Special Education Advisory Council (SEPAC)

The Hamilton-Wenham SEPAC is hosting a virtual meeting on Tuesday November 9th to vote on executive positions and outline the presentation plans for the year. This event is open to all H-W district parents and caregivers.

Date:  Tuesday November 9th

Time:  6pm

Meeting Recording

The H-W Special Education Advisory Council (SEPAC) invite all interested parties to a virtual event to hear an overview of a new program rolling out from the Hamilton and Wenham Police Department as changes to next year’s Special Education programming and budget. 

Date: Tuesday January 18th 

Time: 6pm

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82145241864

The Hamilton and Wenham Police Departments have worked to create an Autism-Disability Outreach program in what is now a “culture of awareness” in our district and beyond. This new program is in response to the varied needs of residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities and aims to provide a “total approach” to issues that these residents and police encounter through education, outreach, and response. The main focus of the program is to provide a platform for those that don’t always have a voice. The goal of their outreach is to provide tools and resources which prepare for effective ways to ensure a safe, meaningful community. Officers receive training and education on ways to ensure positive, effective, and safe interactions between law enforcement and the Autism/IDD communities. They will also work with caregivers and those who have Autism/IDD on ways to ensure that they are safe in the community. They will incorporate the concerns and questions of those they interact with to develop dynamic curriculums and presentations. Representatives from the Hamilton Police Department will be with us to further explain the rollout of the program and answer any questions you may have. 

We additionally will hear an update on changes to district student services and 2022-2023 budget from Stacy Bucyk, Director of Student Services. The presentation will cover what the Student Services department requested for budget allocation and why. Stacy gave a complete overview of district services previously which can be found here if anyone is curious about the definition and detail of district programs. 

Meeting & Presentation Recording

Meeting Recording

The H-W Special Education Advisory Council (SEPAC) invites all interested parties to a virtual event. Eric Tracy will be joining us to discuss the SOA  grant and a survey that is going to be sent out during the process. A part of the SOA grant focuses on Special Education and feedback from families is needed. We additionally will be reviewing updates to the SEPAC bi-laws. 

Tuesday,February 15th 

Time: 6pm

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82145241864

The Special Education Parent Advisory Council, in collaboration with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, hosted a parent orientation to learn about the upcoming Special Education and Civil Rights review in our district. This presentation was held virtually on 3/29/22 and was not recorded. 

On 3/15/22 the HW SEPAC held a virtual event on mediation. In an effort to ensure that they are meeting the needs of families and school districts in Massachusetts during these uncertain times, the Mediators at the Bureau of Special Education Appeals joined us to discuss mediation. This included when to request mediation (or a facilitated team meeting), how to decide about going to mediation, how to prepare for mediation, whom to bring to mediation, etc.  We were joined in this session by our district's mediator, Rebecca Stone, and the session was not recorded. If you are interested in this content and missed it, these sessions are held routinely statewide and more information on the Bureau can be found at mass.gov.

On May 17th the HW SEPAC held virtually an event to discuss Executive Functioning. Leading the discussion was Leigh Perreault(M.Ed., Ed.S.) a Licensed School Psychologist with our District. This session is a follow-up to the presentation Leigh gave last year, which overviewed Executive Functioning skills at different ages and how to support development of executive functioning in children and adolescents.  The previous session can be found under the SEPAC's 2020-2021 Archive. To build on the information already presented, in this more recent session, Leigh has answered questions and provided more opportunity for discussion around the ideas presented last spring. The recording can be found here: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/7yFdVFAUsjRHB_ukDR0SxU11lLxs8Hi_GcG9RPePWVW2PkuN3WiuCJR_0eFn_kh-.N_5Xogm-b_wboeaI 

Passcode: @.YnPH1u

June 9

The SEPAC held a virtual meeting as an open informational session.  This session was for anyone who would like to get more information about our group and kick off board elections. The SEPAC provides a network for all district families participating in special education to access relevant information, training, and support. It also provides an avenue for ongoing dialogue with the district administration and School Committee about the needs of special education students in the Hamilton-Wenham school system. We aim to encourage an atmosphere of effective communication, understanding, and mutual respect among all students, parents, educators, and the community-at-large. This meeting was not recorded. 

June 14th 

The SEPAC met to vote on revised Bylaws and Executive Board. The revised bylaws were passed unanimously and the new Executive Board (2 CoChairs, Secretary, and Treasurer) will go into effect. The meeting was not recorded. 

In case you missed it, you can view the webinar here:

https://youtu.be/_N0OGx6wf-M