June 27, 2024 Minutes

Town of Harvard 

Special Education Parent Advisory Council 

Minutes for June 27, 2024 

Via Zoom 

Present: Shannon Molloy, Jenny Gillard, Jen Manell, Molly Vaughan, Naomi Ahuja (arrived 8:00) Absent: Elizabeth Brown, Hannah Russel, Aspen Ference 

Others: Michelle DellaValle, Director of Pupil Services; members 

Jenny Gillard, SEPAC co-chair, called the meeting to order at 7:04pm. 

District updates: 

Michelle DellaValle, Director of Pupil Services 

- Expressed appreciation for the end of year SEPAC social and thought the turnout was strong 

- ESY starts the week of July 8 

- Hopeful that she will have hiring updates next time, including for the high school social emotional program which we apparently found a way to do 

Public comment: 

- None 

Minutes: 

- The minutes of May 2, 2024 were approved as presented. 

- The minutes of May 23, 2024 were tabled. 

Administration meeting update: 

- Re Linda’s quote in the Press: said it was not her intention to associate special education students with a future decline in school ratings; said she would try to clarify with the paper. [In the May 10, 2024 issue of the Press she was quoted as saying “As we become a district that is more inclusive of students with diverse learning needs, we understand that our rankings may vary. This does not mean that our high performance is eroding; it means that we are including more students in their local schools.”] Some families felt that the superintendent was indicating that that special education students are expected to pull down the school’s rankings. These families are concerned that the community will blame special education students, and that they could be targeted. 

- Linda shared some information regarding recent incidents of racism at Bromfield. 1

- Discussed Mass Partnerships for Youth workshops: they require minimum 30 participants. The board thought the workshops might be better utilized as an in-service by the schools due to the participation requirement. 

- District hired a 9th grade special education teacher and a school psychologist. - 15% of sped students in Harvard are in OOD placements; for FY21-22 it was 16%; state rate is 6.2% and the state target is 6.4%. Members wondered what the trends are and how our stats map against other similar small towns. 

Bank account: 

- Jenny will ask the bank if a vote is needed 

- When Naomi arrived and the board had a quorum, it voted unanimously to transfer ownership of the SEPAC account at Main St. Bank from Wendy Feddersen to Aspen and Jenny 

- Shannon will write a letter according to the bank’s specifications and send it to Jenny 

Board elections: 

- Tabled due to not having a quorum and due to some nominees not being present 

2023-4 survey planning: 

- Board wants to get it out asap and leave open into September 

- Shannon owes wording change on one question about frequency of seeking outside services 

- Jenny will ask Aspen for feedback on readiness for release 

- Molly will check and report on the suggestions in Elizabeth’s writeup - Jenny or Aspen will verify with Michelle that survey goes to whole district so that families seeking services are included 

- The board will try to do any further deliberation offline in the interest of getting the survey out asap 

Adaptive sports update: 

- Tabled due to Hannah’s absence 

Parent support group scheduling: 

- Will begin scheduling again once school starts 

New graduation requirements: 

- We will communicate with administration that the SEPAC would like to have a voice in the process 

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- Discussed MassCore’s role, the foreign language requirement, and the continued inclusion of the MCAS requirement as topics to understand further 

- Shannon recommended reading this article for background on diploma vs. graduation certificate: 

https://adayinourshoes.com/high-school-certificate-of-completion-vs-diploma/?utm_so urce=copy&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=SocialSnap 

- Proposed graduation requirements can be found here or in the School Committee drive: Copy of Graduation Requirement Proposal 

School Committee update: Shannon: 

- Shared with SC that SEPAC discussed a plan to get survey results to the district more quickly so they can act on the recommendations faster 

- Shannon will provide the board access to the superintendent’s review when it is complete 

- School Committee will reorganize over the summer and assign a new liaison to SEPAC. Liz Joyce has expressed interest 

- Shannon is willing to continue as a SEPAC board member at large if the membership desires 

Future agenda items: 

- Updates from the district 

- Public comment 

- Approval of May 23 and June 27 minutes 

- 23-4 survey processing plan 

- Board elections 

- Adaptive sports 

- Notes for admin meeting: ask Michelle for SpEd org chart; discuss SEPAC having a voice in the proposed graduation requirements 

- Discuss making a bylaws change relative to timing of board elections? 

Upcoming meetings and events: 

- Board decided not to meet in July, provided we are able to get the survey out - August 26: tentative date for in person board meeting at Shannon’s 

Adjournment: 

Meeting adjourned at 8:11pm 

Supporting documents: 

- See above links (2) 

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Minutes: Shannon Molloy 

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