DRAFT
Expanding Horizons: A Market Place of Ideas was the 8 th Annual Conference on
Educating Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms. This year was a celebration of accomplishments and what is possible as we ll as the “kick off” activity for the programs in the LRE/Inclusion Initiative’s Professional Development Opportunities
Booklet for 2005-06 . Conducted by SERC in collaboration with CSDE, conference attendance this year again exceeded previous attendance approaching 400 in total.
The primary goal of the annual conference each year has been to facilitate the development and implementation of inclusive practices and provide opportunities for educators to network with professionals from other districts to discuss new information and materials.
“ Imagine the Possibilities”, the keynote address provided by Karen Gaffney of Portland,
Oregon, was the theme for this conference. Karen, a twenty-seven year old woman with Down syndrome, shared stories of her own challenges and success. She talked about the support she received from her family, schools and community that allowed her to be fully included in the general education setting and earn a regular education high school diploma, an associate’s degree and a certificate to be a teacher’s aide. Building on this theme, the format changed from a focus on national presenters and Connecticut consultants sharing their expertise to the recognition of educators from throughout the state demonstrating successful practices and conducting dialogues about what worked for them.
Education professionals, service providers, students and family members all contributed to the 43 concurrent sessions designed to promote responsible inclusive practices, beliefs, supportive school culture and to meet the diverse roles of the participating audience. An increase in parent participation and the inclusion of students with disabilities was evident in the audience as well as in school-based team presentations.
Unique this year was the opportunity for participants to self select concurrent sessions to meet their personal needs as well as provide opportunities to network with colleagues and presenters throughout the day. An exhibit hall with -----vendors and non-profit community agencies was available all day offering resources, books and information.
The closing ceremony, also a new addition, provided an original skit entitled “Invisible
Me”, including original songs and dances by students with disabilities and representatives from the African & Caribbean American Parents of Children with
Disabilities (AFCAMP).
Though there were a few expressions of to many choices and difficulty managing multiple starting times, the overall response was very positive. As of this report plans are underway for the 9 th annual conference to be held at the Crown Plaza in Cromwell,
CT on Thursday December 7, 2005. The conference, highlighting National Inclusive
Schools Week, will build on this year ’s success continuing the presentations by students, parents and local educators as well as the exhibition hall and time for networking with colleagues. A call for proposals has been distributed to schools and agencies throughout Connecticut. Over thirty (30) concurrent sessions utilizing various time frames and topics designed to meet the individual needs of participants and encourage open discussion and the sharing of ideas will be available for self-selection

by the anticipated audience of 400 educators, students, family members and other interested parties.
(For a copy of the complete Expanding Horizons conference brochure please see
Appendix ……)
Last year nine districts, 54 individuals, participated in the LRE Consortium focusing on assistive technology and supplementary supports. Each team consisted of a special education administrator, building principal, special education teacher, regular education classroom teacher, student support services professional, and an additional team member. Amy Norton, consultant with the Technology in Education (TIE) Initiative at
SERC, conducted four full days of presentations, demonstrations, and dialogue with
SERC consultants assisting teams in the development of an assistive technology district plan. As each district had different goals and they were at different points in the development of their plan, additional technical assistance support was offered by the
LRE and TIE Initiatives to each team for the 2005-06 school year.
A letter describing terms of the additional technical assistance was sent to all nine district. Four districts requested and received support from Amy Norton within their own district. Those districts participating were Manchester, Montville, Salem and Watertown.
East Hartford, which already has an assistive technology team in place continued planning on their own. In order to increase the utilization and understanding of assistive technology in the classroom for all general education teachers the team prepared a
“back to School” presentation for each school in the district. This presentation was also replicated at this year’s Expanding Horizons Conference.
At the time of this report the TIE Initiative plans to continue support to these districts as requested.
(For a copy of the letter offering continued assistive Technology planning team support please see…..)