Ford County Special Education Cooperative

Timely and Meaningful Consultation Meeting

brackmanne — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:04:13 +0000

On Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 3:00 p.m., a meeting conducted by the Ford County Special Education Cooperative will take place at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School, Room 102, 815 N. Church St., Gibson City. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the plans made by Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUSD #10 (PBL) and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD #5 (GCMS) for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private schools and home schools within the districts for the 2013-2014 school year. If you are the parent of a home-schooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability and you reside within the boundaries of PBL or GCMS, you are urged to attend. If you have further questions pertaining to this meeting, please contact Eric Brackmann at 217-784-5470.

Provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education

brackmanne — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:13:08 +0000

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (GCMS) CUSD #5 and Paxton-Buckley-Loda (PBL) CUSD #10 both provide and maintain appropriate and effective educational programs in order to afford every eligible child with a disability who is between the ages of 3 and 21 (inclusive), is enrolled in either GCMS or PBL, and requires special education and related services to address the adverse effect of the disability on his/her education, a free appropriate public education (FAPE). As part of this effort, both GCMS and PBL shall make available to all eligible children who are residents of either district a comprehensive program of special education. Please see the following link for the entire special education Procedures.

Special Education Procedures (Revised 2009)

An Early Childhood Approach to Challenging Behaviors

brackmanne — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:08:59 +0000

This is a FREE workshop to be held on April 18, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Ford-Iroquois Farm Bureau, 1381 South Crescent in Gilman, Illinois. Check-in and a light (free) meal begin at 5:30 p.m. For more information, please read 2013 April 18 An Early Childhood Approach to Challenging Behaviors

There are 4 ways you can register!

Call 800-325-5516 or 217-333-3252, option 3
FAX the Registration Form (above) to 217-333-2147
Return the Registration Form to: Child Care Resource Service, 905 S. Goodwin, 314 Bevier Hall, Urbana, IL 61801
Email to: burton2@illinois.edu or 217-333-1956

The waitress, the autistic girl and the broken hamburger

brackmanne — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:05:42 +0000

This is a good story to read in observance of National Autism Awareness Month and April 2, World Autism Awareness Day.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2013/03/26/the-waitress-the-autistic-girl-and-the-broken-hamburger/

Ford County Special Olympics Bowling Sets Practice Schedule

gcmstech — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:44:37 +0000

The fourth season of Ford County’s Special Olympics Bowling is ready to roll and a practice schedule has been set.

Each practice will include three games as that is how the tournaments will be structured. Each athlete will need to attend at least 5 practices in order to have a 15-game average to register for the Area 8 tournament at the end of August.

Athletes, volunteers, and family members are all welcome to attend. Forms will be available for those who still need to sign up to participate or volunteer. The local chapter will pay for the games and shoe rental. However, the bowling alley does not allow outside food or drink, so everyone is encouraged to bring a few dollars if they wish to purchase refreshments.

Practices will take place at Gibson Bowl, 915 S. Sangamon Ave, Gibson City. All practices to begin at 2:30pm.

April 6, 13

May 4,11,18

June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Schedule may be subject to change.

Contact Veronica Kirkpatrick for more information.

kirkpatrick.veronica@gcmsk12.org

1.217.781.0093

Free Pre-School Screenings

brackmanne — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:45:46 +0000

Free developmental screenings are being offered to families with children age birth to five years old in both Paxton and Gibson City. Children three to five years of age will receive screening for vision, hearing, speech and overall preschool skills. Special services are available to children who qualify. Children from birth through age two will be screened for developmental readiness skills and referrals may be made to Child and Family Connections for children who may qualify for services. Here is a schedule of the screenings and the numbers to call to make an appointment for your child:

Gibson City
Friday, March 15, 2013
First Christian Church
112 W. 12th Street, Gibson City
Call 217-784-4278 (GCMS Elementary School) to schedule an appointment.

Paxton
Friday, April 12, 2013
Evangelical Covenant Church
260 S. Union Street, Paxton
Call 217-379-2531 (Clara Peterson Elementary School) to schedule an appointment.

Executive Committee Meeting Change

brackmanne — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:48:52 +0000

The next meeting of the Ford County Special Education Cooperative’s Executive Committee will be Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. in the PBL Board Room, located at the north end of PBL Junior High School, 1 Panther Way, Paxton, Illinois. The agenda may be viewed by going to “Executive Committee – Agendas” above.

Ghosts in the Nursery – November 29 – CANCELLED – Will be re-scheduled in the spring

brackmanne — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:18:04 +0000

“Ghosts in the Nursery” is a free presentation for parents, educators and day-care providers. It focuses on what parents bring to parenting, how they may form attachments to their infants, and how their upbringings impact the upbringings of their children.

“Ghosts in the Nursery” is presented by Lauren Wiley, M.Ed., who holds a master’s degree and certificates in infant mental health from the Erikson Institute and is a certified teacher in Early Childhood Education.

5:30 p.m. check-in and free light meal
6:00-8:00 p.m. presentation by Lauren Wiley
Ford-Iroquois Farm Bureau
1381 South Crescent
Gilman, Illinois

Please RSVP by November 23rd.
Call Child Care Resource Service
800-325-5516 Option 3 or 217-333-1956

For more information and other registration options, please click on the Ghosts in the Nursery link.

Free Pre-School Screenings

brackmanne — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:49:12 +0000

Paxton
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Evangelical Covenant Church
260 S. Union Street, Paxton
Call 217-379-2531 (Clara Peterson Elementary School) to schedule an appointment.

Gibson City
Friday, September 14, 2012 at the First Christian Church
112 W. 12th Street, Gibson City
Call 217-784-4278 (GCMS Elementary School) to schedule an appointment.

Bowlympians Strike!

gcmstech — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:11:39 +0000

The Eastern Prairie Area 8 region of Special Olympics of Illinois held its tournament Sunday, August 26, 2012 at Arrowhead Lanes in Champaign. Ford County Bowlympians Taylor Chickini and Danielle Kolakowski both brought home medals. Taylor, daughter of Steve and Kristi Chickini of Paxton, earned a silver medal. Danielle, daughter of Jim and Chris Kolakowski of Paxton, received a bronze medal. If you would like more information about participating or volunteering in local Special Olympics events go to www.soill.org.

The Eastern Prairie Area 8 region of Special Olympics of Illinois held its tournament Sunday, August 26, 2012

at Arrowhead Lanes in Champaign.  Ford County Bowlympians Taylor Chickini and Danielle Kolakowski both brought

home medals.  Taylor, daughter of Steve and Kristi Chickini of Paxton, earned a silver medal. Danielle, daughter

of Jim and Chris Kolakowski of Paxton, received a bronze medal. If you would like more information about

participating or volunteering in local Special Olympics events go to www.soill.org.