IMPACT to host co-founders of Starbrite Kids Program

On Thursday, Nov. 21, the Indian Mills Parent Advisory Cooperative Team will present Ida Keiper and Jesemine Jones, co-authors of the books: “A Travel Resource for Parents of Children with Special Needs” and “Destinations for Kids with Special Needs — East Coast Edition”. The meeting will be held in the library of Indian Mills Memorial School, 295 Indian Mills Road. There will be a “Meet and Greet” at 6:30 p.m. and seminar to begin at 7 p.m. Parents from all school districts are welcome to attend. Books are available at amazon.com or can be purchased the evening of the event. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to: impact4shamong@gmail.com by Nov. 18.

Jesemine Jones and Ida Keiper are co-founders of the Starbrite Kids Program that specializes in planning travel for families with a child with special needs. They have 50 years of combined experience educating children with a broad spectrum of disabilities. Together, they have hosted workshops, participated in special needs conferences, and published articles in magazines.

Jones is currently a social worker in the New Jersey public school system and is a former special education teacher, mental health therapist, lead counselor of a therapeutic foster care program, and team leader for an alternative high school for classified students.

Keiper, a highly qualified teacher, educated children with disabilities for thirty years, wrote district curriculum for special education, and has been a coordinator of special education in New Jersey public schools. Her compassion and professionalism earned her “Teacher of the Year”.

The presentation will help parents:

• Plan the best vacation for their family

• Identify education benefits of travel

• Identify ways to address special provisions, accessibility, & dietary restrictions for special needs children

• Address challenging vacation behaviors by applying evidence based strategies

• Locate special needs friendly destinations along the east coast

In 2010 a group of residents in Shamong recognized the need to have a support group for parents of children with differences in learning, socialization, behavior or medical issues. We began meeting and sharing ideas, resources and information; learning from each other about how to help our children and ensure our children’s highest level of achievement. Our goal is to strengthen the collaborative effort among families and educators. Our group is also a conduit for parental input into district policies. For more information, write to: impact4shamong@gmail.com

Our mission statement is to make a positive impact in the lives of students in our community who have learning, social or behavioral differences.