Technical Assistance and Partnerships
The primary mission of the Bresnahan-Halstead Center is to work for the
advancement of knowledge and quality service for individuals with disabilities and
their families through research, evaluation, professional development, technical assistance,
partnerships, and student scholarships/financial assistance.
The Bresnahan-Halstead Center is committed to improving the educational outcomes of students with disabilities. One avenue for addressing this goal is to support professional development for educators who work in schools, districts, agencies or administrative units through partnerships and technical assistance. The Bresnahan-Halstead Center has partnered with the School of Special Education to develop the following list of faculty who are interested and willing to provide professional development. Also included is a brief description of their areas of expertise.
To enhance the knowledge and skills of professionals, the Bresnahan-Halstead Center suggests that administrators who are interested in providing professional development for their staff, determine the topic(s) they want to address. Then, review the list of experts to identify the faculty member who can provide the professional development, contact the faculty member, and discuss the possible topic, outcomes, date(s), and time(s). Once an agreement has been reached the faculty member will submit an application for providing the technical assistance to Silvia Correa-Torres, Research Director of the Bresnahan-Halstead Center. After the application has been approved, the professional development has been provided and evaluated, the Bresnahan-Halstead Center will remunerate the faculty member for his or her work. If you have questions regarding a professional development project you are considering and would like more information, please contact Silvia Correa-Torres, Research Director of the Bresnahan-Halstead Center (silvia.correa-torres@unco.edu).
Meet our technical assistance experts.
In an effort to help administrators prioritize the topic(s) of concern for their staff, we have created a needs assessment that can be used as is or adapted. Access the needs assessment survey here.
Application Guidelines
Current and Upcoming Partnership Events
Due to the many uncertainties that have now become part of our lives with regard to COVID-19, we have decided that it is in the best interest of everyone to cancel the 2022 Early Childhood Summit. Our hope is to provide the same early childhood special education opportunities we have offered in past summers during the Summer of 2023. Stay well and remain hopeful!
2022 Special Education Directors' Leadership Academy
July 20 - 22, 2022, Vail, Colorado
What’s the Law Got to Do with It? Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Schools
Mitchell Yell, Ph.D., Chair of Teacher Education at Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto, will lead the 2022 Academy. Dr. Yell’s expertise and research focus includes special education law, classroom management, and IEP development.
Download 2022 registration form here.
Download 2022 SEDLA flyer here.
GOAL Partnership
The Bresnahan-Halstead Center at the University of Northern Colorado continues to partner with the Colorado Initiative for Inclusive Higher Education (IN) and the state of Colorado in supporting one of the state’s first higher education programs for students with intellectual disabilities, GOAL (Go On And Learn). GOAL is a residential four-year certificate program designed to enroll students with intellectual disabilities each year into college courses modified by UNC GOAL staff, students, and volunteers.
The Bresnahan-Halstead Center awards an academic year scholarship to a student enrolled in the GOAL program. The first awardee was Ryan Wilson who received his scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year.
In 2020, the Veronica Brennan Memorial Scholarship was established to honor the many contributions to the field made by Veronica Brennan. Awardees of this scholarship include Aaron Schmidt (Fall, 2020-Spring, 2021), Isabelle Woloson (Spring, 2021), and Nicholas Voelker (Fall, 2022-Spring, 2023).
Aaron Schmidt enrolled in the GOAL program at UNC and hopes to become a Physical Education teacher after completion of his college program in the spring of 2022. According to Aaron, the GOAL program at UNC has prepared him for the real world outside campus. Aaron participated in GOAL activities such as “Greek life” and “Lamba Chi Pha” while on campus. Congratulations to Aaron, and we wish him success in all his future endeavors!
Proudly one of the first people with Down syndrome to graduate from a four-year college in Colorado in the Spring of 2021, Isabelle Woloson’s goal is to be a life-coach for parents with children with disabilities and to begin training to swim in the International Special Olympics. She took classes in communications, history, and living independently and had a job on and off-campus for the four years she was in the GOAL program. She was in a gender-inclusive fraternity at UNC called Phi Sigma Pi, a swimmer on the UNC swim team, and an active member of Bear Catholic, developing “friendships at UNC that will last a lifetime.”
Nicholas Voelker was the recipient of the 2022-2023 Veronica Brennan Scholarship. He is currently a Freshman in the GOAL program at UNC and sees himself working with computers in Criminal Justice after he is done with college. Nicholas is involved in UNC’s Criminal Justice Society, Challenge, and UNC Unified sports. According to Nicholas, the GOAL program at the University of Northern Colorado prepares him to learn to live independently and make new friends.
Recently Funded Projects
The Bresnahan-Halstead Center supported technical assistance and partnership activities of the following faculty members of the School of Special Education at UNC:
- Silvia Correa-Torres and Danielle Burden: Summer Day Program for Students who are blind or visually impaired (B/VI) within the Northern Colorado area. This unique specialized program was part of the Extended School Year (ESY) program in the Greeley-Evans School District, connecting students who are B/VI with peers in a space where they could work on self-advocacy skills. Lessons and activities addressed O&M, independent living skills, recreation and leisure, and social interactions skills.
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