Spectrum Services Parent eNewsletter

Parent eNewsletter

Collaborative Approaches to IEP Meetings

Melissa Moser, LMSW

Spectrum Services Family Service Coordinator

Did you say your Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting is coming up? This is often referred to as the CPSE (Committee on Preschool Special Education) or the CSE (Committee on Special Education) or simply as your child’s Annual Review.

These helpful strategies below are to assist you in preparing for your IEP meeting while developing a collaborative relationship with your child’s school district.

It is important that parents become informed and involved in their child’s education. There are many sources of information and support in New York. However, the more skills you have and the more information you learn, the better you can advocate for your child.

Preparation is important to being an effective, confident advocate at your child’s meeting...To read the rest of this article, Click Here.

Need to see what's on the menu for a given day? Need to check a calendar date?

These, and other documents and forms, are easily found on Parent Info page: Click Here.

of Donation Items

With nearly 150 families whose school districts send their children to Spectrum Service, you can imagine they run the gamut in levels of socio-economics. A number of our families need help in so many ways. If you'd like to donate needed items, here are a few ideas to either drop of at school, or send in with your student.:

Packages of underwear (boys, girls, all sizes)

Diapers All Sizes

Gift cards or Grocery cards, Target, Walmart, Hannaford, Shop Rite, etc.

As always, thank you for helping!

Kingston: Used 3, Remaining 4

Ellenville: Used 4, Remaining 3

Just a reminder that our Kingston School follows the Saugerties District delays/closings, and our Ellenville School follows the Ellenville District delays/closings.

Notifications appear on our webpage, and messages are texted and emailed out to those parents on School Messenger.

If you're not signed up to receive our texts and emails, please contact your Family Service Coordinator.

Remember that your child's bus may be on a different schedule than the school. They are not typically permitted to drive through a closed district. So if your home district is closed or delayed, or if the bus travels through a closed or delayed district, then transportation will be on a different schedule. Check with your bus drivers or the bus company if you have questions.

Letting Us Know About Your Child's Absence

For whatever reason, if your child is not coming to school on a school day, please make sure to let us know. We have two simple ways to do this:

Phone In

Simply call us at 845-336-2616, select extension 400 when given the cue, and leave a message with your child's full name, classroom, and why they're not coming to school.

Easy Online Form

Or, navigate to our Parent Info page on our website, and find the link to our Student Absentee form. Or, go to it now and bookmark it for later use: Click Here.

Post-Medical Permission Letters

Just a reminder that in the event your child has a medical change such as an injury or surgery, upon return to school, we need clear, detailed guidelines from the physician relating to any physical or activity restrictions.

This is especially important for Occupational and Physical Therapy, Adaptive Physical Education, and playground activities. A "return to school note" may not be sufficient for these therapies. This information is essential for us to provide safe and approved services for your child.

Please reach out to our school nurse or your Family Service Coordinator, if you have additional questions.

Upcoming Parent Groups and Workshops

At Spectrum Services we believe that parents must be partners in their child’s educational program. For this reason we offer Parent Support and Parent Workshops free for any parent of a child with a developmental disability. Funding is provided through grants from the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities. Click on any of the workshops below for details and Zoom link.

Getting a Good Night Sleep is Possible: Autism and Sleep Problems

Thurs. 2/9 12:30 – 2:00 Remote Only (Click Here) for 6:30 – 8:00 in-person in Kingston or Remote (Click Here).

Sleep is such a precious commodity, especially for the children and families whose lives are influenced by patterns of disrupted sleep. Does your child struggle with going to sleep, staying asleep, or rising too early? Disrupted sleep can interfere with health, learning, behavior, and family peace. Presented by Leah Siuta, MPS – Family Service Dept. Head.

Parent’s Discussion Group- Sibling Discussion Group

Wed. 2/15 6:30 – 8:00 Group is In-Person in Kingston or Remote (Click Here)

Our parent discussion group offers caregivers the chance to share parenting experiences, educational and management strategies, community resources, upcoming conferences and new research. Led by Leah Siuta, MPS – Family Service Dept. Head.

Teaching Positive Replacement Behavior

Tues. 2/22 12:30 – 2:00 Remote Only (Click Here) for 6:30 – 8:00 in-person in Kingston or remote (Click Here).

Just responding to a difficult behavior is not enough and will never lead to eliminating the problem behavior completely. Instead, we need to focus on prevention, understanding the function, choosing a positive replacement behavior, and to proactively teach and reinforce this new behavior. Presented by Janine Sprague, Special Educator.

Groups are free of charge for families of a child with a developmental disability. Parents can participate live via zoom, we ask for cameras to be on.

We are grateful for Spectrum Services Annual Sponsors, who support our students and families.

70 Kukuk Lane, Kingston NY 12401 - 4 Yankee Place, Ellenville, NY 12428

centerforspectrumservices.org