for older children and adults. It can be difficult to administer to young children, and is used only for children between the ages of 3 and 7. Like the other Wechsler Scales, it yields verbal and performance scores. Publisher: Psychological Corporation
Differential Abilities Scale: The DAS measures conceptual and reasoning abilities in children aged 30 months to 17 years. It includes a preschool level and a school age level. This is a relatively new measure with good psychometric properties, which is used increasingly with preschool aged children. Publisher: Psychological Corporation
Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery: This is a battery of tests which includes cognitive and achievement measures for use with individuals from age 3 through adulthood. Only a portion of those are applicable to preschoolers. The cognitive portion of the battery likely underestimates cognitive ability, especially in children with language delays. The tests of achievement appear to be of greater use in measuring achievement. Publisher: DLM Teaching Resources
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children: The K-ABC has several subscales and can be used with children aged 30 months to 12 years, 5 months. The K-ABC does not include the verbal comprehension or reasoning items In the Mental Processing Composite. It also relies heavily on short term memory and attention skills. It samples a limited set of skills in very young children, and it has a low ceiling. These and other limitations suggest that the K-ABC may not be the best choice for a primary instrument for assessing intellectual ability. Publisher: American Guidance Service
McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities: The McCarthy Scales can be administered to children aged 20 months to 8.5 yrs. They yield a general cognitive index, as well as five subscale scores. The tests are useful in their specification of strengths and weaknesses, and they are appealing to children, but the validity of some scores has been questioned. The norms are also out dated. Publisher: Psychological Corporation
Merrill-Palmer Scale of Mental Tests: This is an old test which measures primarily non-verbal skills in children aged 18 months to four years. It has non-verbal items not found elsewhere, and is attractive to children. It is occasionally used for those reasons despite the fact that its norms are outdated and result in inflated scores. There is an extended version of the Merrill-Palmer, which includes some of the items from the original scale, and may be of limited use. It lacks adequate psychometric properties at present. Publisher: Stoeltling Co.
Leiter International Performance Scale- Revised: This is a revision of a non-verbal intelligence scale, originally developed for use with deaf children. The current model can be used with children aged 2 to 20 years, but is used infrequently because it is difficult to administer, score and interpret. Publisher: Stoeltling Co.
Bayley Scales of Infant Development II: The BSID II is designed to identify cognitive delays in children aged 1 month to 42 months. It yields a Mental Development Index, and a Motor Development Index. It is the most widely used and well respected, norm referenced measure of development for very young children. Publisher: Psychological Corporation.
Battelle Developmental Inventory: The Battelle evaluates the development of children from infancy to primary levels. It assesses developmental skills in five areas: Personal-Social, Adaptive, Motor, Communication and Cognition. Information is obtained from a combination of structured interaction, observation and caregiver report. Publisher: DLM Teaching Resources
Mullen Scales of Early Learning: The Mullen measures learning abilities and learning patterns in children aged 1 to 69 months. It is used to identify learning disabilities, mental retardation and learning styles. The Mullen provides scores in four areas: Visual Receptive Organization, Visual Expressive Organization, Language Receptive Organization and Language Expressive Organization. Publisher: T.O.T.A.L. Child.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: This is a series of scales based upon parental report which provide an estimate of adaptive functioning in the areas of Socialization, Communication, Daily Living Skills and Motor Skills. It can be used with individuals from birth through adulthood, and is the most widely used of the adaptive behavior measures. Publisher: American Guidance Service
Scales of Independent Behavior: This scale assesses skills in areas similar to those used on the Vineland. It can be used for individuals from birth through adulthood. Although less research has been done with this tool, it appears to be suitable for use with preschool children. Publisher: DLM Teaching Resources
Behavior Assessment Scale for Children: The BASC system provides a comprehensive rating scale which yields scores on internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, learning problems and adaptive skills, as well as a behavior problems index. It includes rating forms for parents and teachers, a structured observation schedule and a guide for history taking. The scale is suitable for use with children aged 2 through 18. Publisher: Psychological Corporation
