1. Executive Brief2
2. Conclusions2
3. Program Goals and Purposes4
4. Clientele5
5. Sponsorship and Collaboration6
6. Past, Present, and Future7
7. Project Staff and Activities9
8. Project Evaluation Activities17
9. Service Delivery Accomplishments18
10. Model-Building Accomplishments55
    

Appendix 4: Samples of Letters of Support and Impact

Thank you card from a Teacher from Chicopee High School (2 pages)

Leadership Speech by Amy Becker (4 pages)

Leadership by Kwadwo Adade

Letter from Burncoat High School Principal, June 12, 2000

E-Mail from William Jusino, Student, April 11, 2000

Letter from Regional Administrator, March 20, 2000

Letter from Fitchburg State College President, February 1, 2000

Letter from Sullivan Middle School Principal, June 30, 1999

Letter of Recommendation for Scholarship, June 1, 1999

Letter from Massasoit Community College Director, May 11, 1999

Letter from Edge Hill Coordinator for Students with Disabilities, April 29, 1999

Letter from Bridgewater State College Associate Dean, April 22, 1999

Letter from Fitchburg State College Associate Professor, April 20, 1999

Letter from Middlesex Community College Director of Counseling, April 9, 1999

Fitchburg State College Open Line Newsletter, April 7, 1999 (3 pages)

Letter from Participant in LPETP, March 29, 1999

Letter from NE Metro Tech High School Special Ed. Dept. Chairperson, March 12, 1999

Letter of Acceptance from Leadership Education Source Book, March 24, 1998

Letter from Participant in LPETP, March 6, 1998

Attachments: Dissemination Materials

Career Planbook and Portfolio

Job Hunting With A Disability

Leadership & Peer Educator Training Manuals

College

Middle School/High School

Pathfinders I and II

• The Leadership and Peer Educator Training Project (LPETP) for students with disabilities in Massachusetts is a unique experiential program designed to enhance self-advocacy and self-determination skills and to promote outreach to middle school/high school/college students regarding strategies for effective transition from school to work. The two Leadership and Peer Education Training manuals (college and high school curriculums) developed and implemented in schools across the state serve as both a resource and technical assistance in the area of transition planning.
  

B. Conclusions

The Leadership and Peer Educator Training Project has served as an important educational tool for many people in the state of Massachusetts. We have addressed disability issues and increased the levels of self-advocacy, self-determination, and leadership skills in college and high school students, as well as provided education to parents, guidance counselors, teachers, and the community. Additionally, we have identified support networks for all constituencies involved in the project. The major problems encountered, how they were corrected, and the lessons learned are as follows:

Lesson Learned: Always consider statewide educational reform initiatives and be sure to address them simultaneously.

The Mentoring Model and College Schedule vs. High School Schedule: Proposed in the grant was to encourage participation in Peer Mentor programs which would offer training and focus on self-determination, self-directed IEPs, self-esteem, disability identity, and other empowerment strategies. Additionally, the college mentors were to meet with high school students and have biweekly peer mentor meetings. The major barrier in fulfilling this goal was scheduling conflicts. High school and college students attended classes during the same time frame, making it difficult to meet the goal of weekly and biweekly meetings.

Due to this schedule conflict, presentation opportunities were arranged for college Leadership graduates to visit high schools, and the high school Leadership graduates to visit middle schools. These presentations emphasized individual dreams, goals, future plans, and transition experiences. In addition, the middle school students took field trips to the high schools, while the high school students visited the college campuses involved in the grant. The Breakfast Club was then created to bring the Leadership graduates and their parents, teachers, guidance counselors, faculty, administrators and grant staff from FSC and ICI together to meet and discuss our accomplishments toward leadership success.

The peer-mentoring component was a difficult issue to address partly because we were unable to teach at the local high schools and colleges at the same time during the first year of the project. As a result, it was difficult to match college students with high school students who lived in close proximity. The staff decided to arrange fieldtrips for high school students to visit colleges, and middle school students to visit high schools. During this time, students were able to explore future options and visions for their future. Overall, this was a change that had a positive impact for all of our students.

Lesson Learned: Consider the availability of the targeted population and geographical location when designing a mentoring program.

Transportation: Transportation was an important issue since the majority of our students did not drive, many of the vehicles in the state were not equipped with wheelchair lifts or able to accommodate the number of participants, and limited staff were available to drive. As a result, more money was allocated to provide the appropriate transportation for all to fully participate in the program.

Fitchburg State College gave priority to the grant in the use of its wheelchair-accessible van which did not solve the overall problem for students outside of the college area. As a result, funds were moved into the transportation line item to meet the need.

Lesson Learned: Always consider a higher budget for transportation due to the minimal accessibility of appropriate vehicles and the cost associated with it.

A summary of the goals stated in the original proposal are:

Modifications:

The goals stated in the original proposal were met as anticipated. Some of the activities, however, changed as we encountered minor barriers. The emphasis on promoting students with disabilities in high school to attend post-secondary settings was somewhat less of a priority due to the inclusive classroom environment. For instance, the college Leadership Training focused on disability laws, self-advocating because of a disability, and national, social and political changes. As a result of this change in the activity, we used the college speakers in the classrooms to talk about individual dreams, goals, and future plans. The grant personnel decided to set up college visits in order to address the goal of transition.

