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October 2007
There are no minutes for the October meeting. There was a presentation on Basic Rights for a Free and Appropriate Education.
September 5, 2007
Minutes
Present:
Terry Taylor, Deb Daitch, Barbara
Shea, Penny Murray, Casey Bortolotti, Patti Dorney
OPEN HOUSES
We are looking for volunteers to
work tables at all of the Open Houses.
JCS night 1
LGN night 1
JCS night 2 Casey
Bortolloti
LGN night 2 Penny Murray
HAY
NMS
Penny Murray
NHS
Terry and Debbi will do open houses
left after we get volunteers.
Debbi will work on a poster and
newsletter to have on tables and will find a copy of the membership form.
Terry will remind principals and
ask them to talk about the PAC if addressing parents.
UPDATE OF THE YELLE
Construction is making us unable
to access the PAC office. Joan is going to see if we can get in just to get some of our things out.
Special Education classes (4) at
sharing the library. Members voiced their concerns about distractions in the area – to close to the library and playground.
Terry said they are lining up for lunch outside the room and selling snacks.
Joan is aware that the PAC feels
the physical placement is poor.
MEMBERSHIP
Barbara would like to have a membership
drive but is still thinking of something that will attract parents.
There was a discussion about calling
parents prior to each meeting. Barbara will work on dividing the list between board members.
EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS
Patti requested that we have a session
on the difference between a 504 plan and an Individual Educational Plan. Debbi said she will add it to the roundtables.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FORM
Casey has the form and send an email
to get final approval from the Police Department. We will copy it for a kick off at the Open houses.
Casey would like to put our form
inside the refrigerator magnet from the Fire Department. She will work on a flyer/article to explain the program.
MASSPAC
Dr. Ansay is not going to pay the
MASSPAC dues for us this year. Everyone agreed that the PAC will pay it this year. Terry will write a letter requesting that
the district put it in the budget in case we can’t always afford it.
BUDGET
Added $300.00 for printing.
Approved. See attachment
RAFFLES
A decision was made to go ahead
with the 50/50 raffle. Penny will look into what we need to do to get a permit.
NEWS FROM JOAN
The new staff was announced
The focus for the Special Education
department this year will be access/eligibility and literacy.
The district has a new math program
in place. They will be trialing new reading programs this year.
There are new report cards for the
lower grades. They will be issued three times a year – this means that progress reports for IEP’s will be three
times a year also. Parents should watch for upcoming training sessions for new
cards.
Joan made some suggestions for a
scholarship for Sped assistants.
The Special Ed staff recently watched
a movie called “We all belong together”. Joan would like to show it to the PAC at the October meeting.
Linda Donovan, Sped teacher for
the ALP program at the middle school has resigned, there are three possible candidates being interviewed for the position.
Joan will look into having a board
member added to the phone system at each school so someone in the PAC will receive every message.
Joan will add psychologists and
chairs to the Sped web site. She is not able to expand on it any further at this time.
Joan is looking into a presentation
for dealing with grief after a homicide. She would like the PAC to run the presentation. She will contact us with the information.
Submitted by Debbi Daitch
January 3rd, 2007 PAC Meeting Minutes
Presentation by: Det. Jacob Dennett
Board
members in attendance:
M. Aries, C.
Bortolotti, L. Burgess, D. Daitch, L. Desmarais-Moitoso, T. Taylor
Debbi introduced and the PAC welcomed, School
Committee Chairwoman Donna Grady as our new liaison to the PAC. Her role and function will be to bring parent issues and concerns
back to the school committee, in an effort to maintain open communication between the Norton School System and the Special
Education Community. It was noted in discussion that we were the only existing committee within the Norton Public district
to not have such a liaison with the School Committee.
PAC BUSINESS:
It was decided that
previously scheduled guest speaker ; Tanya Wheeler of Family Voice's, would be rescheduled. A conflict with the town of Norton's
Emergency Special Town Meeting, being held on February 7th, 2007; during which the town will seek the appropriation of monies
to repair the Middle School roof, would yield a low attendance for this PAC presentation. It was further agreed to have Tanya
present at another time, possibly in June. Lisa will follow up on this.
Other issues revisited:
-Scheduling
meetings with Special Education Director Joan Goggin
It was
noted to School Committee Chairwoman that to date there has been no response to the PAC's repeated requests for these
meetings. It was further noted that these meetings would help to facilitate open discussion between the PAC and the SpEd Director
and having this forum would bring issues and parent concerns to the SpEd Dir to assist in their resolution before they become
problems or DOE complaints. Mrs. Grady added that the former Special Education Director used to always attend the PAC meetings
and asked if this was still the practice being followed by the new Special Education Director.
