The ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium is just around the corner. On Jan. 12 hundreds of educators interested in the areas of special education and student services will gather in Monterey for three days of workshops chock full of valuable information to help students.

Symposium Planning Chair Maureen O’Leary Burness, SELPA Director with Folsom-Cordova USD, said there are numerous sessions offering great information, both on the program side and the legal side.

Just a few she singled out include: The Year in Review: A Retrospective of Significant Legislation and Case Law; Successfully Blending the Marriage Between Legally Defensible and Educationally Practicable Methodologies Related to Students with Autism; Case by Case, which will focus on the mental health and AB 3632 crisis; and Least Restrictive Environment Deconstructed.

“Two of these are three-hour double sessions, which is a great reason to bring a team,” Burness said.

It was noted previously in EdCal that this year the ECC Symposium is stepping up to become more national in scope. This makes sense since special education is a very federally oriented issue, and the symposium had already received inquiries from organizations and individuals outside of California.

“We hope that by doing this we will continue to be the best and the most current event for all in our fields,” Burness said.

Another feature of interest for the symposium is a student art contest. After receiving more than 600 entries, the symposium planning committee made the tough choices of selecting 10 student savings bond winners and two honorable mentions. An additional 38 pieces of art will be matted and on display at the symposium. More entries will be scanned and placed on a disk to be shown during the event.

The student winners include: Elysia Simmons, kindergarten, Columbia Elementary School, Columbia SD; Georgia Rosal Alvarez, first grade, Cooley Ranch Elementary, Colton Jt. USD; Carly Chan, second grade, Hidden Trails Elementary, Chino Valley USD; Skyler Lauren Bergman, third grade, Chaparral Elementary, Las Virgenes USD; Shreya Malhotra, fourth grade, Oxford Preparatory Academy; Hannah Magdalene Wangsa, fifth grade, Country Springs Elementary, Chino Valley USD; Amy Jean Dierking, seventh grade, Temecula Middle School, Temecula Valley USD; Michelle Leung, eighth grade, Redwood Middle School, Saratoga Union SD; Jeannie Anh Nguyen, 12th Grade, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD; and Myles Hacock, 12th Grade, Royal High School, Simi Valley USD. Honorable Mentions went to Lora Supandi, sixth grade, Vail Ranch Middle School, Temecula Valley USD; and June Tong, 12th Grade, West High School, Torrance USD.

“People should plan on attending this year because we continue to focus our sessions on helping people do the best job for the best cost, keeping a focus on what’s right for students while helping staff get the information they need to do their jobs successfully,” Burness said. “We know they are aware of the horrible budget crunch we’re in, so efficiency and money-saving ideas are one focus. And, we always have the best attorneys present on staying legal, which is a cost-savings measure in itself, and which also helps to prevent other impact on our budgets at our schools.”

Click here for additional information regarding the symposium, or contact Sue Periera at (800) 608-ACSA; speriera@acsa.org.