June 2024 SEPAC: Meeting Minutes

SEPAC Meeting Minutes – June 11, 2024

Introductions – Inae Hwang, Sarah Barton, Jessica Dombrosky, Kate Radville, Alison Elmer, Amanda Donohue, Angel Cronin, Cheryl Miller, Ann Weissman, Joyce Schlenger, Kelley Bostwick, Chris Carlson, Kristin Burke, Lisa Ewick, Liz Exton, Louisa Popkin, Rajkumar Neupane, Sarah Forster, Yuting, Alison Babeu, Krasimira Petkov, Lee Palmer and Elizabeth McWhorter attended

Call to Order

Officers/Committee Reports:

• Two members of the survey subcommittee are compiling a report for the school committee (Kate Radville and Angel Cronin)
• The Bylaws Subcommittee have just finished going over the bylaws with a fine tooth comb and editing, and will bring new Bylaws up for a vote in September

Planning Workshops for the Coming Year:

Unsure which workshops are in the works for the coming year, but will be putting it in Elizabeth’s capable hands come September.

SEPAC Board Elections:

• Elizabeth McWhorter was elected as Chair
• Kate Radville was elected as Co-Chair
• Courtney Marsh was elected as Secretary
• Krasimira Petkov was elected as Membership Officer
• Ann Weissman was elected as Webmaster.

APS Staff Reports:

Overview of the New IEP Form for Massachusetts

• Based on research into the old IEP form, they discovered limitations of the previous form.
• The new IEP form has been redesigned, and is more focused on the student, and with the student’s goals and Team Collaboration with families in mind.

Here is a link to the new IEP form:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BBPc2E2LXraCLkROUxQV7fIWwG0i_Zzq/view?usp=sharing

Here is a link to the presentation on the new IEP form:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_CqJ2l4Aq6Sru13oiUIBg2S_pPf_daS3/view?usp=sharing

• We had questions about students participating in their own vision statement. They have developmentally appropriate materials and teams who work with students to get their input. According to Sarah, having targeted questions helps.

There are new workshops available from the Federation for Children with Special Needs on the New IEP Form, and Arlington SEPAC should consider that new workshop when considering which free workshop to choose. Here is a link with more information about it:

The New IEP

Presentation on Arlington Soccer Club’s TOP Soccer Program by Travis Baggett:

• Travis did not attend the meeting, but we will add a link to their website with more information about the fall program below:

Fall TOPSoccer

Courtney mentioned that her son had participated in the TOP Soccer program in the past, and would be happy to answer any questions folks had.

Public Participation / New Business / Open Discussion:

• Ann brought up that the interviews for the new ELA directors happened today, and that SEPAC parents were in attendance. And there was a lot of discussion on the qualifications for the candidates going on in the side.
• Alison mentioned that there are multiple rounds before they reach the parent forum and round robin stakeholder interviews, so the candidates that reached that point have made it through multiple rounds.

Announcements:

• If you have any more questions for us over the summer, please send them to arlingtonsepac@gmail.com
• Check your emails over the summer for updates on what’s coming up in the next school year.

Adjourn