by Ronna Sweeney, KUAM News Sunday, August 03, 2008 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

A five-day conference facilitated by the University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (Guam CEDDERS) begins on Monday at the Westin Resort Guam.

The Regional Assessment Institute through the Pacific Assessment Consortium PACIFIC Project will focus on the academic needs of students receiving special education services in Guam and the region. The PACIFIC Project is funded through a U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, General Supervision Enhancement Grant.

Institute facilitators include consultants from the Inclusive Large Scale Standards and Assessment (ILSSA) Group and the National Alternate Assessment Center (NAAC) based at the University of Kentucky. Consultants from the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota will also be providing support to the institute via online discussion forums.

About 80 general and special education teachers, school administrators, Special Education Program Coordinators, Curriculum Specialists and Evaluation Specialists will be attending from places liek American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.