April 7: The final Superintendent Special Education Council meeting began with Miriam Wall, a JP Schools social worker, presenting on two programs called Rethink and Second Step. These programs focus on meeting the needs of the special education population regarding broadcast and communication skills, how to ask questions, calming strategies, identifying feelings, social emotional learning, and emotion regulation. 

The council members then participated in an ice breaker activity called Me Too, where the group read comments and whomever shared similarities, would step forward and say Me Too. Examples of some questions were: 

• Are you a coffee or tea person? 
• What is your biggest fear?
• If you could have anyone over for dinner, who would it be?
• What kind of music do you like? 
• Are you a morning person or a night owl? 

Followed by the ice breaker activity, the council broke into two focus groups to discuss the IEP process in terms of what works well and what could be done better or differently. 

The meeting concluded with Superintendent Dr. James Gray addressing the members by reiterating how important these councils are by bringing people together from unique backgrounds to hear their diverse perspective and allow for two way communications. Dr. Gray then took questions from the group, and parents thanked  Dr. Gray for the opportunity to meet and allowing them to speak authentically about their experiences. 

February 9: The second Superintendent's Special Education Council began with a welcome and introduction from AJ Pethe, Chief of Schools.

The council was introduced to Paulette Fairchilld, Director of IDEA, and she began the meeting with a  team building activity called Know Your Why. The council was shown a video excerpt from a public speaker who spoke about the power of knowing your why. The council members were then instructed to think about their personal why, why they applied to be on this council group, and what their purpose was. A quote displayed that read “When you know your why, your what has more impact because you’re walking in or towards your purpose” was displayed during the activity. 

The council directed their attention to Dr. Rosemary Kerrin, a speaker who presented from the district’s Autism Support Team, where she explained the roles of the team and the support offered. The Autism Support Team’s focus is to provide support for students, schools, and families. They provide professional development for special education teachers through school visits, consultations, and modeling of materials and strategies. She also reviewed the goals of the support team which is to support students and families, be proactive with strategies for all students, and have multidisciplinary perspectives for problem solving. 

The meeting concluded with a message from Dr. Gray. “We have needs in our district, but they will not be fixed instantly,” he said. ”I want you to be able to say that there is a stark contrast from where we were from the beginning of the year to where we are now. Your children are our children, and because they have such a unique set of needs, we are here to provide extra support to help them be successful.” 

To offer context, Dr. Gray alo informed the council of some specific plans underway to address student mental and emotional health. Dr. Gray informed the council that the district is partnering with external mental health providers, hiring 11 additional external mental health providers, 117 JP social workers currently staffed, and hiring four additional external bilingual mental health providers. 

The group then engaged in rapid fire topics. Concerns shared included: 

• More professional development for special education teachers
• The need for schools to host an FAQ session for parents with questions regarding IEP’s

December 16: The Superintendent’s Special Education Council was led by Ajit “AJ” Pethe, Chief of Schools. Mr. Pethe opened the meeting by introducing Paulette Fairchild, Director of IDEA for JP Schools. 

After reviewing the meeting outcomes, the council members were asked to answer survey questions regarding how familiar they were with special education laws. The group was then shown a presentation on policies and procedures for special education students. Following the presentation, council members were provided information that explained where they could locate resources pertaining to special education policies and guidelines. After these resources were shared, the council members were asked to share areas of improvement regarding ways to better serve special education students. The areas of improvement were as follows: 

• Educate parents on how to read an IEP
• Find ways to make the IEP process less daunting and intimidating for parents 
• Implement more supportive messaging for special education 
• Divert more attention to parents of special education children who are unable to read, need larger print, are in need of interpretation, or are in need of computer access 
• Continue to partner with community partners such as Oschner 
• Provide more positive feedback to parents on the progress of their child 

The council then turned their focus to a discussion regarding social and emotional support.. Monique Soignet, Director of Family and Social Services, spoke to the council about social and emotional health and played a video that helped lay the groundwork for ways in which special education teachers can intentionally create learning experiences that help others become lifelong learners of social and emotional health.

