<p> ESE Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 11/16/2016</p><p>Meeting Participants Sherry Aemisegger, District Caroline Conlon, Parent Tracy McMannus, District Janet Allman, District Jessica Conover, District Rachel Pages, Parent Lael Arango, Community Bozena Gasior, Parent Misti Pollaro, Agency Sue Blanchard, Community Jane Golding, District Michelle Rogers, Parent Rachel Branum, Parent Doreen Jablonski, Parent Brenda Thompson-Stewart, Michele Burt, District Jeremy Keyser, Student Parent Janet Clark, District Mark Keyser, District Lisa Tucker, District Madeline Colbert, Student Paula Keyser, Parent Jean Stowell-Urban, Parent Stephen Colbert, Parent Barry LeClair, District MaryBeth Varner, District Carol Coniglio, Parent Marty Massimo, District Matt Wiseman, Parent</p><p>Excused Laura Bluett, District Kim Nance, Parent Shandy Gregg, District Andrew Wiener, Parent Lina Hawana, Parent </p><p>Visitors Terry Bollenback, Community Dr. Flora Howie, Community Danielle Cole, Parent Tracy Hurst, Parent Kelly Hendrickson, District Michelle Leo, Parent</p><p>Welcome and Introductions Jessica Conover facilitated and attendees introduced themselves.</p><p>Approval of Minutes Minutes approved with one name addition. </p><p>ESE Advisory Bylaws Follow Up Clarification regarding “Annual Executive Summary” referred to in Article II (4) - all minutes, handouts, etc. from ESE Advisory Meetings are posted on the district website.</p><p>Vacancies/Membership Elections/Recruitment The following volunteered to fill vacancies: Michelle Leo-Parent (Vision Impaired), Stephen Colbert- Parent (move from Intellectual Disability to HS/Extended Transition), Tracy Hurst-Parent (Gifted), and Danielle Cole-Parent (Developmental Delays). All approved to accept.</p><p>Bridging the Gap-Overview Sherry Aemisegger provided a Draft Copy of this document which can also be found on the district website at www.pcsb.org/btg. There are community meetings being held throughout the county to get input on closing the achievement gap. There are 5 areas of focus:  Discipline Disparity  ESE Identification (most disproportionate is black students-EBD)  Graduation Rate  ELA, Math Achievement  Access to Rigorous Coursework Some additional explanations/comments:  Student-led conferences are a perfect example of Data Sharing Events for parents.  Looking to screen all 2nd graders for gifted and looking to screen all grades in Transformation Zone schools.  Money should never be a barrier to taking ACT/SAT tests. Need to address problem with some students not bringing a calculator for these tests (didn’t know they had to bring their own).</p><p>Committee (Input/Reflection)-Activity Posters around the room with the following headings:  Achievement  Minority Hiring  Discipline  ESE Eligibility Disproportionality  Advanced/Accelerated All ESE Advisory attendees (using the Bridging the Gap document as their guide), placed comments and recommendations on stickie notes. These will be compiled and shared.</p><p>2015-2016 PCS ESE Parent Survey Results Marty Massimo, FDLRS shared a PowerPoint with results from the 2015-2016 school year ESE Parent Survey. This survey assesses Indicator 8-Parents with a child receiving special education services report that schools facilitate parent involvement as means of improving services and results for children with disabilities. The PowerPoint can be found on the district website at www.pcsb.org/Page/1696. Indicator 8 meeting(s) for the 2016-17 school year will be held to address improving lower scoring survey items, increasing parent response rates, and discussing methods of promoting and distributing the surveys. A sign-up sheet was passed around.</p><p>John Hopkins ACH ASD Program Initiatives: Vision of Collaboration Dr. Flora Howie shared information about the new description of autism and 2 new programs at John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for those on the autism spectrum. Highlights from her PowerPoint:  DSM5 has changed and autism is now divided into 3 levels….1 (mild-about 25%), 2 (moderate- about 50%), and 3 (severe-about 25%). About 1 in 68 are diagnosed on the autism spectrum and 90% have other conditions. Causes are possibly genetic, environmental.  Club Move-It! held at The Autism Center o Started as a study of the link between gross motor and social skills. Social skills get worse with age. o In the general population, about 77% participate in team sports. In the population with autism only 27% participate in team sports. o Started with 4 groups of children, meeting after school. Measuring feasibility, fitness, and social skills (before/after). Looking to continue program and study.  A+ Volunteer Program held at John Hopkins ACH o For students post high school to volunteer in 2 hour blocks once/week. Trained mentors assist. Goal is to improve post high school outcomes. o Dr. Howie shared info and videos about a specific volunteer….his schedule, plusses/minuses, and 2 year outcome of obtaining paid employment.  Matt Wiseman shared about observed improvement in social skills of children attending fitness outings organized by the South Pinellas Autism Project. He is looking to develop a sports program for those with autism (they have some funding).  Another parent questioned whether the social programs could be used/developed for children with other disabilities, like Down Syndrome. And another wondered if the program could be shared with PE teachers at schools. Dr. Howie would like to package program for all to use.</p><p>Parent Subcommittee Update Misti Pollaro, in talking to parents, would like to bridge the gap from school to district-state-federal. Lots of information out there for families. Just need to figure out how best to make the connections. </p><p>Open Agenda Concerns expressed that there is a lack of rigor due to blending multiple subjects in one classroom… example, 4 different sciences.</p><p>A parent would like to see more options when moving from blended PreK to K….concerned about not enough support.</p><p>Stephen Colbert expressed concerns about teachers not getting subs if paraprofessional is out. It is a school based decision and the principal may have to move people around where needed. </p><p>Matt Wiseman shared two events for the South Pinellas Autism Project. Fundraiser bingo event on Nov. 21 at Hamburger Mary’s in Clearwater and Thanksgiving Break camp (free) from Nov. 21-30.</p><p>Mark Keyser feels that teachers/staff need training re: seizures. He feels it is not enough that nurses have the info in the school health plan. Tracy advised that required training be specified in a student’s IEP if needed.</p><p>Future meetings will be held 6-8pm at the Largo Administration Building, 2nd Floor Room B-213:  January 18, 2017  March 22, 2017  May 17, 2017</p><p>Word fn: ESE Advisory Minutes 11162016</p>