December 15, 2003 Editor: Steve Czech Thanks to everyone who submitted articles!

MnACTE/SNP Home Page: http://www.mnactesnp.org
President's Report Greetings and welcome to the 2003-04 school year. It seems I'm going to start with an apology. For most of August and periodically this fall, my computer system or the schools network has had many problems. If you emailed me and communication was difficult, I apologize and hope that all will be better in the future. As I start the second year as president, I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with all there is to accomplish through MnACTE/SNP. I've enjoyed the opportunity to meet and communicate with so many wonderful individuals with the common goal of providing opportunities for students with special needs. Over the past year, we have achieved many of our goals and continue to work on others. Goals for 2003-2004 appear below this article. Minnesota can be very proud again this year. MnACTE/SNP had three of our national award nominees selected as winners, and Minnesotans won three major awards in the ACTE Region III award nomination process. They were forwarded on to the national selection committee for consideration. Further information on these award winners appears in this issue of the Echo. One of the challenges I continue to have is keeping my email list current. The list continues to grow, which is great, however many emails bounce back due to address changes. If you do not receive my emails and would like to, please contact me at (rlindgren@parkrapids.k12.mn.us). Also, if your contact information changes during the year, let me know and I will notify membership. In an effort to make membership renewal more efficient, MnACTE/SNP has established a procedure through which renewal periods will occur once in the fall an once in the spring. MnACTE has also implemented this process. Hopefully there will be a smooth transition for those of us who belong to both organizations, and I would encourage you to join MnACTE if you are not presently a member. We will work closely with MnACTE this year on legislative issues. Also, watch for 1 or 2 regional meeting during the year. One regional meeting was held November 26th in Brainerd. The next board meeting is January 8th at HTC-Brooklyn Park and will take place at 12:30. Have a great year. Submitted by: Robert W. Lindgren Work Experience Coordinator Area High School 401 Huntsinger Avenue Park Rapids, MN 56470 218-237-6479 &endash; office 218-237-6401 &endash; fax rlindgren@parkrapids.k12.mn.us 2003-2004 Goals Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education/Special Needs Personnel Start planning for the state-wide conference, spring 2005. Start/expand having regional professional development - training/networking. Data Base of potential membership - from programs in existence and new licensed coordinators. Increase membership. Continue to work with MDE regarding our Programs. Continue to work with MnACTE on legislation. Continue the work on the web page - history page, job listings, more interaction with members, a possible down link from ACTE, etc. Get three ECHO's published and a year-end report (student grant winners, election results, & announcements). Review By-laws and Duties/Responsibilities(should be looked at every couple years).   Proposed Cohort Graduate Program Bemidji State University M.S. Industrial Technology with an Emphasis in Career & Technical Education Center for Career & Technical Education Program Overview The Center for Career & Technical Education at Bemidji State University is proposing a Cohort for a Master of Science degree in Industrial Technology with an Emphasis in Career & Technical Education. It is targeted to teachers who wish to enhance their academic credentials as leaders in Career & Technical Education, and have the opportunity to network with educators with similar interests and educational goals. The proposed schedule includes a start date of June 21st, 2004 (tentative), and a graduation date of May, 2006. Course will be primarily delivered via the web, making access and scheduling of courses and coursework completion attractive to working professionals. Cohort participants will be expected to visit campus only three times; which includes attending a three day Orientation Seminar during Summer Semester of 2004, attend a one week Seminar in the Summer of 2005 to present their proposals for their Research Project, and one day to make a final presentation and defense of their Research Paper in the Spring Semester of 2006. Graduate level courses that individuals have taken for other purposes such as Teacher Coordinator of Work-Based Learning Licensure and the Teacher Education Series (TES) courses may be applied for degree requirements as electives. Individuals may also have the opportunity to customize elective coursework for professional development relating to program certification and accreditation. Students may transfer up to ten graduate credits from other institutions, and use those courses as electives or substitutions. A minimum of twelve students is required to start the Cohort. There is a maximum of 20 students to be included in the Cohort. Applicants will be accepted by the order in which their application is made. Tuition Rates Resident tuition rates for web-based courses for Fall Semester, including fees is $247.39 per credit. Tuition and fees is subject to change. Application A Letter of Commitment by an applicant indicating their desire to be a member of this Cohort is due by April 5, 2004, and should be sent to Dr. James R. McCracken. The letter should indicate why the individual is interested in participating in the Cohort, and should also include contact information, including an email address. Applicants will be notified by May 1, 2004, if they have been