Meet CEC's 2008 Award Winners
CEC was proud to present several very deserving individuals with its
Professional and Student awards. These individuals represent the highest
standards in special education. They have helped thousands of children
with disabilities through their work, and those who work with them
succeed.
J.E.
Wallace Wallin Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award
 |
Michael Behrmann |
Dr. Michael Behrmann, CEC’s 2008 J.E. Wallace Wallin Special
Education Lifetime Achievement Award, has revolutionized special and
general education practice. His groundbreaking contributions to the
advancement of assistive and instructional technologies have not only
enhanced teaching and learning in special education, but have also
improved practices of general educators in inclusive settings.
In 1980 Dr. Behrmann defied the doubters and proved that infants and
toddlers could use computers to interact with their environment. With
that step, his journey into assistive and educational technology was
begun, and thousands of students and professionals have benefited from
his groundbreaking and continuous work in this area.
Dr. Behrmann wrote two of the seminal books in assistive and
educational technologies, Handbook of Microcomputer in Special
Educators and Integrating Computers into the Curriculum: A
Handbook for Special Educators. Further, his many publications and
professional development activities have made these technologies
understandable and applicable in classrooms and personnel preparation
programs across the country. Additionally, Dr. Behrmann ensured this
information was accessible to educators, students, and parents—his
several Web sites cover areas as diverse as teaching physics to
literacy, staff development, and data collection. He also developed
multi-university programs on low incidence disabilities that are
delivered via distance education.
Dr. Behrmann also designed and implemented one of the first
master’s programs in AT. This was followed by a doctoral program,
certificate and undergraduate minor in AT. His students have become
leaders in the field, serving in higher education, state agencies, and
local districts.
Dr. Behrmann puts into practice his belief in the abilities of all.
As the founding director of the Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human
disAbilities, Dr. Behrmann developed an interdisciplinary campus-based
organization that improves the lives and productivity of people with
disabilities. More than 30 percent of the staff have disabilities and/or
are minorities.
Another of Dr. Behrmann’s initiatives is Learning Into Future
Environments, a replicable program that enables young adults with
disabilities to have a post-secondary learning experience on a
university campus. They receive supports in courses designed for them
and live in residence halls.
Dr. Behrmann is also a CEC leader. He was a founding member of
CEC’s Technology and Media Division, and he coordinated four
national TAM conferences. Other roles he held included CEC Board of
Governors representative, treasurer of the Division of the Physically
Handicapped, and editor of the DPH Journal.
Dr. Behrmann continues to be a leader in innovative technology uses
and is exploring how teachers can use ubiquitous computing devices for
data collection, interpretation, and feedback.
Dr. Behrmann has received numerous awards, including George Mason
University’s Distinguished Faculty Award, Switzer Scholar, and
honorary professorship at Quingdao University in China.
Clarissa Hug Teacher of the
Year
 |
Sheila Amato |
Brilliant. Innovative. Passionate about her work. These are just a
few of the words used to describe CEC’s 2008 Clarissa Hug Teacher
of the Year, Dr. Sheila Amato. Dr. Amato’s strength as a teacher
stems from her personal philosophy of education: Every child has the
right to be taught by a teacher who believes in him or her. Dr. Amato
should have added that the teacher should be innovative, know the best
strategies to instruct students; be determined to ensure students
have—and reach—their dreams; and be a coach, mentor, and
advocate for students. Dr. Amato, who teaches students who are blind or
visually impaired for the East Meadow School District in East Meadow,
New York, does all this and more.
Dr. Amato uses natural environments and real-life activities to help
her students develop the knowledge and skills they will need and use in
school and afterwards. She ensures her students, who attend district
schools, learn the Core Curriculum as well as the Expanded Core
Curriculum of compensatory skills that enable them to participate in
higher education and/or vocational ventures. Through Dr. Amato’s
work, her students achieve at an exemplary level. They regularly succeed
in general education classes and perform activities others believe will
be impossible those them, such as creating a visual economics display
and marching in the band. Her students also excel academically, earning
the coveted Regent’s Diploma. In addition, two of Dr.
Amato’s students qualified for the National Braille Challenge.
Dr. Amato not only advocates for the Braille Code, she has also
forged new directions for this vital communications system. Library of
Congress Braille certified, Dr. Amato is adept at preparing quality
materials in Braille for her students. She also created an innovative
program to teach Braille transcription to high school students, and she
organized a regional Braille Challenge—the first time this event
was held on Long Island. Additionally, Dr. Amato has made
recommendations for expanding and standardizing the preparation of
teachers in Braille Code.
Dr. Amato shares her knowledge generously. She has taught at the
university level for more than 10 years, and she has made numerous
presentations throughout the country. Dr. Amato is also a highly
respected author, and she currently serves as the editor of the
Division on Visual Impairments Quarterly.
Dr. Amato has received several awards for her work as a special
educator. But none speaks louder than her student, who summarizes the
exceptional educator that is Dr. Amato: “I knew I could try
anything, because Dr. Amato would always be available to work out any
problems I might run into.”
