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Minutes of July 8, 1999 MeetingHeld at Sharon Public Library, 7-9 PM
Meeting called to order at 7:10 PM Present are: Suzanne Peyton, Mark Baron, Mary Wallan, Nancy Safran, David Levitan, Ami Zakai, Karen Grayson and Anat Zakai. Secretary's ReportNone. Secretary unable to attend this meeting. Minutes taken by Suzanne Peyton Treasurer's ReportSavings: $ 786.91 Checking: 2166.79 Expenditures in last month included two High School Scholarships totaling $500.00 Covered registration fee for Alan Bloom to AANE conference Purchase of miscellaneous books: bullying, stuttering Old BusinessBullyproofing curricula books ordered for Resource Library Harlem Rockets date confirmed with Superintendent and players. Mitch Blaustein notified and is assisting in pulling TEAM together. New BusinessDates of meetings and workshops confirmed through January 2000 Legislative update re: BOE postponing reg. changes till March 2000 except for 4 clauses that impact discipline, IEPs, three year plan. Also section re: private schools is put on hold for same time. Except for the four sections, Chapter 766 remains in effect for the 1999/2000 school year. See 7/2/99 memo from Mass. Advocacy Center for more details. Discussion regarding representation needed on the following subcommittees: Safe Schools, Long Term Space Planning, Curriculum Review, Sharon Middle School liaison, Disability Awareness Coordinator. Volunteers for these are still needed. Discussion on outreach. Ami Zakai asked who we distributed minutes to. Proposed we distribute to all school admin, PTOs, Councils, School Committee, CHARMSS, and Principals to increase awareness and enhance outgoing communication. Suggestion to put minutes up on website for easy access and to set up group email list to send minutes automatically. Ami volunteered to assist in this. Suzanne Peyton can provide the email addresses for the Sharon School contacts. This will be developed in the next few months to be in place for the new year. Suggestion is that when Lee finishes minutes, he sends copy to the "ssepacminutes" list and it is completed without much labor effort. Inclusion PresentationDr. Ami Zakai made a presentation on Inclusion Models to the attendees in an effort to increase parent's awareness of the gaps in special Ed in our school district and alternatives that he has researched. His observation is that the Sharon School District does not have a full continuum regarding the different options or programs for children with disabilities. He commented that we have models and programs for the youngest children (PDD program at Children's Center, some programs or aides in the public schools for the highest functioning students with minimal behavior issues and that is it. Even with aides, their role is to curtail or try to control the behavior, not to assist the child in accessing the general curriculum more efficiently. The next step is out of district or to a Collaborative. There are no programs that can serve those children who have more complex behavioral issues, or who are not at a high functioning level. Essentially if you do not fit in the Sharon 'cookie cutter' mold, you are sent out of district whether you want to be or not, or whether parents want their child to be sent out of district or not. This big hole in the middle of the special education continuum is that which he hopes the Sharon School district will work on and develop this year. In his research, he has discovered a very successful Inclusion teaching model in the Ahern School in Dorchester, (which rated third in the state on MCAS scores), classrooms in Mansfield, Randolph and in a collaborative in Marshfield. The model has a typical class with an average size, which is co-taught with 1 regular ed teacher, 1 special ed teacher, and an aide if the IEP for a particular student calls for it. This model can accommodate up to four students with special needs in the classroom population, preferably those with different disabilities. This model teaches and reaches the students who have disabilities and those who are typical and gifted in that the teacher to student ratio is significantly lowered and the modifications done by the special ed teacher benefits all students and teaches to DIVERSE LEARNERS. Discussion regarding this model, pros and cons ensued. Several parents in attendance expressed great interest and enthusiasm and encouraged Dr. Zakai to make his presentation to the School Committee and other parent groups. Suzanne Peyton proposed that he present again at the next meeting on August 10 and that SSEPAC would put a press release in the Sharon Advocate to emphasize his topic. The discussion ended with parents supporting SSEPAC in approaching the School Committee to consider establishing an Inclusion Task Force so all programs can be reviewed and gaps can be identified, assessed, and hopefully corrected for the Sharon Public Schools. All parents were supportive in trying to bring children home and maybe save some money in the process. Other BusinessNext meeting is August 10 at the Sharon Public Library, 7 PM in the downstairs meeting room. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM |
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