accepted into the Cohort, or the minimum number of participants was not reached. Inquiries/Additional Information For additional information, contact Dr. James R. McCracken, Director, Center for Career & Technical Education at 218-755-2998, or email at jmccracken@bemidjistate.edu. For additional information on Bemidji State University Graduate Degree information, visit the BSU web site at http://www.bemidjistate.edu. Tentative Program Schedule (subject to change) Semester/Class Credits Summer Semester, 2004 IT 6200 Applications of Emerging Technologies* 2 ED 6107 Adv. Educational Psychology 3 IT xxxx Elective (WBL, TES, customized course) 2 Fall Semester, 2004 ED 6100 Educational Research 3 IT xxxx Elective (WBL, TES , customized course) 2 Spring Semester, 2005 IT 6340 Leadership and Supervision in Ind./Voc. Ed. 2 IT xxxx Elective (WBL, TES, customized course) 2 Summer Semester, 2005 IT 6280 Instructional Technologies 2 IT 6910 Seminar in Career & Technical Education* 2 IT xxxx Elective (WBL, TES, customized course) 2 Fall Semester, 2005 IT 6380 Grants and Contract Writing 2 IT xxxx Elective (WBL, TES, customized course) 2 IT xxxx Elective (WBL, TES, customized course) 2 Spring Semester 2006 IT 6980 Graduate Research Paper* 2 Total Credits 30 *course requires some type of on-campus attendance Successful Transition Sara S. is enjoying her first year at White Bear Lake Transition Plus. Her favorite activities are the cooking projects, and community outings. She describes the program as "fun". While at South Campus, Sara attended the SERVE Program at NE Metro 916. After that, she decided to enroll in Child Development for her post-secondary degree. She says someday she may be an assistant in a daycare setting. At Transition Plus, she participates in a study group that will help her achieve her goal for getting good grades in her class. Sara currently works at Kowalski's, putting in about 20 hours a week. She started there two and a half years ago facing shelves. Since then, she has been promoted to courtesy, and her duties include bagging groceries and carryout. She is described as a very dependable hard worker, and customers as well as fellow employees, enjoy seeing her friendly smile when they are there. When not at Transition Plus, 916, or work, Sara enjoys watching TV, sleeping in, and hanging out with her friends. She says that this year she is doing more socializing, more "out and about" (as she describes it). She likes movies and all kinds of music, and Transition staff enjoys hearing about the latest concerts that she has attended. In the future, she would like to work towards getting her drivers license, so she can drive and own a car. She thinks that maybe some time in her life, she would like to travel to Korea, to see the country that she was adopted from. Staff at Transition Plus, are sure that Sara's positive attitude will help her achieve her goals and dreams.   Submitted by: Kim Van Swol Transition Plus White Bear Lake Area Schools	Announcements Mark your calendars: Remaining dates for 2003-2004 board meetings. Dates: 1/8/04, 2/12/04, 3/11/04, 4/15/04, 5/13/04 (May location TBD) Location: Hennepin Technical College, Brooklyn Park Time: 12:30 (lunch beforehand) MnACTE/MACTA Winter Conference: February 10-11, 2004 2/10 Hot Topics Session on "How Can CTE Meet State and NCLB Standards?" and Awards Dinner. 2/11 Legislative Day More information will come out later in an email and ECHO. Diane Miller presented at the last MnACTE/SNP board meeting. She shared information on the Work-Based Learning Manual and also gave a short presentation on a safety curriculum. Here are the resources: Work Safe Work Smart is a safety curriculum put together by the Minnesota Department of Health. It is free and you can get it by emailing or calling: workerhealth@health.state.mn.us Phone: 612-676-5216 Fax: 612-676-5458 2003 Minnesota Work-Based Learning Manual "Connecting Youth to Work Based Learning, Blue Print for a Quality Program" has been published in CD format or hard copy. The cost is $20 each and can be ordered by contacting Diane Klapak at: MN Department of Education Division of Lifework Development 1500 Highway 36 West Roseville, MN 55113-4266 Phone #: 651-582-8386 Fax #: 651-582-8492 E-mail: diane.klapak@state.mn.us Make checks payable to: Commissioner of MN Dept. of Education Reminder: If your address or email address changes, please contact Bob Lindgren at rlindgren@parkrapids.k12.mn.us, It is important keep current email addresses as we are doing more electronic notices and less paper mailings. Also, let others know about the website and our organization. Other state and national C & TE resources: Check out the Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education and the Association for Career and Technical Education web sites. Our statewide umbrella association has their fall, winter and spring newsletters plus other association information. The national association also has great information regarding CTE news. State: http://www.acteonline.org/about/states/MN.cfm National: http://www.acteonline.org   Beauty School Makeover Students who were interested in taking a look at a career in cosmetology had the opportunity to tour Regency Beauty School. We learned it takes about one year to complete the cosmetology program. You need to have excellent people skills to work in this field because you deal with many different types of personalities. You also need to be very patient for your customers expect quality services performed on them It would be exciting and fun to work in the beauty field because you get the opportunity to make many people feel good about themselves. After our tour we received a makeover by some of the students. The makeover was a special bonus for we. We witnessed first hand how the stylists perform