In the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, teachers were forced to quickly determine how to deliver a free appropriate public education to their students when in-person instruction was not possible. School districts and states have a variety of ways to provide supports to their teachers. One method for providing technical assistance,…

Four newsletter issues examine aspects of rural special education. Issue number one considers the generic problems or solutions in rural special education leadership, the need for innovative preservice preparation for rural educators, preservice training for Native American professionals and paraprofessionals, a model for rural early intervention,…

Describes a report on New Mexico's public school services for three- and four-year-old handicapped children, focusing on features of special interest to rural educators. Topics are curriculum selection, program models, and program delivery system alternatives. (JHZ)

Existing models of supported employment (individual placement, mobile crew, enclave, and benchwork models) have limited utility in rural areas. The Black Hills Special Services Cooperative (Sturgis, South Dakota) developed an entrepreneurial model that addresses the lack of rural employers and transportation problems by creating new businesses…

Describes the principles of program evaluation and the technical assistance provided in 1986-87 to North Dakota local educational agencies for evaluating their special education programs. Emphasizes local control of the evaluation activities and includes an example of planning for a local evaluation study on least restrictive environment. (JHZ)

Summarizes selected definitions of transition that are currently in use and analyzes them for characteristics which are generic to transition planning for handicapped youth. Identifies eight key elements which should be included in rural transition programs and discusses barriers to effective transition in rural areas. (JHZ)

During five years of operation, the Montana Projects with Industry program assisted 65 people with severe disabilities to obtain and maintain community employment. Strategies that contribute to positive employment opportunities are described, and continuing challenges in enhancing and expanding supported employment services in rural areas are…

Project LINCS (Linking Infants in Need with Comprehensive Services) is based on a process orientation to the delivery of comprehensive services for rural handicapped infants and their families. Effective regional-community linkage is developed by community analysis, community entree, formal linkage development, formal structured interaction, and…

A screening and referral procedure for rural, at-risk infants was developed by a three-step process that: (1) identified key professionals; (2) educated rural medical personnel regarding benefits and strategies of early intervention; and (3) implemented a screening and referral system with low temporal and monetary costs for hospital personnel.…

Describes the Wyoming Infant Stimulation Program (WISP) and its numerous collaborative activities with federal, state, and local agencies including the Agricultural Extension Service and maternal and child health programs. Notes that successful collaboration was informal and involved cooperation on specific, discrete joint projects responding to…

Describes a Wyoming summer institute that provided intensive training to regular educators on theory, concepts, and techniques for working with emotionally disturbed children. Program evaluation revealed that the institute was successful in training regular classroom teachers to meet the needs of emotionally disturbed children. (LP)

Describes an interdisciplinary transition model currently used in rural Wisconsin for special needs students that links vocational assessment, Individualized Education Plan development, program placement, instructional support, exit transition conferences, and postschool followup. Stresses collaboration among students, parents, educators, and…

In rural northeast Nevada, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Lander County School District collaborated to develop and administer an after-school program for at-risk elementary students that provided care, homework sessions, and life skills education. Results included increased community support for such programs and improvements…

Profiles three programs recognized for exemplary rural special education programs. Describes a program for severely handicapped birth-through-three children in an isolated mountainous Tennessee community, a multidisciplinary special education team that provides an itinerant resource room for an Alaska school district of 22,000 square miles, and…

A distance education program trained teachers in West Virginia and Missouri rural school districts to implement the Life Centered Career Education Curriculum, a comprehensive K-12 transitional program. The program allowed educators in rural school districts to access a campus-based training course and begin incorporating transitional…