Minutes from September 2016 SEPTA Meeting

From SEPTA Secretary, Karen Sosnoski:

Minutes of Arlington Special Education PTA June Meeting

Thursday 9/22 7-8:30 PM

Syphax Education Center

2110 Washington Blvd., Rooms 101/103, Arlington, VA  22204

Minutes from June meeting:

• Presented by Caroline Levy, President for approval. Passed.

Officer’s Reports:

Treasurer’s Report: Caroline Levy reported.

• Joe Everling stepped down from Treasurer’s position.
• Audit report canceled because we need a new Treasurer.
• Caroline Levy called for participants to consider taking on the Treasurer role.

President’s Report: Caroline Levy

• Introductions:

• Paul Jamelske, the new Interim Director of Special Education for APS
• Wendy Carria, Supervisor for Special Education
• Maria Votsch, VP of Communications; Karen Sosnoski, Secretary
• Fall schedule, meetings and events:
• Oct. 13: Mini-grant program, VA Medicaid Waiver changes. 7:00 PM., Syphax.

• (Update: Linda C. will not speak.  Catriona Claytor will speak on APS/Medicaid billing)

• November 10, Entendiendo Educacion Especial, 7 PM, Thomas Jefferson M.S.
• December 8, Superintendent’s Chat at the APS Ed Center, Quincy St. 6:30.
• Special Artists’ Reflections Workshops. September 24 & Oct. 8, Langston Brown.

• Board voted to provide a kit for a PEP program student’s cosmetology supplies.

VP Membership: Adam Johnson, Caroline Levy spoke for him.

• Urged meeting participants to join SEPTA now!
• We have a goal of 300 paid members.

VP Fundraising: Linda Campanelli, out sick, Caroline Levy gave report.

• Phantom Ball coming up in October. Watch your mailbox for your invitation.

• Tickets are $10 for a individual, and $25 for a family

VP Parent Liaisons: Janna Dressel and PRC’s Vickie Barr

• Upcoming Parent Liaison Meetings 9/27.
• The liaison’s program is a joint venture between SEPTA and PRC.
• Still looking for additional volunteers.
• While there is no one set job description for the parent liaison, the most important role is to be a disseminator, cross pollinator of information among PRC, SEPTA, AESEC, Office of SpEd and Office of Therapeutic Recreation.
• Schools that are missing liaisons: Science Focus, ATS, Campbell, Key, HB Woodlawn, W & Lee, Career Center.

Presentation by Parent Educational Advisory Training Center (PEATC): Is Your Child a Target of Bullying?

• Keshia Yancey, Early Childhood Specialist at PEATC  presented.
• Goals of PEATC include helping parents become more focalized and localized.
• As VA’s Parent Training and Information Center, PEATC is the “go to place” for Virginia families of children with special education needs. Office in Springfield but serve the entire state.
• History of Parent Centers:

• 1975: Education of ALL Handicapped Children act became federal law.
• 1978: Five Parent Training and Information Centers (PTI) were funded and PEATC was one of the first!
• 1991: Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRC)

PEATC Provides:

• Phone consultations
• Workshops throughout VA
• Webinars
• Factsheets
• Resources
• Blogs—(currently looking for blog submissions.)
• Assists parents in securing educational plans for their children leading toward adult lives that include meaningful employment; friendship; community participation.

As a result of this workshop participants will understand:

• The Dynamics of Bullying
• What Parents Can Do
• Action Steps for Parents
• Action Steps for Parents and Child
• Access Tools Available for Parents of Children with Disabilities
• What everyone can do to help.

Dynamics of bullying—

• Bullying defined
• Common views
• Who bullies?
• Who is targeted by bullying

Defining Bullying Behavior

• The Virginia Department of Education defines bullying as any aggressive or unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power of imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma. Bullying includes cyber bullying. Bullying does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument or peer conflict.

Bullying vs. Conflict.

• Conflict: Children self-monitor their behavior and generally stop when they realize they are hurting someone. Peer mediation can work.
• Bullying: Children continue their behavior when they realize it is hurting someone and are satisfied by a feeling of power and control. Mediation doesn’t work.

Three areas of concern to parents and others:

• Education: school avoidance and loss of academic achievement
• Health: Physical and emotional/anxiety—headaches, stomachaches, sleeping problems, depression.
• Safety: Harm to self and others

Types of bullying:

• Verbal: Using words. Often quick and direct.
• Physical: Kicking, hitting. Easy to recognize.
• Emotional—manipulation, gossip. Very calculated.
• Sexual: Violation of personal boundaries. Students are often reluctant to talk about it
• Cyber: The new bathroom wall, using technology to hurt or harm.

Common Views and Myths:

• Bullying is a natural part of childhood.
• Words will never hurt you.
• Some people deserve to be bullied.
• Bullying makes kids tougher.
• Telling a teacher about bullying is tattling.
• It’s only teasing.

Who Bullies and Why?

• Any size, age, or gender.
• The common element is behavior.
• Most commonly, children who bully seek to demonstrate power and want to feel in control.

Who is Targeted by Bullying

• There is no “typical profile” of someone who might be subjected to bullying.
• There are some common characteristics among children who are targets of this behavior.

