SEPAC MEETING MINUTES – 10/18/12

Attendees:

Eileen Donohue, Dorrie Furness, Shannon Hume, Kristen McConville, Maureen Murray, Mimi Pugsley, Jeffrey Rubin,Kristen Zechello

Minutes from theSeptember 13, 2012meeting were reviewed approvedfor submission to the School Committee.

SEPAC Board meeting scheduled 11/6/12

  • Parents are invited to attend and participate in advocacy efforts in our district on behalf of the Special Education population. We continue to reach out to ask for parent participation.

School Committee Presentation 9/24/12

  • SEPAC Board presented before the School Committee with the description of our organization as well as the events planned for the school year 2012-2013

Subcommittee Updates:

  • MCAS – Lead by Mimi Pugsley
  • See update below re: MCAS-Alt. discussion
  • Anti-Bullying –Lead by Mimi Pugsley
  • Mrs. Pugsley asked if the 2010 policy that is on the BPS website was the most recent. Dr. Murray replied that it is the most recent and that the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State has updated their training so Braintree has sent teachers to “train the trainer” sessions so that they may come back and train the remainder of Braintree staff. The MARC has tweaked their training in the last year to put more focus on the issue of “cyber-bullying”. Training teams must train at each school by the end of the school year.
  • Diversity - No Lead on this Subcommittee
  • No update at this meeting, will continue this discussion at the meeting in November.
  • Community Inclusion Awards – Lead by Kristen Zechello
  • The awards have been scheduled for Wednesday May 22, 2013.
  • Community Outreach – Lead by Kristen Zechello
  • The SEPAC will continue this year to reach out to as many Braintree Youth Sports organizations as we are able to continue sharing our SEPAC’s message of inclusion in the community.
  • Mrs. Hume, as always in support of our organization has reached out to both the Braintree Youth Basketball and Braintree Lacrosse organizations on our behalf. BYB has asked that since they do not have an all volunteer/coach meeting like the Braintree Youth Soccer does, could we put something in writing that they could distribute to all their volunteers/coaches on SEPAC’s behalf. Mrs. Zechello will do that and send it to Mrs. Hume. Braintree Lacrosse meets in the spring and we will go and present in person for that organization.
  • Social Skills Curriculum – Lead by Leah Nabstedt/Michelle Owens
  • In the weeks following the 10/5 presentation/brainstorming session with Tracy Stoll (director, Learning Solutions in Norwood),Mr. Rubin has collected feedback from attendees. Based on the feedback from many parents and educators, “whole school” training seems to be on their wish lists. (i.e. all General educators and students with Special educators and students.)
  • There is a grant available to the district in the amount of $41,000 thatMr. Rubin is in the process of applying for. He will speak to Tracy and finish the grant application process in the next few weeks. He will include a detailed description of what the funds will be used for (mostly for consultants to come in and train). The application process would include specific plans for how training will be implemented in the district which would include plans by age group (preschool, elementary, middle and high school ages). SEPAC is available for any additional help with the application if needed.
  • Grant funding will go through summer 2013.

New

MCAS Alt/Portfolio Assessments – Parents still not aware that students that have performance assessed via the portfolio will typically NOT earn a high school diploma.

  • SEPAC is very concerned that indepth discussions don’t seem to be happening. Parents are still in the dark and are shocked to learn that their child may not receive a diploma.
  • Mr. Rubin stated that the discussions should be happening at IEP meetings. Some students in the state have gotten an assessment of “proficient” in certain areas (ELA, Math, etc.) but very few.
  • When MCAS was first implemented, the group discussed that DESE envisioned that mostly “virtual non-readers” and extremely disabled students would be the ones to be assessed using the MCAS-Alt.
  • SEPAC and the district agree that getting the information to parents about the implications of taking the MCAS-Alt as opposed to traditional MCAS is critical.
  • Training for educators has got to happen so that the students are being prepared and eventually taking the MCAS when at all possible.
  • Mrs. Hume suggested we send out a mailing about MCAS-Alt without any other information so that it doesn’t get missed by parents. Clearly, there is a disconnect and information is not consistently received out there from educators to parents.
  • The group discussed how the whole MCAS evaluation system has been great for special education to hold districts and students accountable
  • Mr. Rubin suggested a “script” for teachers so that they are giving a consistent message regarding MCAS-Alt.
  • The group discussed the ISSP (Individual Student Success Plan) should be in place when a student falls into a “needs improvement” category and how all MCAS testing should be discussed in all IEP (Individual Education Plan) meetings so that students are being prepared to take traditional MCAS whenever possible.

Student files – where are they kept?

  • Each file is kept with the student, at the school they are in. Parents can request to see it at anytime. The district can make copies at the parent’s request.