The council meeting concluded when Dr. Gray spoke to the group about some of the issues raised at the meeting. 

2020-21 Special Education Council Members

• Jennifer Chastant
• Urania Chong
• Windy Hassan
• Della Hunter
• Mary Jacob
• Kaye Morrison
• Laura Nata
• Michele O'Steen
• Rana Ottallah
• Tara Rosenkranz
• Phyllis Tassin-Rogers
• Anayansi Torres

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2020-21 Special Education Council Recaps

April 13: At the fourth and final meeting of the Superintendent’s Special Education Council meeting, AJ Pethe, Chief of Schools, opened the meeting and welcomed the group. He then introduced Paulette Fairchild, who was recently hired as the Director of IDEA, to lead the group in a team building activity.

Then, Judy Weekley and Pam Allen, IEP Coordinators, led focus groups to discuss the process of IEP’s, and how we utilize those meetings to ensure students with an identified disability receive specialized instruction and services. As with many of our services, the pandemic and inability to meet with families in person presented unique challenges to the IEP meetings. Our special education employees have had to go above and beyond to communicate with virtual families using alternative methods, such as virtual meetings and phone calls. During the focus groups, we learned of some effective strategies being implemented that supportIEP compliance. From this discussion, the district will work to incorporate these strategies into the IEP process to ensure they are consistently and appropriately applied.

Next, Darvell Edwards, Executive Director of Special Programs, and Terri Trahan, Executive Director of Compliance and Pupil Appraisal, presented to the group the Expulsion Hearing/Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) Process.

At the end of the meeting, Superintendent Dr. James Gray thanked the group for their time and invaluable insight. He summed up the importance of these councils in two ways: (1) they provide a lens into the work we’re doing at the district level, and (2) the insights gained truly help to shape the work we do.

February 11: At the third Superintendent’s Special Education Council meeting, AJ Pethe, Chief of Schools, opened the meeting with an inspirational video and team building activity on the importance of shared leadership. When geese fly in formation, their flight range is extended by 77%. Similarly, when we tackle hard tasks together and embrace interdependence, we are more effective and can better support our students, teachers and support employees.

Council members then participated in a focus group discussion centered around virtual learning and curriculum. The insights gleaned from the Focus Group will be shared with the Teaching & Learning department to improve instruction. Focus group questions included:

• What is the biggest challenge to virtual learning for their children?
• How can the district support all stakeholders in helping children to be successful virtually?
• What is the biggest challenge for them in relation to curriculum?
• What would Tier 1 curriculum support for all stakeholders look like?

The general consensus from the Council is that virtual learning would benefit from additional technology and support for teachers, flexibility for families, and an understanding/nurturing approach to help students stay positive and engaged. Insights gleaned from the Focus Group will be shared with the Teaching & Learning department to improve instruction. 

Germaine Gilson, Chief of District Affairs, led a discussion focused on the 2021-22 academic calendar. First and foremost, we want to develop a calendar that is student, teacher and family centered. Listed below are some other points taken into consideration when creating the Academic Calendar.

• Reduces the summer learning slide 
• Provides frequent breaks, while eliminating mid-week breaks to the extent possible 
• Provide opportunities for district professional development
• Adheres to the required 63,720 instructional minutes
• Honors the 183 teacher contract days

The Council discussed factors that can impact the calendar, including Parent/Teacher conferences. With the increased use of technology, the group would like to see Parent/Teacher meetings spread throughout the week to aid scheduling. Additionally, there is an opportunity to incorporate intersession days to offer targeted interventions for students and professional development for teachers. Following the meeting, the group provided formal feedback on the 2021-22 Academic Calendar to be considered by the calendar committee.

