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Greetings,
It is an honor to be addressing you as the 2009-2010 DCDT President. I would like to welcome everyone to a new and exciting year for DCDT. Attempting to fill the shoes of previous DCDT presidents is a daunting task. In preparing for this task, I would like to thank all of the past presidents, board members and others who have been in touch with words of wisdom, encouragement and support. For over 30 years, DCDT has been an active organization pushing transition for students with disabilities to the forefront of national attention. Our members have been asked to provide input on national, state and local agendas. Many of our past presidents and members are known internationally for their work around transition issues. I believe these are the reasons DCDT remains one of CEC’s most stable subdivisions.
As we move forward in continuing to keep transition at the forefront of educational efforts, DCDT has been in the process of creating new working partnerships with other organizations to strengthen our leadership in transition. The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) partnership continues to excel as NSTTAC will once again offer their Mid-Year Check and Connect Secondary Transition State Planning Institute in conjunction with our DCDT Conference. The Mid-Year Institute is scheduled for October 28, 2009 in Savannah, GA. For more information please visit the NSTTAC website (www.nsttac.org). Our partnership with the National Community of Practice on Transition (sponsored by the IDEA Partnership) continues to evolve and prosper. DCDT members have been called upon to present on behalf of the Community at various conferences and workshops. This partnership has also included students being sponsored by the Community to present their individual experiences navigating the transition process. Additional DCDT members have been invited by the Community to be actively involved in a workgroup creating dialog guides around transition. Joanne Cashman (IDEA Partnership) is interested in contacting DCDT state chapters to work on the dialog guide collections as well. If any DCDT state chapter is interested in this project please contact me. DCDT and the Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals Association (VECAP) has partnered to work together as a transition career assessment practice group. Members from both organizations are coming together to discuss transition career assessment. Some of our VECAP partners took the initiative and were kind enough to establish a ning for us to plan our work as a leadership group. Stacie Dojonovic, our vocational assessment representative, has taken the lead in involving our interested DCDT members in this practice group. If you have interest in being a part of this group please contact myself or Stacie. DCDT is proud to announce a newly formed partnership (September) Enhancing Youth Mobility, a partnership between the Division of Career Development and Transition and Easter Seals Project ACTION (Accessible Transportation in our Nation). We will be participating in the development of an action plan to address barriers and find solutions that expand youth transition transportation. Easter Seals Project ACTION is a Federal Transit Administration Training and Technical Assistance Center devoted to expanding inclusive accessible transportation for people with disabilities of all ages. The initial opportunity to provide input on this initiative will be in Savannah, GA at our 15th DCDT International Conference: From Cobblestones to Cornerstones, Revitalizing Transition Outcomes in 2009 October 29-31, 2009. If you are unable to attend, there will be additional opportunities to participate. If you would like further information on these partnerships do not hesitate to contact me.
In closing, I would like to thank Sherrilyn Fisher for her guidance last year as DCDT President and Colleen Thoma for her years of leadership on the DCDT Board. We must continue to collaborate and build new partnerships if our efforts to keep transition at the forefront are to be successful.
Dale Matusevich New DCDT President 2009-2010
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