SEPAC MEETING MINUTES – 4/23/13
Attendees:
Paul Foley, Shannon Hume, Maureen Murray, Leah Nabstedt, Mimi Pugsley, Jeffrey Rubin, Barbara Tennison, Kristen Zechello
Minutes from the March 20, 2013 meeting were reviewed and are awaiting approval for submission to the School Committee.
New
SEPAC Board meetings
· The SEPAC monthly Board meeting was held March 6, 2013 and the next one is scheduled for April 4, 2013.
· 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.
Assistant Superintendent and Flaherty School Principal Search Committees
· The committees have been formed and organizational meetings are ongoing.
Current
Subcommittee Updates
· MCAS – Lead by Mimi Pugsley
o Students in special education programs in high school are getting support in MCAS but Mrs. Pugsley raised the concern of whether “life skills” math is being addressed in all programs at the high school. Some students who may pass MCAS may not have a grasp of these skills and the concern of parents will be how transition goals like these will be addressed if the students pass and graduate? Will they remain in school until possibly the age of 22 to ensure these skills are acquired?
o Will numerical operations, time telling, making change, etc. be addressed in all programs? Dr. Murray will speak to Dr. Kendall and get a scope and sequence from each program on how numerical operations/life math skills are being addressed.
o Mr. Rubin shared a list of the “Top Ten” Interventions for special needs students in math done by Dr. Kendall, the Mathematics Department Director at the March 6th Professional Development day.
o The Mathematics Department has formed two subcommittees (both Special Educators and General Educators) and they are working together to come up with best practices for teaching students with disabilities. Two full day workshops will be held at the end of May on the 29th and 30th for all Mathematics Department faculty at both of the middle schools.
o The question also arose at this meeting about ELA goals and whether “life skills” in that area are addressed in all programs? (Some examples may be, how to write an email, prepare a resume, etc.) Dr. Murray spoke about the large push toward the use of technology.
o The group discussed life skills goals and whether they should be put in the transition planning goals as opposed to math/ELA goals? The group discussed the appropriateness of having objectives for these skills possibly be in an Adaptive Behavior or Activities of Daily Living goal.
o Mrs. Pugsley will touch base with her subcommittee members and update Dr. Murray at the next meeting regarding the timing of MCAS review tutoring notifications at the different schools this spring.
· Anti-Bullying – Lead by Mimi Pugsley
o Recess Para-educators were trained at the end of March at all elementary schools by Melonie Bennett.
o Ms. Bennett reported that the Para-educators gave lots of positive feedback about the training. Their current practices were validated in some cases and in others they were given the language to use so that students receive a consistent message from all adults. A successful training experience was reported.
· Diversity – Lead by Suzanne Brouillard
o Mrs. Brouillard and Barbara Bonigli met with Dr. Murray.
o Dr. Murray has put the subcommittee in touch with two ELL teachers to try to brainstorm how SEPAC can reach out to parents come the fall at the upcoming ELL nights at each of the schools.
· Community Inclusion Awards – Lead by Kristen Zechello
o The 2013 Community Inclusion Awards recipients were announced at this meeting;
§ Doreen Brids
§ Mary Struzziero
§ Leaders of Boy Scout Troop 138
· John Collier
· Ed Fruth
· Gerry Bouley
· Derek Menadue
· Jim Burke
· Tom Walsh
· Frank Morrissey
§ LINKS Program staff
· Patrick Kwedor
· Marina McHugh
o The entire event will be dedicated this year to Dr. Kurzberg.
o Mayor Sullivan will be there to welcome the community.
o Jeffrey Rubin will be the keynote speaker.
o Shannon Hume will present School Committee Commendations
o Mark Cusack will present citations from the House of Representatives.
· Community Outreach – Lead by Kristen Zechello
o No update at this meeting.
· Social Skills Curriculum – Lead by Leah Nabstedt/Michelle Owens
o Mr. Rubin meeting with Tracey Stohl tomorrow (April 24th) to discuss where she is with her planning in each school.
o Flaherty, Morrison, Hollis, South and East are all currently working with Tracey. The remaining schools have yet to work with Tracey other than the initial fact finding meetings.
o Ms. Stohl is consulting with Braintree by use of grant funds and will continue throughout the remainder of the year through August.
o SEPAC would like Tracey to offer a parent training in June. Mrs. Nabstedt will coordinate this workshop with Mr. Rubin.
Open
Disability Awareness/Professional Development Training for teachers
· See update above under MCAS Subcommittee regarding professional development on interventions for educators to best work with special needs students.
Enrichment/Recreation Programs in Braintree Public Schools (BEEP, Super Saturdays, etc.)
· A parent approached SEPAC about her child who was going to an out of district placement next year. She wanted to know if her child would still be able to participate in a BHS sport activity.
· The group discussed that students that are in out of district placements should be given access to any and all extracurricular activities. This is a Special Education regulation.
· The group discussed whether students not on IEPs would also be eligible to participate and Dr. Murray agreed to confirm that information.
· This item will remain on the agenda as the SEPAC works with administrators to compile a complete list of activities and brainstorms ways to reach out to all the families from Braintree.
· Mr. Rubin will have a discussion with the Out of District Coordinators to see what we are doing, if anything right now.
· SEPAC to prioritize this issue for the next school year to make an effort to reach out to the approximately 82 families with children in out of district placements.
New National Standards testing
· PARCC (The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) is set to roll out in 2014. Department heads are formulating test questions that follow the “PARCC” format to try and infuse them into the curriculum slowly.
· PARCC is a computer based test which adds another phase to the adoption of the new standards. The schools will need to be ready to test with the appropriate technology.
· The transition to this new assessment is a work in progress and SEPAC will be kept informed of target dates and requirements for implementation along with everyone in the district.
· Mr. Rubin shared a draft of proposed accommodations just released that morning (4/23) that focused most accommodations being imbedded into the software programs used to administer the test.
· This item will remain on the agenda for future meetings to discuss updates as they come into the districts.
Ongoing Space Concerns
· The School Building Committee is in discussions to address these issues and will meet in the next few weeks.
· The School Building Committee is made up of School Committee Chairman Shannon Hume, Superintendent Dr. Peter Kurzberg, Business Manager Peter Kress, Mayor Joseph Sullivan, and Chief of Staff Peter Morin, Director of Municipal Finance Ed Spellman, Middle School Principal John Sheehan, and a Braintree resident, Leon Auvil, who is an architect. The committee is also looking into appointing an Elementary principal as well.
· Mrs. Hume will act as a liaison to the SEPAC for the School Building Committee for issues surrounding accessibility and the special needs population.
· This item will remain on the agenda so we can discuss updates as they arise.
Open Discussion
Transition Coordinator
· Mr. Rubin and Petra Platt, Director of the high school Language Enrichment Program are working on identifying several tools/instruments to use to drive the transition plan along with all other testing done in the 3 year re-evaluation process.
· The survey used for last year’s graduating seniors will be followed up again.
Observing Programs
· Parents have asked SEPAC what is Braintree’s policy on observing the different special education programs.
· Mr. Rubin shared what the regulations state as far as observation. Any program that the district recommends can be observed by a parent.
· The regulations state that the TEAM process should conclude with a recommendation for a particular placement or placements.
· If a parent rejects the school district narrative recommendation, the TEAM should be reconvened.
Next meeting date and time:
o May 24, 2013 at 11:45am in the Special Services Office.
Minutes prepared by:
o Kristen Zechello