The Child Behavior Checklist: The CBCL is a rating scale completed by parents or teachers. There is one form for children aged 2-3 and a separate form for children four and older. The scale yields scores on internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Publisher: University of Vermont
Adapted from Sattler (1992); Bracken, (2000) & Culbertson & Willis, (1993)
Bagnato, Stephen, Neisworth, John, & Munson, Susan. 1997. Linking Assessment and Early Intervention: An authentic curriculum based approach. Baltimore: BrookesBracken, Bruce. 2000. The Psychoeducational Assessment of Preschool Children, 3rd Ed. Needham Hgts., MA: Allyn & Bacon.Culbertson, Jan & Willis, Diane. (Eds.). (1993). Testing Young Children: A reference guide for developmental, psychoeducational, and psychosocial assessments. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Devereaux Foundation, Lebuffe, P.A., Naglieri, J.A., Korelak, D. & Vacca, M.M. (1999). Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment Program: Enhancing Social and Emotional Development. Lewisville, NC: Kaplan Press. Gredler, G.R. (2000). Early childhood education - assessment and intervention: What the future holds. Psychology in the Schools, 37, 73-79.Gridley, B.E., Mucha, L., & Hatfield, B.B. (1995). Preschool screening. In A Thomas & T. Grimes (Eds.) Best practices in school psychology. Washington, D.C.: National Association of School Psychologists. Lerner, J.W., Lowenthal, B & Egan, R. (1998). Preschool Children with Special Needs. Boston: Allyn & BaconLinder, T.W. (1993). Transdisciplinary Play-based Assessment: A functional approach to working with young children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.McConnell, S., Priest, J. Davis, S. & McEvoy, M. (2000). Best Practices in Measuring growth and Development in Preschool Children. www.nasponline.org/pdfMcLean, M., Bailey, D.B. & Wollery, M. (Eds.). (1996). Assessing Infants and Preschoolers with Special Needs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Meisels, Samuel & Fenichel, Emily. (Eds.). (1996). New Visions for the Developmental Assessment of Infants and Young Children. Washington, D.C.: ZERO TO THREE.Sattler, J. (1992). Assessment of Children, 3rd Edition. San Diego: Jerome Sattler.Spodek, Bernard & Saracho, Olivia. (Eds.). (1997). Issues in Early Childhood Educational Assessment and Evaluation. NY: Teachers College Press.
Bagnato, Stephen, Neisworth, John, & Munson, Susan. 1997. Linking Assessment and Early Intervention: An authentic curriculum based approach. Baltimore: Brookes
Bracken, Bruce. 2000. The Psychoeducational Assessment of Preschool Children, 3rd Ed. Needham Hgts., MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Culbertson, Jan & Willis, Diane. (Eds.). (1993). Testing Young Children: A reference guide for developmental, psychoeducational, and psychosocial assessments. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Devereaux Foundation, Lebuffe, P.A., Naglieri, J.A., Korelak, D. & Vacca, M.M. (1999). Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment Program: Enhancing Social and Emotional Development. Lewisville, NC: Kaplan Press.
Gredler, G.R. (2000). Early childhood education - assessment and intervention: What the future holds. Psychology in the Schools, 37, 73-79.
Gridley, B.E., Mucha, L., & Hatfield, B.B. (1995). Preschool screening. In A Thomas & T. Grimes (Eds.) Best practices in school psychology. Washington, D.C.: National Association of School Psychologists.
Lerner, J.W., Lowenthal, B & Egan, R. (1998). Preschool Children with Special Needs. Boston: Allyn & Bacon
Linder, T.W. (1993). Transdisciplinary Play-based Assessment: A functional approach to working with young children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
McConnell, S., Priest, J. Davis, S. & McEvoy, M. (2000). Best Practices in Measuring growth and Development in Preschool Children. www.nasponline.org/pdf
McLean, M., Bailey, D.B. & Wollery, M. (Eds.). (1996). Assessing Infants and Preschoolers with Special Needs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Meisels, Samuel & Fenichel, Emily. (Eds.). (1996). New Visions for the Developmental Assessment of Infants and Young Children. Washington, D.C.: ZERO TO THREE.
Sattler, J. (1992). Assessment of Children, 3rd Edition. San Diego: Jerome Sattler.
Spodek, Bernard & Saracho, Olivia. (Eds.). (1997). Issues in Early Childhood Educational Assessment and Evaluation. NY: Teachers College Press.
High-performing schools have aligned curriculum with core learning expectations to improve the performance of all students. Students achieve high standards through rigorous, challenging learning. Staff delivers an aligned curriculum and implements research-based teaching and learning strategies. Students are actively involved in their learning through inquiry, in-depth learning, and performance assessments.
Presentation providing guidance for district and school administrators, reading coaches, and teachers at the elementary level in developing and implementing a 90 minute reading block. Though originally designed for delivery to reading coaches, this presentation may be helpful to all elementary educators implementing a reading block.
The Connecticut School Health Survey (CSHS) is comprised of two components: the Youth Tobacco Component (YTC), and the Youth Behavior Component (YBC). Some encouraging signs were seen in the 2007 survey year, including an increase in seatbelt use since 1997, a decrease in drinking and driving, and a decrease in use of inhalants to get high.
