Pennsylvania Department of Education
COMMONWEALTH
OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
333 MARKET STREET
HARRISBURG, PA 17126-0333
Special Education Report
Approved
July 2, 2008
Entity: Southern Lehigh SD
Address: 5775 Main St
Center Valley, PA 18034-9703
Phone: (610) 282-3121 Ext: 5110
Contact Name: Leah Christman
School District Demographics
|
School District |
IU # |
Superintendent |
# of Bldgs |
Total Enrollment |
Total Unduplicated SES Students |
|
Southern Lehigh SD |
Carbon-Lehigh IU 21 |
Joseph Liberati |
5 |
3096 |
404 |
District Special Education Contact:
|
Name |
Title |
Phone |
Fax |
Email |
|
Morag Christie-Churm |
Director of Special Education |
610-282-3121 |
610-282-0193 |
christie-churmm@slsd.org |
Special Education Plan Team Members
|
Name |
Affiliation |
Membership Category |
Appointed By |
|
Karen Fairclough |
HS Special Education Teacher |
Special Education Teacher |
SLSD Administration |
|
Leah Christman |
Assistant Superintendent |
Administrator |
Superintendent |
|
Michele Conrad |
Parent |
Parent |
School Board |
|
Morag Christie-Churm |
Director of Special Education |
Administrator |
Superintendent |
|
Sandi DiSanto |
Parent |
Parent |
School Board |
|
Scot Engler |
Director of Special Education |
Administrator |
Superintendent |
Program Evaluation (P.L. 105-17,
§612(2) and §613(a))
Current Program Strengths and Highlights
Describe
the strenghts and highlights of your current special education services and
programs for students with disabilities:
Southern Lehigh School District is committed to meeting the needs of all of our
students. This includes students who are identified as needing special
education services and those students who do not need special education
services and supports. The school district is comprised of a group of
professionals who have a wide variety of experiences and talents. These
professionals go above and beyond in order to meet the many different needs of
our students. The willingness on the part of the professional staff to give
up their time early in the morning and at the end of the day in order to work
with students individually and in small groups is truly commendable.
One of the
major strengths, throughout the district, is the level of inclusionary
support/co-teaching practices that occur. The District supports
many students who have either significant cognitive or health needs in the
student's home school. The district has implemented co-teaching in
both the middle school and high school in many different subjects. The
District continues to provide professional development for all of its staff
(teachers, instructional assistants, administrators) in order to
support all students. This may be in the form of providing In Service
training through the District's Academy system, sending staff to different
trainings that deal with specific disability categories, or bringing in
consultants in order to provide support for a single student or small groups of
students. At the elementary schools, there is also inclusionary
support from kindergarten through fifth grade. This may be in the form of
paraprofessional or special education teacher support in classes at different
times of the day. The District has been awarded two Inclusive Practices
Mini Grants for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years.
In addition to the co-teaching that occurs in the middle school and high
school, the district supports many students who have significant cognitive or
health needs in their home schools. With the use of assistive technology,
adaptive programs, small group instruction, and differentiated instruction, the
district staff works hard to support these students. There is much
collaboration between the school teams, parents/guardians, agencies, and IU
therapists in order to support these students in their home schools. It
is a tribute to the dedication and creativity of the school staff that enables
these students to be successful.
For the past
three school years, Southern Lehigh School District and its IEP population has
made AYP. We are very proud of our efforts. Our staff and students
work hard in order to achieve this. Our special education teachers have
researched different reading and math programs in order to find the most
appropriate research based programs to help remediate our identified students
and help improve their PSSA scores. There has also been training in
these programs prior to their implementation in the classrooms.
For the last five years, all five of the Districts school buildings have
received Keystone Awards which indicates that for two successive years, a
building has made AYP for all of its students.
Another area
that has been a focus over the past few years is the transitioning of our
students in special education from one level to another level, i.e., elementary
to middle school and middle school to high school. Meetings occur between
teachers at different levels in order to discuss student’s individual
needs. Additionally, students go to their new buildings in May to tour
the building. This allows the students to see their new building and see
the faces of their new teachers. There are additional orientation
days in late August where all incoming and new students meet the teachers, tour
the buildings, and in some cases, get their schedules for the year. This
process had been successful in easing the stress of the students and their
parents when they transition to a new building. This process is also
helpful for the teachers. This process allows the teachers to meet
incoming students so that they have some knowledge of the student’s strengths
and areas of need.
