Iowa Family & Educator Partnership
Volume 18 No. 2 Nov. 2023
Be Watchful for 8th Grade Transition Packets
Every fall the Family & Educator Partnership sends a folder of information to parents of students currently in the 8th grade, who receive special education services from districts within the Great Prairie Area Education Agency via USPS mail. This folder is designed to introduce families to the concept of the secondary transition process, and to help them prepare for future IEP meetings.
Iowa Code requires that all families are made aware that rights will transfer to the student upon their 18th birthday. This packet of information is intended to help support that requirement.
All of the materials included in this folder are available at https://www.gpaea.org/families/family-educator-partnership/helpful-transition-documents/ . Feel free to download them for your own use or to attach in an email. You can also order printed copies at https://aeacreativeservices.org/product-categories/. Once logged into that site, you can search ‘FEP’ for a list of all available documents.
It is our belief that sharing the folder with families, will help them become familiar with the materials, and use them to engage in the planning for their students’ post secondary living, learning, and working goals.
We Are Here for You - Family & Educator Partnership
Learn more at the Family & Educator Partnership website https://www.gpaea.org/families/family-educator-partnership/. Find free learning opportunities for families and educators, links to resources, road map to local services, printable materials and more.
Annette Clarahan
Family & Educator Coordinator
641-682-8591 or 800-622-0027 Ext. 5517
annette.clarahan@gpaea.org
Districts Covered: Albia, Cardinal, Centerville, Chariton, Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Keota, Moravia, Moulton – Udell, North Mahaska, Oskaloosa Christian, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Ottumwa Christian, Ottumwa Seton Catholic School, Pekin, Seymour, Sigourney, Tri-County, Wayne.
Kelly Wallace
Family & Educator Coordinator
641-682-8591 or 800-622-0027 Ext. 3034
kelly.wallace@gpaea.org
Districts Covered: Burlington, Burlington Notre Dame, Central Lee, Danville, Fairfield, Ft. Madison, Holy Trinity, Keokuk, Keokuk Catholic, Keokuk Christian, Maharishi, Mediapolis, Morning Sun, Mt. Pleasant, New London, Singing Cedars, Van Buren, Waco, Wapello, West Burlington, Winfield/Mt. Union.
Elevate Mobile Crisis Response Team Runs 24/7/365!
Elevate Mobile Crisis Response team offers onsite and in-person interventions to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. They are there to help those in need at home or any other location. Mobile Crisis services now available in Keokuk, Washington, Louisa, Des Moines, Lee, Henry, Jefferson and Van Buren Counties. Clients or workers can access services as needed by calling 988.
Click here for a full Mobile Crisis Response Brochure.
Iowa Reading Research Center - Caregivers Resource Hub A Resource for Families
Iowa Reading Research Center has a Caregivers & Resource Hub. Here you will find modules and downloadable resources that can be used to support your children’s literacy development. There are six modules: Core Literacy Skills, Science of Reading, Advocating for your Student, Assistive Technology, Structured Literacy & Understanding FastBridge. We will spotlight resources and information within the Resource Hub throughout the year in the FEP newsletter. In this newsletter we will be focusing on the Core Literacy Skills.
A Family Guide to Core Literacy Skills walks you through the skills that children need to develop to become skilled readers. For each skill, a definition is provided along with grade level expectations, and suggestions for practicing at home. Also, how skills may be assessed using Iowa screening assessments. Oftentimes as parents we might ask “How is my child doing?” or “Is he/she where they should be for his/her age?” This handout is a great resource to help you know where your child should be kindergarten - 3rd grade. You can find it at the following link Grade Level Expectations.
Downloadable resources in this section include Print Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Phonics & Decoding, Fluency, Vocabulary, Spelling, Comprehension, and Writing. The Special Education Terms & Acronyms document might be helpful as you navigate through the site and resources.
Check it out, and share with friends and family!
Mindspring provides free mental health education opportunities to the public through webinars on a wide variety of mental health topics. Webinars are offered for free each week with the generous support of Polk County, Polk County BHDS, and United Way of Central Iowa.
All webinars are free and open to the public. Webinars are recorded and emailed to all registrants. Certificates of attendance are administered to anyone who participates in the live webinar and completes the survey at the end.
Click on the link below to see upcoming webinars dates and times.
https://www.mindspringhealth.org/get-involved/webinars-and-events
Learn more at the Family & Educator Partnership website https://www.gpaea.org/families/family-educator-partnership/. Find free learning opportunities for families and educators, links to resources, road map to local services, printable materials and more.
About GPAEA
Email: comments@gpaea.org
Website: gpaea.org
Phone: 641-682-8591
Facebook: facebook.com/gpaea
Twitter: @gpaea
It is the policy of the Great Prairie Education Agency not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Nathan Wood, 2814 N. Court, Ottumwa, IA 52501, (641) 682-8591 x5512, nathan.wood@gpaea.org (employment practices) or Angela Livezey, 2814 N. Court, Ottumwa, IA 52501, (641) 682-8591 x5302, angela.livezey@gpaea.org (educational programs).