About G.R.A.S.E.
(Glen Ridge Association for Special Education)

GRASE

Glen Ridge Association for Special Education

Who Are We?

GRASE (Glen Ridge Association for Special Education) is a group of parents, administrators and teachers working together to create an educational environment where all students – special and general education alike, can be successful. Our goal is to break down barriers between general and special education and to promote the success of all students. We need to work together – parents, administrators and teachers, if we are to continue improving our children’s education. Working together is the cornerstone of our success.

GRASE focuses its attention on three basic areas: Support/Advocacy, Communication/Collaboration and Education.

Support/Advocacy: Being the parent of a child with a disability encompasses more than the typical parental stresses and concerns. Having a place to share these concerns can make all the difference in being able to cope with them. GRASE is available to parents as they begin the process of entering the special education arena to offer support and guidance. We remain available as their children continue their education. Throughout this process, we help parents develop the skills they need to advocate for their children with the eventual goal of enabling the children to advocate for themselves.

To celebrate and encourage our children, we now offer scholarships to deserving classified seniors to help with post-secondary endeavors.

Education: We provide programs that expand our understanding of special and general education issues. We invite experts in the field of education, medicine, law and learning disabilities to address the community. Some of the presentations we’ve done in the past have been on Attention Deficit Disorder, organizational skills, social skills, sensory integration and early language development. We sponsor presentations for the special education community that are often of interest to a wider audience as well.

We have had, and plan to continue, video presentations including "How Difficult Can This Be – F.A.T. City" and Howard Gardener’s "How Are Kids Smart - Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom". These videos and others along with many books on related issues are part of our Parent/Professional Lending Library, which is located in the Glen Ridge Public Library.

Communication/Collaboration: Collaboration between parents and teachers is the cornerstone of success for your child with special needs. Parents and teachers have separate, distinct and equally vital information that needs to be shared freely in both directions. The most effective educational experiences synthesize these different perspectives to develop knowledge of the whole child. Therefore it is vital that parents and teachers have open lines of communication. This is the first step towards a collaborative relationship between parents and their child’s teacher. GRASE assists with development of these skills through mentoring and educational programs.

We, the parents of GRASE, would like to extend an open armed welcome to parents of children with learning differences. We would also like to share with you the following exerpt from a letter the current president, Jill Simmons, to the previous president, Penny Dragonetti, on the occasion of her retirement from GRASE.

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As parents of children with special needs, I believe that we bear certain responsibilities in this journey of our children’s lives, the shouldering of which make it possible to be collaborative instead of combative. I view these responsibilities as the 10 commandments for parents of children with special needs.

The Ten Commandments

1. Understand fully and be able to communicate the complexities of my child’s disability;
2. Celebrate, rejoice in, and be able to communicate my child’s strengths and abilities;
3. Understand as fully as possible the special education laws and codes for the State of New Jersey and our nation at large;
4. Understand the responsibilities of the school, the responsibilities of our family, and how they complement and support each other;
5. Have the courage and grace to say thank you to all those who touch my child’s life;
6. Have the courage to say with grace and tact "this is not working for my child" and offer solutions;
7. Make the time to forge new relationships each September and continue to nurture them throughout the school year;
8. Be willing to let my child stumble in the struggle to meet new challenges;
9. Advocate for my whole child, letting his strengths drive his program as well as his disabilities, even when it means moving out of the "safety zone";
10. Look to the future with an open mind, trusting that if we challenge and support in balanced proportions, my child will go places none of us could predict or plan for today.

Jill Simmons