Diversified Learners Committee is #igniting hope this new school year! With the wisdom of our co-chair, Dan Sherman, Principal, St. Paul School, we have been working on various items since June. Due to the nature of this year, we are offering regular DLC check-ins monthly via zoom.

As a few of you know, our surprise this summer was that Dr. Michael Boyle, Executive Director of the Andrew Greeley Center, Loyola Chicago, accepted the position as new Superintendent for the Diocese of Joliet. Needless to say, our new initiative, The Matthew Project, is formally on hold as Loyola and OCS are determining if it is feasible for Loyola to still be our partner on this initiative.

Covid-19 has provided us new challenges and opportunities since spring 2020, and one key reality was the significant need for mental health resources support for all stakeholders. The blessing has been the activation of the SEL school counselors, a key component of the structure of the DLC. Special thank you to Katie Denniston, Our Lady of the Lake School, Christy Hunt, Assumption-St. Bridget School, and Dane Stringfellow, Archbishop Murphy High School for their leadership serving on the archdiocesan Mental Health Ministry Committee (MHMC) as well as chairing the the SEL Elementary Counselors group and the SEL HS Counselors group this year.

• 20-21 DL Executive Committee ZOOM Mtgs: First Thursday of the month – 11AM to 12:30PM –Lunch and Learn – come for what time you can. Our 1st meeting is October 1st.
  
• 20-21 DLC Roster is building! Please review and if you notice errors/edits, please drop me a note.
• DL Trello Board is where we secure our DLC resources for our committee members. Our goal is minimum ONE DL liaison per school, so if you have a new school DL liaison, please let me know so I can invite that new member.
• OCS Website:  2 mega links: Diversified Learners and Mental Health Resources
• Deacon Larry Sutton’s new book:  Teaching Students with Autism in a Catholic Setting – Lawrence Sutton, Ph.D. https://store.loyolapress.com/teaching-students-with-autism Paperback $13.95. Could be a great school book read.
• Puget Sound ESD 3-part PD offering in October – The Case for UDL: Equality, Equity and Inclusive Practices. NO COST – registration required. https://mycatholicschool.org/2020/09/17/psesd-pd-offerings-udl-equality-equity-and-inclusive-practices/
• New DL partnership with Archdiocese of Portland – Kelsey Bell and Erica Cohen Moore. Erica and Kelsey are organizing theme-based zoom series, entitled “Families Growing Together” These 10AM Saturday one hour zoom sessions are intended to support FAMILIES with students with disabilities  during an hour of community, prayer, and reflection. The next 3 sessions are

  October 3, November 7, and December 5. To register, click here.

Respectfully,

Sandra Barton Smith at sandra.smith@seattlearch.org

Dan Sherman at dsherman@seattlestpaul.org