Partnering with Parents
To Meet the Needs of Our Students with Special Needs
September 24, 2019 Volume 2 Issue 2
Important Dates
September
24- Hess House A and Preschool Back to School Night
25- Hess Houses B and C Back to School Night
October
10- Early Dismissal- Staff Professional Development
11- No School for Students- Staff Professional Development
14- No School- Columbus Day
24- Special Education Parent Advisory Group Meeting
Back to School Nights
It was great to see many of you at the Shaner and Davies Back to School Nights! I look forward to seeing more of you at the Hess Back to School Nights. This is a critical time to meet the teachers of your children. Additionally, this is a great opportunity to meet some of the child study team members, counselors, and related service providers. We will have representatives from each of these groups at every Back to School Night. These child study team members, counselors, and related service providers will be available for the 30 minutes prior to the start of the Back to School Night program so that you have an opportunity to introduce yourself if you choose to do so.
PTA
The PTA is having their annual membership drive. They would love for all families and staff to become members. The cost is only $5. Many thanks to the PTA for all the wonderful things they do for our school district! You can go to https://hamiltontownshippta.memberhub.store/to register.
Get FIT Kids
Stockton is starting a program called Get FIT Kids. It is a cooking and exercise class for kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ages 8-12. The first hour the kids will make a healthy snack and eat it together. The second hour they will engage in fun exercise. It is run by an occupational therapist and OT & PT graduate students will be assisting. It runs every Saturday from October 5-November 23. They will run it again next semester starting in February. It is held on Stockton's Galloway campus. There is no cost as it is a grant funded program. If parents are interested this program, here is the contact information:
Mary Kientz, OTD, MS, OTR
Associate Professor Occupational Therapy
Program Director
Stockton University
Special Education Parent Advisory Group
We have a Special Education Parent Advisory Group (SEPAG) in the district. Each district board of education shall ensure that a special education parent advisory group is in place in the district to provide input to the district on issues concerning students with disabilities (N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.2(h).
Generally we meet 4 times per year, though we decide the schedule at our first meeting each school year. Our first meeting for the 2019-2020 school year is scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2019 in the Davies IMC (Library). Please contact Marylynn Stecher- stecherm@hamiltonschools.org- if you would like to serve as a member of this group and you will be added to the email group to get reminders of meetings.
Project Child Find
Parents of Hamilton Township who are concerned that their school age child (3 years to 21 years) may have special needs can receive assistance from the local school district's Child Study Team. In addition, the Hamilton Township Schools are organizing a Child Find campaign to locate and provide services for children ages three to five who may have physical, cognitive, language or emotional difficulties. Information also may be obtained on how and where to receive services for children with special needs who are younger than three. Professional guidance, assessment and an educational program are all available free for eligible children. For more information contact the Hamilton Township School District Child Study Team office at 476-6111.
Register Ready – New Jersey’s Special Needs Registry for Disasters
“Register Ready – New Jersey’s Special Needs Registry for Disasters allows New Jersey residents with disabilities or access and functional needs and their families, friends, caregivers and associates an opportunity to provide information to emergency response agencies so emergency responders can better plan to serve them in a disaster or other emergency."
For more information, click on this link.
Resources
NJ Special Education Website
NJ Special Education Code
Parental Rights in Special Education (PRISE) and other resources
START Engaging Parents of Students with Disabilities
Administrative Team
Supervisor of Special Education and Child Study Teams
Marylynn Stecher stecherm@hamiltonschools.org
Supervisor of Instruction in Special Education
Dana Kozak kozakd@hamiltonschools.org
Supervisor of Special Projects
Jeff Wellington wellingtonj@hamiltonschools.org
Previous Newsletters
Notice of Nondiscrimination
The Hamilton Township School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, affectional or sexual orientation, ancestry, disability, age, or social or economic status in its programs and activities.
The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:
Marylynn Stecher
Affirmative Action Officer
609-476-6313
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
For further information on notice of nondiscrimination, visit https://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm for the address and phone number of the office that serves your area, or call 1-800-421-3481.
Special Education Department
Email: stecherm@hamiltonschools.org
Website: http://hamiltonschools.org/curriculum___programs/special_education
Phone: (609)476-6314
Facebook: facebook.com/HTSDspecialed
Twitter: @HTSDspecialed