Special Education Family Newsletter
September 2022
Greetings from the Special Education Department and welcome to the 2022-2023 school year at Bristol-Plymouth! Hopefully, by now, you have received a physical mailing from our office which contained a welcome letter and the annual Notice of Procedural Safeguards. If you have received that mailing, please contact our office at 508-823-5151 ext. 427. In an effort to reach as many families as possible, each mailing from our office will also be emailed in this format. Language translation options are above.
Department Information and Communication
The Special Education Department is committed to providing your child with the necessary services to be successful at B-P. Our department consists of 9 special education teachers and 6 paraprofessionals who work closely with content area teachers to meet your child’s needs within the academic classrooms. In addition, your child’s technical progress will be monitored by 1 additional special education teacher who meets regularly with the vocational teachers in order to ensure that your child’s IEP is being followed in the shop environment.
You are encouraged to contact any member of the department to discuss concerns or ask questions; however, your child has been assigned to one teacher who will function as the IEP case manager. This teacher's name and email was sent to you in the letter we sent by mail. Their responsibility during the year will be to monitor your child’s IEP from its development at the Team meeting through progress monitoring each quarter, and therefore should be your first contact regarding IEP concerns. If you have concerns regarding your child’s academic and technical progress, please contact the content teacher directly, not the case manager. Using email is the best means of communication for all teachers. Teachers at B-P can be reached by emailing, first initial last name@bptech.org
Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
Your input is an integral part of the success of the Special Education Department at B-P. We welcome communication throughout the year and especially at IEP and SEPAC meetings. The SEPAC meeting topics include: Advisory to the district about special education programming, transition services to adult living, work, and education, homework help and MCAS preparation, and disability specific resources. These meetings are your opportunity to share ideas and concerns as we plan for the future of our programs. We are seeking officers for the current school year. If you are interested, please email Amy Cohen, acohen@bptech.org.
The first meeting will be held tonight, Thursday, September 22nd at 6 p.m. Amy Cohen will provide the annual presentation of parents’ rights and procedural safeguards. The meeting will be held in person at B-P in Room 401. Please enter through the cafeteria doors and walk down the hall toward the main office. If you are unable to attend, you can find the information reviewed on the following DESE webpages:
Notice of Procedural Safeguards
A Parent's Guide to Special Education
Other SEPAC dates and topics for this school year are:
December 15, 2022 - Zoom presentation on Social Emotional Learning in the Home
March 20, 2023 - Zoom presentation on Executive Functioing
May 23, 2023 - Location TBA. Presentation on Transiton Topics and officer elections
Meeting information will be emailed prior to each date.
IEP Team Meetings
Your child's IEP Team meeting will be arranged according to the end date of your child’s current IEP and will be held in person with an option to request a virtual meeting. Meeting invitations will be mailed and emailed to parents prior to the meeting. If you wish to have a virtual meeting or need accommodations or assistance to attend a meeting, please contact 508-823-5151 ext. 427 and speak with Joanne Arraiol, Special Education Secretary.
Southeast Center for Independent Living (SCIL)
We will continue to partner with the Southeast Center for Independent Living (SCIL) to provide transition activities for our students. We will share the individual support opportunities available through SCIL at your child’s annual IEP meeting. Additionally, we have arranged grade specific group workshops to be held during the school day. Each workshop is only one hour in length and will be held on the following dates:
Grade 9 Developing a Vision Statement - October 6, 2022
Grade 10 Employment Skills -December 22, 2022
Grade 11 Financial Literacy - January 5, 2023
Grade 12 Housing and Insurance - April 6, 2023
In order to participate in these programs, a permission slip is required. This form was mailed home with the welcome packet. In the event you did not receive the mailing, you may complete this electronic version.
SCIL will continue to host their popular Permit Test Prep course several times throughout this year. Information about the Fall class can be found here.