In examining
student needs over the past few years, the District realized that it
needed to take over the Emotional Support classroom operated by IU 21 in the
high school. The District took over the Emotional Support classroom for
the 2006-2007 school year and continues to operate that class now.
This was very successful both for the students in the Emotional Support
classroom, but also for students who were not in the classroom. The high
school used the behavior specialist who was assigned to the Emotional Support
classroom for its SAP team and with other students. The students in the
Emotional Support classroom have benefited from a more rigorous curriculum that
is being used in that classroom. The atmosphere of the Emotional
Support classroom has created an excellent support system for our students with
emotional needs.
Another area that has provided our students with many successes is the
increased use of the Work Based Learning program operated by IU 21.
The number of students in our District that use this program has increased dramatically
over the past three years. This includes students in learning support,
emotional support, and life skills support classes. In addition to the
traditional Work Based Learning program, there is now a Non Traditional Work
Based Learning program. This is specifically designed for those students
who have significant cognitive, physical, or behavioral needs. The
program is designed for students in their last year of school where the student
is taken to an adult agency site one or two days per week for nine weeks at a
time. The student usually is able to visit 4 different adult sites.
Both the student and the adult agency get an opportunity to see if this will be
a possible site for the student when he enters the adult system from the
educational system. Parents/guardians are also encouraged to visit the
site so they have some knowledge of the services the adult agency can provide
for their child. The addition of this program has been extremely
beneficial for our significantly impaired students and their parents/guardians.
The Work Based Learning programs that are provided to our
students have helped our students transition to the world of work with much
more ease than before.
The Director
of Special Education also tries to communicate with the special
education staff on a consistent basis. The Director of Special
Education meets with each of her building's special education staff on a
monthly or bimonthly basis. This also occurs with both the school
psychologists as well as the speech/language teachers. There are
also at least two times per year where the Director of Special Education meets
with all of the special education staff, and then at least once per year where
the Director of Special Education staff meets with all of the elementary special
education staff and then meets with the secondary special education
staff. These meetings allow communication to occur on a regular
basis. This has been beneficial in dealing with overall District concerns
as well as dealing with the concerns of specific students or specific groups of
students. In addition, the Director of Special Education meets with both
the middle school and high school guidance departments biweekly.
Something that I am personally very pleased with, is the fact that we now have
a Special Education Procedural Manual. This was created by the current
Director of Special Education and was given to all special education teachers
and administrators. When new special education teachers and
administrators begin working at Southern Lehigh School District, a copy is
given to them. This manual is updated on a yearly basis. The Manual
has federal, state, and district procedures in a user-friendly format.
Its use has helped to create more consistency across the District when it comes
to issues in special education.
Southern Lehigh School District continues to be creative in programming for all
of its students. As the District experiences growth, the needs of our
students-identified and non-identified become more and more challenging.
As a District, we continue to strive to make all of our students
successful.
Identifying Students with Learning Disabilities
Identify the School District's method
for identifying students with specific learning disabilities:
The District uses both the discrepancy model as well as the Response to
Intervention model in identifying students with specific learning
disabilities. Currently our three elementary buildings are going through
the RTI training provided by the IU. During the 2006-2007 school year,
only one of our elemementary buildings was using the RTI model in the area of
reading. With the training, all of our elementary buildings are beginning
to use the RTI model. What is making this difficult to use as a
"pure" model, is that there are still parents who request
evaluations. For those parents who request evaluations, we use the
discrepancy model.
We also use the discrepancy model for those parents who are
residents of our district whose children attend private
schools. If a those parent of a student who attends
private schools requests an evaluation to determine if their student has a
specific learning disability, we will have to use the discrepancy model.
At this time, there is no good model that is out for the secondary schools
regarding RTI. We are using the discrepancy model at our secondary
buildings at this time. We have been told that it is only a matter of
time before there are trainings specific to RTI on the secondary level.