At the college level, the Leadership and Peer Educator Training curriculum was used, and based on evaluation surveys conducted it was found that additional training and mentoring was requested by the participants. An additional 2.5 hours were added to the 15-hour training in order to address mentoring and spend more time on disability laws.

The Institute for Community Inclusion staff developed a Leadership Training model that would work during school hours. The curriculum is a 10-week program that integrates teachers and guidance counselors into the classroom in order to help with the sustainability of the project. With the education reform initiatives in the state, it became clear by project staff that outreach to a much younger population than just high school students was necessary. As a result, the ICI staff conducted Leadership Trainings with middle school students to help meet the statewide initiatives.

The Peer Mentor network has taken on many changes as written into the original grant proposal. The staff of the project have, however, identified some approaches that we feel will have the same end result. We implemented a mini-grant program where college, high school and middle school students identified needs for students with disabilities within their school, and then they submitted a grant proposal, written by the mentor and mentee, in order to address the issue. We have provided funding for a variety of projects including ramps, automatic door openers, assistive technology, disability educational programs for the staff and students, and conference attendance. (See page 15, Mini-Grant Awards)

Since 1998, the project has energized a significant number of teachers, administrators, principals, parents, and students in different school systems. In addition, we developed new partnerships between high schools and colleges and solidified existing relationships between middle and high schools to promote a smoother transition for students. We found it to be a struggle to work with key school personnel in merging leadership and self-determination within an existing course. As a team, we constantly faced new challenges and achievements for each individual school, college and district. For example, during the early stages of the program we decided to expand our clientele to include middle school students. This addition was important due to the recent changes in IDEA to include students as young as 14 years in their IEP/ITP meetings with their families, which in turn was important to the overall goals of this project.

The original writers of this grant identified goals that were realistic and attainable.

D. Clientele

The objective of the grant was to target high school and college students with disabilities. A total of 12 higher education institutions participated, consisting of community colleges, state colleges, and public and private universities, with 6 institutions providing the training more than once. A total of 195 people graduated from these Leadership Trainings conducted by Fitchburg State College staff. Each school conducted a Training program on their campus with the assistance of grant personnel. The trainings were conducted at the following institutions:

College and University Listing (Total # of trainings)

Bristol Community College Northern Essex Community College

Bridgewater State College (3) Quinsigamond Community College

Fitchburg State College (2) Worcester State College

Framingham State College (2) University of New Orleans

Massasoit Community College University of Mass. at Amherst (2)

Middlesex Community College University of Mass. at Lowell (2)

In the four types of colleges visited, it appeared that the students involved in the training program represented certain populations depending on the type of school and the relationship they had with the Disability Service Providers on their campus. For instance, the community colleges had a high representation of mental illness and low cognitive ability. In the four-year

colleges, a majority of the participants had learning disabilities, ADD, visual impairments, deaf/hearing impairment, and physical disabilities. At the universities, a majority had learning disabilities, and ADD. Private schools had visual impairment and mental illness.

At the middle and high school level, a total of 11 schools were involved in the 10-week curriculum with four schools repeating the program facilitated by the teachers and supported by grant personnel. The middle and high school student population consisted of a variety of students with disabilities including: learning disabilities, physical disabilities, emotional and behavioral, cognitive disabilities (autism, William's syndrome), and sensory disabilities. A total of 201 middle and high school students graduated from the Leadership program. Initially, we worked with a total of 19 students who were part of our pilot sites during our first year. These students did not complete pre-and post-surveys (See Appendix 1). We worked closely with a minimum of 35 teachers, guidance counselors, principals, administrators, and superintendents who allowed us to enter their schools.

Middle/High School Listing (# of Trainings)

Boston District: McKinkey Tech

Brockton District: Brockton High School (pilot site and return, (2))

Institute In-Kind Contributions included the following:

Personnel – Line 01

Supervision was supported by staff at the Institute for Community Inclusion and Fitchburg State College.

Travel – Line 03

Money was contributed for Program staff to attend the National Conference in Washington, D.C.

Supplies- Line 05

Fitchburg State College provided the Center with office equipment, office furniture, and office supplies, including a copy machine, use of a fax machine, desks, sofa and chair, credenza, HP 4M LaserJet Printer, access to the Internet, Zoomtext, and FSC network programs, and copy and printer paper. The same is true for the Institute for Community Inclusion.

Other – Line 08

$300 for miscellaneous student participant travel was used for in-state travel for student speaking engagements. The campus van was available to transport students to Leadership Training Programs and speaking events. The same is true for the Institute for Community Inclusion.

$400 for telephone usage. Fitchburg State College provided four telephone lines, including one line for the TTY.

Training Stipend – Line 11

$5,200 Student Trainer. Two separate accounts were set up: one for work-study help and one for the Student Trainers for the Leadership Training Program.

