20 October
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Boost for Teachers Award Recipient 2022

Left to Right: MaryLou Bullert-GRADS Board Member, PAES/Transition Program participant, May Amodia-Transition-PAES Supervisor/Teacher, PAES/Transition Program participant and Colleen Siegel-Paraprofessional.

Boost for Teachers, a brand-new yearly GRADS initiative, is a grant program that will award $100 to a middle or high school special education teacher working in the Grant or Roberts County area.

To be considered for the award, teachers must submit a proposal for empowering students with disabilities to learn occupational skills.

This year’s recipient is May Amodia, a teacher and transition-PAES supervisor from Sisseton. She earned the $100 award for her work on a lunch project.

The project she developed instructs students how to prepare, cook and serve food. In addition to those concepts, students also learn planning, budgeting, and marketing skills that help them prepare for jobs and independent living.

Congratulations May!

24 March
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The National Center on Education Outcomes is releasing a series of videos on various aspects of learning support for children with significant cognitive disabilities at home. The videos are now available on YouTube.

In addition to parents and educators, other audiences will find the videos useful as they work with parents and families. Each video focuses on three key questions:

  • Why is it important to focus on this with my child at home?
  • How can I do this at home?
  • What support can I ask for from my child’s school?


Additional videos will be added to the series over the next several months. Future videos will be on supporting the learning of reading, writing and math at home, as well as one on monitoring progress.

24 November
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Parents and Educators, GRADS understands how difficult it is to prepare for traditional learning, distance learning, and having lessons ready if you, a family member, or a student is quarantined. We want to offer our support through our website. Our listings will change throughout the pandemic, but here are some resources to begin our support. Pinterest has some fantastic distance learning ideas. Many provide free materials:

-Webcam Field Trips
-Boom Cards for Distance Learning
-Google Classroom
-Free History Videos for Kids
-Free Downloadable Resource Guides
-Free education workbooks, activity books, and art kits from Adobe Stock
-Free printable cursive worksheets
-Free Typing Games for kids
-Color Code and Organize your Google Drive
-150+ Educational shows to stream on Netflix (HomeschoolHideout.com)
-35 Animal Webcams to watch with your kids (SoCalFieldTrips.com)
-Learning Games and Activities (theeducatorsspinonit.com)

17 November
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At Home Learning Success

Source: Good Housekeeping, October 2020 article, At-Home Learning Success, written by Mary Sauer and Marisa Lascala. Summarized by Mary Lou Bullert

1) Stick to a Routine
Inconsistency makes distance learning more difficult. Work for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break. Keep materials organized in separate in files or baskets. Kids move materials from the in-box to the done-box. Kids can visually see their accomplishments.

2) Build Independence
Instead of hovering and becoming a helicopter parent, let kids share what they’ve completed. This will build confidence. It will also allow you to work from home. If you have more than one child, you can have divide your time. Follow your school’s benchmarks. At school, students aren’t on task all day. They transition between classes, a teacher has to work with 20 to 30 students not just your child, there’s recess, lunch, gym, and other activities besides sitting in their desk all day. Remember to focus on reading and math.

3) Give Yourself Credit
Be realistic. From time to time, kids will push back at home and at school. Give yourself and your kids some space.

Virtual Learning Resources

Khan Academy provides exercises, quizzes, and videos as well as downloadable curricula for free. Khanacademy.org

Exploratorium includes tools to help kids become active explorers in science.
Exploratorium.edu

Hippo Campus offers 7,000 videos in 13 areas, from middle school to college level.
Hippocampus.org