Special Services Parent Liaison Group

Notes from Special Services Parent Liaison (SSPL) Meeting

• Meeting began close to 5:30 P.M. (approximately). We were waiting on a couple of people to show up who were in traffic.
• We have an agenda and handouts available for everyone. (SSPL Meeting Agenda, Unified Sports, Notes from the November 9th, 2023 meeting, Policy JKA and a handout regarding an Overview of Inclusive Education Practices)
• Kendra welcomed everyone – Dr. Robbins will not attend this evening.
• Coach Drakeford is present to talk about Unified Sports. We have a handout entitled SC Unified Track and Field (Spring 2024). Mr. Drakeford talked to the group about SC Unified Track and Field in Kershaw County where he was employed recently.

There was significant parent participation in Kershaw County and Mr. Drakeford told us that he expected the numbers to be higher here in Dorchester School District Two. There are four events that students participate (track events). We have the option to add more events. Mr. Drakeford has spoken with our neighboring Districts regarding Unified Track and Field as well. Once he gets the schedules from the high schools, we’ll have a better idea of the level of participation. The season will mirror the Spring Sports schedule which ends about the second week in May.
Members had a chance to ask a series of questions of Mr. Drakeford regarding Unified Sports and how it will work when we implement here in Dorchester School District Two. The grades involved are 7-12. There is construction at FDHS currently on the track.

• ARHS sponsors “Swamp Fest” yearly and it is a very large event. This year it will be on March 8th, 2024.
• Who is the point of contact at FDHS for The Field Day (Similar to Swamp Fest)? Kendra will get this information and she thinks several parents will volunteer to assist.
• For Unified Sports-Special Olympics give each school $1,500.00 for uniforms, cost of travel, etc. Ideally, if we had $5,000.00 that would be enough to support the activity properly. The group would like to propose that suggestion for extra funding to Dr. Robbins at a future date.
• A question was asked about students who need physical examinations before the events begin. There was a statement made that students with special needs need an exam every three years and students without IEPs need an annual physical. The 7th and 8th graders who are participating in Unified Sports will go to their feeder high schools for the most part. There may be some exceptions.
• Mr. Drakeford will send Dr. Gadsden an electronic copy of the SC Unified Track and Field document.
• Dr. Gadsden will reach out to the principal at OES and try to find out the status of their students and activities regarding Unified Sports. OES started by applying and winning a grant for the program. OES may turn out to be a “model school” in this regard and other elementary schools may follow suit.
• Mr. Drakeford finished his presentation and there were no more questions.
• Review of the notes from the last SSPL meeting. Each participant had a copy of the notes from the last meeting.
• The recognition of our special services staff went very well! We discussed how successful the event was and how much everyone appreciated what was done.

• The question came regarding whether or not we should send a thank you card to the businesses who
participated. Some discussion took place. There were approximately thirty (30) contributors. Someone
mentioned the students could contribute their artwork to the thank you cards. Some students may be able to
create some artwork. The group will handwrite some thank you cards and Kendra will need help distributing the
cards to the contributors.
• What is the status of our Shade and Shelter at ARHS?– Dr. Gadsden had an estimate of around $40,000.00 for
the project. The group asked if there is a temporary solution while we are waiting on the full funding. The board
will need to vote on whether or not these funds will be spent in this manner. The School Facilities/Operations
Department will need to be involved in this project. This project will take time.
• Technology Challenges were discussed. A parent mentioned that she did some research to find out how to
address certain situations. There is some progress being made currently.
• Permanent Signage was discussed (for Summerville Elementary School). Dr. Gadsden explained how the signage
can be addressed. Dr. Gadsden will follow up with SES regarding the status of the signage.
• Field Trips for students with Special Needs – A parent talked about her student being in a small group and the
students had to pay more in order to participate in their field trip, according to the information we heard this
evening. Dr. Gadsden will follow up regarding the field trips and explore funding possibilities. We need to figure
out how to pay the driver. There was a student in the group who was in a wheel chair and we need to be
cognizant of those who need additional assistance.
• Parent Communication Process/Video Request with Incidents – Kendra talked about this briefly. Other
participants discussed their ideas about this process as well. We discussed that there is not necessarily a “board
policy” that guides viewing of videos but there is a process that we follow in order to access the video, etc.
• A parent discussed an incident she was involved with in a school. She shared her experience with the group.
• Mr. Neuner (principal of WHAIES) talked to us about his experience with his SRO who is able to access video
quickly.
• ARHS Keychains were discussed briefly. We may discuss this later at another meeting.
• Inclusion – We began the discussion and Mr. Neuner shared the conversations he’s had about the Inclusion
process and how it can look in our schools. Dr. Gadsden showed us and example of a document that was
embedded in a previous document with information re: “Overview of Inclusive Education Practices.” Dr. Gadsden
talked to the group about the possibility of increasing the number of music or art therapies available to students
with IEPs. There is a document entitled “Measures of Inclusive Education Practices” that each participant has.
• Kendra mentioned electives and the need to speak with Mrs. Estep in regards to looking at additional electives
for our students. This process will need to begin with our District leadership and follow the appropriate path in
creating new electives. Mr. Nuener and Dr. Gadsden can serve as the contacts for this process.
• School Activities were discussed briefly.
• Extra-Curricular Activities were discussed briefly.
• Kendra asked if any liaisons or parents have suggestions on how to implement inclusion to please contact her
with them.
• A parent talked to the group about talking to a teacher regarding iReady and how students are able to access the
material. Aly explained the need for curricula and the training that goes along with teaching the curriculum. The
parent will give the appropriate information to Dr. Gadsden so she may address the issue.
• Kendra asked if there were any new topics.
• Dr. Gadsden explained the policy JKA (Restraint, Seclusion, and Intentional Physical Content). The policy can be
found at Go BoardDocs
• We discussed Parent Education Sessions – The group talked briefly about subjects for the education sessions.
• Michelle Meier (special services interventionist) created a Google Form to share information. The parents will be
able to give general feedback via the Google Form.
• January 25th is the date of our next SSPL meeting.

