The UCB Buzz
A publication of
Utah Council of the Blind
July 2023
For the latest news updates, check out the website at utahblind.org
Mail correspondence to:
UCB
PO Box 1415
Bountiful, UT 84011-1415
E-mail us at utahblind@gmail.com
For credit card payments, to make reservations, or for other business,
call the business office at 801-245-9264.
In This Issue
How to Write a Well-Written IEP
Board of Directors and Management
2023 Meeting Schedule and Calendar
Articles and announcements included
in this publication are presented for your information and interest. They reflect
the opinions of the respective authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the UCB.
The Annual Business
Meeting of the Utah Council of the Blind will be held at the Division of
Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 250 N 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT
at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 16, 2023. Reservations are required so
that we can have enough food for everyone. Please call the business office at
801-245-9264 or email utahblind@gmail.com with your name, the names of others
in your party, and your telephone number, no later than Friday, September 8th.
When you make your reservation, please indicate whether or
not each person in your party is a member of the UCB, whether each
person uses large print or braille, any dietary restrictions you or a member of
your party may have, and if you will need an asl interpreter, assistive listening
device, or any other accommodation.
If you wish to attend
and participate in the meeting by Zoom link, you must register by phone or
email as above. It is important that you give us your name and the names of any
others who will be participating with you. It is also critical that you give us
an email address so that we can send you the link to join the meeting.
Those wishing to vote
by absentee ballot may request this by phone or email as above. Please be sure
to give us a current address and let us know whether you would like your ballot
in large print or braille. Absentee ballots should be requested no later than
September 1, 2023 before 5:00 p.m.
Membership
Verification: In order to vote at the annual business meeting a member's dues
for 2023 must be paid no later than September 8, 2023. If you have any
questions about your membership status, please contact us at (801) 245-9264 or
via e-mail at utahblind@gmail.com to check your status.
During this year's
Annual Business Meeting we will be electing the vice president, treasurer, and
approximately half of our directors. As specified in the UCB Bylaws: "All Officers and Directors must be paid-up
members of the UCB, at least 18 years of age, and support its purposes. A majority of the Board of Directors must be legally blind.
No more than two members of the Board of Directors may be close family members,
i.e. spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, aunt, uncle,
first cousin, etc., and no more than one family member may hold an officer
position…
“In order to be
eligible for election to an officer position a person must have been a member
of the organization for not less than one year and served on a committee. In
order to be elected to a board position a person must have been a member of the
organization for not less than six months…
"No member who
agrees to serve on the Election Committee may run for office in the current
election. Any member of the organization may nominate themself or another
qualified member by submitting a written statement of one to two pages
concerning the qualifications of the nominee… No nominations from the floor or
write-in candidates will be allowed…
"Officers and
Directors elected at the annual business meeting are expected to attend
meetings of the Board of Directors and training activities held between the
time of their election and the date they take office…
"The regular term
of office for each Officer and Director shall commence January 1st and be two
years or until a successor is elected or appointed as outlined in these
Bylaws.”
Election Committee: We
are pleased to announce that the Election
Committee chair for
this year is Cindi Vega. Her committee members are Anna Jeffery and Dennie
Clark.
Nomination statements
must be submitted to the Election Committee by email to:
utahblind@gmail.com
or by standard mail to:
UCB
Election Committee
PO
Box 1415
Bountiful
UT 84011-1415
Nomination statements
must be received no later than July 10, 2023, in order to be processed and
published in the August newsletter.
Proposed Bylaws
amendments may be submitted to:
UCB Secretary
PO Box 1415
Bountiful
UT 84011-1415
or by e-mail to:
utahblind@gmail.com
Proposals must be
received on or before July 10, 2023, in order for them
to be prepared for publication in the August newsletter.
By Sandy England
It is that time of the year when the UCB recognizes
those who have given their time generously serving the blind and
visually-impaired community. The UCB will present awards at the next annual
business meeting on September 16.
There are four awards offered to those who have served
so faithfully. The Albert M. Talmage award is offered to a blind person who has
given devoted service to blind and visually impaired individuals. The Sarah
Talmage Award is a similar award given to a sighted person. The Linda
Braithwaite award goes to a person who has given 10 or more years of service to
the visually-impaired -community, and the Leslie H. Gertsch award is given to
individuals who have given life-time service to the blind for leadership and
service for at least 40 years.
