Implementation of Response to Intervention Programs in Maine

As a response to the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal statute, Maine enacted a rule requiring all schools to provide additional support to students who are not on track for meeting state learning standards beginning in 2012. One intent of the requirement was to improve student achievement, and another was to reduce the number of children who are identified as having special educational needs and thus require an Individualized Education Plan. Recent policy discussions, including the 2018 report of the Task Force to Identify Special Education Cost Drivers and Innovative Approaches to Services, have raised the question of how well schools implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) programs. The study found that most schools (83%) are using a universal screening assessment to identify students who need academic support. Elementary and middle schools are more likely to administer universal screening (92% and 85% respectively) than high schools (59%). A number of practitioners in schools without RTI programs or universal screening processes reported that classroom teachers were uncomfortable with providing behavior supports and escalated problems to special education staff before first trying general classroom strategies. This suggests that many classroom teachers would benefit from additional training and practice with evidence-based behavior strategies, and that this may also lessen the workload for special education teachers. The authors concluded that RTI academic and behavioral support programs are well on their way to being embedded in Maine schools, and practitioners cited numerous positive initial impacts on students and teachers. However, additional support is needed for all Maine districts to improve their programs and thus be able to offer supportive opportunities to their students

Implementation of Response to Intervention Programs in Maine

This current study was commissioned to assess the extent to which schools are implementing Response to Intervention in keeping with the 2012 state requirements

Note and Comment

The International Law Association and Its Last Meeting; The Extent to Which the Action of Medical Boards may be Controlled By Mandamus; The Effect Upon An Illegal marriage of Cohabitiation After the Removal of the Impediment

Environmental controls on organic matter production and transport across surface-subsurface and geochemical boundaries in the Edwards aquifer, Texas, USA

Karst aquifer phreatic zones are energy limited habitats supported by organic matter (OM) flow across physical and geochemical boundaries. Photosynthetic OM enters the Edwards Aquifer of Central Texas via streams sinking along its northeastern border. The southeastern boundary is marked by a rapid transition between oxygenated freshwaters and anoxic saline waters where OM is likely produced by chemolithoautotrophic microbes. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in OM composition at these boundaries was investigated using isotopic and geochemical analyses. δ13C values for stream fine particulate OM (FPOM) (−33.34‰ to −11.47‰) decreased during regional drought between fall 2010 and spring 2012 (p<0.001), and were positively related to FPOM C:N ratios (r2=0.47, p<0.001), possibly due to an increasing contribution of periphyton. Along the freshwater-saline water interface (FWSWI), δ13CFPOMvalues (−7.23‰ to −58.18‰) correlated to δ13C values for dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) (−0.55‰ to −7.91‰) (r2=0.33, p=0.005) and were depleted relative to δ13CDIC values by 28.44‰, similar to fractionation values attributed to chemolithoautotrophic carbon fixation pathways using DIC as the substrate. δ13CFPOMvalues also became enriched through time (p<0.001), and δ13CDIC values (r2=0.43, p<0.001) and δ13CFPOM values (r2=0.35, p=0.004) at FWSWI sites increased with distance along the southwest-northeast flowpath of the aquifer. Spatial variability in FWSWI δ13CDIC values is likely due to variable sources of acidity driving carbonate dissolution, and the temporal relationship is explained by changes to recharge and aquifer level that affected transport of chemolithoautotrophic OM across the FWSWI.Keywords: Carbon stable isotopes, spatial and temporal variability, chemolithoautotrophic production, allochthonous input, karst.DOI: 10.3986/ac.v42i2-3.66

Opportunities for Public Aquariums to Increase the Sustainability of the Aquatic Animal Trade

The global aquatic pet trade encompasses a wide diversity of freshwater and marine organisms. While relying on a continual supply of healthy, vibrant aquatic animals, few sustainability initiatives exist within this sector. Public aquariums overlap this industry by acquiring many of the same species through the same sources. End users are also similar, as many aquarium visitors are home aquarists. Here we posit that this overlap with the pet trade gives aquariums significant opportunity to increase the sustainability of the trade in aquarium fishes and invertebrates. Improving the sustainability ethos and practices of the aquatic pet trade can carry a conservation benefit in terms of less waste, and protection of intact functioning ecosystems, at the same time as maintaining its economic and educational benefits and impacts. The relationship would also move forward the goal of public aquariums to advance aquatic conservation in a broad sense. For example, many public aquariums in North America have been instrumental in working with the seafood industry to enact positive change toward increased sustainability. The actions include being good consumers themselves, providing technical knowledge, and providing educational and outreach opportunities. These same opportunities exist for public aquariums to partner with the ornamental fish trade, which will serve to improve business, create new, more ethical and more dependable sources of aquatic animals for public aquariums, and perhaps most important, possibly transform the home aquarium industry from a threat, into a positive force for aquatic conservation. Zoo Biol. 32:1-12, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

The importance of cancer patients' functional recollections to explore the acceptability of an isometric-resistance exercise intervention: A qualitative study

Background and Aims: Although it has been widely recognized the potential of physical activity to help cancer patients' preparation for and recovery from surgery, there is little consideration of patient reflections and recovery experiences to help shape adherence to exercise programs. The aim was to explore the acceptability of our newly proposed isometric exercise program in a large general hospital trust in England providing specialist cancer care by using patient recollections of illness and therapy prior to undertaking a randomized controlled trial. Methods: Four Focus groups (FGs) were conducted with cancer survivors with an explicit focus on patient identity, functional capacity, physical strength, exercise advice, types of activities as well as the timing of our exercise program and its suitability. Thematic framework analysis was used with NVivo 11. Results: FG data was collected in January 2016. A total of 13 patients were participated, 10 were male and 3 were female with participants' ages ranging from 39 to 77. Data saturation was achieved when no new information had been generated reaching “information redundancy.” Participants reflected upon their post-surgery recovery experiences on the appropriateness and suitability of the proposed intervention, what they thought about its delivery and format, and with hindsight what the psychological enablers and barriers would be to participation. Conclusion: Based upon the subjective recollections and recovery experiences of cancer survivors, isometric-resistance exercise interventions tailored to individuals with abdominal cancer has the potential to be acceptable for perioperative patients to help increase their physical activity and can also help with emotional and psychological recovery