- Debbi shared
with the PAC:
"MA
Families Organizing for Change" are presenting a leadership series offering education on the last ten years of disability
rights. Debbi also mentioned that there are many other leadership series and topics being offered as well and encourages people
to take advantage of these opportunities. Debbi also noted that the link to "Family Voices" can be found on the "MA
Families for Change" website and they are the people providing the workshops on Chapter 171.
Lisa
introduced guest presenter: Det. Jacob
Dennett
Det. Dennett explained his role
and function within the Norton Public School District as the "Resource Officer" and indicated that although his grant funds
him for 40 hours per year that breaks down to approximately one hour per week that can be devoted to crisis and emergency
evacuation drills and training of staff. Det. Dennett noted that in more recent weeks Norton High School had been consuming
on average 3/4 of his time dealing 'law enforcement issues', which also have presented at the elementary level. Currently
Det. Dennett is working to identify the special education programs within each school building and the location of these classrooms.
Det. Dennett noted that this task would need to be repeated annually, prior to the commencement of each school year because
of classroom and program location changes. Additionally Det. Dennett wishes to identify the individual needs of each student
in these classrooms in an effort to develop an evacuation plan tailored to those students. Knowing what a students emotional,
medical and/or physical needs are in advance will help facilitate a quick and safe evacuation in the event of a crisis. Det.
Dennett specifically sited the events at Columbine High School in Colorado as an example of such a crisis, but noted that
having this information would effect their response on an individual basis as well. Det. Dennett discussed the implementation
of the new 911 upgrade to E911 and how the NPD can better serve the diverse needs of the special needs population within the
community. Parents presented in candid discussion using their own children as examples of what some of those individual needs
might be. Discussion progressed to what would be the most efficient way to provide this information to the NPD, how it would
be stored and updated as needed, and who would have access to this information. It was unanimous that privacy issues
would make contributing to this "First Response"information system strictly a voluntary act with parent/guardian consent required.
The NPD encourages parents to consider providing valuable information such as, whether a child might have a walker, oxygen,
loss of sight or hearing, sensory issues, fears, anxiety as well as favorite foods, TV characters, toys, or anything that
might provide comfort in a frightening situation. And it was suggested that an "in-house" Master Card file be kept with additional
information not necessarily in the E911 system be made available also for crisis and individual response. Det. Dennett shared
his experiences in and out of uniform while in the various schools, noting that at the Middle and High School levels his presence
in uniform can trigger anxiety in some students especially with those students who may have had police involvement already.
Det. Dennett expressed to the PAC how important it is to him that all students realize that the police are here to help and
protect, and hopes to develop a trusting repore with the students in Norton. Casey and Lisa
Casey shared with the PAC
that she thought that Verizon had a form for collecting emergency information. Det. Dennett confirmed this and felt certain
it could be provided for through Verizon who control E911. Casey, Lisa and Det. Dennett will review this form and decide
if it would be of use in the collecting and processing of emergency information that will be kept "in-house" as well
as in the 911 system. Casey stated that she would obtain this form for review. Casey and Lisa have agreed to follow up with
Det. Dennett on this issue. Det. Dennett closed by saying that he felt we were on to a good start and looked forward to continuing
to work with the PAC.
DECEMBER 6th, 2006
PAC Meeting Minutes
Board members in
attendance:
M. Aries, C. Bortolotti, L. Burgess,
D. Daitch, L. Desmarais-Moitoso, P. Murry,T. Taylor
PAC BUSINESS:
Mike reviewed with the PAC board the current account balance is $3,445.04 and
with the donation from the Fireman's Union it is now at $3,454.04. Mike suggested that we continue to include the 50/50 raffle
as part of the Shop til You Drop fund raiser to help to defray the expense of the janitorial fee for this event.
MAPAC:
The
Norton School District has paid for the PAC's membership for another year.
Debbi will forward all MAPAC emails to Lee
and Terry.
Debbi will give Lee and Terry the MAPAC pass word.
SHOP TIL YOU DROP:
Mike suggested that we need
to advertise this event more, and go heavy in the Sunday papers. Lisa suggested magnetic signs for vehicles. Lee will donate
her 1996 Water and Sewer Commission Campaign signs to the PAC for repainting and advertising this event. Terry suggested that
the signs for this event be centrally located and suggested that something eye catching be added at the end of the school
driveway. Terry also suggested that we eliminate the bake sale table all together and replace it with a hot dog steamer and
pop corn maker and that the buses be moved so that the parking lot would be visible to the public driving by the event.
