MARTIN COUNTY EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT EDUCATION
TARGETED ENHANCEMENT FOR PARENT SERVICES

ANNUAL REPORT
2003-2004

I.                    Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) 

The Martin County School District continues to make great strides working with and supporting parents of student with disabilities.  During the course of the 2003-2004 school year the ESE Parent Advisory Council (PAC) met quarterly, with meetings in September and November 2003 and February and April 2004.  The ESE Parent Liaison takes the lead in coordinating the meetings, and develops the agenda with the assistance of the Advisory Council members.  During this school year, the third year of the existence of the ESE Parent Advisory Council, a core group of approximately fifteen parents met regularly to discuss issues that affect students with disabilities and their families.  The PAC meetings schedule is posted on the ESE website and listed on the ESE Parent Training calendar.  Additionally, meeting notices are listed in the School Digest section of the local newspaper. Parent who are regular attendees receive written notification sent through the US postal service.   Additionally, notification of PAC meetings is sent to each school for inclusion in the individual school newsletters.  Parent of children with disabilities, as well as administrators, teachers and para-professionals are encouraged to attend.  The parents on the PAC represent parents of all age levels across disabilities. 

Topics of interest on the Parent Advisory Council agendas included a special presentation on assistive technology, a presentation on alternative assessment for students with disabilities and FCAT accommodations for students with disabilities, extended school year and summer FCAT remediation.  Additionally, PAC council members continued to discuss the implementation of recommendations to the ESE Department based on information gathered in the last parent survey.  The Parent Liaison, in conjunction with the PAC members and Exceptional Student Education Department staff continue to implement recommendations from the parent survey. 

There were two other areas of concern that were agenda topics this year. The first was recognition of ESE students for accomplishments on their campus and the second was a concern regarding the FCAT as it affects ESE students.  A sub-committee was developed to discuss FCAT accommodation. The sub-committee made the following recommendations to the Parent Advisory Council at the last quarterly meeting of the year, to be forwarded to the administration of the Exceptional Student Education Department: 

1. All accommodations that are listed on a student’s IEP should be allowed to be used while taking the FCAT (this is a Legislative issue).  
2. Accommodations listed on local forms (MC Form #183) should match the language of the accommodations deemed acceptable for the FCAT. 

a.       When choosing accommodations on the student’s IEP teachers should use those accommodations that are appropriate for each individual student and allowed on the FCAT.

3. Martin County should position itself to be a district chosen to pilot using computerized FCAT.

The recommendations of the FCAT sub-committee are currently being reviewed by the ESE staff.  Additionally, the Exceptional Student Education Department made a special effort to alert principals that ESE parents stated that they felt that many of their children do not always have an opportunity to be acknowledged for their many strengths, gifts and talents. Administrators were asked to make sure to include students with learning challenges in school activities, for example safety patrol, art club, photography club or sports activities. 

During the 2003-2004 school year the Parent Services Department worked diligently on recommendations from the parent survey to continue to improve communications between the ESE District Office, school-based ESE personnel and parents.  To that end, the PAC assisted the ESE Department with accomplishing the following activities: 

·         Improving the ESE Website:  The Martin County Exceptional Student Education website (www.ese.sbmc.org) was launched in January 2003.  Parents made it clear that the website was only valuable if the information presented was current, so the webmasters worked very hard during 2003-2004 to keep information current and to improve the site.  New pages on the website this year include an electronic parent survey linked to Survey Monkey, a page with colleges and universities for students with disabilities including scholarship information, and a password protected page for Mainstream Consultants and Program Specialists to post best practices and tips.   Both the staff training page and the parent training page were current at all times throughout the year.  Additionally, the “What’s New” page offered information on upcoming conferences, special parent presentations and special event geared toward children with disabilities.  The webmasters continue to be the ESE Parent Liaison, the Assistive Technology Specialist and the Supported Employment Specialist.

·         The new parent brochure which was developed in the spring of 2003 was printed and copies were delivered to all Martin County Schools in August 2003.  This brochure includes an overview of the ESE evaluation process as well as the names and telephone numbers of all the district office staff. Additionally, the brochure includes information on how to contact local, state and national organizations serving individuals with disabilities.  This brochure is also available through individual guidance offices and is sent to any parent who makes inquires about ESE services in Martin County.

·         The Parent Liaison continued to develop the electronic distribution list throughout the 2003-2004 school year.  This list is used to apprise parents of training opportunities, conferences and important events.  Additionally, notices of PAC meetings are sent electronically to those parents who have access to the Internet.  For those parents who do not have access to the Internet, notifications of important meetings and trainings are published in the School Digest section of the local newspaper, sent through the mail as well as sent to teachers for distribution to parents.

