February 19, 2015
Special Education
Family Newsletter
  Your connection to
Special Education services and resources
at Seattle Public Schools.
Message from the Executive Director

Dear Families and Friends of Special Education Services in Seattle Public Schools,

I want to welcome you to the second semester of 2014-15 and to give you a brief update about the special education department.

We have been making progress on  RC-CAP (Revised Comprehensive Corrective Action Plan), one of the guiding plans for the special education department. For the past few months we have been in the development stages and now we are starting implementation of many parts of the plan. Foundational work on preparing for professional development of our staff, data systems and procedural guides has been established and now we turn towards district-wide implementation. For example, in March we will post and train staff on the Procedural guide, 158 pages of documents to support staff in providing special education services. Additional supporting documents are conveniently linked from the guide.

This work is designed to provide systems and supports for high quality services for each of our students in each of our schools. 

We are looking forward to seeing you at our regional meetings where you can learn more about changes coming in our department. The first meeting will be in the Southeast Region of Seattle on March 2, 2015.

Sincerely,
Wyeth Jessee
Executive Director of Special Education Services
Who to Contact
If you are concerned about a preschooler with a possible delay in development, call:
Child Find Screening and Referral:
(206) 252-0805  
 
To contact Enrollment Services call: (206) 252-0760
 
General Special Education Questions by Region please contact the Regional Special Education Supervisors listed below:

NE Regional Supervisor:
Sherry Studley at (206) 252-0842 srstudley@seattleschools.org

NW Regional Supervisor:
Heather Brown at (206) 252-0836  habrown@seattleschools.org

Central Regional Supervisor:
Patricia Campbell at (206) 252-0979 pacampbell@seattleschools.org

SE Regional Supervisor:
Beth Thorson at (206) 252--0262 bmthorson@seattleschools.org
 
West Seattle Regional Supervisor:
Spencer Pan at (206) 252-0887 rupan@seattleschools.org
 
Early Childhood Supervisor:
Beth Carter at (206) 252-0665 ercarter@seattleschools.org
 
Private School Supervisor:
Robin Olney at (206) 252-0870 reolney@seattleschools.org
 
The SPS Special Education Ombudsperson is here to help you:
Margo Siegenthaler at (206) 252-0794
spedombuds@seattleschools.org
 
Director of Special Education
Michaela Clancy at (206) 252-0807
cmclancy@seattleschools.org
 
Director of School Based Special Education Services
Kari Hanson at (206) 252-2105
klhanson1@seattleschools.org
Upcoming Events

SABSE (Seattle Alliance of Black School Educators): Parent/Family/School/Community Summit

Saturday, February 21,8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

John Stanford Center, Auditorium Seattle Public Schools, 2445 Third Ave, Seattle, WA 98134

 

Special Education PTSA Meeting

Mon. Feb 23, 2015, 7 - 9 p.m.

Mon. Mar. 23, 2015, 7 - 9 p.m.

John Stanford Center, Auditorium

Seattle Public Schools, 2445 Third Ave, Seattle, WA 98134

 

Deaf/Hard of Hearing Community Gathering

Tues, Feb 24th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

John Stanford Center, Auditorium

Seattle Public Schools, 2445 Third Ave, Seattle WA 98134

 

8th Annual Transition Resource Fair

Two dates and two locations. You may attend one or both.

--Microsoft, The Commons

  15255 NE 40th Street

  Redmond, WA 98052

  Thurs, March 5th, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

--Renton Technical College,   

  Roberts Campus Center 3000 NE 4th St.

