Ah, was a struggle getting here. Apparently, there was >> Hi, how are you? >> Hi guys. They had to have something going on with the art train. So, I'll find out about it later through like citizen app or something.
Okay, it is 62. Um, we're going to get started as more people come in. Hi, hold on. Okay, good night. My name um welcome to our May um special education
subcommittee. Um if our interpreters can um um go I will have Mandarin Thank you. Mandaring is completed. >> Thank you so much. Can I have a Spanish interpreter?
Fore! Foreign! Foreign! Thank you. Um, Arabic Fore! Foreign! Foreign! for New Zealand bit completed. >> Thank you. Thank you so much. Um
interpreters. Um so tonight we're going to have a presentation by um the dial team um a special education um department. And I see Joanna's on and Susan Sanchez and
Andy's here. Would you guys like to introduce yourselves? I made you all co-host. Well, I didn't. Kevin did made you all co-host. Sorry. >> Thank you. You guys are good to go. >> Thank you so much. And we're also joined by uh Michelle Netsler who leads all of our specialized program work. So excited
to have So, good evening everybody. My name is Suzanne Sanchez. Um I am the chief of special education leading the special education office and work for New York City public schools uh in the division of inclusive and accessible learning fondly known as dial. Uh thank
you so much for that uh introduction and thank you for having us this evening. Um we're really excited to just share some updates and um information with you all and I will turn it over to Michelle Netler. Hi, good evening. Uh, thanks for having
me. My name is Michelle Nutsler, as Suzanne said. Um, I am the senior executive director of specialized programs and instruction in the special education office. You might be familiar with our programs in District 20, Nest,
Horizon, Ames, Bilingual Special Education, and many more. So, we'll get to touch on some of those this evening. Um, I will turn it over to Chief Andy Corso. >> Good evening everyone. Always a pleasure to be with District 20. Thank you so
much for inviting us. I support all of our student uh superintendents and schools with special education, especially district 75. And I saw some great questions from the from the group on district 75 and really looking forward to the conversation. And I'll turn it over to the most important team member, uh, the amazing Johanna
Rodriguez. >> Hi everyone. My name is Johanna Rodriguez. I'm the director of family support, also known as the face of special education at schools.nyc.gov, which are our central special education email inbox, which we'll chat a little
bit more about that later. We're really excited to be here, um, to share about all things special education. And so, um, I will share my screen if that's okay if you want to get started. Um, so I am going to share my screen. Let me a
second and I'll get started. Let me know if you can see my screen. Okay. Great. Well, as um Joe Johanna said, we are really happy uh and excited to be here tonight and we are going to cover a
bit of information, but what's important for you all to know is this is not well, we hope that this is not a oneanddone conversation. we hope that we will be invited back and we can even have like deeper uh richer conversations uh as we go on. So, not one and done, but
definitely happy to get started tonight. Um so, how do we support District 20 families overall on all things special education? Um first and foremost, important to know who we are, what we do, why we're here. So, we're going to understand some special education terms.
We're going to do a bit of an overview around school-based related services. That's OT, PT, speech. We know there's always some interesting questions on that. And we're also going to talk about the specialized programs that are currently offered in the district. Um,
as well as family supports and resources and how parents and parent leaders can continue to get involved. So within uh the division of inclusive and accessible learning dial uh there are several offices. Uh we are led by
deputy chancellor Christina Fod. Um Andy Corso here tonight represents and leads a lot work for district 75 alongside alongside superintendent Dr. Kesha McCoy. Um I have the honor of leading the special education office alongside
colleagues like Michelle and Johanna who are here with us this evening. the office of multilingual learners, our cse which lead IEP development work for students in preschool and charter schools and students who do not attend traditional public school. We have an
IESP unit and then operations which are our folks who pay the bills and help make sure the lights stay on and that uh we have what we need to do all the important work uh connected to special education in New York City. So within the special education office
uh here tonight we have different offices that lead and are responsible for critical work. So the office of related services which leads our work for ensuring students are receiving their IEP mandated speech OT PT
um and counseling specialized instruction. Oh, apologies. I got some activity. you know, it's Brooklyn tonight and the weather's warm, so you you'll hear those uh you'll hear the activity. Um special instruction and programming that's led by Michelle Nutzer and you're going to hear good
information on that. We have a team that manages policy. So, everything the federal government or the state says that we have to do, we have a team that helps interpret that to make sure we are acting accordingly. We recently have hired a a colleague, Dr. Francis Pierre
who is going to be leading our disability culture uh and accessible learning work. So really excited to welcome Francis Pierre to the team. Uh Johanna manages and leads our work around the special education inbox which is special education at schools.nyc.gov
of where we encourage families to email questions or concerns. And sometimes inboxes are not managed by people, but in this case, Johanna is the face of the inbox. She sees every single email that comes
through there and fortunately for us is a relentless advocate in making sure school, district teams, central, whoever it is, uh, is responsive to any concern that comes through. And then our office of supervisors and school psychologists.
