ADD /ADHD

We all know kids who can’t sit still, who never seem to listen during class lectures, who choose not to follow instructions no matter how clearly you, as the teacher, present them, or kids who may blurt out inappropriate comments at inappropriate times. Occasionally these children are called defiant and/or troublemakers. They are sometimes criticized for being lazy and undisciplined.  When in fact, they may simply have a disability. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that appears in early childhood. You may also know it by the name attention deficit disorder, (ADD).

 

ADD/ADHD is a general inability to pay close attention to detail or to filter out irrelevant information causing limited focus on the task at hand.  This disorder begins in childhood and does carry over into adulthood.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate and plan

 

Symptoms

·         high activity levels
·         difficulty remaining still for long periods of time
·         limited attention spans

 

Warning Signs and Possible Characteristics within the Classroom

•  A sense of underachievement, of not meeting one’s goals (regardless of how much one has accomplished)
• Difficulty getting organized
• Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started
• Many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow-through
• Tendency to say what comes to mind without necessarily considering the timing or appropriateness of the remark
• An ongoing search for high stimulation
• A tendency to be easily bored
• Easy distractibility, trouble focusing attention, tendency to tune out or drift away in the middle of a page or a conversation, often coupled with an ability to focus at times
• Often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent
• Trouble going through established channels, following proper procedure
• Impatient; low tolerance for frustration
• Impulsive, either verbally or in action, as in impulsive spending of money, changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans, and the like
• Tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about, alternating with inattention to or disregard for actual dangers
• Sense of impending doom, insecurity, alternating with high risk-taking
• Depression, especially when disengaged from a project
• Restlessness
• Tendency toward addictive behavior
• Chronic problems with self-esteem
• Inaccurate self-observation
• Family history of ADD, manic-depressive illness, depression, substance abuse, or other disorders of impulse control or mood

The hourly wage it takes to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in every state

POSTED 11:41 AM, JUNE 2, 2015, BY DALLAS FRANKLIN & KFOR-TV, UPDATED AT 11:50AM, JUNE 2, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – A recent study is showing us the hourly wage needed to rent a two-bedroom apartment in every state in the U.S.

Can you guess how much Oklahoman's need to make to afford a two-bedroom apartment?

In Oklahoma, the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment including utilities is $716, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual housing report “Out of Reach.”

In order for someone to afford this level of rent and utilities without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn $2,387 monthly, or $28,639 annually.

Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates to an hourly wage of $13.77.

According to the study, no one who is working full-time making minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rent.

In fact, a person making minimum wage would need to work 76 hours a week in order to afford a two-bedroom unit.

Keep in mind that number shows how much hourly employees would have to make in order to avoid spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

Financial experts say 30 percent is roughly the amount most Americans should spend on rent or mortgage payments so they don’t get over their heads.

Two-bedroom rental unit housing wage, Source: NLIHC

NLIHC also created a map that shows how many hours per week a person would need to work to afford a one-bedroom apartment on minimum wage.

According to the study, a person making minimum wage would have to work 59 hours a week in order to afford a one-bedroom apartment.

Hours at minimum wage needed to afford a one-bedroom rental unit, Source: NLIHC

The Fair Market Rent varies for different counties across the state.

The results were published in a study entitled “Out of Reach,” which focused on how affordable housing was not available for low-income renters.

Click here to read more on the “Out of Reach” study.

Oklahoma CareerTech Key Messages (FY14)

Are you looking for some fun facts about Oklahoma CareerTech to use in presentations or when talking to someone who is not familiar with CareerTech?  See below for some selected points about the Oklahoma CareerTech system.

General

• Oklahoma CareerTech System graduates add more than $3.5 billion annually to the state's economy.
• Oklahoma CareerTech enrollments totaled 546,877. Secondary enrollments were 152,227, and postsecondary enrollments were 394,650.
• Nearly half of Oklahoma ninth- through 12th-grade students – 81,515 – were enrolled in CareerTech classes.
• CareerTech served more than 6,600 businesses.
• Oklahoma CareerTech Skills Centers offer specialized occupational training to adult and juvenile offenders in juvenile facilities, community correction centers and state correctional facilities.
• Student placement in FY13 was 92.94 percent: employed - 39.44 percent; continuing education - 50.90 percent; entering military - 2.60 percent.

