Berkeley Heights Public School District News
Submitted by Victoria Baum
Building upon the outstanding history of the Berkeley Heights Public School District’s advocacy and support for all students to receive an outstanding education, our Special Services Department has been hard at work over the summer applying for acceptance into The New Jersey Inclusive Education Technical Assistance (NJIETA) Project. We are pleased to announce that Berkeley Heights Public Schools was accepted into two technical assistance programs: one at Governor Livingston High School focused on differentiated instruction and the other at Mary Kay McMillin ECC focused on reframing autism at the preschool level.
The NJIETA is a collaborative effort between the New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education (OSE), the Montclair State University Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health (CAECMH), and the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education (NJCIE). NJIETA is designed for the collaborators to partner with public, charter, and vocational schools to provide Technical Assistance and Systemic Change Facilitation to develop more inclusive educational opportunities. NJIETA will also work to develop a statewide vision for more inclusive schools through the Inclusion Leadership Development Group.
For the preschool technical assistance project, Special Services will be coordinating with consultants from Montclair State University to enhance the supports and services provided to young children with autism at the early childhood level. This technical assistance package supports MKMECC’s special education teachers, preschool teachers, and related services personnel in gaining a deeper understanding of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and how they can support their successful participation in general education classrooms.
Both technical assistance projects are expanding the skills and knowledge base that has been developed through all of the inclusive initiatives and strategic planning that has occurred in Berkeley Heights over the last several years. The Special Services Department is extremely excited and very grateful to be included in several technical assistance projects for the 2020-21 school year.
In addition, Mrs. Michele Gardner, Director of Special Services, has been invited to participate in the Inclusion Leadership Development Group. The Inclusion Leadership Development Group (ILDG) will meet 4-6 times per year in order to develop suggestions or guidance for New Jersey schools on inclusive efforts, identify obstacles or challenges to inclusive education in New Jersey and review information gathered from the NJIETA Systemic Change Facilitation sites and Technical Assistance sites.
More information can be found on the NJIETA’s website: njieta.org.
Congratulations to Mrs. Gardner and our entire Special Services Department on being accepted into these programs and thank you for all you do for our students.
