The Caucus News
Volume 19
Issue 2
THE CAUCUS NEWS
Small Special Education Programs Caucus of TED
2009-2010 Officers and
Committee Chairs:
A Message from the SSEPC Chair:
Joanne Vesay
Chair: Joanne Vesay
jvesay@rider.edu
Associate Chair
Evelyn Barese
barese@msmc.edu
Past Chair:
Kelly O'Neal-Hixson
koneal@emporia.edu
Treasurer: Tracy Garrett
tgarrett@lander.edu
Newsletter: Patrice Hallock
phallock@utica.edu
with assistance from
Wendy Hacke
Membership: Kate Simmons
ksimmon2@aum.edu
FALL 2010
Let me begin by sending a BIG thank you to two of our own SSEPC members,
Georgia Kearns and Cynthia Watkins, our wonderful coordinators of this year’s TED
Conference. I’m certain they have great things planned for us in St. Louis!
Highlighted SSEPC Events at TED, St. Louis (check conference program for
locations):
Thursday, November 4th
•
SSEPC Symposium - 8am to 9:50am
•
SSEPC Executive Board Meeting –3:00pm to 3:50pm
Friday, November 5th
•
SSEPC Silent Auction – 12:30pm to 2:30pm
Student Representative:
**Vacant**
•
SSEPC General Business Meeting – 3:00pm to 4:50pm
Website: Patti Whetstone
patti.whetstone@wku.edu
•
SSEPC Nasim Dil Award and Reception – 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Monograph: Michele Kamens
mkamens@rider.edu
and Debi Gartland
gartland@towson.edu
The review process of submissions for the Monograph has begun. Stay tuned for an
update from Michele Kamens and Debi Gartland at the General Business Meeting.
SSEPC-TED
Membership Representative:
Kate Simmons
Auction to Evelyn Barese on Friday morning, prior to the beginning of the auction.
Please check your conference program for the location.
TED Symposium:
Dee Berlinghoff
berlingh@msmc.edu
Visiting Scholars:
Laura Carpenter
lcarpent@aum.edu
Highlights:
Chair’s Message 1
SSPEC Minutes 2-3
Milestones 4
Fulbright Scholar 5
Nasim Dil Info 6
Visiting Scholars 7
Exec Bd Minutes 8-9
2010 Conference Info 10
About SSEPC 11
Job Opportunities 11
SILENT AUCTION DONATIONS NEEDED: Please bring all donations for the Silent
Please stop by the registration desk when you arrive at TED. A representative from
SSEPC should be available most registration days/times to answer questions. If you
are interested in volunteering at registration, please contact Wendy Hacke,
wdhacke@pacbell.net.
DINNER RESERVATIONS: If you are traveling alone to the conference, please plan on
joining us for dinner Wednesday and/or Thursday night. Sign-up sheets will be
available at the registration desk for SSEPC Members.
I look forward to seeing all of you at St. Louis in November!
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Small Special Education Program Caucus (SSEPC)
General Business Meeting Minutes
Nashville, Tennessee
April 22, 2010
Welcome and Introductions
Members in attendance: Debi Gartland, Laura Carpenter, Kate Simmons, Joanne Vesay, Kelly
O”Neal Hixson, Shirley Ritter, Tracy Garrett, Dava O’Connor, Michele Kamens, Shirley Steffens,
Brenda Gilliam, Patti Powell
Call to order: Joanne P. Vesay, Chair
Approval of Executive Board Minutes (Charlotte: Nov 12, 2009)
Motion to approve minutes by Debi Gartland and seconded by Kelly O”Neal- minutes approved
Committee Reports
Treasurer’s Report- Tracy Garrett
• We were audited by TED
• Motion to accept the financial report by Evelyn Barese and seconded by Kate
Simmons- financial report accepted
Associate Chair: Evelyn Barese – Silent Auction
• Tables are reserved and the membership will be encouraged to both bring items for
the silent auction and man the tables for short periods
Past Chair: Kelly O’Neal-Hixson -- Nasim Dil Service Award Committee
• No applications are yet submitted, please submit applications
• There should be a process for choosing this award winner- in the past it was
decided by Nasim Dil, the past chair and the past winner
• Committee for this year will be Shirley Ritter, Laura Carpenter and Michele Kamens
to vote for the Nasim Dil winner
Membership: Kate Simmons
• Should we consider a multi-year membership- we need to check whether this is a
constitutional issue?
Student Membership: Wendy Hacke
• We will need a new student rep soon as Wendy will be defending her dissertation
Newsletter: Patrice Hallock
Website: Patti Whetstone
• Do we want to look into purchasing a website instead of having our website housed
at a university?
