Regional Meeting Dates & Minutes
| Central | 9/8/08 | 11/17/08 | 12/12/08 | 2/2/08 | 3/2/08 | 5/4/08 |
| East Central | ||||||
| Mideast | ||||||
| North Central | ||||||
| Northeast | ||||||
| Northwest | ||||||
| Southeast Central | ||||||
| Southwest |
Minutes from regional meetings:
Central -
5/19/08
4/21/08 11/5/07
12/14/07
East Central -
2/25/08
11/5/07
9/17/07
Mideast -
4/17/08 2/21/08
11/7/07 9/13/07
11/30/06
North Central -
11/29/07
Northeast -
1/29/08
Northwest -4/16/08
11/3/07
12/13/07
2/2/05 12/6/06
4/07
Southeast Central -
4/11/2008 11/14/2007
11/7/2007
9/19/2007
Southwest -
10/2/07
Minutes from committee meetings:
Archive Committee -
4/14-15/08
Public Relations Committee -
4/29/08
Present: Linda Benham, Terri Doerr, Julie Dunford, Pat Gay, Sandra Tolliver, Rose Kahsar, Moira Laughlin, Ann Maguire, Linda McDowell, Christine Wright,
Lois Howell, Nancy Jones (from OCECD. Substituting for Robin Bryant)
Absent: Sharon Honnert, Sue Bitsko, Cookie Whitesell, Paula Taylor
Welcome: To the new mentor from Cincinnati Public Schools, Sandra Tolliver.
We also had a representative from OCECD’s Southern office, Nancy Jones.
The group was presented with ideas to help make meetings more focused on topics. Agenda development with use of a timekeeper to keep discussion focused and flowing was presented. This may be a process which each meeting host will need to consider. Timekeeper and agenda were used at this meeting. Other methods may be used to expand effectiveness of our time together.
Council Update- Ann Maguire will be our new Council Rep. A big thank you to Moira Laughlin who has filled this position for the past two years.
New Parent Mentor Operating Guidelines were distributed.
Suggested that everyone take a look at the new Parent Mentor website format.
Performance Report- Possibility of a checklist this year.
PR Committee Survey- Input from mentors to this survey.
What’s New:
District News- Discussion of levies impacting services in districts, changes to SERRC structuring statewide, news about parent programs at MVSERRC, Medicaid Buy In, transition training in Middletown, new sports program in area. Sharing of print and electronic resources for parents, staff and mentors.
Workshops
Discussion of NATTAP conference and Map Your Future Transition conference.
Meetings for 2007-2008 school year. Four meetings per year, one with professional development per Operating Guidelines. This has been our format for quite a while. We do propose to have two mentors lead each meeting, the hosts choosing a topic of interest from the group’s input. Two meetings could be in the northern part of our region, two in the south. This will divide travel time for all.
Proposed meeting dates:
December 4th, February 12th in Lakota, and Tuesday, April 8th.
Updated contact sheet was passed around for corrections and later distribution to members.
Questions to take back to Council:
We support the development of a checklist for the Performance Narrative Report due in January. It would be helpful if the document could be distributed as soon as possible.
Meeting was adjourned at 2:00.
Southeast Central Regional Meeting
April 11, 08
Gallipolis, Oh
Members Present:
Carla Brown, Adams Co.
Allison Hively, Gallia Co.
Pam Thornburg, Fayette Co.
Katie Stroop, Athens Co
Tammy Hanger, Washington Co.
Amey VanVoorhis, Chillicothe City
Karen Smith, Meigs Co.
Faith Harkins, Vinton Co.
Shellie Leach, Wellston City
OCECD
Kim Dennison
Valorie Dombroskas
We met at the Gallia Co. Early Childhood and Family Center. After lunch Allison
had the Help Me Grow Service Coordinator Valerie Jarrell give a motivational
lesson.
Each mentor gave an update of exciting news that has happened or was going to
happen in their own lives, it was great hearing all of the exciting news.
Karen Smith read the minutes from the last Council Meeting, talked about some of
the difficulty in obtaining the hours for the PDP.
Had a list of trainings that Donna Owens is offering and from the talk around
the table there were quite a few that many of us were interested in attending so
we set up our regional meetings and additional hour around her trainings.
Asked for a volunteer to come onto Council when I step off in Oct. Shellie Leach
will be replacing me. Allison then gave us a tour of the facility (Beautiful).
Here is the list of Regional Meetings and Trainings that will be held for next
year. (2008-09)
Date
Time
Place
Contact
Topic
9/24/08
10-2 pm
Wellston
Shellie
Autism 101 & Addressing Sensory Issues
10/29/08
10-2 pm
Chillicothe
Amey
ASD, IEP & What Parents and Educators Need to Know
12/5/08
10:30-12 pm
McArthur
Faith
Regional Meeting
12/5/08
12-3 pm
McArthur
Faith
Planning for Transition to
Adulthood for Students with ASD
3/24/09
10:30-12pm
Gallipolis
Allison & Karen
Regional Meeting
3/24/09
12-3pm
Gallipolis
Allison & Karen
Addressing the Needs
of Students w/ Aspergers Syndrome or High Functioning Autism
10/7/08
1-3:30pm
Chillicothe
Amey
Traumatic Brain Injury
10/7/08
6:30-8:30
Fayette
Co.