Follow the links below for more information.
CT School Health Survey Fact Sheet
2007 CT School Health Survey Report (Large PDF)
Connecticut Curriculum Development Guide
Connecticut Walkthrough Protocol Guide
Vocabulary proficiency has been documented to be a primary predictor in learning to read, and, subsequently, reading to learn in the content areas. As established by researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley in "Meaningful Differences in the Lives of …" (1995), administrators, general and special educators, and student support services professionals cannot assume that all children come to school having had sufficient opportunities listening to and experimenting with words.
Linking vocabulary instruction to stories using word origins is a viable teaching approach that is appealing to students at all grade levels. It is also effective, as typically developing and at-risk students, as well as those with identified special education needs, can rely on the narrative structure of the story to learn vocabulary. This process aids recall and use of words in meaningful contexts related to the curriculum.
Identify the origin of key curricular vocabulary. Dictionaries provide some of this information, but it is also accessible on the Web using a site such as www.wordorigins.org. See the examples below for some ideas. Initially present information about how the word originated or has changed over time. Then develop these ideas into a story appropriate for the students' grade, interests, and culture. Alternatively, students can develop their own original stories in oral, written, or dramatic forms, individually or in cooperative groups.
"Hocus-pocus" is known to modern day children as a phrase that produces magical results. "Hocus-Pocus" was actually the name of an early-17th century English juggler who captivated his audience by incorporating the word into his act.
The word "posh" dates back to the 1920s. This acronym for Port Out, Starboard Home was printed on the tickets of first-class ocean liner passengers traveling from England to India. The port side of the ship had the coolest cabins and best view on the way to India. The starboard cabins had the same advantage on the return voyage. From this word origin, "posh" came to mean elegant, luxurious, or fashionable.
"Deadline" originally had a literal meaning. During the Civil War, a line was drawn on the ground indicating the perimeter of makeshift prisoner-of-war camps. Prisoners who crossed the deadline met their demise. It was not until the 1920s that the meaning of "deadline" as a time limit became part of newspaper jargon.
"Sorts" were individual wooden letter tiles used in the 18th century to set type for announcements and newspapers. Typesetters were known to become irritable when they were "out of sorts." As the printing industry modernized and "sorts" became obsolete, the phrase continued its association with a bad disposition.
"Deadline" and "out of sorts" are Americanisms, but most American words, as well as those from other cultures (e.g., Spanish), originate from Latin, Greek, German, or Anglo-Saxon derivations. Teachers across all content areas can help children expand their vocabulary by:
"Sign" derives from the Latin word signum, meaning "mark." This serves as the root for words such as signal, signature, signify, significant, signet (an official mark on a document), and signatory (the person who signs an official document). Other derivations common to this word are sign up, sign off, and sign away. An understanding of this single root word has applications across the grades and several content area subjects.
As teachers introduce the essential vocabulary of a content unit or work of literature, they can expose students to many words simultaneously. This differentiates instruction and provides opportunities for students of various ability levels to access the curriculum. The approach also helps to demystify the English language, connect roots words across cultures and languages, and has the added benefit of improving the probability of spelling accuracy. It can be beneficial for all students, but has particular applicability for English Language Learners and those students with vocabulary weaknesses or gaps.
Be sure to also visit SERC's Integrated Student Support Services (ISSS) Initiative Web page for vocabulary instruction technology links.
Presented at ASHA, November, 2007 by Donna D. Merritt, Ph.D., CCC, SERC Consultant
Connecticut's Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists: Philosophy to Practice
Integrating Speech and Language Interventions in Kindergarten: Co-teaching Applications
Presented by Donna D. Merritt, Ph.D., SERC, Lisa Smith-Horn, and Deborah Beveridge, South Windsor Public Schools
An Example of the 90 Minute Reading Block
At a recent SERC workshop on co-teaching, teachers from districts across the state participated in a cooperative learning structure called Corners, developed by Kagan Publishing and Professional Development (1995). Corners is a quick and easy activity that helps participants see a variety of viewpoints, and helps them examine a topic in ways they might not previously have considered.
Marilyn Friend, Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Specialized Education Services University of North Carolina Greensboro
Recently on the news, a NASA official was being interviewed about the progress being made on the construction of the International Space Station, including the opportunities it will present and the problems being encountered. One of the most remarkable comments he made went something like this: "It's a lot more complicated than we realized working with 16 other nations on a project of this magnitude. It's going to take longer, cost more, and require a lot of patience on everybody's part, but eventually we will be successful." What the official did not say is equally enlightening:
The State Department of Education's Common Core of Teaching calls for teacher competence to, "employ a variety of instructional strategies that enable students to think critically, solve problems and demonstrate skills…"
In their book, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook identify "co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on collaboration." As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs of students with diverse learning options.
