LEA Partnership Program

RTSC’s Role

• Meeting with the district contact person to provide initial and ongoing guidance and support for their recruitment efforts
• Providing required Orientation Trainings for interested applicants
• Processing applications and notarizing CORI/SORI Forms for volunteers
• Providing ongoing support for both SESPs and the school district
• Providing brochures and other recruitment materials and sharing successful strategies for volunteer recruitment
• Providing Developmental Trauma and Learning workshops for faculty, volunteers, and members of the wider community

School District Role

• Identifying a staff member to serve as the primary District Coordinator
• Actively recruit local community members to become SESPs. Strategies may include:
  • Posting information on your website
  • Regularly sending email announcements to potential recruits
  • Displaying brochures and flyers provided by RTSC in your schools, offices, and parent meeting rooms
  • Identifying strong candidates from among your existing volunteers, SEPAC members, and parent leaders and encouraging them to apply to the program
• Submitting information regarding outreach efforts (events, locations, etc.)
• Directing volunteers to the RTSC website for the SESP Application, Orientation Training options, and contact information for RTSC support
• Requesting assistance and guidance from RTSC as necessary

To become and SESP, volunteers must meet certain eligibility requirements, including the following:

• At least 18 years old
• Not employed by an agency involved in the care or education of the student they will be serving. For example, an SESP may not be appointed to work with a student within the same school district where they work, or the same district where their own child(ren) attend(s) school.
• Have no interest that might conflict with the interests of the student
• Must have, or be willing to obtain, adequate knowledge in special education and the Individualized Education Program process

Once they are approved to serve as an SESP, they must meet the following requirements:

• Completion of the Orientation Training and SESP Application
• Completion of a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Form
• Agree to promote the best interest of the student in special education matters
• Agree to respect the confidentiality of all records and information related to the student
• Commit to accessing ongoing assistance and guidance from the RTSC via phone calls, virtual meetings, webinars, and newsletters

RTSC routinely offers ongoing training and support to our dedicated SESPs. Initial orientations can take place in two ways:

• RTSC conducts regular trainings throughout the state. Interested volunteers can attend at any convenient location, as advertised on the FCSN workshop calendar
• RTSC Trainers can also present an Orientation Training for your specific school district, for groups of three or more recruited volunteers.

Then, SESPs will have access to a range of supports, including:

• Monthly newsletter and social media posts
• Weekly check-in sessions for all SESPs
• Individual calls with an RTSC support specialist
• Live and recorded webinars on special education and related topics
• Opportunities to connect with other advocacy leaders connected with FCSN
• Free tickets to FCSN’s annual Visions of Community conference

This training presents current research findings on how children’s brains, minds, and bodies respond to traumatic experiences and how prevalent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are in today’s classroom.

Training Topics

• How traumatic reactivity of children with complex trauma can adversely impact their ability to learn
• Understanding challenging behaviors during the school day, and empathic responses rooted in compassionate accountability
• Areas of the IEP process where a knowledge and understanding of the impact of trauma on learning is essential
• How to capture students’ trauma-related needs in the IEP
• How to write relevant and measurable goals for social-emotional learning and post-secondary transition, both of which are essential for positive life outcomes
• Cultivating a paradigm shift towards “safe and supportive schools” by ending zero tolerance disciplinary procedures that lead to school push-out (exclusion, suspension, expulsion) and put students at risk for the PK to prison pipeline
• Resources for continued learning including a Teacher’s Toolkit to use before, during, and after a behavioral crisis

Impact and Outcomes

As a result of the learning experiences in the training, participants will

• …become better able to use evidence-based school and classroom strategies that support the academic growth of students who have experienced trauma
• … grow in their awareness of behavioral triggers that may disrupt the learning process
• …learn how to create a safe, supportive and trauma-sensitive environment in their classroom and school for all students
• … analyze the impact that poverty, home environment, family history of trauma, age and gender may have on the learning process
• … learn how to approach behavior challenges holistically and with inquisitiveness by asking “What has happened to this student and their family, and what can we do to help?”

The process for appointing an SESP is managed by the Collaborative for Education Services’ Special Education Surrogate Parent Program.

Contact SEPP or see their website for more information about eligibility determination, referrals, appointments and case management.