• Dr. Gadsden mentioned that when we facilitate Parent Education Sessions, the sessions don’t always have to be
new. We can have repeat sessions at times for people who may not have had a chance to see some information.
• Safety was mentioned as a possible topic when we meet again. It would be a good “new” topic for the group.
• Dr. Gadsden talked about getting a list of resources together for everyone. A parent mentioned that a good
subject to put on our agenda is “What Parents Can Do in the Summer?” in re: legitimate camps, etc.
• A parent asked about the possibility of reaching out to schools to see if staff have had experiences with certain
camps, events, etc. The information needs to come from our group so that we can ensure our recommendations
are vetted appropriately.
• Kendra briefly went over some smaller items on the agenda that we’ve already discussed in the past.
• We discussed the newsletter Dr. Gadsden started. We will need to go through our PIO (Public Information
Officer) in order to get news out to all, so that it is centralized. There may be a possibility of bringing back “The
Bridge” in the future.
• Kendra talked about getting with each of the schools to talk about sharing information as their scheduled
information goes out to parents. Some schools get information out differently.
• Dr. Gadsden will reach out and get information about how this process would look like.

SSPL Meeting Notes

Dr. Robbins, Mrs. Estep and Mr. Drakeford are present this evening at our meeting.
Dr. Robbins talked to us as we began the meeting. He briefly shared information about the referendum that will occur in May. Our growth is out of control. We need to give SHES and BHES some relief. There is a new subdivision going in that will affect Dubose ad WRES. BHES is growing due to the growth of Watson Hill. The District attempts to maximize classroom space to the best of our ability. The geography in our area (near the river) poses a large challenge. It’s possible that BHES students will have to have a longer bus ride. There are 14,000 new homes being built in our area.
We haven’t had a referendum in 12 years. We refinanced our funds at a good time in that referendum. We won’t have to raise taxes or the millage rate at all. Kendra will send a slide deck to the members of the Parent Liaison group. It will explain the details of the referendum. It will have information that will be helpful. The last thing we want to do is overwhelm our schools. We are 5th in the state in terms of funding and it presents a challenge.
Dr. Robbins then talked about Unified Sports for a brief time. Mr. Drakeford and he believe that this program is very, very beneficial for our students. They are both very dedicated to the program and they want to maximize the program’s effect. We have new turf in the three high schools now. We are working on a stipend schedule for coaches/staff but it is not complete yet.
Mr. Drakeford gave us a schedule that explained which teams will play on what dates. There will be a Lower State Championship and we will have an opportunity to go to the Upper State Championship as well. We are in talks to have two divisions. One division will be more competitive than the other. Our schools were receiving $1,500.00 from Special Olympics but once Unified Sports is sanctioned that $1,500.00 will probably not be available. There will possibly be soccer and basketball in the future.
Mr. Drakeford continued to explain the details of what will be happening this year and next year. Dr. Robbins talked to us about how to generate revenue during the events. We discussed concessions, etc. Kendra talked to us about raising money via selling cards with student’s artwork. The Third Thursday in Summerville is always profitable as well and we will look into ways to participate.
Unified Sports events will take place at 5:00 P.M. We discussed who would handle concessions and where the funds will be directed. All funds from the concessions will go to Unified Sports. When are the awards given out? It will be after the Lower State Championships. The Education Foundation may assist. The SSPL group would like to participate in that ceremony as well. We talked about a fundraising booster club to generate funds. Mr. Drakeford continued to discuss the details of Unified Sports.