Pam
Traumatic Brain Injury
*These are the dates, times, location and contact person for the trainings with
Donna Owens for next school year. Each contact person will need to contact Donna
and let her know the exact location of the meeting. On 9/24/08 and 10/29/08 the
regional meeting will be during lunch, so this should take care of all regional
meetings for next year.
*The meetings on 10/7/08 you are more than welcome to attend, they were set up
separate from our list for next year…
*If anyone has question or concerns about this list please let me know……
*Contact
info for Donna Owens, (614) 410-0381
donna_owens@ocali.org She
has penciled these in so please contact her with your info.
Faith Harkins
Southeast Central Regional Meeting Minutes
September 19, 2007
The Southeast Central Region met on September 19, 2007 at the Old Canal
Smokehouse in Chillicothe for some great BBQ.
All Parent Mentors present:
Carla Brown, Adams Co.
Tammy Hanger, Washington Co.
Faith Harkins, Vinton Co.
Allison Hively, Gallia Co.
Shellie Leach, Wellston City
Karen Smith, Meigs Co.
Katie Stroop, Athens Co
Pam Thornburg, Fayette Co.
Amey VanVoorhis, Chillicothe City
Guest:
Kim Dennison, OCECD
Valorie Dombroskas, OCECD
Anita Kefgen, Ross Co. Cluster
Melissa Benson, Southeastern Ohio Legal Services
Melissa Benson presented valuable legal rights and contact information. Regional
members discussed PDP's , training needs, council reports, Fall conference and
the changing of council representation.. Karen Smith will be replacing Carla
Brown on council in November with Faith Harkins.
Future meeting dates:
October 29-30, 2007
Will meet as needed at Retreat
November 7, 2007
Presentation: Understanding the
Evaluation Process
Presenters: Val Dombroskas and Kim Dennison
Location: Bundy Elementary 525 W.
7th St. Wellston, Ohio
10 a.m. - ?
February 8, 2008
Topic and Location: TBA
April 11, 2008
Topic and Location: TBA
The Southeast Central Region met on
Nov. 7, 07 in Wellston, Ohio for a Regional Meeting and Training.
“Understanding the Evaluation Process”
Present:
Carla Brown – Adams Co.
Tammy Hanger – Washington Co.
Faith Harkins – Vinton Co.
Allison Hively – Gallia Co.
Shellie Leach – Wellston City
Karen Smith – Meigs Co
Katie Stroop – Athens Co.
Pam Thornburg – Fayette Co.
Valorie Dombroskas – OCECD
Kim Dennison - OCECD
Not Present:
Amey VanVoorhis – Chillicothe City - Lock down in court
Valorie and Kim presented the training “Understanding the Evaluation Process”
They did a great job and we all came away with a lot of information.
Nov. 14, 07
Transition Training
Present:
Tammy Hanger – Washington Co.
Faith Harkins – Vinton Co.
Shellie Leach – Wellston City
Karen Smith – Meigs Co.
Katie Stroop – Athens Co.
Amey VanVoorhis – Chillicothe City
Valorie Dombroskas – OCECD
Kim Dennison - OCECD
Not Present:
Carla Brown – Adams Co.
Allison Hively – Gallia Co.
Pam Thornburg – Fayette Co
Transition Training was held at Valorie’s house.
We surprised Val with a birthday party after the training
East Central Parent Mentors met on February 25, 2008 at the
Cracker Barrel in Cambridge.
Members present were
Under old business, a discussion was held about topics for
another regional training.
Each Parent Mentor shared what was happening in their
districts.
Stacey Curry held training on “Behavior Driven IEP” with
Attendees:
A three hour presentation was given by Jim Martinek, Director
of East Central Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center.
His presentation included information regarding the relationship between
the State Performance Plan, Annual Performance Report, and issues with the
state-wide assessments.
Attendees: Cheri McCullough, Kathy Pavlik, Stacey Curry, Patty Joseph, Pat, Kim and Krystal Linkhorn, Jim Martinek
Information was shared by Parent Mentors.
Patty Joseph reported on the Autism and Low Incidence Conference that she attended this summer and that she will be attending the NATTAP conference at the end of September. “Its My Turn” is scheduled for October 23rd and 24th at Tri-Valley High School.
Kathy Pavlik shared about the reorganization in her district from 7 buildings to 4 buildings and an upcoming in-service on differentiation.
Cheri McCullough told about the Autism Walk that she helped sponsor along with the Autism Support Group. There were around 70 people who participated in the walk. She also shared about reorganization in two of the districts that she serves. She will also attend the NATTAP Conference.
Stacey Curry reported that Washington and Belmont Counties joined their ESC and she would pick up one school in Belmont County at this time.
“OCECD has received grant from state so training is ok” reported Pat Linkhorn. Training supplies will come directly to us and we can keep what is left. Trainings have been redone and when available she will get them to us. She also reported that we were behind on transition in our state.
Jim Martinek will let us know about SERRC reorganization and a date if different than our next scheduled meeting to present.
We completed the Public Relations survey and Kathy Pavlik will mail.
