Mary Vaughan welcomed the group to the consortium. She gave a few announcements about next month. The next meeting will be on December 3, at the Salt Lake Airport Hilton (same place). We will again bring cans of food to donate to the homeless shelter.

Jerry Christensen went through the contents of the Consortium folder, which contained the agenda, calendar, future consortium meeting information and three handouts from the Precision Teaching Conference.

Tracy Stewart recapped the 14th International Precision Teaching Conference that was held on November 4-6, 1999. There were 576 attendees from all across the country and even some from outside the country. She encouraged consortium members to talk with those from their districts that attended.

Davalee Miller announced that the Annual Mentor Conference is on Jan 13-14, 2000. Some of the speakers lined up for the conference include Stephen Barcley, Bill Heward, and Phil Stella. There will also be several people from within the state presenting. Steve Kukic will be the closing keynote.

Michael Herbert called attention to the new issue of The Utah Special Educator. He also announced the broadcast of a program called "Walking in Two Different World" on Channel 7 tonight at 9:00 p.m.

Jim Curtice gave a CSPD update on the ULRC. There have been over 100 workshops and inservices scheduled so far. He urged the consortium members to please let ULRC know if they have any specific needs and they can get them on the schedule. What is hot at the ULRC? PT (Precision Training). If you have any needs in this area, the ULRC is prepared. We are also prepared to do inservice for students with diverse needs. Jim also encouraged teachers to use the technology that is available. Our website is a good source for information. Jim mentioned that a computerized IEP program from Chalkware Education Solutions is now available.

Jennie Gibson again told the consortium that their consultants were assigned to different regions of the state. She introduced Diane Dykman who is assigned to the northeast area. Jennie said that they have information for parents who have basic IEP questions. Their Parent Conference is coming up in the Spring.

Mae Taylor passed around a list to get the Consortium contact for each district. Mae introduced two new staff members at the USOE. Nancy Casillas will be doing charter schools and data collection. Her phone number is 538-7825. Jocelyn Taylor will be doing OHI, TBI and Autism. She is from Weber District and her phone number is 538-7726. Other changes at the state office include, Patricia Bradley doing the Youth and Custody program and also is the new coordinator of At Risk Services Unit (homeless, etc.) Mae also announced that the CSPD coordinator is now Bruce Schroeder.

Nan Gray said there is a month of cross trainings sponsored by USOE. There will be 6 trainings before December 4th. Nan asked for crackerbarrel presentation proposals for the transition conference in March at the Provo Marriott.

Tim McConnell said there are several regional inclusion conferences happening this month and next. The second round of inclusion support training will be happening in December.

Dale Sheld said that there were 350 participants in the conference for parents of children with learning disabilities.

Marilyn Likins announced the Paraeducator Conference on November 19-20, 1999. They are still taking registrations for conference. Some of the keynote speakers are Marilyn Gray, Neila Conners, and John Magg.

Mae Taylor announced that the video tapes from the law conference of Art Cernosia (7 tapes) will be available to districts.

Institutes of Higher Education

Utah Valley State College: Kathy Iroz said they doubled the number of students in their elementary education program. They have started a certification program for early childhood education. She also said that since their students are in general education instead of special education, inclusion is a big issue for them.

University of Utah: Joan Sabastian passed out a department newsletter from the University. They are currently working on their undergraduate special education program. Their Summer Institute will be in July and the focus will be on literacy. More information will be coming soon.

Bruce Schroeder announced the acronym for the SIG group÷SIGNAL, which stands for State Improvement Grant, Networks and Alliances for Learning. Bruce said that there is now a web site for job openings (www.utaheducationjobs.org). Larry Wexler from the federal government (in charge of all state improvement grants) visited the SIGNAL office this past week while attending the IAS Conference.

Presentation by Dr. Alan Hofmeister: "Checklist: Instructional Leadership and the Improvement of Reading Achievement". Dr. Hofmeister is a national leader in accountability, technology and reading.

Dr. Hofmeister had the assignment to link accountability with IDEA Î97 and to see where we are today in Utah in relationship to the rest of the nation. Ted Bell (federal government) put out a report that said educationally we were at risk. That report was based on achievement data. The report generated an environment for reform. When the reform started to happen, achievement data was not used to measure results. In the mid-nineties, the results were drastically lower, so credibility was low in education. States turned things around and changed the process. Utah House Bill 33 shows a microcosm of what is happening nationwide. Itâs purpose is to get assessment measures of student achievement. In special education, the monitoring process is already in place. How do we fit special education requirements into the IDEA requirements? It is almost the same from state to state.

On the district administrator level results are systematically enhanced through procedures that use testing information. We use three types of assessment information; nationally standardized tests, state-specific standardized tests, curriculum-embedded testing systems.

For special education children, these are the areas of concern: Area 1. alignment between reading programs and accountability measures. Area 2. Alignment between district reading programs and the research on effective instructional programs in reading. Area 3. Alignment between the reading program implementation, personnel selection and retention practices. Area 4. Alignment between the reading program, self- support, and staff evaluation practices. Utah House Bill 33 "Enhancing Academic Achievement in Public Schools" was effective July 1, 1999.

Bruce Schroeder asked for input in how to get staff development in line with ideas presented by Dr. Hofmeister. The Consortium brainstormed ideas. The SIGNAL, ULRC, Ted Kelly from Provo and Alan Hofmeister are on a committee to see how technology can help educators get more information available. Information has to be packaged for building level use by teachers and principals.

Survival skills: Be clear about what an instructional program is. (What and how we teach.) Decisions need to be made on what works, not what is popular. Know state laws on accountability and professional practice. Teachers have to realize that as public school teachers, they have agreed to teach what is the law from the state. Feel-good programs donât work. Increasing student success in achieving educationâs goals, will help increase a studentâs self-concept. Conceptually sound and empirically-based instructional approaches work for all children.

Meeting adjourned noon.