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Devising Seminar Task Force

As part of the review of Special Education supports and services, the Greenwich Public Schools will be partnering with Key2Ed to pilot a process called “Devising Seminars.”  This process will hopefully assist the District in identifying areas, programs, or services, where there appears to be a high degree of conflict and disputes, and then to work with representative stakeholders to identify possible solutions for the issues creating conflict.  While this process has been used successfully in municipalities, Greenwich will be the first school district to use the strategies in education/special education.  These meetings are inclusive of representatives from all the Stakeholder groups in the District with an interest and a stake in special education programs. The discussions will be facilitated by a neutral facilitator from Key2Ed.  Information from the Task Force will be shared across the District special education community. 

Task Force:
Toni Jones – Superintendent (BOE Administration)
Mary P. Forde – Chief PPS Officer (BOE Administration)
Ann Carabillo – Deputy Superintendent (BOE Administration)
Suzanne Coyne – Assistant Principal (Western Middle School)
Patricia Estafano – Special Education Parent/PreK (PTA)
Jennifer Kutai – Special Education Parent/Elementary (PTA)
Audra O’Donovan – Special Education Parent/Middle School (PTA)
Anna Ksiazak – Special Education Parent/High School/GHS+ (PTA)
Cricket Dyment – Parent (PTA)
Gillian Thompson – Special Education Teacher (Greenwich High School)
Cindy Boucard – Special Education Teacher (New Lebanon School)
Jessica McEvily – Psychologist (GPS Central Office)
Vikki Cappiali – General Education Teacher (North Street School)
Luis Velazquez – Supervisor (Abilis)
Alan Barry – Director of Human Services (Town of Greenwich)
Joyce Little – Facilitator (Key2Ed) - About Dr. Little
Cassie Velasquez – Facilitator (Key2Ed) - About Ms. Velasquez


 

Committee Meetings/Agendas/Minutes

 
Date Time Notice / Agenda Minutes
November 18, 2019 6:00 pm Notice / Agenda

DRAFT Minutes

Key2Ed Devising Seminar Report

February 19, 2020 6:00pm Notice / Agenda Minutes
March 25, 2020 6:00pm Notice / Agenda  
October 12, 2020 6:00pm   Minutes

 

 

 

Information for Devising Seminar Interview Sign-up

As part of the review of Special Education supports and services, the Greenwich Public Schools is partnering with Key2Ed to pilot a process called “Devising Seminars.”  This process intends to assist the district in identifying areas, programs, or services, where there appears to be a high degree of conflict and disputes, and then to work with representative stakeholders to identify possible solutions for the issues creating conflict.  While this process has been used successfully in municipalities, Greenwich will be the first school district to use the strategies in education/special education.  These meetings are inclusive of representatives from all the Stakeholder groups in the District with an interest and a stake in special education programs. The discussions will be facilitated by a neutral facilitator from Key 2Ed.  Information from the Task Force will be shared across the District special education community.

The second component of the Devising Seminar process involves a series of anonymous, individual interviews with volunteer stakeholders regarding their impressions of the results and findings of the Task Force. Stakeholder interviews will be conducted to gather additional insights into the challenges in the District across the 3 areas that the Task Force identified:

  • Interventions (RTI/MTSS);
  • Evaluation/assessments and the PPT meeting process; and
  • IEP implementation.

Information from the interviews will be collated and shared with the interviewees to check for accuracy. Then the information from the interviews will be shared with the District administration.  District administration, with the assistance of the Key2Ed facilitators, will identify no more than 2 or 3 challenges to target with ideas specifically designed to reduce disputes and conflict within the special education community and the District.

Interviews will be conducted at the Hyatt Hotel in Greenwich during the week of January 13-17.  The current schedule should accommodate approximately 80-100 interviews.  Telephone interviews and/or additional dates may be considered if interview requests exceed our current plan.  Please follow the directions below to sign up for an interview opportunity.

Website: https://www.picktime.com/key2ed