IN*SOURCE HOPE article

7/31/2019 IN*SOURCE HOPE article

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REPORTS

Spring 2012

Gloria L. WallFebruary16,1947 - January 16, 2012

On January 16, 2012, in Huntington,

Indiana, Gloria L. Wall lost her battle

with cancer, ending the long journey

she traveled with an enviable attitude,

with grace, dignity and a strength

that strengthened all who knew her.

During the twelve years that Gloria

served as an IN*SOURCE RegionalProgram Specialist supporting

families of students with special

needs in the Northeast Indiana area,

she gave denition to what it means

to be a true advocate. With her calm

thoughtfulness, she always focused

on the needs of students while

working collaboratively with school

personnel to resolve issues and

achieve positive results.

At the time of her death, Gloria

was serving in her second three

year term, representing IN*SOURCE,

as a member of the Indiana Commission for

Rehabilitation Services, a responsibility she

fullled with dedication and commitment, further

enhancing her ne reputation with her colleagues.

Gloria was so well respected by her co-workers,

by the families she supported, by the

school and agency personnel with

whom she worked, and by virtually all

who were fortunate enough to have

known her. Her colleagues continue

to comment on what an inspiration

she was and how they miss her, her

thoughtful approach to issues, herinsight and her warm and wonderfu

smile. She was, indeed, a role mode

to so many.

Our thoughts remain with her wonderfu

and supportive family . . . her husband,

Jim; her daughter, Erin; her son,

Ryan, and his wife, Kristy, and

their sons (Gloria’s grandchildren),

Dylan and Alex; her brother, Dan;

and her mother, Wanda.

We are grateful for the opportunity to

have had the opportunity to work with Gloria for

the past twelve years, during which she made an

important difference in the lives of so many. She

will live on in our memory and we will do our best

to honor her as we carry on her work and continue

to be grateful for her presence in our lives.

The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving with passion and compassion and humor and style and generosity and kindness.

Maya Angelou

A LIFE WELL LIVED



Page 2

From The Desk of the Executive Director. . .This is an interesting, exciting, challenging and a little

scary time in the evolution of our system of public

education. If our readers have not yet heard reference

to “Common Core State Standards (CCSS),” you surely

will. Since 2009, states led by the Council of Chief

State School Ofcers and the National Governors

Association Center for Best Practices have worked to

develop Common Core State Standards for our public

schools. Forty-ve states (including Indiana) and the

District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core

State Standards. The Common Core State Standards

have been developed to address the following ve

areas:

Preparation: The standards prepare students to be

college and career ready upon completion of high

school.

Competition: The standards are internationally

benchmarked to help ensure our students are globally

competitive.Equity: Expectations are consistent for all and not

dependent on a student’s zip code.

Clarity: The standards are focused, coherent, and

clear. Clearer standards help students (and parents

and teachers) understand what is expected of them.

Collaboration: The standards permit unprecedented

opportunities for collaboration across states and

districts. More than ever, educators may:

• Pool resources and expertise

• Create curricular tools

• Develop professional development

• Administer common assessments

Again, Indiana has adopted the CCSS. There is work

still to be done to set those standards in place across

the state, but we are moving down that path.

Indiana is also part of another multi state group…the

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College

and Careers (PARCC). PARCC is a consortium of 24

states and the District of Columbia working together to

develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English

and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for

college and careers. The PARCC has 5 goals:• Create high quality assessments

• Build a pathway to college and career readiness

. for all students

• Support educators in the classroom

• Develop 21st century, technology-based

assessments

• Advance accountability at all levels

With the last school year, the PARCC launched and

began the design phase of the process. It is expected

to be phased in over the next few years and completed

in the summer of 2015.

Common core standards that reect a broad

consensus agreement around what we believe all our

students should learn and experience without regard

to where they happen to live…preparation that leads to

opportunities for further education and/or meaningfuviable employment…common assessments tha

measure progress and achievement…as ou

students succeed, our nation succeeds…Interesting

challenging, exciting.

