Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
William Penn outlines new student services structure as parents press for better special-education response and ESY hours
Summary
District officials described a reorganized student services office, new hires and partnerships to support special education and pupil services. Parents at the meeting raised concerns about slow response times and the scale and hours of the district's ESY program.
Dr. Matthew Harris, director of student services for the William Penn School District, presented the committee with an updated student services organizational structure and staffing changes on Oct. 8, and several parents raised concerns during public comment about special-education responsiveness and extended school year (ESY) programming.
Harris said the district's new team reflects work from an audit and partnerships with the Chester County Intermediate Unit and the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. He listed recent and incoming staff: Dr. Christine Joy and Heidi Sokash as supervisors of special education (Joy joined the district this week; Sokash joined over the summer), Dr. Nikia Williams (existing team member), special education data coordinator Angela Humphrey, and program coordinator Kate Bridal (transitioning from a contracted role with Devereaux). Harris said Chanel Forrest from the Chester County IU serves as lead PCA coordinator and that Lily Maids, a board-certified behavior analyst, will join later this month to support PCA services.
Harris explained how pupil-services staff — registration staff Danielle White, John Frank, Dana Keith and Teresa Overton — plus school social workers, nurses and counselors fit under the student services umbrella. He said Ms. Austin serves as his executive assistant and that the staff copied on communications are bound by FERPA and HIPAA confidentiality requirements.
During the public-comment period, a parent identified as Miss Mashinda said she has struggled to get timely responses on issues affecting her children and raised concerns about ESY scheduling. "It takes y'all months to respond or do anything when it comes to my children, and y'all got all these all these people with all these hats, so nobody's doing anything," Mashinda said. She added that ESY last year was "only 3 hours a day, 3 days a week," which she said did not meet working families' needs.
Harris acknowledged the concerns and said if he were unavailable, Dr. Williams, Sokash or Joy could be contacted for support. He offered to schedule a follow-up meeting with Mashinda to address specific concerns. Melinda Tax, a PLC teacher, asked whether special education was divided by elementary and secondary levels; Harris replied that Sokash focuses on K–6 and Joy on grades 7–12 and said he and cabinet members would coordinate cross-program needs.
The committee did not take formal action at the Oct. 8 meeting. Harris said the district is prioritizing registration processing, building-level support, ESY supervision and professional development to address audit findings and improve service delivery.