  Renton, WA 98056

  Sat, March 7th, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

For more information, contact:

Richard.Wilson@Kingcounty.gov 

 

Assistive Technology 101: What Technology Helps Our Students Succeed in School and College"
Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 7 to 9 p.m.
Evergreen Healthcare (Formerly Evergreen Hospital Medicatl Center)
Surgery & Physicians Center, Room TAN 101 (downstairs)
12040 NE 128th Street, Kirkland, WA 98034

International Dyslexia Association, Step-by-Step Advocacy: What to Ask For and How to Get It-How to Help a Student with Reading & Writing Challenges
Saturday, March 21, 8:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Blackriver Center, Renton, WA
For more information: www.wabida.org/events

Strengthening Your Parent-Provider Relationships, "The Dance of Partnership: Why Do My Feet Hurt?" (Speaker: Janice Fialka)
Saturday, March 28, 1 - 3:30 p.m.
Seattle Children's Hospital Administrative Building, 6901 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115
(RSVP by March 23 by calling 206-987-4434 or emailing starla.smith@seattlechildrens.org)
Space is limited.
Resources for Families
SPS Special Education PTSA
seattlespecialedptsa.org
 
ARC of King County
www.arcofkingcounty.org
 
Open Doors for Multicultural Families
www.multiculturalfamilies.org
 
Sound Options Group (mediation services)
www.soundoptionsgroup.com
 
Developmental Disabilities Administration
www.dshs.wa.gov/dda
 
Behavior Support Team (BeST)
www.SeattleChildrensHome.org
 
Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO)
/www.governor.wa.gov/oeo/
 
OSPI Guidance for Families
www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/families

Asian Counseling and Referral Services
www.acrs.org

The Fathers Network
 www.fathersnetwork.org

The Autism Center in Seattle

CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Welcome

Welcome to the Special Education Family Newsletter. Please share the SpEd Newsletter with others, and send comments to spedombuds@seattleschools.org.

 

If someone forwarded the Special Education Family Newsletter to you, sign up here.

 
News
The Special Education Family Newsletter is for you!
The Seattle Public Schools Special Education Department wants to use this newsletter to provide important information for families with children who receive special education services in Seattle Public Schools. Please send your questions and ideas for information and articles to: specialed@seattleschools.org   
UPDATE: School Assignments for next year  
The process for school assignments this year is different. This year, the District is creating an easy-to-use Assignment Look-Up Tool on the Seattle Public Schools Admissions website (available on the site by Feb. 23). All current students, and all new students for 2015-16 who completed early enrollment by January 31, 2015, will be able to use the new Assignment Look-Up Tool. You will need your child's name and birthdate and/or Student ID # in order to look up your child's assignment school.

By checking your student's assignment you can confirm continuing assignments or find out about new assignments for 2015-16. This is your student's initial assignment, and nothing further is required if that assignment is to the school you wish your student to attend. 

Open Enrollment is Feb. 23, 2015 - March 6, 2015. If you wish to have your student attend a school other than the school listed in the Assignment Look-Up Tool, or if you wish to apply for an optional program, you need to submit a choice application during Open Enrollment. You may list several choice schools in order of preference. For more information about how to apply for School Choice, go to http://enrollment.www.seattleschools.org
The Deaf/Hard of Hearing Community Gathering will be held on February 24, 2015

You are invited to come join the Seattle Public Schools Special Education staff, families and D/HH community to:

  • Provide input and ideas on how the services for D/HH students should look in Seattle Public Schools 
  • meet other families and community members with shared interest in DHH
  • learn about resources in the community

Tuesday, February 24, 2015
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 
John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence
2445 3rd Ave. S.,
Seattle, WA 98134
Auditorium, First Floor

 

Supervised Children's Activities, light snack, and ASL Interpreters will be provided. If you have other language or interpreting needs, please contact us. We hope to see you there!

 

Info in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese is available at http://bit.ly/1CPSLxg  

 

Questions or Interpreting/Language Needs? Contact us: 
Heather Brown at 206- 252-0836, habrown@seattleschools.org or Margo Siegenthaler at 206-252-0794, masiegenthaler@seattleschools.org 
You are invited to a Special Education Regional Meeting! 

The Special Education Department will be hosting Regional Meetings for families and the community to learn about changes that are happening in Special Education in Seattle Public Schools. We want to listen to you and hear your questions. Please join Wyeth Jessee, the Executive Director of Special Education; Michaela Clancy, Director of Special Education; Kari Hanson, Director of School Based Special Education Services; the Regional Supervisor for your area; the Special Education Ombudsperson and more Special Education staff.

