Month: September 2016

Posted in Educación Especial, Resources, SEPAC Meetings, special ed

Bloomfield Schools Superintendent Salvatore Goncalves – is our Special Guest Speaker at Our Opening Session for Bloomfield’s Special Education Advisory Council – Oct. 19, 2016!

Posted on by Bloomfield SEPAC

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We are delighted to announce that Bloomfield Schools Superintendent  Salvatore Goncalves has kindly agreed to be our opening Guest for the 2016-2017  Bloomfield SEPAC School Season.  13597002-large

This will be a terrific opportunity to get answers to your important questions about your special needs student and the current and future plans for Bloomfield Schools. This informative session will include Superintendent Goncalves, along with members of the Bloomfield Schools Special Services Division.

If you have any questions for Superintendent Goncalves please e-mail them here to greggo1685@verizon.net   NOW!  Your questions must be submitted on or before October 10, 2016 to be included for the Meeting. Any person submitting a question may remain anonymous upon request.

This season’s first Bloomfield SEPAC Meeting will be held at DEMAREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, located at 465 Broughton Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, on Wednesday, October 19, 2016, from 7 – 9 P.M.  We will begin promptly to ensure we can get the most questions  asked and answered.  Your questions submitted here to our SEPAC Website will be addressed first.

We are looking forward to welcoming all Parents of Bloomfield’s Special Needs students at this meeting. If you are new to the Bloomfield Schools system or have not attended a Bloomfield SEPAC Meeting before, this one will make a great start. If you are one of our longtime members you will know how important it is to get to ask questions and get answers straight from the top, with Superintendent Goncalves. We will see you October 19, from 7 P.M.- 9 P.M. at Demarest Elementary School

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Posted in ESSA - Every Student Succeeds Act, Resources, special ed

An Overview of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) & How It Affects Special Needs Students.

Posted on by Bloomfield SEPAC

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The Every Student Succeeds Act, (ESSA) soon goes into full effect. The main idea of ESSA was to improve upon the No Child Left Behind Act. ESSA has it proponents and its detractors; as most laws do. It also is open to interpretation from Parents, Student Advocates and professionals in Education and Education Law.

Here is three and a half well spent minutes of your time about ESSA:

Click HERE – for an Overview of ESSA            

Please PRESS HERE for lots of useful information and Links about ESSA and how it impacts Special Needs Students.

Download a PDF file of the ESSA LAW HERE

“The ESSA is divided into 8 different titles, each emphasizing a different aspect of strengthening and supporting the educational systems of states and local educational agencies (LEAs). A look at the titles will give you a quick grasp of the law’s sweeping nature. The titles of the law are:

Title I—Improving Basic Programs Operated by State and Local Educational Agencies

Title II—Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High-Quality Teachers, Principals, or Other School Leaders

Title III—Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students

Title IV—21st Century Schools

Title V—State Innovation and Local Flexibility

Title VI—Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education

Title VII—Impact Aid

Title VIII—General Provisions”

Title 1 is the most well-known and prominent section of the original legislation passed in 1965 (the ESEA) and remains so in this latest reauthorization. The U.S. Department of Education provides Title 1 funding (through 4 formula grant programs) to LEAs with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. (2) For the 2014 fiscal year, Title I, Part A was the single largest investment for K-12 education, with an estimated $14.4 billion allocated. (3)” –  from ParentsCenterHub.Org

 

 

  

Posted in bloomfieldsepac, Resources

Governor Christie’s Guide To Destroying a Great School System.

Posted on by Bloomfield SEPAC
Eric Sheninger: Governor Christie’s Guide to Destroying a Great Public School System
By dianeravitch
September 14, 2016 //
23

Eric Shininger is a principal in New Jersey. He comes from a family of educators. He is appalled by Governor Chris Christie’s continual attacks on educators who have dedicated their lives to children. He explains he essentials of Christie’s agenda to destroy public education in the Garden State.

He writes:

“Let’s look at some of the ridiculous decisions Governor Christie has made to derail a great education system:

“Reduced state funding for schools over the years to pay for tax cuts for his rich friends. His latest wisdom is articulated in this article: Chris Christie’s Education Plan Is Shocking: He Wants to Give to the Rich and Take From the Poor.

“Eliminated cost of living adjustments (COLA) for all retired educators who gave their all for kids

“Vetoed a mandatory school recess bill, even though research had shown how important it is to student learning.

“Pushed forward a few unfunded mandates (Common Core, PARCC) that have taken away precious funds from improving what really matters. Schools had to front the money for quality professional development, curriculum revision, and technology to support these mandates. Years later many states have backed away from PARCC. The once strong 26-member consortium has now dwindled to 7. For all the hoopla, PARCC has told us nothing we didn’t already know from previous assessments. To make matters worse, NJ has been the only state to make this a graduation requirement in the near future.

“Imposed superintendent caps to drive out some of our best leaders. Many states have welcomed them with open arms and pocket books as good leaders are often worth every penny

“Followed through with a value-added system for evaluating educators, which by the way has no supporting research. He doubled down on this recently by increasing Student Growth Percentile (SGP) scores to 30% of an educator’s overall evaluation. This latest change was pushed out on Wednesday, August 31, just days before schools welcomed back students. On Monday, a few days later, Education Commissioner David Hespe resigned. A bit shady, huh? In all, the new regulations completely give up on quality teaching and simply shoot for compliance. This was most likely done because people were overburdened with paperwork, but no consideration was given as to the effect of the regulations. The entire SGP issue is a nightmare as in some cases they rely on arbitrary numbers

“Refused to fully fund the public pension system that he committed to in 2012 while pushing all the blame for the state’s economic woes on teachers, policemen, firemen, and other public sectors committed to the well being of all.”

Christie leaves the education system of his state worse than he found it. His bullying of educators is inexplicable.

Posted in Educación Especial, Resources, SPAN, special ed

NJ Special Education Advisory Council Meets 9/15/16 at 9:30 A.M.

Posted on by Bloomfield SEPAC

This announcement from Myriam V. Alizo of NJ SPAN:

Dear Parents:
The NJ SEAC (Special Education Advisory Council) meets monthly9:30am-noon, and meetings are open to the public. At the end of every meeting there is time for “Comments from Public”.
Next meeting:
Date: Thursday, September 15th, 2016
Time: 9:30 am
Address: Holiday Inn/National Conference Center
399 Monmouth Street, East Windsor, NJ 08520   (Turnpike Exit 8)
The agenda for the meeting is posted here

This is an important opportunity for families to listen and speak up about issues concerning our children receiving special education services. 
 
Check out the schedule for upcoming meetings here: http://www.nj.gov/education/sseac/schedule.htm
Best regards,
Myriam
Myriam V. Alizo
Project Assistant, Center for Parent Information and Resources@SPAN
www.parentcenterhub.org
Bilingual Parent Group Specialist, START Project
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
www.spanadvocacy.org
Please consider the environment before printing this email

To join the Facebook group for the north region please visit:
Para el grupo de SPAN de Facebook en español:
We must become the change we want to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi
 
Posted in bloomfieldsepac, Resources, SPAN, special ed

Lunchtime Webinar – Talking To Your Child About Their Disability. 9/21/16 Noon-1 P.M.

Posted on by Bloomfield SEPAC

Have you ever wondered about talking with your child about their disability? Can you find the right time, the most helpful, most understandable terms?

SPAN presents an informative Webinar:

When, Why & How to talk to you child about their disability; on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 from Noon-1 P.M. This Webinar is FREE but Registration is required as seats are limited. Press HERE FOR THE REGISTRATION LINK and further information can be found below:

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