Special Education Department
Educating Students Academically, Socially and Behaviorally
September 9, 2016 Volume 4 Issue 5
September
Children's Good Manners Month
International Literacy Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Preparedness Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month
9/13 Shaner Back to School Night
Shaner Paraprofessionals will have PD starting at 1:45 in the Shaner IMC
9/14 Davies Back to School Night
Davies Paraprofessionals will have PD starting at 12:30 (Location- To Be Announced)
9/15 Davies Back to School Night
Davies Paraprofessionals will have PD starting at 12:30 (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
Happy News
Andrew Disque got married!
Melissa Christensen got engaged!
Carla Yutzy had a beautiful baby girl!
Sad News
Frank Vogel recently lost his father-in-law.
Cindy Boddy recently lost her mother-in-law.
Amy Carter lost her cousin this week.
Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
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.
ALL TEACHERS- READ AND FOLLOW IEPs and 504 PLANS
All teachers are legally responsible for reading and following IEPs and 504 Plans. Refer to your class lists in Genesis. If a student has a file folder icon, the student has an IEP. Click on the icon to take you to the IEP. If a student has a bubble/crystal ball icon, the student has a 504 Plan. Click on the icon to take you to the 504 Plan. Please contact a Child Study Team member or a guidance counselor if you have any difficulties. Thank you!
Transportation
As part of new legislation regarding the transportation of special education students, the parents were given the option at the annual review to fill out some information to share about their child with the bus driver and aide. The special education teachers should have received these information sheets from the case managers and given the sheets to the appropriate bus drivers. If you have not yet received these sheets, please check with your case manager. Additionally, if possible, please keep a copy of this sheet in case the bus driver changes or the bus driver loses the sheet. Thank you!
Mental Health
Please take the survey that was sent to you via email yesterday relative to school readiness/suicide prevention. Your input is vital in developing our Mental Health Initiative. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HamiltonTwp The survey will be available until September 15. It will only take about 10 minutes.
Teaching Emotional Skills Pays Big Dividends for Winnetka Elementary School
Read this article to find out how one district is using the Second Step Program for Social Emotional Learning.
Mental Health America Back to School Toolkit
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
If you have a student or students who need audio books based on a medical condition or a learning disability, see the screencast to learn how to give them access to Learning Ally- Student Services Snippets- Learning Ally. The screencast was recorded last year, so utilize the current staff members to assist you. Last year we had a free subscription so many of you may already be familiar with this tool. This year we were able to get the program for half price.
On August 1, 2016, Learning Ally systems were reset for the new school year. All students who were using Learning Ally last year were updated in the system. Please check with the previous teacher to see if any of your new students are already in the system.
From the NJDOE
The federal McKinney-Vento Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and State regulations at N.J.A.C. 6A:17, in part define homeless students as those who lack a fixed, regular and adequate residence. Further, the McKinney-Vento Act defines students who are “sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason” as homeless. The laws mandate immediate enrollment for homeless students. School districts may not require that students experiencing homelessness present residency affidavits to enroll in school. While proof of residency affidavits may ensure that only resident children enroll within the school district, the use of such forms as a requirement for enrollment, or continued enrollment, constitutes an educational barrier for homeless students. Therefore, the proof of residency affidavits normally needed for school enrollment are waived for homeless students.
Governor Signs New Law Limiting P-2 Expulsions & Suspensions
"...The law also prohibits out-of-school suspensions for students in kindergarten through second grade, except when the suspension is based on conduct that is of a violent or sexual nature that endangers others.
In addition, the new law requires school districts and charter schools to implement an early detection and prevention program to identify students in preschool through grade two who are experiencing behavioral or disciplinary problems, and provide behavioral supports for these students, which may include, but need not be limited to, remediation of problem behaviors, positive reinforcements, supportive interventions, and referral services." more
The Post: Professional Online Supports for Teaching
Subscribe to the mailing list- http://www.state.nj.us/education/sca/team/subscribe.htm
The Post for September
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
In an effort to assist students who struggle, teachers frequently want to refer them to the Child Study Team. Teachers are commended for being advocates for their students and wanting to get extra help for them. There are many ways in which we can help students in school. There are also times when students will struggle. However, all students who struggle cannot be classified as special education students. The law is very clear. Being a struggling learner does not necessarily mean a student has a disability. Additionally, being disadvantaged does not mean that you are disabled.
6A:14-3.5(c)12iii. The term severe discrepancy does not apply to students who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, general cognitive deficits, emotional disturbance or environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage.
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:
Rigorous Reading: Building Strength and Stamina
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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