[Ohio-talk] article about Macy and OSSB band

[Crystal McClain]

Below is an email sent to me by Carol Agler the OSSB band director about a 
recent concert in Cinncinnati. I guess it's ok for me to be a proud mama! 
Crystal
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Crystal McClain" <mcmcclain at charter.net>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 6:46 PM
Subject: Fw: news article to appear: 09A_18SPED600001


>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Crystal McClain" <mcmcclain at charter.net>
> To: "ohiotalk" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 6:45 PM
> Subject: Fw: news article to appear: 09A_18SPED600001
>
>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Carol Agler" <cagler at ossb.oh.gov>
>> To: "Macy McClain" <singinggirl017 at hotmail.com>; "Mark McClain" 
>> <MCMCCLAIN at CHARTER.NET>
>> Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 6:18 PM
>> Subject: FW: news article to appear: 09A_18SPED600001
>>
>>
>>
>> Here are some other colleges that are known for working with people with 
>> "developmental disabilities."  I may have forwarded it to you already, 
>> but I can't remember.
>>
>> Kudos to Macy.
>>
>> Carol Agler
>> Music Director
>> OSSBMB Co-Director
>> Ohio State School for the Blind
>> 5220 N. High St.
>> Columbus, Ohio 43214
>> 614-752-1359
>> fax 614-752-1713
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: James Peterfish
>> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 9:01 AM
>> To: OSSB Staff
>> Subject: FW: news article to appear: 09A_18SPED600001
>>
>> Thought you all might enjoy this article written by my daughters 
>> professor at University of Cincinnati, after attending the concert with 
>> our band and the Clark Montessori Steel Drum Band.  The first paragraph 
>> and a half and the last are the most important!
>> Jim
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Peterfish, Julie
>> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 7:02 PM
>> To: youthletics at columbus.rr.com
>> Subject: FW: news article to appear: 09A_18SPED600001
>>
>> This is an article my Professor of my Challenging Learner class wrote 
>> haha thought you'd appreciate the first part ;) love you :) 
>> ________________________________________
>> From: Stephen Sunderland [stephen.c.sunderland at uc.edu]
>> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 6:10 PM
>> Subject: news article to appear: 09A_18SPED600001
>>
>> This article will appear in an upcoming Metro newspaper.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I KNOW THE WINNER OF THE ROSE BOWL
>>
>> BY STEVE SUNDERLAND
>>
>>
>> The winner of the Rose Bowl is easy to pick this year. You may be 
>> surprised to learn that this year's winner is the Ohio State School for 
>> the Blind Marching Band. No matter what happens on the field, it cannot 
>> compare to the courage, soul, and grace of this amazing organization. 
>> This appearance in the parade on New Year's day will be the Marching 
>> Band's first. They are currently rehearsing on a field behind their 
>> school by playing and marching in practice for the six mile event. I just 
>> saw the band in concert with the extraordinary Clark Montessori Steel 
>> Drum Band. The reason for the concert was to help raise funds to defray 
>> the costs of the trip to Pasadena. The real reason was to show just how 
>> powerful and prepared this group is for the thrill of being in the 
>> spotlight of a major event in college and national sports.
>>
>> The inclusion of the OSSBMB in the parade is a major step forward in 
>> opening eyes to the necessity of including students with intellectual and 
>> physical challenges in all aspects of higher education. Students seeking 
>> a college education and who have an intellectual and/or physical 
>> challenge have a major set of obstacles to overcome in the attitudes of 
>> college faculty and students. Seeing a blind band in the position of 
>> being the only such organization in the world, brings home the point 
>> about just how excluded blind people, and by association, anyone with 
>> learning and physical difficulties, are from symbolic and substantial 
>> school activities. Recently at the University of Cincinnati, 
>> representatives from colleges and agencies like the Down Syndrome 
>> Association from across the nation met with researchers, teachers, 
>> graduates and parents who have all taken a keen interest in admission and 
>> success at colleges of challenged students. The research suggests that 
>> the national situation is improving but ever so slowly. Three young 
>> people, one a college graduate and two students currently attending 
>> college in Kentucky, gave inspiring power point and video presentations 
>> about their reasons for seeking a degree, employment and a future that is 
>> more and more in their control. We also heard from the mothers of two of 
>> these students and listened in awe to the work necessary for success for 
>> their young people.
>>
>> Why is the admission of students with challenges so difficult in higher 
>> education? As taxpayers, as citizens of this country, as interested 
>> students, as people desiring a life of success, they have been left out, 
>> turned away, discouraged, and ill prepared for overcoming the hurdles of 
>> applying to the colleges of their choice.
>> Now, thanks to the work of some outstanding parents, young people, 
>> administrators and faculty, there is a new reality. Both Northern 
>> Kentucky University and Xavier are welcoming students with intellectual 
>> and physical challenges. Clermont College of the University of Cincinnati 
>> has people ready to assist in all levels of being a good student. Kent 
>> State University and Notre Dame College of Cleveland have also started to 
>> open their doors. UC's Peace Village has cooperated with XU and Hamilton 
>> County Developmental Disabilities to offer summer college transition 
>> experiences at the University of Cincinnati's Clifton campus. Students 
>> have lived on campus for a week, attended classes, ate in the dining 
>> rooms, attended concerts, heard outstanding speakers on a wide variety of 
>> intellectual topics, and just had fun. Starfire U, a private agency with 
>> an interest in people with challenges, also joined our college transition 
>> summer experience. The Starfire students had worked together as a 
>> learning group for the year prior to coming to UC and showed their 
>> ability to easily fit into a collegiate experience.
>> (For more information on college preparation and college transition 
>> programs, please contact Dr. Missy Jones, Northern Kentucky University, 
>> prof. Joe Link, Xavier University, Head of Disability Services, Clermont 
>> College, Ms. Jan Radt, Pat Dye, Hamilton County Developmental 
>> Development, and/or Dr. Steve Sunderland, University of
>> Cincinnati.)
>>
>> Clark Montessori's school auditorium rocked with the joy of the marching, 
>> jazz and steel drum bands and the families and friends that came together 
>> to celebrate this amazing breakthrough. Thanks to Bruce Weil, Clark Steel 
>> Band instructor, and many fellow teachers and parents, we had an 
>> experience of feeling the power of music and inclusion. If there was a 
>> star of the evening, and there were many, it was Macy McClain, flute and 
>> choir, who played solos and with the band in ways that brashly and 
>> beautifully said, "We are ready for Pasadena!" Had you been there, you 
>> would have not only agreed but you would have been on your feet for the 
>> whole concert, cheering their courage and determination to open this 
>> important door. Thank you Macy and Bruce.
>