pathways newsletter

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Hi Everyone,

Attached is a special edition of our June 2010 newsletter that highlights

all of our " Include ME! " events which were very successful. We had many

children in schools and communities purchase the yellow " Include ME! "

t-shirts. In total we have sold about 1,700 to date. The Walkathon brought

many people together to rally for inclusion. Our next " Include ME! " event is

our 5K Race on June 26th. Please pass on the attached flyer to everyone to

register to run for the inclusion of children with special needs in schools

and communities!

Thanks you to everyone who supported the Lead Mentors as they continue to

increase awareness and push for the inclusion of our children. They are

scheduled to meet with the Commissioner of Education on June 9th in Trenton.

Their commitment and devotion never ceases to amaze all of us!

Thanks Again!

Melinda Jennis,

President - Pathways for Exceptional Children

www.PathwaysKids.org <http://www.pathwayskids.org/>

Redefining the Future for People with Disabilities

Pathways for Exceptional Children

www.PathwaysKids.org <http://www.pathwayskids.org/>

Redefining the Future for People with Disabilities

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05:21:00

5K Race

Presenting

Our

Annual

Race Day Schedule:

6:30am-7:45am ....Post-Registration and

Packet Pick-up

8:00am ...............5K Race Start

9:00am ...............Awards Ceremony

Location:

MontvilleTownship Public Library

90 Horseneck Road

Montville, NJ 07045

Course:

The event is sanctioned by USATF and will be

run on a certified out and back course through

the streets of Montville.

USATF Course NJ-02022GANB

Entry Fees:

Pre-Registration: $22 by 6/20/10

USATF-NJ / Pathways Members

Pre Reg: $20 by 6/20/10

Race Day Registration: $25

On-line Registration:

www.RaceForum.com/Montville

Results:

ChampionChip, Computer Scoring by

www.Compuscore.com. Please follow the instructions

included in your race packet on attaching

the chip to your shoe and then returning the chip

at the end of the race. Note:You will be charged

$30 if you do not return the chip after the race.

Awards:

(No Duplicates) Top 3 Male & Female overall;

Top MontvilleTownship Male & Female Finishers;

Oldest & Youngest Finisher; andTop 3 Male and

Female in age groups: 10 & under, 11-15, 16-19,

20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49,

50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, +75.

Amenities:

T-shirts (while supplies last); post-race

refreshments; awards

For more information about the day's events:

Please visit www.PathwaysKids.org,

www.RaceForum.com/Montville,

www.compuscore.com, or www.montvillenj.org

The 5K Race is dedicated to supporting children with special needs.The

yellow shirt signifies

the importance of inclusion for every child within our schools and

communities every day!

Visit our website, www.PathwaysKids.org, for information.

Saturday, June 26, 2010 8:00am Montville Township, NJ

LAST NAME FIRST NAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

PHONE

E-MAIL

DATE OF BIRTH (MM/DD/YY) AGE SEX (CIRCLE ONE)

2010 USATF MEMBER NO.

Entry Fee (please check one):

_ $22 Pre-Registration _ $20 USATF/Pathways Members _ $25 Race Day

Registration

I am physically able and properly trained to participate in this race. In

consideration of the acceptance

of my application, I, my heirs, executor, successor and assigns do hereby

acquit and forever

discharge the County of , Township of Montville, Pathways for

Exceptional Children,

USATF-NJ, event sponsors, agents, volunteers, and persons involved in the

promoting of this

race from any and all claims, causes of action, demands, rights, damages,

costs, loss of service,

expenses and compensation which I may hereafter accrue of or in unforeseen

damage and

consequences resulting or to result from my participation in the Pathways

" Include ME! " 5K

Race, held Saturday, June 26, 2010 in Montville, NJ. I also give my

permission for the use of

my name and/or picture in any newspaper, broadcast, telecast or other

account of this event.

