November 2025 Outplacement News

Welcome to Outplacement News for Families, the latest resource for parents, guardians, and caregivers for students enrolled at LEARN's Outplacement programs. We are happy you are here, choosing a LEARN school education for your child.

This newsletter will be delivered electronically on the 1st Tuesday of the month and will include:

• Leadership Letter
• New & Noteworthy
• Celebration Station
• Counselor's Connection
• Resource Roundup
• Community Corner
• & more!

It's hard to believe November is already here! As we enter this season of gratitude, we want to share our deep appreciation for you. Families and caregivers are our most important partners and we greatly value the work we do each and every day.

Across the month of October, students at Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy and LEARN Transition Academy have been very busy in the classroom and the community! Here are some highlights from both programs:

• From OALA -
• High Five Friday with New London Police Department
• Student Council members preparing & organizing for our Fall Family Fun Night
• Wrapping up a 6-week partnership with Mystic Seaport studying historical vocations and modern day work
• Launch of our new vocational lab featuring an in house grocery store
• From LTA -
• Decorating buoys for the annual Niantic Buoy Tree on Main St
• Making new friends with folks at Waterford Transition Academy
• Exploring new cooking recipes like apple dessert pizza & nachos while keeping everyone's unique dietary needs in mind

In addition to these highlights, students from both our programs came together to create our scarecrow display that highlights our community partners for the annual Niantic Scarecrows on Main competition! We are looking forward to connecting with you all later this month during caregiver conferences - be on the lookout for sign up information from classroom teachers coming soon.

🚨 Important Reminders:

• No school for students on 11/4 for Regional PD
• 11/11 LEARN Schools and Offices are closed in observance of Veteran's Day
• Early dismissal for students on 11/25 & 11/26
• 11/27 & 11/28 LEARN Schools and offices are closed for Thanksgiving Recess

If you or someone you know may be losing SNAP benefits or are impacted in other ways with the government shutdown, the Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Center is ready to help! Visited the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut website to find food resources.

If you are experiences difficulties and need assistance finding food resources for you and/or your student please reach out so that we can help. You are not alone and we are here to help support our community 💙

We are planning to have four after school events this year that celebrate our students and deepen our families' connections to our programs at Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy and LEARN Transition Academy. If you would like to join the this planning team, please email Jean at jajordan@learn.k12.ct.us - planning meetings will be virtual on nights selected once a planning committee is identified.

We are committed to supporting the overall well-being of our students and believe mental health is an important part of overall health. We partner with Cartwheel to support the mental health needs of our students via virtual therapy with licensed clinicians.

Up until now, a student had to be identified and referred for these services by our school team. Now, parents/guardians can express interest directly in mental health services for their child by filling out this form bit.ly/LEARNCartwheel.

Our school staff can still refer a student to Cartwheel with parent/guardian consent. To learn more about this mental health program, check out this flyer.

Here are some signs to look for to determine if your child might benefit from mental health support:

• Changes in mood or behavior

• Changes in eating or sleeping patterns

• Declining academic performance

• Withdrawal from friends or activities

• Increased anxiety or stress

• Expressing feelings of sadness or hopelessness

• Experiencing transition (related to life, family, peers, school)

• Exposure to a traumatic event

For more information, please contact your students respective school clinician:

• Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy -
• Abby Houseknecht (860-510-6515)
• Amy Woodruff (860-235-4885)
• Lindsay Skinner (860-373-1785)

• LEARN Transition Academy -
• Lindsay Skinner (860-373-1785)

Learning in our schools can often look different and flex depending on the needs of students. Ms. Megan is a pro at meeting her students where they are at - helping them to learn and grow 💙 Their classroom was hard at work learning the days of the week incorporating lots of visual queues and staff prompting students to utilize their AAC devices! Shout out to Ms. Megan for making sure all the students in their classroom know how to utilize their voice 🗣️

Domonique is a Special Education Teacher at Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy and we are beyond lucky to have her! She loves being part of a collaborative team where everyone works together to help students succeed. Domonique is passionate about creating an inclusive space for her students to feel supported, seen, and encouraged to shine their brightest 💙 Let's learn a little bit more about Ms. Domonique!:

• How would you describe our LEARN community?
• Supportive, inclusive, and empowering. We lift each other, celebrate one another's successes, and work towards a shared goal of helping every student thrive 💙
• What is your favorite thing about working at LEARN?
• Being a part of a team of professionals who genuinely care about students in every sense and who support one another along the way.
• What is a fun fact about you?
• I love to sing and can recite every song in the movie Grease, but please don't ask me to sing because I get very shy 🎤
• Finish this sentence, "outside of work you can find me..."
• Hanging out with my family/friends or cuddling with my cats, Meow (yes, that is his real name) and Shadow 🐈‍⬛
• What do you love most about interacting with students?
• I love engaging with students in ways that help them feel seen, heard, and supported and watching them build confidence academically and personally.
• Tell us your favorite local coffee or lunch spot!
• Muddy Waters Cafe in New London; they have delicious breakfast sandwiches and yummy specialty lattes ☕