We have school psychologists in just about every school in New York City public schools who do initial testing to determine special education eligibility and lots of other really important tasks that our school psychologists lead uh and participate in in every school in uh
every day across their workspan. So that is what makes up the special education office team and we are uh we support every district. We have strong roots and um strong roots and strong ties and
supports for district 20. Um students in in district 20 who are enrolled in preschool through grade 12 and some even beyond the age of 21 who are supported by district 75. Students in the district who are enrolled in charter schools, non-publiclix, religious schools. Uh
those folks are supported by the committees on special education that I just mentioned and our K through 12 schools are supported by the special education office that you know well uh and typically our I we work with our IEP
teams uh in partnership with superintendent PTO and his team. Um I see that uh Dr. Francis Pierre uh has joined uh the meeting. So I did just want to give her a quick opportunity to
just say hello if you're able to um Francis. And if not, no worries at all. I don't want mean put you on the spot. I'm good. Hi. Good evening everyone. Can you see me? I can't see if you can all see me. Okay. I was just finishing up dinner with my son. Good evening everyone. I'm Dr. Dbor Francis Pierre.
You can all just call me Francis. I am the new senior director of inclusive education at Dial and I'm so happy to be here and I hope you enjoy the presentation. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. And and you'll all be seeing more and more of uh Francis as we move
on in the work. >> Right. >> Excited. Um, go ahead, Johanna. And I'm going to turn this over to Michelle Metzer because this is uh this is just a taste, as they say, of the specialized
programs that are provided in the district and we're really excited to talk about the >> Great. Thanks, Suzanne. Um, so many of you are familiar with these programs. I'm going to start at the top. Uh,
District 20 has nine uh, autism programs. Um, and those are our Nest, Ames, and Horizon programs. Um, in the next slide, I'm going to take a little deeper dive, so I'm not going to go into each of the programs uh, as deeply here.
Um the important things to note are that we've recently opened a middle school um in district 20 at uh Ditmiss Junior High School for the Horizon program. Um and we also have our middle school program
um at uh 407, the newest middle school, one of the newest middle schools in district 20. That means students uh with an autism educational classification on their IEP who attend a Horizon Nester um Ames program can actually stay in
district 20 from K uh to uh graduation. Um the Ames program is a program for our youngest learners. So that is an elementary school program and we just opened that at 503 this past year. uh
PS503. Um and the other thing is that uh our PS164 has the autism prek program. So our students who have uh who are a preschooler with a disability and a
diagnosis of autism can also receive support in that program. The academic career and essential skills program is um at three schools in district 20 and that program supports students eligible for an intellectual
disabilities classification on their IEP or multiple disabilities. Um and that program focuses on appropriately rigorous academics that incorporate work-based learning um activities of
daily living, independent living skills. We want to think about how the students are developing the skills to be supported after uh after high school when they exit high school and we want to start that as soon as possible. So
205 is an elementary program. You have a middle school program and a high school program. Bilingual special education is for students who require instruction in both English and their home language and they have an IEP with an educational program
of ICT or special class. Um you have seven programs across the district. Some of them offer ICT and some of them offer special class. uh you have both languages of Spanish and Mandarin um that students are supported uh and that
language that home language helps them gain the skills to access the curriculum um the curriculum in uh the general education curriculum. Sorry if you can hear my dog barking. Uh she just decided to join this conversation.
Um, the Brooklyn Transition College and Access Center is located at Boys and Girls High School. Um, and this is something to think about if you have a student who's in high school or even middle school and you want to think about some work-based learning, some of
those job skills. That's a place where you can speak with somebody and have an individual consultancy and talk about um what your goals are for your child and your child can come with you. So you can talk about it together and you can start to create that plan and it's never too
early to think about what ga skills you want to gain um through uh post-secary options through the TCA centrally funded intervention teachers. You will hear most of us call them seaf
um but they are teachers who are trained in literacy interventions and they are able to provide targeted literacy supports at the 36 schools that they're assigned um in district 20. What does that mean? They are supporting students
who um need reading intervention in small group and in individually. They are also supporting teachers across the school on the science of reading and those interventions to help students make gains in literacy and we are going to see those outcomes and achievement
across content areas. And then we have seed and seed is famous and I know that Suzanne is dying to jump in right now because this is her this is her project but um sensory exploration education and discovery that's seed. You
have it in three schools. Um, one of them has the Horizon program, one of them is your prek center, and then at PS 200. And that's a place that families and families and students can come together and receive occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech
therapy, counseling, and many services outside of the school day, often um on uh after school or on the weekends. And lastly, preschool for our youngest learners. And not only just preschool
programs, but special education prek for our students who are three and four year olds. And here you have 13 13 schools across district 20 that offer preschool education. And that's integrated classes
where students with and without IEPs are learning together or special classes that provide individualized uh instruction for our earliest learners to help them make those skills uh make skill gains early on. So I think I've
covered all the programs on this. Uh we can move to the next slide, please. Okay, this is where I'm going to take a tiny deeper dive on each of these programs. Nest Horizon and ACES. The NEST program is a K to2 program. Um
students in the program have an IEP with an educational classification. It is co-led by or co-taught by a special education and general education teacher. Um some of the hallmarks or components of the program is pre-ervice training
and ongoing training, consultation and coaching and that is across specialized programs and the nest and horizon program. Um students in this program are following the grade level curriculum. Um and we're thinking about how we build on their strengths to help them be
successful academically. The other part is speech therapists along with classroom teachers um work on social communication and helping students uh develop peer relationships. In the NES program, we call that SDI, social development uh intervention. Um, there
are some other acronyms for SDI for in special education, but this is specifically a social curriculum developed for the NES program. Students in this program are graduating at a 97% graduation rate. Um, and that's really
exciting. Our Verizon program is a small class of eight students uh led again by a teacher and a pair professional who have training and ongoing coaching support um to support students who have an autism classification. Students in
this program may uh need additional support but they are uh working at the grade on the grade level curriculum. Um, and we're thinking about the social skills there where a speech therapist is pushing into the classroom, working with the classroom teacher and
paraprofessional to build those uh communication skills um and relational skills for students. And what we think about is generalizing those skills throughout the school day. And that's why we incorporate it into the program.
