Inclusion Done Right Meeting Notes 4_28_20
Dear Educators and Parents,
It was great to see so many of you at yesterday's Inclusion Done Right meeting! We had 83 people in attendance, our largest meeting yet!We promised to send out the instructions for how to sign up to testify at the City Council Hearing on Inclusion, Special Education and English Language Learners - scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, starting at 1:00pm.Instructions for Signing up to TestifyYou can testify "live" via zoom by emailing michelle.a. goldberg@boston.gov. Your testimony should be 2 minutes max.You can also appear at the Hearing by uploading a 2 min. video. Your video testimony will be played at the Hearing if it is received by 12:00 pm this Friday, 5/1. Instructions for how to upload a video can be found under #3 in this document. Here is the link:https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council/how-testify-city-council-budget-hearing . (It is also possible to email your remarks, however, testimony connected to a person is far more powerful!)The Hearing will begin with a presentation by BPS where we'll hear their version of how inclusion, special education and ESL services are being implemented in the district. Our comments will follow.Please contact me if you would like support with crafting your testimony. We'd be delighted to provide assistance.Reaching out to City CouncilorsWe want to strongly encourage that every member of the City Council be present at next Tuesday's Hearing, sponsored by Councilor Essabai-George. At the meeting yesterday, participants volunteered to be point people for emailing/calling each City Councilor to urge them to show up. It would be great if everyone could reach out to one or more members of the City Council. Here is the link we provided yesterday for info on contacting City Council members: https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council. We encourage you to email, and then follow up with a phone call if you don't get a positive response.Sample message:My name is _________ and I am an educator/parent at the ___________ in your district (or I live in your district.) I am emailing/calling to say how important it is to me that you attend the upcoming City Council Hearing on Inclusion, Special Education and English Language Learners, Tuesday, May 5 at 1:00.School closures have made it even more challenging for our most vulnerable students to receive the education and services they deserve. We are counting on your support for Inclusion Done Right! Please let me know that you will attend the Hearing. Thank you.Slides on DESE Findings on BPS Special Education
Here is the link to the slides on the DESE Findings prepared by BTU member and Inclusion activist, Emma Fialka-Feldman. There were a number of requests to share these slides.
Please reach out with any questions! Hope to see you many of you next Tuesday!Thanks,Ilene