Princeton Public Schools Special Education PTO

03/17/2019

Lots of great information in the March newsletter - take a look:

With the last bit of snow still on the ground, it's hard to believe that we're approaching Spring Break!  Over the coming months, we have planned several events that we hope will be helpful to you and your families.  We are especially excited about our NEW "Coffee Talk" series, and our PTO spe...

10/17/2018

Join us on November 1st @ 7pm in the JW Learning Commons to meet the candidates for the Princeton Public School Board of Directors. Ask questions, learn more about their perspectives and support for special education services in our district.

10/02/2018

Here is a link to our October newsletter. It is full of great information. Please subscribe if you don't already get it, just email [email protected].

Each year, we strive to provide a number of meaningful events to enhance communication and collaboration within our community.

04/25/2018

Transition Planning: "Introducing Me" Document - Parent Workshop

Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Princeton Public Library, 2nd floor study room
Spring is a season of transitions and whether planning for the next academic year or getting ready for summer activities, the "Introducing Me" document can help your child succeed in their new class or camp. We are very excited to involve you in this parent-driven, school-supported initiative! We believe this document is a profoundly important step to helping our children become better self-advocates. At our parent workshop on April 25th, the SPED PTO will share templates and best practices for creating and sharing the "Introducing Me" document.

Please RSVP in advance to Jen Heuson at [email protected].

What is the "Introducing Me" document? Beginning last summer, the PTO hosted several workshops to help parents (with students of any age who receive Special Education services) create an "Introducing Me" document for their child.

A concise "Introducing Me" document can help to make transitions smoother from year to year and from class to class by listing key information about a child that is important for teachers to know. For example, parents might briefly outline important safety and health information as well as include a few key points to help the teacher better understand and connect more quickly with the student. While the "Introducing Me" document is most helpful to staff at the beginning of the school year, it is also useful to share with summer camp and clubs staff, as well as other caregivers throughout the year.

Please note that the "Introducing Me" document is not intended to replace the IEP in any way; rather it is to serve as a helpful at-a-glance tool that lists the most critical things parents want their team to know about their child.

04/20/2018

Katie Curran - Positive Psychology - How can we help our children to build optimism and resilience?

Thursday, May 3, 2018, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Littlebrook Elementary School Cafeteria

Katie Curran, Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) and founder of Strengths-Based Behavior Consulting, will present practical tips on how to enhance the well-being of our children and help them to flourish at school and beyond.
This is a community event.

All students and parents are welcome to attend

To get the most out of the talk, please take the Values in Action Character Survey to understand who you are at your best. All teachers in the district and many students have done the same. Being aware of our strengths is step one, exploring your strengths is step two, and mindfully applying them is the end goal! You will hear lots about the science of character strengths on May 3. If you have any questions about the survey, feel free to email our speaker at [email protected]

Start the survey here: http://www.viacharacter.org/

Co-Sponsored by Princeton Special Education PTO and Princeton High School PTO.

VIA Character develops character strengths and signature strengths for individuals seeking personal growth and training for management consultants and life coaches.

03/17/2018

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

The Problem with Punishment:
Restorative Justice and Equity in School Discipline
Thursday, April 12, 7PM, John Witherspoon Middle School Auditorium

Many schools across the nation are experiencing persistently high rates of suspension and expulsion for students of color and students with special needs. At the same time, schools are actively seeking ways to transform how they elicit student cooperation, manage conflict, and ensure a high-quality education for diverse students. Renowned national expert Dr. Anne Gregory will offer a synthesis of the latest knowledge about reform efforts in school discipline and highlight programming to prevent conflict and intervene constructively once a conflict has occurred. Specifically, she will describe the basic tenets of restorative justice initiatives in schools and the practices of community-building circles and restorative conferences.

Co-sponsored by Princeton Public Schools, Princeton Special Ed PTO, Princeton High School PTO, John Witherspoon Middle School PTO, Committed & Faithful Princetonians, Not in Our Town Princeton, Princeton Civil Rights Commission, Princeton Youth Advisory Committee and Minority Student Achievement Network.

03/02/2018

We have a lot of great information in our recent newsletter: events, scholarship opportunities, and more!

The three main goals of the PPS Special Education PTO are to build community, enhance communication, and bolster collaboration - both within the special education community and the Princeton community at large.  To that end, each year, we strive to offer valuable and relevant events related to topi...

02/28/2018

JOIN US ON TUESDAY, MARCH 6 @ 7:45am IN THE PHS PAC - MERCER COUNTY TECHNICAL SCHOOL INFORMATION SESSION:

Learn more about the opportunities for high school students at Mercer County Technical School. Meet with Lori Perlow, Admissions Office and Community Liaison, and Tom Filippone, PHS liaison for MCTS. This session is sponsored by the Special Education PTO and the discussion will be oriented toward this community; however, we welcome all parents to come and hear the presentation and to ask questions.

01/19/2018

Click through for overview of what's been happening, and what's to come in 2018.

Happy New Year! We hope you and your family enjoyed the winter holidays and that you and your family returned to the school year rested and renewed.

01/09/2018

Thank you to the Princeton High School Tower Team especially Mindy Li for her wonderful article about the Special Education PTO and the work we are doing to promote advocacy and better diversity in the books we read in our libraries. Jen K***z, PHS Case Worker, decribes the program she is running to help high schoolers who have IEPs better advocate for themselves. Great quote Jen!

Special Education Parent Teacher Organization creates avenues for representation December 22, 2017 · By Mindy Li (Staff Writer)graphic by Caroline TanVarious community members have been working on several ongoing projects to help special needs students within Princeton, including an initiative to d...

11/15/2017

The PPS SPED PTO is currently focused on a number of initiatives to support differently-abled students’ abilities to self-advocate. For our youngest students, self-advocacy begins with self-awareness and social communication. We believe that by providing young children the language and narratives to communicate their experiences we will make them more self-aware and better able to communicate their needs with others. In an attempt to ensure that every child can tell their story, we are working in collaboration with the Princeton Public Schools Special Education and Language Arts departments to diversify our elementary school libraries to include more stories and characters with physical, neurological, emotional-social, or learning differences.

Please help us by filling out our survey and recommending books. Below is the link to our survey.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Web survey powered by SurveyMonkey.com. Create your own online survey now with SurveyMonkey's expert certified FREE templates.

10/24/2017

Thank you, The Princeton Packet, for covering our candidate forum: "At a forum that the Special Education PTO had sponsored, the questions for the night centered on special education, with some candidates sharing how they can relate to the struggles parents might face."

The six candidates for Princeton school board on Thursday offered no areas of disagreement with one another or with the direction of the school district, in their last joint appearance