Our office hours are  Monday – Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.
If you would like to stop by the office, please call 617-206-4570 to make an appointment or confirm that a staff member will be present when you come.

Grove Hall Branch Library 41 Geneva Ave., Dorchester, MA

Thursday, March 18th, 5:30-7:30pm: Topic TBA
Thursday, April 8th, 5:30-7:30pm: Rosie D.: What Parents Need to Know
Saturday, March 27th:10:00-2:00pm: New Intensive Workshop: Special Ed and your Basic Rights and Understanding Your Child’s IEP Part I&II
Thursday, May 13th: 5:30am-7:30pm: Topic TBA

Mattapan Branch Library 13590 Blue Hill Ave., Mattapan, MA

Saturday, April 17th:  10:00am-2:00pm: New Intensive Workshop: Special Ed and your Basic Rights and Understanding Your Child’s IEP Part I and II
Saturday, May 22nd:  10:00am-2:00pm: Transition Planning

Parker Hill Branch Library 1497 Tremont Street, Roxbury, MA

Saturday, April 10th, 9:30-1:30pm: New Intensive Workshop: Understanding Your Basic Rights and Understanding Your Child’s IEP Parts I and II

To Register:  call 617-206-4570 ext. 304 or email info@urbanpride.org
Registration is FREE, but Limited!

Dinner, ASL, and Spanish interpretation and childcare will be provided, but you must register in advance!

This afternoon, the House passed H.R. 4247, formerly known as “Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act” in a vote of 262-153. The bill seeks to create Federal standards that limit the use of restraints and seclusions on children in schools receiving Federal funding.

On suspension of the House rules, the House took up floor debate of HR 4247, successfully renamed via amendment to “Keeping All Kids Safe Act.” Member speeches given during debate in opposition to the bill fell along three general themes – that there is insufficient data of the problem; that the issue is best left to the states for action; and that the authorized appropriations language “as may be necessary,” though paired with a cost estimate, is too ambiguous given the current Federal deficit. There were also objections to the procedural tools used to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

The House bill will next travel to the Senate HELP Committee for consideration. The Senate companion bill to H.R. 4247 has not received Committee attention to date.

To view the roll call of the vote, go to: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll082.xml

YEAS
NAYS
NV
DEMOCRATIC
238
8
7
REPUBLICAN
24
145
9
INDEPENDENT

TOTALS
262
153
16

We are posting a revised Parent’s Notice of Procedural Safeguards (English version) (PNPS) at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/prb/. This PNPS includes new wording that matches the changes made under federal law about a parent’s rights to revoke their consent for services. This PNPS replaces the April 11, 2008 English PNPS. The Department will replace the current posted translations as soon as the updated translations are available.

Under IDEA 2004 school districts must give this PNPS once per year to all parents of eligible students with disabilities. The Department recommends that school districts identify a specific date each school year when the parents of every eligible student enrolled in the district, including those in out-of-district placements, will be sent a copy of the PNPS. Districts may distribute the PNPS by mail or, if the district makes information available electronically, the parent may choose that option.

In addition to the annual distribution of the PNPS, school districts must give the PNPS to parents when an initial evaluation of a student is requested by the parent or another person; upon the parent’s request for a copy; and when a student with a disability is removed from his or her placement to an interim alternative education setting as a result of discipline.

The PNPS is currently being translated into the following nine (9) languages: Spanish; Portuguese; Haitian Creole; Vietnamese; Khmer/Khmai; Chinese; Cape Verdean; Russian; and Arabic. The translated documents will be posted as soon as possible

Summer Programs for Children
at the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts
Join Us for Weeks of Creative Fun this Summer!
Woodworking and Creative Art Programs for ages 6-8, 9-12 and 12-14
Each day is divided in half, from 9am-noon and 12:30-3:30pm, with supervised lunch between.
Register for full or half days. Each week is different, sign up for one or many.
Cost Per Week: $140 per half-day, $250 for both halves. Sibling discounts available.

