Presidents Report
Karen Aalund, Work Coordinator
Mounds View Schools
Greetings! I can’t believe a year has passed already. With
graduation time upon us, it’s great to look back at how far our
students have come. I know you all work hard to teach your
students skills to maximize their independence and try to guide them
into a career that matches both their interests and abilities.
For this, I thank you. What a wonderful group of educators we
have in the state of Minnesota!
I would like to thank the board members who have given their time and
expertise in making the MNACTE/SNP board strong. I always enjoy
our time together each month, as it rejuvenates my spirit just hearing
what people are doing in their schools. Thank you for your
patience as I learn the ropes my first year as President, and a special
thank you to Luann Tauer, who has helped me with the transition.
Congratulations to Beth Quest, who has stepped up to be President-Elect
next year.
This year winds up with our May meeting at Paninos in North Oaks.
We look back at our goals for the year and see that we will have
successfully completed them by the conclusion of our meeting.
Remember student grant applications are available on the website.
Looking forward to next year, our annual meeting will be held at
Hennepin Technical College on October 9, 2008. We will again host
the luncheon beginning at 11:30 with the meeting to follow at
12:30. More details will come in the fall.
Enjoy your summer and looking forward to seeing you in the fall.
Lifestyle & Career Choice
Curriculum
Cheryl Regenold, Work Coordinator
Mounds View High School
The project assignment: Finding the Lifestyle You Want is designed to
help students identify careers that appeal to them. Students perform
research on three careers that seem compatible with their interests,
aptitudes, values, and abilities. Students access career information
from a variety of resources, write a career profile for each career,
and then decide which career option is best suited to fit their
lifestyle. Students then create a PowerPoint presentation and write a
paper on their chosen career. Students become the "expert" on their
career and identify the preparation needed, including schools that
offer the necessary training/degrees/certifications. Please feel free
to use this assignment with your students; it was a very successful and
meaningful lesson plan for my students.
Download curriculum: Finding
the Lifestyle You Want
2007-08 MDE and DEED
Transition/Work Based Learning Workshops
Al Hauge, Career Guidance and Transition Disabled Specialist
Minnesota Department of Education
Regional workshops (eight total, November 2007-April 2008) were
presented throughout the state to assist special education staff, work
based learning coordinators, school administrators, vocational
rehabilitation counselors, and other outside providers in a variety of
areas. Discussion was focused on how necessary work based learning
program elements can be implemented, the importance of work experiences
for youth in meeting transition employment goals, resources that can
assist in successful outcomes for youth, and local planning for how
more coordinated services can exist. Approximately 250
individuals participated in these workshops.
These workshops were intended to enhance collaboration across agencies
so that all students receive the best services before they graduate
from high school. Overall, participant evaluations supported that
the workshops did indeed succeed in this pursuit. A common theme
throughout the state was how important it was to have these workshops
regionally versus one central location. The budget analysis
supports this concept in that these workshops costs were
self-supported. The regional concept also provided an opportunity
for those who typically cannot attend because of distance and time to
participate and hear the same message that others throughout the state
were provided.
Al Hauge, Mike Mitchell and Jayne Spain from the Minnesota Department
of Education (MDE) and Alyssa Klein from the Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic Development (DEED) were the presenters.
They will also be providing follow-up services, as needed, to the local
areas that participated in these events.
Locations:
Fergus falls
|
Duluth
|
Rochester
|
Mankato
|
St. Cloud
|
Anoka
|
Bemidji
|
Rosedale
|
Now that the 2007-08 workshops have been delivered, the planning group
will revisit the evaluations, identify topic areas that are vital in
improving/ sustaining effective transition services throughout the
state, and put together another set of regional meeting dates for the
2008-09 school-year as well.
Above all else, MDE and DEED want to emphasize that collaboration
across agencies produces better outcomes for students with disabilities
in reaching their post high school goals. Furthermore, while
“talk” is nice, it is action that produces results. The hope is
that work beyond the workshops can happen locally, and the group wants
to provide tools and resources to help make this happen. Once the
new topics and dates for the 2008-09 are set, the planning group will
pass them on.
Lastly, the MDE and DEED staff want to send out a “thank you” to all of
those who made this a successful venture thus far!
|
Announcements/Calendar
MnACTE/SNP
Board meetings 2008-2009: 10/9/08 (luncheon at 11:30), 11/13/08,
1/8/09, 2/12/09 (luncheon at 11:30), 5/14/08. Meetings are at
Hennepin Technical
College, Brooklyn Park MN from 12:30 until around
2:30 or 3:00.
