University News
WIU Homeless Symposium Oct. 29; Registration Due by Oct. 22
October 14, 2010
MACOMB, IL -- Western Illinois University's Department of Social Work and the College of Education and Human Services will present the Sixth Annual Area 3 Homeless Symposium, "Helping the Pieces Fall into Place," beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29 in the University Union Sandburg Lounge on the WIU-Macomb campus.
The opening session of the symposium, slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Sandburg Theatre (also in the University Union), will be an Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) panel presentation about homeless education, with panel members Sharon Neely, Vicki Hodges and Howard Hamel.
Breakout sessions, scheduled from 9:30 a.m.-noon, include:
- Best Practices: Title I, Funding, Reporting and Special Populations
Krista Kunz, Regional Office of Education (ROE) #46 Homeless Liaisons; and Jessica Crawford, ROE #46 - Continuums of Care: Assessing Needs and Providing Services
Glenda Farkas, West Central Illinois Center for Independent Living - Communicating with Families of Very Young Learners
Gina Ruther, Illinois Head Start state collaboration director - Educating Your District Liaison
Kim Gehrke, assistant director, area 5, ROE #3 - Homeless Students with IEPs
Leyona Wiley, assistant director, West Central Illinois Special Education Coop - Homeless Youth: The Rest of the Story
Ninth Judicial Circuit Associate Judge (McDonough County) Patricia Walton - From Shelter to School
Darla Haley, Springfield Community Unit School District #186; Kathy Cisco, Dubois Elementary; Tonya Payne, Contact Ministries - SIS: Student Information System
Howard Hamel, Illinois State Board of Higher Education - Looking at Homelessness: An Administrative Perspective
Rob Houchin, regional superintendent, ROE #53, Tazewell
Keynote Speaker: WIU's Social Work Chair Dr. Tracy
The keynote speech will take place at 12:30 p.m. in the Horrabin Hall Theatre (room 114) and will be delivered by John Tracy, the chair of WIU's social work department. According to the symposium brochure, Tracy addresses educational issues faced by a homeless child through his own experience with homelessness as a child.
"A homeless child until the age of 10, John was taken from his family and put into the juvenile system in the State of Iowa until the age of 22. Except [for the time when he was] halfway through kindergarten, John started school at age 12 in the sixth grade. John's educational journey, like that of all children, cannot be separated from this life experience and worldview," the brochure states.
Tracy has completed four degrees, including a B.S. in education, an M.A. in counseling and guidance, a Master's of Social Work (MSW) and a Ph.D. in education and human resource studies (interdisciplinary with social work). Tracy has 32 years of practical experience, which includes junior and senior high school teaching and counseling, as well in the areas of child welfare, at-risk youth, mental health, forensic and senior therapy and program development and administration.
For more information about the symposium, as well as about earning continuing education units (CEUs) and continuing professional development units (CPDUs), contact Kristie Parkins, in WIU's social work department, at (309) 298-1071 or KC-Parkins@wiu.edu, or Eileen Worthington at the Regional Office of Education #26 at (309) 837-4821 or mworthin@roe26.net.
Symposium registration is due by Friday, Oct. 22, 2010. To register, contact Worthington at (309) 837-4821 or mworthin@roe26.net.
Parking Information
Parking will be available in the University Services parking lot, University Drive, next to the Western Illinois Credit Union. (A map of the WIU-Macomb campus is available at http://www.wiu.edu/explore_wiu/location.php.) Starting at 7:30 a.m., Friday, Oct. 29, the Go West green bus will be available in the parking lot every five minutes to take participants to the University Union.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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