Wayland Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
Co-Chairs: Anne-Louise Klaus
Katy Andrus
Co-Secretaries: Margo Grossman
Stephanie Holender
Treasurer: Gayle Gledhill
Events/Program Chair: Janeka Melanson
Community Resources Chair: Julie Kannel
School/Program Liaison Chair: Colleen Morneweck
Technology Chair: Lisa Bagley
School Liaisons:
WHS: Katy Cavallo & Orla Daunt
WMS: Kerry-Ann Kendall
Claypit Hill: Cathrine Kiernan & Erin Newton
Happy Hollow: Becky Chisholm
Loker: Allyson Peller
The Children's Way: Katie Riffle
Out of District: Brooke Amato
METCO: We are currently seeking a METCO program Liaison. Please contact us at [email protected], if you’re interested!
Upcoming Meetings: Official SEPAC Meeting - Thursday, March 3, 2022 - 7:00 PM (virtual)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/529033993 ; Meeting ID: 529 033 9939 If you have any questions or concerns you would like for us to know about ahead of time please email [email protected].
September 2021
Dear Families,
Welcome to the new school year! The SEPAC is looking forward to another great year and we warmly invite you to be involved and make your voice heard. Please join us for our first event of the year - a Meet & Greet with Dr. Omar X. Easy, our new Superintendent, on Tuesday, September 21st at 7 pm. The Zoom link is below. Our first official meeting is also coming up on Tuesday, September 28th at 7 pm. For now, we are keeping our meetings and events virtual, but hope to offer some in person opportunities as the year progresses. Please note that this email is coming to you through the district list, which is not the SEPAC email list. We invite you to email us at [email protected] to join our official list. Regular updates, information on parent groups, and special education topics are all available through that list.
We are excited to share that Ellen Grieco was approved to be the official SEPAC School Committee Liaison at the School Committee meeting on May 12th. She welcomes your direct input any time at [email protected]. Please keep an eye out for updates from our Board members and their committees in our next email coming in October.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the SEPAC at any time during the year, we have a new address. Checks may be made payable to the SEPAC Gift Account and sent to Wayland SEPAC, P.O. Box 408, Wayland, MA 01778. From speakers to events and teacher appreciation, none of what the SEPAC does is possible without you. A big shout out to the PTO for their continued support!
We invite you to contact us at [email protected], check us out at waylandsepac.com, or follow us on FB, Twitter, or Instagram. We welcome your engagement, questions, ideas, and feedback and hope to see you soon!
Best regards,
Katy Andrus & Anne-Louise Klaus
Wayland SEPAC Co-Chairs
Community Resources
Julie Kannel, Community Resources Chair
I'd like to welcome everyone to the start of a new school year! We are looking to expand our resource list with helpful references, directly from Wayland parents, who have used the providers and have had beneficial results for their children. The current resource list is available on our website at https://waylandsepac.com/resources/ . We are planning to send out an email twice a year to help remind parents to share a wonderful resource they may have recently used. Please take a look at our "Wayland SEPAC Parents" Facebook page, and you can let us know your resource there, or you can email the SEPAC at [email protected] with the information.
School/Program Liaisons
Colleen Morneweck, Liaison Chair
Wayland SEPAC is excited to start the new school year with volunteers serving as SEPAC parent liaisons for each of the schools in the district. Over the summer, these SEPAC parent liaisons connected with school principals or directors in order to begin the collaborative work of sharing SEPAC updates with the schools and communicating the questions and/or concerns of SEPAC parents. As the school year begins, the building-based SEPAC parent liaisons will continue to update the school communities with information about SEPAC resources, workshops, speakers, events and meetings. We are still in need of a Liaison(s) for the METCO program and for Out of District parents/guardians. Please contact me by emailing [email protected] if you’re interested in helping out in one of these roles.
