President's Report
WOW! Summer is here and another school year is wrapping
up quickly. As I sit down to write my last "President's
Report" for the ECHO, I find that I am reflecting on these
past three years both professionally and personally with
lots of satisfaction. Not only has it been another
successful year for our organization, but it has continued
to progress and serve our membership and students throughout
the time I have served on the board. I would like to express
my thanks to those who served on the board this year and
also those that were on the board during my first two years;
your help has made my term as president go smoothly. Also,
thanks to all of you who have kept your membership current
as that enables us to provide opportunities for you and your
students. One of those benefits is that, again this year,
MnACTE/SNP has awarded eight Student Grant Awards of $250
each; congratulations students (see article). We had a very
successful 2005 statewide conference, and again, I want to
thank those who planned the conference, those who attended,
and to congratulate award winners (see April ECHO). Start
making plans to attend the 2007 statewide conference as
planning has already begun. Thank you to all those who
agreed to run for one of the positions on the board; thanks
to everyone who voted, and congratulations to those who were
elected to serve on next year's MnACTE/SNP Board. LuAnn
Tauer will be an excellent president and will have the
support of the new Board which will be made up of qualified
professionals who will continue in our efforts to serve our
members and promote services for our students. The elections
will be ratified; those elected will conduct the Annual
Membership Meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2005, 12:30 p.m.
at Hennepin Technical College-Brooklyn Park Campus (see
article). I have enjoyed the opportunity over these past
years to meet many of you and have realized what a wonderful
and professional group of individuals you all are. This is a
great organization, and I hope that we continue to promote
it. I look forward to continuing working with the board and
MnACTE/SNP members to provide the best opportunities for our
students. Thanks again for all your support during these
past three years.
Relax and have a great summer.
Submitted by:
Robert W. Lindgren
Work Experience Coordinator
Area High School
401 Huntsinger Avenue
Park Rapids, MN 56470
Office: 218-237-6479
Fax: 218-237-6401
rlindgren@parkrapids.k12.mn.us
$1,000 Grant Received from State Farm
Insurance
The Wayzata TRACK (Teaching Responsibility and Character
to Kids) Work Program staff in conjunction with other
Special Education staff and High School and Middle School
Science and Art teachers received a $1,000 grant from State
Farm Insurance for their proposal of developing a Rain
Garden. The Rain Garden will be used as a prototype for the
City of Plymouth. The students produced a power point
presentation and brochure that was presented at a ribbon
cutting ceremony on April 15th. The money from the grant
will be used to design, dig, plant, and educate the students
about rain gardens. The students also took a trip to the
Science Museum to learn more about rain gardens and their
environment.
Valerie Mattioli and Cathy Braun
Wayzata Schools
2005 MnACTE/SNP Grant Awards
MnACTE/SNP awards financial grants to students who have
overcome barriers to achieve his/her highest potential for
success. These $250 grants are to be used to assist the
student in accessing or completing a career/technical
program. The financial awards have been distributed to eight
students this year. The students are nominated by MnACTE/SNP
members.
Amy Johnson, Transition Plus, Anoka Hennepin District 11.
Amy was nominated by Tom Carlson. Amy was selected
Outstanding Career and Technical Special Needs Student of
the Year and was honored at the MnACTE/SNP Conference in
March. Amy is an Honor Student at Anoka Ramsey Community
College and is employed as a school bus driver and works at
Subway. She has her Emergency Medical Technician
certification from Anoka Technical College and will graduate
from ARCC with an Associate of Arts degree this spring. Amy
has joined the Navy and will receive training to be a
Medical Technician. Congratulations Amy!
Vathida Phouthasack, Intermediate District 287 VECTOR
North Transition Program. Vathida was nominated by Barb
Jolicoeur. Vathida was selected Outstanding Career and
Technical Special Needs Student of the Year and was honored
at the MnACTE/SNP Conference in March. Vathida is working on
completing the Medical Transcriptionist Advanced Technical
Certificate program from Hennepin Technical College. Vathida
is employed by the Maple Grove Police Department
transcribing arrest reports. Vathida will use her financial
award toward her tuition costs. Congratulations,
Vathida!
Jennifer L. Gardner, Park Rapids Area High School.
Jennifer was nominated by Robert W. Lindgren. Jenny plans to
further her education with classes in Child Care/Teacher
Aide. Jenny has been in a work experience program for three
years and has been employed in the district's pre-school
program as an aide. At this time Jenny is employed by the
Mahube Community Council as a Teacher's Aide in their
pre-school program. Jenny has discovered that she can be
successful with supports through her exploration of schools
and her awareness of her disability. Jenny continues to take
on new tasks and is willing to learn. Jenny will use her
grant toward her goal of independence and employment in her
career choice of child care. Congratulations, Jennifer!