The Leadership and Peer Educator Training Program was developed by the collaborative efforts of the staffs of Project Enable at Fitchburg State College and Massachusetts Transition Initiative at U-MASS Boston. The following programs should be acknowledged for their work in leadership training which provided the foundation for much of this program:

• Project LEEDS - Leadership Education to Empower Disabled Students (funded by Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Development Program, U.S. Department of Education, University of Minnesota). The Presentation by project LEEDS at the 1996 AHEAD Conference in San Jose provided the foundation and inspiration for this training program and introduced the Gettysburg Maze as it is used in this curriculum. Project LEEDS sponsors residential leadership training programs for college students.
• Leadership Development Center, Gettysburg College, PA, the source of the Gettysburg Maze exercise. The Center offers a co-curricular, experiential model of leadership training available to all undergraduates.
  

The Present: The Leadership and Peer Educator Training Project for high school and undergraduate students with disabilities is a unique experiential program designed to assist students with disabilities to discover and enhance their leadership ability and to promote outreach to high school students and their families regarding strategies for effective transition. This program was developed collaboratively by project Enable at Fitchburg State College, a demonstration project funded by the Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (CFDA 84.078C) and the Massachusetts Transition Initiative, a system change grant also funded by the United States Department of Education. Both agencies are regarded as regional resources and innovators in self-determination training and technical assistance in the area of transition planning. The curriculum includes components of programs developed by established experts in the field of leadership education and disability studies combined with newly developed segments on disability law and self-advocacy.

Based upon a philosophy shared by both institutions, the project builds on the resources of these established community partners. It integrates and coordinates this internal/community network to expand upon a model focused on enhancing student potential for successful secondary and post-secondary experiences for students with disabilities. Above all, the Project is designed to emphasize empowerment through the experience of leadership and self-advocacy (by the student and for the community) of students with disabilities in high schools and on college campuses. Successful graduates of the program can join a Statewide Speaker’s Bureau to promote self-advocacy, disability rights and awareness, and effective transition from school to adult life. Graduates are also eligible to serve in a peer mentor network at the high school and/or the college level.

The Future:

• Six colleges in Massachusetts have committed to continue facilitating the Leadership and Peer Educator Training Program. They have also committed to working with their local high schools by providing student speakers in their classrooms.
• Fitchburg State College has committed to continue the relationship with all 12 colleges and five community districts to meet the requests for speaking events across the state.
• Fitchburg State College is currently writing a proposal to continue and modify the project activities in six New England states.
• Fitchburg State College is in the process of writing a new proposal to offer training and technical assistance to students with disabilities in the New England area.
• The Statewide Speakers Bureau will continue.
• Due to high demands from teachers and students to continue the Leadership Program, we hope to seek future funding in this important area of youth leadership.
• To develop a web-based (and CD-ROM), interactive self-determination curriculum for students with disabilities, augmented with face-to-face instruction with classrooms.
• To provide on-going training to teachers and parents about including students in their IEP/ITP meetings. And to assist IEP/ITP teams to support students during the team meeting in identifying their choices and vision for the future.
• To promote collaboration between middle and secondary school systems and higher education institutions to expand opportunities for students with disabilities.
• To continue to identify local resources to promote relationship building within the districts so that students may have additional options to choose from.
• Include students as co-presenters at future professional conferences and other related leadership opportunities. (See Appendix 3)
• To publish articles in professional journals regarding student outcomes as a result of their participation in this program.
• The people who committed time and energy for this exciting initiative will continue to hold the vision and to face the need LPETP was created to address.
  

Staff:

Deborah Roberts, Director 50% time

Derek Hubbard, Coordinator of College program 100%

Rooshey Hasnain, Coordinator of Middle/High School program 50%

Stelios Gragoudas, Coordinator of Middle/High School program 50%

Deborah Cascio, Administrative Assistant, FSC 15%

Dr. Shirley Wagner, Assoc. Vice President, Academic Affairs, FSC 5%

Debra Hart, Internal Investigator 5% In-Kind

Student Trainers: Melissa Gonzales, Margaret Shepardson-Legere, Larry Haile, Emily Neal, Claire Dumont, Cristy Potter, Available as needed

Timeline: In the original Abstract, it was proposed that during each of the three funding years the Leadership and Peer Educator Training Project, including dissemination of the training manual and materials, would be replicated at five college campuses. Each participating campus would make a commitment to create a partnership with one local high school and where possible one TRIO or Equal Opportunity Program affiliate in their local educational agency or on the college campus. Total minimum participation would be 15 high schools with 15 college campus partners over the three-year period. The LPETP staff would provide technical assistance and training in the leadership model and in the development of peer mentor programs implemented at the cooperating high school and for incoming freshman and transfer students at their respective campuses. The Project would produce and disseminate a facilitator's manual, curriculum and training materials. A journal article and appearances by student presenters at a regional and/or national conference would serve to promote outreach and dissemination of program findings.