When those trainings become available through either PaTTAN or the IU, we will
look at that model for our secondary schools.
Enrollment Differences
Not significantly disproportionate.
Ethnicity Enrollment Differences
No significant disproportionality by race or
ethnicity.
Exiting Statistics
Using
the School District's current special education data summary, compare the
Graduation and Dropout Rates.
If no, develop a plan to
address the District's plan to improve graduation rates and decrease dropout
rates.
2005-2006 Graduation
Rate (Special Education Students):
District 78.95%
State 91.79%
State Performance Plan (SPP) 92.55%
Drop Out Rate
(Special Education Students):
District 21.05%
State 7.63%
State Performance Plan (SPP) 6.75%
There is a disproportionality in both the Graduation Rate and Drop Out Rate
between the Southern Lehigh School District and both the State's rates and the
SPP target rates.
The 2005-2006 Indicators 1 & 2 are not typical of the graduation and
dropout rates at Southern Lehigh School District for our identified
students. During the 2003-2004 school year, the District drop out rate
was 0% and the District Graduation rate was 96%. During the 2004-2005
school year, the District drop out rate was 6.7% and the District graduation
rate was 92%. It is a shame that the data that we must use for this
report is data that is not current but over one year old.
Southern Lehigh is a smaller district, so any student dropping out
significantly affects our percentages. The District is aware of this and
truly
tries to create programs that are successful for students.
During the 2005-2006 school year, four identified students were reported as
dropping out of school. Those students dropped out due to attendance
issues, and they knew they could return to school until they were of the age of
21. The District made every attempt to prevent them from dropping out of
school including meetings with parents and the students, changing schedules,
and providing various opportunities to get caught up with course work missed
due to absences. Of those four who dropped out of school in 2005-2006,
three of those students returned in the 2006-2007 school year and completed
school and did graduate. The fourth student who was listed as
dropping out was from an adult living facility located in our
district. He was withdrawn due to a psychotic episode which caused him to
be hospitalized and caused a change in placement in his residential
facility. The above information is not providing excuses, but it does
indicate we do try to work with our students in order to get them to graduate,
even if that means they come back another year. We have discovered for
some of our students that dropping out for a one year and coming back the next
year when they are more focused and have worked out some of their problems at
home is more successful for them. They came back the following year and
ultimately did graduate.
The District continues to work with all of its students in order to help them
to graduate and keep them from dropping out. We will continue to work
with each individual student with disabilities and his/her family in
order to create a program which will prevent the student from dropping
out. We change schedules, look at different programs, and change
courses. If the team feels the student would benefit from a more
structured program with more supports, we will work to do that as well.
We work with Lehigh Career and Technical School which offers different
vocational programs as well as IU 21 which has Work Based Learning
Programs. We also invite the Office of Mental Health/Mental Retardation
and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation when it is appropriate.
Sometimes there are things happening in a student's life that we cannot
control, and the student chooses to leave school. If drugs or alcohol are
involved, we do encourage the student to seek help and also give the student
the name of different agencies who can offer support. We also let our
students know that even if they drop out of school at the age of 17, they may
come back to school until they reach the age of 21 in order to graduate.
We will continue to do these things in order to keep our students in school
until they graduate.
The District also has its staff participate in Indicator 13 trainings
which involve transition services and plans. Our staff is involved
in the trainings, and again, works hard to work with our students. Our
staff and some of our students also participate in the Transition Academy which
is organized by IU 21. This is one day that is set up on a
local college campus where up to 15 students from our District (All other
Districts in the IU send students as well.) attend. There are different
agencies that have booths with information that is pertinent to our
students. There are different colleges and post secondary training
facilities that also have booths set up with information for our students.
This is set up in a similar fashion to a job fair. This is the second
year that our students have participated in this event. Miss Pennsylvania
attended this year's Transition Academy and spoke to the students. This
was very exciting for all of the students. She let them know that it took
her three attempts in the Miss Pennsylvania Contest before she won the
title. Miss Pennsylvania shared this information with them so that they
would be inspired not to give up on their dreams. They always come back
from the Transition Academy very excited and with much information.
We will continue to work with our students and staff in order to keep our
students in school and have them successfully transition to the adult world.
