SPECIAL EDUCATION
LONGMEADOW PUBLIC SCHOOLS | 535 BLISS ROAD | LONGMEADOW, MA 01106 | P 413-565-4200 | F 413-565-4215
Nicole Paris-Kro
Director of Special Education
413-565-4200 x 4026
nparis-kro@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Pam Josefiak
Executive Secretary
413-565-4200 x 4026
pjosefiak@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
VACANT
VACANT
Secretary
413-565-4200 x 4029
@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Dear Longmeadow Community,
Hello to all families who may be accessing or who have questions about special education services. For those of you who know me already and folks I have not met, it is a great honor to be able to lead this department as it continues to provide excellent services and supports to students with disabilities. Our special education Parent Advisory Council, would like all parents to take note that a new web-site has been set up for Special Education Alliance of Longmeadow (S.E.A.L) at www.sealma.org. S.E.A.L. has been very active this year bringing great ideas and speakers to Longmeadow.
LPS Pupil Services Supervisors
Juliet Keenan - Longmeadow High School 413-565-4220 jkeenan@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Bridget Dullea - Glenbrook Middle School. 413-565-4250. bdullea@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Robert Carey - Williams Middle School 413-565-4260
rcarey@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
VACANT - Elementary Level 413-565-4200 ext. 4046
@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Lauren Heaton - Elementary & Williams Middle School.
lheaton@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Catherine Beavis - Pre-School Wolf Swamp Road Elementary School. 413-565-4270. cbeavis@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Longmeadow Public School Preschool Program
DESCRIPTION
Longmeadow School System offers an integrated preschool program for 3 and 4 year old children residing in Longmeadow. Our class size is 15 students. Half the students are receiving special education services and the other half are our peer models. Each classroom is staffed with a special education early childhood teacher and classroom assistant. We are located at Wolf Swamp Road Elementary School. We have two morning programs (8:50-11:15) and two afternoon sessions (11:50-2:15).
CHILD FIND PROCEDURES
Longmeadow School district is mandated to locate, identify, and evaluate children with suspected disability. Referrals may come from various sources (parents, physicians, preschool programs). Evaluations may include speech, fine motor, gross motor, and/or school psychological evaluations. The evaluation process is free to qualifying children. For further information contact the Pupil Services office at 565-4200.
PRESCHOOL SCREENINGS
Preschool screenings take place in the spring every year for potential peer models for the following school year. The school district will send out a letter with dates for screenings. Once the screenings have taken place staff will determine how many slots are available for peer models. If we have more children than slots available, the staff will conduct a lottery.
PRESCHOOL STAFF
Preschool Coordinator - Catherine Beavis
Preschool Teacher - Brooke Sledzieski
Preschool Teacher - Tish Noonan
Occupational Therapy Assist. - Meaghan Matthews
Physical Therapy Assistant - Christopher Monette
Speech Pathologist - Susan Collins
Speech Pathologist - Maureen Miller
DISTRICT SPECIALIZED PROGRAMS
LLD Language Learning Disabilities Program
ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL
The LLD program is a language-based program that operates as a partial inclusion classroom. It serves students in grades two through eight. The students spend part of their day in the general education classroom and attend all related art and specials such as Art, PE, Music Health and Computers. They also attend recess, lunch and Advisory with their same aged peers. Students can receive direct instruction in the LLD classroom for ELA, math, language, re-teaching and reinforcement as directed by their IEP.
LLC Longmeadow Learning Center
The LLC Longmeadow Learning Center program began at the elementary level in 2008 and moved to the middle school in 2010. The program was established again at the elementary level in 2011. The LLC is a district program for students from all three elementary schools and both middle schools. The elementary program is housed at Center School and the middle school program is housed at Glenbrook Middle School.
Students in the program have primary diagnoses of communication impairment, neurological impairment or intellectual impairment and have difficulty mastering content at the same rate as their non-disabled peers.
PALSS Program Program for Academic, Language and Social Support
This program is an inclusion program. It is designed to support students who experience social, emotional and/or behavioral challenges in the school setting. The program is staff intensive, to include a special education teacher, paraprofessionals, and a BCBA consult. The SLP and SAC also support the program with counseling and social skills coaching and teaching.
LINC Longmeadow Integrated Network for Children
The LINC Program is a comprehensive, integrated program for students whose primary diagnosis is autism. The program is designed to provide best practices and data driven methodology for teaching, language development, social skills and behavior. It is an inclusion model, offering all students opportunities to learn and socialize with typical peers. Students’ programs are individualized to provide the maximum benefit for growth based on each child’s abilities and needs.
Students participating in this program;
Cannot effectively access the general curriculum
Cannot socially access peers without adult facilitation
Tend to have behavioral needs to include lack of flexibility, adaptability
A BIP in order to effectively navigate the school environment
Section 504
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects the rights of individuals with disabilities within the work and school setting. Section 504 was passed into law before the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Section 504 is a federal civil rights statute. Students who do not qualify for special education under the IDEA may qualify for protection and services under Section 504. Section 504 requires regular education teachers to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. Section 504 also requires school officials to allow equal access to educational programs and services to students with disabilities. It is important to realize that Section 504 is separate from “special education.” Section 504 is under the jurisdiction of regular education. Therefore, building administrators are fully responsible for its implementation.