The program uses the principles of applied behavior analysis. So, generalization, one of the words I just used, um, is an ABA term. And this is really to think about how we're supporting instruction, social, emotional learning, and behavior support. We want to help students be
successful while always thinking about their integrity uh, and their interests and building from there. Again, students in this program are graduating as an at a 97% graduation rate. as well. I touched a little bit on um the ASES
program earlier. This is a program for students in K to 12 with an intellectual disability who participate in New York State alternate assessment, which means that they're going to leave high school with an exit credential. So, we want to really think about how we're preparing
that transition for them out of high school and making sure we have a really strong transition plan. And that's where you can tap into um the TAX as well as the folks in the ASUS program. But some of the things we think about in the ASUS
program is how we're uh drilling down or adapting lessons to uh the students needs so they can get the grade level standards in a way that's accessible for them. We also want to build on that experiential learning and career
readiness with handson work uh pre and that could be in the school or in the community. And then we're thinking about direct instruction and practices and daily living and independent skills. So thinking about how we're breaking down tasks so students can practice those for
daily living. It's simply putting things away in the classroom, but also going out into the community, thinking about how many steps there are to go grocery shopping or to um to go out to eat and thinking about all those things. So students are adequately prepared to do
all of that. And typically those classes in high school are 15 students with one teacher and then pair professional support as needed. And I think I've covered the specialized programs >> quite quite a bit, Michelle. Uh, for
sure. And, um, one of the things, if we could just hop back very quickly, one of the things that I just want to call out that is so important and unique about the specialized programs is while, and Andy's going to talk about district 75, and district 75 is an intricral
component of New York City public schools. um and to provide tremendous supports to to students uh enrolled in those schools. What the specialized programs provide is an opportunity for students with these
disabilities to go to school in their local home community. Um and that's obviously really important. They don't have to take a bus for a lengthy time and potentially go to school where their siblings go or their neighbors or their other communities. So that is one thing
that's incredibly important and powerful about these specialized programs is the chance to give students with some more intensive needs who are diverse learners the opportunity to go to school uh right near where they live like their peers. So, thank you for that great uh
explanation, Michelle. >> And you're on mute. >> I had so many nice things to say. I'm going to do it again. Uh I saw um so many great questions um in the chat coming in and we had some great questions about District 75, which I'm
excited to share with you now. Um and so for district 75, um Dr. PTO, superintendent PTO has done extraordinary work really expanding opportunities for district 75 in district 20. Um a couple years ago, um there was a significant concern that
very most of the students in district 20 with the district 75 recommendation had to leave district 20. Um and so since then, we're not all the way there. Um but we do have sites of district 75 um for students in district 20 who need
district 75 support at um at all of the following schools. Oh, they smashed together. Um so I will um I will I will put it in the chat a little bit neater so it doesn't look all smashed together like that. Um but we have um programs at
20 uh K 163, at 164, at 180, at 192, at 264, at 331, at 464, at 485, at 676, and at 870. Um and so that is
that is an extraordinary investment um that Dr. PTO and the whole community has made to serve all district 20 students um in district 75. There was a great question that came up about how are we making sure that when buildings are colllocated when there's a district 75
program and a community school program that that actually students are getting served um across those programs and that all students feel welcome. One of the things I know Superintendent Prao has taken the lead on is making sure to really build principalto
principal relationships. Uh, one of the principles that has several collocations and um in district 20 is principal Ruda and really kind of digging in and building those relationships and and also making the invitation. Um, one of the things um that uh that Dr. PTO
shared was making sure to invite district 75 programs to the the annual um event at the Barlay Center that you all do in district 20 uh to make sure that everyone has a chance to be involved and and I also want to say how important things like signage are and um
and again Dr. Pto made the commitment to make sure that district 75 signage is there um when district 75 um schools are in the program. Um, every child, I've worked with Stephen Mahoney before many times and he shared with me, every child has the right to walk into a building
and see this is my school that has my information on it. This is where I belong. And um, and so um, I Dr. Pedro just missed me singing all of his praises. Uh, uh, Dr. Pto, your ears must have been burning. I was just singing
your praises. Uh and so um there's been extraordinary work in district 20 to both expand options um locations for students in district 20 who need um the support of district 75 and to build those bridges and relationships. Um
awesome awesome music class is so essential and we actually have an arts director Amanda MCI um who does extraordinary programs with music in all of the art disciplines. dance, um fine arts, um theater, um all of the arts
programs. And so I want to make sure that I um connect Steve um with Amanda um about some of the great programming for music um which is an extraordinary outreach. I will say that we had um our district 75 town hall with the
chancellor and we had district 75 students both with a rhythm section and doing singing. Um, and they did um the Jay-Z version of New York. I'm not going to get the right title for that song. Uh, and it was awesome. It was awesome.