• Can we be housed on the TED website?
Visiting Scholars: Laura Carpenter
• Putting some structure to the Visiting Scholars program
*SSEPC-TED Membership Representative
• E-mail Tamar Riley and ask if she is still filling this position
*Big Idea Share: Diane Casale-Giannola
*Monograph: Michele Kamens and Debi Gartland
*TED Symposium: Dee Berlinghoff- due date for submissions is May 1
*Appointed Ad-hoc
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Small Special Education Program Caucus (SSEPC)
General Business Meeting Minutes - Continued
News from TED
Strategic Plan 2009 Baseline Data
Audit Report
Old Business
Past Chair’s Advisory Committee
Promotional Items for TED-St. Louis
Upcoming SSEPC Elections for TED-St. Louis: Associate Chair, Student Representative
Scholarship/Research Ad hoc Committee
Student Member Role/Responsibilities
2010 Goals
Student Members presenting at conferences
Increase Membership
Connect SSEPC and TED committees
Improve communication (website, newsletter)
Audit
Monograph
Volunteering for TED 2010 Conference – St. Louis
Doctoral Candidates for HESEC
Membership Dinner/Drive - Restaurant
Attract/increase diversity of membership
New Business
TED – St. Louis – Nasim Dil Award Reception
SSEPC SILENT AUCTION The SSEPC Silent auction will be held Friday, November 5, from 12:30 to 2:30. Please consider making a donation of auction items. Items that have sold well in the past are artistic prints, crafted items such as jewelry, bookmarks, and quilted pieces. Signed editions of books are also popular items. The auction is SSEPC’s biggest fund raiser, and member donations sustain this popular event (as well as our coffer!) When selecting items for the auction, consider that purchases will have to be transported or sent home, sometimes at additional cost to the traveler. We also need volunteers to set up, manage the tables and close out the auction. If you have questions or can volunteer, please contact Evelyn Barese. barese@msmc.edu The
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Milestones
Laura Carpenter has published! Be sure to put Beard, L., Carpenter, L.B., & Johnston, L. (2011). Assistive
technology: Access for all (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson on your reading list!
Wendy Hacke completed her doctoral program
and was promoted to Coordinator of Special
Education at National Hispanic University (CA).
Her dissertation was “Meta-analysis Comparing
Student Outcomes for National Board Certified
Teachers and Non-Board Certified Teachers”.
This is a great accomplishment for Wendy, who
has served on the Caucus as the graduate student
representative 3 years.
Mount Saint Mary College (NY) starts the academic year with
a new full professor! Congratulations go to Dee Berlinghoff!
At Utica College (NY), Patrice Hallock was granted tenure
and was promoted to Associate Professor in the Spring 2010
semester. Congratulations!
Congratulations on Dava O’Connor’s promotion to full professor last year at Lander University (SC). She has also
received another grant for approximately $68,000 to pay tuition scholarships for paraprofessionals who want to become
highly qualified special educators through a South Carolina State program known as Project CREATE (Centers for the
Re-Education and Advancement of Teachers in Special Education). Way to go, Dava!
After more than ten years, St. Gabrielle
Kowalski has stepped down as Executive Director
of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and
Universities as of July 1, 2010. She will continue
to teach in the Special Education Department of
Cardinal Stritch University (WI). She also
celebrated the 50th anniversary of her religious
profession this summer. We applaud her
commitment!
Patti Powell was promoted to full professor at Trinity Christian
College (IL) in the Spring 2010 semester. She was also recently
elected as Vice President Elect for Illinois TED (ITED). Please
read about her Fulbright Scholarship elsewhere in the Caucus
News. Kudos, Patti!
Grant Recipients
The Alabama State Department of Education has an ongoing initiative to support the preparation of highly qualified
special educators. Drs. Laura Carpenter and Kate D. Simmons at Auburn University Montgomery have been able to
secure a series of three grants supporting collaboration among other Institutes of Higher Education faculty participants,
collaboration among school systems in the surrounding Montgomery area, and generating roundtable discussions on
barriers to preparing effective secondary special education teachers.
The latest grant, “Secondary Special Education: Preparing Highly Qualified Teachers,” had two phases. First, after
evaluating our existing special education methods course for preparing secondary education special educators in
teaching basic reading and mathematics skills, we determined our candidates in the Alternative and Traditional
Masters’ programs would benefit from additional coursework in these critical areas. To enable them to meet the critical
needs of secondary students with disabilities, an additional course was created and added to their existing programs of
study. Second, was a reaction to the call for systemic change in teacher education by the Alabama Department of
Education, Division of Special Education in the preparation of secondary special education teachers. We also
embarked on an aggressive agenda to evaluate current collaborative teaching practices in our service area to determine
future directions for our teacher education preparation program. Let us know if you are interested in hearing more…we
would love to share information!