BABY SITTING RESOURCE LIST:
There was discussion on whether the PAC wanted to explore using Norton High School and Wheaton College students to
develop a baby sitting resource list. Further discussion over what parents currently do for child care followed and after
much deliberation it was felt that providing such a listing could possibly put the PAC in a libelous position.
NON-PROFIT STATUS:
Mike will look into the non-profit status for the PAC.
PAC OFFICE:
Literature racks need to
be purchased to hold the brochures. There was some discussion around the possibility that drug companies might want to donate
a literature rack. Debbi is looking into the most economical literature racks for the PAC office. Currently there are two
travel boxes to take for restocking the library brochures and for taking to meetings. Someone needs to take over restocking
the travel boxes and keep them organized. Terry and Casey volunteered to do this. File cabinets are needed as well as 4-5
totes for storage for the PAC office. If anyone sees totes on sale please purchase and the PAC will reimburse you.
CALENDAR:
Lisa
shared with the PAC the the calendar is completed for the remainder of the year with the exception of May or June. Discussion
regarding "Landmark School" coming to present and/or Early Childhood Educator and School Committee member Marge Werner possibly
in May or June. Lisa also added that The Norton Police Department was delighted to have been approached by the PAC to present
the plan for "First Response" to emergency situations.
MISC.:
-Debbi will request a formal liaison
between the building and school committee
-Membership list needs to be updated, Deb has copy of last updated list
-A
committee needs to be put together to put on the Staff Appreciation Breakfast
-PAC needs to give away something to help
publicize
-By Laws need to be updated and combined with the non-profit status project
-Norton Public Schools services
for Special Education Brochure needs to be revisited-this project was started and not finished
-Debbi emailed Joan Goggin
to set up a meeting, it is undetermined whether monthly meetings or quarterly meetings will need to be set up.
Debbi is requesting that the first meeting with Joan Goggin be in January 2007.
-Debbi needs help with the bulletin board
NOVEMBER 28th, 2006 PAC Meeting
AUDIT/CAP Presentation by: Joan Goggin
1 & 2 - ASSESSMENTS of STUDENTS:
Ms.
Goggin compared Norton SPED population percentage to that of Boston and Randolph stating that (Randolph 26% which she believes
to be the result of the LEP population). She indicated that we have too high a number of students in SpEd for the total population
of students overall, and questions that perhaps students are appearing to have disabilities because they were never taught
those particular skills in the first place and are testing below the norm due to a lack of skill but not necessarily a true
disability. She sited the "Whole Language" teaching approach vs. Phonics and Spelling as examples of this.
- A question was raised by a parent in attendance with regard to obtaining
parent consent prior to DOE "Record Reviews". Joan indicated that not only is there informed consent, but that all parents
of children whose records have been selected for review in the audits are interviewed as part of the audit.
4 -REPORTS of ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
Ms.
Goggin stated that consultants will be used to assess the "over reliance" of outside evaluations and stated that
"the TEAM only needs to consider the results of IEE but are not obligated to accept it's results or are required to write
an IEP/design services around the results of an IEE." Joan further stated "that if an IEE differs from the in district evaluations
the district should be calling for a hearing at DOE."
- A parent stated that she is utilizing the IEE process and her insurance
to pay for it for the 7th time, because she does not feel that the Norton School District takes her or her child's needs seriously,
and feels that without these IEE's her child would not be receiving the services they need.
6 - TRANSITION PLANNING:
The
point was made that parents should be trained in Transition Planning. Ms. Goggin stated that just because you qualify for
services under DMH, DSS or DMR it is not an automatic shoe-in for a life-time of services. Ms. Goggin indicated that Transition
planning should begin 6 months prior to graduation and that representatives from DMH, DMR and DSS are not obligated
to attend TEAM meetings.
- One parent raised the point that services should be sought after
by age 5 (the sooner the better), by age 14 there should be a vision in place for the child, guardianship (full or partial),
and testing time-lines, and by age 16 Chapter 688 should be approached and the school district should be making sure that
an agency representative is invited to the meetings, and that an agency representative MUST be in attendance for the Transition
Planning meeting.
7- AGE of MAJORITY:
Ms. Goggin indicated that most students are informed of their rights verbally but the
problem occurs when a student who has turned 18 and does not require a guardian, chooses not to attend their own meetings
or participate in the planning of their services.
9A
- GENRAL EDUCATION ACCOMODATIONS:
Ms. Goggin stated that with the implementation of ESped the regular education instructors
will be provided with a document called a "Classroom Summary" which will give that instructor an over-view of what each child
within their classroom who is on an IEP will need for accommodations. Joan further stated that "It is the responsibility of
the TEAM chairs in each building to "train" the regular education instructors as well as the "specials" instructors on the
individual needs of the students in their classrooms on IEP's ."
