Mount Vernon City School District holds special education meet-and-greet

Parents filed into the auditorium at Rebecca Turner Academy to meet Special Education Department staff, Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) staff, and hear more about how the Mount Vernon City School District can support their children’s success. Parents also learned about different resources they can use at the meet-and-greet, which was held on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.

“The purpose of today was for the families to connect with and know who the PPS Special Education team is – the team that will be supporting their students,” said Michelle McKitty-Bromley, Director of Pupil Personnel Services. “We are also getting the information out about other parent workshops, and we want to connect with families and make the school connection stronger.”

The first parent workshop, “Helping Your Child With Vocabulary,” will be held on October 16. There will also be transition workshops on the New York State Alternate Assessment and parent counseling training for students with autism during the school year. 

The meet-and-greet began with an introduction from Corrine Lewack, who is a secretary for the PPS Department and on the executive board of the Mount Vernon Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA). She explained what SEPTA is and encouraged parents to get involved. She also discussed certain special education initiatives, such as the annual District-wide Autism Awareness Day, which parents can volunteer to help with.

The first SEPTA meeting of the school year will be at Pennington School on Monday, September 23, at 5:30 p.m. SEPTA members set up a table on the side of the auditorium to share information with parents and help them sign up for SEPTA.

Parents were also introduced to each of the special education supervisors and Dr. Kellie Ramsey, Director of Student Support Services, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Compliance. She went over important information about special education and reviewed the District website with the families to show them how to find resources that can support their children’s education.

“I hope to learn more information about the special education program and how it will assist our child in moving forward in his future,” said Christopher Garwood, father of Caden Garwood, a kindergarten student at Graham School. “I want to meet a couple people that will assist in him moving forward and learn what kind of programs they offer in the District.” 

Special education teachers from the District also attended the meeting and spoke with parents afterwards to discuss how they can support their children. 

“I think it’s important for parents to be involved in their child’s academic success and goals because it really is a collaborative effect, so that we can see the most progress with the children,” said Leandra Furchi, Speech and Language Pathologist at Mount Vernon Leadership Academy. “I think working together allows for carryover to occur and generalization of skills. Having parents involved and actively participating really creates better outcomes of success for the children.” 

After the initial presentation, parents spoke with different members of the special education team and asked them questions.