May 2021 Issue
SPAN Parent Leadership E-News
Dear Parent Leaders,

This quarterly newsletter is designed to empower, engage, and support individuals like you who passionately represent the needs and perspectives of all parents. Parent leaders become role models for family engagement, advocating not only on behalf of their own children, but for ALL children!

We use our voices every day to communicate our thoughts, wants, and needs. But the idea of a parent leadership “voice” goes beyond simply talking to people. It goes much deeper. Whether your voice is soft or loud, signed, or written - having a voice means having a choice in the matter, means having the opportunity and urgency to organize, engage, and create change for improving systems for families. Using the power of individual-leadership voice to speak up on behalf of others increases our collective ability to affect policy, programs, and practices that make a positive difference for ALL! 

~ In partnership, START-Engaging Parents of Students with Disabilities in Schools (START-EPSD) Project Team
START-EPSD Project At-A-Glance
START-Engaging Parent of Students with Disabilities in Schools (START-EPSD) Project is funded through a collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education (NJOSE) and SPAN Parent Advocacy Network.

The Project offers programs and services that support the engagement of families to improve outcomes for students, including developing and supporting Special Education Parent Advisory Groups (SEPAGs) in communities and school districts.

Through workshops, regional meetings, and parent leadership development activities, we help parents and parent leaders:
  • Become informed and active participants in their child’s education
  • Partner with educators in improving educational programs for students with disabilities
  • Start or strengthen parent advisory groups or parent support groups in their areas.

Contact Us for assistance and Download our START-EPSD Project At-A-Glance in English and Spanish
Parent Group Highlights
Millville Special Education
Parent Advisory Group (SEPAG):
An open letter from the Executive Director of Exceptional Children, Millville Public Schools
Over the past three years as the Executive Director of Exceptional Children for Millville Public Schools, we have developed a great partnership with our Special Education Parent Advocacy Group (SEPAG) and the START- Engaging Parents of Students with Disabilities in Schools (START-EPSD) Project at SPAN.  
 
We believe that in order to be effective in supporting children and parents, we must change the tradition of working with our kids until the school bell rings. We recognize that in order for the family-school relationships to be effective, we must be flexible and available after school hours to offer parent trainings on topics of interest to families, to provide necessary supports (i.e., Spanish interpretation) for parents to be able to participate in the group work, and to facilitate information sessions to share district initiatives and gather parent feedback
 
We meet with the Millville SEPAG members multiple times throughout the year to discuss the status of special education services and programs in the district, receive direct input from parents on how our services can be improved, provide trainings and opportunities for parents to interact with our Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA), various district staff, as well as to ask questions, share what resources are available for kids and families, and learn from each other
 
A Parent Group Specialist from the START-EPSD Project is an active participant at our SEPAG meetings. She will review programs sponsored by SPAN, START-EPSD Project, and the New Jersey Department of Education and be available to offer strategies and answer any questions from families. We have closely collaborated to meet the needs of our students and families and to support the work of the Millville SEPAG to improve programs and services for students with disabilities. The key to collaboration is working together and combining both our resources and passion to help kids and families.             
 
Here are some of the district initiatives implemented based on parental input:
  • Prioritized re-opening of schools for in-person instruction for students with disabilities;
  • Bringing related services to students with disabilities if they are unable to attend school in-person and making in-person related services available to students with disabilities during virtual learning;
  • Collecting benchmark data to identify students who need targeted and intensive supports to inform instruction and interventions;
  • Providing additional academic tutoring as part of our latchkey program at each school;
  • Creating an enhanced transition program on the high school level that includes additional certified community-based instructor, job coaches, and transportation for students;
  • Developing extended summer programming for PreK-12 grades for academic support.
 
Our expertise in supporting students with disabilities has been featured in the webinar “Supporting Students with the Greatest Need” hosted by the START-EPSD Project where we presented the district model of how students are identified for tiered interventions and how Tier 3 supports can be implemented across all academic settings – a virtual, hybrid, and in-person.
 
We are proud to share our experience facilitating collaborative relationships with families of students with disabilities in our district. We have a motto in our department that if you “treat every child like your own, you will never go wrong”. Working with the Millville SEPAG has been a tremendous partnership, and we hope to grow and strengthen our group.
 
For additional information and join the Millville SEPAG, please contact:

Steve Matusz
Executive Director of Exceptional Children, Millville Public Schools
Millville Public Schools
110 N 3rd Street, PO Box 5010
Millville, NJ 08332
856-327-6015
Follow On:
Twitter- @MatuszSteve

SPAN Wants to Hear from You:
Share Your Story

The SPAN Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) wants to hear from you about how our information, services, and support have helped you!

We are collecting stories that will help us understand – and demonstrate to our funders and others – the impact of our work.

Use this short template if you wish to submit your story. Please be sure to let us know if we can use your name.

Every month we will randomly select one parent story and one professional story to receive a $100 gift card. Thank you for your help!

Please email your completed story to our dedicated inbox at: stories@spanadvocacy.org
SPECIAL EDITION:
Frequently Requested Samples of
SEPAG Letters and Surveys
You Asked, We Delivered!

Sample 1 - SEPAG Letter and Interest Survey I English:  DOC |
Ejemplo 1 - SEPAG Carta y Encuesta de Interes I Español: DOC

Sample 2 - SEPAG Letter and Interest Survey I English: DOC|
Ejemplo 2 - SEPAG Carta y Encuesta de Interes I Español: DOC

Sample 3 - SEPAG Letter and Interest Survey I English: DOC |
Ejemplo 3 - SEPAG Carta y Encuesta de Interes I Español: DOC 

Sample 1 - SEPAG Survey I English: DOC | Ejemplo 1 - Encuesta de SEPAG  I Español: DOC 

Sample 2 - SEPAG Survey I English: DOC | Ejemplo 2 - Encuesta de SEPAG  I Español: DOC

Sample 3 - SEPAG Survey I English: DOC | Ejemplo 3 - Encuesta de SEPAG  I Español: DOC

Sample 4 - SEPAG Survey I English: DOC | Ejemplo 4 - Encuesta de SEPAG  I Español: DOC

Sample 5 - SEPAG Survey I English: DOC  | Ejemplo 5 - Encuesta de SEPAG  I Español: DOC
SPAN's Virtual Learning Opportunities and Resource Collections
Can't have an in-person training due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

No problem! Subscribe to SPAN YouTube Channel and view our virtual library of recordings for information on special and general education, health advocacy, parent leadership, public policy, and much more.
Browse our newly updated resource collections for articles, briefs, fact sheets, checklists, short videos, webinars, and training materials.
Here you will find resources on the benefits of inclusion for students with and without disabilities, inclusion in education, strategies and tips for families, and inclusion webinars.
 Here you will find materials on supporting literacy achievement in the classroom, activities to promote literacy at home and in your school/district, as well as literacy webinars.
Here you will find basic information on multi-tiered systems of support, NJTSS framework and its components, practical strategies and tips for families and parents, as well as NJTSS webinars.
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network - Our Vision is that all families will have the resources and support they need to ensure that their children become fully participating and contributing members of our communities and society. Our Mission is to empower and support families and inform and involve professionals interested in the healthy development and education of children and youth. Our foremost commitment is to children and families with the greatest need due to disability or special health/mental health needs; poverty; discrimination based on race/ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, immigrant or homeless status; involvement in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems; geographic location; or other special circumstances. Our Motto is "Empowered Parents: Educated, Engaged, Effective!"
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network | 35 Halsey Street, Newark, NJ | 1-800-654-SPAN