Special Edition: The Special Services Newsletter for November 2024

Posted Date: 11/27/24 (02:33 PM)

Special Edition

The Monroe Township Public Schools Special Services Newsletter

November 25, 2024

7-10 Split and Transforming Inclusive Education

At a recent workshop, one of the panelists shared this video. It's a great analogy for considering how to apply an inclusive mindset. In order to score big, you have to aim for the most challenging pins to hit! Worth a watch.

Special education: not a place, a service!

SEPAG Parent Survey Results

On October 16th, 2024, the first Special Education Parent Advisory Group of the 2024-25 School Year met in the Media Center at Williamstown High School. In addition to listening to guest speakers discuss transition services, parents completed a survey to help inform the group's future direction.

What topics would you like to see covered at future SEPAG meetings?

Responses to this question included:

IEPs
Behavioral Support and intervention
Transition planning
Social Emotional Learning
Inclusive Practices
...and more

What format do you prefer for SEPAG meetings?

Regarding the format for SEPAG Meetings, stakeholders preferred hybrid meetings by a slight majority. Informal discussions, support groups, workshops with guest speakers, and in-person meetings were the most popular responses.

Most convenient time of day to attend SEPAG meetings

What time of day is most convenient for you to attend SEPAG meetings?

Evenings emerged as the most popular time to attend SEPAG meetings (from 6 pm to 8 pm).

How often should we have SEPAG meetings?

How often would you like SEPAG meetings to be held?

Stakeholders broadly preferred quarterly meetings for SEPAG gathering, with "as needed" coming in second.

What type of communication do you prefer to receive reminders and updates about SEPAG meetings?

Email and text messages represent the most preferred way to communicate with stakeholders about upcoming meetings. Interestingly, phone calls were the third least-popular mode of communication.

What barriers make attendance difficult?

Childcare, time conflicts, and work schedule represented the biggest barriers to attending MTPS SEPAG meetings.

Other Questions

Four (4) respondents agreed to provide assistance with future SEPAG meetings
Topics for future meetings suggested included reverse inclusion, district information, parent-led topics, mental health assistance, parenting classes, and others

Speaking of Surveys...Indicator 8!

Speaking of surveys, the New Jersey Department of Education has included Monroe Township Public Schools in the first cohort of school districts to participate in a survey that will be delivered directly to parents and guardians in June of 2025. This survey is intended to measure parental involvement in the special education process.

Some details:

Links to surveys will be send directly to parents and guardians
One survey per child
The survey is federal (nation-wide)
Spanish forms will be available
Other languages can be requested
Students attending out-of-district schools will be included in the survey

More information will be posted to ParentSquare regarding the survey.