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January 2013 Lafayette’s SEED Foundation By Fran Miller The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – the law governing special education – promises a “free and appropriate education” to the Nation’s special needs school students. The standard is vague, and the bar is fairly low. Attempting to raise the bar for Lafayette School District’s special needs students (roughly 10% of the pre-school through eighth grade population) is The Special Education Enrichment and Development Foundation of Lafayette (SEED). “Both the District and parents of special needs students were interested in providing Lafayette kids with more than the minimum required by law,” says SEED founder Nancy Wallace, who has recently been elected to the Lafayette School District Governing Board. “For many years the School District’s Director of Student Services met monthly with a parent advisory committee to talk about District news and issues related to special education. Special education improvement ideas were often beyond what the District was legally required or able to provide. SEED was founded in an effort to help deliver desired support.” SEED became an official legal entity in 2008 and received non-profit status in 2010. SEED aims to help any family, child, or teacher of a child who is affected by a special need or learning difference, whether it is dyslexia, a speech issue, ADD/ADHD, reading difficulty, Down's Syndrome, etc. Its goals are 1) to assist individuals, corporations, foundations, trusts, and others in making charitable contributions that will enhance special education in Lafayette, 2) to provide information resources and a support network for parents of children with special needs and learning differences, and 3) to provide additional resources to support the effectiveness of special education programs. “In the few short years that SEED has been in existence we have raised almost $63,000 to support the education of children with special needs in Lafayette,” says Wallace. “SEED raises funds through private donations, grant writing, e-scrip, and identification of alternative funding. We’ve received funding from a wide variety of donors including the Spencer Foundation, CVS, First Five, The Run for Kiernan, and the Lafayette Juniors. We sponsor community fundraising events such as our annual spring auction, a great community-building event for families. Last year we had about 100 people, and we raised $9,000.” Programs funded by SEED include Recess Facilitation at the four Lafayette elementary school campuses, a 12-week Behavioral Management parent education class, teacher education and development courses, and community education programs. “Anyone - parent, district teacher, aide, administrator or staff member - can submit an application for a project to our Appropriations Committee,” says Laura Levandowski, SEED President. Some children need help engaging with their typically developing peers, especially during unstructured recess time. Recess Facilitation, implemented by the School District and funded by SEED, entails fourth and fifth grade volunteers leading games during lunch recess for children who need help joining-in with others. The social interaction with general education peers is beneficial for everyone and fosters ability awareness. “The program is inexpensive and easy to implement and enhances social skills for all participants,” says Levandowski.
See SEED continued on page 24
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Serving the Lafayette Community Colleen McCormick, Lamorinda Music 2013 Business Person of the Year Transforming lives with the Power of Music Colleen McCormick has been picked as the Marquis Business Person of the Year. In 2009 Colleen and her husband John had a crazy idea in the middle of a bad economy - to open a music store and grow the community of local musicians. After all, Colleen and John met playing in the Cal Berkeley band. Needless to say, they accomplished their goals, and they have flourished as a unique local start up business. Since they opened, they have tripled their size and now have two new partners sharing the space on Lafayette Circle - Mighty Fine Guitars owned and operated by Colleen’s uncle, Colleen and John McCormick of Lamorinda Music Stevie Coyle, and Renee DeWeese and Rena Wilson operate Lamorinda Theatre Academy upstairs. Investing in music education, sharing her love for music, and adding fun to people’s life is what drives Colleen. Help celebrate the award by joining Colleen, John, daughter Emily, and son Scotty at a dinner in her honor. Save the date for Friday, February 1st at the Lafayette Park Hotel and Spa. The reception begins at 6pm followed by dinner at 7pm. For reservations and more information, visit www.lafayettechamber.org.
Fire Station 16 Closure Public Meeting On Tuesday, January 15th at 6:30pm at the Veterans Memorial Building, located at 3780 Mt Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette, there will be a public meeting with Fire Chief Daryl Louder regarding the closure of Lafayette’s Fire Station 16, located at 4007 Los Arabis Drive. The closure of this station means slower response times for well over one-third of Lafayette, including Happy Valley, Upper Happy Valley and the west end and its residents, in addition to presenting complications implicit in the functioning of various activities and services throughout Lamorinda.
Volume VII - Number 1 3000F Dਁਖਉਅ Bਖ #117 Aਁਏ, CA 94507 Telephone (925) 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 editor@yourmonthlypaper.com Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher
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