Pupil Services

A Message from Dr. Perri Murdica - Director of Pupil Personnel Service

April 8, 2020

Dear Families,

I hope this letter finds you well and adjusting to the new routines that have been established due to our present health crisis. Please know that your child’s teachers and related service providers miss your child and the “in person” contact that was part of their lives every day until schools were closed. I speak with their teachers and providers almost every day and understand the challenges facing students, families, and school staff in this new learning environment. What I have also come to know is that we are all rising to the challenge as we move forward.

It has been almost two weeks since our special education teachers and related services providers reached out to you to reconnect and better understand your needs, your child’s needs, and most importantly how they can support those needs. I would like to thank you for your continued partnership, patience, availability, and flexibility to engage with us in problem solving to accommodate individual circumstances.

We remain committed to providing supports from your child’s IEP to the best of our ability and the greatest extent possible, given the present restrictions of the health crisis. In my communication of March 24, the focus was to ensure you were aware that reconnecting you and your child to our learning process was paramount to our success in our new learning environment (see link below). To accomplish this we required time to speak individually with each student and family and determine the level of support that is necessary during this period of remote learning. We also had to ensure there were no barriers to student learning in the home environment that should be addressed. What is very clear from this process is that we all have a learning curve and we are all in this together. As I mentioned in my previous letter, in Canton Public Schools, our students are at the center of all we do. This remains essential in our work. Our goal remains to address any individual needs.

On March 24, 2020, Superintendents and Directors of Pupil Services received communication from the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), Bureau of Special Education, which clarifies that Connecticut has mandated statewide school closures and, under these conditions, it is expected that schools focus on providing continuous educational opportunities for all students. School districts, including Canton, were directed to provide students with IEPs connected educational opportunities, recognizing that students’ services will be different than they were prior to the school closure.

In this communication, Bryan Klimkiewicz, Connecticut’s Special Education Division director stated:

“School districts must provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students, and those individuals providing education, specialized instruction, and related services to these students. Present exceptional circumstances may affect how special education and related services are provided. School districts may not be able to provide all services in the same manner that they are typically provided. Federal disability law allows for flexibility in determining how to meet the individualized needs of students receiving special education services

There have been flexibilities provided under this state of emergency through both federal and state guidance that allow us to provide responsive planning for your child. This letter to you will outline several important actions that have occurred as a result of this guidance and our planning.

Planning and Placement Team (PPT) Meetings

Guidance from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has indicated that, if all students are receiving continuous educational opportunities during a school closure school districts are not required to revise Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to account for the change in instruction. This guidance is intended to focus time and resources on delivering services rather than on holding meetings. Accordingly, the Connecticut State Department of Education has provided guidance to all school districts that if a student’s IEP lapses in terms of timelines, the current IEP will remain in place. If your child was in the process of an initial evaluation, this evaluation, according to state guidance, has effectively been paused until school resumes. Upon the reopening of school, we will resume with PPT meetings. If you should have any questions or concerns regarding specific and unique circumstances for which you feel there is a need for a PPT, please contact me directly to discuss those concerns. We look forward to the time when we can resume our meetings.

Confidentiality

Canton Public Schools takes its responsibilities for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) seriously. The confidentiality and privacy of your student’s records is important to us. Given the nature of the continuous educational opportunities, we understand you may be assisting your child with independent learning activities and virtual meetings. We need you to partner with us in being mindful of moments when privacy and confidentiality are important. There may be times within your child’s Google Classroom that should be strictly for your child only to see and Google Meet that are only for your child’s participation. Parents are encouraged to have their child participate in a location that is quiet and free of distraction, to the extent possible. Other individuals in the home shall be asked to not participate or view a video conference, or otherwise observe a lesson that involves multiple students, other than reasonable adult supervision of their child. Your case manager or related service provider will be able to guide you if you should have questions regarding the protection of your child’s confidentiality and privacy and the protection of the confidentiality of other students.

Learning Plans

Our school based special education and related services teams are working on developing an individualized learning plan for each student that has an IEP. The individualized learning plan does not replace the IEP, but it includes important and relevant information from the IEP that forms the foundation of the plan. The learning plan process began with a review of the IEP, takes into account communication and feedback from families and students around needs when implementing in the home setting, and will result in a plan that will be shared with each family. To the greatest extent possible, this plan will address your child’s learning during the closure caused by the state emergency due to COVID-19. Parent feedback is critical to the development of the learning plan. You will hear from your child’s special education teacher/case manager about their individual learning plan after the April break. Once you hear from the special education teacher/case manager about your child’s individualized learning plan, that plan will be used throughout the school closure. In light of the evolving nature of this health crisis, please understand that our plans and your child’s educational opportunities may change if circumstances change. We will communicate with you if such changes are required. For the very few families with whom we have not been able to have a personal communication, we will continue working with you to find the best method for us to connect. We understand you are living in a stressful time and we are here for you.

You have always been your child’s first teacher. It is during this health crisis that your role becomes even more central to your child’s education. I know we can count on you to be there for your child and to continue to partner with our educators on behalf of your child.

Most Sincerely,

Perri Murdica

Mental Health Resources

National School Boards Association/Mental Health International has sent a link to mental health resources: https://mhanational.org/covid19.

Due to school and work disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, children and adults may experience disruptions to their routines and sense of security and predictability. Feelings of anxiety and sadness surrounding recent events is normal, however, it is important that you monitor yourselves and your children for more extreme reactions. If you are concerned that you or a family member is experiencing a mental health emergency, please call 211 or 911 immediately. Please, keep yourselves and your loved ones safe.

Talk it Out Hotline

State launches new “Talk It Out” hotline for families to relieve stress of caring for children during a pandemic

Parents and caretakers in need of help with the stress and increased needs resulting from caring for their children during the COVID-19 crisis are invited to call the state’s new “Talk It Out” hotline to receive assistance.

Parents and caretakers are invited to call 1-833-258-5011 or visit www.talkitoutct.com.

The “Talk It Out” hotline is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on weekends from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It has both English and Spanish capacity.

Farmington Crisis Services for Adults: Crisis Hotline 18 years and older

Capitol Region Mental Health Center (860) 297-0999

Disaster Distress Helpline

Call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746. The disaster distress helpline provides immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster.

Suicide Prevention

Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Service https://www.empsct.org/ 211

Wheeler Clinic Helpline

Plainville, CT Provides 24 hour counseling to deter individuals from attempting suicide

860-747-3434

National Suicide Prevention Line (Lifeline)

Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); En Español 1-888-628-9454. The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects callers to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.

Birth to Three

Connecticut Birth to Three: https://www.birth23.org/ 1-800-505-7000

Birth to Three supports families when they have concerns about their children's development.

Canton Senior and Social Services

Phone: (860) 693-5811

Fax: (860) 693-5835

Jessica DeMeo

Director, Senior & Social Services

jdemeo@townofcantonct.org