Jan. 26 - Email materials to classroom teachers/Distribute hard copies

Feb. 2 - Start date of Disability Awareness program

Apr.13 - Pick up posters

Apr. 21 - ADA Council meeting to judge posters

Apr. 27 - Posters displayed at Spencer Public Library

May 5 - Posters displayed at Arts on Grand

May 12 - Poster Winners returned to Classrooms

Dear Friends,

We are looking forward to continuing the Disabiliy Awarenes program utilized by our ADA Council friends, Stevie Shively, Janee Boever and Ann Vandehaar. They have retired from the council but generously shared the program with our council who will hopefully continue this effort for many years to come.

You will find on this site, the materials needed to present the program as you see fit. 

Please choose which materials work best for your classroom.

As Stevie has shared over the years, "there is a lot of information on disability awareness out there to research. One thing she always stressed was the "Warning: Do Not share information about specific students unless parent permission is given. Many parents of a child with a disability are very willing to share information about their child if asked.....they can be a great resource AND can make a huge impact on the child's peers. "

We are planning to judge the posters at our April Council meeting.

Contact Tom with any questions.

Thank you so much for working this into your day!

Tom Rutt, Chair

Spencer ADA Council

trutt@spencerschools.org

(712) 363-4490

Spencer ADA Council Poster Contest 

1.  Spencer 4th grade students

2.  Poster size (12” x 18” white paper)

3.  Theme  Just Like Me

(emphasis on how people w/disabilities are like other people, rather than different)

4.  Tom Rutt or an ADA Council representative will pick up posters at your school office the week of  April 13th.

5.  VERY IMPORTANT--On BACK of the poster, please put:  student name (first & last), school & teacher.  This helps identify winners and correctly spell their names on their checks.

6.  The Spencer ADA Council will judge at their April  meeting.

7.  Each class will have 3 prizes:  $15, $10, & $5 (given by Spencer Rotary Club)

8.  Winning posters will be displayed at The Spencer Public Library and Arts on Grand.

We encourage you to display all other posters  in your own elementary school.

????????s:  Call Tom Rutt @  712-363-4490

Spencer American with Disabilities Act Council

Please  encourage the students to have their posters reflect what they have learned in this unit (from the lessons/activities, the videos, the panel of people with disabilities,etc.)

FRIENDS WHO CARE®

Disability Awareness Curriculum

FRIENDS WHO CARE® is designed to help children better understand what it means and how it feels to be a young person with a disability. This educational program gives students the opportunity to learn what is involved when someone has a disability and how they adapt to live life, go to school, or work as independently as possible.

The goals of the program are simple: to encourage typically developing children to accept their peers with disabilities as people first and also to find ways to include everyone in school and after-school activities.

FRIENDS WHO CARE® is also fun! The curriculum explores a range of disabilities and includes specially crafted learning activities, hands-on exercises, guided discussions and guest speakers. It starts with an introduction to disability, and looks at vision, hearing, and physical disabilities and then at learning disabilities including AD-HD, autism and intellectual disabilities.

We hope that your child will be an active participant in this new, exciting program and that FRIENDS WHO CARE® will help to bridge the gap between children with and without disabilities.

What is FRIENDS WHO CARE?
FRIENDS WHO CARE® is a complete disability awareness program for elementary students, developed by Easterseals and sponsored by Friendly's.

Who is the program for?
FRIENDS WHO CARE® is for classrooms, schools and community groups.

What is included with the program?
The FRIENDS WHO CARE® curriculum includes a teacher's guide, specially crafted learning activities and hands-on exercises.

What does the program teach?
FRIENDS WHO CARE® teaches children about a wide range of disabilities. Students will learn how to accept their peers with disabilities and include them in everyday activities.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES – DISABILITY AWARENESS

1.  Interviews of adults with disabilities

In the past this has been a “live” presentation at your school.

Three or four adults have talked to your students about having a disability…...how it has affected their lives.  At the end of the total presentation we allowed a short time for questions.  At this time, Eric Erickson is our only council member available and his schedule is limited. But if you are interested in having him stop by, email Tom Rutt (trutt@spencerschools.org). 

In 2021 SMU worked with us to make taped interviews which can be accessed at our Spencer ADA Council website “ADA Let’s Get Practical.” 

You may share these interviews with the students however works best for you….(i.e. all at once, individually, or grouped….each interview is around 10 minutes).  

QUESTIONS--I would suggest if students wish to ask questions that you e-mail them to Tom. 

2.  POSTER CONTEST 

(see direction sheet for specifics) Information also be presented at the end of each taped interview.

Pictures of Student Posters for Disability Awareness Poster Contest in the past for you personally to look at and/or share with students.

Go to FACEBOOK, then using “Search” type in “Spencer ADA Council, Photos, Album.”  

The two videos here are of our Spencer ADA Council members and friends done in 2021 with our media partner, SMU. 

The one on the top is about 10 minutes and contains all of our members.

The one on the bottom goes for about 1 hour and is more in-depth.

Individual videos of the members are below.

You are welcome to share some of our past poster winners with your class to help give them some ideas as they plan their submissions.

Here is a link to our Facebook page: (You will need to copy/paste into a new window)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.815820693912230&type=3

Here is another resource that may be of help to you and your students. Like the "Friends Who Care" program, some of these resources may be "out-dated" - so please review them to make sure the information is relevant to your students. 

You are welcome to use any of the videos on our Video Library. It can be viewed by clicking the link at the top of this page with its heading: SMU/Spencer ADA Council VIDEO LIBRARY. or copy/paste from this link:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgEV6sQVtyLMHX8uAGyybYEy87Up7YdwX&si=ak_HKeujiIvbac1F

A special this year ONLY for your class is to visit the Clay County Heritage Center for their exhibits honoring last year's 35th Anniversary of the ADA. There are a variety of pieces about persons with disabilities and the important protections offered by the ADA.

Thanks to HyVee's sponsorship, admission is FREE.

Contact the Heritage Center to schedule a visit:

Phone: (712) 262-3304

Email: info@claycountyheritage.org

Here is another great place to look for good information about the ADA. Their Iowa representative is actually a Spencer native, Molly Wuebker. Contact Tom if you'd like to visit with Molly. Even with her busy schedule, she is always glad to help her hometown learn more about the ADA!

The Great Plains ADA Center:

Your Resource on the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Great Plains ADA Center provides training, information, and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, we work with individuals, businesses, and communities to support accessibility and ADA implementation. As part of the ADA National Network, we are a trusted source of guidance on the ADA—helping people and organizations understand their rights, meet their responsibilities, and create communities where everyone can participate. 

Here is a link to their page about "Disability Awareness"

Copy and paste this into your browser:

https://gpadacenter.org/?s=Disability+Awareness+