Parents Discuss Support: Meeting Addresses Needs of Special Needs Students at Hanover Area Schools.

By Kris Wernowsky, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Mar. 21–HANOVER TWP. — When it comes to special needs students’ education, advocates and Hanover Area School District officials agree that parents need to take the lead role and stay informed, but they should also learn about what other parents experience.

Many hope Tuesday night’s meeting of parents of special needs children and members of the Hanover Area administration is the first of many designed to create a support network for parents who have questions and concerns about their respective students’ education.

In a state educational system steeped in mandates, rules and heady regulations, Dawn Shedlarski, the district’s interim special education coordinator, said parents are often uninformed and unknowledgeable of their special needs child’s rights and what is required of their school district.

Meetings like the one held Tuesday serve an important function by allowing parents to talk about their child’s treatment and to vent their frustrations about the system to each other and to district officials, she said.

“You can defiantly understand where parents can be overwhelmed by everything,” Shedlarski said. “The hardest part is each child’s needs are unique, but each parent thinks their child is the only one. Parents need to be responsible and find out what’s going on.”

The meeting comes at a time when Hanover Area officials are looking for fresh ways to administer special education services to students. Within the past year, Hanover Area reached settlements — all totaling $328,000, with the largest being $250,000 — with families of special education students who felt their children’s needs were not being met.

“We hope this is the start of something that will be a huge success,” Superintendent Anthony Podczasy told the more than 20 parents in attendance. “We will entertain any topic we can to use in future meetings.”

The parents were asked to fill out a survey noting what topics to address at future meetings, including procedural safeguards, behavior management and individualized educational plans.

Donna Brennan, an outspoken parent of an autistic fourth-grade boy, said parents should always stay one step ahead of the school district when it comes to being informed about their student’s special needs.

“That’s why I’m telling these parents to get on the Internet and read up and understand what your child needs,” she said. “The districts offer a lot, they really do, but you can’t depend totally on the district.”

Kris Wernowsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7329.

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