Our next meeting will be on November 5th 10:00 a.m. at the SERRC with Jim Martinek as our speaker.
Northwest Ohio S.T.A.R.S.
(Support, Training and Resource Services)
Present:
Sandy Brickner; OCECD, Laurie Betscher; Hancock County Parent Mentor, Paula
Frey; Wyandot County Parent Mentor, Linda Kayser; Allen County Parent Mentor,
Cathy Ruiz; Paulding County Parent Mentor, Stephanie Schroeder; Lucas County
Parent Mentor, Jan Steyer; Seneca County Parent Mentor, Barb Stuckey, Northwest
ESC Parent Mentor, Jeanette Wehrkamp; Mercer County Parent Mentor
Absent:
Cindy Herman; Wood Co. Parent Mentor Kay Konwiczka; Sandusky Co. Parent Mentor,
Jayne Young; Findlay City Parent Mentor
Location:
Hancock County ESC
Professional
Development:
Linell Weinberg, MSW, from the Autism Society of Northwest Ohio gave a
presentation on their organization’s many activities of as well as workshops
sponsored by the Great Lakes Center for Autism. She also demonstrated uses for
resources from their Parent Resource Library.
Participants were encouraged to sign- up for their newsletter and
workshop announcements.
I.
Call to
Order
- Chairperson Paula Frey called the meeting to order at 9:30 am with self-
introductions and a welcome for our new Parent Mentors, Cathy Ruiz from Paulding
County and Stephanie Schroeder from Lucas County.
II.
Approval of
Minutes-A
motion was made by Jan Steyer to approve minutes from December 2007 meeting and
seconded by Laurie Betscher. Minutes were approved as written.
III.
Treasurer’s
Report-
No report at this time as Treasurer Cindy Herman is home with her husband who is
recovering from open-heart surgery.
IV.
Agency
Reports:
OCECD
-Sandy reported that next year there will be five teams to do “It’s My Turn”
Training. Contact Sandy if you are interested in bringing her to your districts
as she is scheduling for next school year now.
October 21st, 2008 is the date of the “Partnering for
Progress” Conference. The Parent
Mentor statewide training will piggyback this conference.
Parent Mentor Council- no Council reps. Available to
report at this time as Jayne was attending an IEP meeting and Cindy was absent
as indicated above.
OCECD Governing Board-
Jeanette
Wehrkamp reported that some of the topics of discussion at the last Coalition
Board meeting included: RTI and cuts in funding for ESCs.
V.
Old Business-
Members owing dues may pay in October. We will also collect for the 2008-09 dues
at this time.
VI.
New
Business-
Paula passed
a volunteer sign- up sheet for refreshments for next year.
A.
Election of
Officers- The following slate of officers were unanimously voted into office for
the 2008-09 year: Paula for Chairperson, Jan as Co-chair, Jeanette for OCECD
Rep., Treasurer is Cindy, Linda is Secretary and Laurie will replace Cindy
Herman on Parent Mentor Council.
B.
2008-09
Meetings dates and intended speakers or topics are: October 1, 2008
presentation by Donna Owens from OCALI, December 3, 2008 Parent Mentor
networking (share experiences, successes, barriers and obstacles.) and resource
sharing (helpful publications websites, handouts etc.) February 4, 2009
Sandy Brickner will present OCECD Training on “ Parent Professional
Communication” and April 1, 2009 video training of “I Have Tourette’s but
it Doesn’t Have Me” Cindy Herman has the video training and Jeanette will
furnish the projector.
VII.
Adjournment.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:05pm.
Northwest Ohio S.T.A.R.S.
Present:
Present: Laurie Betscher; Hancock Co. Parent Mentor, Sandy Brickner;OCECD, Pam
Catrell; OCECD, Paula Frey; Wyandot Co. Parent Mentor, Cindy Herman; Wood Co.
Parent Mentor, Linda Kayser; Allen Co. Parent Mentor, Kay Konwiczka; Sandusky
Co. Parent Mentor, Jan Steyer; Seneca County Parent Mentor, Jeanette Wehrkamp;
Mercer County Parent Mentor, Jayne Young; Findlay City Parent Mentor
Location:
Hancock County ESC
I.
Chairperson
Paula Frey called the meeting to order at 9:45 am. Paula invited those present
to introduce themselves and indicate the districts that their project serves.
Sandy Brickner presented a very informative two-hour training on the Evaluation
Process and concluded her presentation with questions and answers. Thanks Sandy,
for this timely and helpful information.
II.
Business
portion of the meeting began with a review of the minutes of April 2007. Motion
to approve was made by Laurie Betcher and seconded by Jayne Young. Minutes
approved as written.
III.
Treasurer
Report: Treasurer Cindy Herman reported a total of $22.00 after paying the
$50.00 annual membership to OCECD. Collection of dues from members present
followed. To date, after dues collection, there is a total of $55.00 in
treasury.
IV.
Agency
Reports:
A.
OCECD: Sandy
reported that the annual “Partnering for Progress” conference will be held on
October 16, 2007. Sandy introduced Pam Cotrell, a new OCECD trainer. Pam will be
working in Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Shelby and Van Wert counties. Sandy
announced that the OCECD has updated several publications. Check the OCECD
publication order form and see if your project has the latest editions. One copy
of updated materials will be provided at no expense to Parent Mentors.
