Post by lilly on Jun 17, 2015 11:56:18 GMT -5
Just throwing this out there... Admirable job by Northport SEPTA. Luckily, Wantagh special ed parent relations have improved in recent years (but there is always room for growth in any situation).
patch.com/new-york/northport/septa-voices-concerns-northport-boe-meeting-0?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&utm_term=schools&utm_campaign=recirc&utm_content=aol
SEPTA Voices Concerns at Northport BOE Meeting
Northport-East Northport SEPTA presented a letter expressing their concerns regarding the special education department.
By PAIGE MCATEE (Patch Staff)
June 16, 2015
Share Comments SEPTA Voices Concerns at Northport BOE Meeting
Northport-East Northport SEPTA attended the BOE meeting Monday night and expressed their concerns regarding the special education department and its administration.
They presented a letter to the BOE, which was read by co-president Stacey Riccardi. Exiting president Allison Noonan answered questions from the BOE.
The letter is provided below, courtesy of SEPTA:
To Robert Banzer, incoming Superintendent of the Northport East Northport School District and the Honorable Members of the Northport East Northport School Board:
As representatives of SEPTA’ s executive board, we wish to thank the board for all of the countless hours working on behalf of our students, especially our most vulnerable population: our students with special needs. We are here tonight to express our concerns with the Special Education Department and administration. We have followed the proper protocol and brought our concerns to Special Education Administration, but their actions to address these concerns have been minimal, at best. As one of the superintendent’s first priorities, we respectfully request the following be addressed:
All elementary and middle school playgrounds are ADA compliant.
All elementary schools are outfitted with adaptive swings.
At least one elementary school is wheelchair accessible.
All school buildings are brought up to ADA compliance.
Provide equal access to extra curricular programs (specifically the Special
A true inclusion program (one that embraces a co-teaching model) at every Olympics and Bowling programs) offered by the district for our students with special needs.
We respectfully request the new superintendent conduct an internal audit of the Special Education Department, to include all practices and policies. This audit should go back to 2010, the year in which the Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Services retired and the position was eliminated. The responsibilities of this position included an administrative component for the special ed dept and was an integral part of developing extracurricular programs for our special needs students. While we acknowledge that we have some dedicated and hard-working staff that work tirelessly on behalf of our students with special needs, we also acknowledge that we have an administration that seems to keep parental concerns at an arms distance, and does not always take into consideration that parents of special needs students are often the best advocates for their children. Placement of and program selection for children should be made with, and not in opposition to, the parents. The administration has created a culture in which too many CSE meetings are contentious and not cooperative; reactive instead of proactive; antagonistic when solutions need to be amicable.
Our schools should be as inclusive as possible to ensure the special education student has access to the least restrictive environment. It is our obligation as policy makers, educators, and advocates for our children to ensure the needs of our most vulnerable students are met. As parents, we embrace the educational differences in our children and we expect the school district to do the same.
We thank you for your time and hope to work with the new superintendent, the school board and the Special Education administration to foster a new philosophy and create a new culture regarding our special needs students: that they are welcomed and embraced by their schools and in their community.
patch.com/new-york/northport/septa-voices-concerns-northport-boe-meeting-0?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&utm_term=schools&utm_campaign=recirc&utm_content=aol
SEPTA Voices Concerns at Northport BOE Meeting
Northport-East Northport SEPTA presented a letter expressing their concerns regarding the special education department.
By PAIGE MCATEE (Patch Staff)
June 16, 2015
Share Comments SEPTA Voices Concerns at Northport BOE Meeting
Northport-East Northport SEPTA attended the BOE meeting Monday night and expressed their concerns regarding the special education department and its administration.
They presented a letter to the BOE, which was read by co-president Stacey Riccardi. Exiting president Allison Noonan answered questions from the BOE.
The letter is provided below, courtesy of SEPTA:
To Robert Banzer, incoming Superintendent of the Northport East Northport School District and the Honorable Members of the Northport East Northport School Board:
As representatives of SEPTA’ s executive board, we wish to thank the board for all of the countless hours working on behalf of our students, especially our most vulnerable population: our students with special needs. We are here tonight to express our concerns with the Special Education Department and administration. We have followed the proper protocol and brought our concerns to Special Education Administration, but their actions to address these concerns have been minimal, at best. As one of the superintendent’s first priorities, we respectfully request the following be addressed:
All elementary and middle school playgrounds are ADA compliant.
All elementary schools are outfitted with adaptive swings.
At least one elementary school is wheelchair accessible.
All school buildings are brought up to ADA compliance.
Provide equal access to extra curricular programs (specifically the Special
A true inclusion program (one that embraces a co-teaching model) at every Olympics and Bowling programs) offered by the district for our students with special needs.
We respectfully request the new superintendent conduct an internal audit of the Special Education Department, to include all practices and policies. This audit should go back to 2010, the year in which the Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Services retired and the position was eliminated. The responsibilities of this position included an administrative component for the special ed dept and was an integral part of developing extracurricular programs for our special needs students. While we acknowledge that we have some dedicated and hard-working staff that work tirelessly on behalf of our students with special needs, we also acknowledge that we have an administration that seems to keep parental concerns at an arms distance, and does not always take into consideration that parents of special needs students are often the best advocates for their children. Placement of and program selection for children should be made with, and not in opposition to, the parents. The administration has created a culture in which too many CSE meetings are contentious and not cooperative; reactive instead of proactive; antagonistic when solutions need to be amicable.
Our schools should be as inclusive as possible to ensure the special education student has access to the least restrictive environment. It is our obligation as policy makers, educators, and advocates for our children to ensure the needs of our most vulnerable students are met. As parents, we embrace the educational differences in our children and we expect the school district to do the same.
We thank you for your time and hope to work with the new superintendent, the school board and the Special Education administration to foster a new philosophy and create a new culture regarding our special needs students: that they are welcomed and embraced by their schools and in their community.
