Ability: Special Education Unlocked, LLC

07/21/2021

Today was a great day! Today, the work began. Today, and everyday, the Stafford Springs school district will move with intention and purpose as we work together to annihilate any behavior, practice or policy that does, or could, support systematic racial oppression within our public school system. Today, Stafford Public School Equity & Inclusion Coalition got to work, and I am honored to Co-Chair along side the highly esteemed, Steven A. Moccio, The Superintendent of Schools, & Steven M. Autieri, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Our focus, our purpose, is to use our knowledge and skillsets to help create a school culture and climate, where every student and staff member is: seen, heard, and respected through intentional policies, behavior and practices that respect their existence.

Best Regards,

Sonia Taylor-Smith, M.A., Educational Psych., B.A.,L.A.
Educational Consultant, President & Founder of The Stafford Springs Diversity Coalition

03/01/2021

Thank you so much Stafford Veterinary Center for showing our community some love, by choosing to collect and donate to our pantry! Our community works better when we work to support one another!

Please, if you are in-need, please only take what is needed and pass the word! The pantry is located right outside of the police station.

Please, consider donating when and where you can. Drop-off locations are located at Stafford Veterinary Center on: 27 Buckley Hwy, in Stafford Springs, CT.

And, at: Alpine Tree Co. on: 182 W Stafford Rd, Stafford Springs, CT.

02/10/2021

Today’s Stafford Community Family Pantry’s fill-up is courtesy of Willington Name Plate and Alpine Tree Co. Their direct contribution and collection is the reason why Ability: Special Education Unlocked can continue providing this very valuable service to a community we reside in and deeply care about. Willington Name Plate and Alpine Tree Co. have committed to help us help others, as community members, we each believe community starts at home.

The pantry is located at Stafford Springs Police Station, adjacent to the Ice Cream Depot. Our policy is simple, if you need it, please take only what you need and pass the word so that we can continue to be a service provider to those in-need.

Respectfully,

Sonia Taylor-Smith

01/18/2021

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t lose his life, it was taken from him. Which is why we chose the first image of him in a casket, we won’t romanticize the brutality of his murder.

His life’s work is literally why we work in the field of special education (that the field even exists). Special education was born out of The Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement and the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision which extended equal protection under the law to minorities, paved the way for similar gains for those with disabilities.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we humbly stand on your shoulders, and all those that came before us.

Because of you, we can...

12/30/2020

These two very generous businesses are aiding us in our cause, their donations to our Stafford Community Family Pantry helps us support families that need it within our community!

The warmest of wishes,

Alpine Tree Company, on behalf of The Stafford Community Family Pantry, would like to send a HUGE, ENORMOUS, HEARTFELT 💚🌟THANK YOU🌟💚 to Willington Nameplate and their incredible team of generous employees!
This month, the employees donated food participating in a reverse Advent calendar. Each day, items were added and The Stafford Community Family Pantry was gifted that MASSIVE donation totaling over 💥 500 POUNDS 💥 of non-perishable food.
In our commitment to continually support the pantry, and those it serves, we are proud to match this donation along with everything else donated this month!
Willington Nameplate and their entire crew embody the generosity of spirit both professionally and personally and we are honored to know them and partner with them. Thank you would never be enough, but please help us to thank them, and recognize the good they are doing in our beautiful community.





Alpine Line Striping

06/12/2020

A federal court judge ruled that the state of Connecticut must continue to provide services to special education students until they turn 22 years old and anything less “constitutes...

06/09/2020

Alpine Tree Company, Stafford Springs, CT

Civil servants come in many forms, and choosing to be “a lifeline” to those that need it is the maker of a humanitarian, and a true civil servant.

Quietly, for a few years, Alpine Tree Company, has asked me, how can I help? Not just during the holidays, when many are more conscientious of giving, but year around, when that conscientiousness begins to fade. During the onset of COVID-19, they chose to take the initiative and began soliciting donations, because with the mandatory shutdowns of businesses (including this one), my Community Food Pantry could not satiate the potential influx of needs. Alpine understands that my business doesn’t have the means to be the sole supporter of my community pantry, which is why I frequently illicit the support of local residences and businesses.

On March 25, 2020, Alpine’s mission to help, once again, was launched.
They did an “open call” for the collection of nonperishable foods and personal hygiene items for my pantry, and they chose to go one step farther, they generously offered to match it item-for-item. But, it didn’t stop there, they offered their space as a drop-off location, in-addition to sanitizing the items before adding it to the pantry themselves. This. This. This, is what humanitarianism looks and feels like.

This business has pledged a support like no other. Their drive is to be of service, to be a lifeline to our fellow brothers and sisters that may need it in the community. The manifestation of that commitment lead to the collections you see in the photos below (and they pledge to match the items in these photos, every: can, box, bag, jar...etc...), and the monetary donations in the amount of $390 for me to use to help sustain the pantry in the future.

