Virginia Transition Forum 2009 - “We’re All in This Together”
The Virginia Transition Forum 2009 “We’re All in This Together” can once again be touted as a great success for Virginia. Held this year at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside March 16-18, Virginia Transition Forum 2009 welcomed close to 1,000 attendees, including youth, parents, educators, DRS staff, administrators, and representatives from other states, all interested in the transition needs of youth with disabilities. The Forum is realized through combined sponsorship from the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS), Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center (WWRC), the Department of Education, the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, and transition partners throughout the Commonwealth.It is the single largest source of training and technical assistance for rehabilitation and education personnel serving youth with disabilities.
On Monday, March 16, DRS Commissioner Jim Rothrock provided welcoming remarks at the opening ceremonies and presented his annual Commissioner’s Transition Award of Excellence—an award created to acknowledge a person or group of individuals who have demonstrated a commitment and contributed significantly in the area of transition services for youth with disabilities. This year’s recipient, The Faison School of Autism in Richmond, Virginia, was honored for outstanding leadership, service, and program development for youth with disabilities in the autism spectrum. The award was accepted by Faison Program Coordinator Jennifer Camblin, Faison Assistant Director Adam Warman, Faison Program Administrator Denise Daly Konrad, and Faison Director of Education Dr. Kathy Matthews. Opening remarks were also given by Commissioner Ray Hopkins of the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired and Dr. Patricia Wright, Superintendent for Public Instruction. Dr. Rick Lavoie, a motivational speaker who is an author of several books on working with youths with disabilities, served as the Keynote speaker. Dr. Lavoie spoke eloquently about the need to teach the nation’s youth in transition “how to learn and find” information they needed in this ever advancing technological age, as well as the need for families and professionals to focus on strengths as opposed to weaknesses.
Youth involvement at this year’s Forum continued to increase with the return of its Self-Determined Youth Summit (SDYS), and its inaugural Parent/Family Summit. Drawing approximately 60 youth from across the Commonwealth and other invited states, the two-day SDYS offered a platform for the students to openly discuss and explore disability-issues, define their “credo”, and educate others on how to be successful despite living with a disability. In addition, the youth delegates were able to identify future goals and make statements about the importance of their individuality, realizing that they have the same dreams, desires, and goals as youth without disabilities. In the adjacent hotel, close to 100 parents and family members convened for the Parent/Family Summit where they had the opportunity to attend sessions that offered networking and learning opportunities with other parents to share ideas and resources.
On Wednesday, March 19, the Forum was brought to a close through the Keynote Speaker JoAnne Cashman, Director of the IDEA Partnership—an affiliation of 55 national organizations supporting the shared implementation of IDEA. Dr. Cashman spoke about the “P-16” system, which refers to efforts to infuse three largely disconnected levels of public education— pre-school, K-12, and postsecondary—with a greater coherence and a stronger sense of connectedness. P-16 stakeholders include leaders in Pre-School through grade 12, higher education, and the business community. Stakeholders work collaboratively to foster a more integrated education system, while addressing such issues as college readiness standards, teacher education, and educational resource development. The benefits of this system include exposure of students to career options and role models, a better prepared workforce, a healthier school, business and community culture as well as opportunity for University and P-12 students and faculty to learn across diverse populations.
DBVI Richmond Regional Manager Kim Jennings with Project Coordinator for the Deaf-Blind Project at Virginia Commonwealth University Peggy Sinclair-Morris.
Virginia Transition Forum 2009
Keynote Speaker, Richard Lavoie
