SEPAC Business Meeting – June 14, 2022
Call to Order
Introductions: Kristin Burke, Alison Elmer, Chris Carlson, Lisa Welch, Inae Hwang, Sarah Barton, Jessica Dombrosky, Louisa Popkin, Amy Benjamin, Tracy Perneta, and Ai Yamaguchi attended.
Approve Minutes: Meeting Minutes from April 2022 and May 2022 were approved.
Officers/Committee Reports:
- We had Representative Sean Garballey to our last meeting to address issues that could be addressed at the State Level. In April we had the APS Staff present on the new Literacy Initiative. Before that we had Crafting Minds give a presentation on decoding.
- We also presented to the school board on a SEPAC survey we developed in the fall.
- Since the presentation, SEPAC representatives have been present on hiring committees for open director positions in the Arlington Public Schools.
- We discussed creating a Google form where people who are interested in participating on hiring committees and volunteering for other SEPAC events.
- We plan to hold a discussion with the new Social Studies Director about including disabled history in the curriculum, and we also received a name of a neurodivergent SLP in town who might be able to present. We also discussed creating affinity groups for neurodivergent groups at different schools in the district.
Planning Workshops for the Coming Year:
- Sarah was recently emailing with the METCO social worker, who gave her the contact information for Rochelle, the new METCO coordinator. We may want to have her give a presentation on the different offerings of the METCO program.
APS Staff Reports:
- A district team will be meeting in the fall to form the new District reading curriculum, which will be implemented in the fall of 2023.
- The elementary coordinators are going to have slightly different assignments, due to the restructuring of the Special Education department. They are hiring an out of district team chair person who will facilitate the meetings of out-of-district students, which Chris Carlson has been doing up until this point.
SEPAC Board Elections:
- Inae Hwang was reelected as Chair
- Sarah Barton was reelected as Co-Chair
- Jess Dombrosky was reelected as Secretary
- Lauren Bellon was elected as Web Developer
Public Participation / New Business / Open Discussion:
- We discussed when the fall meet-and-greet, which will take place on the 27th of September, possibly at the high school.
- Lisa Welch was wondering how much this group makes plans/presentations related to emotional disabilities.
Inae said that emotional disabilities/mental health issues are included under the neurodivergent umbrella.
Sarah mentioned that much of the work SEPAC has been doing regarding school refusal has been related to emotional disabilities. She noted that it is difficult to find speakers who are willing to present for free, since we are unfunded, but if anyone knows someone who might be willing to present to the district, please let us know.
Lisa said that she appreciated that the discussion in the minutes talked about changing the environment that might be leading to school refusal.
Announcements:
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Adjourn
