ABOUT US

The Austin Independent School District's
ATSTAR Project

(Assistive Technology - Strategies, Tools, Resources)

Funded by the Texas Education Agency through the Technology in Education Grant 2000/2001

With educational and vocational trends moving rapidly toward an expanded use of technology, it is becoming increasingly important to address how people with disabilities will keep pace. If instructional staff are not equipped to address appropriate disability accommodations, then students with disabilities may literally be left sitting at the cyber curb. Today, we refer to these accommodations as "Assistive Technology" (AT).

The ATSTAR Project is a $2,269,239 collaborative effort between the following 8 agencies: Austin Independent School District (fiscal agent), Austin Community College, The University of Texas, Austin Harvard School, Mountain Shadows Academy, Sylvan Learning Center, Far South Community Schools, and Region XIII Education Service Center. Its purpose is to increase parent, educator, and community awareness of Assistive Technology (AT) and increase Assistive Technology expertise within K-12 and higher education settings.

The project members will develop five K-12 training modules, designed to prepare instructional staff at the campus level to conduct assessments, collect data, and integrate Assistive Technology strategies, tools and resources into the instructional setting. In addition to the five K-12 training modules, a module designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities in higher education settings will be posted at the Austin I.S.D. website.

It is anticipated that the 14 public school campuses within the AISD Crockett vertical team, 2 private school campuses, and one for-profit learning center will participate in the ATSTAR Project. Approximately 240 educators will receive training and a minimum of 1,708 public school students and 55 private school students are expected to benefit. Project managers are Carye Abete and Jan McSorley. Please direct inquiries to Jan McSorley.

Grant Overview

Federal Law mandates that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment. As a result, educators are expected to accommodate the more diverse learning strategies of students with disabilities. Fortunately, Assistive Technologies are available which create unprecedented opportunity to effectively meet the educational needs of these students. Studies have shown that AT can significantly improve the educational, vocational, and social performance of students with disabilities and can affect the educational placement decisions as well. The National Rehabilitation Information Center provides data from the Assistive Technology Projects for several states, including Missouri, North Carolina, and the Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs).

In Iowa, a set of model policies and procedures for AEAs was developed "to enhance the provision of Assistive Technology services for students with disabilities." This model lists staff development as the first of several key components, necessary to "ensure that each student receives an appropriate education." Even so, the reality in most public schools is that teachers are not trained to identify applications for Assistive Technology within educational programming. According to database records kept by AISD's District-Level Assistive Technology Team (DLATT), only approximately 4.5% of all AISD staff have received direct training on assistive technologies, strategies, tools and resources over the past three years. In order to make Assistive Technology integration effective and a state wide reality, there is a need to raise educator, parent and community awareness and to develop replicable training procedures for Assistive Technology assessment, integration and data collection. The ATSTAR grant project proposes to address this need by developing and implementing training for campus level educators in the areas of Assistive Technology , Strategies, Tools and Resources.

What is ATSTAR?

ATSTAR is the acronym for Assistive Technology, Strategies, Tools and Resources. This is the name used to identify the AISD program that is being implemented to bring assistive technology into the classrooms and workforce. The guidelines for service delivery of assistive technology (AT) are found in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). IDEA defines AT in terms of "devices" and "services". An Assistive Technology Device is defined (IDEA 300.5) as "any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities".

This definition encompasses a vast range of items that can be considered AT tools. The types of items that fall under this definition span the range from pencil grips, for assisting with handwriting, to very sophisticated computer systems. Also described in IDEA, is an Assistive Technology Service. This is defined (IDEA 300.6) as "...any service that directly assists and individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device". Studies have shown that assistive technology can significantly improve the educational, vocational, and social performance of individuals with disabilities. Federal law mandates that schools annually consider assistive technology accommodations in the Individual Education Program (IEP) off all eligible students.

ATSTAR has located a number of resources related to this rapidly advancing field to assist people with disabilities, educators, parents, and employers in their implementation of "best practices" for assistive technology.

Advisory Board and Partners

Members of the Advisory Board include the following:

Carye Abete, Austin ISD
James Albright, Austin Community College
Ron Ayer, Parent Volunteer & Employee of Governor's Grants Team
Kim Belknap, Austin Harvard School
Ron Brey, Austin Community College
Becky Burnett, Region XIII
Mike Gerhardt, University of Texas
Diane Gustafson, Austin ISD
Henry McMahon, Parent Advisory Board, AISD
Jan McSorley, Austin ISD
Julie Miller, Austin ISD
Beverly Rodgers, Texas Center for Educational Technology
Sharron Rush, Knowbility Inc.
Piret Sari-Tate, Austin ISD
Sherry Schnizlein, Mountain Shadows Academy
Heather Watson, Sylvan Learning Centers of Austin