Connect-Ability
A newsletter on disabilities awareness prepared by and for students
- DOWNLOAD: Connect-Ability. PDF file is 1.3MB.
The Disabilities Awareness Newsletter gets a new name - Connect-Ability - and a new sponsor
By Catharine McHugh, Newsletter Advisor
Our ability to stay connected with one another in our family life, school life and in our communities is important. By connecting with others we learn, have fun and share experiences. Connections give us confidence and strength. The people we connect with can teach us new things and help us see different perspectives but connecting with people different from us isn't always easy. We have to be willing to take a risk in the beginning and then put in the effort and time to stay connected.
This newsletter started out 11 years ago when I invited a group of high school students with disabilities and a group of high school students without disabilities to get together to talk. Before that day, most of the students without disabilities had never encountered a student with a disability much less sat in a room and talked with them for three hours. Sparks didn't fly. No one cried or asked to leave. There was a lot of silence at first. Some students listened and then asked questions and some didn't speak at all. At the end of three hours they agreed, on their own, to continue the connection they had made on that day and to get others to connect with one another as well to help raise awareness of disabilities and the many high school students affected by them.
They took a risk coming to that meeting and they learned something. As time went on during monthly meetings they began to understand one another better, have fun and make friends. They got connected. It was their idea to start this newsletter which was distributed to every high school in New York state. They wanted to write and draw pictures and tell their stories to help other students understand that connecting with someone with a disability is a good thing.
Since that first group of students got together dozens of students have written for the newsletter and served on the editorial board. Over the years board members tried to find a better name for the newsletter but were so busy putting it together that they always ended up calling it what it was, the Disabilities Awareness Newsletter. Now the current editorial board has found a new name and a new sponsor. NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) has generously agreed to support the newsletter. At our August 2007 meeting we agreed on a new name, Connect-Ability. The new name emphasizes what the first editorial board tried to do - connect students and focus on ability.
I want to thank the group of students who took a risk and started this newsletter back in 1996 including Jennifer Baumann, Maria Comella, Steve Corzon, Carrie Danziger, Jessica Fein, Colin Harte, Justin Leader, Rebecca Lozman, Robert McHugh and Jessica Terwilliger. I think they all would be very proud that students are still staying connected and seeking connections through the newsletter.
Behind the scenes
Last year, when a group of high school students put their 10th annual Disability Awareness Newsletter to bed, they thought it was for a permanent sleep. The state had lopped off its funding. Hopes were awakened when NYSUT stepped in to save the teen-run publication. Last summer, about 15 students, both with and without disabilities, gathered at the statewide union conference center to put out the 2007 issue of the rescued newsletter. For more information, see: NYSUT steps in to save student-run disabilities newsletter.
Connect-Ability (PDF)
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A message from Maria Neira, NYSUT Vice President
New York State United Teachers leaders read last year in the Albany Times Union about the expected demise of the Disabilities Awareness newsletter. They pledged the union's support to keep the publication going. NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira, who oversees the union's research department encompassing educational issues and special education, explains the union's commitment.
NYSUT is proud to sponsor this project. First, it brings together students with and without disabilities for hands-on opportunities to write, edit and design a remarkable newsletter. Secondly, the end product reaches thousands of students, parents and educators to promote awareness of disabilities from a student's point of view. More than a dozen high school students from across the state, with and without disabilities, spent three days at the union's Latham headquarters to research, write and edit the 2007 version of the Disability Awareness Newsletter, which they have renamed Connect-Ability. They worked with NYSUT staff and other volunteers to produce the publication. About 30,000 copies of the newsletter have been distributed annually to schools throughout New York state.
NYSUT, with more than 585,000 members statewide, will work with the student editors to help broaden the newsletter's circulation. Through our partnership, we can make it possible for students to increase distribution across the state and through our Web site, http://www.nysut.org/. The union also is underwriting student travel and workshop expenses, and contributing in-kind printing services for the publication.
We are proud to be able to help in the efforts to increase awareness and enhance greater understanding among students with and without disabilities. Giving students a "voice" is what this project is all about.
We need your help
We are looking for creative students in grades 7-12 who are interested in writing essays, fiction or poetry related to disability. We want this newsletter to connect students with and without disabilities so that we can learn from one another, make friendships and participate in an inclusive environment. The Disabilities Awareness Newsletter has been in existence for 10 years and is sent to high schools across New York state. It is edited by high school students who serve on its editorial board. With this 2007 issue, the Newsletter has a new name, Connect-Ability, and a new sponsor, NYSUT (New York State United Teachers). It will be published each year, widely distributed and read by students, teachers and parents across the state.
If you or a student you know would like to learn more about how to participate in this exciting project, contact Terry McSweeney, NYSUT assistant in Educational Services, (800) 342-9810, ext. 6047.