SIGNATURE DATE

OR, SIGNATURE OF PARENT OF GUARDIAN (must be signed if participant is under

18)

M F

2010 " Include ME! " 5K Race Registration Form

To ensure proper processing, please print clearly and fill in all fields

below. If you prefer, you can register online at

www.RaceForum.com/Montville.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO: Pathways for Exceptional Children.

ON-LINE REGISTRATION: www.RaceForum.com/Montville

SEND CHECK AND THIS COMPLETED FORM TO: Pathways 2010 " Include ME! " 5K,

Montville Township Recreation Dept, 195 Changebridge Rd., Montville NJ 07045

incredible support is

indeed a statement that

has not simply helped us

to spread the word, but

has actually brought the importance of

inclusion for people with disabilities right

into the forefront.

Our " Include ME! " Walkathon took place the

next day on May 22nd with over 260 people

in attendance.Thank you to all who participated

and made this our largest walkathon

yet. The " Include ME! " 5K Race is coming

up on June 26, 2010, the start of Montville

Township's Fourth of July festivities at the

Montville Township Public Library. Please

register and run for a cause that will continue

to bring authentic inclusion and a sense

of belonging home to children everywhere!!

Visit our website at www.PathwaysKids.org

for information, registration forms, and our

photo gallery of the " Include ME! " Events.

-Lead Mentors

Pathways for Exceptional Children

www.PathwaysKids.org

NextSteps

TheMonthly Publication from Pathways for Exceptional Children June 2010

" Include ME! " Events!

WE,THE LEAD MENTORS of

Pathways, a group of young

adults ages 12-18 dedicated

to bringing about social

change, decided to set a goal to make New

Jersey a leader in the inclusion of children

with special needs in their schools and their

communities. This is no small task, considering

New Jersey's 10% out-of-district school

placement rate, the highest in the nation, for

students with disabilities, while most other

states are at 3% or below. Inclusion may not

mean much to most people, but to families of

children with special needs, whose children

are often segregated in schools and not given

access to many community programs, finding

opportunities for authentic inclusion is vital.

MontvilleTownship has become a leading

example in New Jersey and is fortunate to

have many after-school activities for these

children and mentors who are trained to

actively help out and be friends to them.

Although some have begun to follow this

example, there are, sadly, still far too many

other towns in New Jersey where inclusive

programs are almost nonexistant.

Despite the daunting task to improve inclusion,

we began this year to lead a movement

with an " Include ME " theme that had its

opening day on May 21st with " Paint the

TownYellow, " when students and school district

staff throughout MontvilleTownship,

Plains, town, and Cranford

showed support by purchasing and wearing

yellow " Include ME! " t-shirts. Businesses,

including GlaxoKline Consumer

Healthcare and AlphaGraphics in Parsippany,

Model A Fitness in Boonton,VerizonWireless

in Denville,The Chelsea at Montville and

Dimaira Periodontal in Montville, AXA

Financial in Jersey City, and many others

supported the effort by purchasing and

wearing the shirts.

We sold over 1,000 " Include ME! " shirts in

Montville Township alone, and received over

100 shirt orders from people outside of New

Jersey as far away as Puerto Rico.This

Today you will notice some people

are wearing yellow shirts that say

" Include ME! " You are probably

wondering what include me means.

Include me means: accept people

with disabilities and let them interact

with you without hurting their

feelings. For example, people with

disabilities may not have control

of their body, may not talk, or

may look or act different from us.

Anyway, if you see people with

disabilities at the park, school,

sports fields, stores, or anywhere

else, you should say hello or play

with them. Don't be afraid to interact

with them. Always remember

they're still special inside, just like us.

Tatiana Ransom, Third grade,

Hilldale Elementary School

Include ME!

