On Wednesday, October 22, 2008 CHSEPTA will be hosting a Special Education Presentation with a Parent Forum. It will be held at the Malberg Administration Building, Cyber Cafe/Tech room, 45 Ranaldo Terrace in Cherry Hill.
At 7:00 pm the Special Education Department will be giving a Power Point Presentation titled, “Interpretation and Implementation of IEP’s”. This will be followed with a discussion period and question/ answer session.
There will also be a Parent Forum immediately following this presentation. You may go to the CHSEPTA website for additional information by clicking here.
CHSEPTA will be accepting questions in advance of this event by e-mail and phone, along with accepting them in writing and from the floor at the event. You can email questions in advance to: Naomi Weiss, capjanstar@comcast.net or call 856 428 2360 by 4:00PM Wed. 10/22/08.
46 comments:
What is septa up to now? This sounds like a propaganda session for admin! Franklin is going to give a presentation on Interpretation and Implementation of IEP’s? Get real people. Franklin wouldn't know how to implement an IEP if our children's future depended on it and come to think of it, their futures do depend on it!
The "interpretation" part is the bigger joke. Isn't that the problem in Cherry Hill that they interpret the law however they choose.
OK, I agree that our special ed leaders interpret the law based on what is convenient for them to provide -- or more to the point, what they can deny our kids, but I didn't think CHSEPTA was "up to" anything. They are still providing the Parent Forum which I believe is what everyone was so in favor of in the past. Maybe it is just me, but "propaganda" may be stretching it a bit!
Kathi
I wouldn't waste my time at another parent forum. SEPTA has become very weak in addressing parental concerns. I am tired of all the posturing that goes on with SEPTA and the SE Dept. I agree with the person above that used the word propaganda! This is all about the district getting their info out there and avoiding our real questions and concerns.
I thought everyone liked the Parent Forum because they were able to raise their concerns and have the CHSEPTA Board obtain answers for them. I thought the Parent Forum last year was very successful. Parents got to raise some serious questions and the Director had to answer them. How many of us would have known about the Quiet Room if it wasn't for that Parent Forum?
As far as the Presentation goes, I will be honest -- I have no interest in seeing this presentation. I am mainly interested in the Parent Forum because it allows us to get our questions on record and stay up to date on the issues that impact our kids.
Kathi
KM,
We knew about the padded storage closet they set up for our kids because YOU brought it to our attention. Because of YOU that room is gone. It had nothing to do with septa. They let Franklin avoid answering the questions and then let her give misleading info about it. YOU are the one that clubbed her on the head over this in your blog! YOU got people talking about this autrocity and it ended up on the news because it was so bad. Parents asked for Franklin's resignation, not septa. What did septa do about it? They didn't hold admin accountable, YOU did.
Septa does some good with providing guest speakers and stuff. They have had some good ones. When admin comes to speak -- it is propaganda!
J
I am anon from above. Sorry got cut off posting this before.
I am surprised you announced this for SEPTA. This seems very controlled by the SE Director who appears to be using SEPTA to spin out some presentation that will suit her needs. You are usually pretty sharp with spotting these underlying initiatives. I am surprised that you didn't catch this hidden agenda.
Am I missing something here? I am really sorry if anyone is offended by my announcing this event. I was excited to see another Parent Forum. I thought it was a good thing for us to be able to speak freely and have our concerns addressed in the context of a Parent Forum. Just so everyone is aware, CHSEPTA did not ask me to post this blog about their upcoming Presentation and Parent Forum. I thought it would be something that everyone was interested in. I am really sorry if I missed something here!
Kathi
"speak freely and have our concerns addressed " Did you read the info on the SEPTA website about this? Questions must be qualified as systemic. It isn't a parent forum if they can pick and choose which of our questions qualify.
It sounds like the PTA was told the way they had to run this because Israela wasn't taking another black eye. The parent forum questions are being sent to her in writing not asked right there on the spot like before. Franklin wanted this changed. She wants time to formulate and spin answers that are vague and misleading.
Do yourself a favor Kath, don't buy into this. I think it is nice that you put up info to help us help our kids. I love the way you have always put up a fight for our children. You are so strong and such a hero. Info on the musical and some other stuff is great but don't stop writing the truth about what happens in special ed. There are so many problems that go unaddressed and we need a real forum to discuss those issues. Your blog is my parent forum!
