Teaching Research Institute

Center on Inclusion Welcomes New Employees

May 27, 2013

Dana Bleakney-Huebsch joins us from the Nike Child Development Center where she worked with infants and their families. Prior to that, Dana co-managed a day program for adults with developmental disabilities. Dana has taught child development courses at California State University, San Bernardino. She received her Masters in Child Development from California State University, San Bernardino.

Amanda Stanley was an Early Intervention/Early Childhood Specialist at Willamette Education Service District where she provided technical assistance on teaching strategies and assisted with community outreach. She also coordinated the Salem-Keizer Teen Parent Program. Amanda received her MA in Education from WOU with certifications in early intervention/early childhood special education. Additionally, she has taught early childhood courses at Chemeketa Community College and Linn-Benton Community College.

Childhood Disability Rate increases 16% over the Past Decade

May 21, 2013

Findings from a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting show that the prevalence of disability increased 16.3% from 2001-2002 to 2009-2010. Researchers analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, finding that while disabilities due to physical conditions decreased, neurodevelopmental and mental health-related disabilities increased greatly. This trend was most notable among children under 6 years of age, whose rate of neurodevelopmental disabilities nearly doubled over the study period - from 19 cases to 36 cases per 1,000 children. View the abstract Childhood Disability Trends, 2000-2010 here.

For more information on including young children with disabilities in the early childhood settings, visit TRI's Center on Inclusion website.

TRI Welcomes New Employees

May 13, 2013

Aaron East has joined the Grants Management Office as a Grants Financial Specialist. He comes to us with many years of experience in budget management and early childhood education. Aaron is a WOU alum having received his BS in Law Enforcement with a minor in Business Administration in 1987. In addition to training and administration, Aaron has 20 years of military and criminal justice experience.

Kjerstin Stanavige is the newest member of the TRI Center on Inclusion team. As an administrative assistant, Kjerstin will be working primarily on the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) program, which raises the quality and consistency of child care and early learning programs across the state. Kjerstin graduated in 2011 with a B.S. in English and comes to TRI with expertise in writing, editing, document design, and social media.

May 2, 2013

Robyn Lopez Melton from the Center on Inclusion at TRI delivered the keynote address at the Latino Early Educator Summit. The event was held at Lane Community College during the Week of the Young Child on April 20, 2013.
Sponsored by Lane Family Connections, this summit provided Spanish speaking child care and early learning professionals with a full day of quality professional development in Spanish. The keynote address presented an overview of federal and state Early Childhood Initiatives and an introduction to Oregon's Quality Rating and Improvement System.

Workshops & Presentations

Products & Publications

Center Updates

Post School Outcomes: What Can we Learn from Trend Data was presented by TRI's Pattie Johnson and Charlotte Y. Alverson (National Post-School Outcomes) at the Seventh Annual Capacity Building Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina, May 6-9, 2013.

The presentation focused on (1) looking at the interview data to see if the responses represent the state population of special education students who left secondary services the previous year; (2) the trends for the change in outcome data over the three years; (4) the differences by subgroups to help explore what was contributing to the outcomes; and (5) the preparation necessary to identify and share the results with appropriate audiences within the state.

Download PowerPoint.

Two TRI presentation proposals have been accepted by the Council of Exceptional Children's Division of Early Childhood (DEC) for inclusion in the October 2013 national conference. "National Standards for Infants and Toddlers who are Low Birth Weight" will be presented by Dr. Patti Blasco (Center on Educator Preparation and Effectiveness) and "Good, Better, Best: Professional Development Resources that Support Young Learners" will be presented by Dr. Blasco and Tom Udell (Coordinator, Center on Inclusion).

Gary Glasenapp and Melissa Gritz from the Center on Inclusion gave an online presentation for program administrators, EI/ECSE staff, Head Start Disability staff, inclusion specialists, community child care and education staff and parents. Topics covered in the April 10th webinar included research supporting early childhood inclusion, the benefits of inclusion, a conceptual framework for serving children with disabilities in community based early childhood settings, merging DAP and ECSE practices to support children with disabilities and concepts that make inclusion work.

View presentation. on Adobe Connect.

Education Evaluation Center Director, Dr. Ken Kosko, presents on the impact of learning disorders and the work of the EEC.

Middle and high-school students in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are participating in environmental education service learning projects in their communities this year with help from funding (up to $5,000) from Project SITE. The project is funded through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is managed by The Teaching Research Institute

Each of the SITE projects must meet standards for effective environmental education and service learning. In addition, each project has incorporated plans for sharing their learning and results with their local communities and with fellow sub-grant recipients. "It's gratifying to see how engaged these students and their teachers are in planning and implementing projects that help their local communities while they learn through their environmental stewardship," said Project SITE Coordinator, Dr. Bonnie Morihara.

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