Special Programs & Services News
December 2022
In This Issue
Message from the Team
Hello families! We have had an amazing Fall semester in Leander ISD and have so much to celebrate! We believe that all students should be meaningfully included, welcome and celebrated in their learning environment. Inclusive Practices continue to expand across our district. While I could add multiple examples, I am excited to share a snapshot of some of the great things our students have been engaged in. We are proud of the work and success of our students and staff and look forward to a great Spring Semester.
Kimberly Waltmon
Executive Director Special Programs & Services
Student panel at the LISD Annual Instructional Assistant Summit!
CNS collaboration with Leander High School ICAP! Pizza!
Leander Lazers Breakfast!
Family Education Events
This month we will be taking a break from our Family Education Nights and Coffee Chats. All of our monthly family meetings will return in January.
In the meantime, we invite your families to join our AAC Out and About on Wednesday, December 14th from 5pm - 7pm at Randall's (Cafe Area) on Cypress Creek (1400 Cypress Creek Rd, Cedar Park, TX 78613). This is a come and go hour so you do not have to stay the whole time! Our Assistive Technology team is asking that you bring along your favorite thing (or a picture) in a bag or box so that we can talk about it! We will guess what it is while students and siblings talk about their favorite thing using AAC. Students will practice using the following words: mine, like, cool, eat, want, colors, and other describing words You can RSVP Here.
All previous Parent Night presentations are housed on the Parent Meeting Archive for asynchronous access.
Inclusive Schools Week
Inclusive Schools Week is December 5th -9th. Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference, and other factors. This year's theme is Unity Within Our Community. Staff and students across the district are engaging in campus activities that celebrate Unity Within Our Communities. To learn more about Inclusive Schools Week and how you can celebrate at home visit their website.
Special Programs Parent Advisory Council (The PAC)
Earlier this year our department embarked on a journey to initiate a Leander ISD Special Programs Parent Advisory Council, which we now refer to as The PAC. The purpose of this council is to provide a coordinated approach and seek feedback on meaningful initiatives to support parents of children with disabilities. We were thrilled to see the excitement and responses to our initial messages. Our team would like to introduce you to the 2022-2023 PAC Executive Council members:
- Alex Solano - President
- Brittany Seyb - Vice President
- Desaray Granzow - Secretary
- Harmony Jeanotte - Communications Chair
- Brittany Ruffin - Inclusion and Diversity Chair
- Bethany Burnham - 504 Coordinator
- Kristin Gwaldo - Elementary Campus Representative
- Sallye Swan - Secondary Campus Representative
- Ashley Anderson - Special Education Parent Liaison
- Amy Rudd - Director of Special Education
- Kimberly Waltmon - Executive Director of Special Programs and Services
Our Executive Council held our first meeting in late October to introduce everyone and discuss the purpose of this committee. We have identified board operations, feedback loops, advocacy, family outreach resources, community outreach, and student experience as our areas of focus for this school year. With winter break quickly approaching, we wanted to be sure that we gave our general members ample time to prepare for our first meeting. We are excited to announce that our first general meeting will be held on the evening of January 24, 2023 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.! Please save the date. We will be sending out reminder emails with more information in the upcoming weeks. If you or anyone you know would like to join that hasn’t already, please visit this link. We can not wait to collaborate with you!
Winter Break Fun
Reading Bingo
Our Supplemental Reading Program (SRP) Team has shared a fun way to encourage reading throughout winter break. What better way to have some fun, than by playing Reading Bingo. It’s an activity that the whole family can enjoy. Worried about how to access books over the break? Check out the Sora online library that is free for LISD students.
Winter Fun!
Check out these fun at-home winter break activities for students of various ages:
- Musical Chairs (Snowflake Hop)
- Snowman Describing
- Draw a Snowman Barrier Game
- Marshmallow Toss
- Ice Skating with Paper Plates
- Snowy Mountain Craft
- Make Snow Dough
- Make an Icicle Craft
- Snowman in a Bag
- Snowman Snack Ideas
Click here to learn how to use these activities to help build communication skills with your learner.
Self-Determination
This month's Self-Determination skill is Problem Solving. Problem Solving helps your student identify barriers in any situation and use the resources around them to develop different solutions. View the Problem Solving flyer to learn how you can help your child in developing their problem solving skills. Feel free to utilize some of the How Big Is My Problem tools in the process. To learn more about other self-determination skills visit the Transition Planning webpage.
Destination Life Regional Transition Fair and Conference
Save the Date! The Annual Destination Life Regional Transition Fair and Conference is coming back on Saturday, March 4, 2023! This year it will be held in person from 9am - 1:30pm at McNeil High School. Destination Life is made possible by special educators from Leander ISD and surrounding school districts. This event showcases multiple vendors, agencies, and programs that assists students with disabilities and their families with the transition from school into adulthood. There will be information that is beneficial from early childhood to life after high school. These organizations will be available to talk about job training, living options, post-secondary education, and other resources for students with disabilities. Click here to view the flyer and learn more.
Parent Book Club
Many of you have inquired about last year's parent book club. We're glad to announce that it has returned! All book studies are open to any parent, teacher, advocate, bookworm in the district that is wanting to grow. All books can be found on Amazon and in audiobook format on Audible. Some may also be available through your local libraries. Please email Ashley.Anderson@leanderisd.org if you are interested in joining and she will connect you with the group. Here is the list of tentative dates and books for this school year:
- In honor of Inclusive Schools Week, the Book Club is partnering with Camacho PTA to offer a 6 week book study of Your Students, My Students, Our Students
- December 15th: Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century
- January 19th: The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
- February 16th: Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
- March TBD: The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family
- April 20th: The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain
- May 18th: Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential