COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 205
December 5, 2003
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
2004 Space Science the Special Way (with a
Little Twist from Assistive Technology) Conference, February 12-13, 2004,
Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond |
The Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and
Multi-Disabled (VSDBMH) and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) in
cooperation with the Virginia Department of Education and other groups extend
an invitation to staff members in your school division to the Space Science
the Special Way (with a twist from Assistive Technology) Conference. This professional development opportunity is
not only aimed at science and special educators, but also other personnel (area
specialists, technology and assistive technology specialists, etc.) who are
involved with the teaching of the Earth/Space Science Standards of Learning students
with visual impairments or blindness and students who are deaf or have hearing
impairments. This conference will be
held February 12-13, 2004, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Science Museum of
Virginia, Richmond.
The keynote speaker at the conference on Thursday
will be Dr. Harry G. Lang from the Rochester Institute of Technology, who will
discuss issues related to the teaching of Earth/Space Science to deaf and
hard-of-hearing students. Mr. Mike
Kersjes, president of Space is Special, Incorporated, and author of Space is
Special, will be the keynote speaker on Friday. Mr. Kersjes will present his experiences in working with special
needs students at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.
A variety of concurrent sessions will be offered to
participants by other speakers, including NASA scientists from Arizona, Texas,
and Maryland; Mary Watkins from the Media Access Group at WGBH Boston; Dr.
David Hurd, Planetarium Director at Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA; and
Lucia Hasty from the Braille Authority of North America. In addition, practitioners from across the
commonwealth, members of the Department of Education from science and special
education, and personnel from the Science Museum of Virginia will also conduct
sessions.
We hope that you will encourage special educators,
science educators, and other staff members to attend this dynamic conference.
An application form and informational flyer is
attached to this memorandum. If you have questions about the conference or need
further information, please contact Gail Henrich (ghenrich@vsdbmh.org),
VSDBMH, (757) 247-2283 V, (757) 247-2058 (TTY) or Mary Sandy (msandy@odu.edu),
VSGC, (757) 766-5210 V.
Attachment
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/suptsmemos/2003/inf205a.pdf