And um, so that was um, the arts are for everyone. The arts are for everyone. Creativity is for everyone. That's so critically critically important. Um and I I think one of the things that we really believe in a collocation is to really break down those walls among us.
Um one of Chancellor Samuel's priorities is true integration and that has to include students with disabilities and at the end of the day we all live in the same neighborhood. We all go to the same store and so learning to live together starts at school for many people and um
and these are extraordinary opportunities to do that. And I just want to give com commendation to CEC20 um to the families and advocates. You all have pushed us to do better and do more um for district 75 students um in
district 20 and citywide and we welcome that push and welcome that advocacy um that's something that that students need and deserve and we're deeply grateful for it. Um so happy to share more but just wanted to address those few questions that had come in um and be glad to share more as we continue
through Q&A. Back to y'all. >> Thanks, Andy. Um, and I'm going to speak a little bit about related services. So again, related services are occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech
therapy, counseling, um that an IEP team, which includes the parent, uh recommends in order for a student to be able to access curriculum, um they must receive these related services to do so. So, one of the things
that we're working really intentionally on in New York City public schools is shifting related services to be more inclusive uh for our students with disabilities. What I mean by that is typically over 90% of current
recommendations for let's say speech or OT uh or PT on an IEP require the service to be provided outside the classroom in a separate location. And we know because research is really
clear that when services happen where children learn, where they play, where they participate, that this makes those services more meaningful, more impactful, and greater outcomes for all students, including those with disabilities. Learning a skill separate
from the natural environment, it can be helpful. In certain cases, it's needed, but the real growth doesn't happen there. Um, here's an image for you. uh practicing swimming on the pool deck or swimming strokes on the pool deck might be helpful, but the real growth in
learning how to swim actually happens in the water. Um and real growth for all students, but including those with disabilities happens alongside their peers. Next slide. So we are working with our school teams, families, building leaders, superintendent to
really look and consider the impact of related service recommendations and can those services be provided right in the classroom where the students disability is impacting them most. We hear and feel
and know daily that there are challenges uh with every student receiving their full complement of IEP recommended services. And I'm not going to sit here and tell you that in district 20 we're at 94% for the provision of service,
which is great, but there are the 6% there are those students not receiving those services. And that is not okay. And that is something we are working towards every single day. Right now across the nation and including New York
City, there is an ongoing national shortage of special education personnel, specifically occupational therapists, speech therapists, um certainly those that are bilingual. And I can talk about bilingual special education teachers, but we're not going
to go there specifically right now. uh we have money, we have funding to hire these these clinicians, but the applicants are just not there in the volume that we need. So we have different hiring and different incentive
strategies that we are doing to try to develop this workforce. Uh we participate in yearround hiring halls with Dcasts, with labor unions, uh local universities, recruitment sites and
staff to try to find as many licensed uh folks licensed in New York State as possible. Let's go to the next slide. Um we have some really strong hiring incentives. We have a scholarship program that will pay for someone to go
to occupational therapy school or speech therapy graduate school. Uh and New York City DOPS PS will pay their entire tuition and then that person will come and work for us for uh a minimum actually uh of two years there. We also
have something called loan forgiveness where if someone has graduate loans, we will pay up to $24,000 to relieve those loans for every year that a person will work for us. We also have um we collaborate with major universities so
that we have folks who do their fieldwork or their internship right with us in in New York City and then many of them decide to continue and work with us. Over the last four years, we have prioritized funding and hiring. So, we have hired up to 667
new OTP speech providers over the last four years and will continue to seek to hire qualified applicants every single day. Uh right now we are running uh related
services seven days a week in New York City to try to serve as many students as possible with our staff that we do have. Uh there are weekend sites where if a student is not receiving their service in school, the family can bring their
child to one of these weekendmies. Uh these sites are very well attended um and it's something we are we are glad to offer albeit um we understand that uh services are best provided in the school environment but at weekend academy
families do have access to a clinician and a therapist right there that they can talk with and model. Uh so we're glad to have that. Let's let's just go to the next slide. Um and one other thing that we are started this year uh in March we started something called the
OTPT 9th session initiative where NYCPS staff OT's and PTS are paid an additional rate of pay to serve uh an uh students beyond what they are required. So every therapist is required to serve
eight sessions a day and we are paying an additional rate for them an hourly rate to serve a ninth session for any student who was not receiving services in their school. The benefit of this is that the services are provided during the school day right there. There's no
extra responsibility for the family or the student. Right now we're serving uh an additional 800 students for occupational therapy based on this year. I'm with you, Tamara, uh, based on this initiative alone. Uh, so we're grateful to the chancellor's team for
prioritizing funding for this, and we are optimistic that we're going to run this next school year, too. So, all this to say, for us, it's unacceptable when a student's not receiving their IEP mandated services. We recognize there are national shortages. That doesn't