What about this is a little bit scary? Well, maybe it is

just me, but I do get concerned when we talk about al

students. I do not in any way disagree with the goa

that all students will be successful and prepared to take

advantage of further education or career opportunities

I believe that that is exactly correct. However, if we

retool our system in ways that are potentially morerigorous, a bit more challenging…in ways that are more

standardized, and a bit less exible, some number o

students will not achieve those standards. If we build

our diploma track on required achievement of common

core standards and some number of students do not

achieve those standards, can those students earn a

diploma? Will we offer a different track that leads to a

different diploma? Will a different diploma have value

or currency? For students who are struggling, will we

be able to resist the temptation to push them onto that

“different” track and will we be too quick to do that?

am not referring to only students enrolled in speciaeducation. Although many special education students

are low performing on standard assessments, they

are not the only low performing students and are

generally not the most prevalent low performing

students. Further, research is showing that specia

education students, on average in most states, have

shown increased levels of performance since 2002

03. I hope we think about and plan for success fo

all students, success that will be recognized and

celebrated. It will be hard work but I cannot think o

anything more important.

Our friend and colleague Gloria was a good and ne

person. She made a difference and we are better fo

having known her. She is missed.

Have a great summer!

Best Wishes,

Richard Burden



Page 3

Hope for the Futureby Jane Fuentes, IN*SOURCE Bilingual Program Specialist

Saturday, April 7th was a very

exciting day for Jane Carroll

and me. We spent the day

in East Chicago conducting

the rst session of volunteer

training with eleven Spanish-

speaking individuals. The

women were from East

Chicago, Hammond and

Highland.

All of the class members

belong to a parent support

group called HOPE (Hispanic Organization of Parents

of Exceptional Children). For the last two years,

I’ve had the privilege of providing trainings at their

meetings.

HOPE is a resilient group of parents who are serious

about learning how to advocate for their children. The

group is led by Ofelia Jimenez, Sonia Reeves and

Maria Maldonado. Ofelia currently sits on the board of

the Down Syndrome Association of Northwest Indiana,

and serves as the area representative for Indiana

Family Voices. She can always count on Sonia and

Maria to promote HOPE, to recruit new members, and

to spearhead the behind-the-scenes labor necessary

to hold the meetings. There are always upwards of

25 attendees at these meetings, all eager to learnand apply something new. Preparing for the meetings

means getting a separate room for all the children,

lining up personnel to provide care and recreation

for them, assigning carry-in dishes, and making sure

someone brings the plates and cups and makes the

coffee. HOPE has been meeting for several years,

and its members are close, so it’s no wonder a HOPE

meeting can seem more like a family reunion. From

the very rst time I was invited to address their group,

the HOPE members made me feel like I was a long-

lost relative.

Fast-forward two years, and HOPE has again stepped

their mission up to a new level. While they truly

appreciate the services IN*SOURCE has provided,

they’ve become aware that we desperately lack

bilingual individuals to assist the Hispanic community.

Through our conversations, they’ve come to the

realization that as Hispanics, they are in the best

position to help other Hispanics. They may not know

all there is to know about Article 7, but they know the

Spanish language, they understand the culture and its

nuances, and they understand the school system.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic

Latino population in Indiana continues to increase

The 2011 Census reported that people of Hispanic

Latino origin make up six percent of the population in

Indiana, with the major concentration being in Lake

and Marion Counties. Those numbers explain why, as

IN*SOURCE’s program specialists, we’ve been busier

than termites in a saw mill in our efforts to get past the

language barrier to assist Spanish-speaking parents

It’s comforting to know that help is on the way.

I wish all of you could meet the members of HOPE

and especially those members of the group tha

are reaching out for the opportunity to partner withus. They are so appreciative of the support and

information IN*SOURCE has provided. I’ve shared

with them various presentations, I’ve attended thei

case conferences, and I’ve advised them over the

phone. From me they’ve learned about their rights

and options under Article 7 and IDEA, they’ve learned

about traversing through the school system and the

special education process. They, in turn, have taught

me that we cannot give up in advocating for all the

children with special needs. Language and culture

may serve to divide us, but our love for the children

who need our help is unconditional and is the bridgeuniting us all – staff and volunteers working to make a

difference.



Page 4

Indiana Department of Education - Updateby Nicole Norvell, Director of Special Education

Indiana Department of Education

Is it really almost

summer? As

we all enjoy the

nice weather thathas been upon

us, as well as

look forward to a

sunny conclusion

to winter, we are

in the time of the

school year where students dream of lazy days

without homework and teachers look towards

rejuvenating from the school year! At the Indiana

Department of Education we also look forward to

summer, as it gives us time to plan, evaluate the

previous year’s activities, as well as take time to

think about how to improve services for students

with disabilities. With this in mind, I wanted to

update you on some new activities for the 2012-

2013 school year from the Ofce of Special

Education!