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Professor of Education Named Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Patti Powell, professor of education, has been selected for a Fulbright award to teach at Sam Sharpe
Teachers’ College in Montego Bay, Jamaica. From January through May 2011, Powell will assist with the
development of the college’s new deaf education program. In addition, she will introduce service learning
into the curriculum and research how service learning enriches the experience of teachers.
“The idea of service to others is something the Jamaican people live daily,” said Powell. “The concept of
service learning—of taking care of your brother—resonates with them even though the term ‘service
learning’ is unfamiliar.”
Powell, who is director of the Alexander De Jong Center for Special Education at Trinity, has spent the past
nine years leading Interim trips each January to the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf (CCCD), which
is also located in Montego Bay. She serves on its U.S. board of directors. Her efforts to incorporate service
learning into the curriculum there have met with success and have served as a testament to CCCD as well
as Sam Sharpe’s students and administrators.
In fact, Sam Sharpe student teachers collaborated with Trinity and CCCD students on a community service
project to reach out to residents of one of the poorest areas of Montego Bay. Powell hopes to nurture the
relationship between CCCD and Sam Sharpe as well as open more doors of collaboration between Sam
Sharpe and Trinity.
During her five months in Jamaica, Powell is also looking forward to strengthening her personal ties with
friends at CCCD and the local church. “Part of my heart is and always will be in Jamaica, and I am excited
about the opportunity to spend more than one week in my ‘home away from home.’”
From the first time she volunteered at CCCD, she said God’s call for her to serve in Jamaica has been clear:
“My passion and the world’s great need collided—boom!” she said, referring to her education and experience
working with the deaf and being led to a Christian school for the deaf. She explained that CCCD is
something of an anomaly, and to her knowledge, no Christian schools for the deaf exist in the United States.
Receiving the Fulbright will give Powell the opportunity to live out her calling to an even greater extent.
“My background and expertise, as well as my familiarity with Jamaica, service-learning, and deaf culture,
have prepared me for this next phase in my professional journey, and I am confident my contribution will be
of great benefit to Jamaican education and deaf culture in Jamaica,” said Powell. “I eagerly anticipate
spending an extended period of time teaching and researching in a country that I love so dearly.”
As a representative of the United States in Jamaica, Powell will help fulfill the principal purpose of the
Fulbright Program, which is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people
of the more than 150 countries that currently participate in the program.
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Small Special Education Programs Caucus’
Nasim Dil Award for Outstanding Service to Teacher Education
Purpose: The Nasim Dil Award for Outstanding Service to Teacher Education is an annual award given to an
individual who has demonstrated exemplary service to the development and advancement of quality teacher education
in special education.
Criteria: The criteria for the selection of the recipient of the SSEPC Nasim Dil Award for Outstanding Service to
Teacher Education include demonstrated commitment to personnel preparation in small special education programs
through two or more of the following areas:
a. Service in leadership roles to advance teacher education opportunities in small special education program (e.g.,
holding a leadership position(s) in teacher education organizations, recipients of honors and awards (either at
home IHE or on the national level)
b. Active promotion of quality teacher education in small special education programs (e.g., writing articles for the
SSEPC Monograph, being involved in state initiatives involving teacher education, developing innovative
teacher education curricula and teaching practices, etc.).
c. Active participation in activities promoting opportunities for faculty from small special education programs to
have a voice in the field of special education teacher education (e.g., encouraging and leading SSEPC
members' involvement in political and educational activities that relate to teacher education, being involved in
state-level decision making involving teacher education).
d. Active participation in activities promoting collaboration (in terms of research and professional development)
among members of SSEPC (e.g., initiating, developing, and coordinating activities that involve several SSEPC
members: conference presentations, research projects, co-authoring, SSEPC-sponsored events, etc.).
e. Active participation in SSEPC Service in leadership roles to advance teacher education
Nominees must meet the following criteria:
a. must be a member of TED and SSEPC
b. Nominees may be nominated or self-nominate.
c. Previous award winners will not be eligible again within a 10 year time period.
Nominations: Materials should include the following:
a. A current vita of the nominee;
b. A letter of nomination documenting the nominee's eligibility for the award;
c. Letters of support for the nomination from individuals knowledgeable of the nominee's contributions relative
to one or more of the criteria stated above.
Deadline: Nomination materials are due September 1st each year.
