The theme for this year’s incarnation is “Making the Invisible Visible.” The spring 2010 SFF show follows screenings during the Virginia Film Festival in November of 2009. Learn more about the shows by visiting the Piedmont Regional Education Program and Parent Resource Center (PREP-PRC.ORG) and say “thanks” to the many sponsoring organizations, including Light House, The Virginia Institute for Autism, VSA Arts of Virginia, City of Charlottesville, the Piedmont Council of the Arts, and the Arc of the Piedmont.

SFF, which has a long and successful history of shows in New York City (some of which I’ve noted here previously and on LD Blog), will host its 8th annual event 30 April through 2 May at the Ruth And Herald D. Uris Center For Education of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Upon completion of the project, the grantee will receive $3,000 in compensation. Digital media and special education majors are encouraged to apply. Proposals are due March 26. Direct questions to Patricia Oholeguy at 202.536.3476 or poholeguy [at] rif [dot] org. Learn more about RIF. Download a copy of the RFP.

Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer

For more, including a complete copy of the statement and a list of the signatories, see “Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants.”

“We operate 24 hours a day for 365 days of the year,” Shirley O’Brien, the Senior Director at Camp Baker Services, reports. “The individuals who attend our programs range from 6-80 years of age and from mild intellectual delays to severe intellectual and physical delays. We are a fully barrier-free, modern facility on 22 acres.”

Most of the currently available jobs—counselors, lead counselors, head counselors, and activity leaders as well as program director and staff manager—are for the residential summer camp that, according to Dr. O’Brien, is attended by 320 individuals with disabilities. “Our summer programming includes wellness, swimming, sport and games, archery, arts and crafts, music and drama, horticulture, nature, camping, and cooking. Additionally, we have internship positions open for the Summer of 2010 that includes free room and board.”

Visit Camp Baker Services at the Richmond (VA, US) ARC.

Applications are being accepted for an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) sponsored 2-year special education postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Iowa.

The overall goal of the postdoctoral scholar is to provide the scholar with the knowledge and hands-on experiences needed to conduct rigorous educational research and develop competitive IES grant proposals.

The scholar will work with faculty from a variety of disciplines on a large scale, grant-funded, random control trial (RCT) of the Science Writing Heuristic. The RCT is being conducted in 48 schools and with over 6,000 students throughout the state of Iowa.

Annual salary of $50,000 plus benefits and a large travel and research budget are offered.
U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status required. Applicants from under-represented groups and from all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Potential candidates should have completed a PhD within the last 5 years in special education or a related field.

Required for application: letter of interest, CV, 3 letters of reference, and a writing sample. To apply for this position, visit our website at http://jobs.uiowa.edu/postdoc and choose requisition number 1378.

For more information please contact Dr. Bill Therrien at bill-therrien [at] uiowa [dot] edu or 319-3355606.

The University of Iowa is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Applications from women and minorities are strongly encouraged.

I have attended many school district budget meetings in which officials blurted to their audience, “We cannot pay for XYZ because of our financial responsibility toward children with special needs: to educate one special needs student can cost the district $100,000 a year.” I also hear about how the district has “an unfunded mandate to educate children with special needs, and how this results into an encroachment to the general fund.”

She then proceeds to provide a clear and powerful dismissal of the canard that special education’s costs harm others. Not only does she show how the costs argument leaks (at least with regard to the local education agencies in her geographic area of the US), but also she explains how beneficial special education has been to society as a whole over the past 35 years. Read it!

I think we’re approaching the end of special education. By analogy, we’re nearing the final scene of a stage play. Special education is, I think, very near its “curtains.” And we’re perilously close to being unable to rewrite the play while it’s in progress.

You may download a full copy of “Curtains for Special Education: An Open Letter to Educators.”

Gov. Jim Gibbons created a big stir last week when he asked the Legislature to overhaul K-12 education spending when he calls a special session, probably in February.

Since the state’s revenue has been lower than what was projected, the governor said education must absorb more cuts.

Then, he proceeded to outline an eight-point process.

While some of the ideas — on the surface — appear to have some merit, others do not.