PS: I am not "offended" by your blog. I only wanted to point the other part out to you.
In the past, questions could be submitted to SEPTA before the parent forum; however, the parent only meeting immediately beforehand was helpful to identify systemic issues as well. It would be a shame if that was taken away.
OK, apparently I did miss something. I did not catch this before but I saw it in the email that went out to CHSEPTA members. "Those questions which have not been addressed and qualify as systemic concerns will then be submitted to Mrs. Franklin for written responses." I see your point, especially considering her previous written responses about other issues including the padded closet. We want to hear her answers not read the fluffy version.
I don't think they are taking the parent only meeting away though. I think it is just that the questions following the Parent Forum will be sent to Isie Franklin in writing. I do tend to prefer the other format where parents met with the CHSEPTA Board to devise a list of questions. It leaves a little less wiggle room for administrators to come up with well crafted answers. I am not sure why the format was changed. I think we should ask the CHSEPTA board about that. I would not assume that CHSEPTA allowed the Special Ed Director to dictate the terms of the Parent Forum. Although, it sounds like something she would try to do -- I am just not sure that CHSEPTA would allow that.
Kathi
I would think that continuing these forums is part of her goals to bridge the gap between parents and administration. Please.
A workshop on interpretation and implementation I believe is bells and whistles, because frankly, Franklin, that's your job.
It is her job to make sure that her staff are informing parents of all choices and interpretation and her job frankly to enforce the implementation. Is her staff not doing this?
Workshops on disabilities. That would be great. Bringing parents together with the same disability - what works at one school compared to another. Meeting families to bridge transition to higher schools. Tools that they found to be helpful. Teachers to avoid.
Workshops on medical updates, healthy diets, a medical liaison. Amazing!
Learning how to interpret and implement - that's Izzy's job.
I think her staff needs to attend the presentation as well. Three special education administrators and codes are still being broken all the time in this district. I don't think I.F. knows how bad it is as they don't tell the truth to her.
There is strength in numbers. The SEPTA board and the administration need to know that the membership is not satisfied with the new parents forum if that is the case. So while you may be tempted to say, "I wouldn't waste my time," the effect is that the district may think everything has calmed down and people are satisfied with status quo.
Kathy: Once again you have provided a great forum for our concerns. Thank you.
I think parents should provide a presentation for Franklin to show her what is wrong with the system in Cherry Hill. We know this better than she does.
We have child study teams that are told by administraters what they can and can't provide for our kids. These desicions are not based on "individual" needs of students and they rarely comply with the law.
When she says "interpretation" is that interpretation of the law or the IEP? It is Franklins job to know the law and she can't interpret it however she chooses. If she is refering to interpretation of IEP's that is the team's job, including the parent. They are suppossed to work together to develop the IEP. They should know how to interpret what they wrote. It is when admin gets involved that we have problems. Administrative barriers!
When she says "implementation" is that implementing an IEP -- that is the team's job. If an IEP is not being implemented which they rarely are in CH -- than Franklin should be asking why.
I've added my 2 cents and I think we should all add it at the meeting. Franklin is not going to tell me that I can't raise concerns during her presentation. Interpretation and implentation ARE THE CONCERNS.
Kathy: One other thing. You need to forward this to the Septa board so they know how parents feel.
OK - why are we attacking CH SEPTA? PTA = Parent + Teacher not just Parent. If someone here would like to start their own group of just parents then go ahead, but lets not go after CH SE PTA. I have had an excellent experience with SEPTA last year. And I had an horrible experience with my child's education. Don't forget they are "in the middle". We can still bring up individual child's issues with CH SEPTA and they will help and give advice. Has something changed I am not aware of??? Can we start going after the issues? Going after the people is getting a little old.
To the last comment - I don't think people are going after SEPTA. They are still very angry over I.F. continual lack of what her job is. This presentation is bells and whistles. They are going after this weak approach of bridging bells and whistles.
Sadly we must all as Special Ed parents go to this meeting. Then continue to diligently document violations and all though exhausting keep documenting and reporting.
More importantly I think Special Ed Parents must and I mean must start talking with regular ed parents about these injustices. More people need to be aware!
Could SEPTA at this point be between and rock and a hard place? In other words, do things the administration's way or say good bye to Septa as the parent advisory group? That would be a shame. We all need to work together for our children.
