Together We Can
January 23, 2023

These last few weeks, I have been able to get out to the school buildings and see some great things going on. There is so much inspiring learning from our students. I have seen some great literacy and math lessons by our dedicated staff. Our classroom teachers are doing such great work with your children.
On Thursday February 2, I will be providing an update on the Special Education Action Plan to the Board of Education. The meeting will be at the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue and is expected to start around 8:00 pm after the BOE has an executive session. If you are not able to attend, you can also watch virtually.
Best,
Stacey Heiligenthaler, Ph.D.
Chief Officer of Special Education and Student Supports
What We Are Seeing 👀 Around the Schools
The ABC's of Special Education
Lynn Rule from Connecticut Parent Advisory Center (CPAC) provided parents and staff an overview of special education and the PPT process. On February 8, she will be returning to present on "Getting to Know Your Child's IEP." See the registration flyer in this newsletter for more details.
Workshops and Resources


Greenwich Public Schools Listening Community - Winter 2023
Please join our Winter 2023 Listening Community.
Meetings will be held at Greenwich Town Hall in the Gisborne Conference Room.
Wednesday mornings from 9:30 AM- 10:30 AM:
- January 25
- February 1
- February 8
- February 22
- March 1
- March 8
For those parents that would prefer to participate virtually, below is the meeting link:
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/bsc-jneo-tby
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 570-415-1046‬ PIN: ‪950 110 805‬#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/bsc-jneo-tby?pin=9474928562361
Inclusion Corner by Rachel Rubin
I hope you are having a great start to 2023! I’m excited to continue building our understanding of inclusion and share some resources with you.
A major part of promoting inclusion is understanding NEURODIVERSITY. Put simply, neurodiversity is the diversity of human brains; my brain works differently than yours. In the context of learning, humans take in, process, and express their learning in different ways. A person can be neurodivergent or neurotypical.
Resource Share:
Here are two videos that dive deeper into neurodiversity:
What You Need to Know About Neurodiversity (4 minutes)
Ask an Autistic- What is Neurodiversity? (11 minutes)
This year, GPS elementary schools began its partnership with PINE, "Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education," to strengthen our inclusive practices, build on our understanding of neurodiversity, and better support all of our neurodivergent learners. Through PINE, elementary school teams are doing a variety of inclusive work such as, completing courses on topics like Understanding Autism and Building Executive Functioning, having thoughtful conversations about areas of strength and areas of growth, and participating in office hours with PINE experts.
As I continue to share resources and information, let me know what is of interest to YOU. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey.

