A.T. IN THE NEW EDUCATION CENTER

The University of Maine at Farmington has played a key role in keeping Maine schools in step with national standards for academic achievement and equal opportunity for students.

Rather than go into panic when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reenacted in 1997, UMF faculty were prompted to look around and appreciate their accomplishments. Maine was already poised to meet federal standards.

Farmington staff felt good, in part, because they had managed to snag Assistive Technology Act funds through Maine CITE grants to establish their Assistive Technology (AT) Resource Center. This put the campus in a better position to help Maine schools meet mandates for providing equal learning opportunities. UMF faculty and students sat on legislative committees to set performance standards for Maine's education system. Known as "Learning Results," that law was also enacted in 1997.

And now, good things come to the deserving! The UMF College of Education, Health and Rehabilitation has been given the green light to build a brand-new $7-million, 43,000-square-foot Education Center. Scheduled for completion in 2005, the new facility was approved by the Maine Legislature and endorsed through referendum in 2001. $4.8 million was appropriated through bonds while $2.2 million is being raised through UMF's own efforts.

The Education Center will bring together in one location all departments, faculty, and instructional space which has, until now, been dispersed in locations varying greatly in their adequacy. Resources in the current AT Resource Center will, quite appropriately, be featured throughout the education showplace.

"I'm so excited about the building project," said student Jennifer Merrill. "The model classrooms will draw in more students with special needs and their parents. The additional space will give us more opportunity to get the good word out to the public."

Professor and AT Resource Center founder Loraine Spenciner agreed. "One of the keys to planning the new Education Center is that assistive technology is no longer relegated to the basement -- our beginning in Merrill Hall -- but rather it is an integral part of the new design, with the architect and faculty -- right on up to our president -- talking about the importance of assistive technology."

"Of course it will be included!" said Kathy Yardley, Dean of the College of Health Education. "I can't imagine assistive technology NOT included in the plans because those materials have become such an important part of our learning environment."

Yardley touted Farmington's tradition of providing progressive and specialized training for public schools, supported by a full range of equipment and materials. Student teachers and alumni will continue to benefit from having these materials available for loan for in-service use in their teaching and rehabilitation jobs, she said.

"It wouldn't be right to say we've arrived," said Spenciner. "There's still a long way to go -- especially in strengthening academic expectations and accountability for students with disabilities."