Nomination materials for 2011 should be sent to the next “Past Chair”:
Joanne Vesay
Assistant Professor
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Rd.
Lawrenceville, PA 08648
(609) 895-5495
jvesay@rider.edu
Type of Award: Plaque & $500 honorarium
Presentation: The recipient of the Nasim Dil Service Award will be honored at the SSEPC Reception at the annual
TED Conference.
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SSEPC Visiting Scholars
SSEPC Visiting Scholars Program is an opportunity through contacts in the SSEPC for members to arrange visits to
colleges and universities. These visits may be to advance research, gain insights on innovative programs, guest teach,
or participate in other activities that are beneficial to the person visiting and perhaps to the receiving school. The role
of SSEPC is to help with initial contacts between the parties. SSPEC does not fund such visits or suggest that schools
do so. After the initial contact has been made, the details must be worked out between the Visiting Scholar and the
receiving school.
At the SSEPC General Board Meeting in Nashville, Laura Carpenter passed around a sign-up sheet for those persons
wishing to serve as a host for a visiting scholar. These institutions are listed below:
•
Auburn University Montgomery-Montgomery, AL
•
Rider University-Lawrenceville, NJ
•
Alvernia University-Reading, PA
•
Cardinal Stritch University-Milwaukee, WI
•
Utica College-Utica, NY
•
Mount St. Mary College-Newburgh, NY
If you are interested in visiting any of these campuses, email Laura Carpenter at lcarpent@aum.edu to obtain contact
information.
If you would like to be a host institution, please contact Laura to put your institution on the list as well. Many thanks to
all of you who offered to be hosts for this program!
SSEPC Student Representative
The SSEPC Student Representative is an appointed member of the SSEPC Executive Committee who serves for a two
year term. The Student Representative is responsible for representing the interests of the student community within the
SSEPC Executive Committee and recruiting new members from doctoral students who attend the annual conferences.
These include meetings during the annual conference and attending Doctoral Student Kaleidoscopes and receptions.
The time commitment is about 4-6+ hours per conference, dependent upon level of involvement with student functions.
Preferably, student representatives should be at an early-to-mid level of their studies (e.g. 2nd year).
This involves:
• Attending all Executive Committee meetings (face-to-face and teleconference) and briefing the committee on
any student related issues within SSEPC
•
Working with other Executive Committee members on initiatives that are designed to meet the needs of
student members of SSEPC.
•
Engaging other doctoral students in SSEPC activities. These include, among others, SSEPC paper
submissions, SSEPC presentations, and social events.
•
Contributing to the SSEPC website with information on student-related activities
•
•
•
Collaborating with students at conferences to provide navigation information for SSEPC meetings.
Participating in SSEPC meetings, initiate ideas, contributions for greater student interaction.
Participating in executive committee initiatives on an ad-hoc basis.
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Small Special Education Program Caucus (SSEPC)
Executive Board Minutes
Nashville, TN
April 22, 2010
Welcome and Introductions
Members in attendance: Debi Gartland, Laura Carpenter, Kate Simmons, Joanne Vesay, Kelly
O”Neal Hixson, Shirley Ritter, Tracy Garrett, Dava O’Connor, Michele Kamens, Shirley Steffens,
Brenda Gilliam, Patti Powell
Call to order: Joanne P. Vesay, Chair
Approval of Executive Board Minutes (Charlotte: Nov 12, 2009)
Motion to approve minutes by Debi Gartland and seconded by Kelly O”Neal- minutes approved
Committee Reports
Treasurer’s Report- Tracy Garrett
• We were audited by TED
• Motion to accept the financial report by Evelyn Barese and seconded by Kate
Simmons- financial report accepted
Associate Chair: Evelyn Barese – Silent Auction
• Tables are reserved and the membership will be encouraged to both bring items for
the silent auction and man the tables for short periods
Past Chair: Kelly O’Neal-Hixson -- Nasim Dil Service Award Committee
• No applications are yet submitted, please submit applications
• There should be a process for choosing this award winner- in the past it was
decided by Nasim Dil, the past chair and the past winner
• Committee for this year will be Shirley Ritter, Laura Carpenter and Michele Kamens
to vote for the Nasim Dil winner
Membership: Kate Simmons
• Should we consider a multi-year membership- we need to check whether this is a
constitutional issue?
Student Membership: Wendy Hacke
• We will need a new student rep soon as Wendy will be defending her dissertation
Newsletter: Patrice Hallock
Website: Patti Whetstone
• Do we want to look into purchasing a website instead of having our website housed
at a university?
• Can we be housed on the TED website?