Allan Hinnenkamp, Richfield Senior High. Allan was
nominated by Patricia Larson. Allan is planning to attend
the Richfield Transition Plus Program next fall and has
participated in job training for several years utilizing
Opportunity Partners SET sites. Allan would like to attend
Opportunity Partners Summer Career Camp and will use his
grant toward the tuition. Allan continues to be interested
in learning about different careers and plans to work on bus
training, improving attendance, and positive strategies for
dealing with others as part of his goals for the future.
Allan is always eager to volunteer to help with a chore or
errand, is hardworking and dedicated. Congratulations,
Allan!
Dan Laske, Transition Plus, Anoka Hennepin District 11.
Dan was nominated by Tom Carlson. Dan was considered at risk
when he attended high school and enrolled in a WECEP class.
With the support of his work coordinator, Dan passed classes
and maintained a job. After he entered the Transition Plus
program, Dan decided to take the entrance exam at Hennepin
Technical College in December 2003 and passed. During this
time Dan began to make some major changes in his life. He
began to advocate for himself in a mature and thoughtful
way. Dan took the 8 required general ed classes during
Spring Semester of 2004 before he started the Auto Mechanics
program. Dan is currently in his 3rd semester at HTC in
addition to being employed at Broadway Rental since May
2002. Dan will use his grant toward tuition costs.
Congratulations, Dan!
Lisa Ann Loeffler, Mounds View Public Schools, District
621, CLT Program. Lisa was nominated by Susan Hoch. Lisa has
gained independence, self confidence and self awareness.
Currently Lisa is holding down three jobs requiring three
different work skills. Her work supervisors have enjoyed
watching her grow into an independent adult. Lisa was
fearful of taking the Metro Transit bus system and now uses
it for her main mode of transportation. She has recently
qualified for public housing and has spent months budgeting
her money and planning for her new apartment. Lisa's
apartment is fully furnished, and she is responsible for the
management of her monthly bills and budgeting. Lisa is a
non-reader and is familiar with her style of learning. She
understands her needs and is able to advocate for
accommodations. Lisa has learned that there will always be
people in her life to listen and help and that coping with
her anxiety will always be a part of her life.
Congratulations, Lisa!
Blia Moua, Transition Plus Services, St. Paul Public
Schools. Blia was nominated by Karin Tomervik. Blia attended
Century College for two years and was described as an
exemplary student by an instructor. Blia has been employed
by McDonald's for over five years and is currently an
Assistant Manager. Blia provides financial help to his large
family; he assists his siblings with school work and his
parents with gardening and transportation. Blia's original
career goal was to become a law enforcement officer, but
after two years, Blia recognized a need for a career
direction change to better fit with his interests and
abilities. He struggled with reading and writing. He is
currently attending Saint Paul College in the machine tool
program. Blia will use his grant to help him achieve his
employment goal. Congratulations, Blia!
Kaitlyn Rochell, Irondale High School. Kaitlyn was
nominated by Beth Quest. Kaitlyn recently received a letter
of acceptance from Itasca Community College . Kaitlyn's
career goal is to become a probation officer, social worker
or a child protection worker. She has spent considerable
time researching careers and post secondary schools and has
sent an accommodation letter to Itasca Community College
explaining her disability, learning styles, learning needs
and accommodations that would work best for her. Kaitlyn has
learned to cope and understand her disabilities. She is
employed by the YMCA and Carbone's Pizza and is actively
saving toward her college tuition. Kaitlyn will use her
grant to help with her goals. Congratulations, Kaitlyn!
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Announcements/Calendar
Reminder: If your address or email address
changes, please contact Bob Lindgren at rlindgren@parkrapids.k12.mn.us.
It is important to keep current email addresses as our
organization has chosen an electronic format for most
communication. Also, let others know about the website and
our organization. In the current policy-making climate, it
is important to join and maintain membership in MnACTE/SNP
as well as MnACTE and ACTE. Decisions on key legislation are
being made which include Minnesota's permanent CTE levy and
the reauthorization of IDEAS and Perkins. The larger our
numbers, the stronger and more unified our voice will
be.
MnACTE/SNP Board Work Session: August, 2005 (date
to be determined), Park Rapids.
MnACTE/SNP 2005-2006 Board Meetings: Hennepin
Technical College, Brooklyn Park, MN, 12:30 p.m. in Room
H195.
October 13, 2005 - Annual Membership Board Meeting;
November 10, 2005
January 12, 2006
February 9, 2006
March 9, 2006
May 4, 2006.
MnACTE Board Meetings:
June 21, 2005, Chaska
August, 2005 (day to be determined), Park Rapids
ACTE Region III Leadership Conference: July 10-12,
2005 at Indianapolis, IN
ACTE National Convention: December 8-10, 2005 New
Orleans, LA
Service Learning Projects at Wayzata High
School
Laker's Breakfast Nook
 Through
service learning projects, hands on learning occurs at
Wayzata High School on a regular basis. Many service
learning projects have been developed by teachers of DCD
students in conjunction with the Wayzata TRACK (Teaching
Responsibility and Character to Kids) Work Program staff.