We're delighted to share that earlier this month, students at OALA had the opportunity to connect with Officer Nocito and K-9 Traveler from the New London Police Department and Officer McClelland and K-9 Chase from the Groton Police Department 🐶

This visit was part of our initiative to build positive, mutual interactions between law enforcement and our students with different abilities - creating safe, predictable, and positive experiences helps build trust, reduce anxiety, and lay the groundwork for supportive community relationships. We plan to continue these periodic visits in the future to reinforce these positive interactions between our students and local law enforcement! 🚓

✉️ Need to get in touch with the Counselors? Here's their information:

• Gillian Nolan, gnolan@learn.k12.ct.us
• Wendy Gavin, wgavin@learn.k12.ct.us

Now that we've transitioned into the new school year, it's important to maintain consistency through the busy holiday season. Here's something that can help : 5 no-cost and minimal-time consuming ways you can support your student's mental health and well-being!

1. Set a schedule/expectations that promote adequate sleep with limited to no screen time 1-hour prior to falling asleep 💤
2. Spend 5 minutes of undivided/uninterrupted attention connecting through conversations. Be curious and actively listen 👂
3. Connect with nature - encourage 15-30 minutes a day of fresh air 🍂
4. Laugh with your student 😂
5. Practice gratitude - find a routine tome of day (ex. breakfast, in the car, before bed) to purposefully identify one thing you are thankful for in that moment 💙

*Bonus: Work on finding ways to manage your own stress and practice regulation strategies. This will provide a model for your student and will help you stay calm when supporting your student through tough moments and big emotions.

Check out Cartwheel's 2025-26 Webinar Series for Parents, Caregivers, and School Staff. This free webinar series provides caregivers and school staff with practical tools to support student and family wellness and mental health. Can't attend live? Register to receive the replay!

November Webinar: Student Assessments & Evaluations: When to Seek Them, What to Know, and How to Make Sense of Them

📆 Date: Wednesday, November 12th

⏰ Time: 12 PM

🎫 Register/RSVP: Register here to Join Virtually

The Center of Excellence on ASD at SCSU has partnered with Southern PD, and local agencies to provide Fostering Positive Interactions Between Police Officers and Autistic Individuals. At this event, participants with autism will have the opportunity to review and practice the process of a routine traffic stop with local police. They will also learn how to use the DMV "Blue Envelope." Participants can be the driver or passenger in the vehicle, which includes student drivers. All ages are welcome.

📆 Date: Saturday, November 15th

⏰ Time: 8 AM - 12 PM

🎫 More Info: Register Here

📍 Location: Southern Connecticut State University - 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT

CTFSN is thrilled to announce an upcoming workshop - Supporting Individuals with Disabilities in Building Healthy Relationships Part 1, hosted in collaboration with Project SAGE. Participants can expect:

• To increase participants' awareness of the relationships that affect the life of the person with disabilities that they are supporting.
• To analyze the relationship continuum and identify characteristics of healthy, unhealthy, abusive, and commercially exploitative relationships.
• To determine the factors that increase or decrease a person's vulnerability in a relationship, with an emphasis on helping decrease risk and increase safety

📆 Date: Tuesday, November 18th

⏰ Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

🎫 Register/RSVP: Register here to Join Virtually

The United Way Mobile Food Pantry is at Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy every 4th Wednesday of the month! This pantry is walk-up only and we strongly encourage folks to bring bags or a cart if able.

📆 Date: Wednesday, November 19th

⏰ Time: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

🎫 Register/RSVP: No registration required

📍 Location: Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy - 660 Ocean Ave, New London, CT

The United Way also hosts their Mobile Food Pantry at other locations throughout the month. Looking for more information? Visit their website here ⏩ https://www.uwsect.org/calendar

Participants will soar into outer space and create several crafts including a chromatography planet, their own constellation picture, a constellation viewer, and have fun with shapes by creating their own rocket artwork! Visit Niantic Children's Museum Out of This World sensory-friendly evening designed to accommodate children on the autism spectrum or with sensory processing challenges. This event is free to attend, but a pre-registration is required.

📆 Date: Friday, November 21st

⏰ Time: 5 PM - 7 PM

🎫 More Info: Register Here

📍 Location: Niantic Children's Museum - 409 Main St, Niantic, CT