on the job. We walked away from Regency with a smile on our face, along with a pretty, made-over new look! Submitted By: Kym Dwinnell and Amber Saenger Personal Development While Exploring Careers in the Theater Arts The Transition Plus Program of Hopkins, St. Louis Park and Minnetonka School Districts is joining in partnership with VSA Arts of Minnesota and Stages Theater Company to focus on 'Transition to Independence' through Expressive and Creative Arts. Student achievement and successful transition into the community can be reinforced through a variety of venues in the arts. In this collaborative venture the mission of this project is to enable students with disabilities to define and accomplish their life goals in the areas of work, career development, recreation and leisure, as well as life independence. Students are invested in this experiential opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills while gaining in self esteem and self worth as they explore careers in the Arts. This project has empowered students to take risks while learning and establishing new relationships with other networks and organizations in the Community. Students continue to develop trust in their 'Theater group' while developing skills in team work, cooperation and problem solving. Goals for the project are for students to participate in activities that are challenging, experiential and creative with an emphasis on individual self-expression that is pertinent to successful interaction and skill development that is essential for success in the adult and work world. In the first stage of the project students have been introduced to the concept of acting through a variety of warm up exercises and dialoguing techniques. As students are moving into the second phase of the project, they are developing their Improv skills through tongue twister exercises and short 'role play exercises'. One focus for this phase of the project is the 'personal story'. Students will be working on developing a short skit to tell 'their story' in front of a small audience. The last phase of the project will require the group to create a small play that will be performed in the spring. As students continue with their skill development, they also explore careers in the Performing Arts. Students have been able to see the success of developing creative techniques in theater by watching one of their teachers, Sheridan Lundgren perform in a play titled, "It Could Be Worse", a play about a couple with disabilities that goes through financial struggles. It is through close friendships that the couple learns they can get through any hardship. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to see one of their teachers perform on stage and truly show them 'what you can do in the performing arts'. Many students were amazed and excited to see the final product of 'acting classes and developing 'role plays. Student's energy and enthusiasm is apparent in their work at Transition Plus. Attendance for students in this project has improved, as students are engaged and committed to the experiential component of learning. There is more individual student involvement in the group work as students have become more confident in the relationships that they have established through their team work. Students are able to connect with each other with more sensitivity and encouragement as they support one another in ways that were not apparent before this project began. Special thanks and acknowledgment goes to the efforts of the Partnership created and established between Transition Plus Work Experience Coordinator, Lisa Loeding; VSA Arts Education Coordinator, Kristi Gaudette; Stages Education Associate, Marilee Mahler. Our students would not have the enthusiasm that they have now discovered without the Actors/Teachers that are working in the classroom, Sheridan Lundgren, Josh Foldy, and Nikki Bettcher - The Performing Artists with a passion for what they and their gift in inspiring students in their 'individual explorations of self'. Submitted by: Colleen Haggar Work Experience Coordinator Hopkins Schools         Congratulations to Minnesota Winners Those attending the ACTE National Convention in Orlando during December will hear the state of Minnesota mentioned a number of times during various awards ceremonies. MnACTE/SNP endorsed the nominations of the MnACTE/SNP 2003 Conference winners to be considered for the NAVESNP (National Association of Vocational Education Special Needs Personnel) Awards. NAVESNP selected three of the nominations and will present the awards at the noon luncheon during the ACTE Convention. Winners are:   Luann Tauer NAVESNP Outstanding Vocational Special Needs Teacher of the Year Luann is a Work Experience Coordinator/Teacher in the Richfield School District Eric Sime NAVESNP Direct Vocational Special Needs Support Person of the Year Eric is the ADA Coordinator/Special Needs Advisor at Rochester Community and Technical College John Hamilton NAVESNP Indirect Provider of Major Support Services and Contributions to the field of Vocational Special Needs Education John has been a long-standing member of Richfield School's WEH Advisory Committee In addition to MnACTE/SNP winners, Minnesota also had three winners at the ACTE Region III level that were forwarded for consideration of national ACTE awards. The ACTE winners will be presented during the convention in Orlando. These are the Region III winners from Minnesota: Clifford Vrieze ACTE Region III Teacher of the Year Steven Hinrichs ACTE Region III New Teacher of the Year John Murray ACTE Region III Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Congratulations to all of the winners. More information will be available in the next edition of the ECHO on the NAVESNP winners. Submitted by Robert Lindgren