Review Previous Meeting Items:

Dr. Robbins asked if the group had anything to ask. We discussed the parent education sessions and they are going well. Kendra talked about how more and more parents are taking advantage of the help this group offers. We discussed the signage at SES. We confirmed with a parent that the signage work is complete. A parent asked about the new seclusion and restraint policy. More research will be done and we will get the updated information to the group. The policy may not be approved at this time--we don’t know if the state has had the necessary meetings or not in order to complete the approval process yet.
A parent asked about the status of the awning at ARHS that will cost around $40,000.00. A parent asked whether the PTA is able to fund certain items at schools and the superintendent affirmed this is possible. Dr. Robbins said that some improvements will occur at every school with the Referendum. There will be a list soon publicized that outlines exactly what the funding will be spent for. Dr. Robbins explained the funding details to the group and what funding sources we are able to utilize.
We discussed the Aquatic Center and one parent talked to us about accommodations not being available. Some parents said that they did receive accommodations (transportation and additional staff members). Mr. Neuner read a document that outlined there are accommodations available for our students who go to the pool. Kendra discussed the Donor Thank You cards from the staff appreciation day, and how a Sped student created the cover-art, using their own artistic abilities. The cards also include a QR code where donors can access a video of that day as well. There is help needed in getting the cards delivered to our businesses.
We discussed technology regarding (AACs) on the student’s devices. There was a person that was talked to about technology but they never got back with the person who asked. We discussed a technology issue that needs to be addressed for one of the students. Follow up will be made with Mr. Chuck Kirtley in regards to those. We discussed bus transportation regarding field trips and possible funding sources.
We discussed Inclusion and how we can continue to work on this so that it can be strengthened. A parent asked about seclusion and restraint again. We had a discussion about seclusion-restraint and everyone was able to share their views. We discussed electives for students with special needs. The goal is to increase electives that some students may not have access to for one reason or another. Mr. Neuner spoke about his son and a challenge he had trying to expand the electives available to students. Mr. Neuner mentioned that art and/or music could be modified to accommodate more students. Mrs. Estep will discuss this with Dr. Gadsden. A parent mentioned that assemblies and pep rallies are usually very loud. We discussed ways of either segregating students or helping them to avoid the sensory overloads. If there were more alternatives, it would help the students not to experience agitation.
Follow up from Dr. Gadsden: Special Services has contracted with MUSC via a "no-cost" contract to offer Art Therapy and Movement Therapy for students in low-incidence (self-contained) classrooms on a scheduled rotation. They will also offer professional development opportunities for General Education Fine Arts Teachers on how to incorporate strategies/activities/techniques to support student with special needs in the general education setting. We added Music Therapy this past year via a contract with Special Services and a certified private contractor.
We discussed a list of resources that we want to eventually have for the group and other families. We discussed opportunities during the summer, like Camp Rise Above and others. There may be Aquarium passes available as well. The resource list can include anything that will be helpful to parents. We need to find someone to head up that project.

New Priorities:

Swampfest is March 8th. We discussed details regarding Swampfest. Held, and was a huge success!
Special Olympics: March 18th through the 22nd. OES had a student create a shirt using their talents and abilities. There will be a spirit activity on March 21st at OES. They’ve been joined by ABES and they have certain activities to support Special Olympics. Kendra reported that several weeks ago the district had encouraged schools to find creative ways to celebrate this week. We hope other schools will follow.
We discussed Autism awareness day on April 2nd. The suggestion was made to see if we could encourage everyone in the district can wear blue to support Autism awareness on that day. We will follow up with various staff about this.
Dr. Gadsden will send a message out to Principals and District Leadership regarding this request to wear blue for Autism Awareness on April 2nd.

Next year’s SSPL group: Are there members of the SSPL group who want to be a part of this group next year? Members can let Kendra know. Some liaisons may have students that are transitioning to new schools or “aging out”. We discussed a transition period and perhaps a workshop at the beginning of the year. More discussion will be made in the coming weeks with Dr. Gadsden and Dr. Robbins in regards to how we move forward into next year.