I like the idea of presentations to parents and teachers. It's a good way to educate and communicate. I'm not sure I like it cutting into parent forum time (they're so few and far between), but let's see how it works out. I will certainly be sending in my questions/concerns to Septa.
I agree with anon above - document violations, and report them to the DOE (forms are on-line).
Thanks, Kathi for this great forum.
I feel SEPTA has definitely sold out. Allowing questions to be give to Dizzy Izzy ahead of time is just ridiculous. So she should be allowed to formulate the answers in advance. If they want to have a parent forum, let us ask the questions directly to the administrators. Stop allowing SEPTA to pick and choose what to ask. Are we in a dictatorship? Before Franklin gives a forum on Implementation of the IEP, she should learn how to implement an IEP! They don't care about IEP's or the law.......I guess that boils down to not caring about our children!
I am not sure I agree that the septa board sold out. These are parents on the septa board and they are not going to sell out on their kids. I think they need to take a much stronger position with admin but I don't think they are sell-outs.
I see "dizzy izzy" as being intimidated by parents. That is the only reason that she is unable to face us at a parent forum. She is weak and knows that she is losing ground.
She wants parents to give up and not voice concerns. It's job security for her if we go away or shut up. Lets go and voice our concerns during her presentation. It will show the septa board how we feel. It will put franklin on notice that we are not going away.
What do you think Kathy?
I agree that Israela Franklin's failure to participate in the Parent Forum speaks volumes -- about her though-- not CHSEPTA board members. They cannot force her to be there for the Q & A session of the Parent Forum, just as we have been unable to force her to follow the law.
The reader above has a great point and I agree that Israela would like for us to "shut up" or "go away." I see this with a slightly different twist. While some may view Israela's absence at the Parent Forum as weak, I see it as a calculated move on her part. Personally, I think she may be trying to undermine CHSEPTA's position. Perhaps she is pitting the members against the CHSEPTA board. That old adage "divide and conquer" comes to mind.
For that reason, I agree that parents should attend this meeting regardless of the format. Getting your complaints, concerns, questions on record is important. I would think arriving at the start of the meeting (presentation) and then walking outside so we do not have to partake in the little game of "propaganda" would send a clear message that we are not interested in the presentation. Yes, a little bit of protesting, but not in an obnoxious way! No signs or yelling -- just walk outside.
We can return to the room for the Parent Forum so the CHSEPTA board will see that we are interested in the Parent Forum because it is a critical element to resolving issues.
So who is bringing the coffee? (lol)
Kathi Magee
The 1st game of the World Series is tomorrow night!
There are many things I will give up for my child, but watching a great baseball game with my son is not something that I will give up for Mrs. Franklin.
I am inclined to agree on that! Perhaps CHSEPTA will reschedule the Parent Forum.
Kathi
Yes. I like the protest idea. How do we get people to follow along?
But SEPTA does not post correspondence on the web site anymore. What good is it if IF doesn't answer the questions?
"What good is it if IF doesn't answer the questions?"
As I understood this from the first Parent Forum that I attended, the forum was set up to address parental concerns and answer questions BEFORE they became a major issue. It gave parents a chance to express their concerns and special ed leaders a chance to answer questions to foster an understanding between the two groups (administrators and parents).
Even though Israela Franklin may not be present at the Parent Forum while the questions are being asked -- it is still important to raise the questions if for no other reason than to get the concerns/questions on record.
I have confidence in the CHSEPTA board that they will follow through and relay all of the questions posed at the Parent Forum.
It will also be helpful for parents to reference later if they need to go before the Board of Ed to ask the same questions. This substantiates our claims that we are addressing matters with CHSEPTA (the Parent Advisory Group) and they are addressing matters with the SE Director. When the questions go unanswered, it substantiates the claim that our concerns go unaddressed. It reflects rather poorly on the SE Director at that point and then the BOE would need to ask why parental concerns are not being addressed. Actually, the Superintendent should be asking that question as well.
The mere fact that Mrs. Franklin appears to be unwilling to meet with parents at a Parent Forum does not cast her in the best light.