- The point was raised by a parent, who drove their child to school
late for 6 months, so that the student would NOT have to attend Music...
that it seems unreasonable to have a Music
Teacher screaming and yelling at students in class when there are children present in that class who suffer from Anxiety,
and that sort of behavior and adversarial environment clearly impacts the students mental status and desire to continue participation
in that class. How are the regular education teachers being informed and trained to deal with some of the student needs and
how do we know as parents that this is being done?
13 - PROGRESS REPORTS:
- Parents in attendance did not feel that Progress Reports WERE answering
questions (See below” Additional Parent Input and Issues)
15- CHILD FIND-OUTREACH:
Ms.
Goggin stated that through Head Start, Project Early and Early Intervention more families were being reached by further work
needed to be done in community outreach.
16 - SCREENING:
Ms. Goggin stated that we will be screening
only those where needs were identified.
18A- IEP DEVELOPMENT and CONTENT:
20 - LRE:
Ms. Goggin
stated that "inclusion is not cheap and does not work for every student and that sometimes it is not in the best interest
of the student to keep them in-district." Norton needs to provide more documentation as to why a student is isolated from
the general curriculum.
21 - ESY:
Assessments for regression will be implemented prior to school breaks and
upon returning from school breaks on students who are believed to suffer significant regression outside of the structure of
school to determine who will need Extended Year Services.
- One parent raised the issue that if they’re privately paying
for tutoring for their child how will that be taken into consideration when determining this need.
22-
IEP IMPLEMENTATION and AVAILABILITY:
Ms. Goggin re-stated that now the IEP's are on line and that all teachers have
access to student records.
25- PARENT CONSENT:
Ms. Goggin stated that "no wins" at hearing and feels that
dispute resolution is important to the district because it is a "win-win" when all parties can resolve their issues at mediation,
whether it is utilizing a mediator form within the district or brought in from outside of the district.
29- COMMUNICATIO in ENGLISH and PRIMARY LANGUAGE:
Ms. Goggin
stated that this issue is being resolved by utilizing translation services at Wheaton College.
31 - ESP:
Ms.
Goggin indicated that the school district is now responsible for identifying students who need an ESP and arranging for the
support of an ESP prior to all TEAM meetings.
35 - ASSITIVE TECHNOLOGY:
Ms. Goggin identified Assistive Technology as minimal as a pencil grip to a more advanced
system such as an Alpha Smart indicated that if you are a 9th grader reading at a 3rd grade level you are considered to be
literate and will not be afforded a "reader" during MCAS administrations.
- A parent commented that Assistive Technology isn't always suggested
or address at TEAM meetings.
41
- AGE SPAN REQUIREMENTS:
Ms. Goggin discussed the use of waivers with regard to the 48 month age span in some
classrooms within some buildings and indicated that Project Early will no longer be granted waivers for having 'over-age'
students in their program.
36- IMPLEMENTATION ACCOUNTABILITY
and FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Ms. Goggin stated that the IEP should be implemented as soon as the parent signs and
approves any or all of the IEP.
- A parent commented that often times an IEP is written but they are
told that it will not be implemented until a later date.
37- OOD MONITORING:
Ms.
Goggin stated that the Out of District Monitoring is the responsibility of the Director of
39- PRIVATE SCHOOL at PRIVATE EXPENSE:
Ms. Goggin stated that the Norton School District
still needs to identify those student attending private schools at a private pay and still provide an outreach brochure explaining
the districts school programming including Special Education.
41 & 42- AGE SPAN REQUIREMENTS:
Ms. Goggin
stated that where there are 48 month age spans in one classroom a waiver needs to be obtained and that these waivers are frequently
obtained for the STEP Program at the High School because of the nature of the program, but that waivers will no longer be
granted to the Project Early classrooms.
43 - BIP:
Ms. Goggin discussed the use of Functional Behavioral
Analysis (FBA) process, the implementation of an FBA on the 8th day of suspension and indicated that the FBA should include
supports for that student based on his/her individual needs and a manifestation meeting should follow.
Additional
parent input and issues discussed were:
- The lack of transition from 5th grade to 6th grade and the expectation
that these students will now morph into responsible independent 6th graders. The point was made that in the 5th grade you
can bring cup cakes to the classroom and in the 6th grade you can't get past the front door.