Members share their concerns:

1. Class pictures – an adult support told a parent that a certain class does not include its’ students to take class pictures. Leadership will follow up in regards to this instance and communicate with all principals to make sure they know it’s important to include everyone.

2. Sensitivity Training was discussed. A parent talked about teachers and administration not being sensitive to parents and students when they discuss IEP matters. The example given involved a regular education teacher. The question is about training for gen. ed. teachers. Is there sensitivity training or other types of training that the teachers get during the school-year? Mrs. Estep talked with the parent and will follow up with the principal.

Follow up from Dr. Gadsden: Sensitivity training is embedded in school level training related to school culture and school climate. The Office of Special Services has shared a roll-out plan for more specific sensitivity training related to Special Education through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts that is essential to our Inclusive Education roll-out plans for 2024-2025.

Mr. Neuner discussed some of the challenges we face as administrators and parents when dealing with each other in the IEP process. We discussed various trainings that may be possible for staff in the future. – sensitivity training, Suggestion: a few sped parents could present at those trainings and give the perspective from the parents POV.

PES: The next parent education session is going to be at the District Office. April 25th . From 5-7:30.

5-6 PM the vendors will be at their tables to fellowship with families. Then a general session will be held for everyone at 6pm. After that general session, there will be 2 breakout sessions. We will meet until 7:30 P.M.

Other ideas: Parent meet and greet event. We may need to have this event next year.

We want all the schools to share information from this group. How can we get the schools to post information on their individual websites?

Mr. Neuner proposed that we set up a link for the SSPL group. We can further discuss if it makes sense.
Follow-up from Dr. Gadsden: SSPL announcements and events are shared with Principals in the Weekly Need to Know news for all district administrators. Principals are encouraged to share the flyers and links via school communications.

The SSPL group stayed after school and District staff left.

1. A liaison requested time prior to the official start of the meeting while liaisons were still arriving. A local family suffered the devastating loss of a child, who was a sibling to a child with special needs. The request was for district resources to help the grieving family. There are also several SPED students who had a close connection to the child who passed that are having difficulty understanding and coping with the loss.

   1. The district has social workers who are working within the school who are setting up grief counseling.

   2. Dorchester County Mental Health professionals are also providing services within the schools.

      1. Dr. Gadsden provided information on Mental Health Services, and I believe is reaching out to her contact.

   3. Another liaison offered up a local mother who is a therapist through Better Tomorrow Therapy; specializes in special needs (including non-verbal)

   4. Therapy utilizing Social Story binders/boards were discussed

   5. Each school has a protocol for when there is a loss of a student to support the family.

2. Dr. Robbins officially opened the meeting with the Superintendent report. He stated how much he really enjoys meeting with this group. He discussed how the group was formed out of a need to better support students and families with special needs.

   Dr. Robbins praised fundraising efforts and joked about his own contribution resulting in a pulled hamstring. His field goal resulted in an additional $300 donation to the Unified Track Program.

    

   Dr. Robbins introduced the Assistant Superintendent, Kenneth Wilson, who has been with the district for a

   “long time”. Dr. Robbins is now in his 3rd year as DD2 District Superintendent.

    

   Dr. Robbins discussed the referendum, which passed. The money takes time and comes through purchased bonds, then projects go up for bid, lastly contracts must be signed. Currently the new school in the Ponds is in the works. A link to the bids is located on the district website. In addition, Dr. Robbins reiterated that no specialty programs would be rezoned, thus SPED students currently in schools outside of their home zone for said programs will not need to move again, unless it’s a unique circumstance.

    

   Summerville is also getting additional classrooms. The Ponds will be given specialty programs too, does not impact programs in place. The programs are dispersed amongst the Elementary Schools (due to quantity), then each Middle School has programs across both ends of the district, High Schools have all programs with exception of ARHS that houses Supportive Learning (Severe) and the Core HI Program. Please see attachment of our program locations (in Files).

    

3. Chairwoman Baughman took the floor. Mentioned the success of the cookout and the hope to make it an annual tradition.

   Welcomed new liaisons and everyone provided introductions.

   Everyone should have access to the SSPL email account. If there are any issues the team is to reach out to Chairwoman Baughman, but first check spam and junk folders.

   Everyone was given a copy of the Liaison chart and should have received the updated SSPL info page.

