April 17, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians of our Students Receiving Special Education Services,
I hope this finds you and your family well and you are all managing to stay safe. I have heard
from many special education service providers who have shared your feeling of being
overwhelmed with all that is on your plate and now you need to be the teachers for your
children. Please understand the physical and mental health of you and your family is more
important than any school assignment. If you can’t manage the school work that is being sent
home, just let your teacher(s) or building principal know. We can work with you to make this
work for your family. At the end of this, you and your family need to be healthy, both physically
and emotionally.
Virtual IEP Meetings
Team chairs will be reaching out to families to schedule IEP meetings. We need to prioritize all the meetings that need to be held before the end of the school year. You may choose to hold off on your IEP meeting until school reopens; that will be your prerogative.
*Transition Meetings: First priority will be given to IEP meetings that involve some type of
transition such as moving up from GM to Fowler or Fowler to the High School.
* Expiring Annuals: Another top priority is the annual IEP meetings that expire from March
13th to the end of the school year.
*Initial and 3 year Reevaluation Meetings: These will be determined on an individual basis.
We will need to consider if the proper testing has been completed and if reports have been
written.
We will be limited in the number of IEP meetings we can schedule in a week due to the
classroom teachers and service providers who participate in virtual lessons and the weekly
grade/content planning meetings. We need to schedule IEP meetings outside of these times.
As of now the following are times slotted for IEP meetings by building:
MHS - Wednesday 12:30-2:00
Fowler- Monday-Thursday 12:00-1:00
Green Meadow - coming soon
When school resumes, your child’s IEP team will follow up, as necessary, to determine next
steps in supporting your child’s progress.
Responsibilities of Special Educators and Service Providers
All service providers have been instructed to provide learning activities that are based on
individual student IEP objectives. They are assisting grade/content level teachers with
accommodations and modifications for the students with IEPs. If your child receives inclusion
support in the general education class, there may be modified work the special education
teacher will provide you in a separate email. If your child receives pull-out services, these
activities will be provided by the special educator or service provider. We are sending out
“Remote Special Education Plans” to each family. This will inform you as to how each service
provider will be reaching out/sending learning activities to your child and/or you. This will be a
plan you can tack up on the fridge or in the “new learning area” in your home. It will not contain the weekly activities that will come to you separately each week.
If you are confused or overwhelmed by all the activities, please contact your child’s special
education liaison. He/She can assist you in creating a blueprint that will meet your specific
needs. If you can’t get it all or any of it completed with your child, please let us know. If you
need to prioritize, you may decide to work on the IEP related activities. Let your special
education liaison problem solve with you.
Confidentiality
We want to protect you and your child’s confidentiality during any virtual activities we schedule. We ask everyone in our school community to recognize that video conferences and other online services will be taking place in the homes of the educators and students who participate in the calls, and to be mindful of everyone’s right to privacy
Take time to take care of yourselves and stay safe.
Sincerely,
Carol Riccardi-Gahan, Director of Student Services