Dr. Gray ended the meeting by addressing the group with an update on District and State initiatives.  Recently, the Louisiana Department of Education released its Believe to Achieve educational priorities. This plan aligns closely with the goals we have set forth as a District in 2024: The Future Our Kids Deserve. Dr. Gray also drilled home on the importance of our Career and Technical Education programs to ensure students graduate career and college ready. 

December 17: The second meeting of the Superintendent’s Special Education Council focused on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know this year has been challenging for everyone, and there is a critical need for additional student support. 

Edna Metcalf, Executive Director of Health and Human Services led a discussion on mental health and how we can better support students. Some of the suggestions made by the group included:

• Build in breathing exercises 
• Make sure we’re catching potential issues through preventative services 
• Above all, ensure we are allowing students to learn through difficult times
• Provide support that addresses individual needs and are age appropriate

Then, Monique Soignet, Director of Family and Social Services, gave an overview of the current mental health services offered by Jefferson Parish Schools, including:

• School-based mental health services, groups and individual counseling
• School-based health centers at designated schools
• Trauma-informed social workers and SPED social workers at designated schools
• Trauma informed training 
• Universal screening to support all students
• Mental Health leadership team

The District also presented an overview of the COVID-19 Impact Services and Support. 

November 11: At the first Superintendent’s Special Education Council meeting of the year, members laid the groundwork to help set the agenda for future meetings. Following a get to know you session with Superintendent Dr. James Gray, members discussed the big picture of what's working and what could be improved in regards to special education. The implications of virtual learning was a common theme, and the group felt there were both advantages and challenges with this instructional model. Summarized below are some of the challenges and successes of virtual learning noted by the group.  

Successes of Virtual Instruction

• Eliminated social pressures and decreased bullying 
• Creation of a sustainable “technology structure”
• Increased independence with student-driven learning
• Increased ability to multitask
• Eliminated distractions
• Increased communication with parents
• Guides students to adapt to change

Challenges Of Virtual Instruction

• Virtual special education students have “virtual fatigue,” and feel disconnected from teachers and peers
• Difficulty providing accommodations
• Benchmark data skewed because of additional help from parents 
• Language access - ESL and ASL
• Visual impaired - access to virtual
• One on one with students - can’t private chat or talk one on one
• Children being left alone
• Multitasking during virtual - some students can’t multitask successfully and get off-task
• Internet issues/computer issues
• Parents who are not tech savvy are not able to help students
• Expectation for parents
• Attendance

Suggestions For Improvement

• Develop opportunities to engage with dynamic content
• Not teaching virtual and hybrid concurrently
• More virtual extracurricular programs
• Smaller teacher caseloads
• IEP tailored for virtual instruction
• 1:1 - specific job descriptions tailored for virtual instruction 
• Helpline for parents, build a connection team
• Workshops for parents on curriculum and instruction
• More chromebook availability for schools
• Better school communication
• Safety - background

The Superintendent’s Council meetings provide valuable insights to inform and improve our decisions at the district level. We will continue to share these recaps with you to ensure we are all working towards our shared goal of delivering the best outcomes for the students of Jefferson Parish.

• Juanita Bailey
• Denise Chan
• Jenenne Coulon
• Felice Glapion
• Alistare Harris-Turner
• Mary Jacob
• Heather Katicich
• Gina Maher
• Diedra Miller
• Laura Nata
• Desirae Norman
• Rana Ottallah
• Sherman Rogers
• Santa Santos
• Lacey Seymour
• Scott Spinnato

• Michelle Allen
• Rebekah Becker
• Denise Carpenter
• Denise K. Chan
• Jenenne Coulon
• Felice Glapion
• Meg Griffon
• Alisare Harris-Turner
• Mary Jacob
• Heather Katicich
• Dr. Deidre Louis
• Gina Maher
• Diedra Miller
• Laura Nata
• Desirae Norman
• Rana Ottallah
• Sherman Rogers
• Santa Santos
• Lacey Seymour
• Brandi Taylor