- It was unanimous among parents in attendance that there is a desperate
need to change the attitude of the Middle School (MS) staff with specific regard to their general refusal to follow IEP and
504 Plan accommodations. It was further noted that the prevailing attitude among most of the MS staff is that "the student
needs to be more independent" and the regular education staff do not feel that they should need to be reminding students to
do anything or implementing a 'hand-holding' approach regardless of what the students needs happen to be.
- The point was raised by one parent that the lack of Physical Education
at the Middle School impacts students who need to expend excess energy.
- The point was made by two parents in attendance that individual
complaints have been brought to the Middle School at the administration level multiple times, BUT their complaints have fallen
on deaf ears, their attitude now is "why bother".
- 13 - Progress Reports: The point was made that the message
being sent home to parents from Middle School staff, through their students, was that "if their child is getting "A's" they
need not bother scheduling time for a parent/teacher conference". The point was made by one parent that a child may be doing
well academically, but could have issues in the home, be it health, death, divorce, and the like, and that these types
of family issues can impact the student emotionally and that parents do not appreciate having this door closed to them,
but would rather they be able to speak directly with a teacher about these matters, rather than putting it in writing or by
conveying them by phone, therefore denying a parent a conference during parent/teacher conference times simply because they
are 'making the grade' was felt to be unacceptable.
BASIC RIGHTS:
It was decided that Ms. Goggin would address Basic Rights in another presentation
yet to be determined.
September 6, 2006 PAC Minutes
Start
7:00 pm
Business Meeting
Introductions were given by Deb Daitch – Co-Chair
Present with Debbi Daitch:
Sharon Gauvin – Fundraising, Marci Mongelli – Calendar Coordinator;
Casey Bortolotti –
Co-Chair; Deb Dion - Public Relations; and Mike Aries - Treasurer.
Announcements by Debbi Daitch included:
On the 11th of September, Joan Goggin will join the Norton School System as the new Director of Pupil
Personnel Services (Special Ed Services). She previously worked in Plymouth as
Assistant Director and Out of District Coordinator. Joan has lots of experience,
and was involved in developing the 766 laws. Deb Daitch got to be involved with
the interviewing of Joan. Believes in parent involvement and the PAC. Joan will come to the next PAC meeting.
Joining the Middle School will be: Jessica Carvalho as Guidance
Counselor for Grad 7, and Adam Varieka, Guidance for SSR and NMR Middle School.
Calendar Fundraiser – The PAC can not be involved in the Calendar fundraiser.
Will start booking some daytime
PAC meetings.
At our October meeting we will have a lawyer at the meeting and the talk about Financial Planning.
In December we’ll have a social event.
Dept. Mental Health – free stuff available for special ed kids.
Airport Golf in Plainville Crossing will let the kids play golf for free.
Announcements by Mike Aries - Treasurer:
Mike will price storage units, as we need one for the PAC office.
Announcements by Sharon Gauvin – Fundraising:
We will be selling 50/50 raffle tickets – they will be distributed via backpacks, maybe stores, open houses
at all the schools. PAC members will be allowed to buy the raffle tickets.
Announcements by Deb Dion – Public Relations:
We can put vendors in both the gym and cafeteria for our November 4th Shop Til You Drop Event. We have signed up the following vendors so far:
Silpada, Creative Memories, and a Jewelry Vendor.
Lots of venting by parents about issues on the first day of school.
Meeting adjourned at 10:00
June 7, 2006 PAC Minutes
Start 7:10 pm
Tonight’s Meeting was a Presentation by Matthew
Deninger of the Department of Education.
Introductions were given by Deb Daitch – Co-Chair
Present with Debbi Daitch: Dr. John Atwood, Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson;
Barbara Shea – Co-Chair
and Membership Director; Casey Bortolotti – Co-Chair; and Deb Dion-Secretary and Public Relations Director, Mike Aries,
Treasurer; Lee Desmaris – John Atwood’s Assistant in Special Education Office here at the Yelle.
Announcements by Debbi Daitch included:
Mr. John Atwood, Director of Special Education will be retiring in July of this year.
Deb also reminded everyone about the Special Ed Teacher Appreciation Breakfast we are having at the Middle School
on June 15th from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m to show our appreciation for all they do for the children of Norton.
Discussions with Matthew Deninger included:
Michael did a presentation entitled “Inside the MA Department of Education: Program Quality Assurance”.
Michael handed out pamphlets for everyone to follow along with. Some
of the tops were – PQA Responsibilities, Problem Resolution, Coordinated Program Reviews . Norton’s CPR Report will be published within the week. You
can view it on: www.mass.doe.edu/pqa. Michael ended his presentation by posing sample scenarios
and then answering questions at the end of his presentation.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15, and cake was served for Mr. Atwood to wish him well.
