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Office of Special Education & Support Services

The Division of Special Services has several initiatives for the 2010-2011 school year. The division is proud to announce that Trenton Public Schools has been selected to receive funding under the Safe Schools/ Healthy Students Grants Program in the amount of 1,454,223 dollars for the next 4 years. The program will involve the district providing comprehensive programs in the areas of:

	Safe School Environments and Violence Prevention activities
	Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention activities
	Student Behavioral, Social and Emotional Supports
	Mental Health Services
	Early Childhood Social and Emotional Learning Programs

The Safe Schools/Health Students initiative is community-specific and will be implemented district wide for the 2009-2010 school year.

The Division of Special Services will continue to partner with the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding Tomorrows at Columbia University (CASASTART) to provide services for students at risk ages 8 to 13 years of age.

Clinical Consultancy will continue to be implemented to address students who have significant behavioral issues. Clinical Consultancy will consist of mental health professionals, school counselors, and district chief medical officer, supervisor of health services, teachers, child study team members and district administrators.

The Office of Special Education had many changes over the summer months. The office consists of an Executive Director for Special Services, (2) assistant directors, (5) support staff, (33) child study team members, 14 speech specialist, (4) occupational therapist and (1) physical therapist. There are (5) intervention teachers who provide Reading Recovery programs district wide.

The Office of Special Education’s goal is to provide comprehensive services for at risk students and students with disabilities. Every effort will be made to ensure students with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive environment and at risk students will receive all the supplemental supports needed to prevent them from being classified.

The Office of Special Education is in the planning stages of developing an action plan for returning out of district students to their neighborhood schools. The Office of Special Education looks forward to working with parents, community members and students to build capacity for this initiative.

Safe Harbor is a parent advocacy program that assist parents in resolving special education issues and serves as a parent surrogate when parents are not able to attend meetings.

The Division of Special Services is proud to participate in the Wellness programs SNAP-Ed and Alliance for a Healthier Generation initiative. These programs will be implemented district wide and the program will focus on introducing students to the world of nutrition and eliminating childhood obesity. Nutrition Educators will provide comprehensive healthy eating program.

The district received a grant from the Department of Education to implement a School Coordinated Health program at the secondary level. The program will focus on creating a Healthy Schools program.

The Office of Special Services continues to partner with probation, police department, and the prosecutor’s offices with such programs as Youth STAT and Project Safe Neighborhood.

The Office of Special Services is proud to announce the establishment of (2) Medicaid clinics where students with Medicaid and New Jersey Family Care insurance can receive counseling at their schools. The district was awarded 25,000 dollars by Health and Senior Services to develop a program to ensure all students have medical insurance in the district.

The district’s theme this year is great expectations and the Division of Special Services will continue to ensure that the staff will always have “Great Expectations for your child.”

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