South Huntington PTAs

About Us...

Membership...

Upcoming MeetingS...

Workshops...

News...

Fundraisers...

Past Fundraisers...

Past SEPTA Updates...

Past SEPTA Updates...

About Us...

● What is SEPTA? The South Huntington Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA) is a district-wide organization supporting students and their families at all seven SHUFSD schools and SHIP (South Huntington Intervention Program).

● What does SEPTA do? SEPTA’s mission is to work together with parents, teachers, and students to support children with Special Education needs and their families as well as promoting a community of inclusivity. SEPTA aims to educate the South Huntington community on a variety of current topics relating to Special Education and parenting.

●Who can join SEPTA? EVERYONE! Parents, students, staff, teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caregivers, businesses…anyone who has an interest in seeing that all students receive the support they need to reach their fullest potential! You do NOT have to receive Special Education related services to join!

● How does SEPTA use the $$$ it raises? Each year SEPTA is committed to using its funds to fulfill Teacher Grant requests, provide scholarships to graduating Walt Whitman High School students, bring Arts in Education programs into classrooms, hold parent workshops, feature guest speakers at monthly meetings, and host family engagement events.

South Huntington SEPTA 2026-2027

Samara Rossi-President

Danielle Garcia-1st Vice President

Libby Matamoros-2nd Vice President

Steve Karp-Treasurer

Gloria Tello-Recording Secretary

Meredith Cole-Corresponding Secretary

Raina Hurioglu-Council Delegate

Shantel Gordon-Council Delegate

Membership...

Become a SEPTA Member TODAY!

You do NOT have to be the recipient of Special Education related services to join SEPTA! You just need the interest in seeing that ALL students receive the support they need to reach their fullest potential.

* credit card processing fees apply

Upcoming MeetingS...

Welcome Back to School

Meeting!

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 6:30pm

James Kaden Administrative Offices

60 Weston Street

Huntington Station, NY 11746

Be on the lookout for more information about

this meeting on Parent Square once the school year starts!

Workshops...

SEPTA is proud to have hosted parent workshops on a number of topics including:

Education Records Organizer

OPWDD

Executive Functioning & ADHD

Special Education Process at SHUFSD

Acronym BINGO

Preventing Parent Burn-out

Transition to Life After High School

Evaluations and Assessments

Educational Technology for Special Ed

Moving Up & Moving On

Check Back Again Soon FOR

Upcoming Workshops!

News...

At SEPTA's May 2026 meeting, we honored 20 individuals who were nominated by the SHUFSD community for going above and beyond to contribute to the lives of students receiving Special Education services. Celebrating these stars was a wonderful way to end our year!

Fundraisers...

Consider making a one-time monetary donation to help SEPTA support grants to SHUFSD Teachers who are SEPTA members, scholarships for graduating students who have received Special Education related services, as well as Arts in Education programs, family events, workshops, and speakers offered throughout the year. Any and all amounts are appreciated.

Visit https://shsepta.givebacks.com/store/items/724716 to make a donation today!

Past Fundraisers...

Thank you to everyone who dropped off donations for SEPTA's Clean Out Your Closets Fundraiser on 11/2/24 and 6/1/25. With your support we were able to FULLY fund one of SEPTA's many goals this year - providing scholarships to WWHS students. Special thanks to the Main Office and Custodial Staff at Walt Whitman High School for managing the logistics, as well as thanks to Ms. Casey, Ms. O'Neill, and Ms. Gonzalez for coordinating student volunteers from National Honor Society and Leadership classes. The student volunteers were amazing, showing true Wildcat spirit by their community service!

South Huntington SEPTA thanks everyone who took part in the Sensory Friendly Holiday Family Photo Fundraiser in Fall 2024. We hope everyone who participated was happy with their photos!

Thank you to everyone who supported SEPTA's Discount Ticket Fundraiser to Hershey Park. We hope you have a "sweet" time making memories when you visit!

Parent Resources...

SEPTA Resource!

Each day South Huntington SEPTA receives information about events and programs sponsored by outside organizations. In an effort to more efficiently share that information with District families, we've created a shared folder containing all of the flyers we receive. The information is currently arranged by month but the Search function can be used to find a specific activity. The folder can be accessed by visiting the following link: SEPTA Shared Events and Programs Folder

Please note that South Huntington SEPTA is sharing the contents of this folder for informational purposes. South Huntington SEPTA does not endorse these programs or receive ant benefit from these organizations. Please reach out to the sponsoring organizations listed on the specific event flyer directly for details.

Call for CPSE/CSE Parent Member Volunteers!

Parent Members contribute valuable information and support to families who request their attendance at a CPSE/CSE meeting. Parent Members ensure that the student's family understands and is comfortable with the CPSE/CSE's decisions and that the family has had their questions and concerns addressed. Parent Members participate in discussions about:

Eligibility for special education services
Educational planning and goal-setting
Learning in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Understanding the evaluation and placement processes

If you are interested in being considered as a Parent Member, please complete the survey by clicking the link below.

https://forms.gle/CzRNRLmBaUGHsZ2w6

English - SH SEPTA Diverse Ability _Disability Awareness.pdf

SH SEPTA Diverse Ability /

Disability Awareness

The purpose of this packet is to share resources that families can use together to learn basic information about different types of disabilities.

Special Education Websites.pdf

Special Education Websites

Teacher GrantS...

ATTENTION TEACHERS! Faculty Grant Program Will OPEN again soon!

South Huntington SEPTA is proud once again to announce that we are offering faculty grants for the upcoming school year. Over the last few years, SEPTA has provided over $6,000 in funding for numerous projects for teachers across our District. SEPTA faculty grants provide funding for creative programs, equipment, or pilot projects that enhance and support the educational experience for students receiving Special Education services. These grants are intended to allow general and special education teachers, specialists, therapists, and administrators to undertake new projects that they would otherwise be unable to pursue or to pursue projects to a greater extent than usual budget sources allow. There is no deadline for submission of grant applications. SEPTA continues to fund projects that meet the established grant criteria on a rolling basis until SEPTA's budget is exhausted at which time the program will be closed for the year.

Be on the lookout for information here

and on Parent Square regarding when the program

is expected to open for the 2026-2027

school year.

Feel free to email us at shsepta@gmail.com with any questions.

Arts in Education...

Clips24-03-26_02-20.MOV

Each year SEPTA is committed to providing Arts in Education programs to students in Special Education classes grades K-12. Take a look at this short video to see all of the wonderful programs SEPTA has funded during the 2025-2026 school year:

Interactive music programs at Birchwood, Silaswood, Stimson Countrywood and Maplewood (8 classes in total!) with The Music Academy for Special Learners.

Volunteer...

Are you interested in sharing your time and talent to help further SEPTA's mission? In order to make the most out of this opportunity, we'd like to take the time to get to know a little bit about you and what you might be interested in helping us with.

https://tinyurl.com/SHSEPTAVolunteerForm

Calendar...

General Membership Meeting Dates

We will continue to feature guest speakers at each of our meetings to present on topics relevant to families/caregivers of Special Education students. Meeting details will be shared via Parent Square as well as updated on our Google Site and on social media. All in person meetings will be held at James Kaden Administrative Offices "JKAO" (60 Weston Street, Huntington Station) unless otherwise noted. We hope to see you at one of our upcoming meetings in person or virtually.

Wednesday, 10/7/26 at 6:30pm at JKAO and virtually (Welcome Back Meeting)
More dates to follow.