The Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education will once again sponsor the spring regional meetings of the Arkansas Collaborative Educators (ACE) Network. The theme of this year's meetings will be "Supporting or Teaching Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom."
The ACE Network spring regional meetings provide general and special educators with the opportunity to discuss common concerns and share strategies for teaching challenging students, including those with disabilities. Each meeting will involve a formal presentation on adapting and modifying the general education curriculum, small group problem solving sessions on issues identified by the participants and presentations by regional expert educators on programs or strategies that are being successfully implemented in their school situations. Regional meetings will be held at the following locations:
McGehee/City Hall/ 2-21-01
Hope /Southwest Cooperative/ 3-1-01
Springdale (Elementary)/Special Ed Adm. Bldg./ 3-7-01
Springdale (Secondary)/Special Ed Adm. Bldg./ 3-8-01
Ft. Smith/Rogers Center/ 3-27-01
Jonesboro/ASU, Convocation Center/ 4-4-01
Little Rock (Elementary)/St. John's Catholic Center/ 4-11-01
Little Rock (Secondary)/St. John's Catholic Center/ 4-12-01
Membership in the ACE Network and attendance at the regional meetings are offered FREE to all general and special educators who are involved in collaborative activities. Participants usually include educators involved in Co-Teaching and/or Indirect Services, as well as educators whose informal collaborative relationship supports students who receive services in a Resource or Self-Contained setting but spend a portion of their day in the general education classroom. Although everyone at the meeting will be offered the opportunity to join the ACE Network, membership in the network is not a requirement to attend.
As part of its efforts to strengthen the relationship between collaborating general and special educators, the Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education will also provide financial support for educators who would like to attend a regional meeting. In addition to the FREE meeting and networking luncheon, substitute teacher reimbursement is available for one special and one general educator per building, up to a maximum of eight per district. To qualify, each special educator must be accompanied by a general educator from his/her building and attend the entire session.
There will be limited space available, so reservations will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The attached registration form must be completed and returned no later than 10 business days before each meeting. Confirmation notices will be sent to all registered attendees. Send the completed attached registration form to:
Rose Merry Kirkpatrick
Arkansas Special Education Resource Center
1405 North Pierce, Suite 101
Little Rock, AR 72207
FAX (501) 663-7363