give us an excuse or a free pass. And we are doing everything possible to leverage all the resources that we have to serve as many students as possible. And we'll continue to do that work every single day. Johanna,
>> yep. And all this cannot happen. Everything we talked about so far in the last 30 minutes cannot happen without you all and families at all. And so I love this wheel that we have and I share it every single meeting that we go to,
any CEC that we attend. Families, you are the valued partner in this entire process. The collaboration with you all is essential to all of this related services, teachers, all of you. None of this cannot be possible. Your advocacy,
as um our chief just said, the ninth session would not have happened. And so we thank you all for even having us here to share out because word of mouth also goes a long way. So, um, with what I'm about to share, um, share it out. So,
um, any and all, right? And so, one of the things we're really, really proud of and something that we, um, want you all to share, and again, we have QR codes and I will drop the links in the chat and I'll have my colleagues also, if they can do it as well, as I'm sharing my screen, is that we have something
called the special education glossery. that our New York City public schools love love love to talk in acronyms and a lot of families also share with us often. You guys love to talk in acronyms and we don't understand what those mean. And so we made a gloss for you that is
available online where families can um look and see what are acronyms mean? What does BSC mean? Oh, that's bilingual special education. And so this is available to any and all families in all languages. And so yes, yay. I know. It's so exciting. I understand that. And so,
um, the QR code is there and I'll provide the link, um, when I'm finished talking. So, that is accessible for you all because I know we drive you crazy with all the acronyms. And so, that's available A through Z. Um, more words are added um, as we are working towards
all the acronyms we love to share. And so, that was again because of your advocacy and families just like you all. So, um, all special ed, um, special education, look, see, I'm already doing it. Special education, um, words that we
use often can be found there. Um, and meanings also, what they all mean as well. IEP parent Whoa, I went ahead. IEP parent members is something I am extremely passionate about as well. I have a partner in crime or a partner on
my team that manages that inbox as well. IEP parent members. And I know some of you I've seen I see some names that are familiar to me and I think it's because yes, Tamara, you are one. I knew it. I didn't want to speak out of turn. IEP parent members are families um who have
students who have IEPs that support families at IEP meetings at the request of the family. Um they support families at IEP meetings um 30 days. Wow. 3 days or 72 hours before an IEP meeting. And
so if you would like to be an IEP parent member, our partners at NY wow include nyc.gov provide trainings um year round um so that you can become one and support families. I will put this plug here. We
are working with our include partners to provide trainings um to partner with us here at NYPS um for district teams. And so the Bronx will be having one in June as well as Z75. So stay tuned. I will drop those
dates um as well as they are making flyers. Yes, >> thank you for that. And what would you say to a parent or a parent leader who's like, you know, I'm interested in becoming a parent member, but I just feel like I don't know enough. Like h what would you what would you say to that? What would you share in that
situation? >> I would say actually um to uh I would say Tamara was best answered. She is an IEP parent member and I didn't want to I recognized your name and I didn't want to shout you out. So I would say as an IEP parent member I would have her share
her experience actually. >> Okay. Um one one of the things that I've learned is like to really give the parents space to like share their concerns and not try to talk over them.
Um, and because like I've I was just telling Kevin I've I have a high school student so who still has an IP who still is in an ICT class. So like I've done the process from like prek to elementary to middle middle to high school and then
and she's a junior. So now we're going going into from high school to college and every process is different and every process I learned a little bit more. So like I have like a more of a wider range of experience to to understand where the parents are coming from. So um and and I
feel like I'm learning things like every day. Like I'm learning stuff now. So I appreciate y'all being here. So like I just you know I'm there to support them and make sure that they're getting um what they want on on the IEP. You know what I mean? and and and they're
comfortable with what they're asking for and they know what they can ask for and not ask for. You know what I mean? And just just being supportive and just having them know that it's their right to ask for for it. And if they if they're not getting the services they
need, they need they need to escalate the what's happening and then you know what I mean? And just pay attention. Your kid knows what you know what they're not getting. And you as a parent, you need to support and you need to advocate for your child as well. And you should be teaching your child to advocate for themselves. That's one of
the things I'm I'm teaching my child how to, you know, to advocate like what's what does she want on how what's working for her that, you know, and sometimes I have to step back and let her make that decision, you know, and learning when to do that. >> So,
>> and I love that. I love that you members I would say give voice to families and and provide that space for families um because a lot of families feel like we talk at them right and you all provide that oh I do have a voice here and you
help me with that and then we get that feedback. So yes, thank you Chief Andy. Thank you for your service. Um, I tell IEP par members that all the time and and thank you because we are working with our include partners that next year we can have you all come and we can chat
with you all and provide us feedback and we can chat all together and provide us you guys with updated information that you all have been asking us for for our specialized programs that are out there and things like that for your districts that you serve. So, thank you. Um, so I
will provide the the link for the include for those who want to become and then if you have families that you know that may be timid and need this support at IEP meetings, it is available to them and at the request they can have one at their IEP meeting. and language support.