June 16-17, 2008: ACTE Region III
Conference in St. Paul, MN. Registration information at http://www.acteonline.org/about/states/MN.cfm
December 4-6, 2008 ACTE Annual
Convention in Charlotte, NC http://acteonline.org
CHANGE:
The 2009 MnACTE/SNP Statewide Conference dates have changed to February
12-13 from
March 5-6. The conference is still being held at Edinburgh
USA, Brooklyn Park, MN.
Are you on Al Hauge's email group? Al works
with the Adult and Career Education Division at MDE as the Career
Guidance and Transition Disabled Specialist. Contact Al and he'll
include you in Transition Disabled/Work Based Learning developments for
youth with disabilities from the Minnesota Department of Education. al.hauge@state.mn.us.
2008 MnACTE/SNP Grant Award
Recipients
Lynne Jeske, Work Coordinator
Mounds View Schools
The Minnesota Association for Career and
Technical Education Special Needs Personnel (MnACTE/SNP) is proud to
announce the 2007-2008 awards recipients. A special thanks to all
who nominated this group of outstanding students. The students
will be receiving a letter and certificate along with a $250.00
award.
Josh
Anderson, Transition Plus - Anoka Hennepin District #11.
Josh has just received an Associate Degree from North Hennepin
Community College and is planning on attending the University of
Minnesota next fall. He has a strong interest in both English and
Art and has held a job at Eddington’s for over 2 years. Josh is a
good communicator, decision maker and has begun to build a solid
foundation for himself and his future.
Nominated by: Steve Czech
Andrea Lindbeck, Park
High School
Andrea will be attending St. Paul Technical College and plans to pursue
a career in the area of Hospitality Management. Andrea has been
working at Kohl’s Department store where she has had the opportunity to
improve her confidence and work place skills. Andrea is a
personable and respectful young woman who is determined to achieve her
goals.
Nominated by: Carol Sicard
Caitlin Martin, CLT Mounds View
Caitlin is on her way to pursue a Vet Tech Degree beginning this summer
in Willmar, Minnesota. Caitlin has worked diligently to develop a
post-secondary plan. She is ready for a greater challenge and
independence as she will be living away from home for the first
time. Caitlin’s confidence has increased considerably this past
year as reflected in excellent employer evaluations from working 3
part-time jobs simultaneously.
Nominated by: Nancy Krawetz
Cole Murphy, Irondale High School
Cole will be attending Mounds View School’s Career, Life and Transition
Program. Cole has been successfully employed by Paninos
Restaurant for the past two years as a server assistance. Cole
has strengthened his interpersonal skills and is on his way to becoming
a stronger self advocate. He plans to work closely with Rehabilitation
Services next year so that he can identify a career path.
Nominated by: Lynne Jeske
Chris Rowe, Mounds View High School
Chris is planning on attending Century College to study law
enforcement. Chris is a dedicated volunteer in his community as
well as a business owner/entrepreneur. He owns his own business
providing household services to elderly neighbors and busy
families. Chris has been instrumental in mentoring others to
develop leadership skills.
Nominated by: Cheryl Regenold
Mike Steger, Park High School
Mike is planning on continuing his education in the area of Auto
Body. He secured a position this year after impressing a judge at
the CTIC Career Skills event. The judge just happened to be owner
of Century Power Motor Sports where Mike is currently employed.
Mike has a great work ethic and always puts forth his best effort.
Nominated by: Carol Sicard
Mahtomedi Transition
Collaboration & CTIC Skills Day
Nick Falde, Work Coordinator
Mahtomedi High School
It has been a very busy year in the Mahtomedi School District from a
transition perspective. With the help of Dean Shawbold and a
collaborative effort between school districts, Mahtomedi and White Bear
Lake have formed a partnership for Mahtomedi students of transition
age. Starting next fall Mahtomedi students, age 18-21, with transition
needs will be attending White Bear Lake’s Transition Plus Program.
This collaboration is beneficial from both perspectives because it
makes the end of the year transition for the Mahtomedi students so much
easier and manageable, and it keeps them closer to the things that they
know and love. This also enables White Bear Lake to grow their program
and continually serve youth in an even larger capacity. All of us
in the Mahtomedi District are very excited about this venture.
Secondly Washington County hosted its first ever Career Skills Day.
This event was put on by the Washington County Community Transition
Interagency Committee (CTIC). The day brought special needs students
from across the county to one centralized location to compete in
different career/job categories, such as interviewing, general
knowledge of the working world, problem solving, and application
completion. It was not only set up as a competition but also provided
opportunities for students to connect with different agencies, post
secondary schooling options, and multiple service providers. The event
was held February 21, 2008 at the Cornerstone Community Building in
Oakdale, MN.
|
