College Steps looks forward to participating in the vendor fair for “When the Bus Stops Coming” scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 2016, at Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building in Ashburn, VA from 10:15 – 12:30. “When the Bus Stops Coming” is designed for parents and caregivers of youth with disabilities, ages 14 – 22. The conference will cover transition planning as well as provide information for students who will need more intensive or ongoing support upon exiting school. In the past, over 100 students and their families have attended “When the Bus Stops Coming” and we are looking forward to another excellent turnout this year.
Autism Speaks Resource Fair/Transition Town Hall Workshop on Saturday, December 5th at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA.
Help us spread the word! This is a FREE event for families with a teenager or adult on the autism spectrum to get vital resources that they need. Every guest will receive printed Tool Kits and the opportunity to meet in small group settings with specialists in Transition Planning, Employment, Post-Secondary Education, and Housing. Please RSVP (free event, we just need a head count!) at the link below. Feel free to bring along as many members as your organization that will want to attend! RSVP HERE: http://events.autismspeaks.org/TransitionWorkshopNOVA
Event Details:
Autism Speaks Transition Town Planning Town Hall Workshop
Made Possible by a Generous Gift from the Gudelsky Family Foundation
*FREE PARKING, light refreshments, Northern Virginia specific autism resources
Date: Saturday, December 5th
Location: Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA
Time: 9:00AM – Service Providers Arrive to Set Up
9:30AM – Resource Fair
10:00AM – Panel Discussion
Followed by Breakout Sessions:
--Transition Planning
--Employment
--Post-Secondary Education
--Housing
Join College Steps at Future Quest 2015 at George Mason University - Saturday November 14th
Join College Steps at Future Quest hosted by George Mason University on Satruday November 14th, 2015. For more information, please see http://futurequest.gmu.edu.
Federal Government Launch Financial Effort Aimed At People With Disabilities
Highly relevent article about important legistation. http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/06/04/feds-financial-effort/20356/
New Federal Rule Aims To Boost Disability Employment
Very relevant new initaitive to boost employment options among youth living with disabilites. Call us for more information. http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/08/28/new-rule-employment/18604/
Congratulations to one of our Peer Mentors from Southern Vermont College! Karina Meza Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District NCAA DIII Women’s Soccer District 1 Team
Southern Vermont’s Karina Meza Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District NCAA DIII Women’s Soccer District 1 Team
BENNINGTON, Vt. — On Thursday, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced their 2015 Academic All-District™ Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams to recognize top student-athletes around the country for their excellence athletically and academically with Southern Vermont College senior defender Karina Meza (Los Angeles, Calif.) being included on the NCAA Division III District 1 Women’s First Team.
Meza’s honor is the first ever of its kind for any Southern Vermont student-athlete. The NCAA DIII District 1 Team is comprised of institutions in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his or her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable). No student-athlete is eligible until he or she has completed one full calendar year at his or her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. In the cases of transfers, graduate students and two-year college graduates, the student-athlete must have completed one full calendar year at the nominating institution to be eligible.
Meza has helped anchor a Southern Vermont defense that has allowed just 1.33 goals per game to date with a combined seven team shutouts. From the defense, she has scored three goals and registered one assist; all three of her scores have been game-winning goals with two being in 1-0 wins. The psychology major, who finished the 2014-15 academic year with a cumulative grade point average of 3.93, was named to the 2014 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) All-Academic Team and is in line to also be on this year’s squad. She has started in all 16 of the Mountaineers’ games this season, helping them to tally the team’s best-ever record in the NECC and its fifth straight playoff appearance. She was recently named the NECC Player of the Week for the first time in her career back on October 12.
“The first thing that comes to my mind is that, ‘It’s always great to get an academic award, whether it’s for a team or an individual,’” commented fifth year SVC head coach Michael Zauzig. “They’re student-athletes, and ‘student’ does come first. They’re here to get a degree and prepare themselves for the next step in their lives. Karina, someone who’s either looking at going to the Peace Corp or grad school, has been committed to academics since the first day that she got here. I think it speaks volumes about Karina as a student to be the first person at SVC to get this honor. It additionally sets a precedent and a challenge to her teammates to see who can match it; it continues an expectation of academic excellence.”
Current members of CoSIDA are able to nominate players from their institution in the sponsored sports, and those same members are then eligible to vote on the district level. Only members of the Academic All-America® Committee and the CoSIDA Board of Directors and staff are able to vote at the national level to determine the CoSIDA Academic All-America® teams.
The Academic All-District™ teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the fifth year of the expanded Academic All-America® program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America® Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools. First-team Academic All-District™ honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
OPEN HOUSE SEASON AT COLLEGE STEPS!
PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON OUR UPCOMING OPEN HOUSES. JOIN US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE AT A CAMPUS NEAR YOU!
Lyndon State College
Program Director: Henekis Stoddard
Contact: Henekis@collegesteps.org
Open house: February 10th/ 4pm-6pm/ Lyndon State College: Rita Bole Room
Southern Vermont College
Program Director: Darcy Oaks
Contact: Darcy@collegesteps.org
Open house: February 10th/ 4pm-5:30pm/ Southern Vermont College: Everett Mansion's Burgdorff Gallery
Northern Virginia Community College - Loudoun
Contact: Aaron@collegesteps.org
Open house: February 19th/ 6pm-7:30pm/ NOVA - Loudoun Waddell Theater.
Castleton State College
Program Director: Patty Moore
Contact: Patty@collegesteps.org
Open House: February 24th/ 4pm-6pm/ Castleton State College: Hoff Hall
Johnson State College
Program Director: Chris Kennedy
Contact: Chris@collegesteps.org
Open House: March 5th/4-6pm/Johnson State College: Stearns Stage Space, Stearns Hall
HIGHLY RELEVANT ARTICLE ON UNMET COLLEGE NEEDS OF STUDENTS LIVING WITH ASD
Please enjoy reading the article here by Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, PhD, Director of the McClean College Mental Health Program.
INNOVATIVE FINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
Thanks to OnlineSchools.org and to BestColleges.com, we are happy to promote a new online resource for financial aid options for students with disabilities across the country. Review the resources here and here.
College Steps Inc. has no partnership or agreement of any kind with BestColleges.com, OnlineSchools.org or their subsidiaries and is listing these links simply as a means of increasing public awareness.
ANNOUNCING THE 17TH ANNUAL SUMMER AUTISM INSTITUTE!
17th Annual Summer Autism Institute
June 23-27, 2014 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Burlington, Vermont
The Summer Autism Institute is a one-week intensive conference featuring international, national, and regional experts in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The institute is open to community teams and the families they serve in Vermont and to interdisciplinary teams across the New England area, nationwide and abroad.
The event is hosted by the UVM College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Featured presentations will include:
Outcomes research on preschool programming emphasizing the role of peers and inclusive educational practices for children with ASD
Theory of Mind (ToM) and its relationship to social communication challenges
Strategies to provide quality services for children with ASD using limited resources
Practices in early screening and detection using emerging technologies
What it’s like to live with autism
Please visit the Institute's website for more information.