I am very excited to announce that the Ofce

of Special Education will be funding two new

resource centers to provide technical assistanceto our local school districts. The rst resource

center will support teachers around the use of

the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

This center will allow us to support our special

education teachers in taking these standards

and making them applicable to our students. We

will ask this provider to give extra attention to

those teachers who educate our most severely

cognitively impaired students to ensure they

receive a rigorous academic curriculum that

matches their abilities. The Ofce of SpecialEducation is excited to be designating resources

to help teachers improve the alignment of the

CCSS to the goals within a student’s IEP and

ultimately strengthen the instruction teachers are

delivering daily.

Currently, the IDOE funds six resource centers that

are assigned to local districts that are exhibiting

noncompliance. As this model of providing

technical assistance has been benecial, it has

not allowed the current resource centers to work

across Indiana with those local districts that arestriving to exceed expectations and move towards

what is “best practice”. The second new resource

center will focus on providing technical assistance

to those local districts struggling with compliance

across multiple areas to ensure that all students

in those districts receive a Free and Appropriate

Public Education (FAPE). The development of

this new center will allow our current technical

assistance providers to function from a place of

being proactive, as opposed to reactive, ensuring

that all local districts can receive support in their

efforts.

As we move to the conclusion of the 2011-2012

school year, we are in the process of receiving

feedback from our Indiana parents on how our

local districts are facilitating parent involvement

through the parent survey. We would encourage

all of you to prompt the families you are working

with to complete the survey, as it helps guide the

work of the IDOE as well as local districts. Thepaper surveys for parents are to be distributed to

families prior to April 15th, or families can access

the survey online at http://surveys.wested.org/

s3/inps until the end of May. We look forward to

hearing feedback from Indiana families in order

to continuously improve parent involvement in the

upcoming school year!

Thank you to all of you for your continued hard

work and dedication

to students andfamilies. The Ofce

of Special Education

values our continued

partnership with you

and looks forward

to the continued

success of all

students!



Page 5



Page 6

Welcome New Staff

I am so excited to introduce myself to you as a

new Regional Program Specialist at IN*SOURCE!

I will be serving the wonderful people of Lake

County. I was born and raised in “the region” and

love my area of the state!

My husband, Chad, and I have been married for

14 amazing years! We have two wonderful sons.Damon is 13 and is a 7th grader at Lake Ridge

Middle School. He is intelligent, handsome,

talented and a really great kid. He is in the

percussion section in the school band and also

participates in cross country and track. Chase is

10 and is in 3rd grade at Longfellow Elementary.

He has a wonderful sense of humor! He also

happens to have a diagnosis of moderate Autism

He is in a gen ed classroom and the kids and staf

adore him!

I have worked in the disability eld for the last 8

years. I am a former Service Coordinator for FirsSteps. I have also worked as a Parent Liaison fo

About Special Kids. My passion has always been

educational advocacy and making sure parents

were empowered to help their children receive

the most appropriate services in the schoo

setting. Working at IN*SOURCE has given me

the opportunity to use my knowledge and passion

everyday to help parents like myself.

My goal as a Regional Program Specialist is

to assist parents in understanding the speciaeducation process and helping them establish a

good working relationship with their school team

I strongly believe that when schools and families

work together amazing things can happen!

Toni is assisting families in Lake county.

oni ModglinRegional Program Specialist

Hobart, IN(219) 689-4547

[email protected]

I am honored and grateful to introduce myself as anew Regional Program Specialist for IN*SOURCE in

Region 7, serving Adams, Allen, Huntington, Wells,

and Whitley counties. I was born, raised, and currently

live in Fort Wayne, Indiana with my husband, Eric, our

two children, and our four-legged family member, Rex,

the cat. Prior to joining the IN*SOURCE family, I was a

registered veterinary technician in private practice for

six years followed by nearly nine years of veterinary

pharmaceutical inside sales.

Eric and I have been married for 11 years and aremembers of Covenant United Methodist Church where

I teach/help with Sunday school and Vacation Bible

School, and currently sit of the board of our preschool

program. In addition to being active in our church, I

am the parent member of the autism team for a local

Allen County school district. In my spare time, I enjoy

biking, walking, and spending time with my family.

