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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-27 Speical Education Parent Advisory Council Minutes rm,14- Town of Reading RECEIVE[ Meeting Minutes TOWN CLERK FEe ; : �: ' �tAA. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2221 AN -4 PM 6: 39 Special Education Parents Advisory Council Date: 2020-10-27 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Purpose: business meeting Version: Attendees: Members - Present: Alyssa Scaparotti (Chair for meeting) Laura Noonan Amy Stewart Maria Morgan Members - Not Present: N/A Others Present: John Doherty, Superintendent of RPS Dr. Jennifer Stys, Director of Student Services Allison Wright, Assistant Director of Student Services Christine Kelley, Assistant Superintendent for the RPS Erin Gaffen, School Committee Member/SEPAC Liaison Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Laura Noonan Topics of Discussion: Call to Order at 7:02 PM Elections Elections are discussed in the SEPAC Bylaws at Article V. Erin Alberts was the Elections Coordinator.There were three nominations submitted:Alyssa Scaparotti,Amy Stewart and Laura Noonan.Amy Stewart made the motion to accept the nominations. Seconded by Alyssa. Unanimously passed. Voting among all SEPAC members commenced. Alyssa Scaparotti,Amy Stewart and Laura Noonan are voted in to the 2020-2021 Executive Board. Goodbyes were said to departing Board Member, Maria Morgan. Discussion About Operations of the SEPAC Board Article IV of the Bylaws states that by default the SEPAC will operate as a Board. Must vote to transition to structure of an Executive Committee: Chair Person, Secretary,Treasurer, and Outreach/Public Relations. Laura Noonan expressed her opinion to not transition to an Executive Committee. Amy Stewart expressed that the"grid"used for monthly SEPAC tasks to be completed needs to be adhered to in order to stay an Executive Board. She asked parents if they would be more apt to join the Board if there were definite roles. SEPAC Parent Laura Joelson spoke and stated that it is not the structure of the Board that is keeping her(and probably other parents)from joining. SEPAC Parent Thomas Wise spoke and mentioned the Friends of the SEPAC and suggested that Public Relations is something that they could handle. Va9e I 1 rrYVATown of Reading Meeting Minutes Alyssa Scaparotti stated that it seems to be that everyone is ok with staying an Executive Board. Laura Noonan moved that the SEPAC not transition to functioning as a Board. Seconded by Alyssa Scaparotti. Unanimously passed. Alyssa Scaparotti asked if we needed to create a sub-committee in the Friends of SEPAC. Laura Noonan indicated that the SEPAC should be mindful of creating extra work for the SEPAC Board, and that perhaps it would be best to keep the"Friends of SEPAC"less formal. She stated how we were a new Board last year, and Dr. Stys was new and still we got a lot done.We can task things as needed instead of creating extra committees. SEPAC Parent Thomas Wise cautioned the SEPAC that sub-committees are subject to CML and that only 1 Board Member could then be present because the quorum has now changed to only 1 Board Member, as we are now a Board of only 3. Scaparotti posed a series of questions: Do we want school liaisons?And will they be subject to OML? Role of school liaison was read from By-Laws. Do we want to pursue liaisons?Or just stick with the Friends of SEPAC?Consensus to just stick with Friends of SEPAC. Planning Discussion about possible future meeting and/or presentation about literacy and reading instruction Scaparotti stated that the purpose of the discussion is to learn feedback from parents about what they want to learn about reading instruction. Is there interest in having a structured discussion/presentation on reading instruction? Highlights: 1. RPS is participating in a multi year literacy training with the Crafting Minds Institute. Dr. Stys has indicated that there are 2 staff members willing to present about this training. 2. Dyslexia Screening Law. Districts should already be using screening tools. DESE is releasing new recommendation tools this month. 3. Teachers College Reading and Writing Program(Lucy Calkins Program)recently published statements indicating that reading instruction should be rebalanced. Early readers should read decodable texts. Amy Stewart added that"specific learning disability"is the primary disability listed on more than 50%of IEPs in Reading.Stewart suggested that the presentation(s)distinguish between the four buckets:universal screening, intervention planning,progress monitoring,diagnostic evaluation.This is based on Dr.Stys'identification of these categories at the 10/28/19 school committee meeting when Mrs. Ippolito presented on the dyslexia screening pilot program with DESE. SEPAC Parent Sarah McLaughlin pointed out that this is an issue for general education, as well as special education. Maria Morgan pointed out that how to teach children to read is often referred to as"The Reading Wars". SEPAC Parent Erin Alberts indicated that it would be helpful to learn the"buu words' so parents know what is meant by words such as decoding, phonetic awareness, etc. SEPAC Parent Thomas Wise pointed out that the Science of Reading is more than just decoding.What happens when a reader is diagnosed in a later grade?How do we then close the gap? How does reading effect