Tuesday, April 10, 2012
HINGHAM SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (SEPAC)
Hingham Public Schools
Hingham Public Library, Fearing Room, 66 Leavitt St., Hingham, MA 02043
Meeting Agenda
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – Informal social – opportunity for attendees to meet and converse
10:30 a.m. – noon – Formal Board Meeting to discuss SEPAC business
(Audience comments are always welcome as agenda items are discussed. Attendees are encouraged to attend the 30-minute social prior to the start of the board meeting to address matters not related to the agenda.)
Introduction and Rules
Acceptance of Minutes: February 14, 2012 & March 13, 2012
Treasurer’s Report:
Communications:
Old Business:
· Summary of Antique Show
· Update on fundraising (Fun Run/Walk, HMS Can Drive)
· Vacant Co-chair position & board member responsibilities
· Plan SEPAC events for 2012 – 2013 school year
New Business:
· Discussion regarding policy of possible future HEF grant requests
· Proposal to donate Wrightslaw books to Hingham Public Library from SEPAC
Subcommittee Reports:
HPS Director of Student Services Report:
· Service delivery logs
Announcements & Adjournment:
· Upcoming SEPAC events:
- Saturday, April 28, Fun Run/Walk at Bare Cove Park
- Saturday, May 19, Can/Bottle Drive at HMS
The provision of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) according to federal and state laws and regulations related to the education of children with disabilities includes the following areas: Assessment of Students, Student Identification, Parent and Community Involvement, Curriculum and Instruction, Student Support Services, Faculty, Staff and Administration, School Facilities, Program Plan and Evaluation and Record Keeping.
Meeting Minutes
Present: Nicole Craven, Ashley Henriksen, Marisa Ronan, Donna Keaney, Ann Grady, Kim Cross, Jean Garrity, and Director of Student Services Dr. Loud.
10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Informal Social: Nicole Craven, a music therapist and owner of Sing, Explore, Create, spoke about her summer classes and shared handouts with class descriptions. Ashley Henriksen, a senior at HHS, spoke about her senior project. She is organizing a one-day workshop of dance classes for special needs children to be held at the Community Center on May 12, 2012. Information from Nicole and Ashley will be posted on the SEPAC website.
Donna Keaney called the business portion of the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m.
The February 14, 2012, minutes were not available to vote on. The March 13, 2012, minutes were reviewed and accepted.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim reported the only change to the account this month was the expense of the last mailing that went out. Kim does not have all the figures from the antique show, but shared rough estimates: $2200.00 from door proceeds, $312.00 from bake table, and $130.00 from the café. Donna asked Kim to begin putting together a year-end treasurer’s report that can be included in the SEPAC end-of-year report which will be sent to Dr. Loud and the School Committee by June 30, 2012.
Communications: An e-mail regarding setting up a carpool for ESY going to Rec Center summer program was discussed.
Old Business:
Antique Show Summary: A discussion took place wrapping up this year’s antique show. We should expect to receive a check from Goosefare Promotions within the next two weeks.
Fun Run/Walk: The event scheduled for April 28, 2012, was discussed. Jean gave a review of sponsorships, t-shirts, publicity, refreshments, and volunteers. Jean will e-mail info on the event to HMS and HHS.
Bottle/Can Drive: We will be holding a bottle and can drive at the Middle School on May 19, 2012. We will need to begin to work on publicizing this information.
Vacant Co-Chair position and board member responsibilities: Ideas for getting more volunteers for SEPAC were discussed. It was also suggested that current board members begin looking for people to get involved who will be willing to eventually take over board members’ roles.
SEPAC Calendar 2012-2013: It was agreed that we would like to continue to hold our monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the library. Donna will speak with the Library about scheduling this for 2012 – 2013 school year. Ideas for presentations for next year include: Sarah Ward (Jean to organize); the Federation workshop titled Turning Three (Marisa to organize); Autism (Donna to organize); Bullying (Marisa to organize); and Jen Milia’s presentation about typical siblings of special needs children (Kim to organize). We will gather more information about cost and availability of these programs and discuss further at next month’s meeting.
New Business:
Marisa had noted that Hingham Public Library does not have the Wrightslaw books: From Emotions to Advocacy, All about IEPs, and Special Education Law. A motion was made to spend $39.59 to purchase all three of these books. The vote was unanimous in favor of this motion.
Director of Student Services Report:
Dr. Loud answered questions about service delivery logs. There are logs, which are filled out for Medicaid reimbursement, and also plan books that the teachers have regarding each student. The teachers keep these plan books and parents do not have access to these. Staff is not required to have a log that shows what services were provided to students.
Dr. Loud updated members present on the changes to Extended School Year (ESY) this year. ESY will take place from June 25 through July 31 with no school on July 4 or 5. The deadline to return the sign-up form is May 1. The form can now be sent to Gretchen Amonte via e-mail. Elementary ESY will take place at East Elementary School. Students in 6th grade and above will go to HHS for ESY.
Dr. Loud shared a need for assistance from SEPAC with regard to assistive technology purchases. SEPAC will follow up with Dr. Loud with a grant request form for her to submit. It was also noted that proceeds from our Fun Run/Walk will go towards technology needs. Dr. Loud noted that parents are being advised to appeal denials they receive from their insurance companies when they request assistive technology equipment for their children.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:25pm.