Apparently among the cuts are reductions in special education funding which, as the editors note, would be difficult to achieve because some of the funding comes not from the state, but the US government.

Read the original editoria, “Education proposals create major stir.”

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Special Education

Assistant Professor, Tenure Track

The Department of Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services (SDPPS) in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is seeking candidates to join a dedicated and accomplished community of faculty, students, and staff as an Assistant Professor in Special Education. This is a full-time tenure track position beginning in September 2010.

The School is NCATE-accredited and offers a comprehensive program leading to Master’s and Doctoral degrees. We share a fundamental commitment to social justice and the pursuit of educational excellence. Located in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship campus of the Commonwealth’s university system and a leading center of public higher education in the Northeast.

The SDPPS Department offers four concentrations; Special Education, School Counseling Education, School Psychology, and Social Justice Education. The Special Education faculty possesses strengths in literacy, assessment, instruction, behavior management, and leadership.

The Special Education Concentration seeks a dedicated faculty member to work closely with the Department of Communication Disorders in the area of neuro-developmental disabilities with a desired focus on autism and other related neurologic disabilities. The candidate will possess strong research skills, a programmatic line of inquiry that has the potential of generating grant funded research, and will be expected to collaboratively engage in ongoing scholarship with a dedicated, energetic faculty. The successful applicant will also participate in already established, funded programs of research. In addition, we are seeking candidates with excellent teaching skills who will contribute broadly to our efforts to prepare Doctoral students and PreK-12 practitioners who will become PreK-12 school leaders and university faculty. The successful applicant will help to expand the School of Education’s and Department’s capacity to be of greater service to students with special needs and their families.

Responsibilities: The new faculty member will engage in ongoing research and seek external funding, teach courses in special education and area of expertise, and provide service to improve the delivery of special education services to children with disabilities and their families that will have far-reaching effects both nationally and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In addition, the successful applicant will advise and direct Master’s and Doctoral students specializing in special education and communication disorders.

Qualifications: Doctorate in Special Education or a closely related area; excellent potential or an already demonstrated ability to conduct externally funded scholarship, research and publication in the area of neuro-developmental disabilities with a particular focus on autism as well as other neurologic disabilities, (e.g., cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis), and a host of numerous other genetic, chromosomal and teratogenic syndromes associated with learning, communicative, and physical disabilities. This research would complement the ongoing research of the Special Education and Communication Disorders faculties. The candidate will also demonstrate evidence of high quality inquiry in special education; and the ability to become an outstanding teacher at the university level.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply. Send a curriculum vitae, letter of application, three letters of reference, transcripts, and samples of written work to:

Search Committee Chair, Special Education
c/o Jean Fleming
jeanf [at] educ.umass.edu
School of Education
126 Furcolo Hall
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003.

Review of candidates will begin January 19, 2010 and will continue until a qualified candidate is identified. Salary is commensurate with qualifications. Final appointment is contingent upon the availability of funds. * For more information regarding the School of Education and the SDPPS Department please visit our website at: http://www.umass.edu/education/ or you may reach us by telephone at 413-545-2231.

Women, minorities, and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

The School of Education is committed to developing a more diverse faculty, student body and curriculum.

The Council for Exceptional Children is seeking applications for the position of Assistant Executive Director for Professional Development Services. Here are some particulars about the position. See the link near the end of this post to download a copy of the announcement.

Position Title: Assistant Executive Director for Professional Development Services
Classification: Category 10 (Exempt) Starting Salary Range: $86,340 to $107,924.
Unit: Professional Development Services
Reports to: Executive Director
Selection Procedure: Evaluation of written application materials, relevant education, experience, and references. Personal/panel interview(s) of top-rated candidates.
Application Procedure: Each candidate must submit a current resume and cover letter to: Recruiter, Norma Marshall, preferably via Email to cecnm@att.net. (Voice: 336-547-8315).Mailed resumes should be sent to: Council for Exceptional Children, 1110
North Glebe Road, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201-5704 Persons requesting accommodation during the application process should also contact the Recruiter.
Application Deadline: Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled.

Visit the CEC Web site at http://www.cec.sped.org

Download a PDF of the announcement of the position.