Alpine, thank you for seeing me, my efforts, and seeing our community and its needs. I am so deeply moved by the type of business, people, you are and choose to be.

With deep respect,

Sonia Taylor-Smith, M.A., Educational Psych., B.A., L.A.
Education Consultant
Ability: Special Education Unlocked, LLC
‪(860)-558-4738‬

04/24/2020

Everyday heroes are the ones that choose to aid others during their time of need; Alpine Tree Co. LLC ‘s dedication in aiding us by doing exactly that makes them our heroes. Numerous times, throughout the years, Alpine has shown-up and stepped-up in partnering with Ability: Special Education Unlocked; making a difference within our community by helping us serve those that need it. Please help us in our mission to be a resource for children and their families; it doesn’t take much, a can here, an extra box there, in the life of a family in-need, you will make the difference and be the reason that a family has the opportunity to eat.

Everyday heroes rely on other heroes, together we can all be the change we want to see. At Ability, we believe in being an ally to others, and in order to accomplish that, we need you. So please, pass the word, because some families are literally depending on it...❤️ 

Respectfully,

Sonia Taylor-Smith, M.A., Educational Psych., B.A., L.A.
Education Consultant
Ability: Special Education Unlocked, LLC
(860)-558-4738

04/14/2020

Not every child will be just fine until things are back to normal; some students will regress, and a significant amount of the academic, social and emotional gains they experienced will be lost and/or significantly diminished.

Many educators want what is best for your child, and despite that desire, they may not be placed in a position to give them what they actually need to achieve that. That is where Ability: Special Education Unlocked comes in; we help ensure that your child’s needs comes first, and that those that are obligated to meet those needs do so.

If simply providing work to your child allowed them to access the curriculum successfully, s/he would have not have qualified for special education, and be entitled to all the supports and services they require to meet success. Special education law guarantees legal protection to those that it services, and we are here to hold them to that.

Respectfully,

Sonia Taylor-Smith, M.A., Educational Psych., B.A., L.A.
Education Consultant
Ability: Special Education Unlocked, LLC
‪(860)-558-4738‬

03/27/2020

We need you, that’s right you, and it’s never been so easy to help! Please, be patient when reading this, I promise you it’s worth it, because it matters to those that need you!

Alpine Tree Company (located on 182 W Stafford Rd, Stafford, CT 06076 in Stafford Springs) reached out to us in an effort to help us provide aid to our Family Community Pantry (located on 2 Main St, Stafford Springs, adjacent to the police station) for the many desperate families within our community that have been forced into unemployment in an effort to contain Covid-19, as a result, many families are not in a position to buy: essential foods, infant supplies, personal hygiene products and pet supplies for their day-to-day survival. Alpine Tree Company has offered to match every donation to our pantry through the end of April, and that isn’t even the best part yet! Alpine Tree Company is accepting donations at their location, arranging for pickup for those that are unable to travel to donate (860)-871-3077(curb side, as a way to maintain social distancing).

Your extra can good(s), pasta box(es), canned pet food(s)...etc., can be the difference between a family eating a meal, or going without. If you have it to spare, let us help those that have very little during these tumultuous times. Please, no donation is too small, because collectively, we can all be the change we want to see. Pease share and pass the word, our families are relying on you!

Respectfully,

Sonia Taylor-Smith, M.A., Educational Psych., B.A., L.A.
Education Consultant
Ability: Special Education Unlocked, LLC
(860)558-4738

03/20/2020

Hello,

Our country is experiencing turbulent times, and during this crisis, the welfare of our students should be first and foremost. Many districts are scrambling to provide students with home-based learning, and within this population reside some of our most academically fragile students, whom require specialized education just to access what’s being taught. Understanding the complexities that “teaching” doesn’t necessarily equate to one’s undersanding of what is been taught is frightening.

Families that have students that receive special education and the necessary supports know that simply giving a student instructional materials, and “going over it” doesn’t facilitate learning, because if it did, that student would not need special educational services to access learning.

So, if you have a child that is currently being provided with remote learning, and “packets of schoolwork” to teach them remotely, they may still be denied “a free and appropriate public education (FAPE),” that is guaranteed to them by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA).

As an Education Consultant, my job is to make sure your child has what they need to succeed.

Due to the economic state that many small businesses are finding themselves in, including myself, I still believe in being the change I want to see in this world. I have decided to accept payment plans, because you shouldn’t have to choose between eating and meeting your child’s needs.

Respectfully,

Sonia Taylor-Smith, M.A., Educational Psych., B.A., L.A.
Education Consultant
Ability: Special Education Unlocked, LLC

11/25/2019

The best thing I’ve ever done in my life, believe in myself; this single act, which was no easy feat, gave me the power to believe in others with a depth that enables me to see someone’s soul, and extend a hand...❤️

At Ability, we believe one of the greatest gifts you can give a child is the belief you place within them.

Respectfully,

Sonia Taylor-Smith