Verizon Wireless, Denville, NJ Cranford High School, Cranford, NJ

GlaxoKline Consumer Healthcare, Parsippany, NJ

R. Lazar Middle School, Montville, NJ The Chelsea At Montville, NJ

Valley View Elementary School, Montville, NJ Hilldale Elementary School,

Pine Brook, NJ

AlphaGraphics, Parsippany, NJ town and Plains High Schools

For the latest news and information about Pathways for Exceptional Children,

visit www.PathwaysKids.org

C 2010 Pathways for Exceptional Children

Pathways for Exceptional Children developed

the Lead Mentor program in 2004 for mentors

in grades six and above. Mentors must

apply to get into the program and acceptance

has nothing to with test scores, grade point

averages, who you know, or how many

awards you have won. It is based upon heart

and what the mentor has shown through their

action in service to others. Leadership in the

program is also not defined by how you can

service your own agendas or by how fast you

can get yourself to the top. It is defined by the

people you bring with you along the way that

may not otherwise have been able to achieve

their own dreams, aspirations, or potential

without help. The Lead Mentors in this program

do not get community service hours, nor

are they paid for the time they put into the

program. The Lead Mentors are given full

charge to run the program, and each year the

leadership has grown in their expectation

and exponentially in what they have achieved.

Every year Pathways considers a " Lead

Mentor of theYear " Award.The award is probably

one of the most difficult to earn and is

not given unless one of Lead Mentors rises to

the challenge. It has been given only three

out of six years the program has been in existence.

This year, it is with great honor that, for

the second year in a row, RustyVan Riper has

been chosen to receive this prestigious award,

which includes both recognition and a $1,500

college scholarship that Pathways will give to

him as he enters Bard College in the fall.

Rusty has been a mentor for five years and is

a true activist devoted to social change and

making the world a better and more accepting

place where everyone can succeed.This

year, Rusty has helped lead the way to getting

disability acceptance and awareness into

the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content

Standards.This means that every child in the

state of New Jersey will now receive education

and information about disability and how

to proactively include children with special

needs in their schools and community. Not

only has Rusty and the other Lead Mentors

worked to get this on paper, they have also

worked with the New Jersey Department of

Education to find ways to implement it in

order to bring about meaningful outcomes.

Rusty has sacrificed and taken time off from

school to ride busses toTrenton to speak to

the New Jersey State Board of Education,

State Special Education Advisory Council,

and Office of Special Education Programs.

He has spoken all over the state on behalf of

children with special needs and has advocated

tirelessly for authentic inclusion. He has

written to state officials and pursued the

press to cover stories and relay the vital role

people with disabilities play in society.

He has started a lunch program in Montville

Township High School where students mentor

children with special needs and enjoy spending

time at lunch socializing on a daily basis.

Even with all of this, I personally have always

been most touched by the way Rusty works

2010 Lead Mentor Award

Left, Lead Mentors

Jennis,

Rusty Van Riper,

and Nayna Shaw.

Right, Congressman

Rodney Frelinghuysen

giving a speech at

Pathways' Walkathon;

Rusty accepting the

" Lead Mentor of the

Year " Award from

Melinda Jennis

side by side with all of our children with special

needs almost every day. He is a natural

teacher and friend, always treating the children

with utmost respect.There has never

been a child who has worked with Rusty who

has not felt like a million dollars or was not

expected to achieve their level best. He has

an innate way of motivating everyone around

him to do better and be more.

Rusty was also one of the leaders who initiated

the " Include ME! " rally and has made it his

dream to eventually get the entire state and

nation in yellow " Include ME! " t-shirts. He has

made it a cause to recognize the need to have

children with disabilities included, not on the

periphery or on paper, but truly included at the

center of everything and given the opportunity

to participate, learn, and grow. Rusty has constantly

kept me personally challenged and is

always forcing me to recognize the urgency of

not of what we need to do tomorrow, but what

we must do right now. It has been a pleasure

and honor to work with him for five years. He

has been a great strength and example to me

and those he has touched.We wish him the

very best as he graduates from high school

and we will always look forward to school

breaks when he will be back from college.

Congratulations, Rusty, and thank you for

your tireless efforts for our children!

-Melinda Jennis, President

Pathways for Exceptional Children