4. Action items were introduced and discussed.

    

   SPED Day and Week will kick off on December 2nd.

   1. “Buddy up” Initiative to increase inclusion. The original idea was to bring SPED students into the Gen Ed classes with their buddies. There were concerns regarding SPED students comfort level, so possibly having the buddies go into the SPED class. Liaison Neuner mentioned concern over disruption during instruction time and suggested buddy lunches, clubs, recess, etc. Regardless, permission slips will be sent out and parents can opt out. We also have to work with schools to make sure they are willing/able to participate.

   2. An inclusion video may be used at the beginning of the week, that is geared to the educational level (elementary, middle, high). This will help teach what inclusion is, how it looks, and how to do it!

   3. Dr. Gadsden mentioned using a parent from within the school as a guest speaker to describe their experience and how inclusion enriches the life of their child.

   4. Discussed timing of the SPED week falling between the major holidays and the (hoped for) slowdown in intensive instruction. High Schoolers may be preparing for end of quarter exams.

   5. Planning on having shirts and name tags for liaisons for the purpose of identifying ourselves as we are out and about requesting sponsorships and in the schools. Hoping to find a sponsor that can donate those.

   6. Chairwoman Baughman mentioned she is putting in for a grant to help pay for banners and such, to be used at various events that the SSPL Group would participate in.

   7. Creation of SPED calendar. This was discussed during the topic of SPED week but also to promote year-round inclusivity. A liaison volunteered her marketing skills to build this out. Dr. Robbins wants to connect her with Ashley Caufell.

Dr. Gadsden stated that inclusion needs to be all year and not just SPED week. Here are some opportunities that members of SSPL and the district are developing.

1. Dr. Gadsden is sending a survey to each school asking what schools are doing to provide inclusion opportunities and support services are set up for neurodivergent children. The survey will allow for an update to sensitivity training and will provide a base to build cohesive efforts throughout the district. Chairwoman Baughman built on the topic of sensitivity – especially terminology and language. Additionally sensitizing teachers and desensitizing parents in preparation for the meetings was brought up by various Liaiaons.

2. 2 of our Liaisons volunteered to help with brochures/pamphlets/first contacts, SS Acronyms and general resource list to provide to families in their first IEP/504 meetings. Dr. Robbins wants to connect them with Ashley Cauffell.

3. Discussion of support letter being sent after first IEP/504 is scheduled; include what to expect.

4. Dr. Gadsden spoke about music and art therapy. Currently the schedule for music therapy is out. It is being offered through the MUSC Boing Center Partnership; Jason Walsh wrote a grant that provides additional music therapy and participated with us in a planning session to add Art Therapy. He is also working on a search for Adaptive PE Certified Teachers. The schedule is not out yet.

5. One of our Liaisons discussed the goal for piloting Special Olympic Swimming for younger kids here in our district. Several Liaisons and Chairs had a virtual meeting with the State Director for Special Olympics to discuss creating this program in the Low Country. We are working on getting instructors certified. The program would be held at the North Charleston Aquatic Center.

6. Special Olympics Soccer is also in discussion with our Low Country Special Olympics rep.

7. Promote volunteer hours with SPED students to help with special Olympic opportunities (United Track, Swimming, Soccer) and supervision at PES Conference/Resource fair.

8. Working to get Unified Track as a sanctioned sport and trickling down to the middle schools.

9. The idea of starting a unified vocal group was brought up by a Liaison.

10. One of our Liaisions introduced Robotics – Summerville/Ashley Ridge has Team 3489 and FDHS has Team 342. Robotics through FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) is an incredibly inclusive varsity sport for the mind, composed of over 41% neurodivergent students. Students are given the chance to compete at district, regional and international levels. It provides opportunities to learn marketing, coding, programing, welding, electrical, mentoring and teamwork. Students also volunteer to go to middle and elementary schools to introduce robotics to clubs using Legos and building sets. Currently the programs are managed by mentors, are not provided any funding through the district. All funding is either granted through sponsors like Boeing and Bosch, or through the students’ fundraising efforts. It may be a great opportunity for the district to recognize robotics as both an educational endeavor and sport and provide similar opportunities or funding that are granted to extracurriculars like football, theater, track, etc.

11. Dr. Gadsden is reintroducing the digital newsletter, to include positive news on inclusion, teacher spotlights, information on SSPL and upcoming activities. This was excitedly received. Dr. Gadsden jokingly hinted that Dr. Robbins is welcome to create a writing position for her at any time. The “yes” man, finally said “no”. She is too valuable in the role that she currently serves.

