Special Education Department
Educating Students Academically, Socially and Behaviorally
September 16, 2016 Volume 4 Issue 6
September
Children's Good Manners Month
International Literacy Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Preparedness Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month
9/27 Hess Back to School Night
Hess Paraprofessionals will have PD starting at 1:30 (Location- To Be Announced)
9/28 Hess Back to School Night
Hess Paraprofessionals will have PD starting at 1:30 (Location- To Be Announced)
Looking ahead to October
Week of Respect – The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (P.L.2010, c.122) requires that the week beginning with the first Monday in October of each year (October 3-7 in 2016) be designated as the Week of Respect in New Jersey. To recognize the importance of character education, school districts, charter schools and Renaissance school projects are required to observe the week by providing age-appropriate instruction focusing on preventing HIB. Approved private schools for students with disabilities are encouraged, but not required, to observe this week. To facilitate planning, online resources at http://www.state.nj.us/education/students/safety/sandp/climate/.
World Mental Health Day- October 10
School Violence Awareness Week – N.J.S.A. 18A:36-5.1 requires that the week beginning with the third Monday in October of each year (October 17-21 in 2016) be designated as School Violence Awareness Week in New Jersey.
The Faces 4 Autism Super Hero Walk for Autism is scheduled for Saturday, October 29th in Ventnor. More details to follow.
News
Our friend, Dylan, is attempting to get an adaptive bike.
Substitutes:
We are always looking for teacher, nurse and paraprofessional substitutes. If you know anyone who is interested, please have that person call the personnel office at 476-6247.
Mental Health
Thanks to all who were able to complete the School Readiness Survey. I am sorry it was not as user friendly as it could have been. I will pass on your suggestions to the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide so they can improve it for future use.
Wednesday, September 28th let's have dinner and a movie while reflecting on how to provide a less stressful environment for our students. (Note: This will not be an option for those Hess staff members who are required to attend Back to School Night on 9/28.)
Learning Ally
NEW video from Learning Ally- "Watch our video about how audiobooks give access to grade-level content and support comprehension." Learning Ally Audiobooks in the Classroom: Helping Students Learn and Succeed
NEW Learning Ally Link is an educational reading app, designed for students who learn through listening.
From the NJDOE
FROM: John Worthington, Acting Director Office of Special Education Programs
SUBJECT: Parental Rights in Special Education (PRISE)
A revised copy of the procedural safeguards statement that is published by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to meet the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.3(g)7 is now available on the NJDOE’s website. This document was developed to explain the rights afforded under special education law to adult students with disabilities and the parents of students with disabilities. Revisions include updated information on the electronic submission of requests for mediation and due process, new information on adult out-of-state placements, and edits to correct grammatical and typographical errors. The document replaces all previous versions of the PRISE. Previous versions of this document can no longer be used and should be discarded. This document is available on the NJDOE’s website at http://www.nj.gov/njded/specialed/info/.
Straight from the Code
In order to provide both general and special education teachers with more knowledge of special education, there will be an excerpt from the code each week to help clarify our processes. http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap14.pdf
Over the next few weeks, information will be shared relative to IEPs. Please be sure you have read and are implementing the IEPs for your students.
6A:14-3.7 Individualized education program
(a) A meeting to develop the IEP shall be held within 30 calendar days of a determination that a student is eligible for special education and related services or eligible for speech-language services. An IEP shall be in effect before special education and related services are provided to a student with a disability and such IEP shall be implemented as soon as possible following the IEP meeting.
1. At the beginning of each school year, the district board of education shall have in effect an IEP for every student who is receiving special education and related services from the district;
2. Every student's IEP shall be accessible to each regular education teacher, special education teacher, related services provider, and other service provider who is responsible for its implementation;
3. The district board of education shall inform each teacher and provider described in (a)2 above of his or her specific responsibilities related to implementing the student's IEP and the specific accommodations, modifications, and supports to be provided for the student in accordance with the IEP. The district board of education shall maintain documentation that the teacher and provider, as applicable, has been informed of his or her specific responsibilities related to implementing the student's IEP; and 78
4. The district board of education shall ensure that there is no delay in implementing a student's IEP including any case in which the payment source for providing or paying for special education and related services is being determined.
Grants, Contests and Free Stuff!
A tool kit to assist members of the school community in understanding and supporting students with autism.
Thank America’s Teachers and Farmers Insurance Grants
Inspired by the great work teachers do in classrooms every day, Farmers wants to say thank you for their tireless dedication. Through Thank America’s Teachers, Farmers Insurance is giving away more than $1 million in two separate grant opportunities again in 2016. The $2,500 grant program addresses teachers’ day-to-day classroom needs and the $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge empowers teachers’ educational visions for their schools and the community at large. The deadline is September 29, 2016.
GreenWorks! Environmental Education Grant
Project Learning Tree offers grants up to $1,000 to schools and youth organizations for environmental service-learning projects that link classroom learning to the real world. Students implement an action project they help design to green their school or to improve an aspect of their neighborhood’s environment. The projects partner students with their whole school, local businesses and/or community organizations, and provide opportunities for student leadership. The deadline is September 30, 2016.
Share Your Ed-Tech Innovation and You Could Be a Grand Prize Winner!
FREE Professional Development
*Tip- If there is a webinar you are interested in but you are unavailable at the time listed, register anyway as the company will generally send a link to the recorded webinar after the event.
Free Webinars:
Engineering Classrooms with Visual Strategies for Autism Success
Thursday, September 22, 2016 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Music, Books and Puppet Connections for all Classrooms
Thursday, September 29, 2016 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
What Every Educator Should Know About Special Education Law
Monday, November 7, 2016 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
NJ Coalition for Inclusive Education (NJCIE) recorded webinars
Student Services Snippets
Critical Information for ALL staff is contained in these short screencasts. They run from 4.5 to 8 minutes. Please refer to them as needed.
Working with Paraprofessionals
Critical Information for Paraprofessionals
If there is other information you feel it would be helpful for us to share via screencast, please let us know.
Special Education Department
Email: stecherm@hamiltonschools.org
Website: http://www.hamiltonschools.org/cst.html
Phone: (609)476-6314
Facebook: facebook.com/HTSDspecialed
Twitter: @HTSDspecialed