Curriculum & Instruction

• Southern students struggle to gain mandatory job experience
  Many Alabama students with special needs who are required to have job experience to graduate with occupational diplomas are finding it difficult to land work. Some districts are trying to place such students in school jobs so they can get the hundreds of paid employment hours they need to graduate. The Charlotte Observer (N.C.)/The Associated Press (4/12)

• Online tests allow educators to address trouble spots more quickly
  Online testing for Standards of Learning is becoming more common in Virginia, and educators say the practice helps teachers get assessment results back quickly. "It allows us to reteach the material to students so they get another opportunity to test before they leave for the summer," said Eric Jones, director of high-school education for Henrico County, Va. Richmond Times-Dispatch (Va.) (4/13)

• Do high IQ scores create unreasonable expectations?
  Marilyn vos Savant, who at age 10 earned an IQ score of 228, writes a magazine advice column, prompting some to criticize her for wasting her talents while others use her occupation to lambaste the IQ test itself. Savant never completed college and worked in a family dry cleaning business until her childhood IQ score was released to Guinness World Records in the 1980s. Financial Times (free content) (4/10)

• Other News

• Students check chess skills in quadrennial competition
  NYTimes.com (4/11)

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Educational Leadership

• Students inspire educators to stay the course
  A group of Georgia teachers writes that it is students who keep them in the classroom despite all the challenges that come with their job. "When you believe that all students can learn and have the opportunity to prove it, a wonderful thing happens. You see a light come on, a face smiles, a quiet determination, a few tears -- from students, parents and even teachers," one teacher writes. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (4/13)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by CEC SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Study examines methods for teaching social skills to teens with autism (ScienceDaily)

• Theory suggests autism may be reversible (ScienceDaily)

• Transition programs struggle to find jobs for students (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

• Should teacher with cancer be given additional sick days? (St. Petersburg Times (Fla.))

• Class prepares kindergartners with autism for mainstream classrooms (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Technology Trends

• Preschoolers with cochlear implants have educational options
  Cochlear implants are changing teaching methods for children who are deaf, as well as causing fewer children to enroll in sign-language-only programs and causing more to seek out preschool programs aimed at teaching them to decipher sounds. Cochlear implants are controversial, and many educators try to stay neutral by offering a variety of programs from which parents can choose. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (4/12)

• Children create technology to ward off autism meltdowns
  The efforts of four Chicago preteens to build a computer chip that someday could help children with autism better control their outbursts will bring them to the national ExploraVision science contest in May. The microchip monitors brain activity and blood pressure and triggers soothing music, voices or vibrations when a child is about to have a meltdown. Chicago Tribune (4/10)

• Other News

• Database helps link researchers to children with autism
  National Public Radio (text and audio) (4/8)

Policy News

• Children's use of anti-psychotics increases despite concerns
  Recent studies show a steady increase in the use of atypical anti-psychotics among children, despite concerns that these drugs might cause weight gain and metabolic disorders. Meanwhile, the FDA approved the use of risperidone in children with schizophrenia. The agency is scheduled in June to review AstraZeneca's application to market Seroquel to children with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Los Angeles Times (4/13)

• Texas districts make plans for stimulus funds
  Texas districts and charters can begin applying for economic-stimulus funds on Wednesday, according to the state education department. In additional to Title I and special-education funding, the federal package includes a program for low-interest bonds for school construction and renovation. The Dallas Morning News (free registration) (4/10)

• Other News

• Oregon committee votes to close school for students with visual disabilities
  The Oregonian (Portland) (4/10)

Eye on Exceptionalities

• Siblings of children with disabilities face challenges
  Texas high-school senior Adriana Kalinchuck's younger brother is battling aplastic anemia, prompting her to write this essay about their experience. She struggles with wanting to protect her brother and being frustrated with her parents for not sharing information about her brother's prognosis. Houston Chronicle/School Zone blog (4/8)

• Man with cerebral palsy helps police city streets
  Tom Littlewood, 56, has cerebral palsy and can hardly move or speak, but he volunteers for his city police department, traveling the streets of Menlo Park, Calif., in his electronic wheelchair in search of suspicious activity or the cars of people wanted by police. "I'm living my dream," says Littlewood, who has wanted to be a police officer since he was young and police officers saved him from an abusive home life. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)/Palo Alto Daily News (Calif.) (free registration) (4/9)

CEC Spotlight

• Latest edition of "What Every Special Educator Must Know" available
  The sixth edition of the "red book" presents CEC's ethics, standards and guidelines for special-education preparation and practice. This is an invaluable resource for faculty developing curriculum and seeking CEC national recognition, state policymakers evaluating licensing requirements and special educators planning their professional growth. Find out more.

• Discover the latest trends in psychoeducational assessments and diagnostic tools
  "Assessment for Effective Intervention" is a research-based journal published quarterly by the Council for Educational Diagnostic Services, a division of CEC. It is a benefit of CEDS membership but can be ordered separately. Purchase your copy today by calling 1-800-818-7243. Find out more.

Special Education -- Case Managers and Teachers Teach Chicago Turnarounds (Chicago Public Schools) Chicago, IL A.T. Specialist/PHD Consultant Hiawatha Valley Education District Winona, MN Multiple Positions in Special Ed, Speech Pathology Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Fairbanks, AK

SmartQuote

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music -- the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." --Henry Miller, American writer