B.
Parent
Mentor Council: Cindy reported from Parent Mentor Council. A discussion ensued
and several questions regarding requirements for supplementary training hours
needed for our Professional Development Plans. Cindy shared that the Skills and
Knowledge committee of the Council assists in determining training needs and may
be helpful in answering questions.
Rose Kahsar is the current chair of the Skills and Knowledge Committee.
Cindy and Kay serve on the committee from our region and will take
questions or concerns to next committee meeting.
Cindy completed a survey from the PR committee for our region with input
from those present. Jayne will be replacing Laurie as Parent Mentor Council
representative from our region.
C.
OCECD
Governing Board: Laurie, Cindy and Jan cannot serve as representatives because
they receive a small stipend from the “It’s my Turn” training activities. This
was determined to be a conflict of interest in serving on the
OCECD Governing Board. Jeannette will continue to serve as rep, but will
not have an alternate at this time. Jeanette distributed handouts from OCECD and
reported on the Board meeting topics of Autism Scholarship, School Funding and
Realignment for educational service delivery systems and formation of State
Support Teams (formerly SERRCs).
V.
Old
Business: Paula reviewed our mailing list. Updates and changes were made.
VI.
New
Business: In our planning last
spring, it was the consensus of the group to make the best possible use of our
meetings in securing needed training hours. Laurie will print certificates
indicating two contact hours of Professional Development per regional meeting.
December meeting will consist of networking and resource sharing.
February’s training will be in the form of a video presentation on
Tourette’s Syndrome and or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Kay and Cindy will obtain
videos. April meeting date was changed to April 16, 2008. Training topic will
probably focus on autism. Cindy will see if Linell Weinberg from Autism Society
of Northwest Ohio can speak.
VII.
There being
no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:10 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Linda
Kayser, Recorder
Northwest Ohio S.T.A.R.S.
(Support, Training and Resource Services)
December 13, 2007
Present: Present:
Laurie Betscher; Hancock Co. Parent Mentor, Paula Frey; Wyandot Co. Parent
Mentor, Cindy Herman; Wood Co. Parent Mentor, Linda Kayser; Allen Co. Parent
Mentor, Kay Konwiczka; Sandusky Co. Parent Mentor, Jeanette Wehrkamp; Mercer
County Parent Mentor, Jayne Young; Findlay City Parent Mentor
Absent: Sandy
Brickner;OCECD, Jan Steyer; Seneca County Parent Mentor, Barb Stuckey, Northwest
ESC Parent Mentor
Location: Hancock
County ESC
I.
Call to Order
- Today’s meeting was rescheduled from December 5. Chairperson Paula Frey called
the meeting to order with a welcome and an invitation to partake in the carry-in
holiday refreshments.
II.
Approval of Minutes-A
motion was made by Cindy Herman to approve minutes from October 3, 2007 and
seconded by Kay Konwiczca. Minutes were approved as written.
III.
Treasurer’s Report-
Cindy reported a balance of $55.00 in the treasury. No expenditures or income at
this time.
IV.
Agency Reports:
OCECD -Sandy could not
attend our rescheduled meeting but wanted everyone to make note of the
Coalition’s trainings schedule for Parent Mentors who still need professional
development hours. Contact the Coalition regarding training schedule, location
and registration information.
Parent Mentor Council-
Cindy and Jayne reported from the Council meeting on 11/20/07. Highlights: The
Fall Parent Mentor Conference will piggyback the OCECD “Partnering for Progress”
conference. Dates are October 20 and 21, 2008. Both conferences will be used for
our professional development plans. Site visits to Parent Mentors are being
scheduled. Illinois State Special Education director attended Fall conference as
a visitor and sat in on the Skills and Knowledge Committee. He had very positive
things to say about Parent Mentor Program. After the ODE Special Education
Leadership Conference on January 16 and 17, there will be regional meetings
concerning the Operating Guidelines. Early Childhood focus groups will be
instituted regionally. Next Council meeting will be in January.
OCECD Governing Board-
Jeanette Wehrkamp reported from the
November Annual meeting. Highlights: Jeanette passed out the 2008 OCECD
slate of officers, as well as a reprint of a newspaper article announcing that
Margaret Burley is the 2007 recipient of the St. Vincent Family Center’s
Corcoran Award. The awards ceremony took place on November 12th at
the Ohio Statehouse. Congratulations Margaret!
V.
Old Business-
Laurie passed out attendance certificates for the MFE training we received at
the October 3rd meeting.
VI.
New Business-
Everyone shared
information and handouts from their respective counties.
Cindy informed us on resources regarding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The
group determined that next meeting will be a video training on Tourette’s
Syndrome. Kay will bring her laptop and Jeanette will sign out her office’s
focus projector to facilitate the training.
VII.
Adjournment.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned and the group
participated in a $5 gift exchange of “stress-relief” items.
