Return-Path: <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id iBEMIsU05151; Tue, 14 Dec 2004 17:18:54 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 17:18:54 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <DE4FCD18CD7FD4118C8C00D0B774DDA40D3E1D97@doe.mass.edu> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Fletcher, Jackie L" <jfletcher@doe.mass.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-LD:4552] RE: Bridges to Practice X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72) Status: O Content-Length: 7514 Lines: 147 Hi June, This is very exciting! You will hear from me before the deadline. ....Jackie -----Original Message----- From: Crawford, June [mailto:jcrawford@nifl.gov] Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 4:48 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-LD:4550] Bridges to Practice Hi Everybody - A couple of weeks ago, Jeff Fantine asked for an update on Bridges information. It should be an exciting year for us in 2005! Here's the scoop for all of you on the discussion list, and I'd be glad to provide more information if you have questions. We are doing five major things in 2005 for Bridges to Practice and the funding has already been allocated for each of these activities: 1) supporting four training sessions (two weeks each!) at four sites around the country and all expenses will be paid by NIFL; 2) collaborating with the Learning Disabilities Association to hold a full-day symposium on LD, the brain, and reading instruction at their conference on March 5 (more information soon!); 3) beginning a review of the entire Bridges program this year with an eye to improving the national collaboration with the States and with the expectation that we will be updating the materials after a panel of experts reviews them for consistency with the current research knowledge; 4) beginning a new effort with the Department of Labor that will consider learning disabilities and employment and develop new ways to help youth and young adults make the transitions needed for successful employment, including a review of the latest NIH research on motor skills in adults with LD; 5) reviewing the research on reading and learning disabilities to develop additional training that can help adults learn to read and that can integrate all the adult reading activities at NIFL into the learning disabilities area. I am including the training information here so you will have all the dates and can contact your State Adult Education Director if you are interested in participating, or if you just wish to encourage your State to send a team. We are delighted to have teams of trainers from the Bridges to Practice Master Corps as the lead trainers for the sessions and we are featuring some of our Intermediate trainers on the teams so they can get national exposure in preparation for their promotion to Master Trainer. The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) is pleased to offer you an opportunity to develop a training team to lead the professional development of educators in the area of learning disabilities through the Bridges to Practice Program. This all-expenses-paid training opportunity covers the cost of each State to send a team of three (3) trainers to national training sessions. Please read all the information carefully and let us know by December 31 if you wish to send a team. Names of team members must be received by NIFL by the deadline date indicated for each session so we can make travel and hotel reservations for the team members. Bridges to Practice is a comprehensive training program that covers disability law and the characteristics of learning disabilities (LD); screening and diagnosis of LD, including discussions of validity and reliability in instruments; choosing curriculum materials for instruction; using appropriate teaching methods; adapting the information from Bridges to other programs that serve adults. The objectives are to increase awareness and professional ability to teach adults and to increase the ability of communities to provide a seamless system of service that promotes the acquisition of the GED and/or employment in the adult population. This training promotes the development of policies and procedures about learning disabilities for State Adult Education programs that need to meet the requirements of the Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education. (To see more information, go to <http://www.nifl.gov> and click on Bridges.) There are four training sessions planned. Each team attends one of the sessions. The team attends for one week, returns home to plan and carryout an assignment about learning disabilities in adults, and then returns in two-to-three months for an additional week of training in the same city. The same team members must be available to attend both weeks of the training. NIFL covers all transportation, hotel rooms, and meals, and provides all books and materials for the training. There is no cost to the trainer or the State organization for the training. We ask only that you and your team agree to give us your time and your cooperation in making this information available to at least 90 additional people in your State, and we hope you find the information so valuable that you continue to train others after the agreement is fulfilled. We also offer opportunities for trainers to join the national training team and receive updated training each year. As a follow-up, we ask that you agree to 1) support the trainers as they train an additional 30 persons each/90 persons as a team; 2) sign an agreement with NIFL that the team will follow the Bridges to Practice training materials; and 3) work with a State Coordinator for Bridges to Practice to gather information about those who receive the training and send it to NIFL for our records. Session Number Dates of Training Location Team Deadline Session 1A January 24-28, 2005 Phoenix, Arizona January 5 Session 1B April 4-8, 2005 Phoenix, Arizona Session 2A February 21-25, 2005 Kansas City, MO January 21 Session 2B May 16-20, 2005 Kansas City, MO Session 3A March 14-18, 2005 New Orleans, LA February 18 Session 3B June 13-17, 2005 New Orleans, LA Session 4A July 18-22, 2005 Mansfield, NH June 24 Session 4B September 19-25, 2005 Mansfield, NH There is a limit of 30 persons for each session and slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Northerners who want to get out of the cold will want to get on the list for Phoenix, and Southerners will want to opt for New Hampshire in the summer, so move quickly to make your choice! To indicate your intent to send a team, send an e-mail NOW to June Crawford, National Bridges to Practice Program Director, jcrawford@nifl.gov <mailto:jcrawford@nifl.gov> and indicate the following: 1. State Name 2. Your Name and Contact Information (phone and e-mail) 3. Name of Person who will sign the agreement to support the follow-up training 4. Number of team members (no fewer than three; no more than 5) 5. First Choice of Session and City 6. Second Choice of Session and City The 2005 training can be used to start a new program if your State does not currently use Bridges to Practice; to replace members on your current training team who may be moving on to other professional challenges; to add more trainers to allow for a wider dissemination of the materials; or to add personnel from other service programs who can contribute to the systemic approach to serving adults with learning disabilities by adding access to the workforce development system, vocational rehabilitation services, TANF, local literacy programs, or your State Learning Disabilities Association or International Dyslexia Association office. The choice is yours, but you must act quickly to take advantage of this offer! We look forward to another exciting year of Bridges to Practice training and we welcome the opportunity to work with you in your professional development activities. Thanks for your interest! June Crawford
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