Local:

Ashland High School Framingham High School Northern Essex Com. College

Avon Public Schools Fuller Middle School Oakmont Regional HS

B.F. Brown Middle School Gardner High School South Shore Technical HS

Bristol Community College Groton-Dunstable Regional HS Quaboag Middle/HS

Brockton High School Lunenburg High School Vinal Elementary School

Chelmsford High School McKay Campus School Weymouth Jr. High School

Fitchburg High School Milton High School Winchester High School

Fitchburg State College Nashoba Regional HS Worcester State College

Fitchburg Upward Bound North East Metro Tech HS

State:

Teacher Diversity & Leadership Conference Lunenburg Parent Advisory Council

Mass. Advocacy Center Mass. Guidance Assoc. Conference

Mass. Parent Advisory Council Mass. Rehabilitation Commission

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic Disability Law Center

N. Middlesex Special Ed. Parent Advisory Council Demystifying Disability, Umass-Lowell

National:

AHEAD: Disability issues in the New Millennium, Atlanta, GA

AHEAD: Universal Designs in Higher Education, Kansas City, MO

6^th Annual National Diversity Conf., Leadership Alliance for Excellence in Ed. San Diego, CA

8^th Annual Women's Studies Conference, Southern Connecticut State University, CT

Higher Educ. & Students with Disabilities: New Realities in Post Secondary Educ., New Orleans

MWACE Conference, Cincinnati, OH

NTA: Project Directors' Meeting, Washington, D.C.

East Bay Educational Collaborative, Portsmouth, RI

Leadership Training Manuals

The Leadership & Peer Educator Training - College: This training program for undergraduates with disabilities at Fitchburg State College is a unique experiential training designed to help students with disabilities discover or improve their leadership ability. Successful graduates of the program can join a statewide speakers bureau to promote self-advocacy, disability rights, and awareness for the effective transition of students with disabilities from high school to adult life. The train-the-trainer model empowers students to be more active on campus, in the community and in their own career development. The speaker and peer mentor network that develops from this training is an effective tool for outreach and education of high school students and their families in the aspects of transition according to the IDEA. Speakers are available to present at schools (to both students and teachers), parent and community groups, and colleges and universities. According to IDEA, the speaker and peer mentor network has proven to be an effective tool for outreach and education of high school students, parents and educators in all aspects of transition planning.

The key components of the Leadership and Peer Educator Training Program are:

The Leadership & Peer Educator Training - Middle/High School: This training program offers an exciting approach to teaching and learning leadership and self-determination skills. It is divided into 12 curriculum units that are designed to introduce middle and high school students to a broad spectrum of leadership and self-determination skills. The guide is interactive and contains a collection of learning activities and materials that pertain to leadership. Ultimately, this curriculum will assist all students to plan and prepare for their adult life.

Exercising leadership means using a combination of skills such as visioning, goal-setting, decision-making, communicating, negotiating, planning, problem solving, networking and collaborating. Implemented together or individually, these skills can assist students to become more self-determined and, in turn, empower them to take more control of and responsibility for their lives. The skills taught in this curriculum serve as the bridge to improve school-to-adult life transitions that are vital to all students.

Rather than take a wait-and-see approach, educators can use this curriculum to be proactive and teach students how to plan for their future now. Through interactive group experiences and self-reflection, students will learn to "think globally and act locally." They will learn to make important decisions and choices about different life areas that include post-secondary education, career development and employment, and social and personal issues. More importantly, it will provide students with a unique opportunity to connect classroom learning to real world experiences.

In 1998, we field-tested our ideas and activities with two groups of students at one middle school and one high school. These interactions with students along with interviews with school staff taught us the importance of teaching self-determination skills to all youth. We used a variety of instructional approaches to teach leadership and self-determination skills. In addition, students were provided opportunities to practice and apply these skills in and out of school. More importantly, the success of this program comes from the active and applied nature of the material in the curriculum which fosters student input. Another important element of the program is the role of family, friends and the community. Several activities are used within the program that can help the facilitator involve family members, friends, and community members to promote opportunities for students to become more self-determined.

The Institute for Community Inclusion created student support teams in each of the districts which consisted of school personnel, family members, students and Institute staff. The purpose of the student support team was to exchange ideas and look for ways to increase resources to better support student visions as they transition from secondary school to adult life. All five teams received technical support in planning and implementing activities to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. The teams have also co-sponsored a variety of workshops and trainings on issues of transition and post-secondary options. Each district had a student support team housed at a middle or high school.

International Cultural Exchanges

Partners for Access to International Cultural Exchange (PAICE 2000): was a 12-day international cultural exchange between institutions to provide students with and without disabilities who demonstrated an interest in disability issues and leadership the opportunity to travel abroad. The main goal of the project was to provide a cultural exchange program that focused on disability laws, leadership and self-advocacy skills, as well as cultural recreational opportunities. Participants had the opportunity to experience firsthand another culture, its people, food, and beautiful landscape. Most importantly, there was an opportunity to increase the accessibility of international travel for those with disabilities. Participants educated others on an international level about how to accomplish this important goal by insisting it can be done and "just doing it."

Participants visited the University of Innsbruck, Austria, for a ten-day stay. Prior to the final destination, a two-day stop at the University of New Orleans took place. The University of New Orleans has an existing relationship with the University of Innsbruck and educated Fitchburg State participants about the Austrian culture and currency. A Leadership Training was conducted for the UNO participants. In addition, the PAICE and UNO participants collaborated and planned a leadership presentation that was given at the University of Innsbruck.

