Support Across the Miles of Montana (SAMM) is one component of a five year federally funded project that was awarded to The Montana Office of Public Instruction in October of 2010. This project – Responsive Education for All Learners (Project REAL) – encompasses several initiatives that share one common focus: helping teachers and schools adopt evidence-based practices to improve behavioral, social, and academic outcomes for students, including those with identified disabilities.
SAMM is an initiative specifically intended to address the unique needs of students with low incidence disabilities. It represents a partnership between personnel at The University of Montana Rural Institute and Outreach Consultants from The Montana School for the Deaf and Blind. Together, personnel from these two agencies are working to provide a variety of supports to educational teams responsible for students with low incidence disabilities. This includes students with vision and hearing losses, cognitive delays, multiple disabilities, autism, and deaf-blindness. The project is utilizing a variety of technology-based supports to achieve the goal of providing effective “support across the miles” of Montana.
Gail McGregor, from the University of Montana Rural Institute, is hosting this blog. For more information and/or to request resources or support for one of your students, contact her at: gail.mcgregor@mso.umt.edu.