Showing posts with label Parkway Middle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parkway Middle. Show all posts
Monday, April 8, 2013
"Be The One" ~ It Starts with A Voice ~ Starring Lauren Potter
"Be The One" {Music Video} from Life Stage Films on Vimeo.
from It Starts with A Voice - www.itstartswithavoice.com
"Be the One" Written, Recorded, & Produced by Amy & Ben Wright
Starring Lauren Potter
Directed by Matt Davis of Life Stage Films - www.lifestagefilms.com
Purchase the song on iTunes to benefit Best Buddies International
"Like" us on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/ItStartsWithAVoice?ref=hl
Step off of the sidelines and be the one who makes a difference in someone's life. www.BestBuddies.org
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Mariah Harris testifies before the Florida Senate Educational Committee
Proposed education bill reported favorably out of Fla. Senate committee
Mariah and I testified before the Florida Senate Education Committee in support of SB 1108. We traveled with the newly formed 45 day old, ESE Reform Taskforce of S. Florida group. A group of parents that drove from South Florida to testify and tell our IEP and Special Education stories to our State Senators on behalf of Senate Bill 1108.
Mariah Harris, a 6th grader attending Parkway Middle School and included in the S.T.E.M. Magnet Program testified and spoke an awesome public speech telling the Florida State Senators why she wants to be "taught to learn and earn a real High School Diploma, because she wants to go to College to be a Vet Tech!"
The Bill passed unanimously with all in favor to pass in a 8-0 vote! This was exciting to be part of and to see Mariah read her speech before live TV and Newspaper Reporters taking notes! Mariah did an awesome job especially for it being her first major public speaking engagement. She was amazing to see her reading her speech! She was a natural public speaker! She enjoyed it and was professional about it!
Two days later House Bill, HB 465 was voted on unanimously 13-0 in favor as well!
THIS is a huge win for PARENTS of children on IEP's!!
This was a life dream for me to see my daughter well on her way to becoming a National Speaker! She is already thinking about her next speech! Her mother couldn't be prouder!
*See Mariah on The Capitol Update from March 18th, 2013. Go to 21:08 on the Video to hear Sen. Andy Gardiner and Sen. John Thrasher present on S.B. 1108. A small snippet of Mariah's speech will follow.
http://www.wuft.org/news/2013/03/19/proposed-education-bill-reported-favorably-out-of-fla-senate-committee/#.UUpurn9wxSg.gmail
See Mariah speaking before the Senate Education Committee 3.18.13
~ Go to 21:07 - 22:57 on the video to see Mariah and the other members of ESE Reform Taskforce of S. Florida. ~
~ Go to 21:07 - 22:57 on the video to see Mariah and the other members of ESE Reform Taskforce of S. Florida. ~
Mariah and I testified before the Florida Senate Education Committee in support of SB 1108. We traveled with the newly formed 45 day old, ESE Reform Taskforce of S. Florida group. A group of parents that drove from South Florida to testify and tell our IEP and Special Education stories to our State Senators on behalf of Senate Bill 1108.
Mariah Harris, a 6th grader attending Parkway Middle School and included in the S.T.E.M. Magnet Program testified and spoke an awesome public speech telling the Florida State Senators why she wants to be "taught to learn and earn a real High School Diploma, because she wants to go to College to be a Vet Tech!"
The Bill passed unanimously with all in favor to pass in a 8-0 vote! This was exciting to be part of and to see Mariah read her speech before live TV and Newspaper Reporters taking notes! Mariah did an awesome job especially for it being her first major public speaking engagement. She was amazing to see her reading her speech! She was a natural public speaker! She enjoyed it and was professional about it!
Two days later House Bill, HB 465 was voted on unanimously 13-0 in favor as well!
THIS is a huge win for PARENTS of children on IEP's!!
This was a life dream for me to see my daughter well on her way to becoming a National Speaker! She is already thinking about her next speech! Her mother couldn't be prouder!
*See Mariah on The Capitol Update from March 18th, 2013. Go to 21:08 on the Video to hear Sen. Andy Gardiner and Sen. John Thrasher present on S.B. 1108. A small snippet of Mariah's speech will follow.
http://www.wuft.org/news/2013/03/19/proposed-education-bill-reported-favorably-out-of-fla-senate-committee/#.UUpurn9wxSg.gmail
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Broward parents demand more rigor for special-needs students - Schools - MiamiHerald.com
Broward parents demand more rigor for special-needs students - Schools - MiamiHerald.com
Some Broward parents with special-needs children complain the school district pushes their students off the path for a real high school diploma.
BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ
MRVASQUEZ@MIAMIHERALD.COM
In testimony that was at once angry and tearful, a group of Broward mothers told School Board members Tuesday that their special-needs children are being forced into less rigorous classes that don’t result in a standard high school diploma.
The parents insisted their students are capable of earning a regular diploma, but the children are instead placed on the path to a “special diploma” that has little practical use.
Parent Nancy Linley-Harris told board members that the district’s methods of evaluating special-needs students are “toxic” and for parents the process amounts to “being in a war zone for our children.”
Nearly 33,000 special-needs students — with disabilities ranging from minor to severe — attend Broward district schools. In interviews after the parents’ harshly critical public appearance, district leaders stressed that it was only a small group of parents (joined by a few children and other supporters) who were complaining.
School Board Chairwoman Laurie Rich Levinson said thousands of parents with special-needs children “are thrilled with the education they’re receiving.”
“You have, just as you do with anything, some parents who are dissatisfied,” she said.
Some of the upset parents told The Miami Herald they’d been forced to pursue legal action to fight the district.
Linley-Harris said her 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, who has Down syndrome, was placed on the special diploma track last year. Mariah wants to one day become a veterinary technician, and attends Parkway Middle School’s STEM magnet program.
Mariah’s new classes, her mom said, are “a very expensive babysitting service for our kids. They water down the goals.”
Linley-Harris has a pending legal case against the district, alleging her child’s “due process” rights were violated.
Those lawsuits are the last resort for parents unhappy with how their special-needs child is being served by the school system. But Kathrine Francis, executive director of Broward’s Exceptional Student Education department, said there are other ways for parents to resolve disputes with the district.
A simple talk with the child’s school might be enough to solve any problems, Francis said, and when that doesn’t work, the district offers its own in-house conflict-resolution service. Francis said parents filing due process lawsuits represent less than 1 percent of special-needs students served by the district.
Still, Francis said the district is always looking to improve and is conducting a satisfaction survey with special-needs families in the coming months.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/05/3219059/broward-parents-demand-more-rigor.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
* I tried that "having a simple talk with my Child's school"....6 IEP's later and 1 "in-house conflict-resolution service." (...service?)
This is not what I had in mind this school year to be an INVOLVED PARENT WITH MY DAUGHTER'S NEW SCHOOL & EDUCATION! This level of Advocating for my daughter has taken me away from Volunteering at my daughter's Middle School, like I had plans to do. My school district has not been 'reasonable nor workable'.....throughout all the "simple IEP meetings" that I had a Lawyer with me at everyone! Thank you Disability Rights Florida for helping me get my "sea legs" back and encouraging me to REPRESENT MYSELF in my Due Process. www.disabilityrightsflorida.org
No one can REPRESENT THEIR CHILD BEST THAN THE MOTHER!!! (...or FATHER!!!) I know every detail of the 'chain-of-events' that this districts ESE Department Administrators, Program Specialist, ESE Specialist and my Elementary School Principal has taken me on!! I know my daughter, Mariah is entitled to a WORLD CLASS EDUCATION ...ha!! The SPECIAL DIPLOMA IS NOT SO SPECIAL when it amounts to NOTHING in the real world for my daughter, or anyone's daughter or son for that matter...Who the heck created this SPECIAL DIPLOMA 'track' in Florida?
I don't believe I am part of the "less than 1%" and I certainly am not, the parent that doesn't care...I DO CARE!! I care so much, last year that I sat on 6 different Advisories, as an ESE "Parent Voice." I am a Special Needs Advocate. I absolutely know what families experience during IEP meetings in Broward and other Florida Districts! What is and has been happening here for so long is going on in the entire State of Florida and beyond! It's a mess everywhere!
I would encourage parents to learn all you can about your CIVIL RIGHTS and the Special Ed Federal Laws, IDEA and become familiar with your State Department of Education Special Education Laws. Attend National Conferences specific to your Child's Disability. Get connected with a group of parents you can relate to and learn from one another. Attend each other's IEP meetings. Wrightslaw is any parents best friend when learning about your Special Ed Rights & IDEA Federal Law. www.wrightslaw.com
I AM TAKING THE STEPS 4 CHANGE!
Some Broward parents with special-needs children complain the school district pushes their students off the path for a real high school diploma.
BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ
MRVASQUEZ@MIAMIHERALD.COM
In testimony that was at once angry and tearful, a group of Broward mothers told School Board members Tuesday that their special-needs children are being forced into less rigorous classes that don’t result in a standard high school diploma.
The parents insisted their students are capable of earning a regular diploma, but the children are instead placed on the path to a “special diploma” that has little practical use.
