The Pocono Mountain School District Special Education Advisory Council will present its second annual Rising Above Obstacles day, April 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Pocono Mountain West High School.

Rising Above Obstacles will feature a day filled with strategies, services and resources for parents, students, staff, and anyone interested in learning about students with special needs including physical, mental, emotional and cognitive limitations.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Mr. Kelly Carey, a school psychologist for Pocono Mountain School District.  Mr. Carey was Pennsylvania’s School Psychologist of the Year for 2006.  Mr. Carey has risen above many obstacles to become one of the best in his field. He will share his professional insight as a school psychologist with attendees, and also his personal insight as a person with Tourette’s syndrome and a parent of a daughter with Down’s syndrome.

Rising Above Obstacles will feature information sessions on the following topics:

•  Related services for students with special needs such as speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy,
• Keys2Work,
• School-Wide Positive Behavior Support,
• Social skills development of students with special needs,
• The home/school connection and student achievement,
• Positive strategies for improving children’s behavior

Refreshments and babysitting will be provided for attendees.

For more information on Rising Above Obstacles, contact Mrs. Betsy Gustafson, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education, at (570) 839-7121, ext. 10181.  Anyone requiring an accommodation to attend this event should also contact Mrs. Gustafson.