June 2020 SEPTA Meeting Minutes

Arlington SEPTA Meeting

June 11, 2020

via Zoom

1. Introductions

The meeting began with introductions by SEPTA President Janna Dressel, SEPTA board members, and APS Parent Resource Center staff. 

2. Remarks from APS Superintendent Dr. Francisco Duran

Dr. Duran expressed his excitement in joining APS.  He has both professional and personal connections with the special education community, as a special education teacher early in his career and as a brother to a young woman with autism, whose struggles with the educational system he has witnessed firsthand.  He is aware of how special education students have been excluded from general education and set up for failure because of low expectations.  He wants to break down those barriers and make sure that students have access to their education and get an understanding of where APS has fallen short and how he can support more students.  He welcomed further feedback at the Superintendent Town Hall Meetings scheduled for June 12^th and June 22nd 6/23 at 7:00 pm.  He hopes to be back with SEPTA to listen and understand more.  At this time, there is much to consider with this pandemic and recent Governor’s guidance on school re-openings.

3. Special Announcement

SEPTA was recognized for its co-sponsorship of an iSTEAM event this past fall by the Northern Virginia PTA at a virtual awards ceremony on May 26, 2020.  This recognition was memorialized in the Congressional Record through remarks provided by Rep. Gerald Connelly.

4. Approval of May Minutes

The May meeting minutes were approved.

5. Nominees for 2020 Recognition of Excellence in Supporting Special Education

The following nominees were announced for SEPTA’s 2020 awards:

Nominees for Crawford Award for Educators

• Kira Atkinson – Wakefield HS
• Allison Brown – Hoffman-Boston ES
• Adam Cook – Tuckahoe ES
• Carmen Fallone – Jamestown ES
• Matthew Gavin – Thomas Jefferson MS
• Amy Juengst – Dorothy Hamm MS
• Christine Katcher – Dorothy Hamm MS
• Lisa Lee – Arlington Career Center
• Michael Lewis – Alice Fleet ES
• Virginia Maloney – Yorktown ES
• Shanna McVey – Team Leader for the Vision Services Team
• Michele Micael – Abingdon ES
• Leslie Morgado – Kenmore MS
• Megan O’Brien – McKinley ES
• Anna Zwegat – McKinley ES

Nominees for Exceptional Support Award

• Tarana Aktar – Arlington Career Center
• Loyda Alcantara – K.W. Barrett ES
• Olivia Green – Thomas Jefferson MS
• Neiza Loayza – Kenmore MS
• Tonique Mason – K.W. Barrett ES
• Maria Small – Kenmore MS

Nominee for McBride Award – Doing ART Together (DARTT) Program

Nominee for Howie Award – Jorge Lemus– and Nando’s Peri-Peri Chicken for their exceptional partnership with the Program for Employment Preparedness (PEP Program) at the Arlington Career Center

Nominee for Nannini Student Advocate Award – Shannon Luzius – Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program at The Heights

Nominees for Exceptional Student Ally Award

• Grace Chen – Washington Liberty HS
• Sofie Dalton – Yorktown HS
• Ava Drewer – Washington Liberty HS
• Sophie Gamboa – Wakefield HS
• Kari Green-Orset – HB Woodlawn at The Heights
• Ella Robertson – Yorktown HS

Nominees for Turner Award for Administrators

• Jennifer Cranston – Syphax Education Center
• Michelle McCarthy – Jamestown ES
• Dr. Lynne Wright – Oakridge ES

Winners will be announced and recognized in the fall.

6. Recognition of SEPTA Board, Chairs, and Coordinators for 2019-20

The 2019-20 SEPTA Board, SEPTA Mini-Grants Committee, parent liaisons, PRC staff, and APS co-directors of Special Education were all recognized for their all efforts this school year, with a special thanks to outgoing Past President Caroline Levy and President Janna Dressel.

7. 2020-21 SEPTA Board Nominees

The following nominating committee slate for 2020-21 SEPTA board was approved. 

President – Kathleen Clark

President-Elect – Alison Cassels

Past-President – Janna Dressel

Vice President of Fundraising – Shana Treger

Vice-President of Membership – Clarette Yen

Secretary – Deirdre McDermott

Treasurer – Cara Abercrombie

A special thank you to our 2020 Nominating Committee, which consisted of Nadia Facey, Kimiko Lighty, and Kelly Mountain. 

We are still looking for volunteers to help fill the open positions of Vice-President of Communications and Vice-President of Events & Programming – please contact president@arlingtonsepta.org if interested.

Janna also announced the following additional 2020-21 SEPTA Chairs and Committee Heads:

Espacio Hispano Coordinator – Cristina Camacho-Yacobucci

Parent Liaison Program Coordinator – Jen Myers

SEPTA Awards Chair – Mariamalia Araya

Mini-grants Chair – Melissa Wadman

8. Additional Announcements and Updates

• Upcoming town halls with Superintendent Duran are scheduled for:
  • Fri, June 12, 4-5 p.m.
  • Sat, June 13, 10-11 a.m. (Spanish)
  • Tue, June 23, 7-8 p.m.

To participate visit: https://www.apsva.us/engage/engage-with-the-new-superintendent-virtual-town-hall-meetings/

• SEPTA Treasurer Cara Abercrombie had no updates. 
• Playdates via Zoom – please email info@arlingtonsepta.org if you are interested in learning more about virtual SEPTA playdates. 
• Alison Cassels has put together a spreadsheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQMI7mTBIclxCQArfUnAhRGBe_RlfD40Z1dCcCl-oX_MRo179xfANF91usxkDEUMA/pubhtml to help SEPTA families find a variety of resources, classes, and offerings right now.  Please email info@arlingtonsepta.org if you have resources that you would like to recommend that we add to this document.
• Please be sure to complete the Family Survey on Distance Learning and Planning for Reopening of School by June 15, 2020.
• The incoming chair of the Arlington Special Education Advisory Committee (ASEAC) Nick Walkosak shared a few updates.  They are seeking input regarding the start of the next school year, given the current state of uncertainty, and are hoping to talk more with Dr. Duran. ASEAC’s incoming officers will be Vice Chair David Rosenblatt and Co-Secretaries Keith Chanon and Amber Baum.