Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee (SECAC) of Howard County

SECAC BOARD

 

CO- CHAIR, Barb Krupiarz

I am a stay-at-home mom of two boys in Howard County Public Schools. What I hope to accomplish as the SECAC co-chair is to improve services by providing information about the current state of special education in Howarrd County to our newly elected Board of Education and working with HCPSS and HCEA.  My priority will be to provide assistance and information to the special needs community - especially to those parents who feel they are fighting a losing battle by themselves.

 

I have lobbied for special education bills in Annapolis for 4 years and I completed coursework for Special Education Advocacy Training through the Coalition of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA).  I want to help other families who are going tbrough the struggles my family went through.  Our committee is made up of parents of children of all ages and experiences.  We also have educators as members who can help us understand the process and give us an idea of their struggles so we can work together for improvements.

 

CO-CHAIR, Jason Werther

 In order to understand my passion for this committee, I’d like to share some personal information about my family.  I have three children, all of whom are in Howard County Public Schools.  Two of my children have special education needs, and consequently have an IEP.  My oldest, has the strongest needs, and is now entering her second year of high school at Mt. Hebron, where her mother resides.  I have been participating in the IEP process for my oldest daughter, for over 10 years now.  I have seen the successes of the program, but I am also keenly aware of the shortcomings facing HCPSS and its ability to accurately implement a robust IEP.  I feel that her teachers have been exemplary and her special education providers have been her best advocates.  I do feel; however, that there is much that can be done to improve the IEP process and provide more resources to the teachers and the families.  I cannot and will not accept that everything is being done, when the special education program is experiencing budget cuts at the same time that the school tells me they could do more with more funding.

 

In my professional life, I lead an IT Department.  I have over 20 years of experience leading teams through growth and have also served ten years in the US Army as a helicopter pilot.  I function well under pressure, and am not easily discouraged.  I am a natural leader, and have successfully led organizational change for several organizations.  I know it’s sometimes painful, but I also believe that nothing worth doing is easy.  I am also a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and am often credited for cutting waste and inefficiencies.  I am using my skills and services to help SECAC, Howard County Special Education and all of our children.

 

Lastly, I am not one to subscribe to bureaucratic norms, and am frequently one to challenge past performance.  As a father in Howard County I am passionate and combined with my professional skills, and my strong desire to make change I know we can make change happen rather than follow what’s always been done.  In my opinion, we have improvements to make and the resources to do so are available.  We need to have a voice, and a strong one, and I am willing to make sure that each and every parent in HCPSS with a child who has special education needs is heard loud and clear. 

 

In the Army, we have a saying that I firmly believe in:  Leave No Soldier Behind – No Exceptions.  I believe we need to look long and hard at how we can be sure that no child is left to feel that they cannot learn, or cannot graduate.  We need to stop making excuses, hiding behind bureaucracies, and using budgets, politics, and time constraints as excuses.  Floating children through so they graduate high school at a fifth grade reading level is simply unacceptable.  We are a county that can and must do better. 

 

They are our children.  They are our future.  

 

SECRETARY, Dannene Drummond

I support a mission to improve special education in Howard County.  I have a 14 year old son with autism as well as a younger child without an IEP.  I am committed to ensuring that my son receives the same educational opportunities as my daughter.  I plan to work with the committee to bring about improvements in training, proper supports for inclusion, social skills development, and data management.  I will also listen to the needs of parents, teachers, and students, and do my best to be a champion for them.