Project Adventure: Ormskirk, England: Over the past few years, the project director had been actively working on an international exchange opportunity, known at Fitchburg State as Project Adventure, for the Leadership Training Program graduates from Fitchburg State College. Twelve student leaders and four staff traveled to Ormskirk, England, and met with students from Edge Hill University. The goal was to learn about college accessibility issues in another country, explore leadership opportunities in disability related fields, and to learn how different cultural issues impact people with disabilities. While there, students also did volunteer work with local organizations promoting disability awareness by presenting their personal stories of having disabilities to faculty and administrators, which included dialogues between the two countries on the laws and cultural differences. A staff/faculty member from Fitchburg State College conducted a workshop promoting diversity, using drama and movement, with the students at Skelsmerdale College. Between the trip preparation, fundraising (students sponsored numerous events to finance their trip, as Project Adventure was not funded by grant funds), and the actual travel experience, this project has made some major life changes to all that participated.

Between March 1998 and January 1999, the following activities have occurred:

Leadership Conference

Leadership & Diversity Conference 2000: The mission of this conference was to explore leadership abilities in an ever-changing global society with all youths in Massachusetts. This conference explored physical, social, psychological, and spiritual aspects of leadership. Through physical exercises, confidence in individual abilities and achievements was built through teamwork. This interaction helped build social leadership with others towards a common goal. Psychological leadership was also dealt with as participants learned to react to both negative and positive feelings. On a more personal level, a spiritual journey was encountered as one discovered personal meaning through inner searching. As a whole, this conference enhanced leadership abilities in all attendees. The target population included participants from ACCESS, City Year, Expanding Horizons, Future Teachers Club, Institute for Community Inclusion, Leadership and Peer Education graduates, and Upward Bound. This diverse mix of students across Massachusetts promoted the kind of multicultural environment we hoped to achieve.

Mini-Grant Awards

Mini-Grants were offered to the peer mentoring program implemented in high schools in Massachusetts. Students at the post-secondary and secondary level will develop a deeper relationship by sharing a common goal to better serve people with disabilities in their school district. Additionally, the mini-grants help to promote the activities and objectives of the grant, including: 1) Increasing student participation in transition planning, and school and community activities, while improving academic performance; 2) Increasing the number of presentations to secondary students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors; 3) Assist in the relationship of the mentor and mentee, which will lead to increased success of the project and increased empowerment of the students; 4) Assist the students in technical writing skills; 5) Increase self-determination behaviors, as well as academic satisfaction and success; 6) Greater awareness of our program in the region.

Each student, together with college leaders, evaluated possible disability needs of their schools and was given an opportunity to apply for a grant of up to $1,000 towards what they felt their school needed for people with disabilities. There were eight grant teams which included a grant administrator, a student with one or two college leaders, and parents/special educators assisting in the process. Mini-grant applications included assistive technology, visiting area colleges’ disability services offices, and hardware for building an accessible ramp. Approximately $8,000 was applied for.

• A total of 201 middle and high school students and a total of 195 college students graduated from the Leadership Training Program.
• Attended weekly staff/planning meetings to discuss the goals and objectives of the project.

• Collected and reviewed existing leadership and self-determination curriculums that

are used in the classroom using an evaluation tool developed by the project staff.

Dissemination Products and Activities (See Attachments)

Over 81 people requested the following dissemination materials:

Career Planbook & Portfolio (CPP): Serves to guide students with and without disabilities through the college experience, emphasizing the importance of co-curricular activities in job readiness, and collecting evidence to support them in their job search. (64 requests)

"Full Circle" publication: Provided job accommodation information, disability law cases, personal stories, suggestions on etiquette, literature and movie reviews, games, quotes, and assistive technology information. Additionally, most of the articles written include national contact information. (Distributed over 1,550 copies)

Job Hunting with a Disability (JHWD): A manual/workshop designed to better prepare students for the job market. Workshop topics include The Americans with Disability Act, issues of disclosure, job accommodations, job search, and interview skills. (56 requests)

Leadership and Peer Educator Training Manual – College (LPET): Created to empower students with disabilities at both the secondary and post-secondary levels to be more active on campus, in the community, and in their own career development. Program graduates can join a Statewide Speakers Bureau to promote self-advocacy, disability rights and awareness for the effective transition of students with disabilities from high school to adult life. (76 requests and 20 requests for one school)

Leadership and Peer Educator Training Manual – Middle/High School (LPET): Uses an inclusive approach for educators to teach "leadership skills" to middle and high school students with and without disabilities. It provides students with opportunities to practice and apply life-long relevant skills to adult life. The curriculum ensures greater success because the active and applied nature of the material also fosters ownership of the program by students who participate. Another important element in learning leadership and self-determination skills for students is the role of family, friends, and the community. As a result, several activities are included within the curriculum that can help the facilitator involve family members, friends and community members to promote opportunities for students to become more self-determined.