 

SOUTHEAST REGION
Monday, March 2, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. 
Aki Kurose Middle School Cafeteria
3928 S. Graham St.
Seattle, WA 98118

 

NORTHEAST REGION
Monday, March 16, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Roosevelt High School Commons
1410 NE 66th St.
Seattle, WA 98115

 

CENTRAL REGION
Monday, April 6, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Washington Middle School Lunchroom
2101 S. Jackson St.
Seattle, WA 98144


WEST SEATTLE REGION
Monday, April 20, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
West Seattle High School Cafeteria
3000 California Ave. SW
Seattle, WA 98116

 

NORTHWEST REGION
Monday, May 11, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Ballard High School Commons
1418 NW 65th St.
Seattle, WA 98117

 

Supervised children's activities and light snack will be provided. Interpreters for the following languages will be available: Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

We hope to see you there!

 

Click here to download a printable flyer with translations in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, and Chinese.


Questions? contact: Margo Siegenthaler at 206-252-0794,
masiegenthaler@seattleschools.org 
SpEd in the Schools
Special Education Night for families with students ages 18-21 was very informative
On February 5, an information night was held to share the latest about Seattle Public Schools' special education transition programs for young adults with disabilities, ages 18-21 (newly named BRIDGES: Building Real-life Independent Daily living & Gainful Employment Skills).

Families, students, staff and community members met transition teachers, adult-service agency providers, and asked questions.

You can learn more about the BRIDGES 18-21 transition programs by visiting the website, http://bit.ly/SpEdBridges, or by contacting the program specialist, Glen Boyd, at gmboyd@seattleschools.org or (206) 252-0837.
Adaptive PE in Seattle Public Schools
One important part of the services we provide is physical education for all students regardless of any disability they may have. The Adaptive P.E. program at Green Lake Elementary School is a great example of how we provide PE to one group of children who receive special education services

Watch this video and learn about the Adapted P.E. Program at Green Lake Elementary School and meet a dedicated team of educators and some truly inspiring students.

Adapted Physical Ed Green Lake Elementary [CC]
Adapted Physical Ed Green Lake Elementary [CC]
The ARC Ambassador Somali Workshops, Disability & Action
The ARC of King County presented a series of three workshops for the Somali community on "How to Talk to Families About Disability." About 30 Somali women and friends of the community attended the workshops. The second session was presented by Katrina Davis, an advocate from the Seattle Children's Autism Center. Participants were able to hear from professionals and other families about how to recognize developmental disabilities and community resources to address the needs of the child and family.

For more information about workshops provided by ARC, go to: www.arcofkingcounty.org
Katrina Davis, from the Seattle Children's Autism Center, presented the information in English and Barni Mussa, from ARC provided the same information in Somali.
One parent's experience with Special Education at SPS
"When my husband and I left our daughter's IEP meeting, we were both overjoyed and filled with a sense of relief and gratitude. We are thrilled that our daughter is in a community where people recognize her amazing strengths and contributions while being ready and eager to help her grow... I believe that Salmon Bay is doing a lot of things right and we feel so fortunate that we are a part of the community."
- Kay Rawlings
Seattle Public Schools Special Education PTSA
The Special Education PTSA is a great advocacy organization for families whose children are in special education. You are invited to come to their monthly meetings. The meetings coming up this year are:
Monday, February 23, 2015
At the February meeting, Special Education staff will talk with families about the rising process (when students go from one school to the next, i.e. to kindergarten, middle school, high school)
Monday, March 23, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015

All meetings are from 7 to 9 p.m., at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, 2445 3rd Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98134. Second Floor, Room 2700. 
We hope to see you there!
To learn more about SpEd PTSA and helpful resources go to:  http://seattlespecialedptsa.org
SPS Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council (SEAAC)
The Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council (SEAAC) met on February 3. Hannah Marzynski presented the Special Education Task Force Update on the draft plan for new language to describe the full continuum of special education services. The SEAAC group gave feedback on the draft version of the brochure that is being developed for families. The next SEAAC meeting will be on March 24, 2015, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., at the John Stanford Center, in the auditorium.
Seattle Public Schools | Every Student. Every Classroom. Every Day.
2445 3rd Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98134 | (206) 252-0000