If you have anyone who deserves recognition by serving
you or others whom you know, write a paragraph or two about this individual and
email it to syeangel@comcast.net .- no later
than August 1, 2023. Any questions please call sandy England at 801-634-8002.
By Sandy England
Come join in the fun with the Utah Council of the
Blind at an indoor BBQ picnic and bingo to be held at the Blind Center,
Saturday, July 29th, from 11:30 am - 2 pm.
We will have hamburgers with all the fixings, potato
salad, chips, veggies and dessert. The cost is $5.00
per plate.
Please RSVP the business office at 801-2459264 by
July 26th and tell us how many are coming.
See you there!
Expect lots of
activities at this year's Holiday Party which will be held on December 2 at
DSVBI 250 North 1950 West, Salt Lake City. Here is information about the
activities at the party.
The
holidays are not far off, so it's time to plan for the UCB Holiday Boutique.
This special event will be held Saturday, December 2nd, at the Blind Center.
Table rentals are only $5.00, and you must provide your own way of processing
sale transactions. The UCB would like to get a jump start with advertising the
vendors and different items being sold. Descriptions of the items would be
especially helpful so our guests may plan ahead.
We will advertise in the monthly Buzz and social media as well as the
day of the event. If you have any questions, please call the UCB office at
801-245-9264.
Along with the Holiday party and the Boutique we will
have a bake sale. Please mark your items so there isn’t any guessing what they
are. Would love to have a big sale this year with all kinds of cakes, pies,
candies, brownies, muffins, cupcakes, sweet breads, cookies and whatever. Makes
me hungry just writing this! Please bring them early to me, Sandy England.
Also, we can take credit cards at this sale. This is one of our fund raisers,
which helps us to do other activities. Any questions call 801-634-8002 and ask
for Sandy.
This year, we will be doing a Christmas Stocking
Fund-Raiser. We hope you will think of those people you might want to give a
small gift to, a special friend, a family member, grandparents, a neighbor, a
church friend, etc. Don’t forget those little ones we all like to see smile!
More information will be coming later on.
If you have extra yarn with no place to give it,
please let me know. If you would like to help with this fund-raiser, please
call me or Kate.
Sandy England
cell: 801-634-8002,
Kate at the business office
801-245-9264.
When we published the “Save the Date” information for
the Statewide Training Conference last month, we received many comments from
readers letting us know that many of our members had serious scheduling
conflicts on that particular weekend. We checked
alternate dates through the end of the year, but were unable to find any
available times that did not have the same problem. For that reason, it was
decided to postpone the conference until next spring. Please watch The Buzz
for updates as we have them.
By Shelly Hendriksen
In this month’s article we will discuss what is in a
well-written IEP. To start with, let’s discuss who are the members of the IEP
team. We will then discuss the different parts of the IEP.
LEA – Legal
Education Authority (this is someone who makes the financial decisions such as
the Principal, Vice Principal or Special Education Director).
General
Education Teacher – This can be any of the GE teachers.
Parents/Guardian
– Legal Guardian of the student in case the student is a ward of the state, a
surrogate parent can be used instead.
IEP Case
Manager – Person in charge of writing and keeping all documents regarding the
IEP. This person can also double as the LEA.
Student -
Students are encouraged to participate in their IEP especially from age 14 and
up.
Other
individuals may be invited as necessary. This can include but is not limited to
Related Service providers, District Special Education (SPED) personnel, Parent
Advocates, etc.
Related Service Provider – This
can be anyone who provides a related service such as:
Speech/Physical/Occupational Therapists, School Psychiatrist or Social Worker.
An IEP is a federally-written document. It is legally
binding.
They will describe how the student’s disability
affects their involvement and progress in the general curriculum. For preschool
age students, they will describe how disability affects their participation in
appropriate activities. The team gets this information from the specific
assessments done that relate to the student’s disability. The team then
addresses any behavior issues that have been a concern and develops a Behavior
plan. In some cases, the information may be gathered by performing a Functional
Behavioral Assessment (FUBA).