Dual Role: Both the Target and the Bully:

• Reactive bullying: When the student is both targeted by bullying and also bullies in response.

Parents: What You Can Do. Action Steps for the Parent:

• Know the Laws
• Record Keeping
• Template Letter

Action Steps for Parent and Child:

• Talk with your child
• Encourage self advocacy
• Student Action Plan
• Cyberbullying
• Take Action of Your Child is a Bully
• Role of an Active Bystander
• Bullying as a civil rights issue.

• Know the laws: stopbullying.gov legislation for status of state legislation

Keep a Record.

• Content should include written information about the bullying incident
• Date of the event
• Persons involved
• Child’s account of the event
• PEATC proveds a fill-in-the-blank template letter.
• Contact school every single time your child says it when it happens rather than a running record.

Talk with your child about bullying.

• 64 percent who were bullied did not report it. Only 36 percent reported bullying. (Petrosino 2010)
• Listen
• Believe
• Be supportive
• Be patient

Reasons why students might not tell:

• Fear an overreaction
• Feel judged
• Be embarrassed
• Find it hard to talk about anything
• Feel ashamed
• Feel responsible
• Think it does no good
• Worry they won’t be protected
• Decide adults don’t care.

Talk with Your Child/Reactions to Avoid:

• Telling your child to stand up to the bully
• Telling your child to ignore and avoid the bully
• Taking matters into your own hands

Talk with your child/Does your child recognize bullying?

• Do you think the other student hurt you on purpose?
• Was it done more than once?
• How did it make you feel?
• Did it make you feel unsafe?
• Is the other student stronger or more powerful in some way? (physically, socially, etc.)

Encourage Self-Advocacy. You are not alone.

• It is not up to you to stop bullying
• Bullying happens to a lot of kids but that NEVER makes it right.
• No one deserves to be bullied. Everyone deserves respect.
• We all need to work together.
• All students have a right to be safe at school; expect adults to keep them safe; assert that right when they are being bullied.

Encourage Self-Advocacy Response Strategies:

• Report the situation to a parent or guardian or to a trusted adult at school.
• Move away from the situation.
• Quote school policy.
• PEATC has a printed booklet for parents to use with their child to think through potential steps to take in a bullying situation.

Encourage Self-Advocacy…Student Action Plan.

• Have the cyberbullying conversation
• Set cyber safety rules
• Know what your children are doing online.
• Cyberbullying is a school matter.

Take action if your child is the bully:

• talk with your child.
• consider if the behavior is disability-related
• teach empathy, respect and compassion
• make your expectations clear.
• provide clear, consistent consequences for bullying.
• teach by example
• role play
• provide positive feedback
• be realistic seek help.

Bystanders can help students who are bullied by:

• Spending time with student being bullied.
• Trying to get the student away from the situation.
• Listening to the student being bullied.
• Telling the student that no one deserves to be bullied.

Disability Harassment per the U.S. Department of Education office for Civil Rights.

• Bullying may be considered harassment when it is based on a student’s race, color, national, origin, sex or disability.

• Harassing behaviors may include:

• Unwelcome conduct such as verbal abuse, name-calling, epithets, or slurs
• Graphic or written statements
• Threats
• Physical assault
• Other conduct that may be physically threatening, harmful or humiliating.
• State and local laws may provide additional protections…

For parents of children with disabilities:

• Bullying of children with disabilities is significant.
• School’s duties include immediate and appropriate action to investigate or otherwise determine what happened.
• PEATC offers template letters about bullying for parents who have a child with an IEP or Section 504/
• Parents who believe their student’s rights have been violated can file a complaint of discrimination with the Office for Civil Rights or Department of Justice.
• Can bring bullying up in an IEP meeting

Peer advocacy—helps prevent bullying.

• A bullying prevention initiative designed to reduce bullying of students with disabilities by engaging, educating, and empowering designated peers to advocate for specific students with disabilities.

• PEATC  www.peatc.org (703) 923-0010

Discussion:

• Q: What if sibling rivalry turns to bullying?
• Keshia Yancey: Try sib shops/parent resource center
• Q: Does APS call you to do workshops?
• Keshia Yancey: Anybody who requests can get us to come out.
• Wendy Carria. One meeting participant said APS may not know how to help you. PEATC does have a workshop to help student administrators. Psychologists and social workers, have done trainings. APS also has brochure on bullying; there is a policy and procedure in place.
• Meeting Participant: Heads of the Offices of student services and Special Ed have been most helpful [with a bullying problem] however they have no supervisory authority over the counselors.
• Keshia: Some schools have parents who spearhead [awareness about bullying.]
• Meeting participant—said that schools should not make the victim have lunch with the bully. Knowledge about bullying seems a forgotten area.
• Beth Cavey: Is it a conflict or is it bullying? How do you figure it out?
• Keshia: Look at pacer.org —that’s what they do. (PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.)
• Meeting participant asked how she can put this discussion in a newsletter.
• Keshia: Colleague Tina, Parent Engagement Specialist can help with that.
• Meeting participant: Try going to the local NAMI group for issues with bullying

Adjournment