Parent Nancy Linley-Harris told board members that the district’s methods of evaluating special-needs students are “toxic” and for parents the process amounts to “being in a war zone for our children.”
Nearly 33,000 special-needs students — with disabilities ranging from minor to severe — attend Broward district schools. In interviews after the parents’ harshly critical public appearance, district leaders stressed that it was only a small group of parents (joined by a few children and other supporters) who were complaining.
School Board Chairwoman Laurie Rich Levinson said thousands of parents with special-needs children “are thrilled with the education they’re receiving.”
“You have, just as you do with anything, some parents who are dissatisfied,” she said.
Some of the upset parents told The Miami Herald they’d been forced to pursue legal action to fight the district.
Linley-Harris said her 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, who has Down syndrome, was placed on the special diploma track last year. Mariah wants to one day become a veterinary technician, and attends Parkway Middle School’s STEM magnet program.
Mariah’s new classes, her mom said, are “a very expensive babysitting service for our kids. They water down the goals.”
Linley-Harris has a pending legal case against the district, alleging her child’s “due process” rights were violated.
Those lawsuits are the last resort for parents unhappy with how their special-needs child is being served by the school system. But Kathrine Francis, executive director of Broward’s Exceptional Student Education department, said there are other ways for parents to resolve disputes with the district.
A simple talk with the child’s school might be enough to solve any problems, Francis said, and when that doesn’t work, the district offers its own in-house conflict-resolution service. Francis said parents filing due process lawsuits represent less than 1 percent of special-needs students served by the district.
Still, Francis said the district is always looking to improve and is conducting a satisfaction survey with special-needs families in the coming months.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/05/3219059/broward-parents-demand-more-rigor.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
* I tried that "having a simple talk with my Child's school"....6 IEP's later and 1 "in-house conflict-resolution service." (...service?)
This is not what I had in mind this school year to be an INVOLVED PARENT WITH MY DAUGHTER'S NEW SCHOOL & EDUCATION! This level of Advocating for my daughter has taken me away from Volunteering at my daughter's Middle School, like I had plans to do. My school district has not been 'reasonable nor workable'.....throughout all the "simple IEP meetings" that I had a Lawyer with me at everyone! Thank you Disability Rights Florida for helping me get my "sea legs" back and encouraging me to REPRESENT MYSELF in my Due Process. www.disabilityrightsflorida.org
No one can REPRESENT THEIR CHILD BEST THAN THE MOTHER!!! (...or FATHER!!!) I know every detail of the 'chain-of-events' that this districts ESE Department Administrators, Program Specialist, ESE Specialist and my Elementary School Principal has taken me on!! I know my daughter, Mariah is entitled to a WORLD CLASS EDUCATION ...ha!! The SPECIAL DIPLOMA IS NOT SO SPECIAL when it amounts to NOTHING in the real world for my daughter, or anyone's daughter or son for that matter...Who the heck created this SPECIAL DIPLOMA 'track' in Florida?
I don't believe I am part of the "less than 1%" and I certainly am not, the parent that doesn't care...I DO CARE!! I care so much, last year that I sat on 6 different Advisories, as an ESE "Parent Voice." I am a Special Needs Advocate. I absolutely know what families experience during IEP meetings in Broward and other Florida Districts! What is and has been happening here for so long is going on in the entire State of Florida and beyond! It's a mess everywhere!
I would encourage parents to learn all you can about your CIVIL RIGHTS and the Special Ed Federal Laws, IDEA and become familiar with your State Department of Education Special Education Laws. Attend National Conferences specific to your Child's Disability. Get connected with a group of parents you can relate to and learn from one another. Attend each other's IEP meetings. Wrightslaw is any parents best friend when learning about your Special Ed Rights & IDEA Federal Law. www.wrightslaw.com
I AM TAKING THE STEPS 4 CHANGE!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
GET INVOLVED & STAY INVOLVED IN EDUCATION
GET INVOLVED & STAY INVOLVED in EDUCATION THIS YEAR!!! ~ Sign Up & VOLUNTEER at your favorite or not so favorite school this year! Our Children NEED PARENTS to GET INVOLVED IN EDUCATION! Do Your Part & Volunteer consistently & regularly!
Fill out this ONLINE FORM so you can become a Broward Schools Parent Volunteer!
Click link below: http://www.browardschools.com/sbbc_volunteer/VolunteerForm.aspx
Fill out this ONLINE FORM so you can become a Broward Schools Parent Volunteer!
Click link below: http://www.browardschools.com/sbbc_volunteer/VolunteerForm.aspx
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