The Special Education Parent Teacher Organization is a group that meets to discuss various issues pertaining to special education in our school system and community.
The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, April 14th at 7:30 PM.
Meetings are held in the district meeting room in the Board of Education building, 525 Academy Street in Maplewood.
There is also a facebook page for South Orange and Maplewood special needs parents where various items of interest to our community are posted. Search facebook for “South Orange / Maplewood Sp. Ed. PTO” to join.
Special Education
Special education classes are a part of the Marshall Jefferson School community. Marshall currently has 2 self-contained classrooms and 7 inclusion classrooms; Jefferson has 2 self-contained classrooms and 8 inclusion classrooms. Students in all of these classes participate in school-wide activities and programs.
Evaluating Students for Special Education Services
If you suspect that your child may need Special Education services, including speech/language therapy, occupational and/or physical therapy, a good starting point is your child’s teacher.
You may request that your child be evaluated by the Child Study Team, which works in conjunction with parents and teachers to determine whether children need special education services. The Child Study Team is an invaluable resource if you have a question or concern. The Marshall Child Study Team is located at Marshall School and can be reached at 973.378.7698, ext. 3. The Jefferson Child Study Team is located at Seth Boyden Elementary and can be reached at 973.378.5209.
Once the Child Study Team concludes their testing, you will be given the results of the testing along with a recommendation for services. In the event that your child does need special services, an IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting will be set up with your child’s teacher to determine what services would best help your child. In the event that an IEP is established, it will be reviewed and adjusted, as needed, on a yearly basis.
Marshall and Jefferson PTOs
Along with the Child Study Team, the Special Education Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) serves as a great resource and forum for families of students with special needs. The goal of the PTO is to promote the welfare of the special education student by providing parents with the tools and information they need to work collaboratively with the school district and to be more effective advocates for their children. Each year, the PTO holds several meetings to help parents network with other parents, share information about special education issues, and understand changing special education laws. The PTO welcomes the active involvement of all parents of children receiving special education services in South Orange-Maplewood.
This organization is led by an Executive Committee of 8 people and special education parents are invited to contact any of its members. If you would like to contact a member of the Executive Committee for more information, please click here.
If you would like additional information on the PTO or the Special Education program at Marshall, you may also contact Howard or Sarah Petruziello, who are Marshall parents, at sarahpetruz@verizon.net. For Jefferson, please contact Erin Siders, a Jefferson parent, at esiders@aol.com.
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PTO Meetings and Upcoming Events
The first PTO membership meeting will be held on Thursday, September 30, at the Central Office meeting room at 525 Academy Street from 7:30 to 9:00pm. This will be a meeting for the PTO, with no guest speakers. New parents will be welcome to the district. The one agenda item will be to discuss the new paraprofessionals.
Other programs of interest:
The South Orange Recreation Department is offering two classes of Tae Kwon Do for special needs children, teens and young adults, one for ages 6 to 10, the other for ages 11 to 25.
The Parenting Center is running two programs of particular interest. One is an ADD/ADHD support group for parents, which will meet monthly (No specific dates yet). The other will be a one-night event for those who do not currently have health insurance, and who would like to find out if they and their families are eligible for free or reduced-fee health insurance (date tbd). To inquire further, members can contact the Parenting Center at 973-762-5600 x1850, or email Barry Berg atbarryaberg@comcast.net.
For your calendar, the dates for PTO membership meetings are as follows:
September 30, November 30, January 26, March 1, and April 14
Emails will be sent well in advance of these dates to inform members of location and agenda items.
District Administration and Helpful Links
All special education programs are under the direction of Dr. Pat Barker, who can be reached at 973.762.5600, ext. 1840.
For additional information on Special Education in the Maplewood South Orange School District, click here.