Dr. Amato, you set the standard for special education teaching. Thank
you for all you do.
CEC Outstanding Research
Award
 |
Stanley Deno |
Special education pioneer Dr. Stanley Deno has had a tremendous
impact on effective instruction in the field, making him a most worthy
winner of this year’s Council for Exceptional Children’s
Outstanding Research Award. Through his rigorous and influential work
examining instructional techniques, he has helped provide legitimacy for
instructional research in special education since the 1960s.
Dr. Deno published his first article 40 years ago and began
developing an empirical and scientific foundation for the study of
special education. Decades later, he is one of the most important
figures in the study of special education. Thanks to his research and
development, special education instruction has grown exponentially. His
work has been used by legislators to help determine proper policy for
special education, as well as educators who implement validated
instructional strategies.
Through his revolutionary research, Dr. Deno helped develop and grow
instructional objectives into what is now the industry standard. His
research showed how important instructional objectives could be when
used as a tool by teachers. In 1977, he and Phyllis Mirkin created an
approach to “performance assessment,” which focused on
long-term rather than short-term goals for students with disabilities.
Dr. Deno’s Curriculum-based Measurement: The Emerging
Alternative, helped change the way educators looked at assessment
and was recently named a classic in special education literature by
James McLesky. A key aspect of Deno’s work is that by regularly
assessing student’s progress in basic skills, teachers can
evaluate and improve instruction for individual students.
The Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) approach developed through
Deno’s research program at the University of Minnesota’s
Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities has led to more than 500
additional articles being published on the subject. The CBM approach to
monitoring student progress has now become the primary instrument for
generating student performance data in current efforts to develop and
implement the Response to Intervention model.
While Dr. Deno has been essential to the development of special
education research, he has also impacted the lives of students and
colleagues for whom he has served as a mentor. Through the aid of Dr.
Deno, many of his mentees have helped further the special education
field, and some have already won this award.
Thank you, Dr. Deno, for the tremendous work you have done to advance
the study of special education.
CEC Outstanding Leadership
Award
 |
Donna McNear |
CEC is proud to recognize Donna McNear as its 2008 Outstanding
Leadership Award recipient. Ms. McNear is a teacher who has achieved
national recognition as a leader in visual impairment education. Her
service to CEC and the field is broad-based and has resulted in
improvements in educational practices for children with visual
impairments, teacher training, professional standards, and national
reform initiatives. Throughout her work, Ms. McNear has established
collaborative relationships, within and without the field of blindness,
to benefit educational services to children with visual
disabilities.
Ms. McNear began her role as a volunteer leader at the district
level, where she served on her district’s Technology Partnership
Task Force, Mentorship Committee, and Staff Development Committee. She
found her voice as an advocate and successfully
brought the needs of students with disabilities to professional
dialogue and decision-making at the district level.
In 1988, when Ms. McNear was elected president of CEC’s
Minnesota Division for Visually Handicapped she expanded her role as a
leader and advocate to the state level. Ms. McNear shared her hands-on
experience in the classroom and her exceptional knowledge and skills for
the education of children with blindness and visual disabilities to,
among others, Minnesota’s State Vision Network, the Minnesota
Collaborative Teacher Preparation Program in Special Education: Blind or
Visually Impaired; Minnesota Resource Center Low Vision Work Group;
Minnesota Department of Education Task Force on Education of Children
with Disabilities; and Child Rehabilitation Program Task Force, State
Services for the Blind.
At the national and international levels, Ms. McNear’s
expertise has proven invaluable for CEC, as well as special education
initiatives and other national education organizations. Ms. McNear
served as both President and Public Relations Committee Chair for
CEC’s Division on Visual Impairments, helping grow the division
and promote its work within and without the Council. Through her service
with the INTASC Standards for Students with Disabilities and the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Ms. McNear also
contributed to the development of two national standards initiatives. In
addition, Ms. McNear has played a key role in guiding national and state
policy development through her service to the Center for Teacher Quality
and the Steering Committee for the National Agenda for the Education of
Children and Youth with Visual Impairments. Ms. McNear is also a member
of the American Foundation for the Blind Program Committee; Peer Review
Panel Member, U.S. Department of Education; and a peer reviewer for the
Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Further, Ms. McNear is
director of Micronesia Missions, which serves children with visual
impairments in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Susan Phillips Gorin
Award
Dr. Simpson is a dynamic and energetic leader who exemplifies a
commitment to serving individuals with disabilities as well as the
Special Education profession.
Dr. Simpson’s career reflects an ongoing passion and enthusiasm
for serving individuals with disabilities. Currently, Dr. Simpson serves
as the Coordinator of the Special Education Program at Sam Houston State
University. It is a testimony to Dr. Simpson’s outstanding
qualities that she serves in this leadership position as a junior
faculty member. As the program coordinator, Dr. Simpson is responsible
for both the undergraduate and graduate programs in Special Education
and thereby generating quality personnel to work with individuals with
disabilities. She provides exceptional background support and advocacy
for the Special Education faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.
