There is a new law for Children who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices. Follow the link for more information.
Program on Disabilities chairs for some elementary schools listed:
- Program on Disabilities Hillside Elementary School
- Anne Weinstein anneweinstein@yahoo.com
- Kathy DeMayo kdemayo@me.com or kdemayo@rcn.com
- Disability Awareness John Eliot Elementary
- Jacquie Sherman jacmike@comcast.net
- Martha Cohen Barrett barrettsofboston@comcast.net
- Disability Awareness Broadmeadow Elementary
- Dale McCarthy dalewmccarthy@comcast.net
- Suzanne Lissy slissy66@gmail.com
- Mitchell Elementary (to be started spring 2011)
- Lisa Mancino lbmancino@yahoo.com
New provisions related to coverage of Autism Spectrum Disorder are described here.
MassPAC recommended bullying policy link for anyone who would like to see it to compare it to the Needham proposed policy that is now in the public comment period. From Masspac, “Below you will find the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education's new press release on their new Model Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan. Find the plan here.
This model plan offers PACs the opportunity to conduct productive discussions with their district partners on topics of great importance to students. Family communication and collaboration are essential components of the new law. Bullying prevention plans are to be developed in each district in consultation with all stakeholders, including students, parents, and guardians.”
To access Needham's proposed policy click on this link to the: School Committee Webpage. The School Committee seeks input and comments about the proposed policy. The School Committee will consider all feedback and will vote on this policy at its October 5, 2010 meeting. Parents and community members wishing to comment about the proposed policy can email the School Committee: schoolcommittee@needham.k12.ma.us Please feel free to send the SEPAC board or liaisons any feedback as well as to the Needham School Committee.
The National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials is pleased to announce that the AIM Navigator, the latest in a series of tools developed under the auspices of the AIM Consortium, is now available at the National AIM Center website! Please share this information with others.
Find accessible playgrounds across the U.S. at the website www.boundlessplaygrounds.org. On the website you will see photos, directions, information on the type of equipment, hours of operation, contact info, etc.
Here's their listing for Massachusetts:
- Beverly - Rising Stars Playground
- Boston - Harambee Park Boundless Playground
- Fairhaven - Everybody's Playground
- Longmeadow - Wilson Boundless Playground
- New Bedford - Buttonwood Park
- North Attleboro - North Attleboro Learning Center Playground
- Pittsfield - Rotary Park
- Sudbury - Lyons' Pride - A Boundless Playground
- West Dennis - All Access Playground
- Westford - Ronan McElligott Memorial Playground
School days pay days: An Employment Planning Guide for Families of Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities is available here. This guide was a collaborative effort between the Institute for Community Inclusion and DDS, and contains lots of good resources and material.
Marcia Mittnacht, State Director of Special Education, has issued a new Administrative Advisory on School-Based Medicaid and Nursing Services. See the full advisory here.
A key passage from this advisory reads:
“The IEP Team must determine whether nursing services are a related service, i.e., necessary either because the student needs the service in order to benefit from the specially designed instruction provided to the student, or because the nursing service allows for access to the general curriculum. If school nursing services are a related service, the nursing services should be described in the student’s health plan, which should be attached to and referenced in the student’s IEP. Additionally, the IEP service delivery grid should state "School Nursing Service(s) according to the attached Health Plan." No further description is necessary in the IEP. If the student receives other health or medical services that are not related services, the health plan 3 should reflect those services and should clarify which health services are related services and which are not. The Office of Medicaid agrees that the nursing services identified as related services in a health plan attached to an IEP are reimbursable under the SBMP if all other SBMP requirements are met.”
Special Education Program Review focus group results were presented at the last School Committee meeting on February 23, 2010. This summary was discussed, which is further summarized here.
Needham SEPAC's Social Skills Survey findings are presented in this document with written recommendations here.
Needham Public Schools' Social Emotional Learning Survey results are summarized in this document provided by the school system.
New Growth Model to Measure Student Progress As you may have heard in last week's news headlines, Massachusetts has developed a statistically valid method of measuring growth in student, group, school, and district performance over time, using the MCAS System. This is called the "Growth Model." Clearly, measuring student progress is of great interest to all stakeholders. As PAC leaders, you will want to talk about the growth model with school district administrators.
The state's new website on the Growth Model can be found here: http://www.doe. mass.edu/ mcas/growth/ [If the link does not work, please paste it into your browser.] The website includes an Interpretive! Guide, a PowerPoint, a tutorial, a report on the Spring 2009 Pilot of the Growth Model, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Growth Model can be found here.
The official October 27th press release on the Growth Model (with some very interesting information! ) can be seen here.
ESE and WGBH/WGBY Link Online Resources for Educators Teachers Will Have Access to Free Digital Resources Linked to State Standards
MALDEN - The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has partnered with the WGBH Educational Fou! ndation and WGBY in Springfield to launch a new online resource for teachers to provide free access to more than 2,200 classroom-ready media tools.
Massachusetts Teachers' Domain (MTD) is a localized edition of Teachers' Domain, a nationally used database of digital resources for educators, and contains lesson plans and media clips that have been developed to align with the state's curriculum frameworks. MTD is linked directly to MassONE, the state's existing online portal for educators, which offers web-based tools and resources to support and connect teachers across the Commonwealth.
The link for the complete news release can be found here.
In this report, the American Association of Pediatricians indicate that the prevalence rate for autism now 1 in 91 children and 1 in 58 boys.
Sept 2009 Needham Times article on SEPAC: This article appeared in the Needham Times last month.
Positive Leaders is offering a parent seminar entitled There is a college seat for everyone!... more information
Harvard Medical School and Mass. General's Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit are conducting a family genetic study of Tourette's Syndrome (TS), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Families with at least one child between the age of 6 and 21 should consider this flyer.
This is the letter the SEPAC board wrote to Christine Brumbach and Cc'd school committee advocating for development of a social skill curriculum that is scientifically tracked for effectiveness.
SPEDWatch has announced Walk for Special Education Rights to take place at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield on August 29, 2009. Register and donate walk Web site.
Please take a moment to fill out our programming survey for next year! Your participation will help us plan an effective program for all. Thanks!
New Observation Law Goes Into Effect The State Legislature recently passed a change to the special education law that grants parents timely access for parents and their designees to observe the child in the current program and any proposed program. A detailed technical guidance paper from Marcia Mittnacht, State Director of Special Education, can be found here.
New Transition Rights for all 14 and 15 year olds! In August, Governor Patrick signed a new law (S.286) which requires school districts to initiate special education transition planning and transition services at age 14, rather than age 16. Parents and educators applaud law-makers for this critical legislation, as delay until age 16 (the middle of high school) is too late to facilitate effective transition planning. More information...
Presentation to the School Committee This slide deck (PDF format) was presented to the School Committee by the Special Education department and Needham SEPAC on January 6, 2009.
Survival Guide: The DMR Northeast Region ACCESS Team has published a Party and Holiday Survival Guide for all kids, especially those with Autism, Sensory Difficulties, or other Challenges.
Is your child having trouble learning how to speak? The Speech Lab at Boston University is seeking 4-6 year old volunteers for a language study -- more information available here (PDF format).
Presentation to the School Committee This slide deck (PDF format) was presented to the School Committee on November 18, 2008 by the Special Education department and Needham SEPAC.
New Newsgroup We have a new Yahoo newsgroup for postings of interest to Needham parent members of the Needham SEPAC. Please join to ask questions and share resources and community meeting information.