Special Education Today newsletter 4(35)

What happened with SET during the week of 17 February 2025?

You are reading the 35th issue for the fourth year of the Special Education Today newsletter. This issue recaps the week beginning 17 February 2025. I encourage readers to review the > 1200 posts in the archives.¹

The structure should be familiar, even if you are a relatively recent subscriber. You’ll find a photo, status notes, a listing of posts from the previous week, and an observation or two. I hope this trip down memory lane is valuable to you, my readers. Thanks very much for subscribing.

Photo

Although it’s been cool-to-cold here in Beautyville, there are indicators of spring being on the way. Of course, some bulbs have been sending up shoots for more than a month; they’ll be riotous in just a few weeks.

The photo shows the view across our back yard, looking east. I took it 23 February 2025 at about 5:37. So, with the Sun behind me, the mountains to the east are illuminated. Off the right of the image is Carters Mountain. In the center you can see Mount Alto.² The smallish hillock at the left just beyond (and below) the tree with the high squirrels’ nest is Monticello Mountain.

The trees are still bare, but there are hints of the red, at least as I see it (I’m not skillful enough with photo editing to accent it—sigh). In one of the Matched series of books, Ally Condie wrote that “Red is the first color of spring. It's the real color of rebirth. Of beginning.” , and I’ll be watching for reds in the coming weeks. According to Wikipedia, Ms. Condie is a very popular author of young adult fiction and the mother of son with autism. Are any of you readers having your students read her works? Reading them on your own?

Status report

There were plenty of reads during the week, even though I didn’t publish any new content on two of the seven days of the week. I was thinking of creating a graph showing changes over time in reads (or subscribers, or whatever), but that was looking like a lot of work…pass, even though it would give me opportunities to talk about single-subject (or -case) data topics such as trend, moving weighted averages, etc.

I strongly suspect that the growth in follow-subscribe numbers is a consequence of you, dear readers, sharing, restacking, and discussing what you read on SET. I thank you for that support.

Meanwhile, let me pass along some other thanks:

• Welcomes: New subscribers and followers include K. C., Jonathan P., Rob & Walter, Tracey B, Renee H., Marcie L., and Tricia L.

• Comments: Betsy T., Paul C. (twice), Dan H. (thrice), Tom Z., Jen W., Jeannie T, and Jan H.

• Stack up the thanks for restacks by Allison L, and KCrhis (twice!), Restacking a post is a wonderful way to let your pals know about something on SET.

The week’s sorta-kinda ToC

So., let’s see…. I was lollygagging this week, I guess. I didn’t publish on a couple of days (though two on one day adds up to six total).

1. Special Education Today newsletter 4(34): What happened with SET during the week of 10 February 2025?

2. Not news: USNews rankings of schools: What’s to be learned from the USNews school rankings?

3. K. Neas on preserving US ED: What does a leader of The Arc say about sustaining the government department?

4. Special education & higher ed meeting: What will transpire 20 February 2025 at a "Special Education Researcher Town Hall?"

5. More on today's "town hall": What have I learned since the post Wed 19 February 2025

6. Section 504 protections are being challenged: What's happening with this venerable provision of US law that protects the civil rights of individuals with disabilities?

Please keep on reading SET. I may miss a day or two here or there.

Comments

After I explained at dinner with Pat one recent night that I had not published posts on a couple of days, she asked me sage question. “What do they expect?” I got to thinking about what I’d promised you, dear readers. On reflection, I had to say, “I don’t know.” And that’s true, right?

I mean, take a look at the about page. The only references to frequency is that everyone will receive this weekly newsletter. However, an essential feature of this newsletter is the listing of posts from the previous week. So, the answer to Pat’s question is something like the snake eating its tail. I gotta provide bits of content so that there is enough content for the weekly newsletters…right?

Of course, I could revise the structure and content of the newsletter. I could, for example, aggregate content over the course of a week and publish it all once a week.³ I could publish SET posts more frequently (say 10-15 per week), though that would surely require a larger staff (authors, proofreaders, researchers, etc.)….

So, I don’t know, dear readers. I’m actually clueless. I have only my own impressions about what subscribers expect…no data, really. My ideas are just opinions.

What do you expect from SET? Please tell me (and the community) what you want from SET. How frequently should you get posts? How long should the usual posts be? What topics should be the focus?⁴

In the meantime, I hope you will share and sustain my concern that we take care of (a) ourselves (eat right, get exercise, etc.); (b) each other (we are in this together); and (c ) our students (teach them well!).

JohnL

John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D.

UVA Professor Emeritus

Founder & Editor, Special Education Today

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Please do not confuse SET a product that uses the same name and is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades. Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization nor should the views expressed here be considered to represent the views or policies of that organization.

Footnote

1. Some of the posts in the archive (e.g., the weekly newsletter) are available for free,

2. My mother grew up nearby and routinely called “Mount Alto” “Patterson’s Mountain.” When Pat and I moved here, that same foothill of the Blue Ridge—a bump in the Piedmont—was called “Brown’s Mountain.” It’s obviously provided its owners an opportunity to put their names into the geographical record. Why? Well, it’s about the only place in the world where on can look down on Thomas Jefferson’s home.

3. Might have to rename SET as “Special Education Weekly?”

4. Should SET go for one more year—June of 2026—and then just disappear? If SET is just me, that’s probably a good the end: a little time capsule of trash. If SET can generate sufficient resources (from paid and super-pals) so that it can have an actual staff (assistants, researchers, proof-readers, and etc. ), maybe it can continue.