LD Links (LD News: May 2007)

Resources and Tools:

Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation
In his new Economic Policy Institute book, Robert G. Lynch discusses the costs and positive effects of targeted and universal pre-kindergarten programs on the economy, federal and state budgets, crime, and educational achievement.

Champions of Inclusion
Read about the every day heroes who make it possible for students with disabilities to participate equally with their peers in this article by Bill Henderson, Principal of the Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School in Boston.

Online Data Viewer from NCEO
The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) has developed an online Data Viewer where visitors can create individualized reports using information on state policies on assessment participation and accommodations for students with disabilities and annual performance reports related to students with disabilities.

Educator's Guide to Parent Resources for Learning Difficulties
SchwabLearning has developed a guide for educators with information on learning disabilities, articles and resources to share with parents and colleagues, and free, downloadable publications.

Postsecondary Education Resources for Individuals with Disabilities
The HEATH Resource Center has updated the Creating Options and Summer Pre-college Programs sections of their Web site, including updated information on financial assistance for postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities and an expanded list of summer preparatory programs.

Why Is Math So Hard for Some Children? The Nature and Origins of Mathematical Learning Difficulties and Disabilities
This new book gives readers background on research, teaching strategies, and policies that identify students who are struggling in math in order to help develop practices to help them.

Planning for Summer Kit
Find the right mix of learning and leisure activities to plan a summer the whole family will enjoy with SchwabLearning's "Planning for Summer" kit.

Virtual Tour of High-Quality Pre-K Classroom
Pre-K Now has developed a virtual tour for policymakers, parents, reporters, and educators to view a high-quality pre-k classroom, including real teacher-child interactions that foster all aspects of child development.

Webinars and Online Events:

Promoting the Social, Emotional and Behavioral Development and Outcomes of Young Children
The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center has released a multimedia recording of a Conference Call examining the latest evidence-based practices for addressing challenging behaviors in young children.

New Tools to Make Benchmark Analysis Free and Painless
SchoolsMovingUp will host a free online presentation on May 23 from 10:30 am to 12:00pm Pacific Time (1:30pm-12:00pm Eastern Time) with Janice Morrison, Jason Sutter, and Melodee Munckton from the California Technology Assistance Project on using benchmark assessments to improve student achievement.

Other upcoming presentations from SchoolsMovingUp:

Promising Technology Practices for Struggling Readers
Thursday, May 17 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time) with Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Deputy Director of the National Center for Technology Innovation, and Bridget Dalton, Chief Literacy and Technology Officer at the Center for Applied Special Technology.

Findings from the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth
Thursday, June 14 from 12:00pm-1:30pm Pacific time (3:00pm-4:30pm Eastern Time) with Diane August, Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics.

Reports and Interviews:

New Reports from WWC
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) has released new intervention reports on alternative high school programs, early literacy tools, middle school math curriculums, and K-6 math programs.

Accelerated Reader Rated Effective by WWC
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) has given Accelerated Reader, Renaissance Learning's reading practice software, a rating indicating "evidence of a positive effect with no overriding contrary evidence."

The Education Research We Need
In this interview with Frederick Hess, Michael F. Shaughnessy, senior columnist at EdNews.org, explores the problems we face when dealing with a lack of sufficient educational research today.