While many students are enjoying their summer break, HEATH has been busy these long summer days working on redesigning our Website and services. We will launch this fall 14 new modules that will help inform and prepare students with disabilities for their postsecondary life. Our services have also changed. We continue to offer you free online, web based services, information, and resources. However, we no longer provide telephone service. HEATH's staff will continue to answer your email questions and encourages you to contact us at AskHEATH@gwu.edu.
July, I had the wonderful opportunity to present at the College Summit Institute (CSI) held in Baltimore, MD. Joining me was Jesse Mayer, a recent GWU political science alumnus now working as scheduler in the congressional office of Representative Paul Hodes, II. Jesse shared his experiences as a student with a disability and I demonstrated HEATH’s resources available for students like Jesse, their teachers, and their professors. The College Summit Institute, also supported in part by Lumina Foundation for Education, unites passionate counselors, teachers, and administrators from College Summit’s partner schools and equips them to act on the belief that high school must serve as a launching pad for college and career success. The 2008 national conference offered a variety of dynamic learning sessions featuring talented experts, leaders, and practitioners. Educators who attended the College Summit Institute left primed to promote a sustainable college-going culture in their school communities.
Our HEATH family welcomes the addition of Carla Nunziato to our staff. Carla earned a Masters in Special Education at Georgia State University where she earned "Outstanding Student of the Year" honors. She taught self-contained and inclusion for several years in Atlanta, Ga. She taught in the high school setting, working with students in helping them prepare for post-secondary options. She is currently working on her doctorate degree at GWU and is very excited to be a part of the HEATH team.
We are excited to publish new information from Mary Gloria C. Njoku. Her article, Health and Education Management Plan for Students with Chronic Illness, discusses the needs of students with chronic illness and ways that they can manage both their health and academic outcomes, and types of support that postsecondary institutions can provide to students with chronic illness in order to facilitate better quality of life and academic achievement. Included is a worksheet: My Health and Education Plan (HEP) PDF.
HEATH’s mission is to foster the success of young adults with disabilities in their postsecondary goals. To meet that goal, this summer’s edition of Information from HEATH is honored to republish Building A Better Bridge: Helping Young Adults Enter and Succeed in College, by Michael Chavez Reilly. We also encourage you to visit the valuable information that supports transition to and success in postsecondary educational environments listed in this edition’s RESOURCES ONLINE.
We wish you an enjoyable summer and encourage you to add http://www.heath.gwu.edu>HEATH in your back-to-school plans and packing.
All the best,
Donna Martinez
Director, The GW HEATH Resource Center
