The mission of the Harvard Special Education Parent
Advisory Council (SEPAC) is to work towards the understanding, respect,
support, and appropriate education for all children with special needs in our
community.
You’re invited! The first general meeting of the Harvard
SEPAC will occur Saturday, October 7, 2006, from 12 – 1 p.m. in the Harvard
Town Hall meeting room. We’ll get reacquainted, welcome new members, and
develop plans for the coming year.
Lunch will be provided. Immediately following the meeting, a PAC
training workshop will be held from 1-4 p.m. – please see below.
On Saturday, October 7, 2006, the SEPAC will host a training
institute for Harvard parents of special education students and other
interested parties. Increasing the effectiveness of the PAC will be the focus
of the training, led by Suzanne Gervais, president of MASSPAC, the statewide umbrella organization for special ed
pac’s.
“Chat with Charles” for Elementary School and Preschool
Parents Wed., Oct. 11, 7-9 p.m., place TBD
“Chat with Charles” for Middle School and High School
Parents, Wed., Oct. 18, 7-9 p.m., place TBD
SEPAC is planning a Yankee Candle fundraiser -- brochures
will be mailed to families of students on IEP’s. Sale dates will be September
11-25, with orders delivered by Thanksgiving.
The funds are used to support SEPAC programming. Historically, some of the proceeds are also
given to the schools, based on their requests.
ALSO THIS YEAR…
*Lecture by Dr. Susan
Downing,Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist, Nov. 2006.
*Early Elementary School Autism
Awareness Program, thanks to $1,000 Lion’s donation at SEPAC r
Special
Education Parent Advisory Councils are required to exist in each school
district in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts per the following state
regulation:
Commonwealth
of Massachusetts Regulation (CMR) 28:07(4):
Parent advisory participation. Each school district shall create a district-wide parent advisory council (PAC) offering membership to all parents of eligible students and other interested parties. The PAC’s duties shall include but not be limited to advising the district on matters that pertain to the education and safety of students with disabilities, and meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the school district's special education programs. The PAC shall establish bylaws regarding officers and operational procedures, and, in the course of its duties, the PAC shall receive assistance from the district without charge, upon reasonable notice, and subject to the availability of staff and resources.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN AND WHERE WE’RE
GOING
SEPAC held
a series of events during the 2005-06 school year, including the following:
-Financial planning seminar with Met Life
- Basic Rights Workshop
- Fiscal 2007 Budget Presentation
- Talk with Tom – focus group for all age groups with
Superintendent Tom Jefferson
- Presentation to the integrated preschool parents
- 2 Chats with Charles – focus groups with Charles Horn,
Special Education director, for parents of elementary and middle school
students
- Presentation on reading issues with Peggy Bragg, HES
reading specialist
- IEP writing workshop, with Federation for Children with
Special Needs
-Planning meeting for 2006-07 school year
The
best-attended events were the budget presentation and focus group meeting held
with Tom Jefferson.
Several
important points emerged from the focus groups.
1.
IEP’s need to be followed consistently throughout the
entire school year; some general ed staff need further training re: IEP
implementation.
2.
Some students need a “substantially separate” setting
in middle school; and/or the service structure needs revamping.
3.
Amount of homework is a major issue for some kids on
IEP’s.
4.
There is often confusion on how to escalate issues
properly, and on the difference between IEP’s and 504 plans. A significant percentage of calls to SEPAC
involve questions on how to obtain services, often from parents whose children
are having problems (such as attention deficit disorder or undiagnosed
behavioral issues) but who do not necessarily meet the criteria for having an
IEP. Clear instructions on the website
and from HES and Bromfield would help to communicate escalation paths more
clearly.
5.
SEPAC is concerned about lagging membership; parents
of young children need to be integrated into the SEPAC.
6.
A support group for parents of children on the autism
spectrum is requested.
7.
Chats with Charles may need to be held earlier in
year, with more opportunities for giving feedback during the year.
8. There is a
need for greater access to extracurricular activities, including sports, for
kids with learning differences.
NOMINATION
AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS
The
following Steering Committee members stepped down in June 2006:
Kari Hoffmann, Bonnie Sweeney
We
appreciate their years of service, and wish them the best!
The
following new and existing officers and volunteers were agreed upon:
Helen Batchelder, high school liaison; Ellen
Cavanagh, steering committee (SC), corresponding secretary; Barbara Closs, SC;
Becky Gordon, SC, treasurer; Wendy Feddersen, SC,DOE liaison; Maria Kaufmann,
SC, membership, School Committee liaisons; Jayne Rowe, middle school liaison,
PTA liaison; Sue Tokay, SC, program consultant; Janet Zimmerman, SC, HES
liaison.
We
are happy to welcome several new Steering Committee members with younger
children!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We
continue to recruit new members, and may add more Steering Committee members after the
October training session.
Our most pressing need right now is for: WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS.
Please let any of the Steering Committee members know
if you may be interested in organizing a lecture or workshop on a topic of
interest to you, or if you have expertise in another area to offer. Our children have many similarities but also
many differences-make sure his or her interests are represented!