·         The Parent Liaison developed several specific trainings this year that were either requested by school-based personnel or parents to improve communication and understanding between school personnel and parents.  These trainings were presented to Mainstream Consultants, ESE personnel, and offered to individual schools and agencies.  The following is a list of the newly developed training topics:

o        Customer Services: Treating Parents as our Customers

o        Family Philosophy:  Survival Strategies for Families of Students with Disabilities

o        211 Information and Crisis Line and the 211 Website

o        A Panel Discussion for Parents of Children with Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome

Feedback from parents of children with disabilities in the county regarding the steps taken this year to increase awareness and communication has been extremely positive.  The PAC is very interested in continuing to improve and enhance opportunities to provide critical information to parents and will do so during the 2004-2005 school year.   

An additional accomplishment of the Parent Advisory Council during the 2003-2004 school year was to increase the size of the Parents as Ambassadors Program.  The vision of the Parents as Ambassadors program is to develop a cadre of trained professional parents across age levels and disabilities that are able to greet and support parents and families who are new to Martin County and/or with newly identified children with disabilities. The second annual Parents as Ambassadors Train the Trainer was held in April 2004 and eight new Ambassadors were trained.  The ESE Parent Services Department collaborated with FDLRS Galaxy to develop the training that was presented. Now that there are twenty (20) trained Ambassadors the plan is to market the program during the 2004-2005 school year. The password protected database of referral information will be kept by the Parent Liaison, and the Parent Liaison will be responsible for matching referred parents to supporting parents.  

II.                  Staff Development and Training Opportunities 

ESE District Staff, in collaboration with the Department of Education, Florida Diagnostic Resource Learning System, Florida Network on Disabilities and Martin Parent Education Partnership, developed two monthly training tracks, a staff development track and a parent-training track.  In an ongoing effort to provide quality training opportunities, a comprehensive training plan was developed.  The calendars for both staff and parent trainings are posted on the ESE website, are advertised electronically, published through the Staff Development Department of the School District and notices are sent to schools to share with parents.  The following is a list of some of the trainings offered during the 2003-2004 school year: 

Many of the above mentioned workshops and trainings were repeated several times during the course of the 2003-2004 school year. 

III.                Development of Special Events and/or Activities for Parents and Staff 

In addition to the regularly scheduled trainings for both staff and parents the Parent Services Department assisted the ESE Department to develop, coordinate and promote several special events during the 2003-2004 school year.  The following is a list of several major activities that were available to parents and staff: 

• September 2003:The Exceptional Student Education Department developed the Martin County Inclusion Committee during the 2003-2004 school year.  The committee was developed to review inclusion services currently provided to students in Martin County and to develop strategies for expanding inclusion opportunities for students with disabilities.  Members of the committee include ESE District staff, administrators, ESE teachers, regular educators, a representative from the Florida Inclusion Network and parents of students with disabilities.  The committee was scheduled to meet quarterly but actually met six times during the course of the current school year.
• October 2003:   Building Bridges to the Future Conference: this conference was a collaboration between the ARC of Martin County, FDLRS Galaxy, Florida Network on Disabilities and Martin County ESE.  The five hour conference was held on a Saturday, with child care provided, and included breakout session in family philosophy, behavior management at home and school, Medicaid Waiver Program, IEP Development (in English and Spanish), Early Intervention Part B-Part C and transition/Supported Employment. 
• October 2003: Sixth Annual Kids of the Treasure Coast Conference: a conference specifically developed to meet the needs of school and agency personnel.  Breakout sessions included stress management, domestic violence, juvenile sex offenders, preventing teen suicide, parenting skills, teen pregnancy, strategies to prevent underage drinking, gangs, behavior management for teens and students and an executive track including managing investments and work place and board development. This conference was held on the state-wide in-service day and over 300 teachers, agency staff and administrators attended.
• January 2004: The Second Annual Exceptional Student Education Conference Day: “Rough Waters to Smooth Sailing”: this conference featured nationally know speaker, Shari Lyn Rusch, the author of the book “Stumbling Blocks to Stepping Stones”.  Breakout sessions included computerized IEP training, family philosophy, customer service, FBA training, CPI training, data collection, gifted education and positive educational planning. 
• Charting Student Progress:  this training was developed to assist teachers with using an Excel Spreadsheet to develop charts to show student progress.  After the initial presentation to Mainstream Consultants and Program Staff the Parent Liaison was available to work individually with teachers to chart data. 
• 211 Information, Help, Referral and Crisis Line Training:  this training was presented twice in the spring of 2004 and targeted parents, teachers and agency staff.  The training was held in the School District’s computer training lab and participants learned how to navigate the 211 website and how to use the website as a tool for providing valuable information on community resources to parents. 
• May 2004:  “One Person Can Make a Difference”: the Parent Services Department sponsored a second visit to Martin County by Shari Rusch, nationally know speaker, to present a workshop to parents, ESE staff, teachers, administrators and agency personnel.  Over fifty parents, teachers and administrators attended this session and the feedback was extremely positive.