Visiting Scholars: Laura Carpenter
• Putting some structure to the Visiting Scholars program
*SSEPC-TED Membership Representative
• E-mail Tamar Riley and ask if she is still filling this position
*Big Idea Share: Diane Casale-Giannola
*Monograph: Michele Kamens and Debi Gartland
*TED Symposium: Dee Berlinghoff- due date for submissions is May 1
*Appointed Ad-hoc
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Small Special Education Program Caucus (SSEPC)
Executive Board Minutes - Continued
News from TED
Strategic Plan 2009 Baseline Data
Audit Report
Old Business
Past Chair’s Advisory Committee
Promotional Items for TED-St. Louis
Upcoming SSEPC Elections for TED-St. Louis: Associate Chair, Student Representative
Scholarship/Research Ad hoc Committee
Student Member Role/Responsibilities
2010 Goals
Student Members presenting at conferences
Increase Membership
Connect SSEPC and TED committees
Improve communication (website, newsletter)
Audit
Monograph
Volunteering for TED 2010 Conference – St. Louis
Doctoral Candidates for HESEC
Membership Dinner/Drive - Restaurant
Attract/increase diversity of membership
New Business
TED – St. Louis – Nasim Dil Award Reception
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2010 Conference Information
Georgia Kerns and Cynthia Watkins have been working on the 2010 TED Conference to be held Nov 3-6,
2010 at the Crowne Plaza Downtown - St Louis. Volunteers are needed to work registration tables, provide
technical assistance, general help, etc. Unfortunately, there is no monetary help, but it would make a nice
line on your vita and be a great way to highlight SSEPC at the conference!!
If interested in helping at/with the TED Conference, please contact Wendy Hacke at wdhacke@pacbell.net.
Please indicate in the body of your e-mail what you are interested in doing (e.g., registration table, technical
assistance, or "what-ever-needed"). SSEPC has helped to pull off several great conventions (Vegas,
Portland). We always come to the table ready to help. Thanks!!!!!
Cynthia Watkins and Georgia Kerns
2010 TED Conference Co-Chairs
The SSEPC symposium will be Thursday, November 4, 8:00-9:50 am.
Title: How Do We Do It All? Teacher Educators’ Responsibilities in Addition to Teaching & Scholarship:
Advisement, Committees, and Accreditation Reports
Chair: Dee Berlinghoff
Presenters: Dee Berlinghoff, Frank Dykes, Tracy Garrett, Debi Gartland, Patrice Hallock, Dava O’Connor,
Patti Powell, Shirley Ritter
Description:
The objective of this session is to discuss the factors having nothing to do with teaching that affect teacher
educators and their ability to provide quality instruction to their pre-service teacher candidates. Teacher
educators will engage in discussion about how duties in addition to teaching have an effect on their ability to
plan, implement, and evaluate effective instruction.
The Small Special Education Programs Caucus (SSEPC) is an organization devoted to helping support
faculty who work in small sized special education programs at colleges and universities. Members also
include educators who work in state departments of education, as well as educators who are employed in the
private sector. Members of SSEPC collaborate on (a) professional development activities, and (b) research
aimed at investigating issues related to working in small programs. Information regarding small programs is
disseminated through Caucus activities.
We are on the Web!
See us at:
http://edtech.wku.edu/~ssepc/
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The Caucus News
Greetings from the Membership Chair
Updates from the SSEPC Membership Chair!
I hope everyone has a had a restful summer and has settled back into Fall Semester. Since our last meeting
in Nashville, we have had seven new members join the caucus. We currently have 44 members from over 32
states! Visibility is important to our group; I encourage everyone to wear their SSEPC buttons as much as
possible. Please be sure to invite others to our events and meetings!
See you at the TED conference in St. Louis!
Faculty Opportunities
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Utica College Education Faculty Position
School of Health Professions & Education
Utica College is a private comprehensive college located in the heart of upper New York State
that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The college is dedicated to the
integration of liberal and professional education. All candidates should have a strong
commitment to high quality teaching. Review of applications will begin immediately and will
continue until candidates are selected. To ensure full consideration, please submit a letter of
application, curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation to: Dr. Dale Scalise-Smith,
Dean, School of Health Professions and Education, Utica College, 1600 Burrstone Road, Utica,
NY 13502-4892. (E-mail: dscalis@utica.edu)
A tenure-track position at the assistant/associate professor level in the field of special education.
Applicants should hold a doctorate in special education or a closely related field, have P-12 and
higher education classroom experience, and show potential for scholarship and collegial
collaboration. Additional preferred qualifications include expertise in quantitative research
methods, knowledge of New York State Standards, supervisory experience, and technological
expertise.
Utica College is an AA/EOE.