NEALS Meeting Information

Northeast Association of Learning Specialists

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Meeting Information

Past meetings and presenters

Fall 2008

Preparing Students for Transition to Higher Education

Loring Brinkerhoff,
Director of the Office of Disability Policy
at Educational Testing Service

Emily Singer,
Director of Disability Services
The Catholic University of America

Forman School in Litchfield, CT

Spring 2008

Disability Law in Independent Schools

Alicia Brandon
Landmark College, Putney, VT

A Letter from NEALS President,

Rebecca Peterson

Dear NEALS folks,

Welcome to the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Northeast Association of Learning Specialists! In the ten years since the first small group assembled at Hotchkiss School to discuss the best practices for learning specialists in independent schools, our
membership has grown exponentially ... as has the number of schools who now offer some variety of academic support for their students.

If you have new colleagues who would like to join as well, please feel free to copy the membership forms for them or put them in touch with Lee Hughes, our Membership Coordinator
(lee.hughes@gouldacademy.org)

Lastly, please remember that members may participate in discussions going on in our Google discussion group. You can access the group through the News page. If you have difficulty with access, please e-mail our resident Google groups guru, Kara Ashley, at kashley@fayschool.org and she can sort you out.

Best,
Rebecca

Rebecca Plona Peterson, M.A., M.Ed
Director of the Learning Center
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
413.774.2711
rpeterson@sbschool.org

Please join us for the Spring Meeting of the Northeast Association of Learning Specialists on Wednesday, April 29th at the Pike School in
Andover, MA!

We are fortunate to have Dr. Ann Helmus, director of Neuropsychology and Education Services for Children and Adolescents (NESCA) joining us in the
morning for a discussion on working well with students with nonverbal learning disabilities and executive functioning challenges.

From the NESCA website:
Dr. Helmus is a clinical neuropsychologist who co-founded the Children’s Evaluation Center (CEC) in Newton, MA and served as co-director there for
almost ten years. She received her undergraduate degree in Neural Science from Brown University and earned her doctorate at Boston University School
of Medicine. Her postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology was completed at Children’s Hospital in Boston, where she remained on staff
for seven years. Concurrently, she served as neuropsychologist to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Dr. Helmus specializes in the evaluation of children with learning and attentional disorders, as well as primary neurological disorders. In addition to assessing children, she also provides consultation and training to both public and private school systems. She frequently makes presentations to groups of parents, particularly on the topics of
non-verbal learning disability and executive functioning. She is the mother of two school-age children.

The day will run as follows:

8:30 - 9:15        Registration and networking
9:15                 Welcome and introduction to the day
9:30 - 11:30    Keynote speaker - Dr. Ann Helmus
11:30 - 12:15    Lunch
12:15 - 1:15    "Toolbox Talk" streategies for
                       working well with classroom teachers
                        Presented by Patty Peterleitner                          Director of the Center for Learning
                         at Worcester Academy
1:30                  Departure

A meeting for those interested in serving on the board in the fall will follow Patty's talk.

The conference fee is $35 per person for members, $50 for nonmembers, and can be paid at the door. If you can join us, please e-mail Gretchen Larkin at gretchen_larkin@milton.edu by Friday, April 17th to confirm attendance. In your confirmation, if you have any dietary needs, please let Gretchen know.

Directions and parking information will be sent out to attendees the week
of April 27th.

As always, please feel free to share this invitation with anyone who might be interested. We look forward to seeing you on the 29th!

Best,
Rebecca

Rebecca Plona Peterson, M.A., M.Ed
Director of the Learning Center
Diversity Coordinator
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
413.774.2711
rpeterson@sbschool.org