Archive for Uncategorized

Dear SNAG community:
The Special Needs Advocacy Group would like to hear from you!  We’re collecting stories about the best experiences your family has had with special education in the Cheltenham School District.  We’re especially interested in teachers, educational teams, other professionals, paraeducators and administrators who have made a positive difference for your child and family.  All submissions will remain anonymous.  Please do not include your child’s name in your submission.  We’ll be posting excerpts on our web site and sharing your feedback with Doris Martin, the Director of Special Education.

Please forward your stories to David Flaks at Davidflaks@aol.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Here are the submissions of other families:

Cheltenham Elementary:  I want to “sing” the praises of a member of our Cheltenham family, Mr. Harmer.  Last night our family was at Cheltenham Elementary for the 4th Grade concert.  My son (Dx. Autism, ADHD, Anxiety) is in the Learning Support Class at Cheltenham.  Well, Mr Harmer put on a show like none I’ve seen before.  Each 4th grade class had one song where he showcased their talents with instruments.  He put my son on the drum.  He LOVED it.  He was so proud of himself.  We were so proud of him.  Now THAT’s INCLUSION!  When the show ended ALL three of my kids wanted to say “Hi” to Mr. Harmer.  They were so excited to be with him.  What a kind and gentle man.  Mr. Harmer knew something about each of my children.  Even though he sees them at 3 different schools.  WOW!  We are truly blessed here in Cheltenham school district to have Mr. Harmer.  I thought you ALL should know.

 Elkins Park School: Our child has had the most amazing fifth-grade year at Elkins Park School on the “C” team.  All the teachers really understand inclusion – they are able to set high standards while also being kind and supportive. They treat each student as an individual.  Ms. Rothenbach and Ms. Susanin work exceptionally well as a team and should be a model for co-teaching throughout the School District.  In addition, we would like to recognize the following individuals for their part in making this a great school year: Ms. Cohen-Johnson, Mr. Chadwin, Ms. Baines, Ms. Friedman, Mr. Harmer, Ms. Sommovilla, Ms. Elefant, Ms. Donohue and Mrs. Nejman. 

Wyncote Elementary:Catherine Feskanin, the speech therapist at Wyncote Elementary, helped my son tremendously over a period of 3 years. He has a severe communication delay and she was able to help us not only understand how to break language down for him, but come up with simple, visual ways to communicate better with him. These strategies were carried through to his teachers as well as to our work at home with him. We all started to back up our conversations and instructions with him with visuals that helped him understand what we were trying to teach or say.  Ms. Feskanin always took the time to explain what, why and how our son was working on the next step, whether it be formulating questions or expressing abstract ideas on literature.  We are truly grateful for her work with all our children and her capacity to not only guide the children but also the adults around them.

Cheltenham High School:I have been very pleased with the support of Ms. Wanda Anderson at CHS. She helped make my son’s transition in February as smooth as possible. She was always available when there were concerns and met with us and CHS staff members when necessary. She addressed questions about my son’s IEP, academic progress and emotional support that arose periodically.  Next , I want to express my appreciation to my son’s case manager, Chris Rappaport. Again, here is another staff member who was concerned for my son’s academic and emotional progress. She always addressed my concerns as well. She was also his math support teacher and did her best to help him experience success. A team of teachers I want to mention is Mr. Steven Janke and Ms. Britteny Agger. My son was in their western civ. class and almost always experienced success. Their methodologies work-bottom line!! He is fortunate to be rostered in their history class next year.  Finally, thanks to Ms. Doris Martin and Ms. Wendy Emerson who met with me personally this spring to discuss a serious concern I had concerning my son’s IEP and academic progress.  I am hoping to continue a positive working relationship with the folks at CHS and the special education administrators.

Presentation by Samantha (Sam) Levy, behavior analyst from the MCIU, is attached here.

The new Pennsylvania Chapter 14 special education regulations became effective July 1, 2008. These new regulations incorporate changes to many provisions, including provisions pertaining to evaluation timelines, procedural safeguards, behavior supports, and the criteria for specific learning disabilities. To read a summary of all of these changes provided by Connolly, Jacobson, DePietro & John, LLP, please click here http://www.cjdjlaw.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=21

We learned today that SNAG is one of the recipients of the 2008 “Making 
a Difference in Cheltenham” awards!  Our notification letter reads:

“SNAG is providing a valuable service for parents and children who 
reside in the Township. By providing advocacy, support and education 
through guest speakers, programs, seminars, a Web site, and 
collaboration with the School District for the optimization of the 
special education program, SNAG is helping parents obtain the 
necessary educational opportunities that their children need to be 
successful in our community and their daily lives. SNAG provides 
support of the mental well-being of parents who have children with 
special needs.”

Thanks to everyone who has made SNAG a success!

Welcome to what we hope will be a place to help and support caregivers of children with special needs. We have collected and compiled information we hope you will find useful. Please feel free to contact us with content or links you feel will be of interest to others.