HMEA receives two grants

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Horace Mann Education Associates recently announced that it has been awarded a $25,000 Learn to Earn Initiative grant from the Baker-Polito administration to design a career training program for unemployed or underemployed young adults with disabilities in the southern Worcester County region of Massachusetts.

HMEA will serve as the lead agency on the pilot initiative in partnership with the Central Massachusetts Employment Collaborative, Work Without Limits of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, and the MassHire Central Region Workforce Board. Employer partners include Sodexo USA, Cumberland Farms and the Worcester Public Schools.

LTE is a comprehensive approach to providing individuals who are receiving assistance from public benefit programs with the supports, skills, and credentials they need to gain and retain employment in occupations for which employers have persistent demand."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190628/stronghorace-mann-receives-learn-to-earn-initiative-grantstrong

We support over 4000 people with #autism & developmental #disabilities across 110 #Massachusetts communities.

"Horace Mann Educational Associates was awarded a one-year grant for $35,000 from Tufts Health Plan Foundation as part of its smart data efforts for better health care.

This is one of 15 new community investments totaling nearly $1.9 million that reflect the Foundation’s commitment to advancing policies and practices that support healthy aging, including addressing gaps in food access, housing, transportation and community safety.

HMEA is the lead convener of 30 organizations supporting older people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The grant will support HMEA’s work to build health care Quality Measures into an electronic information system, create benchmarks across pilot agencies and convene a learning community to improve collaboration among human service organizations and health care providers. This electronic system is a key asset needed to help these organizations collaborate with health care providers serving older people with disabilities."

https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190628/stronghorace-mann-receives-grant-from-tufts-healthstrong

For more about HMEA and the good work they do, visit https://www.hmea.org/

Franklin SEPAC: January 2019 Newsletter

Parent to Parent Support  Please join us at Cole's Tavern for this month's parent to parent night. Where: Cole's Tavern (back room) When: January 10  at 7 PM  ------------------------------------------------------------ Anxiety in Relation to Learning/ Developmental Disabilities "Anxiety in Relation to Learning/Developmental Disabilities and How to Address in the IEP"  presented by Dr. Erin Gibbons  from Neuropsychology & Education Services for  Children & Adolescents (NESCA). Free and open to the public. Where: 3rd floor training room   Franklin Municipal Building When: January 17 at 7 PM If you have any suggestions for workshops or social events for the kids, please send us an email at franklinsepac@gmail.com. WWW.FRANKLINSEPAC.ORG

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Franklin Special Education Parent Advisory Council 355 East Central St. Franklin, Massachusetts 02038 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

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FSPA Academy enters third year

The FSPA Academy at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts is now entering its third year and is continuing to grow as a new method of public schooling in Franklin. The FSPA Academy model combines the flexibility of a virtual education with a motivating classroom, supportive learning coaches, and a creative, expectation-driven school environment. 

For career-bound students of the arts, FSPA Academy accommodates professional opportunities, rehearsal, and performance schedules. The Academy partners with TECCA, a virtual Massachusetts Public School. The curriculum is taught by licensed, certified teachers through a combination of Live Lessons and individual assignments.

Monday through Friday, FSPA Academy provides an academic home from 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM with a 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM additional hour option for middle and high schoolers. Students’ schedules are individually tailored to their academic and elective needs and interests. The model allows for distraction-free learning and the benefit of state testing done on site. 

TECCA offers a challenging curriculum with a variety of courses offered at every level through honors and AP with students earning a MA State Diploma. In addition to the academic courses offered by TECCA, FSPA Academy students study music theory and have the option for tutoring in math. Field trips are scheduled to enhance students’ performing arts and cultural interests.

The Academy is guided by a full-time FSPA Administrator and a team of Learning Coaches seeing to the students’ well-being, and academic and arts needs. Theresea Wickstrom, mother of FSPA Academy rising junior Susauna Wickstrom says, “It is a sigh of relief to have a designated space for my daughter. It promotes the importance of school, getting out of the home and it keeps a routine going. She’s coming to a place that’s safe, not just physically, but emotionally.”