MAY PAC MEETING
May 3, 2005
- Mike Ares agreed to be the Treasurer for the remainder of this year as well as next year.
- The PAC will hold a Teacher/Staff Appreciation breakfast for SPED department at the Middle
School on either June 8th or 15th. We will have sections for each school and the parents will be able to sit with the staff.
- Debbi will make invitations.
- Mr. Atwood to provide full list of all SPED Staff. A small gift to be decided. There was some
discussion about how much to spend.
- Denise Gibson will solicit food donations and work on favors (gifts).
- Sharon Gauving to work on food
- Barbara to work on flowers
- Debbi will call for raffle items
- A phone list was distributed of members to give reminder cals before June meeting, when parents
are called reminders will be given about open positions on next years board.
- Deb to get more information about software product that the SPED Department would like for
networking IEP's.
- Barbara will come up with a plan to support parents in crisis.
- Debbi has a list of teachers that will tutor in summer - info to go into June school newsletters.
- The SPED Department is finalizing the rough draft on the SPED handbood and is ready for the
PAC to review.
- PAC office will be staffed with volunteers beginning in August for certain hours each week.
- We will try to have a daytime meetings in May and June to recruit more members and give an
opportunity to members who can't make evening meetings.
- Next years board: Sharon Gauvin - Fundraising, Lyndia Downie - Membership, Denise Gibson -
Secretary.
- Debbi will contact Ruth about another meeting with Dr. Ansay.
- Deb told everyone that there is a Core value list and an opportunity to make suggestions on
the school web site.
- The Party and Play Place fundraiser will be reconsidered in the Fall.
- We reviewed the consequences to Special Ed students in the event of a failure for
an override at the town meeting.
- Denise, Barbara, Debbi and Lyndia will set up a meeting to discuss the Calendar fundraiser.
April PAC Meeting.
The April meeting was a Educational Session.
February 2, 2006 PAC Minutes
Start 7:05 pm
Tonight’s Meeting was a Business Meeting.
Introductions were given by Deb Daitch – Co-Chair
Present with Debbi Daitch: Dr. John Atwood, Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson;
Barbara Shea – Co-Chair
and Membership Director; Casey Bortolotti – Co-Chair; and Deb Dion-Secretary and Public Relations Director
Treasury Report given by Debbi Daitch- Co-chair:
– We have a balance of $2,946.22
– $800.00 of this is due the high school for scholarships for the past 2 years
– $125.00 is slated to pay our April speaker on the subject of neuro-psch (Courtney Standish
from Isaac and Associates)
– $300.00 (estimate) will be used for our first mailing to all the parents of special ed
students currently on IEP’s.
Membership Report given by Barb Shea – Co-Chair:
Mailing is being done to get the word out and
get more members. Brochures will be dropped off to chairs.
Discussions with Debbi Daitch included:
Deb asked for people to volunteer to be liaisons to all the schools in town, the volunteers are as follows:
Deb Daitch – High School
Terry Taylor – J. C. Solmonese School
Barb Shea – L. G. Nourse School
Deb Dion – H. A. Yelle School
Denise Gibson – Middle School
Duties for volunteers will include: Brochures need to be given
out to the Chairs at each school. Any PAC news needs to be hung on the bulletin
board in each school. Also read the PTA minutes to see if special education children
are being considered for all events.
Debbi Daitch elaborated about John Atwood’s comment about the Department of Education coming for interviews
with parents after February vacation – she said the Department of Education
has a list of questions they will ask each parent.
We are now members of MASSPAC.
There will be a meeting with Dr. Ansay Thursday, February 3 at 2:30 pm in her office to discuss next years budget
and plans for special education and the PAC.
Asked Dr. Atwood how many autism classrooms there are at the J. C. Solmonese School. There are two. Deb asked if the classrooms were strictly autism
students and Dr. Atwood said he would have to check the disabilities and get back to us.
Page 2 of the February 2, 2006 PAC Minutes
There was a group discussion about the structured resource rooms in each school.
Most parents don’t understand what the programs are that are being offered in our school system.
We would like to propose to Dr. Ansay a special education handbook so parents understand things better, where
to go for help, whose the contact people, etc. The school and the PAC would need
to work together to explain what programs were available in each school, and other services that are available.
Terry Taylor, Lisa Burgess, Casey Bortolotti volunteered to help with the handbook.
Talk about Title 1 and extended year – no summer services available for reading unless it’s in the
child’s IEP to get an extended school year.
Group discussion on coming up with a Summer Reading Program – Would it be possible to conduct summer reading
in a group setting for kids that do not get the extended year help but parent feels need it.