Please keep in mind that I am not accusing Mrs. Franklin of being unwillingly to attend the Parent Forum. It is simply the way it appears to me. Perhaps it was a case of her not being available as a result of some schedule conflict. I would think that if she is available to do her presentation on Interpretation and Implementation of IEPs she simply chose to do that rather than participate in the Parent Forum.
That is really a question that should be posed to the CHSEPTA board as they would have knowledge of the circumstances for her not being at the Parent Forum.
If you cannot attend tonight's Parent Forum -- PLEASE FORWARD YOUR QUESTIONS TO CHSEPTA BEFORE THE MEETING!
Kathi
It sounds like I.F. doesn't want parents to meet to discuss issues/concerns during the first hour of the forum,(therefore, have a power point presentation instead). That's a shame, the format worked so well in the past. Nevertheless, my questions have been forwarded to CHSEPTA.
What a sad state of affairs we as Special Education parents in the Cherry Hill School District have to live with. We pay high taxes and ridiculous salaries for an administration that won't stand before us as parents and allow us to directly ask questions. Obviously it is because I.F. made such huge mistake of advocating that it is appropriate to throw our children in padded closets at the last parent forum. If she is unwilling to stand before the parents of the children she is supposed to be supporting, we as parents need to start a loud campaign to get rid of her before she is tenured (which I believe is this year). If the Board stays silent, maybe we need to get a new Board! Remember this is a Board that doesn't seem to believe in a " transparent government".
One of the major reasons why we are having the issues we are having, is because there are in Cherry Hill, teachers, case managers and individual school administrators, who do not care about IDEA. I.F. is only one piece of the puzzle. She can't go into a school and fire the teacher or the principal, that refuses to comply. They do what they want to anyway and lie to her about it. Teachers are diagnosing students at their discretion,and making their own minds up about whether or not they "feel like" teaching a particular student. There are way too many L-A-Z-Y teachers in our district, who are taking up valuable tax dollars. The BOE needs to begin actively evaluating teachers performance and begin weeding out the waste, and save us all some money in the long run.
I am curious as to what this presentation is about but it seems like it would be something that the Staff should be listening to.
One of the major reasons why we are having the issues we are having, is because there are in Cherry Hill, teachers, case managers and individual school administrators, who do not care about IDEA. I.F. is only one piece of the puzzle. She can't go into a school and fire the teacher or the principal, that refuses to comply. They do what they want to anyway and lie to her about it. Teachers are diagnosing students at their discretion,and making their own minds up about whether or not they "feel like" teaching a particular student. There are way too many L-A-Z-Y teachers in our district, who are taking up valuable tax dollars. The BOE needs to begin actively evaluating teachers performance and begin weeding out the waste, and save us all some money in the long run.
I am curious as to what this presentation is about but it seems like it would be something that the Staff should be listening to.
"The BOE needs to begin actively evaluating teachers performance and begin weeding out the waste, and save us all some money in the long run."
Yes you are absolutely correct. We need to have performance pay for teachers built into their contract and tenured teachers must meet some type of measurable goal each year.
I would rather see this part of our teacher/union contract then shared benefits.
This concept of performance pay would save us money in the long term.
Many CST's don't tell Franklin the truth, her staff tells her what she wants to hear, and she certainly doesn't bother to listen to parents -She wonders why people are upset? Sad.
When my son was in Kindergarten the CST was able to address his needs. At the time, Charlie Lange was the Director of Special Ed. Things were not perfect but they were a lot closer to appropriate than they were after Charlie left. Suddenly, the culture changed in SE.
By 1st grade, Israela Franklin had come on board as Director of SE and the same CST that was able to acomodate my son's needs in the past, fell seriously short of the mark.
I do not think the Case Managers or teachers are the sole cause of the issues, but I agree they play a role in this. It starts at the top and rolls downhill. I believe that when new leadership came in the entire culture changed. Things have grown progressively worse for special education students in Cherry Hill. Programs have been eliminated, therapies have been cut back or in some case not provided at all, best practice methods are no longer the preferred methods, and teachers are not being encouraged or trained to follow specific requirements of the IEPs. Children suffer as a result.
Everyone from the Superintendent to the Director of Spec Ed, from the BOE to staff members share the blame for this.
I think if teachers received appropriate training (that was mandated) and if the CSTs were encouraged to write appropriate IEPs based on the child's individual needs -- we would have far fewer problems. This would also save taxpayers a bundle because the legal fees would be reduced.