24 P.S., §1306 and §1306.2 Placements
Facilities for Nonresident Students
|
Facility Name |
Provider of Educational Services |
# of Students Receiving Srvcs as
of Dec 1 |
|
Mount Trexler Manor |
Southern Lehigh School District |
4 |
Incarcerated Students Oversight
Describe the system of oversight the
School District would implement to ensure that all incarcerated students who
may be eligible for special educatio are located, identified, evaluated, and
when deemed eligible, are offered a free appropriate puglic education (FAPE):
The Southern Lehigh School District works collaboratively with the Upper Saucon
Police Department as well as the Juvenile Probation Department. For the
2007-2008 school year, a School Resource Officer was placed into our high
school in collaboration between the school district and the Upper Saucon Police
Department. This has been a very positive move for our school
community. The officer is viewed by the students and staff as a positive
person in our high school. His presence has been instrumental in creating
a more positive climate in the high school.
Communication is ongoing regarding students in the Southern Lehigh School
District who might be involved in illegal activity and subsequently
incarcerated. If the student is placed in Lehigh County Detention Center
located in Allentown, the District is in contact with IU 21 who provides
educational services there. While the student is placed in the Detention
Center, education is provided there by IU 21. This occurs whether the student
is an identified or non-identified special education student. If the
student is an identified special education student then special education
records are shared with the IU in order for the IU to provide appropriate
educational services to that student while the student is in the Detention
Center.
If a student is placed in a juvenile correctional residential facility, the
District does work with that facility in to make sure that it receives all of
the student's current IEP paperwork. The District then continues to work
with the facility to create a smooth transition back to Southern Lehigh when
the student is ready to be released back home and to the District.
The District is also in contact with Allentown School District, the provider of
educational services at the Lehigh County Prison in Allentown, PA. If a
student is incarcerated, the District works with Allentown School District to
determine if the student qualifies for special education services. This
may be as simple as sharing records with Allentown School District if the
student is already an identified special education student. If it is
determined that an evaluation or reevaluation is necessary, the appropriate
paperwork is completed and the evaluation occurs. If a student is found to
be eligible for special education services, a free appropriate public education
is offered to that student. Allentown School District provides the
services to the incarcerated youth. We share information and discuss what
the educational program would be for that student. If the student does
complete a high school program, either based on credits or IEP goals, a diploma
is then issued from the District.
Facilities for Incarcerated Students
|
Facility Name |
Provider of Educational Services |
# of Students Receiving Srvcs as
of Dec 1 |
|
none |
N/A |
0 |
Least Restrictive Environment 34 CFR
§300.551
Ensuring Maximum Integration
Describe
the School District's procedures which ensure that, to the maximum extent
appropriate, children with disabilities, including those in private
institutions, are educated with non-disabled children, and that removal from
regular education environment only occurs when education in that setting with
supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily
(P.L.105-17, 612(5)(B): Describe how the school district is
replicating successful programs, evidence-based models, and other PDE sponsored
initiatives to enhance or expand the continuum of supports/services and
education placement options available within the District to support students
with disabilities access the general education curriculum in the LRE. (Provide
information describing the manner in which the District utilizes site-based
training, consultation and technical assistance through PDE/PaTTAN, or other
public or private agencies.
Indicator 5:
Educational Environment:
LRE (Least Restrictive Environment) Data:
Student Educated
Outside Regular Class Less Than 21%:
Southern
Lehigh: 62.6%
State:
47.1%
State Performance Plan Target: 43.7%
Student Educated Outside
Regular Class More Than 60%:
Southern
Lehigh:
8.4%
State:
14.4%
State Performance Plan Target: 16.1%
Southern Lehigh School District is committed to providing educational programs
for students with disabilities in the most appropriate inclusive setting that
facilitates participation in the general education program. The majority
of identified students receive their education with non-disabled peers.
The removal of a student from the regular education environment occurs only
when the education in that setting with supplimentary aids and services cannot
be satisfactorily achieved.
When a student’s instructional level is far below a non-eligible peer, specific
reading, language arts and mathematics instruction activities will be geared to
the student’s instructional level. The IEP team determines where that
instruction will take place. Approximately 98% of Southern Lehigh
students with disabilities participate in science and social studies courses
with their non-disabled peers.
