Special Education Family Newsletter

The Special Education Family Newsletter serves to connect families with important information, deadlines, announcements, and current stories that illustrate the work of the Special Education department at Seattle Public Schools. If you have suggestions for how to improve these newsletters, please contact Emily Nitz-Ritter (Special Education Communications Specialist) at ehnitzritter@seattleschools.org.  

Announcements + Upcoming Events
A big thanks to families who were able to attend Superintendent Juneau's Listen and Learn Session on Tuesday, October 9th to share your thoughts, concerns, and experiences. We will summarize your feedback and upload it to our website. We will notify you when that document is available.
Special Education PTSA General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, October 23, 6:00 - 8:00pm at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, room 2700 - The Special Education PTSA is hosting their first general membership meeting and it is open to all parents, teachers, and students. Email SeattleSpEd@gmail.com with questions.
 
Thursday, November 1, 6:00 - 8:00pm at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, room 2700. All existing and interested Parent Partners and School-Based Parent Liaisons are encouraged to attend. If you are planning to attend this event, please reply to this email
 
Tuesday, November 6, 5:30 - 7:30pm at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence. This meeting is open to SEAAC members. If you are interested in joining SEAAC, visit our Parent Leadership webpage.  
 
Special Education Resource Fair: 
Join us for a gathering of representatives from numerous SPS departments. Use this time to ask questions, collect information, and learn face-to-face from the people who help coordinate services to support your student. Spec ial Education Directors and other staff will be onsite during this open-house style event as well, so bring your questions! Attend one or both! Childcare will be provided for both events.  
Leadership Opportunities
We are currently accepting applications for a number of parent leadership groups.
 
Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council Members (SEAAC): Apply to be a member of SEAAC
  • This group works collaboratively on systemic issues affecting SpEd
  • SpEd Department hosts and plans between five to ten meetings a year 
  • SEAAC members apply and are selected by the district 
  • Members serve as volunteers 
Parent Partners: Apply to be a Parent Partner       
  • These individuals provide private peer-to-peer support to individual families 
  • Referrals are coordinated through the SpEd Department Parent Liaison
  • Parent Partners apply, are selected, trained, and paid by the district 
School-Based Parent Liaisons: Apply to be a School-Based Parent Liaison
  • Provide a "parent-oriented" point of contact between schools, district and PTSA
  • Coordinated and managed by SpEd Department Parent Liaison 
  • School-Based Parent Liaisons apply, are selected, and trained by the district 
  • Members serve as volunteers 
  • This group provides organization and advocacy under the bylaws of Washington State PTSA 
  • They have a voice, membership, and communications independent of the district 
  • The district and SpEd PTSA Board have regularly scheduled engagement throughout the year  
Help Improve the Special Education Department Website
We are seeking input from parents/guardians, teachers and staff, and community members about the department website. Help us to organize the special education content on our website by participating in a 15 minute activity!

Celebrating Disability History Month!
One Out of Five Project
In 2008, Washington state legislature passed a law declaring October as Disability History Month. Until now, schools have created their own approaches to honor the month. One Out of Five: Disability History and Pride Project was designed by the Washington State Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) in partnership with two local educators, Adina Rosenberg and Sarah Arvey, as a guide for schools to address Disability History Month. Each school shall conduct or promote educational activities that provide instruction, awareness, and understanding of disability history and people with disabilities.
 
Reach out to Nicole Fitch at nsfitch@seattleschools.org, Director of Special Education School-based Services if you have questions.

DeafThrive 2018!
Families, students, and community members celebrated the richness and dynamism of Deaf Culture on Saturday, September 15th for DeafThrive Day. DeafThrive Day is a "family-friendly festival that brings the Deaf community together to celebrate being Deaf, and to show Seattle that we are happy, healthy, and thriving!" The event - featuring speeches, performers, activities, and resource sharing - took place in Cal Anderson Park and was attended by many Deaf and non-signing folks alike. The event is an annual celebration and one not to be missed!
 
Mayor Jenny Durkan also recognized September 15th, 2018 as DeafThrive Day. Seattle Public School students presented the official proclamation in American Sign Language. A sample of the proclamation text reads as follows: "Whereas our City's Deaf community has made incredible contributions to ensuring that Seattle continues to be an accessible, vibrant and inclusive city for all our residents [...] the City of Seattle recognizes the need for Deaf people to come together and celebrate as one, and thanks our Deaf community for their incredible and lasting contributions to our great City." We are so proud of our Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students and community!
 
Celebrating Empathy, Teamwork, Diversity, and Fitness in Unified/Partner Physical Education
Be sure to take a moment to read this Seattle Public Schools district article about the innovative and meaningful work being doing in the district around adaptive PE and fostering inclusive learning environments. If you know anyone participating in or supporting the unified/partner PE, give them a high five and congratulate them on their work!
Special Education Contacts
Please visit our special education staff directory for up-to-date contact information.
Anonymous Feedback Form
The Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council (SEAAC) invites you to submit comments and concerns that you have about special education services in Seattle Public Schools using the anonymous feedback form.
Easy Access to Information for All Families in Seattle Public Schools
To ensure information is accessible for all families in Seattle Public Schools, the district has methods for community members to request communications assistance for district sponsored programs, events and activities. These services will be provided in an accessible format at no cost to the requester.

Seattle Public Schools Department of Special Education

2445 3rd Ave. S. Seattle 98134
206-252-0000