Affiliated Centers in School-Age Program Area
Projects in School-Age Program Area
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The School-Age Services Program Area emphasizes activities that enhance the full inclusion and support of children with disabilities in educational and social environments within their schools and communities.

Activities include professional and paraprofessional training, development of cost-effective educational services, support to children with disabilities and their family members, and extensive consultation and technical assistance on issues of collaboration and inclusion. Major programmatic thrusts include research, evaluation, training and technical assistance on issues of self-determination, dropout prevention, peer interactions, and more.

Note: To find out more about a project, please explore its Web site if it has one (the title will be highlighted) or copy and paste the project title into the keyword field of the Project Search page. If your questions are not answered, you may call or e-mail the project contact person(s). If you leave this site to visit a project Web site and wish to return, please use your Back button or find the link to the Institute on the project's home page.

Affiliated Centers in School-Age Program Area

National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) (an ICI Affiliated Center) provides national leadership in the participation of students with disabilities in district, state, and national assessments; standards-setting efforts; and graduation requirements. It conducts research, provides technical assistance, networks funded assessment research projects, and engages in extensive dissemination activities. Funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the US Department of Education. Contacts: Martha Thurlow, Director, 612-624-4826, thurl001@tc.umn.edu; Rachel Quenemoen, 612-624-9340, quene003@tc.umn.edu; Dorene Scott, 612-624-4073, scott027@tc.umn.edu.

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessments
The Partnership engages in research on and development of accessible reading assessments that provide a valid demonstration of reading proficiency for increasingly diverse populations of students in our public schools, and particularly for those students who have disabilities that affect reading. It is operated by a consortium consisting of the National Center on Educational Outcomes; the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST); and Westat. For more information, contact Mari Quenemoen at quen0006@umn.edu or 612-625-7241.

Research Institute on Progress Monitoring (an ICI Affiliated Center) engages in development of a seamless and flexible system of student progress monitoring to be used in K-12 schools across ages, abilities, and curricula. The system that results from the Institute's research will be used to evaluate the effects of individualized instruction on access to and progress in the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, and will result in improved instructional decision-making and more successful instructional programs in general education for students with disabilities. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Contact: Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, ripm@umn.edu.

Projects in School-Age Program Area

Alternative Schools: Research on Policy, Practice and Implications for Youth gathers and synthesizes information about the policies and practices of alternative schools across the nation, especially in relation to students with disabilities. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Contact: Cammy Lehr, 612-624-0722, lehrx001@umn.edu.

Beacons of Excellence: Achieving Exemplary Results for Students with Disabilities in Secondary Education studies how policies, procedures, curriculum, staffing, school climate, support services, community involvement, and other factors contribute to student success at secondary schools that obtain exemplary results for all students, including students with disabilities. Funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Contact: Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, walla001@tc.umn.edu.

Check & Connect: Promoting Students' Engagement with School is a model to promote students' engagement with school, reduce dropout, and increase school completion. The Check & Connect model originated from a partnership of researchers, practitioners, parents, and students led by the Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota. The following are several projects of the Institute that used the Check & Connect model. For more information contact Sandra L. Christenson, 612-624-0037, chris002@umn.edu.

Dakota County: Using Check & Connect as a Truancy Intervention, a pilot initiated in 1996, targets chronically truant youth, with and without disabilities, between the ages of 11 and 17 years, across eight metro-area suburban/small city school districts. Funded by Dakota County (Minnesota) Community Services.

Dakota Elementary: Truancy Prevention Using Check & Connect, a pilot initiated in 1997 in three metro-area suburban school districts, targets elementary school age youth, with and without disabilities, referred primarily for attendance related issues. Funded by Dakota County (Minnesota) Community Services.

Persistence Plus: Using Check & Connect to Improve Service Delivery and Positive Post-School Outcomes for Secondary Students with Serious Emotional Disturbance field tests the Check & Connect school engagement procedure to improve service delivery and post-school outcomes for students with serious emotional disturbance. Funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

School Completion? A Follow-Up Study of Students with Disabilities Who Participated in the Check & Connect Middle School Dropout Prevention Program is investigating the school completion rate and post-school outcomes of 94 young adults with learning and behavioral disabilities who participated in the Check & Connect school engagement/dropout prevention intervention. At the end of ninth grade, those students who participated in Check & Connect in middle school and through the first year of high school (1992-1995) were more likely to be enrolled in school and on track to graduate than similar students in a contrast group. Students who were on track to graduate in five years would have completed high school in June 1999. Funded by internal/non-sponsored account.

Creating a Progress Measurement System: Preparing Secondary Students With Disablities For Success On Standard Tests develops and implement a system of measurement that can be used to establish levels of performance that predict success on statewide standards in reading and written expression and to subsequently monitor student performance toward those levels of success. Ultimately we will proveide teachers, parents, and administrators with tools. Funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Contacts: Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, walla001@umn.edu; Chris Espin, 612-626-03352, espin001@umn.edu.