Any family that does not speak of English as their first language, they can have an interpreter with them at an IEP meeting and they can have an IEP um translated for them at their request. This is the information. It also lives
on our website and I will give that link um as well at the end. Um this is also something I re I highly highly also um highlight um anytime a family that does not speak English that um reaches out to
the inbox as well. I I make sure and I also let people know if a family does not speak English that that is a service that we provide. Nixa, please. >> Hannah, one one thing on the language component that I want to say, especially
uh, you know, in this current kind of climate, we want families to know that immigration status has absolutely no bearing on their child's services or their child's public school education. So, uh, we hope that everybody continues to encourage families to use the
language access line. um and and especially our families for whom they do not speak English or English is not their first language uh and that their immigration status is completely irrelevant to this process um and and nothing that they should be concerned
about. >> Thank you. Yes, Nexa accounts, please encourage your families if they do not have it downloaded on their phones or um do not have one, please encourage them to have it. Um we have this um hand this
um feature that um any student that has an IEP um it is um a button that they have that they can press and it is so important why when they press that button they are able to see a page that looks like this um that gives um the
next IEP meeting or around the date where their next IEP meeting is the program that their students or classroom that their student is in the pro the related service as our chief um listed some of the programs that the related
services that they should have speech OT PT who those providers are and things like that. So, if you have a family that's like, "I don't know what program they're in. I don't know what related service," then you should ask them,
"Hey, do you have a Nixa account?" And they say, "No, maybe that's something you should help them with." And I've been encouraging our IEP parent members um if they attend an IEP meeting to help their families do that. And so, it's a great tool and accountability for us as
well um to ensure that our families are being served. >> That's right. And sometimes we get questions from families and totally fair like, "Hey, how do I know if my child is receiving their speech, right? I I think they are, but I I'm not sure." Um, so
Enixa will show the date of the last session note that your child's therapist entered into the system. So if your child has speech today, um, I don't know that you'll see that note today, but you would see it tomorrow or the next day
and show up. it is the date of the last session that was provided. Um and so families can see that right there in Nixa and the related services team does follow up with our therapists to say hey make you know you are required to enter these notes and ensure that families
that that ensures families have access to that. So, if at any time uh you come across a family or family is like, "My child, I don't know. I don't see any I don't see any dates or notes in there." Please reach out to your child's school andor the special education inbox and uh
they will follow up accordingly. >> And there have been families that don't see anything and it says, "Reach out to special education at schools.nly.gov." And I get those emails and screenshots. So, feel free um to definitely have um them reach out if you have families that
um say those things. And then my all-time favorite slide that I share frequently is our citywide inbox, which will be dropped in the chat as we've been mentioning it frequently is special education at schools.nyc.gov. We pride ourselves that there are real
people, as Chief Sanchez said, that do answer those emails and read them, which is myself and um a team here. And then we have our resource page which I will also drop in the uh chat which we have tons and tons and tons of resources in
there which um we have videos and links and all kinds of things. And we have these guides which we have each grade level that we serve preschool, kindergarten, school age and high school. It has tons and tons of
information. It goes even deeper um of things that we covered today of all the services that we have in our system um from related services to what your rights are and things like that for every grade level that we serve um for
and we update our guide every school year. So you'll see it says 2024. I should probably update that picture, but we do update that guide every single year and we provide them in every uh in the 12 languages that we serve as well. Another resource that you will find on
that web page is something called the ask and share and you as a IEP parent member. I would uplift this for anyone who supports um students with IEPs and families if they're like I don't even know what to ask at IEP meetings. these
guides for every um age level re goes through an IEP and asks those questions for parents and makes them really think what to ask and guides them through an IEP. What is your child's strengths? What are
their weaknesses in that book and again it goes through every um we provide them in different languages online as well. We have some hard copies, but if um you have um if you are supporting a family or you yourself don't know what to ask,
I will drop the link in the chat as well. And we also have that as a resource. And again, QR codes are great, links are great, and we thank you all for having us. And I'll drop all the links I just chatted about. So, I know tomorrow's
dancing over there. Um we know you probably have a thousand and one questions, and we're here for you guys. So I will pass it back to you tomorrow. >> And I did see two questions in the chat. Should we tackle those and then or or did you want to guide us tomorrow? >> No, no, you guys could tackle those
questions. Go ahead. >> Okay, great. I saw two questions. Um I'll go in reverse order both from John. Um one question was um what about after school for district 75? And you've really put your finger on an area of deep inequity in our system. And it's
it's a structural inequity. And and one of the things that we are still battling here is the the piece of that almost every student in district 75 requires busing to be able to get to school, but there's no busing after school. Um and
so that that is a huge limitation. We do have some programs that offer weekend and after school, but it's often not accessible because there are not buses there. Um, we we did talk about this at length at CCD75 with Chancellor Samuels.