I realize the BOE is limited in their duties, but it is well within their scope to hold school leaders accountable for their performance. We have a non-tenured Director of SE that has fallen under great scrutiny and under her direction laws have been violated. Even if she did not violate the laws herself, she is accountable as the Director.
The culture can only be changed by effective leaders.
"I think if teachers received appropriate training (that was mandated) and if the CSTs were encouraged to write appropriate IEPs based on the child's individual needs -- we would have far fewer problems. This would also save taxpayers a bundle because the legal fees would be reduced"
Kathi,
I respect your opinion very much and this is your blog, but, althought it may not be the case in your child's case, believe me when I say it that there are a group of teachers in our district that do have the opportunity to learn more, but won't do it because it is not in their contract, and therefore they don't care. Fortunately this is not the case for all, but it is very true, and it is happening. It's just another side of the problem that you may not have experienced yourself, but others have.
"...believe me when I say it that there are a group of teachers in our district that do have the opportunity to learn more, but won't do it because it is not in their contract, and therefore they don't care."
I agree with that and I have dealt with staff that simply did not care! Believe me, last year was disastrous for my son and I feel it was a direct result of his case manager and his teacher.
We cannot train someone to "care" -- however, we can mandate additional training and then hold staff accountable for putting that training to use. We can also hold CSTs accountable for writing more appropriate IEPs that are based on the child's individual requirements and not what administrators choose to provide.
This is where effective leadership comes into play and unfortunately we lack that in Cherry Hill.
The answer in getting the ball of change to roll is really very simple.
Every correspondence documenting non compliance must copied to all board members.
Imagine the amount of email and letters on a daily basis the board will receive.
They should also be taking the initiative to add a special ed liaison to every committee - curriculum, policy, budget, human resources - there is no one looking or overseeing special ed except for the monopoly of IF and DC
I do not think the BOE cares about these issues. The BOE defends our administrators even when they are clearly wrong. One major issue of note was with the padded closet. In that horrific situation they helped spin out lies and the BOE President even signed her name to a letter defending the administrator involved. Nothing was done to prevent this from happening again.
I pointed out countless violations of special ed law and civil rights violations and nothing was done by the BOE. Occassionally, I would get an email from a BOE member that said, "Thank you for sharing that information." That did not resolve the issues raised. By not holding our school administrators accountable, our BOE has sent a message that it is OK for them to continue doing a poor job!
It is nice to get these things on record so I do encourage parents to send emails and letters -- but I would not put to much faith in the BOE to hold leaders accountable.
--just my opinion!
What about getting things on record and sending them to DOE instead of BOE? The truth has to mean something to somebody.
Did anybody actually attend the meeting last night?
At the meeting the president of SEPTA did say that they did not seek the format change, but that if people wanted Franklin to be present at all, it had to be that way. The presentation was designed for and is being presented to regular education teachers. It did not educate me on any new information. Some questions were asked during and after the presentation, but the questions submitted in advance were not asked/answered. Franklin touted the numerous experts that CST’s readily have at their disposal to evaluate/consult with children.
Franklin asked people to sign an attendance sheet that she was going to provide to NJDOE to show that they are implementing the improvement plan outlined in the self-assessment. So not only did the meeting format change, but the district used it to “create artifact” to show the state that they that they are making improvements. The self-assessment and the improvement plan were farces.
The meeting was a waste of time except, but I was glad to hear that SEPTA had not “sold-out.” They are being walked all over though. While I say the meeting was a waste of time, I will be there again and again, and I hope more of you will join me. There is not much sense only complaining on-line. No offense Kathi. I appreciate the blog, but the district can easily push our concerns aside as long as only 10 – 15 parents out of 2,000 attend the meetings. Until people get that, we can't expect to make an impact.
Thank you for posting about the meeting.
did anyone ask about the state audit results?
when do we the tax payers see the results of this continued fraud
QSAC?
Are the rumors true? Any one know what report/papers they are sending to the district?
BOE Meeting 11/25 Russell Knight Elementary, 7 p.m. QSAC update by Dr. Maureenn Reusche.
Please help the less informed. What are the rumors/papers? Who are "they" that would be sending?
I just finished reading the letter posted by Greg Blackburn and Kyra Smith...........has anything changed since then(April)? Anything positive?
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