The District operates programs for students who need both learning support and
emotional support. Even though the name of the program may be a learning
support programs, the students supported within that program range from
students who have been identified with specific learning disabilities to
students who have been identified with Autism (Asperger's Syndrome, PDD).
Every special education class is composed of students requiring varying levels
of support and individualized amounts of time in the special education
classroom. As the student moves from grade to grade and academic demands
may increase or decrease, the IEP team determines whether the the actual time
in a special education classroom needs to change based on the supplimentary aids
and services that may be provided and the needs of the student.
In order to promote the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), most of our
students are educated in co-taught classes at both our middle and high
schools. This allows many students with disabilities to benefit from the
strengths of both the regular and special education teacher. The regular
education teacher is the expert in knowing the content of the
curriculum; the special education teacher is the expert in modifications and
adaptations to the curriculum. All students, whether identified or not
identified, benefit from the co-taught setting.
The IEP
teams determine the different types of supplementary aids and services that are
needed in order to support students with disabilities in the general education
setting. The District uses such services as 1:1 instructional aides, 1:1
nursing services, bus monitors, and assistive technology in the form of
Kurzweil, Inspiration, Dragon Naturally Speaking, and the Vantage communication
device. The District also trains teams of teachers and staff to work with
low incidence students so that those students can be successful in the general
education program. The District may work with IU 21 staff, attend PaTTAN
trainings, work with outside consultants, or send staff to conferences in order
to educate them on the latest techniques. Training in the areas of autism
spectrum disorders, co-teaching, Moebeus Syndrome, use of assistive technology
(specifically Kurzweil, Vantage, and Clicker 5) have all been used in order to
give our staff the skills they need in order to work with all of our
students. Some of our staff have also gone to observe successful programs
in other districts to bring back observed best practices to our district.
When the IEP team determines that it can no longer support a student with
disabilities in the least restrictive setting successfully, even with adequate
supports and services, then the IEP team makes a recommendation for a more
restrictive placement. Parents/guardians are an integral part of the IEP
team and are included in the decision making process. Parents/guardians
are encouraged to take visits to observe the more restrictive setting.
Southern Lehigh staff accompanies parents/guardians to these settings.
Once a student is placed in a more restrictive setting, the goal is always to
return to his/her home school. There are some students, for whatever
reason, who do choose to remain in the more restrictive setting even when the
IEP team recommends that they return to their home school. Only 2.4% of
Southern Lehigh students with disabilities are in settings that are not public
school settings.
The district is utilizing evidence based models in its own district operated
programs and its continuum of services available to district students.
The district utilizes the Training and Consultive staff from the IU, PaTTAN
trainings, conferences on specific topics, and videoconferences to educate
staff in a variety of specialized topics to enhance the continuum of services.
This year district staff has attended many different trainings and
conferences. Here are some of the topics: Response to
Intervention Trainings, DISTAR Arithmetic I training, Language for Learning
training, Making Inclusion More Successful, Making ACC Work with the
educational Curriculum, Clicker 5 Training, and trainings on What Works for
Students with Asperger's Syndrome. Both special education and regular
education teachers attend the conferences as do the Instructional Assistants if
it is appropriate.
The district will continue to evaluate the needs of its students and staff in
order to support our students in the least restrictive environment.
Supplementary Aids and Services
|
Service |
Comment |
|
Partnership with Carbon Lehigh
Intermediate Unit |
CLIU #21 provides training
opportunities, |
|
Bayada Nurses |
Bayada Nurses provide 1:1 nursing
services for certain students. |
|
Around the Clock Nurses |
Around the Clock Nurses provide
1:1 nursing services for a certain student. |
|
Speech and Language Services |
The District employs its own
speech/language therapists who provide services to identified students |
|
Instructional Assistants |
The District employs 31
instructional assistants who are used to support special education students.