April 2006
Present: Laurie Betscher; Hancock Co. Parent Mentor, Sandy Brickner, OCECD, Paula Frey; Wyandot Co. Parent Mentor, Cindy Herman; Wood Co. Parent Mentor, Linda Kayser; Allen Co. Parent Mentor, Kay Konwiczka; Sandusky Co. Parent Mentor, Jan Steyer; Seneca County Parent Mentor, Barb Stuckey; Parent Mentor, Northwest Ohio ESC, Jeanette Wehrkamp; Mercer County Parent Mentor, Jayne Young; Findlay City Parent Mentor
I. Call to order: The meeting was called to order after an hour-long presentation on Estate Planning for Individuals with Disabilities by Sharyl Hall of Met Desk, a division of Met Life and Eric Hopkins of New England Securities. For more information on estate planning and other disability related information log on to their web page at www.metlife.com/desk
II. Minutes of December 6, 2006 were approved with a motion by Cindy and second by Laurie.
III. Treasurer’s Report: Cindy reported a total of $74.00 in the treasury with the expenditure of $10 toward the purchase of a tree for the new State Director of Special Education, Greg Maloney.
IV. OCECD: Sandy reported that the annual “Partnering for Progress” conference will beheld on October 16, 2007. Sandy brought current OCECD publications for Parent Mentors to update their resources. Materials are also available in Spanish. The new MFE book will be shared with us when printed.
V. Parent Mentor Council: Laurie reported that Cheri McCullough is the new vice Chairperson. Supplemental Professional Development hours from the months of April, May and June can carry over from the 2006-07 school year to count on next year’s plan. Carry over hours cannot exceed ten hours. Final report on Performance Indicators will be due on June 30th. Review mid year report and document what you did not complete and why. More information on the Performance Indicators should be forthcoming from ODE. Fall Parent Mentor retreat is October 29th and 30th (Monday and Tuesday) at the Marriot near Tuttle Crossing in Columbus.
VI. OCECD Board Meeting: Laurie reported that the Constitution and By-laws were changed to reflect new requirement that the Executive Board has to be comprised of 51% parents. Laurie will be a Parent Rep on the Executive Board. Greg Maloney was introduced to the OCECD Board. He stated that his two priorities are to improve student outcomes for gifted students and students with disabilities and to identify gaps.
VII. Election of Officers for 2007-08 The following slate of officers was elected: Paula and Laurie Co-chairs, Cindy Treasurer, Linda Secretary, Laurie OCECD Rep, with Jeanette as a sub, Parent Mentor Council Reps are Cindy replacing Laurie in the Fall and Jayne will come on Council in Fall as new Rep. Paula will contact Barb Rice at OCECD and let her know about Council reps.
VIII. 2007-08 Schedule of meetings: It was determined to include a networking lunch and extend our meetings until 1:00.In this way we can listen to a speaker for professional development as well as share information and suggestions with each other. October 3, 2007 Barb and Jan will bring refreshments and Sandy will give the OCECD MFE Training. December 5, 2007 everyone will bring refreshments (light luncheon items as well as sweets?). Program will be sharing and networking. February 6, 2008 Laurie and Jeanette will bring refreshments and presentation will be on HIV. April 2, 2008 program will be on autism as April is Autism Awareness month. Jayne will bring refreshments and the business will include setting a calendar of meetings and electing officers. Kay kindly distributed an updated bound Parent Mentor directory.
IX. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Northwest Ohio S.T.A.R.S.
December 6,2006
Present: Present: Laurie Betscher; Hancock Co. Parent Mentor, Luana Craft; West Central Ohio SERRC, Paula Frey; Wyandot Co. Parent Mentor, Cindy Herman; Wood Co. Parent Mentor, Linda Kayser; Allen Co. Parent Mentor, Kay Konwiczka; Sandusky Co. Parent Mentor, Jan Steyer; Seneca County Parent Mentor, Barb Stuckey; Parent Mentor, Northwest Ohio ESC, Jeanette Wehrkamp; Mercer County Parent Mentor, Jayne Young; Findlay City Parent Mentor
I. After networking and partaking of delicious holiday cuisine, Chairperson Paula Frey began the meeting with self-introductions. Welcome Barb Stuckey, Parent Mentor, Northwest Ohio ESC.
II. Minutes of October 4, 2006 were approved with the following corrections: date should read October 4,2006 and members requested to please note that Jan Steyer was negligent in remembering to bring refreshments. It was decided by group consensus that there be no punitive action taken at this time, however this may be reconsidered should Jan ever forget again. Jan moved that minutes be approved as corrected and seconded by Cindy Herman.
III. Treasurer’s report: Treasurer Cindy Herman reported that we have $74 in treasury with the addition of $5 from Barb Stuckey, paying dues. This brings total to $79. Annual $50 membership dues to OCECD need to be paid ASAP as they were due in November. Jayne offered to donate coffee from Findlay City Schools Project and Laurie will purchase creamer to be reimbursed by treasury.
IV. Agency Reports
A. OCECD- no report as Sandy Brickner away at training
B. Parent Mentor Council: Laurie reported that the new vice president is Cheri McCullough. Council met on November 7, 2006. The business of the Council centered on new member orientation and the Performance Indicator requirement for Parent Mentors. Laurie shared her notes and information. Performance Indicators linked to student outcomes were discussed at length. Laurie also indicated that next year’s Fall conference will occur earlier in the year on October 29 though October 30, 2007. Next statewide meeting is March 7, 2007 in Zanesville.
