This session will be offered twice: in English (May 10), and in Spanish (May 3)

How can faith communities and local public schools become more engaged partners in the work of improving students’ educational achievement?

As community “trusted messengers,” faith-based leaders are invited to this session to learn ways they can reach, share with, and encourage families to continue to be engaged in their children’s educational pathways. Participants will learn about:

• how faith-based organizations and leaders can serve as essential community partners to support children’s learning and development;
• evidence-based practices that support the importance of faithbased organizations partnering with schools;
• innovative approaches that faith-based leaders, including fellow participants in the session, may use to support education;
• and examples of successful partnerships between faith-based organizations and schools.

Date: Monday May 10, 2021
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Register Here!

For questions, please contact Nitza M. Diaz, SERC Consultant: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (860)632-1485 x394

¡COMUNIDADES DE FE: RUTA AL EXITO ESCOLAR!

¡Líderes de comunidades de Fe! ¡Mensajeros de Confi anza!

¿Cómo pueden las comunidades de fe y las escuelas públicas locales convertirse en socios más mejorar el rendimiento escolar de los estudiantes?

Le invitamos a participar en una sesión con nosotros sobre como poder ayudar a las familias a involucrarse y participar en el proceso educativo de sus hijos. En esta sesión aprenderán:

• Prácticas y enfoques innovadoras para que las comunidades de Fe colaboren con las escuelas para promover el éxito educativo de los niños
• Ejemplos de programas que pueden implementar en su comunidad

FECHA: Lunes, 3 de Mayo de 2021
HORA: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

REGISTRARSE

Preguntas sobre el contenido: Nitza M. Diaz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. o (860) 632-1485 X394

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITY
The State Education Resource Center (SERC) is offering a two-year opportunity for Districts/Schools to implement an action plan for Opioid and Substance Misuse Prevention. SERC’s coaching and Technical Assistance (TA) will support the districts’ process of developing and implementing their plan using the Prevention Guiding Curriculum and Tools.

Please note the deadline to submit an application has been extended to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, 2021, to allow applicants additional time. Applicants are required to take the Substance Misuse Prevention Planning Online Course and now have through July 2021 to complete it. To register: https://21-55-102.eventbrite.com.

Districts applying for the TA will be selected July 19. The two selected districts will be eligible for a stipend of $9,000.00 in year one and $2,500.00 in year two, to support implementation of action-planning and associated costs.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Paquita Jarman-Smith at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Background
This opportunity is aligned with the following priorities (see page 2 of Connecticut's American Rescue Plan Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Guidance):

• Family and Community Connections: The complex issues brought about by the pandemic have made it clear that the success of schools, families, and communities are interdependent and all have a stake in students’ well-being. Investing in mutually beneficial school-family-community partnerships will not only support students to achieve their full potential, but it will also strengthen families and stabilize communities.
  


• Social, Emotional, and Mental Health of the Students and of our School Staff: The school community experience during the pandemic has been one of collective challenge and trauma. We must be prepared to use strategic wraparound social, emotional, and mental health supports to restore and successfully re-engage our school communities.

This opportunity also aligns with the Accelerate CT Framework, a bold, redesigned educational response to learning outlined in AccelerateCT (https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/COVID19/AccelerateCT) that will promote renewal, reduce opportunity gaps, accelerate learning, and advance equity to allow for the most effective response to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Opioid Response (SOR II)
A Transforming Approach to Opioid Prevention:
Developing Systemic Change in Schools
District - Invitation to Apply for Technical Assistance

SOR II GRANT OVERVIEW-

The State of Connecticut, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) was awarded the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 2021 State Opioid Response (SOR) grant. This grant “aims to address the opioid crisis by increasing access to medication-assisted treatment using the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorders (OUD).” The CT SOR initiatives are intended to supplement current activities pertaining to opioid misuse undertaken by DMHAS through its previously awarded SAMHSA State Targeted Response (STR) grant as well as utilize recommendations from the CT Opioid Response (CORE) Plan, the CT Alcohol and Drug Policy (ADPC), and feedback from a number of consumers, providers and other stakeholders. One such recommendation is bringing awareness of the dangers of opioid use directly into the classroom for students in grades K-12. This grant is a collaborative effort between DMHAS and the State Education Resource Center (SERC).

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OVERVIEW

The State Education Resource Center is offering a two-year opportunity for Districts/Schools to implement an action plan for Opioid and Substance Misuse Prevention. Coaching and Technical Assistance (TA) will be offered to support implementation of an action plan using the Guiding Curriculum and Tools as a follow-up to completion of the Online Course (Universal Opioid and Other Substance Misuse Prevention Planning: Resources for K-12 Educators and Planners).
Selected districts will be eligible for a stipend of $9,000.00 in year one and $2,500.00 year two, to support implementation of action-planning and associated costs. (Selection Date June 2021) .

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• The Grant Invitation to Apply contains more details and dates
• SOR Grant Application (PDF)
• SOR Grant Application (MS Word)
• Universal Opioid and Other Substance Misuse Prevention Planning in Schools:
  Guidance for Connecticut K-12 Educators and their Prevention Partners (Guidance Document)
• Universal Opioid and Other Substance Misuse Prevention Planning in Schools: Self-Assessment Tool
• Register for Online Course, Universal Opioid Misuse Prevention Planning in Schools

For content questions, contact SERC Consultant Paquita Jarman-Smith, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Special Notice from the Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), the federal law concerning the education of students with disabilities, requires schools to provide you, the parent, with a notice containing a full explanation of the procedural safeguards available under the IDEA and the regulations implementing the IDEA. A copy of this notice must be given to you one time each year; and when the following occurs:

• The first time you or the school district asks for an evaluation.
• You ask for a copy of these procedural safeguards.
• The first time in a school year you request a due process hearing or file a state complaint.
• A decision is made to take a disciplinary action against your child that is a change in placement

Read the Procedural Safeguards Notice Required Under IDEA Part B at CSDE's Website.