Director's Pen

Elizabeth Brennan, School Psychologist at RFIS will be venturing into retirement at the end of the month. Beth has been a strong support for many students and families in Flemington Raritan School District. She certainly will be missed! Her last day is 4/28/23.

Joining the Child Study Team at RFIS will be Dr. Donna Stanic! Dr. Stanic will transition to the District on May 1st. She will take on Beth's case manager roles and responsibilities. You can read a little about Dr. Stanic by clicking on the "Meet the Child Study Team" page of the Special Services website, linked here.

Ms. Lisa Pollack (sepag@frsd.us) and Ms. Sarah Milheim (njricher@yahoo.com) co-chaired SEPAG this year. It was a pleasure co-hosting our evening workshops focused on instructional and standardized assessments for students with special needs (November 22nd), and Mental Health Challenges round tables (February 28th).

In addition to reaching out to them for support and collaboration, please also reach out should you have any suggestions for the upcoming school year's SEPAG parent workshops.

The Flemington-Raritan School District will be providing an Extended School Year Program (ESY) for Summer 2023. The program will run from June 26th - July 27th, Monday-Thursday from 8:30-12:30 p.m., 8:30-10:30 a.m. or 10:30-12:30 a.m. with the exception of July 7th (as the program will not run on July 4th and the District will be open on Friday, the 7th). Transportation will be provided to and from Copper Hill School, where the program will take place.

The need and program length for Extended School Year will be discussed at your child's annual review meeting. Qualifying criteria includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Regression and recoupment - Is the child likely to lose critical skills or fail to recover these skills within a reasonable amount of time, more significantly than their typical peers?
2. Emerging skills/breakthrough opportunities - Will a lengthy summer break cause significant problems for a child who is learning an instrumental skill or one that requires continued learning?
3. Interfering behavior - Does the child's behavior interfere with his or her ability to benefit from special education and requires practice in social, emotional or behavioral regulation?
4. Nature and/or severity of disability

Summer Supplemental Services: Students with an IEP (Grades K-8) and not recommended for the Extended School Year program per their IEP, are invited to participate in the District’s summer supplemental services program. This opportunity is being made available for students for summer time practice of skills, in an effort to continue learning structures over the summer. If you are interested in your child participating in this program (and they have not been recommended for ESY), please complete this brief survey. The program will take place in person, at Copper Hill School. Since busing is not provided, you will be provided with some guidelines for drop off and pick off on your child's scheduled days. The program will be offered two times per week for two hours from June 26th through July 27th. Questions? Contact Ms. Amy Switkes: amy.switkes@frsd.us

At this point in the year, your child's IEP is either established for the upcoming school year, or in the process of review and revision. One resource that may be helpful for families is the Special Services Programs, Resources and Services page of the Special Services website. For special class programs specifically, there are informational brochures that may assist with understanding what your child's class and program may include. Any questions about your child's program should be discussed with your child's case manager. The contact information for your case manager is listed on the IEP. *Case manager assignments are determined during the summer, and families are notified in August.

As we head into Special Education Week in NJ (5/14/23-5/20/23), Teacher Appreciation and Speech Pathologist Appreciation in the month of May, I wanted to share some preschool, elementary, intermediate and middle school highlights!

The District's Preschool program located at Copper Hill has been a part of a 5 year systemic grant focusing on inclusion for students with disabilities. In addition to refining the District's preschool vision and brochure, the educators and related services providers will host a PREK Meet and Greet event on April 26th for families who are enrolling their child in the fall. Children will be able to visit a classroom, participate in academic, large and fine motor activities, and parents will receive information about the program and share some information about their child as well. The District's program has shifted from primarily educating preschoolers with disabilities in self contained settings, to an inclusion model. Check out the photo below of Ms. DeAnglis' integrated class of learners enjoying center time activities!

JPCASE's sensory space has afforded students sensory input and calming activities to support the ability to attend to classroom instruction. Utilized primarily for students in special class programs such as the Grades 5-8 program for students with Autism, this has been a valuable addition to the intermediate/middle school this year!

RFIS's innovative teachers have recognized a need for a self regulation space for learners. Ms. Krajewski and Ms. Perkins (special education teachers) spearheaded the development of the RFIS sensory room. The sensory room will be a place where anyone can go (adults too!) when they feel like they need a short break. The space will be monitored each block by a staff member as part of a duty, and students will need to ask permission from their teachers in order to utilize the space. Dr. DeMarco(Principal, RFIS) has provided great support in allowing the teachers to be the frontrunners of this endeavor, and they are very appreciative to the RFIS PTO for purchasing the items that will be in the sensory room. Launching in September, we can expect to see: bean bag chairs, bubble tubes, light covers, sequin wall fabric, gel tiles, and weighted lap pads! The teachers are excited for the entire school to benefit from this space.

Speech and Language highlights and services from Ms. Croasdale at Barley Sheaf includes a recent graduation of many students! It's been an exciting year at Barley Sheaf in the speech-language therapy program. The smiling faces of the students depict their hard work to reach their goals and officially "graduate" from the program! At Barley Sheaf, the speech-language therapy room is a place of risk-taking that leads to significant growth. By introducing new skills, offering new challenges, and embracing self-reflection, students have the resources and support to take continuous steps forward in their journey. Interactive activities, identifying goals, and sharing daily "glows" and "grows" are just a few highlights of Barley Sheaf's speech therapy room. Continuous collaboration with teachers, staff members, and family members encourages carryover of skills outside of the speech therapy room leading to increased independence and ultimately declassification. In the speech room, we rise together to reach our goals!~Ms. Croasdale, SLP (and Barley Sheaf's Educational Specialist of the Year, SY 22/23)

Structured Literacy As a component of the Tier 3 services available for students with significant reading challenges, the District has invested in training Ms. Scheffels (Desmares), Ms. Starke (RFIS) and Ms. Soltis (JPC) in Wilson Level 1. These three teachers have been fulfilling professional development responsibilities throughout the school year, and will become Level 1 certified this summer! Wilson instruction is a service recommended following a screening and assessment that informs educators on the necessity of a different approach to reading instruction. Often, it is recommended when a child is unsuccessful with the Tier 2 intervention of Sonday system/multi-sensory instruction.

Email: danielle.hamblin@frsd.us
Website: https://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/domain/13
Location: 100 Everitts Road, Ringoes, NJ, USA
Phone: 908-284-7680
Twitter: @DAHamblin