Also, Dr. Simpson facilitated the recent addition of a new M.A. program
in Low Incidence Disabilities and Autism and in the proposal of a new
doctoral program in Special Education. Through her commitment to
providing quality training to our undergraduate and graduate students,
Dr. Simpson has provided a valuable service to individuals with
disabilities.
Dr. Simpson has provided outstanding support as the faculty advisor
to the Sam Houston State University CEC Student Chapter. This chapter is
very active and each year they put on a conference that brings in
speakers not only from Texas but also national leaders in the field of
Special Education. This year’s conference has more than 400
registrants and the keynote speaker will be Dr. Temple Grandin, an
internationally recognized advocate for individuals with autism. This
conference provides professional development for undergraduate students
as well as Special Education professionals in our community. The
proceeds of this conference are used to send student members to the CEC
Annual Convention & Expo. The really amazing aspect of this
conference is how involved the students are in every aspect of it. The
students work extremely hard and at the same time are growing as
individuals and as future leaders in our field. They are learning about
how to work as a team, organization, money management, attention to
detail, good communication, fund raising, and the value of service to
others. The Sam Houston Student Chapter has flourished and grown through
Dr. Simpson’s support and the individual students have matured
through her individual mentorship.
Through her extensive published research and training manuals,
conference presentations, professional and community service, and
legislative advocacy, there is a consistent and impressive pattern of
“getting things done” for individuals with disabilities and
the professionals who serve them. Dr. Simpson has an impressive
publication record: 54 peer-reviewed articles and 4 books in the field
of education.
Dr. Simpson is an active state advisor of the Texas Educational
Diagnosticians Association, committee member of both the Texas
Association for the Education of Young Children and the Texas
Association of College Teachers, in addition to being a community
service leader throughout the Houston metropolitan area.
Dr. Simpson serves on the university’s Excellence in Teaching
Committee and has recently been awarded both the Texas Council for
Exceptional Children’s Kathleen Varner Service Award and the Texas
Association for the Education of Young Children’s Susan Hargrave
Trainer of the Year Award.
Dr. Simpson is an exemplary and dedicated educator, researcher,
mentor, and advocate in the field of Special Education. She works for
individuals with disabilities with great enthusiasm. Her mentorship of
the Sam Houston Student Chapter is extraordinary and without parallel in
my experience.
Outstanding
Graduate Student Member Award
Ms. Urso exhibits and outstanding commitment to children with
exceptionalities and CEC. A long-time CEC member, Ms. Urso has served as
the student representative on the Representative Assembly and on the
Standing Committee on Students. She has also mentored emerging CEC
student leaders at the local and international level and been a
contributor and reviewer for CEC’s student newsletter, Inquire
& Inspire. Ms. Urso presently is the student representative on
the CEC Elections Committee and is an active member of her University of
Arizona Chapter.
Ms. Urso has a long history of serving children with
exceptionalities. She has taught children with special needs for eight
years. Since her years as a teacher, she has continued to contribute to
children with exceptionalities through research efforts, service to
schools, and training of future educators. She also provides private
consulting to families and service providers and tutors undergraduate
students with learning disabilities.
Ms. Urso’s work on behalf of children with exceptionalities is
far-reaching. She has presented at numerous conferences, authored
significant articles on special education, and reviewed proposals for
the American Educational Research Association. She is also the
co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Pen Pals across the
Water, an international pen pal project for children who are chronically
ill. Additionally Ms. Urso has served as a parent advocate for children
with exceptionalities.
Ms. Urso is a leader who exhibits all the qualities of an exemplary
special educator.
Outstanding
Undergraduate Student Member of the Year Award
The CEC Standing Committee on Students is pleased to present the 2008
CEC Outstanding Undergraduate Student Member of the Year Award to
Elizabeth Turnage.
Elizabeth Turnage has served as the president of the Cleveland State
University CEC Student Chapter #0863 for approximately one year. She has
been instrumental in writing internal grants that have been funded for
more than $7,000 through the Department of Student Life at Cleveland
State University to support chapter activities, including membership
drives and a Technology Fair. Ms. Turnage also was a presenter at the
university’s campus-wide program called The Common Reading
Experience. Ms. Turnage spoke eloquently about her son, Paul, and
his challenges as a student with a disability.
Ms. Turnage has had considerable experience with exceptional
children. In addition to raising her son, who has autism, she tutors
children with disabilities and provides respite time for a mother of
children with special needs.
Ms. Turnage also gives of her time to her community. She volunteers
for the Chesterland Squadron Civil Air Patrol and helped establish an
inclusive Sunday School classroom for students with moderate to severe
disabilities.
| CEC Award Winners, J.E. Wallace Wallin Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award, 2008 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award, Outstanding Leadership Award, Special Education Research Award |
|