Um, he was very committed on busing. He said, you know, this administration is tackling it right from the beginning. It is a very stubborn problem and what we have right now is a structural inequity that's built into the system and it and it leads to much less access to
afterchool for students in district 75. Um which is which is not an okay place for us to be. Um and that's where we are right now. I don't want to pretend something different. Um, one of the things that again, Steve Mahoney was a huge advocate of this as well as um, as
well as CC20 is making sure that we have district 75 sponsored after school in the summer. Um, and so that we have those hub sites um, where students recommended for district 75 can receive summer rising services um, at a district
75 location. Um, so they're able to have all that great enrichment and um, awesome opportunities during the summer, really well supported for their disability. And I I think just as Johanna shared, that's a huge piece of family advocacy that really made that
powerful um, action happen. I also saw way back in the chat, and I'm just going to take a a quick swing at this one, and I I'll welcome uh, Suzanne or Michelle to add in add in also, was what about a dyslexia specific program in district 20? And I'm actually going to answer
that in four ways. Whoa. It's going to be four fast ways. And and then um we'll go forward from there. Often when folks hear dyslexia program, they think of um one of the literacymies. We have two in the city, one in central Brooklyn and um one up in
the Bronx. We do not have one of those in District 20. The closest is District 17. Um there are still places to my knowledge in District 17's program. It's called Central Brooklyn Literacy Academy. Um but we do we only have two of those in the city. We also have a
different program um I read um that I might have Michelle speak a word to as well um that's really focused on literacy development. Um and so and that program is I think I'll have Michelle speak to that so I don't I don't misspeak on that one. So that one's
offered at a few more locations and does some great work. Um and um the the third answer I'll give you I'm going to I'm going to refer back to something Michelle shared those centrally funded intervention teachers which we call
seits that I think are at 36 schools in district 20 those teachers are deeply trained in what we call reading intervention. And so what they're what they're doing is being able to assess students who are having um struggles
with reading, whether that is dyslexia, another print-based disability, or language disability, or just they're having a hard time with reading right now, not due to a disability, and they work with them in small groups. We've seen some extraordinary gains there for
all kinds of challenges with reading, including dyslexia, including students making more than a year's growth in one year and beginning to catch up. Um, so that's extremely powerful. The last thing I'll offer here, and this is citywide, and I know you're doing
phenomenal work on this in district 20, New York City Reads and MTSS has been a gift for our students that struggle with um um learning disabilities, including dyslexia, because what it's doing is moving intervention not to the side, but
the center of planning, the the schedule of saying, "How do we make sure that we're building in that support when students students need and what they need. So, I know I gave you four different answers. First, I told you what was not in District 20 and then I told you some things that are and and
we're always happy to be in conversation. Michelle, would you add on about I read and then Suzanne, anything I missed? Happy to add on a little bit about iid. So right now, uh, I read is, um, in 10 elementary schools across the city. Uh,
it it started, um, as an early childhood program, but we've recognized, uh, the more we've learned, we've recognized that continuing to have it grow is important, so we're also in one middle school. It is not currently in District 20. um but some of the same things that
we've learned through New York City reads and also um the CFITS uh which is thinking about how we're bringing um literacy uh work and intervention into each core content area by uh teachers
who are highly trained and then a master teacher or lead teacher who's working in the program to push in and do some of that um targeted focused small group instruction and individ individual instruction. So there are support to the teachers as well as the students. Um
many students are receiving some of the same interventions that the iAre program offers through um New York City reads or through seafoods, but what the difference is is that this is a program that's designed to support it throughout the entire school day and all core
content areas. Um so that that is the biggest difference. Um we are bu expanding into middle schools. um not in district 20 at this time though. Um but there are ways to think about uh clo programs that are close to district 20
that you may be able to um have children join um if you're interested. And you can email um I read programs at schools.nyc.gov gov, which I will put in the chat um for more information or to talk about access
for students that you think might uh be eligible and could benefit. And Suzanne, anything you want to add? >> I don't think any there's absolutely nothing to add um around there other
than I know that uh District 20 is uh a leader in some of the New York City reads work and is very intentional about that work. Um, and I I'm we're optimistic that across the city, we're going to continue to see improvements
for all students, including those with IEBS, IEPs, um, uh, on their reading level. And I'm going to mute myself since there's a lot of activity out there today. >> And and I can add just a little bit of context with the work that we're doing
specific to this. So uh and this is some stuff that I have kind of shared at previous CC meetings, but sometimes this stuff kind of gets lost in the weeds. So one of the one of the things that uh is a a a core component of any dyslexia
program, especially in the early grades, are Orton Gillingham informed techniques. And over half of the schools in district 20 utilize Orton Gillingham as their core foundational literacy program. Uh so we have a lot of like