other skills, e.g. the ability to write. How does it impact anxiety, etc. Recommendation is to educate on how the tools align to Scarborough's Rope, so parents know what to do when their child is struggling to learn how to read. SEPAC Parent Sarah McLaughlin would like to see a more systematic direct approach to reading instruction. Amy Stewart asked if parents would like to see two separate presentations on universal screening v. evaluations. SEPAC Parent Tom Wise shared his screen to explain Scarborough's Reading Rope. Page 12 i Town of Reading rrO � Meeting Minutes � � i� � SEPAC Parent Sarah McLaughlin indicated that the topic is too large to be crammed into one presentation. What supports to students need?What supports do teachers need? Dr. Jennifer Stys indicated that she is passionate about this subject. She envisions a series of presentations. The staff works with taking Scarborough's Rope and laying the foundation.Team chairs and curriculum leaders will be trained by the end of the year.There's a graphic organizer that breaks down the assessment for all Portions of the rope: here is the specific disability and here is the specific intervention. They are totally prepared to do the training:what is reading,what does it do, how does our brain work.There are experts within their staff who can delve into these topics with SEPAC and parents in general. Amy Stewart stated that she looked to the DESE website to see if guidelines have been issued for the Act Relative to Students with Dyslexia.Christine Kelley stated that no,they have not(probably due to the pandemic). So, they went with the Lexia screener based on their own internal work with Lexia.They are doing another pilot with other districts. RPS uses!Station. !Station is free this year. Mrs. Kelley indicated that this will be discussed at the upcoming school committee meeting. Scaparotti stated interest in seeking volunteers, or a sub-committee,for this topic.Amy Stewart motioned to form sub-committee, chaired by Alyssa Scaparotti,to plan a presentation, or multiple presentations, on the issue of reading and literacy in the RPS,with the understanding that these presentations would not be taking place until the New Year. Seconded by Laura Noonan. Passed unanimously. In response to a parent comment in the virtual chat,Stewart asked for suggestions on how to help parents get engaged when they do not feel comfortable speaking publicly about their child in the LLD program. Scaparotti stated that this could be a task of the sub-committee. Dr. Stys has volunteered to sit on the committee, or to have another member of the staff to sit on the committee, to ensure that they are working appropriately to meet the parents' needs. SEPAC Parent Sarah McLaughlin asked how to bridge between the SEPAC parents and the gen ed parents on this issue. Mrs. Kelley suggested a blurb in the principals' newsletters would be a good way to recruit parents for that. Scaparotti sought parents who would like to volunteer for this sub-committee. SEPAC Parent Erin Alberts volunteered to be on the sub-committee. Maria Morgan suggested that a survey would be helpful to seek parent experiences on this topic. SEPAC Parent Tom Wise suggested that the SEPAC think about how large they would like this sub-committee to be. Mr.Wise also volunteered to be on the sub-committee. Laura Noonan suggested that parents that are vocal on social media about this topic, consider emailing the SEPAC at SepacReading@gmail.com after the business meeting in order to volunteer to be on the sub- committee so that they can participate in the discussion at this meaningful level with the district. Announcement of upcoming SEPAC meetings and dates of Interest: 1. Basic Rights Workshop: "Understanding the IEP" (hosted by Andover SEPAC):Thursday, October 29, 2020, at 6 pm 2. Basic Rights Workshop: "Transition Planning"(hosted by North Andover SEPAC): Monday, November 2, 2020, at 6 pm 3. Virtual Support chat(hosted by Reading SEPAC): Thum., November 5, 2020, at 7:30 PM 4. Bureau of Special Education Appeals(BSER) Presentation on Facilitated Team Meetings and Mediation Services (hosted by Reading SEPAC): Tues., November 17, 2020, at 7 PM Page 1 3 i Town of Reading O Meeting Minutes 5. Next Business Meeting of Reading SEPAC: Tuesday, December 8,2020, at 7 PM Public Comment Maria Morgan asked why the SEPAC Board elections are in October?Can we hold a special election in February if there is interest at that time for a parent to join the Board? SEPAC Parent Alicia Williams indicated that she helped to write the By-Laws, and that there is a provision to have someone join the Executive Board in mid year. Scaparotti located the provision in the SEPAC's By-Laws which indicates that a fourth person may join the Executive Board in February. Amy Stewart suggested that another amendment to the By-Laws could be made to allow for business meetings during the summer months, in order to plan for the beginning of the school year. Approval of Meeting Minutes—September 8,2020 Motion by Amy Stewart to approve Minutes. Seconded by Laura Noonan.Approved unanimously. Action Items Are Board members to be swom in at Town Hall (in person)? Laura Noonan volunteered to follow up with the Town Clerk to determine what the procedure will be. Meeting Adjourned at 8:24 PM. Alyssa Scaparotti moved to Adjourn the Meeting.Amy Stewart Seconded. Unanimously Approved. Page 1 4