Demonstrating Success: Students with Disabilities in Secondary Education demonstrates an outcome-oriented model for the education of students with disabilities that includes a customized case management system with an electronic version of an IEP that will facilitate student involvement in general education. The model offers an efficient way to (a) support students as they lead their IEP process; (b) show students the relevance of school to their goals and post-school outcomes; (c) demonstrate that students can achieve their goals and obtain high school standards through access to the general education curriculum; (d) facilitate collaboration among general and special educators in the planning and implementation of student led IEPs; (e) encourage the use of instructional practices associated with desired outcomes across five domains: literacy/academic achievement, employment, post-secondary education, independent living, and citizenship and community involvement; and (f) measure progress toward student goals. Funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Contact: Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, walla001@tc.umn.edu.

Developmental Disabilities Rotation for Pediatricians coordinates the community agency component of the developmental disabilities rotation required of all pediatric residents in the University of Minnesota's Medical School. Funded by the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Contact: Marijo McBride, 612-624-6830, mcbri001@tc.umn.edu.

Enhancing the Self-Determination of Youth and Young Adults Who are DeafBlind focuses on students with deafblindness, seeking to:

1. Enhance understanding of the multiple factors that contribute to the self-determination of these students;
2. Increase knowledge of the environmental factors that have the potential to facilitate or serve as barriers to their enhanced self-determination;
3. Develop and field-test a multi-component education and support program to facilitate such children and youth taking an age and capacity appropriate degree of personal control over their lives; and
4. Disseminate this information to educators, families, and persons who are deafblind at a local, state, and national level.

Funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). Contact: Brian Abery, 612-625-5592, abery001@tc.umn.edu.

Making Personal Visions A Reality: An Educational and Technical Assistance Program to Support Person-Centered Planning in South Carolina works with the South Carolina Department of Disability and Special Needs to create a cadre of well-trained and experienced independent facilitators of person-centered planning who can work with persons with disabilities throughout the state, as well as trainers who can prepare and supervise others in South Carolina who have an interest in becoming person-centered planning facilitators. Funded by the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. Contacts: Marijo McBride, 612-624-6830, mcbri001@tc.umn.edu; Matt Ziegler, 612-626-7322, ziegl010@tc.umn.edu; Brian Abery, 612-625-5592, abery001@tc.umn.edu.

Minnesota Paraprofessional Training Project coordinates statewide training and technical assistance for the Minnesota Paraprofessional Consortium of state agency representatives, educators, paraprofessionals, parents, and others. The purpose of this project is to build a system to prepare the paraprofessional workforce to better contribute as team members in education. Funded by the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning. Contact: Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, walla001@tc.umn.edu.

Promoting Quality Services for Individuals with Disabilities Through the Development and Delivery of Supervision and Management Training for Educators, Supervisors, and Mid-Level Managers develops and implements an interdisciplinary certificate program in supervision and management, and identifies assessment methods for supervisors and managers. Funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD). Contacts: Amy Hewitt, 612-625-1098, hewit005@tc.umn.edu; Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, walla001@tc.umn.edu.

Student Success = School Success: Demonstrating Success For All Youth Using a Data Based School Wide Improvement Model Within a Quality Framework develops, implements, and evaluates a data based school wide improvement model based on research from the Beacons of Excellence initiative within a Minnesota middle school and high school. Funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Contacts: Teri Wallace, 612-626-7220, walla001@umn.edu.

A Systems Approach to Paraprofessional Development and Support in Inclusive Schools utilizes a systems perspective to understand the issues surrounding implementation of an ongoing school-based staff development process to enhance the effectiveness of instructional teams, with particular emphasis on paraprofessional training and support. Funded by the US Department of Education. Contacts: Gail Ghere, 612-626-0890, ghere002@tc.umn.edu; Jennifer York-Barr, 612-625-6387, yorkx001@tc.umn.edu; Jennifer Sommerness, 612-626-0890, carl3326@tc.umn.edu

Yes I Can! Recreation and Social Inclusion Program develops and implements school-based social and recreational inclusion programs to enhance the community inclusion of students with disabilities. Funded by U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration and Office of Special Education Programs; the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation; and the Otto Bremer Foundation. Contacts: Matthew Ziegler, 612-626-7322, ziegl010@tc.umn.edu; Brian Abery, 612-625-5592, abery001@tc.umn.edu.

For More Information

To find out more about a project, please explore its Web site if it has one (the title will be highlighted) or copy and paste the project title into the keyword field of the Project Search page. If your questions are not answered, you may call or e-mail the project contact person(s). If you leave this site to visit a project Web site and wish to return, please use your Back button or find the link to the Institute on the project's home page.