12. Utilizing ceramic and art classes to grow the buddy idea, as well as building merchandise for fundraising. Connecting with Beyond Basics.

13. Link up with Heather Faas at Titus Strength and Fitness (next to Ella Lilly across from Pinewood Prep) who coaches Special Olympics powerlifting and offers cross training classes to the special needs community.

14. Spring and possibly fall Resource Fair/Parent Education Conference. Ashley Ridge contact, Brook Matthews granted use of a building. Planning around April 26th. Suggestions for apps were provided by a couple of Liaisons (Attendify and Whova). Conference breakout sessions. Discussed having breakouts for siblings with and without their SPED siblings. Safe space to discuss hard things. One Liaison has a lot of experience and ideas for sibling break out sessions on advocacy. An additional resource mentioned was the Color the Spectrum Group. Will we need childcare – does this need to happen through the district, does it need to be onsite, what is the vetting for volunteers, and can HS students use this as an opportunity for volunteer hours? Chairwoman Baughman suggested partnering with community support (ie. YMCA, Churches, LowCountry Autism Foundation, etc) to offer childcare options on that same date. More brainstorming took place, but we will hold separate meetings to discuss further.

15. Assistant Chairwoman Bright and Dr. Robbins went over communication boards. The plan is that they will be purchased for school playgrounds and possibly gyms, focusing on Elementary Levels first. The boards are the A Fold movable format, with discussion on anchoring them. Also, brought up having the steel frame format for local playgrounds, that would include ASL. We would work in partnership to donate those from the SSPL Group and DD2. Several Liaisons have Parks/Town contacts to reach out to, to help initiate contracting and permits.

16. Encourage SPED students to participate in the Reflections opportunity.

Side conversation on how to encourage future educators to enter the world of SPED. Using the same concept as “Call Me Mister” to inspire children to move into SPED teaching careers, promoting it within the teaching cadet program, offering scholarships to students who go to college for careers in SPED education.

Chairwoman Baughman shared Emergency and lockdown drill concerns and ideas brought to surface that children are concerned with school shootings. They (students) call the lockdown drills “shooter drills”, though that is not the verbiage used by faculty, which can cause some peers to become more anxious. The idea of including sensory bags in each classroom to help students who struggle with becoming overly anxious with the noises of alarms, being silent, darkened classrooms and such. Liaison Neuner provided real life experiences fires on his campus three different times and not being able to prep students/staff that alarms would be going off and typically the timing doesn’t happen when everyone is in the

“classroom” seating. He stated safety bags are in EVERY classroom, but it may not be feasible to have sensory bags everywhere students may be led for safety. The best solution seems to be teachers working with parents on what tools work best for the students in their class, and then carrying said bag when leaving the classroom for other activities, in the case that a drill or real crisis should happen outside of the normal classroom setting. Chairwoman Baughman also suggested adding headphones, (and possibly a fidget toy and chewlry) to the safety bags, for ANY student that may need that relief in both a real-life emergency or a drill. Another Liaison suggested adding suckers to the safety bags as well, to help keep the student occupied/quiet if needed.

Dr. Gadsden and Dr. Robbins went over holding earlier transition meetings to better prepare for transitional placements. This would allow parents to know where there student will be for the next year, and the district to adjust programs/rosters as needed, instead of just before school starts.

Fundraisers had a healthy discussion. Originally this group wasn’t considering doing this, but we quickly found such a need to support various endeavors and initiatives, that we decided it would be very helpful. Some of those Ideas were:

1. Notecards, with Artwork designed by SPED students-sold at different district events. Perhaps have SPED students buddy up in Ceramic classes or with Beyond Basics.

2. $1 wear a hat, pj day (elementary), stuffed animals – etc

3. Setting up a booth at 3rd Thursday (especially for the district take over)

4. Dr. Gadsden participates with the Summerville Mayors Committee. Discussed their scholarships for SPED students going to college. Encouraged SSPL to partner/support their efforts.

   1. Nov. 1 golf tournament at the Summerville Country Club; needs sponsorship

5. Partnering with the Kiwanis club on funding and scholarships.

6. Merchandise sold at the Unified Track event, to include Big Heads of Dr. Robbins, cowbells, and art cards.

7. Have Dr. Robbins run a lap at the Unified Track kick off.

8. Monies from the showdown event. Dr. Robbins field goal brought in an additional $300. Over

$5000 was donated.

The meeting adjourned shortly after 8.