5/15/2013 SEPAC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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r SEPAL M.eetin Minutes Mashpee Public Schools Date: Wednesday,May 1S,, 013 Present: 11 Next meeting: Wednesday,October 9,2013 6:30 p.m.at Quashnet School Library INTRODUCTION Director of Special Education, Michele Brady, and Assistant Director of Special Education,Joan Collins, facilitated the meeting.Zachary, a Mashpee High School Senior,gave an insightful presentation into autism from the perspective of a person with autism.Six parents, 1 grandparent, ) school committee member, and 1 K C Coombs school teacher were in attendance.This meeting was held in Room 101 of the Quashnet School. DISCUSSION • Minutes from the March 20,2013 meeting were accepted. • There was discussion about the dates for next year's SEPAC meetings.SEPAC will schedule the dates for next year's meetings after the dates for next year's school committee meetings have been determined. • Michele Brady opened the floor for anyone interested in the position of parent co-chairperson for SEPAC. Gillian Dorman expressed interest in the position. She was nominated, seconded, and voted into that position. • There was discussion about future topics for presentations for next school year. Parents expressed interest in having an introduction presentation with the new superintendent of schools, a presentation on reading strategies,transition options for students aging out of the school system, high school to college transitioning, self-advocacy for accommodations at the college level including the types of accommodations the student can expect through the college experience, how to balance accommodations with challenging the student, and a return of today's presenter to share with us his experience of his first year of college. • Presentation by Zachary provided interesting insight of the perspective of a student with autism and his experience of school.The presentation included interesting statistics and the results of a fundraising he initiated as part of his senior project to raise awareness and money for autism research and educational support. Zach gifted the Children's Hospital in Boston with a portion of the proceeds of his fundraiser for autism research and gifted the Mashpee Public Schools with an lPad, ITunes cards for lead apps, and a gift card for use to purchase educational materials by the teachers. Michele Brady and Joan Collins presented Zachary with a certificate of appreciation for his support of special education and autism research. • A question and answer session followed.