Fw: A Message from New Education Secretary Tomassini

[Guest guest]

A Message from New Education Secretary Tomassini

Brought to you by AutismLink

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: December 21, 2006

To: Pennsylvania School Districts

Intermediate Units

Advocacy Organizations

Parent Training and Information Centers

Interested Parties

From: J. Tommasini

On December 12, 2006, I was asked to serve as the Director of the Bureau of

Special Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education as Rhen

steps into a new position with the Department leading the commonwealth's efforts

on IDEA Reauthorization and the revisions to Chapters 14, 16 and 711. I am

honored and humbled by this new opportunity as I follow Rhen's productive

leadership and tenure.

As the new director, I understand the enormity of the responsibilities that

await me. I also am energized, because I now have the opportunity to work in

concert with the families and agencies committed to improving services to

children with disabilities. I believe that the combination of PDE's highly

trained team and concerned parties in the field can maximize inclusive

opportunities, provide ample technical assistance and professional development

to achieve concrete results for our children.

I want to assure you that communication between our partners in the field and

PDE staff is an important priority as we move forward. In that spirit, in the

next few months, I would like to meet with interested parties through a public

process to seek input on our continued efforts to:

.. Improve student learning and results;

.. Implement the Settlement Agreement in Gaskin v. Commonwealth;

.. Implement a Standards Based Aligned System;

.. Coordinate the School Improvement processes and " Getting Results; "

.. To ensure that Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams consider

the least restrictive environment with supplementary aids and services; and

.. Expand and support training and communication for parents of

children with disabilities.

Under Secretary Zahorchak's leadership, PDE is committed to working in

partnership with all constituency groups to best serve all children with

disabilities. As you know, we successfully reached a settlement agreement in

Gaskin v. Commonwealth and the Secretary has fully supported its faithful

implementation across the commonwealth.

As we move forward in our shared responsibilities to improve the quality of

educational services and academic achievement of children with disabilities, I

thank you for your assistance and commitment. It is my great honor and

privilege to serve in this capacity and I look forward to working with you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Join our listserv! Don't get your news second hand! Get LINKED!

http://lists.autismlink.com/lists

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, we're flattered daily!