C. OCECD: Laurie distributed handouts of training opportunities. She also shared that the make up of the OCECD Governing Board needs to be fifty percent parents of children with disabilities age twenty-six or younger. Laurie has agreed to serve on OCECD Governing Board as a parent rep. H.B. 431 for Special Ed vouchers discussed with those present. Laurie passed around a booklet on Individual Options Waivers from Ohio Legal Rights. Obtain a copy at http://olrs.ohio.gov Shawn Henry from OCALI was the guest speaker. OCALI will launch an updated interactive web site on January 20,2007. Parent resource manual listing county by county services offered by private and public providers and what services are billable to Medicaid will be on the new website. New information on Traumatic Brain Injury will also be included. OCALI is sponsoring an international conference on autism on September 26 through 28, 2007 in Columbus.
V. Old Business: The group reviewed original By-Laws from STARS, adopted in 2000. By-Laws were reviewed and adopted. Motion to accept without revision was made by Jayne Young to accept and seconded by Luana Craft.
VI. New Business: Greg Maloney is new director of Office for Exceptional Children at ODE. Sandy Brickner’s son is serving in Iraq. Those interested in sending a Valentine’s care package from STARS, please bring items to February meeting. Jan and Paula will check with Sandy to see what is needed. The group is considering putting together a cookbook to offer for sale at Fall conference. Consider bringing copies of your favorite recipes to next meeting and to discuss the feasibility of doing this. Still need a speaker for April meeting.
VII. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 11:40. Motion made by Cindy and seconded by Kay.
Note: Next meeting on Tuesday February 6, 2007
Northwest Ohio S.T.A.R.S.
February 2, 2005
Present: Amy Becher; Mercer County Special Ed. Supervisor, Laurie Betscher; Hancock Co. Parent Mentor, Sandy Brickner; OCECD, Paula Frey; Wyandot Co. Parent Mentor, Julie Gundy; Findlay City Schools Parent Mentor, Cindy Herman; Wood Co. Parent Mentor, Linda Kayser; Allen Co. Parent Mentor, Kay Konwiczka; Sandusky Co. Parent Mentor, Jan Schuler; Special Ed Supervisor, Sandusky Co. ESC, Elaine Siefring; Mercer Co. Parent Mentor, Jan Steyer; Seneca Co. Parent Mentor, Karen Meyer;OSU Lima, guest speaker
I. Julie Gundy called the meeting to order with self-introductions at 9:55 a.m.
II. Minutes from December 1, 2004 were approved with a motion made by Cindy Herman and seconded by Jan Steyer.
III. Treasurer Cindy Herman reported $72.00 in treasury with a $6.50 reimbursement to be taken out for meeting supplies. Julie Gundy reported that we still have $30.51 on our Wal-Mart gift card.
IV. Agency/Committee reports:
i. OCECD- Sandy Brickner gave updates on the Reauthorization of IDEA. Until Ohio adopts regulations, the law is open to interpretation. It will take about a year for federal regs. to be adopted. Then there will be a “critical time” for input regarding the development of our own state regs. Historically, Ohio has gone beyond the federal regulations with services. For now, we will continue to use the “Operating Standards” with the exception of the change from 90 days to 60 days for evaluations as federal law supersedes state law.
ii. Parent Mentor Council- Jan Steyer reported that Parent Mentors may use the A-Z reading website for families and tutors. Contact Barb Rice for password and information regarding website. State funding will be an issue for the Parent Mentor program. Funding is okay until June of ’06, but looks very uncertain after that. Course of action and strategies to address the anticipated cuts have not been decided at this time. An autism conference is being held at Kent State on June 23 and 24th. Parent Mentors interested in sending their information for a Parent Mentor display should contact Becky Thomas, Mid East region. Circle these dates: November 2nd and 3rd for retreat. Location to be announced.
iii. OCECD Governing Board- no report
iv. ODE - no report
V. Old Business:
i. FAST Parent Advocates- Laurie Betcher explained that the FAST program is available to counties to assist families who are at risk of losing their children to out-of-home placement because of behavioral or mental health issues. The FAST program incorporates a paid part time Parent Advocate for families, but little more is known about the program other that it is a state mental health initiative.
ii. April 16th Parent/Professional Conference with Mathew Cohen- Sandy Brickner discussed details of conference with the group. Julie passed around draft copy of flyer and registration brochure. A working potluck lunch will be held on February 25th at 11:00 at Julie Gundy’s home to assemble folders and work on conference details.
Speaker-After working through most of the agenda and much discussion, the group broke from business and listened to a very informative presentation by Karen Meyer, Coordinator of Disability Services, OSU, Lima. Karen spoke on strategies for planning a successful transition from high school to college for students with disabilities. Karen distributed several great handouts, including a resource book of helpful and practical information for students, their families, and professionals.
VI. New Business: Kay shared samples and order blanks for our own custom embroidered, reasonably priced “STARS” apparel. Kay will order and arrange for the set-up cost from our treasury. We will reimburse Kay for our individual items
VII. Adjournment – meeting adjourned after orders were taken for “Star Wears”
May the force be with us!
