Special Education Program UpdateJanuary 2010

Current Teachers and Staff

• Rio– Theresa Wheeler, Special

Education Teacher– Jennifer Garcia, Special

Education Teacher– Shana Kinsman, Special

Education Paraprofessional– Diane Rosellini, Special

Education Paraprofessional– Rupi Rai, Special Education

Paraprofessional– Janeen Marquez, Special

Education Paraprofessional

Current Teachers and Staff

• Cobblestone– Tara Worthington, Special

Education Teacher– Alles Reis, Special

Education Paraprofessional– Juli Watri, Special Education

Paraprofessional– Teresa Drake, Special

Education Paraprofessional

Current Teachers and Staff

• Riverside Meadows– Paige Milgate, Special

Education Teacher– Debbie Delaney, Special

Education Paraprofessional– Marci Cuff, Special

Education Paraprofessional– Rhonda Ledford, Special

Education Paraprofessional– Ellen Foley, Special

Education Paraprofessional

Current Teachers and Staff

• Plumas Lake Charter School– Theresa Wheeler, Special

Education Teacher

Specialists Contracted with Yuba County Office of Education• Adapted P.E. Services

– Diane Freitas

• Speech and Language Services– Lisa Squires and Teresa

Root

Specialist Contracted with Sutter County Office of Education• Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Teacher (DHH)

Specialists Contracted by PLESD

• Steps Therapy Inc. – Tara Delaney, Jesus Carrillo

and Rebekah Fox• Occupational Therapy

• Together Behavior Services– Eve and Danny Dineen

• Behavior Support Plans, Behavior System Development, Social Skills and Interaction support

History• Before 2004

– All Services were provided by the Yuba County Office of Education

– 12/2002: three students with IEP’s

– 12/2003: five students

• 2004-2005– 1 special

education teacher

– All other services provided by the Yuba County Office of Education

– 12/2004: 29 students with IEP’s

– 12/2005: 51 students with IEP’s

History• 2006-2007

– 12/06: 64 students with IEP’s– 4 Special Education Teachers-

special education services and intervention support

• 2 Special Day Classrooms• 2 Resource Specialists• Special Education

Paraprofessionals-special education services and intervention support

History

• 2007-2008– 12/07: 70 students with

IEP’s– 4 Special Education

Teachers-special education services and intervention support

• 2 Special Day Classrooms• 2 Resource Specialists*mid year transitioning to

Learning Center Model Special Education Paraprofessionals

-special education services and intervention support

History

• 2008-2009– 12/08 61 students with IEP’s. – 4 Special Education Teachers

• 3 Learning Centers-serving a variety of student needs and continuing to have an Special Day Classroom structure if needed and intervention support

• 1 Special Day Classroom, focus on serving students with Autism and Severe Speech and Language Impairments

• Special Education Paraprofessionals-special education services and intervention support

Current

• 2009-2010– 12/09: 56 students 1/21/10: 61

students receiving PLESD special education services

– 4 Special Education Teachers• 3 Learning Centers providing

Special Education Services and intervention support

• 1 Special Day Classroom, focus on serving students with Autism and Severe Speech and Language Impairments

• Special Education Paraprofessionals-special education services and intervention support

Learning Center Service Model• Idea began in 2000 with the

introduction of collaborative models of instruction

• Learning Centers started to be put in to place in school around 2004– Part of a tiered system of

instruction• Support in the core classroom• Support/instruction in the

learning center• Instruction in a special

education classroom only

Learning Center Service Model• Pros

– Allows students to spend the most time possible in their classroom with core instruction

• Students are part of the school population

• They have a homeroom classroom

– Allows students the most amount of time possible with nondisabled peers

– Allows for flexible grouping based on student needs

• More support or less• Specific explicit instruction in a

skill area

Learning Center Service Model

Pros cont.– Allows for ongoing progress

monitoring by two teachers or more

– Creates an environment where all students feel welcome not just those who receive special education services and begins to dissolve the social stigma attached to “being a special education student”.

Learning Center Service Model• Challenges

– Scheduling– Collaboration– Communication – Parent/Caregiver concerns– Requires more staff management

skills– Staff Training– Understanding-staff, students

and community

Goals for the Future

• That the services PLESD is able to offer continue to grow. (Long Term)– 2 Learning Centers per site

• Expanded levels of student and teacher support

– Ability provide Speech and Language Services

• The County does a spectacular job but there are limits to how we can integrate their staff into our support schedules.

– Increase support for students on the Autism Spectrum

• Support at each school site

Goals for the Future• Increased training for teachers and

paraprofessional (Short Term)

• That staff and the community will have a greater understanding of what Special Education Services are and how they affect students. (Short Term)

• They are not Special Education Students. – They are PLUMAS LAKE ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS who

receive special education services.

Questions

• Any questions that I can answer?