The award recognizes exceptional leadership, collaboration and sustained involvement on behalf of a district’s special education community. The recognition comes two years after two Berkeley Heights parents began working to transform the volunteer group.
SPAN is an independent nonprofit founded in 1987 in Westfield by parents of children with special needs, and it moved to Newark in 1996. It supports families of children from birth to age 21, helping them understand their rights, navigate education, health and mental health systems, and train as advocates.
The award is named for Debbie Esposito, who joined SPAN in 2015 and later served as co-director, then director, of its START Engaging Parents of Students with Disabilities program. Her work focused on family engagement, including helping build Special Education Parent Advisory Groups, known as SEPAGs, across New Jersey. She also served on the Winslow Township Board of Education and as assistant chairperson of the state's Special Education Advisory Council.
The award goes to a parent-led SEPAG that has been active for more than a year and shows leadership, collaboration with families and the district, and sustained engagement. SPAN says it honors the dedication, compassion and strength Esposito showed in her work.
The Berkeley Heights Board of Education also honored the group with a resolution at its September 24 meeting.