It is important to recognize and discuss any communication
or technological needs. If a student needs material(s) in an alternate format
it will be in the student’s IEP. This may be one of the following:
Braille
worksheets
Smart Pens
Use of
Calculators
ASL
Interpreters
Laptops
Once the team has discussed the results of the
assessments the team then starts writing SMART goals. Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, and Timely are the keys to make sure the goals are appropriate for
the student. An example of SMART goal is:
“John will be able to recognize and write the Alphabet
in all capitals with 80% accuracy in 90 days.”
or another example is:
“Jane will be able to braille Alphabet with 75%
accuracy using a slate and stylus in 90 days.”
The team then discusses any
accommodations/modifications that may be needed.
Examples of accommodations can be, but not limited to:
Extended time
for assignments
Use of a scribe
Notetaker
A separate
place to take tests
Sensory Breaks
Modifications can include but not limited to:
Shortened
assignments
Shortened
class periods
Modified class schedules
The IEP team will also discuss all related services
that the child qualifies for, and the related provider will submit their SMART
goals and how many hours per month they will receive the services.
The team will also decide whether the student needs extended
school year classes, alternate to state standardized testing if applicable. The
team will also discuss transition, which is the planning of the student to exit
high school. The need for transition services can happen as early as 14 and
will be discussed in next month’s article. For further information feel free to
go to Utahparentcenter.org.
By
Mindi Larsen
Things
go wrong all along the way through our lives. It is part of being human, but we
must keep going. It is okay to be upset about our disappointments, but then we
need to think positively about our future. If we do this, we will create the
energy that drives us to keep going and working towards our future goals.
The UCB Buzz is available
in large print, Braille, audio CD, and by e-mail. If you would prefer to
receive your newsletter in a different format, please call the UCB business
office at 801-245-9264 or send an e-mail to utahblind@gmail.com and let us
know.
We are always looking for articles, book reviews, or
interesting tidbits of information from our readers or other interested
persons. You may e-mail any articles you wish to submit to tommit60@gmail.com;
send Braille, print, or audio to UCB Buzz, PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT
84011-1415. Please allow extra time for processing Braille, print, or audio.
Anna Jeffery,
President, Skills Development Program Supervisor
Donni
Mitchell, Vice President, Ceramics Board Liaison
Jeana
Nielsen, Secretary
Vicki Flake,
Treasurer
Sandy
Ruconich, Director, Executive Director
Monica
Youngdell, Director
Sandy
England, Director, Awards Committee Chair
Kira Larkin,
Director, Braille Committee Chair, Ceramics Class Liaison
Shelly
Hendricksen, Director, Scholarship Committee Chair
Cindi Vega,
Director, Election Committee Chair
Dennie Clark,
Director, Skills Development Program Assistant Supervisor
Mindi Larson,
Director, Holiday Celebration Committee Chair
Kate Balzly,
Chief Operating Officer
Aunilie
Hathaway, Membership Committee Chair
Tom Mitchell,
Publications Committee Chair
Matt
Barnhill, Adaptive Technology Committee Chair
JD Seely, Community Projects
Chair
Members are invited and encouraged to attend meetings
of the Board of Directors. Meetings will typically be held the first Thursday
of each month at 4:45 p.m. via Zoom. To be placed on the agenda or attend a
meeting, e-mail utahblind@gmail.com or call 801-245-9264.
Monday, July
10, 2023, 5:00 p.m. – deadline for receipt of nominations for officer and
director candidates for election at the Annual Business Meeting and for
proposed bylaw changes for publication
Saturday,
July 29, 2023, 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. – Indoor Picnic and Bingo at DSBVI
Thursday,
August 3, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Friday,
September 1, 2023, 5:00 p.m. – deadline for absentee ballot requests
Thursday,
September 7, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Friday,
September 8, 2023, 5:00 p.m. – deadline for Annual Business Meeting
reservations and payment of 2023 dues for voting privileges
Saturday,
September 16, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – Annual Business Meeting at DSBVI
Thursday,
October 5, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Saturday,
October 7, 2023, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. – Budget and Training Meeting, location
TBD (by invitation only)
Saturday,
October 14, 2023, Halloween Party, watch for updates
Thursday,
November 2, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Saturday,
December 2, 2023, time TBD – Holiday Celebration at DSBVI – watch for updates
Spring 2024, tentative new
timeframe for Statewide Training Conference – watch for updates
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