Montclair SEPAC

Special Education Parent Advisory Council

sepac

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MPS & SEPAC Acadience Reading Webinar

SEPAC & MPS will host an Acadience Reading Webinar on Tuesday, November 16th from 7 – 8:30 pm.  This is intended for all parents and caregivers in the district.  
 
Acadience Reading is a standardized universal screening assessment whose measures aid in the identification of students in need of intervention in the area of reading. Acadience Reading makes it easier to detect K–6 students who are at risk for early reading difficulties in order to provide timely instructional support and prevent the occurrence of later reading difficulties. The information covered in this webinar will empower parents and caregivers to better collaborate with school staff, thus ensuring that every child in the district receives the instruction and support necessary to become a successful reader.  Please pass this info along to Montclair friends and neighbors – all parents and caregivers in the district are invited.  
 
During the first hour of the webinar, Susan Miller, a certified provider of Acadience Reading and the Assistant Director of the Ann Robinowitz Education Center, accredited by the International Dyslexia Association, will provide an overview of assessments, compare and contrast the assessments used in public schools and delve into the purpose and design of the Acadience Reading Screener. At the conclusion of the presentation, attendees will be able to ask Miller questions regarding the assessment tool. Additionally, questions specific to Montclair programming will be addressed by Dr. Kalisha Morgan, Assistant Superintendent for Equity, Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Marcos Vargas, Director of Humanities (K-12) Dr. Jill McLaughlin, Director of Elementary Education.
 
The Zoom info is:

Join from the event link:

 

 

Join by the event number:
Event number (access code): 2330 672 2543
Event password: gW8Bq3e7ePB (49827337 from phones)

Tap to join from a mobile device (attendees only):
+1-408-418-9388,,23306722543#49827337#
United States Toll Some mobile devices may ask attendees to enter a numeric password.

Join by phone:
+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll

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SEPAC Parent/Caregiver Liaisons.

There are parent/caregiver liaisons in each building.  These volunteers may be able to quickly answer a building based questions or concern.  Contact info can be found here.

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October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

In promotion of Dyslexia Awareness Month, the Montclair Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), the Montclair NAACP Education Committee and the Montclair Public School District invite you to participate in two parent educational webinars:
Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm. Ms. Tracey Wolfson, Glenfield teacher and District Coordinator for the Orton Gillingham Teacher Training Program, will present an overview of Orton Gillingham reading approach and the Fairleigh Dickinson University Orton Gillingham (OG) Teacher Training program. Please register in advance for the webinar – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pf-uqpj0qGtOymIU2J0QyoK9qXJEykIoe
Wednesday, October 20 at 7:00pm. Ms. Dee Rosenberg, Head of the Laurel School of Princeton & Director of the Ann Robinowitz Education Center, will present an overview on the Science of Reading. Please register in advance for the webinar  – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlce-oqjssHtTy69fRMs_WGccyXzMR2bF8
See attached flyer for more information.

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SEPAC General Meeting – 10/7, 7:00 pm

Please join the SEPAC General Meeting on Thursday, October 7th at 7:00 pm.  The Pupil Services Team comprised of Dr. Goldblatt, Ms. Finnerty, Dr. Trim, and Ms. Perez will be introduced.  They will also address the list of  questions that were submitted by our members.
Topic: SEPAC-Pupil Services Introduction Meeting
Time: Oct 7, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81142381201?pwd=Q1o0cXYwM3RnT1J3OTJDYlZwcyt3QT09

Meeting ID: 811 4238 1201
Passcode: 104506

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Parent Empowerment Workshop Series

Local attorney, Norma Francullo, will be offering a series of Parent Empowerment Workshops throughout 2021-22.  Use this Google Form to receive more information and to sign up.

 

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Welcome Back to School – 9/7/21

Welcome New and Returning 2021–2022 Montclair SEPAC Members!

Wishing everyone, especially our students and staff a very safe and easy back to school transition.

We are happy that you have chosen to be involved with SEPAC this school year and look forward to hearing your ideas, concerns, and volunteer interests in our Committee.  Your membership is valuable to us!  Please also find the attached NEW SEPAC Newsletter.

The goal for SEPAC this year is to continue to work closely with parents and the district to share systemic concerns.  As we receive updates from Pupil Services, we will be sharing them in our e-newsletters and on our website. Dr. Goldblatt has reported to us that one of the biggest changes we will all see this year as caregivers is that principals and/or vice principals from each school will be attending IEP meetings.  The principals and vice principals of each school will be going through professional development on Child Study Team (CST) and IEP procedures prior to the first day of school. Also, prior to the first day of school, other staff members will be trained on DIBELS®, the new reading assessment tool that will be used on all K-8 children.  The district will provide parent training on this tool and how to support reading at home.  Finally, the district will be offering continued professional development to address many of the issues raised in the audit.  As we learn more specifics, we will share.

 

SEPAC plans to meet at 7:00pm on the last Monday of every month.  Please see the dates posted on our website.  Due to Covid-19 concerns, these meetings will be virtual.  We will also hold a parent support call on Monday September 27.  Please consider joining us and getting involved with one of our subcommittees.  We have an ambitious agenda this year and need our members to be effective.

 

We would also like to introduce you to our Leadership Team:

 

Alexis Dudley                                        

Alexis is a returning team leader as our Board of Education Liaison and head of the Events & Presentations Committee.  As BOE Liaison, Alexis communicates directly with the BOE Special Education Member, Priscilla Church.  Her duties as the head of our Events & Presentations Committee include soliciting, researching, and setting up events and presentations for our monthly SEPAC meetings.  Alexis will also work on the Audit Accountability Committee.

Jada Roman                                                          

Jada is a returning team leader as SEPAC’s representative on the Montclair Public School’s District Equity Committee, Parent-Teacher Association Council (PTAC) and Equity, Anti-Racism and Opportunity Gap (EAROG) subcommittee.  Jada role will include communication as district-facing contact to administrators and BOE.

 

Ashley Few                                                                                    

Ashley is a new member of the SEPAC leadership team.  Ashley is head of the Communications/SEPAC Academy Committee, which is tasked with communications to the general membership and committees, as well as creating content for SEPAC Academy.

 

Ellen Luca                                                                                         

Ellen Luca is a new member of the SEPAC leadership team. Ellen is in charge of the creation and update of the SEPAC website.  Ellen will also generate the SEPAC Newsletter.

 

Jason Santarcangelo                            

Jason is a new member of the SEPAC leadership team.  Jason is head of our Recommendations Committee, which is tasked with consolidating the systematic issues and inefficiencies that are brought to SEPAC, and forming discrete recommendations for district officials to remedy them.  In doing so, Jason will work with the special education parent Friday Group and will assist with recommendations by way of the Audit.

 

Warm regards,

 

SEPAC Leadership Team

Alexis,  Jada, Ashley, Ellen, and Jason