In 2004, the Foundation observed the 10th anniversary of its grant-making program in the field of learning disabilities (LD). Over the course of that decade, EHTF built and followed an awareness-education-action formula that consistently succeeded in raising public awareness of learning disabilities and related issues.
Roper Study
In June of 2004 the Foundation completed the most recent Roper Study of public attitudes on learning disabilities. The survey revealed some enduring contributions from the Tremaine-funded public awareness campaign. It also suggested that challenges related to the public's understanding of LD and related issues remain. The Roper Study's findings helped to map the direction of EHTF's LD program for the next five to ten years.
The New Direction
The LD evaluation noted that despite increased awareness of learning disabilities, schools across America are still ill equipped to deliver the services that children with learning disabilities are entitled to have.
EHTF therefore identified the most immediate and pressing problem in the area of learning disabilities as "How can we avoid driving people to a system that's broken?" Said differently, unless classrooms are ready for children with learning disabilities, a danger exists that future public awareness efforts will achieve only limited benefit.
In response to this perceived dilemma, ETHF has articulated a two-pronged focus for its LD grant making over the course of the next five to ten years. First, the Foundation will seek to fund programs and strategies that promote the use of transformative technologies, and teacher training and preparedness designed to help LD students. Second, it will look for opportunities to advance these strategies through a “Recognition and Response” program. The program will help address learning difficulties in children at a pre-K level.
Classrooms for All Learners
EHTF believes that what's good for children who have learning disabilities is good for the whole, broad spectrum of learners. Springing from that belief, the Foundation's new LD grant-making program, dubbed "Classrooms for All Learners," aims to increase the effectiveness of the American classroom for every child by addressing the needs of those with learning disabilities. The word "classrooms" in the title encompasses the sum total of what constitutes a context for learning in this country: classrooms, schools, and school systems.
As a result of Classrooms for All Learners, the Foundation anticipates that the number of educators employing strategies to address learning disabilities will increase over the next five to ten years. Moreover, the program will lead to measurable advances in the recognition and response to children who show signs of having learning difficulties in pre-kindergarten through third grade. Finally, America's classrooms will evolve in their use of transformative technology as Classrooms for All Learners helps to draw attention and provide value to those who learn "differently."
Teaching and Technology
The Foundation initiated its work on the teacher-training arm of Classrooms for All Learners with grants to EHTF grantees Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and All Kinds of Minds (AKOM), both leadership organizations in the LD field.
Over the course of 2005, funds provided by Tremaine allowed AKOM to continue its national expansion, and secure a successful contract with the Houston School District to train their teachers. Tremaine funds also allowed AKOM to evaluate their current programs, a precursor to obtaining additional funding from federal and state governmental sources.
CAST has continued to use Tremaine funds to develop their "Thinking Writer" products. Tremaine funds also have allowed CAST to widen its role as a national leader on these transformative technology issues. Most recently, CAST has positioned itself as the national leader on developing new standards for the issuance of digital materials for America's schoolchildren, a role that should help transformative technology come to scale in the nation's classrooms.
In January of 2005, the Foundation spearheaded the production of a national symposium that focused on learning disabilities and the role of new teaching methods and transformative technology. The meeting assembled national leaders in these fields and explored how to "scale up" promising approaches to teaching and transformative technology.
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Early Intervention and LD
In concert with experts from both the early childhood community and the field of LD, the Foundation is working with national leaders and state partners to develop an early intervention program that will identify preschoolers who may be at risk for having learning disabilities. Though the purpose is not to label children at this age, the Recognition and Response system will allow teachers and families to monitor those who struggle to learn -- and provide responsive strategies that can help teachers address these challenges.
Looking Ahead
As the new direction continues to unfold, the Tremaine funded network on LD and early childhood education will continue to define and implement the Recognition and Response system. EHTF partners on teaching and technology will continue to lead efforts that can help bring these promising approaches to scale. And, Tremaine will continue to position itself as a supporter of innovative approaches to addressing LD and valuing learning differences in classrooms across America.
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Spotlight: Steve Rohde, Maryland Committee for Children
 "How can we work with early childhood care providers to identify and assist children at risk without 'labeling'' them?" In a nutshell that's the question behind a new, Tremaine Foundation-sponsored program run by the Maryland Committee for Children. Steve Rohde, the Committee's Director of Training and Technical Assistance, says that the Early Identification Initiative aims to train childcare providers to offer support for children who learn "differently" without labeling them as learning disabled.
"We'll be working with Head Start teachers, childcare providers in family daycare settings, and others who care for young children," Steve says. "The first step shouldn't be diagnosing, it should be understanding the individual child and using that understanding to inform the teaching approach."
The program's pilot phase will take place over the summer of 2006, followed by a full launch in September for the '06 - '07 school year. Plans are in the works to offer teaching and technical assistance for 50 childcare providers in Maryland.
Steve notes that the quarterly meetings attended by all Foundation partners proved invaluable throughout the program's evolution. "It's one thing to have vision, but another entirely to have an opportunity to fine-tune your vision by working with others in the field," he says. The feedback we''ve received from Foundation partners on plans in the works has been incredible."
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