We have two children. Our oldest, Zachary, is a 10

year old boy who is a basketball fanatic and loves to

golf. Zach received a PDD-NOS (a form of autism)

diagnosis nearly six years ago. Our family entered the

world of special needs advocacy well before Zach’smedical diagnosis Shortly after his rst birthday,

noticed developmental delays and sought intervention

through First Steps, Indiana’s early intervention

program. We transitioned into public specia

education preschool where Zach and our family were

blessed with a group of amazing teachers, aides, and

therapists who guided us through the process and

assisted with Zach’s rst IEP in kindergarten. For two

years, he received speech and occupational therapy

to address his ne/gross motor skills and language

Jill TomasRegional Program Specialist

Fort Wayne, IN(260) 619-3268

[email protected]

Continued on page 7



Page 7

Parent Survey 2011-2012

All parents of Indiana’s 164,000 students receiving

special education services should receive a paper

survey sometime during the second week of April

2012. This survey contains 31 questions designed to

measure parent satisfaction with their experience in

working with education staff at their children’s school

and the special education services their children are

receiving during the current 2011-12 school year.

Parents will receive the survey in a white business-

sized envelope from their children’s school.

Parents with more than one child receiving special

education services should complete one survey per

child. Additional paper surveys are available to parents

from their children’s school. Even though parentswill receive a paper copy of the survey, parents

with Internet access are encouraged to complete

the survey on-line by going to http://surveys.

wested.org/s3/inps/.

During the rst week of April, 2012, each Special

Education Planning District Director in Indiana will

receive a shipment of surveys to be distributed to

parents by mail or in person from school personnel.

Some surveys may also be sent home with the children

receiving special education services. If parents do

not receive a survey by April 16, 2012, they should

complete the survey on-line or request a paper

survey by contacting the person at their children’s

school responsible for overseeing the specia

education services their children receive.

The survey will

take about ve

minutes to complete

and all individual

responses will be

kept condential.

Completed surveys

must be completed

on-line or mailed

by April 30, 2012. Itis important for all

parents to complete

this survey so that

the Indiana Department of Education and Indiana’s

School Districts can improve the quality of specia

education services provided to Hoosier children

and their families. The results of this survey will be

sent by the Indiana Department of Education to the

U.S. Department of Education to fulll federal lega

requirements under Indicator 8 of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

delays. In addition to the special education preschool

setting, he also attended mainstream preschool at

our church to encourage inclusion, social skills, and

appropriate speech with neurotypical peers. Fast

forward ve years and today you’ll nd Zach sitting in

a general education 4th grade classroom with an IEP

where he is ourishing socially and academically and

loves to play kickball with classmates or run laps atrecess.

Lauren, our 4 ½ year old daughter is next in line. She

has attended PDO/preschool at our church for the

past three years and will be in a pre-K class next year

before entering kindergarten in the fall of 2013. Like

her older brother, Lauren loves to golf as well as play

soccer, sing and dance, giggle, and tell jokes. She

is very affectionate, greets you with a smile (majority

of the time), and loves to give hugs which nudges

Zach out of his comfort zone. With her ever-growing

vocabulary and out going personality, Lauren has

proven to be a great mentor for her brother. I have

no doubt this little girl will someday make enormous

contributions to this world in the name of all people

with varied abilities!

As a Regional Program Specialist, I will provide

accurate information to parents and professionals with

regard to the special education process to facilitate

informed decisions. It will be my goal to assist families

and school districts to work together in a positive

productive manner so that appropriate educationa

supports can be implemented to allow students to

achieve beyond measure and make their own unique

contribution to society. I am thrilled to be the newes

member of the IN*SOURCE team and look forwarding

to working with you!

Continued from page 6



Updated Resources Available

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“College and Post-secondary Services for Persons with Disabilities

in Indiana” is a document that is revised annually by IN*SOURCE

for the Indiana Department of Education. The 2012-2013 edition,

listing colleges and technical schools, contact information and

resources available for students with disabilities, is now available on

the IN*SOURCE website (www.insource.org). The 2012 Summer Camp List, containing brief descriptions of summer camps serving

students with disabilities, is also available on our website.

We encourage all families to take the short timeinvolved to complete the parent survey in order to

provide valued feedback.

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IN*SOURCE HOPE article