Dear Parents,
As you may already know, during the 2013-2014 school year, we faced a significant challenge regarding the 1:1 paraprofessionals and 1:1 private duty nurses assigned to NYC DOE students enrolled at the Henry Viscardi School. After months of lobbying efforts and meetings with legislators and State Education Department officials, an agreement was entered into between us and the State Education Department to revise our staffing model in turn for an extension of the provision and payment of 1:1 aides and nurses for the 2014-2015 school year. We began this process with a two-day visit and site observations by NYSED representatives, followed by 3 of 4 scheduled Restructuring Committee meetings.
A major focus of the Restructuring Committee is to propose a budget that will support a revised staffing model to meet the needs of as many of our students as possible. By November 1, 2014, a Program Modification will be submitted to NYSED, which will trigger a process in which we will need to receive appropriate funding for this model.
After the November 1st proposal is reviewed by SED, we will be in a position to inform families and referring school districts affected as to what determination by SED has been made in terms of our revised staffing model so that decisions and planning for the 2015-2016 school year may commence.
We would like to plan a meeting for parents to learn more about the process and ask any questions they may have. This meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 20th at 10:00 am in the Viscardi Multimedia Learning Center. This meeting will also be accessible through WebEx. The dial-in information is 1-855-244-8681, and the access code is 191 016 534.
We hope all can attend and/or participate!
Very truly yours,
Diana V. DeVivio
Superintendent/Principal