Director of Special Education Alison Elmer aelmer@arlington.k12.ma.us Phone: 781-316-3533 Main Office: 781-316-3530 Fax: 781-316-3647 Mailing Address Arlington High School Special Education Dept, 6th Floor 869 Massachusetts Avenue Arlington, MA 02476 Special Education Coordinators High School - Lynne Bennett lbennett@arlington.k12.ma.us Middle School - Rena Mello rmello@arlington.k12.ma.us Elementary - Kristin Burke kaburke@arlington.k12.ma.us Elementary - Louisa Popkin lpopkin@arlington.k12.ma.us Early Childhood - Joyce Schlenger jschlenger@arlington.k12.ma.us Out of District - Chris Carlson ccarlson@arlington.k12.ma.us

Special Education

The Arlington Public Schools provides a comprehensive array of programs and services from pre-school through grades 12 designed to address the needs of eligible students who have a disability and require specialized instruction.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Massachusetts State Performance Plan (MA SPP) and Annual Performance Reports (MA APR) Target Setting

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) says that each state must submit a state performance plan/annual performance report (SPP/APR) to the federal government. This SPP/APR explains how the state is working to meet IDEA's requirements. SPP/APRs include:

• Indicators that measure child and family outcomes. These are called "Performance Indicators." There are eight Performance Indicators.
• Indicators that measure compliance with IDEA. These are called "Compliance Indicators." There are nine Compliance Indicators.

You can see school district data for our state's Performance and Compliance Indicators on the Massachusetts School and District Profiles website.

Every year on February 1st, Massachusetts submits our state's SPP/APR to the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Every six years, OSEP requires our state to set new targets for the Performance Indicators.

We'd like your input as we set new targets from now until school year 2025-2026.

• DESE 2021-2022 School Year Parent Letter and FAQ

• Massachusetts After High School Survey 2021

• Tiered Focused Monitoring Report - May 20, 2021

• Supporting Self Advocacy with Elise Wulff - January 2021

• COVID-19 Family Letter & Family Resource Toolbox (DESE)

• COVID-19 Information and Resources for Special Educators

• Educational Resources for Students and Families (DESE)

DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE QUICKLY?
Get the answers you need. It's Free! It's confidential. Multilingual.

• INTERFACE Referral Service for Mental Health- FREE
  *Services are available to all Arlington residents, children, adolescents and
  their families, including all Arlington Public School students.
  Hours: Mon - Fri, 9AM-5PM
  Contact: Helpline 888-244-6843 or local 617-332-3666
  What to expect when you call: Intake/Matching/Follow up/Closing referral - Translation services available.


• Dial 2-1-1. Or search online MASS 211.
  Youth Services, Elder Care, Fitness, Food, Escape Violence, Housing, Income Assistance, Legal Aid, LGBTQ, Medical Care, and Insurance, Mental Health, Nutrition, Parenting, Safety Equipment, Sexual and Health Testing, Special Health Care Needs, Transportation, Utilities, Work.


• HEARING IMPAIRED INFORMATION
  Callers can use Mass Relay (7-1-1). 7-1-1 is the single, toll-free, nationwide number that gives everyone access to relay services. People can simply dial 7-1-1 from any phone to reach someone who uses a standard phone or a TTY. An operator will relay verbatim the conversation between the parties.


• You can also chat with us online at mass211.org
• Call 2-1-1 or 1-877-211-6277
• Runaway Assistance (Police Officers) ext 11
• Childcare ext 23
• Call2Talk (Mental Health Line) ext 25
• Child Requiring Assistance ext 24
• Disaster ext 20

Thank you very much, and we appreciate everyone's efforts to keep our community healthy.

MAP & DIRECTIONS