College Seminar for the Challenged Learner 11/1/12

  • SEPAC asked if the high school parents could receive a reminder via ConnectEd. Mrs. Zechello asked about the eighth grade parents getting one as well. The group agreed that that may be not necessary. There was a lengthy discussion about how valuable Connect Ed messages are to remind parents of upcoming events.

Peer Social Challenges

  • Tracey Stoll from Learning Solutions training 10/5/12 for BCBAs, School Psychologists,SLPs, Special Educators and Parents.
  • (see update above under Social Skills Curriculum Subcommittee)

South Middle School new construction of several Special Education classrooms

  • There were three new Language Based classrooms built over the summer in the basement of South Middle School. Two of three classrooms have since been moved upstairs since parents alerted the Principal at South that students in those classrooms have physical disabilities that would prevent them from climbing the stairs. Upon discovery of the new classrooms many other concerns were then raised by parents and brought to Mr. McDonough’s attentionand are continuing to be addressed such as acoustical issues, the fact that there isn’t a restroom available to students in the basement, etc. There are also audiology concerns not only for Special Ed but General Ed. The walls were not built all the way to the ceiling so there is constant noise.
  • Braintree’s building inspector has been there and all rooms are reportedly up to code.
  • This whole issue is part of a larger problem – we are out of space. The district is being creative with the space we do have, however, changes being made quickly at the end of the summer. There is no bathroom down in the basement. There needs to be particular attention paid to the population of students we are placing in these classrooms in remote areas of the building.Disability awareness in general is of concern but how this group of students could be placed in the basement when they have significant physical issues, let alone the social issues these students face.
  • It is SEPAC’sunderstanding that a final walkthrough had not been done by the building inspector’s office or the Fire Department before school began and that there was a two week period that students should not have been in the rooms.
  • Mrs. Hume spoke to the fact that funding priority goes to who needs it the most – which it should. Student individual need is what SEPAC is advocating for in this issue. But overall, the need for space is a Braintree concern, not just Special Education.
  • Tax overrides were discussed in other communities that have had brand new buildings and facilities built. We are fortunate in Braintree to have not had to cut anything but have been able to add to staff each year when surrounding towns continue to lay off teachers each year.

Open

Language Based Program Changes at South Middle School Resulted in Elimination of Language Based English classes for Grade 7 and 8 Effective September 2012

  • Mr. Rubin was going to find out more information – South Middle School is still evaluating the change in programming. The group discussed Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the DESE’s main objective. Students who were in Language Based English classes have been mainstreamed with additional support of a Special Education teacher, a Speech and Language Pathologist and an additional para-educator in the classroom.
  • SEPAC is concerned about the students being put into larger classrooms as it may not allow them to be as successful as they had been in a smaller setting.
  • These students must continue to be monitored closely to ensure that their success has not been negatively impacted by the change in programming at South (in both IEP meetings and overall in their MCAS performance).
  • With regard to Language Based Math, there is a successful model at East Middle School (co-teaching environment, one General Ed. Math teacher, one Special Ed. Teacher).
  • A similar model has been created in one teacher at South who is both certified in Math and Special Ed. Dr. Murray stated that this situation is not perfect but Braintree is still working on the issue. Ongoing assessment is critical for these students.
  • Dr. Murray will be looking to the MCAS scores to ensure there are no negative implications.

Ipad Professional Learning Community/User Group – Update

  • Professional Learning Community ended last year – all members are up to speed using iPads effectively in their classrooms.

Gift to Braintree Public Schools

  • Dr. McGee, a Braintree resident who passed away recently had contacted Dr. Kurzberg when he was preparing his will. He made arrangements for a significant gift to be made to our schools in the form of both scholarships to students and with technology.
  • At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, 25 $1000 scholarships were awarded to graduating seniors.
  • This year, Dr. McGee’s trust contacted the Superintendent’s office and let them know that there will be an additional $200,000 funded this year for purchase of iPads, short-throw projectors and ELMO document cameras which allow instructors to use a camera-like device over a document or visual aid to project it onto the screen for the classroom to see.

Search committees for New Director of Special Services - Update

  • After the first of the year a search committee will be formed.

Disability Awareness/Professional Development Training for teachers – Update

  • No update at this meeting.

Vendor Bus Driver/Monitors/Substitutes Training policy – Update

  • Mr. Rubin to schedule trainingfor all bus drivers, monitors and substitutes. Currently confirming all CORIs for both Braintree Transportation employees and the Vendor Bus Drivers.

Monthly administration meetings with SEPAC for 2012-2013 school year

  • For the remainder of the school year, we scheduled Administration meetings as follows, all to be held in the Special Services Office at BHS at 11:45am:
  • November 20, 2012
  • December 19, 2012
  • January 17, 2013
  • February 14, 2013
  • March 20, 2013
  • April 23, 2013
  • May 23, 2013
  • June 13, 2013

Next meeting date and time:

  • November 20, 2012 at 11:45am in the Special Services Office.

Minutes prepared by:

  • Kristen Zechello