June 14-18
9am-noon: Woodworking: Go-Carts (9-12) · Printmaking (9-12) · Basic Photography (12-14)
12:30-3:30pm: Woodworking: Design & Build (9-12) · Fabulous Fabric Art (9-12) · Printmaking (12-14)
      
June 21-25
9am-noon: Woodworking (6-8) · 3D Collage (9-12) · Creative Constructions (9-12)
12:30-3:30pm: Art Zone (6-8) · Woodworking (9-12) · Fantastic Photo Fun (9-12)
     
June 28-July 2
9am-noon: Paint the Town (6-8) · Woodworking (9-12) · Art Exploration (9-12)
12:30-3:30pm: Woodworking (6-8) · Big Structures (9-12) · Sewing (9-12)
    
July 5-9
9am-noon: Woodworking (6-8) · Cool Comics (9-12) · Masquerade (9-12)
12:30-3:30pm: Art Zone (6-8) · Woodworking: Wooden Boats (9-12) · Draw & Paint Outdoors (9-12)
       
August 30-September 3  Last week before school starts!
9am-noon: Art Zone (6-8) · Woodworking (9-12) · Photography: Exploring the City and Ourselves (12-14)
12:30-3:30pm: Woodworking (6-8) · Observation & Imagination (9-12) · Self-Portraits Large & Small (12-14)

www.eliotschool.org

First Round Registration ends February 5, 2010. If you haven’t registered your kindergartener, 6th or 9th grader for the 2010-2011 school year, be sure to get to a Family Resource Center and register now! Remember, it does not matter when in the first round that you register – just that you do so by February 5. All families who have registered by February 5 will enter the lottery system to determine their school assignment.

Assignment notices for families who have registered in Round One will be mailed in mid- March.Families can expect to receive a school assignment from their list, and/or be placed on a waiting list for desired schools. For more information on wait lists, please read the "Parents Want to Know" section below!

Here are the Family Resource Center locations and contact information:

East Zone Family Resource Center
1216 Dorchester Ave.; Dorchester (Behind Burger King)
617-635-8015

North Zone Family Resource Center
75 Malcolm X Blvd.; Roxbury (At playground entrance to Madison Park High School)
617-635-9010

West Zone Family Resource Center
515 Hyde Park Ave; Roslindale (near Cummings Highway)
617-635-8040

For more information regarding registration, including how to register, what to bring, and the next steps, click here.

Other registration periods begin soon! If you don’t anticipate registering for schools in Round One, you will have three other opportunities. Round Two Registration runs from February 10, 2010 through March 26, 2010. This round is open for all grades. But remember: the later you register, the less chance your child will have of being assigned to one of your top school choices.

Hello. Please join the Special Education Parents Advisory Council next Thursday, Feb 4, at 6:30 for our biggest event of the year:  A Panel on Inclusion.  This event will feature four principals from well-known inclusion schools, as well as Dr. Bill Henderson, former principal of the O’Hearn (now Henderson) School.  Superintendent Carol Johnson, members of the school committee, and city councilors will also be there.
 
Please come, bring your questions, and let everyone know how passionate we are about expanding inclusion programs in Boston!
 
PLUS:  come early at 5 for a screening of willing & able, a documentary film about the O’Hearn school model.
 
Details below:
 
A PANEL DISCUSSION ABOUT INCLUSION
FEBRUARY 4 AT 6:30 PM
English High School Auditorium
 
Topic:  Please join Principals from four BPS schools, Dr. William  Henderson, Superintendent Carol Johnson, parents of special education students, and key leaders and advocates in a discussion about Boston’s path ahead as it seeks to expand and improve inclusion programming!
 
The four Principal panel will discuss inclusion models at the Boston Arts Academy, Henderson (formerly O’Hearn), Jackson-Mann, Mary Lyons, and Mason schools.
 
 
Special Movie Screening at 5:00
willing & able is a documentary film that gives an intimate view into the former O’Hearn school in Dorchester which is has been a successful inclusion school. More information can be found at www.willingandablefilm.com
 
 
When:   Thursday, February 4, 2010
 
Where:  English High School Auditorium – 144 McBride Street
Located between Green St. & Forest Hills Orange T stops in JP    Parking Available
 
Time:   
5:00 pm – Movie screening
6:30 – 8:30 pm – Panel discussion
 
 
Come join us! Light refreshments, child care, and spanish translation will be provided

FORWARDED FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE MARIE ST. FLEUR

Mayor Menino announces resource center to extend operation in wake of Haiti earthquakes