Pathfinders I and II: A Mentoring Curriculum for College Students with Disabilities: A curriculum designed to address transitional issues facing students with disabilities during their freshman year in college. This 10-week program focuses on issues that include making decisions, personality styles, communication/interpersonal skills, self-advocacy/assertiveness skills, stress/relaxation, anger, self-esteem, and building support networks. (69 requests)

H. Project Evaluation Activities

Comprehensive formative and summative evaluations of The Leadership and Peer Educator Training Project were conducted employing several approaches focused on utilization, self-determination and program improvement. Both the CIPP evaluation model (context, input, process, and product) developed by Stufflebeam and the utilization-focused evaluation outlined by Patton share general characteristics of: a) evaluation as a process as well as product; b) of early-on planning linked to program development and management; and c) utility, the intended use of evaluations by stakeholders.

LPETP felt that this evaluative approach was inextricably linked to the grant's and project's priority of disseminating and replicating a model leadership program to improve the delivery and outcomes of education for students with disabilities in an empowering way.

The Principal Investigator and the Project Director were responsible for coordinating the internal evaluation process, including coordinating other stakeholder's involvement, framing the scope and methods for evaluation, identifying baseline data and establishing types of data to be collected, both quantitative and qualitative, and by whom. Review of evaluative tools by the Advisory Committee was conducted, including preliminary analysis of statistical data on use, enrollment, retention, logs, requests for information/service and data on community outreach.

The Institute for Community Inclusion's evaluation tools and evaluations (pre- and post- surveys) are included in this report which provided information to track student progress. In addition, students kept journals and portfolios containing their work in progress that can be used in other courses and during school meetings.

I. Service Delivery Accomplishments

Fitchburg State College:

The College Leadership and Peer Education Training program covered:

As a result of training, participants received a Certificate of Completion, were eligible to join the Statewide Speaker’s Bureau, and received a $25 stipend for each speaking event they participated in to promote employment and networking opportunities. The Statewide Speaker’s Bureau offers opportunities to speak with community groups, high school students, parent advisory councils, educators, colleges and universities, and at National conferences.

The following information was collected from the Leadership Training evaluation forms completed by the participants. This information is based on 150 participants in 16 trainings.

Rating Scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree 5 = Strongly Agree

The M&M icebreaker was an effective way to help the group feel more comfortable:

1 = 1%

2 = 0%

3 = 7%

4 = 22%

5 = 64%

no response = 6%

The Gettysburg Grid was an effective way to create a trusting team atmosphere and facilitate learning:

1 = 1%

2 = 2%

3 = 3%

4 = 11%

5 = 80%

no response = 3%

The Self-Advocacy exercise was helpful in learning to be a strong self-advocate and become familiar with other's experiences:

1 = 0%

2 = 2%

3 = 13%

4 = 21%

5 = 55%

no response = 9%

The video "When Billy Broke His Head" addressed issues appropriate for this training:

1 = 1%

2 = 3%

3 = 13%

4 = 27%

5 = 50%

no response = 6%

I gained an increased understanding about Disability Laws:

1 = 0%

2 = 1%

3 = 7%

4 = 21%

5 = 69%

no response = 2%

I gained an increased ability to speak to others regarding Disability Awareness:

1 = 1%

2 = 1%

3 = 5%

4 = 24%

5 = 57%

no response = 12%

*The Peer Mentoring section conveyed the purpose and importance of such a program:

1 = 0% *Not all trainings included this topic at length.

2 = 1%

3 = 3%

4 = 15%

5 = 43%

no response = 38%

The facilitators were well prepared for this training:

1 = 0%

2 = 0%

3 = 0%

4 = 5%

5 = 95%

no response = 0%

The facilitators were available for further discussion on issues after the training:

1 =

2 =

3 =1%

4 = 7%

5 =84%

no response =8%

The overall training was a good and positive experience:

1 =

2 =

3 = 1%

4 = 5%

5 = 93%

no response = 1%

The materials were helpful and had good clarity and content:

1 = 1%

2 = 1%

3 = 1%

4 = 14%

5 = 73%

no response =10%

Would you be interested in participating in the Statewide Speaker's Bureau?

61% Yes

11% Maybe

2% No

26% no response

Would you be interested in developing a mentoring relationship with local high school or middle school students through the Peer Mentoring Network:

43% Yes

9% Maybe

3% No

45% no response

Overall Comments

8% suggested the Disability Laws section should be expanded in length.

32% suggested an increase in the overall length of the training.

5% suggested a decrease in the overall length of the training.

30% suggested an increase in information and activities during the training.

25% had a variety of other suggestions.

Comments from Leadership Graduates:

"The many opportunities the LPETP has provided for me to talk in public about my experiences as a student with a disability has had a profound impact on my self-esteem and my self-awareness."

-- Jonathan Spoerl, Framingham State College

"It helped me to learn how to better relate to those who have differences. It also gives the opportunity to educate on many disability issues and I think I have gained an understanding on how to do that!"

-- Melissa Gonzales, Fitchburg State College

"The LPETP helped me to gain confidence to speak to a crowd of people and be willing to share my learning disability with them. I never had the opportunity to share a five-minute talk about my learning disability with anyone or to be heard by people who could understand me."

-- Isabel Lopes, Framingham State College

"The LPETP has changed my life. It was informative and has given me several opportunities to speak and travel for disability awareness. Because of this informative training, I have noticed my self-confidence increase and have learned to accept my disability and even like it!"