Maybe charge a small fee, or maybe get college students or teachers that are willing to tutor. This will be proposed to r. Ansay at tomorrow’s meeting.
We talked about what kind of scholarship we as the PAC want to give this year – maybe another high school
scholarship; or perhaps a tutoring scholarship for summer services for reading.
A lot of talk of upcoming events we could sponsor to get our name out there.
Some ideas were: having a coffee hour or breakfast and invite camps and
tutoring services for special ed students. Three parents volunteered to help
with this – Joanna Adamo; Terry Taylor; and Denise Gibson.
Barb Shea brought up the idea of maybe having a daytime meeting for those parents that cannot come out at night,
it could possibly be held at the library. Another possibility would be having
a membership drive from 2 to 4 pm, and also 7 to 9 pm, and everyone could bake and bring something. Everyone agreed.
Another topic of great interest was should we hold our annual Transition Night?
Instead maybe we could do something in the spring and invite teachers to a breakfast and the chairs would run this
event, and all the Sped staff would be invited. The 2nd week in May
was a possibility to sponsor this event.
Secretary and Public Relations Report by Deb Dion:
For the most part the newspapers have been great getting the word out on our monthly meetings as well as the
Norton Cable channel.
Deb Daitch asked that a thank you be sent to Dr. Ansay as she agreed to support our need to become members of
Masspac and paid the fee for us to join.
Discussions withDr. John Atwood Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson
Dr. Atwood has hired a new secretary. We also have a new sped teacher
at the Yelle School – Jeff Collard.
The Department of Education will be conducting interviews with parents that volunteered for it. They will be done after February vacation.
Business meeting adjourned @ 9:00 pm
John Atwood left the meeting, and parents stayed for parent-to-parent time, which began at 8:15 pm
JANUARY 2006 PAC MEETING WAS AN EDUCATIONAL MEETING. There are no minutes.
December 7, 2005 PAC Minutes
Start 7:00 pm
Welcome and Introductions by Debbi Daitch, Chair.
Present with Debbi Daitch: Dr. John Atwood, Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson;
Barbara Shea – Co-Chair
and Membership; and Deb Dion-Secretary and Public Relations
Discussions with Debbi Daitch included:
The Treasury Report was given.
We have 2 open spots on our 2005-2006 calendar, and Debbi asked parents who they would like to see come to our
PAC meeting. We got lots of suggestions one of the topics everyone agreed on
was scheduling someone to come and talk about evaluations (the process). A couple
other suggestions were: biofeedback, and Naja from school talk.
Debbi talked a little bit about the letter she wrote to John Atwood and Dr. Ansay (from the PAC) on the topic
of “Recommendations on IEP’s”. The recommendation is that all
SPED teachers should receive the students IEP’s or 504’s by the first
day of school, and then initial them saying they have read them.
We voted on whether or not we should send a mailing to all the SPED parents in town as we now have the funds,
and all in attendance agreed. We also agreed that we need a liaison to each school’s
guidance counselor, and are looking for volunteers.
Guest Speaker–Angela Days from Parent Information Network (PIN),
managed by BAMSI
Angela is the Coordinator for Taunton/Attleboro area (Southeastern Mass).
There is a staff of 5 people and the towns serviced are: Brockton, Fall
River, New Bedford, Plymouth, Cape Cod, Taunton, Mansfield, Attleboro and Norton. They can be reached at 508-947-8779.
Support for mental health and learning disabilities. The group
shares experiences bi-monthly in Lakeville the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. Everything discussed at these meetings are kept confidential. Reminder
calls are given the day before the meetings. There are monthly newsletters. PIN is funded by the Department of Mental Health.
Services available which are free of charge include: social educational
programs, great resource center which has videos, workbooks, cassettes, on such subjects as ADD, mental health, and learning
disabilities.
Social events include a cookout in the summer and a holiday party.
Additional services: Special needs parents need to be educated,
they have workshops at PIN to help the parents. Also available free of charge
is an Educational Consultant. Her name is Pat Cunningham, and she is available
on Wednesdays of every week. You can call her, email her, or meet with her.
Page 2 of December 7, 2005 PAC Minutes
Discussions withDr. John Atwood Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson
Dr. Atwood went thru questions and answers that were previously posed to him by the PAC on the topics of Transportation;
IEP Documentation; Promotion of the PAC and MASS PAC; and he answered additional questions by parents at the meeting.
There will be a change of operation in the SPED office. There will
be only one person dealing with all the changes necessary on IEP’s, and this should be much more efficient, and will
also eliminate previous problems of duplicate IEP’s being made and/or deleted.