Academy students thrive in an atmosphere of kindness, tolerance, and mutual respect. Students work independently but enjoy an easy camaraderie. They also benefit from the larger student body of FSPA and participate in social activities including student productions and the annual Prom.

There is still time to enroll at FSPA Academy. Call 508-528-8668 or email academy@fspaonline.com for more information about this exciting academic alternative.

FSPA Academy enters third year

“We like to say ‘play messy so they’ll think messy’"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

From across a small field at Oak Grove Farm Friday morning, two-year-old Charlie Phippard saw children experimenting with water and dirt near the edge of the woods. 

“Mud,” he exclaimed, dashing across the space. 

Elsewhere, toddlers poured buckets of water down makeshift slides, sprayed it at tubes of duct-taped plastic bottles, played with colored, frozen blocks of it, created pools for small stone pigs with it, and submerged a variety of things into containers of it. 

The children watched the results of their play with a combination of serious focus and sheer delight. 

This is Tinkergarten, a play-based learning program popping up across the Milford area.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180810/millis-learning-through-play-at-tinkergarten

Tinkergarten had some classes in Franklin in August of last year
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/08/two-quick-updates-on-tinkergarten.html

https://twitter.com/tinkergarten

Last day of school and learning continues!

Yes, it is the last day of school for most of Franklin. Keller/Sullivan finishes on Friday (June 22) due to the water problem they had earlier this school year that caused them to miss two days. 

Learning, however, needs to continue through the summer and even for adults every day. If you stop learning, you'll fall behind and may not be able to catch up.

Shane Parrish has this interview on learning that is well worth listening to.

"In this interview, Barbara Oakley, 8-time author and creator of Learning to Learn, an online course with over a million enrolled students, shares the science and strategies to learn more quickly, overcome procrastination and get better at practically anything."

https://www.fs.blog/2018/04/learning-barbara-oakley/

Last day of school and learning continues!

Parmenter: Last day of school and learning continues!

Franklin SEPAC: January Workshop - Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities - Jan 18

January 2018 Happy New Year!! January Workshop Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities By Dr. Joseph Moldover Children with these disorders may have trouble interpreting non-verbal cues like facial expression or body language and may have poor coordination, but are strong verbally. Dr. Moldover is a neuropyschologist practicing independently in Wellesley, MA. He evaluates and treats children and adolescents with learning disorders, developmental disorders, neurological injuries and psychiatric disabilities.  Dr. Moldover frequently works with individuals diagnosed with ADHD/ADD, neurological and psychiatric disorders and cognitive disabilities. He is a graduate of the Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology at Widner University.  Thursday, January 18th at 7:00 PM 3rd Floor Training Room Franklin Municipal Building  We look forward to seeing you there.  Parent Support Group When: Thursday, January 25 at 7:00 PM Where: Cole's Tavern, 553 Washington Street, Franklin We will be providing monthly opportunities for parents/caregivers to get together in a relaxed environment to share stories, make connections and learn from one another.   The mission of the Franklin Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is to promote a network for parents of children with disabilities and provide a forum to share information and discuss matters of relative interest and concern regarding our children. This group provides regular forums for Pupil Personnel Services and parents to share information and discuss pertinent issues; develops, maintains and shares tools and a resource guide; and raises awareness of children with special needs. We host monthly workshops educating parents on special-needs topics. We also hold support groups, fun meet-ups for the kids and donate educational supplies to the Franklin Public School Special Education programs. We are a volunteer-run organization and need donations to help alleviate the costs of the above-mentioned programs. We receive our primary funding through an annual "Evening of Comedy" fundraiser that we host in April. www.franklinsepac.org We are always looking for feedback and ways that we can help meet the needs of our community here in town.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to us via email at franklinsepac@gmail.com, follow us on Facebook at @franklinsepac, and now on Twitter at @franklin_sepac. Stay updated about our workshops, support groups and events. Get social with us!

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Franklin Special Education Parent Advisory Council 355 East Central St. Franklin, Massachusetts 02038 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

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