-- Emily Neal, UMASS-Lowell

"The lasting effect you have had on our students is still visible and continuing to grow. They are still excited about the information you shared with them. Soon we will have our first meeting to organize the students with disabilities organizations, as a result of your program."

-- Paul Auger, Bristol Community College

"The training was immensely helpful! I now know that I don't have to be afraid to speak my mind or advocate for myself. Now I know my rights. I like knowing there are people out there like me ready to help each other out."

-- Marilyn Kane, Massasoit Community College

"The training gave me more confidence in myself and taught me a lot about disability laws. I feel that the speaking events give me a chance to make a difference in many lives."

-- Karen Zaleski, Framingham State College

"Before I took the LPETP course, I was afraid to get up and speak in front of people. I have gained a great amount of confidence in myself, and by doing so, my self-esteem has shot up a great deal. I also learned what laws covered people with disabilities. I feel the LPETP is a very worthwhile training."

-- Bernice Yoder, Framingham State College

"The speaking I am doing has affected me because I am finally doing what I think needs to be done. Reaching kids and talking about disabilities, and letting them know that no obstacle is really too big to prevent them from reaching a goal. It may not be the goal they set out to reach, but they are able to attain success."

-- Dana Fraser, Fitchburg State College

"Thank you for opening my eyes to so many great experiences. I met a lot of kind people. It is good to know that you are not alone. This is one of the best experiences of my college career."

-- Larah Secher, Bridgewater State College

"I hope that Bridgewater State will be included in future activities of this type. You gave us a good base upon which to build. We look forward to using the materials in future workshops."

-- Pam Spillane , Bridgewater State College

This training has helped me immensely. I feel more confident in speaking and self-advocating.

Institute for Community Inclusion:

The Institute for Community Inclusion’s Leadership Training Program is a course designed to introduce middle school and high school students to a broad spectrum of self-determination and leadership skills. The main purpose of the course is to promote life-long learning and self-advocacy skills among students of different backgrounds and abilities. By taking this course, students will develop "real world" skills that will assist them in advocating for themselves and identifying future goals. The course contains a collection of learning activities and materials that pertain to leadership and, ultimately, will help all students plan and prepare for their futures as productive and contributing young citizens.

The program covers:

• Identified an existing course (School-to-Career strand) or created a stand-alone course that is aligned with state standards and curriculum frameworks and work with school personnel to merge the self-determination curriculum within the course content.

• Trained 35 special education and regular education teachers in each of the middle and high schools to implement the self-determination model.
• Assisted IEP/ITP teams to support students during the team meeting to identify their choices and visions for the future and to ensure that self-determination skills are included in the plan.
  

Quantitative Hypothesis Test Summary --Middle/High School:

The goal of the Leadership project is to teach leadership and self-determination skills to prepare students with and without disabilities for life after high school. The target population of this program was middle and high school students between the ages of 12 and 21 years. The project worked with 15 classrooms in 11 schools in six districts across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Pre-test and post-test data was collected from 122 students in these schools and classrooms to measure the effectiveness of the project in increasing four critical aspects of leadership and self-determination. These constructs include: (a) self knowledge of learning style,

(b) involvement in school activities, (c) size of support systems, (d) knowledge of IEP, and (e) attendance at IEP meetings. The following summary describes the data analysis that demonstrates statistically significant increases in all four of these constructs from pre-test to post-test.

Self-knowledge of learning style was measured by students’ report of the number of ways they learn and remember things (e.g., listening to lectures, watching a video, taking notes). On average, students reported knowing twice as many ways they learn new material upon completion of the leadership course as they did when they started. Similarly, involvement in school activities was measured by students’ report of the number of activities or clubs they were involved in at school (e.g., chorus, student council, sports, etc). Although, the students as a group reported low levels of involvement, the analysis indicates that involvement did significantly increase from the pre to posttest. These levels of involvement are not remarkably low when compared to other data (Need citation on student involvement in 1-2 targeted extracurricular activities). Finally, the size of students support networks were measured by

students’ report of the number of people the go to for help (parent, teacher, friend, etc.). As demonstrated in the data the students who participated in the leadership training reported more than quadrupling the size of their support network.

The last two measures of impact was an increase in (a) knowledge of IEPs and (b) attendance at IEP meetings from the pre to post test for students in special education. Because of the smaller numbers and the categorical nature of the data, the non-parametric Chi-Square tests were used. These tests documented significant changes in the pattern of students responding yes/no to whether they know about their IEP. On this issue, 45 students reported not knowing about their IEP at the pre-test level and indicated they did know about it in their post-tests. This change resulted in a Chi-square value of 37.53 and was significant beyond the .000 level. When asked

whether they have attended their IEP meetings in the pre and the post-test, results indicated that 10 students reported not attending their IEP at the pre-test level and 31 indicated attending when asked again in the post-test. This change resulted in a Chi-square value of 29.03 and was significant beyond the .000 level.

The goal of the Leadership Project is to teach leadership and self-determination skills to prepare students with and without disabilities for life after high school. The target population for this program was middle school and high school students between the ages of 12 and 21 years. We worked with a total of 15 classrooms in 6 districts (Worcester, Malden, Framingham, Chicopee, Brockton, and Boston) and 11 schools. The data were collected from participating students with disabilities who completed both the pre- and post-test surveys. The pre-test established a baseline to measure the impact of the Leadership project (N-201). A post-test was administered to compare program implementation to baseline measures (n=159).