Comprehensive Schools

• CareerTech offered courses at 541 schools sites in 391 districts.
• 36 percent, or 117,046, of students in grades six through 12 were enrolled in CareerTech courses.
• There are 1,281 CareerTech teachers in comprehensive school courses in grades six through 12.

Technology Centers

• There are 29 technology center districts on 59 campuses.
• 72 counties in Oklahoma contain technology centers.
• Oklahoma CareerTech serves high school and adult learners with specialized career training in more than 90 instructional areas on the 59 technology center campuses.
• High school students living in a technology center district attend tuition free, while adults are charged nominal tuition.

Oklahoma Career Readiness Certificate

• Oklahoma’s ACT National Career Readiness Certificate is an industry-recognized, portable, research-based credential that certifies essential skills needed for workplace success.
• Individuals can earn the ACT NCRC by taking three WorkKeys® assessments: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Reading for Information.
• In Oklahoma, 106,592 individuals have earned National Career Readiness Certificates: 506 Platinum; 20,864 Gold; 61,375 Silver; 23,847 Bronze.
• More than 100 Oklahoma Career Readiness Assessment Sites can be found across the state. okcareertech.org/business-and-industry/workkeys/job-seekers/okcrc-assessment-sites

Business and Industry Services

• CareerTech served more than 6,600 businesses.
• Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network helped 1,474 businesses secure $478,657,362 in contracts.
• BIS enrollments totaled 381,424.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT INSIDE THE BELTWAY - Webinar

What Policy-makers Know, Don't Know, and Need to Know

June 16, 2015

1:00-2:00 PM CDT

ACRP Professional Development Webinar via GoToWebinar

Bridget Brown, Executive Director of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, will examine policies affecting career development and career resources. Join us for an informative presentation by a uniquely positioned observer and leader of policy conversations at the national level. Following Bridget's presentation, former ACRP President Jo Kahn and Curtis Richards, Director, Center for Workforce Development, Institute for Educational Leadership, will offer brief responses to the presentation.

Click Here for Free Member Registration
Click Here for Non-member Registration ($20)

"My Backpack Is Not The Heaviest Thing I''m Carrying Today!"

This week an article from the Washington Post appeared numerous times on my Facebook feed.

I you haven't seen the article, 'I wish my teacher knew' it is great! Tugs at the heart strings, reminds you of your purpose and is a good conversation starter among educators.

Giving student's needs assessments gives them the opportunity to tell us their stories anonymously. It empowers students to be honest and raw, while they help us do our job better, by knowing how to advocate for them. We discover what services are most important for their success and how we can provide it.

Often as a school counselor, I would hear students stories and knew the background information affecting their performance at school. However, I often found it difficult to transmit student needs
and issues into a message. A message for parents and teachers to consider and reflect upon.

Sharing this article with your staff, faculty and parents may help you communicate the burdens students walk into our buildings everyday carrying. I think many of our student are telling us, "My backpack is not the heaviest thing I'm carrying today!"

So I ask you...are you asking questions? Are you giving students a voice and a place to lay the burden down? Are you allowing those voices to be heard? If so, I unfortunately hope what you hear breaks your heart! I hope it makes you unable to stand for the injustice and in turn you take action. I hope you help them feel welcome at school. You start that lunch group to address anger, coping skills and positive thinking. I hope you build that clothing and basic needs closet you've been thinking about. Because whatever challenge your students face, you are the best resource to help them navigate to a better place. I'd even bet that's why you got into this education thing in the first place!

“Don’t Let Social Media Shut You Out”

Excerpts from “Don’t Let Social Media Shut You Out”

career-intelligence.com

How to use Social Media to attract potential employers

To a great extent, you are who the Internet says you are. Today you can be sure that employers and recruiters will be checking you out online – before and after you’re hired. It’s up to you to make sure your virtual presence doesn't damage your career.

