Curriculum & Instruction

• Peer tutors help students with disabilities succeed
  Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif., credits an after-school, peer-tutoring program with double-digit improvements in its Academic Performance Index among students with disabilities, students who are English-language learners and those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. The free tutoring program pairs upperclassmen with underclassmen needing help. "The majority of the mentors are AP students who are organized and have really good work habits," principal Maria Esther Lizarraga said. "It's nice for the 9th and 10th graders to have someone like this." San Diego Union-Tribune (11/1)     

Educational Leadership

• How to focus on the positive aspects of expectations
  A teacher's expectations influence how students learn, suggests middle-grades educator Ariel Sacks. However, in this blog post, Sacks reminds teachers to focus on the positive connotations of the word, avoiding its use to imply control, punitive measures or inflexible demands. "It is equally important that teachers can be reciprocally influenced by the students' experience and response to conditions or tasks," Sacks writes. Teacher Leaders Network/On the Shoulders of Giants blog (11/1)     

Hot Topics

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

• Teachers can help students with dyslexia find success in writing (Edutopia.org)

• Can "brain training" improve skills of those with disabilities? (The New York Times (tiered subscription model))

• Wis. school uses RTI, co-teaching with students who have disabilities (The Janesville Gazette (Wis.))

• Should teachers eliminate time limits for students? (Education Week Teacher (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org))

• Teacher shares co-teaching tips (MiddleWeb)

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

Technology Trends

• Tech access improves for Texas college students with disabilities
  Using online supplemental materials for college classes can be difficult for students with disabilities, but access to these materials is improving, according to collegiate disability-services directors and advocates in Texas. Colleges in Texas use state funds to provide assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to students, and more education-technology companies, such as Blackboard, are making their software compatible with such devices. San Antonio Express-News (10/31)     

• Other News

• Teachers reflect on transition to one-to-one computing
  Edutopia.org/Andrew Marcinek's blog (10/31)     

Policy News

• Ariz. uses NCLB waiver flexibility to improve struggling schools
  Arizona officials say its waiver from parts of No Child Left Behind has allowed educators more flexibility in how they spend federal funds and help turn around struggling schools. The state also has moved away from turnaround methods favored under the federal education law, including replacing school staff. Instead, educators are working to improve students' performance in targeted areas and getting resources to the most needy schools. The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) (11/2)     

	The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) "Taught me more than any education book I've read in the last 10 years" (Teacher Leaders Network). Metaphors & Analogies helps teachers create those aha! moments when students suddenly understand a difficult concept—across all content areas and grade levels. Click here to preview Chapter 1 online! Interested in learning more about advertising in CEC SmartBrief? Contact Joe Riddle at (202) 407-7857 or jriddle@smartbrief.com.

Eye on Exceptionalities

• Panel: Early, intensive programs for autism show promise
  Autism intervention programs offering early, intensive therapies for developing language and social, play and behavioral skills helped students with autism achieve "moderate" improvements in behavior, according to a recent policy statement from the Evidence-based Practice Center. The multidisciplinary panel issued its findings after reviewing 68 studies and 33 reviews of intervention programs. They noted that "strength" of the evidence needed improvement and recommended additional studies. MedPage Today (free registration) (11/2)     

• More workers with disabilities held jobs in October
  The unemployment rate for workers with disabilities fell in October, the U.S. Department of Labor reported recently. The jobless rate for people with disabilities declined from 13.5% in September to 12.9% in October. These numbers include individuals who are 16 and older and who do not live in institutions. Disability Scoop (11/2)     

• Other News

• Researchers to use robotics to help infants with cerebral palsy learn to crawl
  TMCNet.com (11/2)     

CEC Spotlight

• Here's your Tool of the Week
  This week's tool, "Acceptable Reinforcers/Rewards," comes from "When Behavior Makes Learning Hard: Positive Steps for Changing Student Behavior," and provides teachers and parents with a list of acceptable reinforcers and rewards for students with disabilities. Subscribe to Tool of the Week, and you'll find a free tool in your inbox every Monday morning. Get your Tool of the Week.     

• Last chance to register for CEC/DR webinar on implementing evidence-based practices with linguistically diverse students
  The CEC/DR Collaborative webinar, "Implementing Evidence-Based Practices With Linguistically Diverse Students With Disabilities," at 4 p.m. EDT Nov. 8, will explore the essential issues and challenges surrounding implementation of EBPs and the critical decision-making process of selecting and adjusting these practices to meet the unique needs of individual student populations. Further, the webinar will address ways in which schools can maintain fidelity while ensuring the practices are culturally responsive to diverse student populations. Sign up today!     

Click here to view more job listings.

SmartQuote

Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible." --George Orwell, British novelist and journalist