Donna D. Merritt, Ph.D. SERC consultant
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have long recognized the importance of reducing fragmentation of service by collaborating with families and teachers. Simply put, children, youth, and young adults make more substantial gains in their communication skills when programming efforts are coordinated and when they relate to the academic and social contexts of school and home. Within schools, co-teaching offers flexible approaches for SLPs to collaborate with team members, particularly general and special education teachers.
Ongoing professional development aligned with the school's common focus and high expectations to improve the performance of all students is critical in high-performing schools. These professional development offerings are focused and informed by research and school/classroom-based assessments. Appropriate instructional support and resources are provided to implement approaches and techniques learned through professional development.
The SERC Library has multiple resources pertaining to adult learning theory. Visit the Library today. Here are a couple of examples, chosen by SERC consultants.
Hayden, P., Frederick, L. & Smith, B.J. (2003). A road map for facilitating collaborative teams. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
This 166-page manual provides reasons and resources for creating collaborative teams to promote meaningful change in early childhood care and educational systems. Using a "journey" theme, this is a step-by-step guide for implementing a Collaborative Planning Project (CPP), a responsive and inclusive research-based model. Among the book's features: Strategies, activities, and reproducible forms that any interagency group or individual agency can use to create a CPP; instructions for adapting the CPP model; and resources for team facilitators.
Tate, M. (2004). "Sit & get" won't grow dendrites: 20 professional learning strategies that engage the adult brain. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
This staff development resource draws on the latest research in brain-based learning, differentiated instruction, multiple intelligences, and adult learning to provide strategies that not only motivate adult learners but also increase understanding and long-term retention. The author defines each strategy, explains its theoretical framework, provides multiple professional learning activities that staff developers can incorporate immediately, and includes a guided reflection and application section.
In designing effective professional development, we try not to relegate ourselves to the standard "Sit & Get" model of content delivery. The same dynamic teaching and learning theory that we hope to see empowering our classrooms should be used to inform our professional development. What follows is a list of many of the other models of professional development that have proven effective for adult learners in general, and educators in particular.
Effective professional development is an essential and indispensable process, without which schools and programs cannot hope to achieve their desired goals for student achievement.
High-performing schools are flexibly structured to maximize the use of time and accommodate the varied lives of their students, staff, and community in order to improve the performance of all students. The structure of programs extends beyond the traditional school day and year as well as beyond the school building. The program draws on the entire community's resources to foster student achievement.
Presentation providing guidance for district and school administrators, reading coaches, and teachers at the elementary level in developing and implementing a 90 minute reading block. Though originally designed for delivery to reading coaches, this presentation may be helpful to all elementary educators implementing a reading block.
The framework of PBS is a continuum of support from universal to individualized support. With universal school-wide management strategies in place, most students, 80-90%, function within the daily structure of school without major behavior concerns. Although some students require additional support, all students benefit from universal procedures and expectations that are clear and consistent and are efficiently used across all school settings, staff, and students.
Some students, 5-15%, are at risk for behavior concerns. In order to meet the behavioral needs of these students, targeted or specialized group-based interventions are integrated within the school environment in addition to the universal procedures.
There are also a few students, 1-7%, who exhibit chronic or severe behavior concerns that are unresponsive to universal and group based supports. These students need intense individualized support beyond the universal and specialized support levels.
When effective behavioral support is provided at all levels across school-wide, non-classroom, classroom, and individual student systems, comprehensive support is established while providing proactive procedures for preventing serious problem behaviors.
Click each level of the diagram above for an expanded description, or click: Universal Systems, Intervention Support, or Individualized Support.
It is the policy of the State Education Resource Center (SERC) that no person shall be discriminated against or excluded from participation in any SERC programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, age, marital or civil union status, national origin, ancestry, sex/gender, intellectual disability, physical disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Inquiries regarding SERC's nondiscrimination policies should be directed to Alfred P. Bruno, SERC Counsel at email@example.com


text:
Emmetsburg: In the fun spirit of the Hunger Games book series, we've created a special event just for you. We're calling all "Tributes" (girls) to join us in creating "Districts" to be represented in fun relay-style games. The "Gamemaker" (Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa), with the help of "Peacekeepers" (volunteers), have created a fun-filled day of challenges for you and your fellow tributes! Please bring a sack lunch and a drink. Snacks will be provided. Contact Office: Mason City
Girl Cost: $ 25
Adult Cost: $ 7
Max: 100 girls / 20 adults
Registration Close: 6/7/13


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