Together, the staff and students follow through with the
projects. One project is a restaurant within the school
serving staff breakfasts twice a week. The restaurant is
called Wayzata Laker's Breakfast Nook. The students take the
orders over the phone or collect written orders that are
placed in their private mailbox. The orders are then filled
and delivered directly to the teachers. The entire process
is student run. The restaurant offers Caribou Coffee, tea,
hot chocolate, yogurt, strawberries, bananas, Bruegger
Bagels, mixed nuts, trail mix and muffins. Students learn
communication skills, customer skills, money skills and food
prep. They take responsibility of their behavior and can
earn Scooby-Do bucks to gain the privilege of watching the
bi-monthly movie. The restaurant has been a great success
with plenty of hungry teachers. The skills the students
learn are invaluable.
 
CTIC Career & Job Fair
The South West Community Transition Interagency Committee
(CTIC) celebrated its first Career & Job Fair on April
11, 2005. Over 85 students participated from the South West
Suburban school districts, including Bloomington, Edina,
Hopkins, Minnetonka, Mound Westonka, Richfield, Wayzata and
Intermediate District 287.
A special thank you goes to the organizations and
businesses participating in the first time event to offer
advice about career paths and job preparedness for the
future: Organizations supporting the Business Leadership
Network, Northwest Airlines and Medtronic were available to
share information about their corporations and advise
students about careers within their organizational
structure. Also attending was the US Federal Credit Union,
the US Navy, the Royal Cuisine (Hopkins), Old Country
Buffet, Wellbridge, Goodwill Easter Seals, Davanni's,
Panera, Dairy Queen, and VSA Arts.
Students participated in a curricular activity while
interviewing the business representatives available for the
Career Fair. Human Resource representatives assisted
students with applications for potential job openings and
offered extensive advice regarding employment within their
companies.
The purpose of the Career Fair was to support students
with disabilities get beyond attitudinal barriers that
sometimes take place in the community and the work place.
Students were able to connect directly with business
representatives on a more informal basis regarding career
paths. This is not always an easy task. It requires
understanding, patience, and the compassion to work with and
train youth so that they can better prepare themselves for
employment. Defining one's 'self' through vocation is
significant.
Essentially, it is the employer who takes over where we
leave off, helping students to gain more extensive skills
that are applied to active learning on the job. It is a
natural course of events for all learners. It can be even
more significant for the students whom we work with,
depending on the type of disability that they have.
This event could not have taken place without the
enthusiasm and support of Best Prep, who helped us network
with many of the participating employers.
We look forward to next year when the South West CTIC has
their annual Career Fair!
Colleen Haggar
Hopkins Schools
8th Grade Orientation
At Wayzata High School we believe that one way to teach
work skills is through service learning projects. One of
those projects is an orientation for 8th grade students with
DCD, planned and presented by the high school students with
DCD. The goal of the service project is to inform the 8th
graders about life at Wayzata High School in the hopes of
helping them feel more comfortable about this transition. As
part of this orientation, the high school students are
responsible for creating a power point, a video, and a
newspaper for middle school students. In addition they must
prepare "conversation starters" to use when they have lunch
at McDonalds with the students. Some of the skills that
students are exposed to as a part of this service learning
project are: how to use the library to check out equipment,
how to operate the video camera, how to operate the digital
camera, how to create both a power point and a video, and
how to use Printshop for creating newspapers. At all times,
students must learn to present themselves professionally as
they converse and take pictures of a large number of staff;
they then present themselves to the 8th grade class.
Communication skills and working as a team are required from
beginning to end. Both the high school students and the
middle school students seem to enjoy this project.
Valerie Mattioli and Cathy Braun
Wayzata Schools
2005-2006 Board of Directors
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President:
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LuAnne Tauer
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Past President:
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Bob Lindgren
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President Elect:
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Karen Aalund
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Secretary:
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Kim Landecker/Cathy Braun
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Treasurer:
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Valerie Mattioli
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Membership:
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Sue Sorenson
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Newsletter Editor:
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Open
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WEH/ Work Based Learning Coordinator - Special
Needs
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Lori Eden
Ann Hicks
Pat Larson
Deb Olsen
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WED/Work Based Learning Coordinator
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Winston Kindem
Beth Quest
Mick Seme
Barb Weldon
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WECEP
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Wayne Turkowski
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Transition Coordinator:
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Beverly Rath
Colleen Haggar
Nicki Karulak
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Administrative Affiliates:
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Paula Krippner
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Post Secondary Rep:
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Open
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Paraprofessional Rep:
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Open
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Ad Hoc Members
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Steve Czech
Sheri Gatchell
Bonnie Holt
Suasan Hoch
Lezlie Ingvalson
Darla Jackson
Dean Shawbold
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