really highly trained teachers uh with in in the in that methodology which does help support uh you know dyslexic students. And I I'll also say that the the MTSS work that we've done this year that is, you know, identifying students
who are severely below grade level uh on a national level and uh organizing, you know, really targeted instruction for them that is supporting their foundational literacy skills outside of like their regular ELA class, you know, four to five times a week. We've really
seen uh like Andy said like we've really seen uh some some big jumps in some kids that you know previously we've struggled in supporting and getting them uh better at reading. But at the same time we've had some some students who are in those MTSS those targeted uh instructional uh
groups not move. And we've had and it's not a large number but it happens. And it's really helped us uh kind of like hone in on the kids that are potentially struggling who are potentially, you know, they may be undiagnosed but still dyslexic. Uh and you know, kind of in
the we're not sure place. Uh but we've definitely been able to like hone in and gather those lists of kids uh across schools. And that's something that we're really thinking about for next year. Uh both in our capacity at the district level to be able to uh support dyslexic
students and teachers. Uh and dyslexia like uh everyone is aware has a wide range of like manifestations. It looks differently in kids. You know, disgraphia and the letters show up in backwards and there's all sorts of different ways that it manifests. So,
you know, we're really looking at what's available. We're happy. We'd love to find out more. you know, more I'm I'm very familiar with the, you know, the the the principle of the Central Brooklyn Literacy Academy. Uh, and, you know, we're definitely looking at all the different types of ways that we can
um, you know, build our capacity at the district level to support dyslexic students. >> Yet another example where superintendent, Dr. PTO is out in front um constantly advocating, mobilizing and setting setting district 20 students up
for success in district 20. And um huge appreciation for that ad and for your for your leadership um as always. Um tomorrow we made it to 7:01. Is there maybe one or one or two other questions or um are you are you done with us for
tonight? Um, I'm I'm done with you guys. Um, oh, wait, somebody's entering the room. Um, as I have your email, so I can just reach out to you that that way. Um, but
I just wanted to I don't know if anybody else had a question if they wanted to unmute any of the the parents that are here. And if not, then thank you guys. This this was very informative. you gave you gave a lot of new information that me myself I did not know. I'm I'm
learning which is good. I love to learn. You know what I mean? And I know how um great you guys are when it comes to supporting our families and our students and you guys I see you guys at the citywide council of special education. I
see you guys at the CEO. >> We get around tomorrow. We >> I'm looking my way around too. I got to make it to the D25 one. But we, as I said on the outset, we are really grateful to be invited in the space tonight and hope that this is one
conversation of many to come. And I think that that really long list of all the specialized programs and all the work happening in district 20 is it shows what happens when families, superintendent, team, dial, when we all partner together, it's better for everyone, especially our students and
families. So, thank you as parent leaders for your leadership, for your time, for your service. Uh, and please, not that you would be, but don't be shy um about reaching out to this team. We very much appreciate any opportunity to support. Have a great night and um I
hope some folks can enjoy the weather out there at least a little bit. >> I know because it's just going to get cooler. >> Um, thank you guys so much and thanks thank you team. >> Thanks everyone. >> Good night. Guys, have a nice night. You guys go enjoy your, you know, dinner and
get out and get some some air. >> Good night. Be well. >> Good night. All right, everybody. Thank you, Dr. Per, for being here. So, this concludes our May subcommittee meeting. Um, next month, we're going to see if we could
get um a presentation hopefully about summarizing. We do not know what their schedule is like because, you know, they they're getting ready for summerrising and going probably going through their weight weight list, but um I did want to let everybody know on this call that the
list that we made of our goals for our committee, we've actually crossed off a lot of our goals. So, I think we're doing really good. um we're still adding to the resource list and with with the information that we got here from the dial team, we'll be able to um add those
to the list as well and continue to update according to like any changes that that are made. Um but like our our last honestly our last goal was to talk about summarizing when it comes to you know students with disabilities and getting to summarizing and like all the
concerns that parents have. That was and that that was our goal cuz we wanted to make sure that we set realistic goals and then we were able to to get the people who could help us, you know, check off these these goals on the list.
So, we will be letting you guys know. All right. So, hopefully our next meeting will be what is it? June what's the first? Is it the second? >> Uh the Tuesday of the month, I believe >> the Yeah, June 2nd.
All right, at 6 o'clock. Um, so and yeah, so we hope everybody have a great night. Thank you so much our interpreters. I don't know if Dr. Pa is on. Thank you Dr. Ple for being here. Oh, he Oh, he Oh, he bounced. Okay. He's like he's like deuces.
All right. Thank you um families. Thank you CC members. Thank you um our administrative assistant for being here. Um and thank you interpreters for being here. We we thank you guys for your support um for these meetings and you know getting this information out to our
families that English is not their first language is very important because they have students with disabilities as well. All right. So we hope everybody have a good night and we see you guys next month. Good night.