Business meeting adjourned @ 8:10
John Atwood left the meeting, and parents stayed for parent to parent time, which began at 8:15 pm
The November PAC meeting was an educational session and there will not be any minutes for the event.
Thanks to those who attended.
October 19,, 2005 PAC Minutes
Start 7:00 pm
Welcome and Introductions by Debbi Daitch, Chair.
Present with Debbi Daitch: Dr. John Atwood, Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson;
Barbara Shea – Co-Chair
and Membership; Casey Bortolotti - Co-Chair;
and Deb Dion-Secretary and
Public Relations
Discussions with Debbi Daitch included:
Deb spoke a bit about next months meeting – Basic Rights by the State Department of Education. Told everyone to check our website: www.daitch.com/pac to get a description. Also we need people to sign up for
this as we need a minimum number of people for this meeting for the state to be willing to come.
Also Deb reminded everyone about our Shop Til You Drop Fundraiser being held Saturday, October
22nd here at the Yelle School. At this point we have 25 vendors sign
up for this event.
Guest – Ms. Jean Sullivan – Chairperson at the J. C. Solmonese
School and Guidance Counselor
Jean came to our meeting to explain the revised “Parent’s Rights Brochure” – now called
“Notice of Procedural Safeguards”. She handed out a copy of the brochure
to everyone and also a Worksheet called “Parents Rights in Special Education Note-taker”.
Lots of questions were posed to Jean by the parents. Some questions
were: Who makes the decisions about services; do parents have a say in decision;
who decides who is eligible for special education services. The discussion included
comments from Debbi Daitch and Janice Burkhart.
Jean talked about scheduling team meetings - She went through the referral/evaluation process and concerns of
your child’s progress, and said both need to be put in writing. After requesting
an evaluation the school has 30 school days to complete testing, then within two weeks must hold the evaluation meeting. You will get the notice in the mail 2 days before the meeting – and if the time
and date is not convenient you would call the chairperson to reschedule. Teleconferencing
is also an option if you can not come to the school. If you want the notice (and
a copy of the IEP and/or evaluation sooner than 2 days before the meeting) you must tell the chairperson that as well.
Second part of this discussion was telling parents who to bring to the meeting – parents, teachers, advocate,
a friend to take the minutes of the meeting perhaps. You can also bring your
child to the meeting if they are 14 years of age or older. Jean also suggested
letting your child know about your meeting at the school as they might see you when you are there. Also discuss the meeting with your child. Every child is entitled
to a fair and appropriate education (FAPE).
Jean also explained what District Funding is as parents posed that question.
Guest – Discussion with Mrs. Janice Burkhart, Retired, Special
Education Chairperson
Janice explained what an IEP is. Also explained a 504 plan and
the difference between that and an IEP is a 504 plan is not as in depth as an IEP, but lists modifications to be made for
your child to succeed in school. 504 Plans are overseen by the Department of
Civil Rights.
Janice passed out a parent handbook about college titled “Parent Handbook for College Bound Students with
Learning Disabilities”. It has lots of email links and helpful information.
Page 2 of October 19, 2005 PAC Minutes
Discussion with Mrs. Janice Burkhart (continued)
Janice got in depth a bit about the college handbook such as: state
colleges provide the most services; discussed the differences in legal rights for high school vs. college; colleges can provide
tutors; it’s the students responsibility to talk to professors in college (they have to seek out the help). Students should begin to have discussions with guidance counselor and/or special ed teachers starting in
9th grade to have the necessary requirements in place for college.
There was a discussion about MCAS and questions from parents. Jan
stressed the point that MCAS accommodations need to be on the IEP before the MCAS testing.
Some helpful college websites are: www.collegeboard.com; and www.act.org
Discussions withDr. John Atwood Director; Norton’s Special Education Chairperson
Dr. Atwood went over the budget. We have 675 special needs students
in Norton. 25 students are serviced out of district (meaning not in the Norton
School System). 22% of the students in Norton receive special education
services.
The Nourse school has 48 students on IEP’s
The Solmonese school has 186 students on IEP’s
The Yelle school has 113 students on IEP’s
The Middle School has 181 students on IEP’s
The High School has 122 students on IEP’s
No Child Left Behind – have to take test every 2 years.
Discussions with parents:
Brought up Senate Bill 291 – Special Ed
& Parent Ad Council. This bill would mandate funding of Special Education Parent Advisory Council’s. PAC’s
are mandated in every school district as an advisory council on Special Education.
Business meeting adjourned @ 8:50 p.m.
John Atwood left the meeting, and parents stayed for parent-to-parent time, which began at 8:50 pm and ended
at 9:30 pm
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