CITY OF BOSTON ∙ MASSACHUSETTS
Office of the Mayor
Thomas M. Menino

For Immediate Release For more information
contact:
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Mayor’s Press Office,
617-635-4461

Mayor Menino announces resource center to extend operation in wake of Haiti earthquakes
Center moves to Mattapan Library to better serve community needs

Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced today that the City of Boston’s resource center to
assist local families affected by the recent earthquakes in Haiti will extend its operation through
next week, with the potential to remain open after that time based on need. Early this morning a
magnitude 6.1 aftershock rattled the island nation, which is recovering from last week’s magnitude 7
earthquake. Opened last Thursday at SEIU Local 1199 in the wake of the disaster, tomorrow the
resource center will relocate to the Mattapan branch of the Boston Public Library in order to better
serve members of Boston’s Haitian community still seeking updates and information about the
earthquake and ongoing relief efforts.

Translators, crisis counselors, computers, and phone lines to accommodate international
calls will continue to be available at the center. The Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians is also
coordinating with immigration attorneys that will be available to answer questions, similar to the
current immigration clinics sponsored by this office. A combination of staff from city agencies
such as the Boston Public Health Commission and volunteers from SEIU Local 1199 will continue to
operate the resource center out of its new location.

“The situation in Haiti is still dire, and we owe it to locally affected families to
lend our fullest support as they grapple with this unspeakable tragedy,” Mayor Menino said. “I want
to thank SEIU Local 1199 for their partnership to help keep this resource available to the public.
We will continue to monitor the situation both in Boston and in Haiti in order to assist the
community as best as possible.”

Beginning tomorrow, the relocated resource center, operating out of the Mattapan Branch
Library at 1350 Blue Hill Avenue, will maintain the following hours:

Thursday, January 21 – Friday, January 22: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 23: 12 noon – 5 p.m.
Sunday, January 24: Closed

Monday, January 25 – Friday, January 29: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 30: 12 noon -5 p.m.

Individuals may continue to contact the resource center by phone at (617) 284-1199.
Those interested in volunteering at the center are encouraged to contact the Boston Public Health
Commission by emailing haitisupport@bphc.org.

In the wake of the earthquake, Mayor Menino last week spearheaded a coordinated
assistance effort by the City of Boston that included both direct outreach to emergency responders
in Haiti as well as resources for locally affected families. In addition to the resource center,
the Mayor convened public and private partners to make local disaster medical assistance teams
(DMAT) and approximately $1 million in search and rescue equipment available to officials in Haiti.
Shortly after the earthquake hit, three volunteers from Boston EMS deployed to Haiti to assist with
relief efforts as part of a DMAT.

Mayor Menino also established a relief fund through Bank of America, named “The Fund for
Boston Neighborhoods, Inc. – Haitian Family Relief.” Donations are being accepted at all local Bank
of America branches, and checks can be mailed to: The Fund for Boston Neighborhoods, Inc. – Haitian
Family Relief, P.O. Box 961555, Boston, MA 02196.

“As experts continue to assess the damage caused by the earthquake, it’s clear that
financial support is still essential,” Mayor Menino said. “I’m proud of the way the people of
Boston came together to support the relief efforts, and I encourage people to stay involved as the
recovery moves forward.”

For more information about the City of Boston’s Haiti assistance efforts and other ways
to get involved in the recovery, please visit www.CityofBoston.gov and refer to “Haiti Support” on
the City’s homepage.

###

Nick Martin
Press Assistant to Mayor Thomas M. Menino
City of Boston
One City Hall Plaza, Room 603
Boston, MA 02201
Tel. 617-635-4461; Fax 617-635-3020
Nick.Martin@cityofboston.gov

Are you between the ages of 14 and 19?
And to improve your acting ability and learn more about your community?
Have FUN and GET PAID to do it?

Audition for the spring High School Internship program!

March 22nd – May 15th, 2010

Weekday afternoons after school

Featuring performing arts workshops and spring fun Fridays

Concluding in a final showcase performance on The Shubert Theatre stage

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Participants must be able to attend every session to be considered

Interested? All participants must schedule an after school interview and audition to be held the week of March 8th, 2010. Please contact Anthony Victoria at avictoria@citicenter.org or 617-532-1221