Texas Team Takes Home 2009 Roadeo Crown

As promised, results from the 2009 National Special Needs Team Roadeo during the Transporting Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers 18th National Conference & Exhibition. From our Web site:

Jeffery Brown and Deanna Mallow of Kileen, Texas, took home the first place trophy after a hotly contested 2009 National Special Needs Team Roadeo during the Transporting Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers 18th National Conference & Exhibition.

The economy appeared to have something to do with smaller total conference attendance numbers than from recent years, and only 16 teams competed this year down from 30 in 2008. But that fact did not keep the participants from pushing each other in such skills tests as evacuations, railroad crossings and child passenger seat restraints. Brown and Mallow held off Lynea Brown and Michael Ingraham of Falcon, Colo., by just five points. Finishing in third place was Suzanne Gettings and Lee Ann Ovens of Penn Yann, N.Y.

The event was held in freezing cold temperatures on Feb. 28 at Decatur Intermediate Learning Center. The larger conference concluded on March 4.

Look for more on the conference in our April issue. For now, some a photo of the winners:

Special Needs Highlights

• They may not ride the school bus, but these special needs students are getting help from their school. The Miami-Herald tells the story of the Merrick Educational Center "the only public school in Miami-Dade County that works with homebound, hospitalized or special needs children who are unable to attend a traditional school. The school goes from pre-K to 12th grade."
  
• It's not what we think of when we talk about a Special Needs Rodeo. (We'll be posting the results from Special Needs Roadeo in Indianapolis soon, we promise). But the California High School Roadeo association is letting some special needs students lasso and ride life-size "broncos" and "horses" hand rocked by volunteered.
• Another special needs Rodeo of the same breed is looking for pardn'rs to volunteer for the event.