...  According to a 2013 study by CareerBuilder, more employers are finding reasons not to hire candidates because of their social media presence. Some said they took candidates out of the running after finding various concerning content online. The top two negative behaviors mentioned by employers were 1) provocative/inappropriate photos and/or information (50%) and 2) information about candidate drinking or using drugs (48%). Remember that old adage about not saying anything bad –even if your boss is a first-class jerk? Many employers said candidates were crossed off the list for badmouthing a previous employer (33%).

… Everything you post online helps them determine who you are as a person.

Besides avoiding blatantly negative behaviors like racy photos there are things you can do to make yourself more appealing to potential employers.

• ·   Be sure your presence is consistent across all media and true to who you are. Make sure your LinkedIn profile aligns with your resume. No, it shouldn't be exactly the same word for word, but the jobs, including titles, should be. Inconsistencies tend to make people suspicious.
• ·   Avoid being negative online. While a picture of you having a glass of wine on your birthday probably won’t turn off employers, constant ranting likely will. If your boss truly is the devil incarnate tell your best bud over drinks rather than making negative remarks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
• ·   Share the positive things you do. Walking a 5K for charity? Post pictures of that. Mentoring younger staff? Tweet about that. Let employers know you’re the type of person they want to have as part of their team.
• ·   Research yourself to find out what potential employers will find. Keep tabs on yourself by setting up a free Google alert for your name. Use alerts to follow companies you’re interested in as well.

Today your online presence is your calling card, particularly when it comes to your career. So use it wisely. Make sure recruiters and hiring managers will be talking about you in a good way.

Find complete article at career-intelligence.com

 

Are you ready to embark on the adventure that awaits you? OK Career Guide will make its premier in August 2015 as the new online career development system supported by Oklahoma CareerTech. 
 

After more than 18 months of careful examination and evaluation of online career systems, OK CareerTech is moving in an exciting new direction with OK Career Guide. Our 10 year partnership with the Career Information System to provide the Oklahoma Career Information System (OKCIS) will end on June 30^th, 2015. 

What can you do to help prepare you students? We've put together a few tips to help you:

TIP 1: Consider downloading and saving portfolio items

OK Career Guide will have a portfolio that functions similarly to the current portfolio, with a few more capabilities and much more space (50MB vs 5MB). Users will be able to save assessment results, applications, resumes and ‘to favorite’ schools, scholarships, occupations. Unfortunately, OK Career Guide and OKCIS will not have an overlap. For this reason, any items your students would like to ‘take with them’ they will need to download, save, and then upload into their new portfolio.
Keep in mind, however, these will be static documents in OK Career Guide.  

 

Don’t have time or resources to embark on download/save/upload adventure?

No problem: Students will need to re-take the assessments in OK Career Guide anyway to be able to use results to explore careers. 

·      OK Career Guide will have Interest, Values and Skills assessments that DO tie to schools and occupations within the system.

·       The assessments in OK Career Guide are quick, 20-25 minutes and are thorough. Extremely reliable, based on 75 years of research and experience. Based on John Holland’s RIASEC codes, the 16 career clusters and the 79 Career Pathways.   

·      Completing these assessments will be vital to users’ career planning.

·       OK Career Guide & OKCIS use the same national sources for Occupations and School data. 

TIP 2: Email your users

Consider sending a mass email to all of your OKCIS users to let them know about the switch.
You may choose to tell them to download their desired items or simply give them the new website: www.okcareerguide.org - will be live in August 2015.
 

TIP 3: Make sure you watch your emails

Email roberta.douglas@careertech.ok.gov to be added to the OK Career Guide listserve…. Check with your colleagues to ensure that they are, too- if they need information regarding OK Career Guide.

 

 

Training dates for OK Career Guide will be available early in May. Watch this blog, the Career & Academic Connections Facebook account, follow @TommiLeach on Twitter or email roberta.douglas@careertech.ok.gov to be added to the OK Career Guide listserv.

 

We are looking foward to helping Oklahomans in the career development adventure!