Since existing instruments did not match the unique features of the Leadership Project, surveys were developed to focus on specific items of interest. The pre-test survey was administered to all students prior to their beginning the program. The post-test survey was conducted with all students at the end of the 12-week course or in Spring semester. The pre-test survey has a total of 36 items, while the post-test has only 15 items which pertain to students' current situations in school, at home, and the community. This change was the result of the need to focus on items of greatest importance for detecting change. Enough time may not have elapsed to see significant change in some of the survey items, thus, 15 items (from both the pre- and post-test surveys) were selected as those most likely to observe change (See listing of survey items below).

Figures #1 - #7 provide a demographic and descriptive profile of survey respondents, whereas Figures #8 - #18 illustrate both quantitative and qualitative findings. These findings are based on participants with and without disabilities. No data were collected for the pilot sites.

Pre-Survey Items

Q#14 Do you know what a school pan or IEP is?

Q#15a Have you ever attended an IEP meeting?

15b If no, do you want to attend a school or IEP meeting?

15c Describe what you did to prepare for the meeting.

Q#16 What do you want to do after you graduate from high school?

Q#17 What plans have you made to explore future options?

Q#34 What would you like to accomplish by the end of this school year?

Post-Survey Items

Q#3 Identify 3 things that you learned from the Leadership Program.

Q#6 Describe what a school plan or IEP is.

Q#7a Did you attend your school or IEP meeting? (refer to above comparison)

7b If yes, describe what happened in the meeting and how it felt.

7d Describe what you did to get ready for this meeting.

Q#8 After I graduate from high school I would like to: attend school or work?

Q#13 Identify 2 areas of strengths that you discovered about yourself during this school year.

Q#14 If you could participate in a Leadership class in the future, would you do so?

Pathfinders is a unique curriculum designed to address transitional issues facing students with disabilities during their freshman year in college. This 10-week program focuses on issues that include making decisions, personality styles, communication/interpersonal skills, self-advocacy/assertiveness skills, stress/relaxation, anger, self-esteem, and building support networks. Disability Services and Counseling Services has joined together to offer students the opportunity to learn from one another about issues that all students may face.

During their first year of college, students with disabilities are informed of the exciting opportunity to be connected with a mentor. Mentors are recruited through the Leadership and Peer Education Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Each week the mentors and mentees meet twice, as a group and again as pairs, to discuss a variety of issues they may be facing. Most of the educational experience revolves around role-play, as students create scenarios relating to the "subject of the week." This encourages the group to work together and to understand that all college students may face some of the same dilemmas at school.

As mentioned previously, this group targets students with disabilities, but the facilitators do not present on topics regarding disabilities. This allows the students to present issues on a topic and discuss how their disability may affect their ability to cope with that topic. Most incoming freshmen with disabilities are not prepared to discuss their disability, however, Pathfinders allows a safe place to "explore" the impact the disability has on their lives.

Leadership & Diversity Conference:

As part of the grant's objectives, we presented a wide variety of topics to parents and professionals, including information on disability laws, advocacy strategies, community resources, employment opportunities for their children. For instance, the Statewide Speakers Bureau presented to over 100 Mass Rehab counselors about job accommodations, their experience with the Mass Rehab organization, and how Mass Rehab’s services could be improved for these specific disabilities. Parents and professionals were also encouraged to attend our Breakfast Club to better understand the initiatives of the project, and the Leadership & Diversity Conference which allowed an opportunity to share our goals and objectives regarding leadership, self-advocacy, and self-determination and transition. A National Resources listing was also created and disseminated to encourage further interest in assistance.

J. Model-Building Accomplishments

The primary factors of the Leadership Training Program are as follows:

Also, during the training at the college level, two staff members were present from the hosting campus. We incorporated their presence into the training so that they would be able to continue serving those students with disabilities in providing further leadership activities on their campus.

OUTCOME:

Cost: $25 per speaker per event, transportation, disability accommodations. After grant funding, disability services at Fitchburg State College will oversee this project activity, transportation will be provided by our campus, and the cost for the stipends will be paid for by the schools in Massachusetts who hire the speakers. FSC has committed to providing a graduate assistant, a previous student Leadership Trainer, to coordinate activities.

Leadership Trainings:

Of the 12 colleges we have worked with, 6 have committed to continue the program independently of the grant:

Fitchburg State College, 160 Pearl Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420

Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA 02325

Quinsigamond Community College, 670 Boylston Street, Worcester, MA 01606

Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA 02720

University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 231 Whitmore Admin. Bldg., Amherst, MA 01003

University of Massachusetts at Lowell, 1 University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854

Fitchburg State College supplied those colleges with all materials needed in a large storage container to facilitate the training independently while also providing them support. The training materials include: Gettysburg Grid, markers and pens, name tags, overheads, Leadership Manual, student workbooks and information packets, noise makers, "When Billy Broke His Head" video, posters, and other miscellaneous supplies, including bowls and M&Ms for an Icebreaker activity.