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Kayser
MIDEAST REGIONAL MEETING
HOSTED BY: Nordonia Hills City
School’s Parent Mentor, Kitty Boylan
Present: Kitty Boylan, Amy Dell’Anno,
Gale Love, Becky Millsap, Cindy Putnam, Becky Thomas, Tami Vandygriff, Melissa
Jarvis, Sandy Craft, Robin Howard, Barb Greenwald, Diane Rudzitis, Susan Foley
Absent: Vicky Vidmar, Georgeanne
Pinter, Cathy Douglas, Kim Lance, Jeanne Schmidlin, and Sandie Cooper
New Council representative needed for next year – we discussed who would be
interested in filling Cathy Douglas’ spot.
Melissa Jarvis and Becky Thomas
are considering.
GOVERNOR’S EDUCATION INSTITUTE:
Amy Dell’Anno, Brunswick’s Parent Mentor, reported on her involvement
with this institute and what Francis Strickland is looking to accomplish
regarding Governor Strickland’s vision for education.
She reported that 88 people were involved the Spring Institute and that
700-800 were to convene in Columbus to continue the mission of implementing the
Governor’s vision for a more competitive education system in Ohio.
PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR: We discussed any
regional events that we might like to coordinate for next year.
Travel was an issue for most of us.
We also talked about any inspiring speakers that could present at the
Parent Mentor Fall conference. Dave
Leedy was a speaker suggested.
We planned our schedule for Regional meetings and chose a topic for the regional
training for one of those meetings.
September – Gail Love, Coventry Parent Mentor will host the 3rd
Thursday in September to be held at the Rotary Camp.
November 12th – our scheduled PAC meeting at SST8 will be our
training meeting with plans to have Dr. Depolo as our speaker.
Diane Rudzitis, Hudson’s Parent Mentor will be an alternate host if PAC
not available.
February 19th – Sandie Cooper and Amy Dell’Anno, Brunswick Parent
Mentors, will host at the Brunswick City Library.
April 16th – hosted by Stow Parent Mentors.
Project Updates: Southeast Local
Schools Parent Mentor, Sandy Craft,
announced that they hosted their annual skating party and 126 people were in
attendance. April 23rd
they will be having the Boomerang Man come and demonstrate how to use a
boomerang and participants will receive a boomerang to take home.
Field Local School’s will also being hosting the Boomerang Man on April
25th and both districts will receive a discount.
The benefit of using a boomerang is that it returns to the person
throwing it. This will be great for
all students with disabilities.
Canton City Parent Mentor: The
district is rewriting the job description for their grant and will finally be
hiring a full-time person with benefits provided.
Becky Milsap will be resigning and they are currently looking for a new
person that lives within the school district. They are hoping to have someone by
June.
Stow-Monroe Falls City Schools – Barb Greenwald reported that they recently had
a presentation by Melody Tankersley on ADHD and reported a good turn out.
Karen Majesky, from SST-8 will be discussing IEP’s on April 29th.
Hudson City Schools – Dianne Rudzitis reported having Susan Tucker talk about
Bullying for her parents. Dianne is
having Jay Berk, Ph.D. on June 3rd.
He will be speaking to parents of students in the younger grades about
including all family during the summer months.
Coventry Local Schools – Gail Love is having OCECD
representative, Karen Lyke talk about IEP’s for her parents on May 1st
from 6:00-8:30. Gail offered
information on a college living experience she came across on the internet.
Chicago is the closest to us that offers such an experience but it does
cost $30,000. She says to find out
more just to google “college living experience”.
Brunswick City Schools – Brunswick Parent Mentors, Sandie Cooper and Amy
Dell’Anno will be hosting a night with Jay Berk, Ph.D.
on May 20th at 7:00 p.m.
The topic will be “Social Skill Success” – Strategies to help with
students with social deficits. He
will also go over bullying issues.
They also offered to forward information on a cd-rom program they
purchased for their lending library titled “Social Skills – used in the
community”,
Woodridge Local and Kent City Schools – Susan Foley offered information
regarding funding source – she reported that you can apply to the Summit and
Portage County ARC for funds.
Green Local Schools – Tami Vandygriff and Melissa Jarvis had a speaker talk
about Bullying Issues and will be hosting a Transition Meeting tonight.
Mid-East Regional Parent Mentors Regional Meeting
Attendees:
Tami Vandygriff, Cathy Douglas, Melissa Jarvis, Gail Love, Kim Lance, Amy
Dell’Anno, Kitty Boylan, Sandy Craft, Jeanne Schmidlin, Susan Foley, Robin
Howard, Becky Milsap, Cindy Putnam, Becky Thomas, Diane Rudzitis, Sandy Cooper,
Barb Greenwald, Deb Bates, Mary Mertic, Leslie White
Not in Attendance:
Georgeann Pinter, Karen Lyke (ocecd)
The regional meeting was
held in Green and hosted by Tami Vandygriff and Melissa Jarvis.
Melissa handed out updated contact
listings. Also a wonderful gift of personalized note cards and notebooks were
given to each member of the region.
Thank you Melissa and Tami!!!
Barb Greenwald introduced
the new mentor hired in Stow. Barb’s
new partner is Leslie White. Welcome
Leslie, and great job on the names!