Some are classroom IA's and some are 1:1 IA's, |
|
Lehigh Career and Technical
Institute |
LCTI provides technical training
for students through either a one-half day or full day program including the
Service Occupations Lab for sutdents in need of functional skills, the Career
Academy Program for students who are at-risk, and the Academic Center which
provides a full day program of both lab and academics. Included in the
Academic Center classes that have support for identified special education
students. |
|
Behavioral Counseling and
Psychological Support |
The District employs five school
psychologists--one at every school buildings. They provide individual and
small group counseling. These groups may be for Social Skills training, Anger
Management, or other groups as needed. They also provide psychological services.
They provide support to the IST, SAP, and RTI teams as well as support to
teachers and other staff. The District also employs a behvior specialist who
provides behavioral intervention support to the Emotional Support class at
the high school as well as to the SAP team at the high school. |
|
Supplementary Aids and Services
Available to Students |
COLLABORATIVE: |
LRE Data Analysis
Personnel
Development Activities:
|
Topic |
The District has met its targets. The
District will continue to monitor its LRE status and if is determined that
training is needed in order to support students in the least restrictive
setting, that training will occur. |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
Least Restrictive Environment - Facilities
|
Facility Name |
Type of Facility |
Type of Service |
# of Students Placed |
|
South Mountain Middle School |
Neighboring School Districts |
full time multiple
disabililties--cognitive |
1 |
|
Wescosville Elementary School |
Neighboring School Districts |
full time life skills |
3 |
|
Catasauqua High School |
Neighboring School Districts |
full time multiple
disabilities--behavioral |
1 |
|
Northern Lehigh High School |
Neighboring School Districts |
full time multiple
disabilities--behavioral |
1 |
|
Emmaus High School |
Neighboring School Districts |
full time life skills |
1 |
|
Lower Macungie Middle School |
Neighboring School Districts |
full time life skills |
1 |
|
HMS School for Children with
Cerebral Palsy |
Approved Private Schools |
full time multiple disabilities |
2 |
|
Lehigh Learning and Adjustment
School |
Special Education Centers |
full time emotional support |
2 |
|
Instruction in the Home |
Instruction in the Home |
multiple disabilities &
emotional support |
2 |
|
Lehigh Career and Technical School |
Other |
itinerant learning support |
3 |
|
Weisenberg Elementary School |
Neighboring School Districts |
multiple disabilities--behavioral |
1 |
Personnel Development for Improved
Student Results
Technical Assistance and Training
Personnel
Development Activities:
|
Topic |
The Distict has met its AYP
targets. The District will continue to monitor its AYP status. If needed,
training will occur. |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Topic |
The District has met its
Participation targets. The District will continue to monitor its
Participation rate in order to continue to ensure that it meets the
Participation targets. If training is needed, it will be provided. |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Topic |
The District has met its
Proficiency Rate targets. The District will continue to monitor its
Proficiency Rates, if necessary, training will occur. |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
Personnel Development - PA NCLB Goal #1
Baseline
Data:
NCLB Goal #1: By
2013-2014, all students will reach high standards, at a minimum attaining
proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics. Indicate
the baseline data, training format, participants and audience, anticipated
training updates and evidence of prjected percentage of improvement.
District Total in
Mathematics: 49% Proficient or Advanced
District Total in
Reading:
45% Proficient or Advanced
Mathematics, Proficient
or Advanced:
Grade 3: 59%
Grade 4: 81%
Grade 5: 79%
Grade 6: 48%
Grade 7: 29%
Grade 8: 33%
Grade 11: 19%
Reading, Proficient or
Advanced:
Grade 3: 53%
Grade 4: 68%
Grade 5: 54%
Grade 6: 24%
Grade 7: 45%
Grade 8: 51%
Grade 11: 19%
All of the buildings in our district have received Keystone Awards over the
past five years based on the percentage of ALL of our students who
attain proficiency or better in reading/language arts and math. For the
2006-2007 school year, District wide, 81% of our students scored in the
proficient or better range in math and 84% of our students scored
proficient or above in reading. Our IEP students made AYP based on either
meeting the prescribed benchmarks, Safe Harbor, or PPI. For the 2006-2007
school year, our IEP students, district wide, scored 48% proficient or above in
math and 45% proficient or above in reading. Our students and staff work hard
in order to achieve this goal. As the benchmarks continue to rise, it
will become more and more increasingly difficult for our students to make AYP,
especially our IEP students.