SEPAC Gift Fund
Gayle Gledhill, Treasurer
Wayland SEPAC is now ready to start taking donations. Donations are tax deductible. Any donations will go toward programs and events to help our parents and guardians of children on IEPs and 504s to be better equipped to help their children. Beyond this, funds may also be used in the future to support special education efforts in the district. Checks may be made out to SEPAC Gift Account - WPS and sent to: SEPAC / Attn.: Colleen Morneweck, Co-Chair / 17 Knollwood Lane / Wayland, MA 01778. No child comes with a handbook, and some need more than others. Your support makes the work of the Wayland SEPAC possible.
Technology
Lisa Bagley, Technology Chair
As of last spring, Wayland SEPAC can be found online at www.waylandsepac.com. Our website serves as a home for all SEPAC information including Resources, events and past emails and posts. We also have a new District News page to help you keep up as things develop. You can sign up for our e-mail list on the website as well as find links to our Facebook group, Instagram and Twitter accounts. Please check it out and follow us for continually updated information.
We hope to continue work this year on a survey to send out to special education families to help identify needs as well as understand what works well and what could be improved within the district. As WPS is up for a DESE review this year, we anticipate there being an opportunity for discussion and feedback at that time as well. The schedule is currently unclear due to Covid.
A Message from the Director of Student Services:
Wayland Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
The Special Education Parent Advisory Council has an important voice to add to the school district’s dialogue and decision-making in regards to special education. Parents have a unique perspective that is based on their own experiences. Working collaboratively with the Office of Student Services, the SEPAC has a positive impact on matters that pertain to special education within the Wayland Public Schools. In partnering with the school district, the SEPAC can help create a more responsive school environment and positive outcomes for families. Meaningful dialogue and progress is borne out of good communication between the officers of the SEPAC, parents and school administrators.
Richard Whitehead, M.Ed.
Director of Student Services
Wayland SEPAC News:
We are happy to announce that, as of our January 9th meeting, Wayland’s SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) is again active. Board positions were filled and bylaws approved unanimously. The Wayland SEPAC works to promote an innovative educational environment in which students with special education needs have equal access to educational opportunities in all of our schools and educational settings. All of our children are encouraged to reach their potential and we hope that you will join us in this effort. Our bimonthly meetings are open both to parents and guardians whose children are receiving services by way of an IEP or 504, as well as to anyone interested in special education in Wayland. Please keep an eye out for social events and other programming, too! SEPAC’s Board hopes you will join us to share information and support Wayland families with special education needs in our district. Interested in how to become involved? Please join us on Thursday, February 13th at 7pm at Town Building for our next meeting or join us on Wayland SEPAC Parents Facebook page. Questions can be forwarded to co-chairs Anne-Louise Klaus and Colleen Morneweck at [email protected]
To contact the Wayland SEPAC please email [email protected]
Resources:
Autism Insurance Network information
SPED Child & Teen: http://www.spedchildmass.com/
Spec. Education Eligibility Flow-Chart: Spec. Education Eligibility Flow-Chart.pdf
“To encourage children to embrace differences, kids must first encounter differences.”
Check out the new Facebook community, Together We Play, an inclusive friendship & play group. This group is for families (or caregivers) raising children with special needs AND families with typically developing children, primarily in the Boston suburbs. Have some fun, and help us make the world a more accepting place! There are benefits for everyone!
Learn more here: www.momsofamazingkids.org/togetherweplay
Join Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/togetherweplay
The Wayland Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is the parent advisory council for children with special needs. The Council advocates for children with special needs and performs in an advisory and collaborative role to the Wayland School Committee relative to special education issues. SEPAC sponsors general open meetings to educate and inform parents about topics that affect them and their children. If you would like more information about SEPAC or to join and have your name on our mailing list please contact:
SEPAC OBJECTIVES:
- To promote a network for parents of children with disabilities and
provide a forum to share information and discuss matters of relative
interest and concern regarding our children.
- To advise under Chapter 71B of the Massachusetts General Laws: 603
CMR, Section 28.00; the Superintendent and School Committee on
matters that pertain to the educationand safety of students with
disabilities as well as the operations and development of special
education.
- To promote communication between SEPAC members, local, state and
national organizations, councils, andgroups.
SEPAC MEMBERSHIP:
Membership is open to all parents of children with special needs and
other interested parties.