Cathy Douglas (council
rep.) gave the Parent Mentor Council update. Fall
Conference was discussed. Gary Tonks
is confirmed as our key note speaker and short break outs will be held since
they were so well received last fall.
Fall conference will be held in conjunction with Partnering for
Progress on 10/20 and 21, 2008 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Columbus.
Mary Mertic has been
hired as a Parent Mentor with TANF grant funds by the Tri-County ESC.
A new mentor was also hired in Portage County with the TANF funds.
But, that mentor is not able to cover all of the county.
Since Gabrielle Spangler is no longer with OCECD the question was asked
who would be the person assigned to Portage.
Cathy Douglas will contact Barb Rice and pass that information to the
region.
Amy Dell’Anno has been
asked by Francis Strickland to sit on the Governors Education Committee.
She will be attending a meeting in Columbus next week.
We look forward to hearing updates from Amy about Mr. Strickland’s vision
for education in Ohio. Go Amy!!!
Tami V, Cathy D and Becky
M. are participating in meetings held by OCECD for preschool parents of children
with disabilities. These meetings
will be held through out the state.
Cathy, Tami and Becky will be attending in North Canton.
Our next meeting will be
held April 17th in Nordonia.
Mid-East Regional Parent Mentors Regional Meeting
Attendees:
Tami Vandygriff, Cathy Douglas, Melissa Jarvis, Georgian Pinter, Karen
Lyke (ocecd), Gail Love, Kim Lance, Amy Dell’anno, Kitty Boylan, Sandy Craft,
Jeanne Schmidlin, Susan Foley, Robin Howard, Becky Milsap, Cindy Putnam, Becky
Thomas, Diane Rudzitis
Not in Attendance: Sandy
Cooper, Barb Greenwald, Deb Bates, and Mary Mertic
The regional meeting was
held at State Support Team Region 8 in Cuyahoga Falls.
Training began at 9:30 and was presented by Marilyn Swartz, SST Region 8
consultant. The topic: Co-Teaching
and Inclusion. Parent Mentors met
for one hour following the training beginning at 12:00.
Cathy Douglas (council
rep.) gave the Parent Mentor Council update.
Spring conference was discussed.
It was mentioned that overnight accommodations (on our own) could be
found in Delaware or Marion. Mentors
were informed of council’s decision to hold fall conference in conjunction with
Partnering for Progress on 10/20 and 21, 2008 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in
Columbus.
The Parent Mentor
Training Survey results were discussed.
As we looked over the top 10 subjects, all in attendance were in
agreement that offering a “basic class” and an “advanced class” in these
subjects would be very beneficial for new and seasoned mentors both. (For
example: Behavior planning/BIP’s/FBA/PBIS – a basic presentation would explain
these issues for new mentors – an advanced presentation would give seasoned
mentors actual strategies to implement these plans).
Also, it was suggested that longer “Question and Answer” times should be
allowed for all subjects. Some of
our best ideas/knowledge come from asking about specific scenarios and hearing
other mentors experiences answered by the experts.
As a region our #1 choice for Fall conference would be Legal Updates
presented by Anne Quinan, with a lengthy Q&A session at the end.
Also, Gary Tonks –Executive Director of The Arc of Ohio would be an ideal
speaker. Gary can speak about many
issues of interest to Parent Mentors.
It should be noted that
Power Sessions were very well received.
This format allowed enough time for each subject.
The general feeling was that 3 hours is too long for any one subject.
New Parent Mentor
Projects funded by TANIF funds were discussed.
Questions were raised as to how many districts would be interested in
1-year grants with such restrictions and how the projects would document the
financial standing of each family served.
Will the TANIF restrictions still apply to the project once the original
grant money is spent and the district is funding the project on its own?
The general feeling was this is a good way for interested districts to
start a Parent Mentor Project, but they will need to have a commitment of
continued funding from other sources.
Because of time
restraints each district checked in briefly with any comments or concerns and
the meeting was adjourned at 1:00.
Our next regional meeting
is scheduled for February 21, 2008 in Green.
MIDEAST PARENT MENTOR
REGIONAL MEETING MINUTES
The MIDEAST Parent
Mentors held their first regional meeting for the 2007/2008 school year at
Hattie’s Café in Hudson. Jeanne
Schmidlin & Susan Foley from the Kent/Woodridge project were the hosts.
Hattie’s Café is run by Hattie Larham and employs adults with
disabilities.
Introductions
were made at the start of the meeting, and we welcomed two new mentors to our
region. Robin Howard is from Field
Local Schools and shares a project with Southeast in Portage County.
Cindy Putnam is a seasoned mentor and is back this year with Canton City
Schools.
Next on our
agenda was the discussion for council reps.
Amy DellAnno will be new this year (2 yr term) and Cathy Douglas will be
taking over for Kitty Boylen (1yr).
The new Parent Mentor
guidelines were discussed.
Half time mentors hours were brought up along with a few editing errors.
Professional
Development Plan hours and timelines were confirmed.
The Fall conference topics were talked about along with our regions
presentation. The presenters will be
contacting each other before the Fall conference to discuss their agendas.
Also brought up
were the new PM grants that will be available in the near future. Council
updates related to the PM website and the PR committee’s surveys.
We we