East Islip SEPTA
Special Education Parent Teacher Association
We never stand so tall as when
we stoop to help a child
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East Islip SEPTA Special Education Parent Teacher Association We never stand so tall as when we stoop to help a child
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Next Gathering East Islip Septa's 2nd Annual Snowflake Fundraiser Friday February 3rd @ 7 pm Details are below on the right |
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* Music on Page
Visitors since 11/8/07
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 Welcome to the East Islip Septa Website This website has been created in order to provide information and support to parents of Special Education students in the East Islip School District and to help all parents and Education professionals understand Special Education issues. Our hope is that this site becomes known as a reliable source for up to date information, as well as a valuable resource for assisting parents in successfully advocating for the educational needs of their children. |
East Islip Septa
Snowflake FundraiserPlease join us on Friday, February 3rd at 7 pm at the Ancient Order of Hibernians Hall, 65 Champlin Avenue East Islip for our annual Snowflake Fundraiser. Enjoy an evening of good food ( prepared by the members of the Middle School Family and Consumer Science Club) , adult beverages (available for purchase), music and dancing. We will be raising money through raffles and the auctioning of baskets. Admission is $30 per person. Donations are still being graciously accepted. Please contact Tracy Rice @ 224-1411 or traco533@aol.com
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Change the Conversation
Our
choice of language frames how we think about others.
Stop Using the R-Word
"It is
often easier to become outraged by injustice half a world away than by
oppression and discrimination half a block from home."
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Letter from your Child's former Teacher
Dear Parents of Special-Needs Children I’ve Taught In the Past, I need to make a big apology. You see, I’ve been teaching now for fourteen years, but I have only just recently joined your ranks. I didn’t know. Not even a clue. I thought, mistakenly, that having two special-needs children in my family made me more sensitive to your needs as a parent. It didn’t. And I’m so sorry for operating under the assumption that it did. I’m not attempting verbal self-flagellation here. I meant well. I knew a lot about autism and some about other special-needs conditions. I did care about your child. And I did want to do right by him. But, like a lot of teachers who just don’t get it, I thought doing right by him meant giving him extra time on assignments and not allowing him to fail my class. I thought being extra nice and seating her at the front of the room was what you needed from me. But you needed more. And I didn’t understand that. You needed communication. A lot of it. You needed me to understand your depth of worry. You needed me to understand that, if you’ve met one special-needs child, you’ve met one special-needs child. You needed me to understand that I was teaching your child, not an I.E.P. You needed to know, not assume, that I would go out on a limb to make sure your child’s needs were met all over the school and not just in my classroom. You needed to not worry that, when your back was turned, I was still doing everything that I promised as well as thinking of better ways to meet your child’s needs. You needed to talk about your child in meetings and not worry about the clock. I know better now. In just a few months, I am going to be placing my special little boy into the hands of the public school system. Because he is non-verbal, I will have no way of literally knowing how his day went, if he is being treated well, and if those to whom I am entrusting his care really do care about him. This kind of fear is paralyzing. And more so because I know just how little training (read almost none) that most of the staff in a public school have in dealing with children like my son. They, too, will mean well. But they won’t know. They won’t get it. I now know why you carry The Binder of Epic Proportions to every meeting. Mine is getting bigger by the day. I look back now at all of your children and wish that I had picked up the phone more, written quick notes home more often, challenged your child more often rather than less, and made you feel certain that someone else loved your baby in your absence. For that, I’m sorry. I promise to do better for those kids in the future. I promise to not assume anything about your child’s unique situation and needs. I won’t just react to bullying of your very different child. I will actively be on the lookout for it. I will remember your child and her possible confusion on activity bell schedule days. I will take more time each day to get to know her. I promise to do my best to push, cajole, educate, and even take to task my colleagues who don’t get it in the years to come. I pray that teacher training will improve in the future and that my son will reap the rewards of that. And I hope that I am just as patient, kind, and understanding with his teachers and schools as most of you were with us. And those of you who weren’t? I get you too. Sincerely, Your Child’s Former Teacher Thanks to Kelly Pipitone for submitting this |
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Animal School
An amazing short video about the differences in children and learning styles.
Then right click on the black box and hit play
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| Did you know? Fast facts about . . . Special education
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PTA Vision Making every child's potential a reality. PTA Mission
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This website is a work in progress, and belongs to the entire East Islip Special Education community. Please feel free to send any questions, suggestions, information, or links to other Special Education associations or disabilities, which you would like to have included on the site, to:
Site Last Updated on 1/24/12
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