IV.   Development of Special Products for Parents and Staff 

During the 2003-2004 the following products were developed and distributed to parents and staff: 

• ESE Brochures: Information and Support for the Special Needs Community (as mentioned above)
• A Parent Guide to Martin County Schools, developed by Instructional Services as part of the Family and School Partnership for Student Achievement Act. 
• School Board Rule 6Gx43-6.19: Parental/Family Involvement
• A Parent  Self-Assessment Checklist for Martin County Schools, also developed by Instructional Services as part of the Family and School Partnership for Student Achievement Act. 

All of the above mentioned products were duplicated and presented to parents on the ESE Parent Advisory Council. Additionally, there is a link to the Parent Guide to Martin County Schools on the ESE website (www.ese.sbmc.org).  

V.    Parent Liaison 

In addition to existing ESE program staff, the Parent Liaison has been a valuable asset to the District Staff.  The Parent Liaison has strengthened the relationship between schools and parents of students with disabilities by providing the following services or being a participant in the following activities: 

• scheduling and coordinating quarterly Parent Advisory Council meetings during 2002-2003
• assisting with the evaluation of the parent survey data and helping to develop recommendations for improvement to the ESE District Staff
• assisting with the development of the Parent Ambassadors program
• development and delivery of training opportunities for parents
• being available as a neutral party when parents have issues with their schools
• being available to attend initial placement staffings and IEPs as an advocate for parents
• acting as a liaison between parents, schools and the ESE District Office staff
• strengthening the relationship with the ESOL department for translations of parent materials into Spanish
• developing, improving and expanding the relationship with local media, both local newspapers and the local governmental TV station, MCTV20
• participating in Disability Awareness Day at local high schools to assist non-disabled students to get a better understanding of students with disabilities
• providing materials from community agencies and governmental agencies to local schools, including the Martin County Answers/Info Guide, a publication that contains a wealth of information and pertinent telephone numbers that could be of use to school staff and parents
• promoting workshops and conference developed by CARD, FND, FDLRS Galaxy and school districts in the surrounding counties
• acting as a conduit for information between the school district and parents
• participate in the regional Family and School Partnership for Student Achievement Regional Collaboration meetings coordinated by FDLRS Galaxy
• participating in Micro-Enterprise Development for Individuals with Disabilities training sponsored by Martin County Vocational, Adult and Community Education and Tri-County TEC
• is an active member of both the Martin County Interagency Coalition and the Martin County ESE Inclusion Committee.
• is an active member of the Martin County Healthy Communities Healthy Youth Task Force. This task force is responsible for the development of training on the 40 Developmental Assets or Building Blocks of Success that children need to grow up to be healthy, productive adults.  The training is derived from the scientific-based research of the Search Institute in Minnesota (www.search-institute.org) . During the 2003-2004 school year over 30 community presentations were provided to agency and parent groups around Martin County. Additionally, the Parent Liaison was a primary trainer for the developmental assets “Train the Trainer” sessions held in November 2003 and January 2004.
  
   

VI.   Activities for 2004-2005   

The following activities are being planned for the 2004-2005 school year: 

·         The Parent Advisory Council quarterly meeting schedule for 2004-2005 has been developed and distributed to parents. The schedule is also posted on the ESE website. Activities for inclusion on the PAC agendas are being developed.

·         Topics of discussion for upcoming PAC meetings include information provided by Florida Inclusion Network and the local Martin County Inclusion Committee.

·         The ESE Website will be maintained and enhanced.

·         The Parent Ambassador Program will begin matching Ambassador supporting parents with referred parents. A third Parent Ambassador trainings will be developed in 2004-2005 to continue to increase the number of trained Ambassadors.  Additionally, parents who are already trained as Ambassadors will be provided with further support and training through ongoing support meetings.

·         A parent conference, The Second Annual Building Bridges to the Future, will be held in November 2004.  The Exceptional Student Education Parent Advisory Council, working collaboratively with the ESE Department, The ARC of Martin County, Florida Diagnostic Learning Resource System and Family Network on Disabilities will plan the conference. Conference topic include the IEP process , workshops by CARD and Family Network on Disabilities, behavioral management in school and at home, transition/ supported employment, assistive technology and Brain Matters.  The focus of the conference will be expanded from just parents of children with developmental disabilities to all parents of children with disabilities and will be advertised and promoted in the three surrounding counties to increase participation.

·         Staff and parents training schedules are being developed for the 2004-2005 school year.  In addition to numerous training opportunities the Parent Liaison will work in conjunction with Martin County schools to develop targeted training as requested.

·         An  ESE Parent Newsletter will be developed and distributed by US mail and emailed quarterly in 2004-2005.

·         An extensive parent survey will be developed by the Parent Advisory Council (a repeat of the survey conducted in 2002) and will be distributed by mail to parents of ESE students in January 2005. Results of the survey will be collated and compared to the survey results received in 2002 to identify areas of improvement and/or concern.

·         The Martin County Exceptional Student Education Inclusion Committee will continue to meet and review and expand options for inclusion for exceptional students.  

·         With the assistance of the Parent Advisory Council the Exceptional Student Education Department will continue to improve and enhance services to parents. 

For further information regarding Martin County Exceptional Student Education Parent Services please contact: