The Summer 2021 edition of the National Consortium for physical education for individuals with disabilities (NCPEID) newsletter – The Advocate is now out.

In the issue there is information on:

  • Welcome
  • Summer Conference
  • NCPEID recognizes its members
  • APE Collaborative
  • Research
  • Remembering Claudine Sherrill
  • 2020 Annual Report
  • and more…

Message from the NCPEID President – Michelle Grenier

It Takes A Village  

For all of us, this past year has been memorable for many reasons, both positive and negative. Each of us has our own experiences related to COVID and its impact on our professional and personal lives. We will walk away from these past twelve months with many lessons learned and a renewed appreciation for those who have positively contributed to our lives.

As NCPEID’s president, I learned that indeed, it does take a village to keep the organization thriving and strong. I am eternally grateful to the wisdom and calm presence of NCPEID’s former past president, Dallas Jackson, who always keep our Board of Directors meetings on track and moving forward. It also took a village to successfully run our annual conference virtually. With over 100 attendees and a dynamic line-up of presenters, NCPEID made significant strides in achieving our mission. Thanks to the conference team that included our former vice president Andrea Taliaferro and her dedicated team of Ali Brian, Amanda Young, Josie Blagrave, and Amy Oliver, our NCPEID conference was a smashing success!

The ongoing social media posts of the membership team that includes Melissa Bittner, Amanda Young, and Scott McNamara, Ben Miedema, and Heidi Ambrosius continue to impress me with their creative and informative updates on current NCPEID events. Our treasurer and president-elect, Cindy Piletic, continues to keep us honest and true to our vision as educators. Thank you Cindy. And to Erin Siebert, our secretary, many thanks for your organizational and recording skills.

This past year NCPEID hosted its first virtual research poster session under the guidance of Ron Davis, our research chair, and Andrew Colombo-Dougovito. Thanks to your ingenuity for the conference design and organization. Finally, thanks to the rest of our village, including T. Nicole Kirk for chairing the nominations and elections committee, Emily Gilbert for chairing the awards committee, Tim Davis for his ongoing work with the APENS Committee, and Suzanna Dillon and her team for advancing NCPEID’s advocacy agenda. Indeed, NCPEID is truly fortunate to have such talented and dedicated “citizens” of our village!

 IN THIS ISSUE

This issue of the Advocate provides evidence of our efforts to support our membership. A priority of NCPEID is advocacy and this issue of the Advocate provides several documents that can be used by educators and administrators to support students with disabilities. Also in this issue, Ron Davis, Cindy Piletic, and Linda Hilgenbrink share their experiences “Coming Together” as part of our summer conference. As a young scholar, Andy Colombo-Dougovito provides a synopsis of research. This issue highlights NCPEID’s awardees, recognizing their outstanding contributions to the field. 

NCPEID continues to advocate for appropriate educational programs for individuals with disabilities, their families and caregivers, and the educators who serve them. Likewise, NCPEID leadership will continue to support its members and advocate for legislative actions, professional preparation, and practice in higher education and at the K-12 level. NCPEID will introduce the first APE collaborative coming Thursday, September 30th at 2pm EST. At this time, I would like to welcome our new Executive Committee team, Cindy Piletic as president-elect, Ali Brian as vice-president, and Adam Pennell as interim treasurer. Our new Board of Director’s members includes Andrea Taliaferro and Melissa Bittnew as Members at Large, Ann-Catherine Sullivan as the Research Consortium Chair, Heather Katz as our student representative, and Myung Ha (Mason) Sur as our website manager. Welcome new committee members! If you are not a current member, please consider joining today. Be well, remain optimistic, and stay healthy. 

Michelle Grenier, Ph.D., CAPE

President (2020-2022)