Retiring at the end of the year? Let us know!

IAASE is seeking information regarding members who will be retiring during or at the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

Please Respond by January 30, 2020 

IAASE wants to honor all 2020 retirees at the IAASE Winter Conference on February 27, 2020 in Springfield.

If you are an IAASE member (or a former member) and are retiring this year OR you know an IAASE member who is retiring PLEASE submit the retiree's name, district/cooperative, job title, and a digital picture of the retiree to Norma Gerrish at ngerrish@iaase.org by January 30, 2020.

Your help is greatly appreciated as we don't want to leave anyone out!

Awards & Nominations Seeks Applicants for Ott Scholarships

The Awards and Nominations Committee will be awarding at least one and possibly several scholarship grants of $500 to assist individuals in the pursuit of graduate study leading to improved competency in the administration of special education programs. To be eligible for the Ott Scholarship, individuals must be:

• A member of IAASE and be a student enrolled in an advanced special education or administration program;
• Demonstrating leadership in the Organization and to the field of special education

For additional information about how to apply or be nominated for this scholarship, please click here.

Nominate a Colleague for a Region Award

Nominations are now being accepted for our Regional Awards. Any IAASE member within the region can nominate a colleague who meets the criteria. A letter of nomination must be sent to the region representatives or their designee. The letter of nomination should indicate how the nominee meets the established award criteria.

Regional awardees will be recognized at a regional event and will also be recognized at the IAASE winter conference. They will also have their nominations forwarded to the IAASE awards committee chairperson for consideration for the IAASE Vuillemot, Berto, and/or Trailblazer awards. There are two awards available in each region:

Regional Leadership Award

• Member of IAASE for at least 5 years
• Exhibits strong leadership in the administration of special education programs
• Demonstrates loyalty to colleagues and the professional organization
• Displays commitment and strong professional standards

Regional Trailblazer Award

• Member of IAASE
• Exhibits exemplary service to teachers, students, and the administrative team of his/her organization
• Leads and/or implements innovative practices and approaches including professional development, curriculum, service delivery, program evaluation, methodology, technology, etc.

To nominate yourself or one of your colleagues for these awards, please contact your region representative.

Update from CASE/ CEC Conference - IAASE Recognized for Outstanding Achievement

At our CASE Board of Directors meeting in Indianapolis, IAASE has, once again, been recognized for its outstanding work! This year, we have achieved the award for Outstanding Achievement in the area of Policy and Legislation.

This award is thanks to our tracking of bills, legislative advocacy, continued and ongoing presence in Springfield, well-developed relationships with legislators, legislative roundtables, conference events, and strong delegations each year at the Special Education Legislative Summit (SELS) in Washington, DC. We have done so much work in this area during the past several years including adding a full-time lobbyist (Shannon Miller Bellini) and reconstituting the Legislative Committee with representatives from across the state thanks to Melissa Taylor and Judy Hackett. Really, however, this award is for all of us who work so hard on an every day basis to help every legislator understand schools (and why special education matters).

We also received recognition for increasing our membership year-over-year in CASE by 3%. It was a small increase, but an increase nonetheless. A few people who should be recognized here. First off - Melissa Taylor had the idea to create a more "unified" membership a few years back and we have increased our membership every year since then. Second - Christine Putlak and our region reps have been working hard to increase our membership in IAASE as well and we are currently at 1215 members - the highest point we have been at the end of January - EVER! Finally - we are growing because of all of you. THANK YOU for helping us to be better.

For those of you who are CASE regulars and are curious - these were the other award winners:

• Outstanding Award - Arizona
• Outstanding Communication - Minnesota
• Outstanding Member Development - Michigan
• Outstanding Professional Development - Missouri
• Highest Membership Growth - Mississippi CASE
• Exemplary Unit - Indiana CASE

Nominate a Colleague for a Region Award

Nominations are now being accepted for our Regional Awards. Any IAASE member within the region can nominate a colleague who meets the criteria. A letter of nomination must be sent to the region representatives or their designee. The letter of nomination should indicate how the nominee meets the established award criteria.

Regional awardees will be recognized at a regional event and will also be recognized at the IAASE winter conference. They will also have their nominations forwarded to the IAASE awards committee chairperson for consideration for the IAASE Vuillemot, Berto, and/or Trailblazer awards. There are two awards available in each region:

Regional Leadership Award

• Member of IAASE for at least 5 years
• Exhibits strong leadership in the administration of special education programs
• Demonstrates loyalty to colleagues and the professional organization
• Displays commitment and strong professional standards

Regional Trailblazer Award

• Member of IAASE
• Exhibits exemplary service to teachers, students, and the administrative team of his/her organization
• Leads and/or implements innovative practices and approaches including professional development, curriculum, service delivery, program evaluation, methodology, technology, etc.

To nominate yourself or one of your colleagues for these awards, please contact your region representative.