Hi Bonnita,
 
Thanks for joining in.  I am so glad that you reminded us what a large  
online community we are.  More are 'listeners' (I really hate the term  'lurkers' 
and choose not to use that~) than 'posters,' but all subscribers have  reasons 
for joining and remaining on this Discussion List.  I hope  that we are 
meeting everyone's needs with the various types of discussion  strands that we 
continue to have.
 
I was just getting ready to ask Judy the same question but saw your  message 
already waiting to be posted.  I have changed the subject line  to "The 
California Model" to reflect that we are branching out to a more  specific topic.  
This makes searching archived messages much more  efficient.
 
Rochelle
 
 
 
 
 
Rochelle Kenyon
Moderator, LINCS Learning Disabilities Discussion  List
Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee
_RKenyon721 at aol.com_ (mailto:RKenyon721 at aol.com)  

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Hello Judy:  What a refreshing approach to  LD.  Could you tell us more about 
the "California model"?   I  live and work in Oakland and have not heard of 
it; is it a k12 model?   Thanks for this uplifting post.   I want to comment 
that there are  many of us out here who read the lists but may not respond to 
each interesting  post.  That should not be taken to mean your audience is 
small; I think it  is not.  I, for one, forward many posts to teachers and 
administrators  alike in my district.

Bonnita Solberg
Teacher on Special  Assignment
Oakland Adult and Career Education




In 1999, in  Washington  State, we were fortunate  to be part of a federal 
grant called a Quality Initiative.  Our state  chose to focus on learning 
disabilities.  With the ongoing support of the  Office of Adult Literacy (who had 
previously provided the opportunity for  statewide learning disabilities 
training for teachers and DSS counselors by  Nancie Payne and Neil Sturomski) and our 
administrators, we created a  systematic process (based on the California 
model) for identifying (flagging),  screening, interviewing, referring, 
diagnostic/prescriptive teaching, and  requesting GED accommodations if needed.
 
In our Adult Ed  program we have two certified Learning Disability 
Specialists. (We cover 6  counties.)  We both meet individually with students who have 
been  referred through counselors or teachers or are self referred.  We screen, 
 interview, teach study skills and learning strategies, work with teachers,  
make referrals, tutor, teach mini workshops, provide teacher trainings, and  
request GED accommodations.
 
I think a key issue  is that Special Education students don’t go away just 
because they become  adults.  Being able to read, write and do math to 10th 
grade  level is a great benefit to being successful in the adult world.  Those  
with lower skills often do not have a high school diploma, end up on some sort  
of state support—TANF or prison.  Many have mental health problems which  are 
complicated by poor decision-making and problem solving processes.   Having a 
learning disabilities specialist—which is VERY,VERY,VERY, different  from most 
Disabilities Support Service persons---is a contributor to the  retention and 
success of students. The first year we provided services to 12  students.  
This year we have provided services to 250 students so  far.  We can say with 
confidence that the services we provide allow  students to be successful who 
would never have made progress or reached their  educational goals before the 
system was in place.    

What made our  systematic approach successful was the federal and state 
funding to get  training, the support of the administrators who recognized the need 
for funded  positions like Learning Disability Specialists to work with 
students with  learning challenges, and the passion of instructors willing to do 
the work to  take on a new role to serve students.
 
For the past two  years we have been fortunate to be part of the Universal 
Design for Learning  Federal grant through Renton Technical College.  With the 
funding from  this grant we have been able to do even more for our program.  
With the  focus on improving access to education to all students (UDL) we have  
purchased assistive technology, classroom materials and books, and paid for  
teacher to access workshops and conferences.  This has truly been another  big 
step forward for us.
 
We need Washington State to address the funding  needs to keep this 
systematic process in place and to  create a policy so all community colleges in the 
state have a Learning  Disability Specialist and a system for serving students 
with learning  disabilities
Judy  A. Campbell 
Learning  Disabilities Specialist 
IEL/ABE/CCS




_jcampbell at iel.spokane.edu_ (mailto:jcampbell at iel.spokane.edu)  



 
Hi Glenn and  Gerald,

 


 
I think that  Gerald's question is an critically important one for the field. 
 What do  we do for the learners we see in our classes and programs every day 
that  exhibit characteristics of a possible learning disability, that have 
co-morbid  disorders, that have achievement discrepancies, and that are failing 
to  progress?  Not all programs use an LD Screening process.  Not all  
programs have the staff or resources to aggressively implement a plan or  to develop 
a state policy.

 


I am very  interested in hearing from subscribers that have already addressed 
this  problem.  This is an all encompassing issue that affects everyone on 
this  List, so please share your experiences with all of us.

Rochelle


 




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