By AMY ADAMS
For The Reporter
Westfield parents of children with special needs now have an extra layer of support when it comes to advocating for education thanks to the Special Education Parents Advisory Council at Westfield Washington Schools (WWS).
As mothers of boys with Down syndrome, Tendra Duff and Mendi Cooley understand that parents of children with special needs are busy. That’s why they have joined with other parents and administrators of WWS to form a council to provide input to the local school district on special education services.
“This is our passion,” Duff said. “It’s not always easy, but we figure out how to make the time.”
When Duff’s twins came home after months in the NICU, she had no choice but to stay at home to care for them. In 2017, she started a group called Westfield POMS (Parents of Miraculous Students) to help parents of special needs kids better support each other. Duff became a full-time caregiver for her sons through Guardian Care, a professionally managed pediatric home care company. And now that her boys are tube-free, she works as community liaison for the company, doing all she can to share what she has learned with others.
“I saw firsthand that we could do better for my own kids and other kids,” Duff said.
She began having conversations more than a year ago with Superintendent Dr. Paul Kaiser and Director of Student Services Dr. Chase Stinson.
Mendi Cooley joined the conversations a few months later. While she has stepped up to take on the role of parent lead, she credited Duff and Stinson as being instrumental catalysts in the process of launching SEPAC.
A full-time occupational therapist, Cooley first met Duff through POMS. Cooley’s younger son received an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) through First Steps, Indiana’s early intervention program. Once her older son was in school, they discovered that he needed an IEP for a completely different reason. He was identified through Child Find which, required by federal law, enables public schools to look for and evaluate kids who need special education.
“There are basically two roads into special education in the schools,” Cooley said. “I happen to have experience with both. We are so thankful. An IEP is really a passport to education.”
While the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires each state to maintain an advisory council for special education and related services for children with disabilities, only a handful of states require their school districts to follow suit. Indiana is not one of those states. Although Article 7, Indiana’s special education law, promotes parent participation, it does not mandate the formation of any type of local parent advisory group.
The first SEPAC was formed in Indiana in 1988, but Westfield’s is the first such council to be established in Hamilton County or surrounding areas.
The online Advocacy in Action guide produced by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs provides guidance in establishing a SEPAC. In addition, Stephanie Garner, parent lead for SEPAC in Plainfield, which has been active for about six years, has mentored the team. Lesa Paddack, assistant director of In*Source, which helps Indiana parents navigate the special education process, has also provided valuable support.
Leaders consulted with each school principal in the district to identify parents who would be productive additions to the council. However, what is truly unique about SEPAC in Westfield is that staff members are also involved.
“This is parent-driven, but teacher participation has been key,” Cooley said.
With one parent and one staff member representative for each of their 10 buildings, the WWS SEPAC began meetings in late spring of 2022 and continues to meet monthly both in person and virtually.
“Our group is super eager to implement the SEPAC mission and vision,” Stinson said. “We are working on trying to get ourselves positioned to really be a resource for the community – a trustworthy source that parents can go to for a better understanding of what services look like across the board. Parents can speak to others who have been there.”
One of the main goals of SEPAC is to educate parents, giving them the knowledge to participate meaningfully in the education of their children and to effectively express what they need.
“We hold their hands until they figure it out for themselves,” Duff said. “With SEPAC, parents who would have felt uncomfortable in the past are being empowered to ask for what they need for their children, even if it might seem outside the box.”
Cooley explained that many times the burden falls on teachers and administrators in an IEP to guide parents through the process even though they may not have time.
“SEPAC can fill that gap to help educate parents,” Cooley said. “We are working hard to help people know what to communicate and who to communicate with. We help them set aside emotion and find fact-based evidence to support their requests. That’s when collaboration can really start.”
Another important goal of SEPAC is to identify systemic needs in the district and work with administrators to find workable solutions.
“The school is really listening to us and helping us meet needs,” Duff said. “The parents and district are working together to go above and beyond.”
In addition, the hope is that SEPACs will begin forming in other school districts around the state.
“A ton of parents have reached out from other districts,” Duff said. “There is a lot of interest from the parent level and from special education directors. The need is there.”
Stinson expects to see SEPAC build momentum and relationships as it continues to evolve and improve.
“But our biggest win so far has been the overall feeling of parents being heard,” Cooley said.
Westfield SEPAC has a newly designed logo, and a web page is underway that will be a parent resource hub on the WWS website.
The next meeting will be held April 13. Anyone is welcome to attend meetings. For time and location or for more information, email sepacwestfield@gmail.com.