What is significant with our data, and we cannot ignore, is that our 11th grade
IEP students drop signifiicantly in both math and reading. We have begun
to use Study Island with our identified students as practice and periodic
benchmark assessments to help target continued areas of need.
Personnel
Development Activities:
|
Topic |
Reading |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Spring/Summer 2008, 2008-2009
School year, Summer 2009, 2009-2010 School Year, Summer 2010, 2010-2011
School year |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff,
consultants who may be brought in by the District |
Parent, New Staff,
Paraprofessional, Instructional Staff, Administrative Staff, Related Service
Personnel |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning, New teacher induction |
Our student data is monitored
yearly to see if we maintain or improve our percentage of students who
achieve proficient or above in reading and math. It is obvious from our
current data that we are a relatively high performing school district. We
work continually in order to ensure this. As the benchmarks continue to rise,
we will have to work harder and smarter in order to increase our percentages
of students who achieve AYP in reading. Our District is also beginning to use
the data in the Pennsylvania PVAAS Growth Standard Reports to determine if
our students are making the progress that is anticipated. We also use our
data warehouse system which houses individual SAT scores, AP exam scores,
PSSA scores, mid term and end of year test scores of all of our students in
their academic classes. This is done in order to analyze the data so that we
make appropriate changes in our instruction to affect change in the specific
areas that are demonstrated weakness within the different assessments. As we
continue to analyze all of this data, we will need to assess if we need to
add summer programs, before & after school programs, or even change our
in school programs in order to address the needs of our students who do not
meet the expected benchmarks. |
|
Topic |
Math |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Spring/Summer 2008, 2008-2009
school year, Summer 2009, 2009-2010 school year, Summer 2010, 2010-2011
School year |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff, Higher
Education Staff, consultants hired by the district to inservice staff |
New Staff, Paraprofessional,
Instructional Staff, Administrative Staff, Related Service Personnel |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning, Observations of other programs who demonstrate best
practices |
Our student data is monitored
yearly to see if we maintain or improve our percentage of students who
achieve proficient or above in reading and math. It is obvious from our
current data that we are a relatively high performing school district. We
work continually in order to ensure this. As the benchmarks continue to rise,
we will continue to have to work harder and smarter in order to increase our
percentages of students who make AYP in math. Our District is also beginning
to use the data in the Pennsylvania PVAAS Growth Standard Reports to
determine if our students are making the progress that is anticipated. We
also use our data warehouse system which houses individual SAT scores, AP
exam scores, mid term and end of the year test scores of all of our students
in their academic classes. This data is analyzed in order to determine if we
need to make appropriate changes in our instruct to affect change in the
specific areas that are demonstrated weaknesses within the different
assessments. We will continue to monitor our IEP students' PSSA scores and we
will continue to make AYP based on either by meeting the recommended AYP
benchmarks, safe harbor or PPI. |
Personnel Development - PA NCLB Goal #3
Baseline
Data:
NCLB Goal #3: By
200502006, all students will be taught by highly qualified teqachers.
Indicate the baseline data, training format, particpants and audience,
anticipated training updates, and evidence of results projected percentage of
improvement.
HIGHLY QUALIFIED:
Currently, twenty-four out of twenty six of our special education
staff are highly qualified. The District has worked with the two teachers
who are not highly qualified in order to create their HQT Individualize
Professional Development Plan (IPDP) so they will be highly qualified
by September 2008.
PARAPROFESSIONALS:
Our paraeducators participate in IU and PaTTAN sponsored trainings to increase
their knowledge base. Currently, at least 60% of our paraeducators who
work with our students in special education are certified teachers.
Beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, all paraeducators who work with our
students in special education will be required to participate in 20
hours of professional development. Professional development opportunities
will be provided through Act 80 days, the District's Academy System, In Service
days, and opportunities provided either through the IU or conferences.
AUTISM:
At this time, 4% of our students with disabilities are identified as students
with autism. This is our fastest growing disability category as it is in
many other Districts. Different buildings throughout the District have
been In-serviced and trained in strategies that work well with students with
Autism Spectrum Disorders ranging from PDD to Asperger's Syndrome. We try
to have our staff go to trainings as a team so that they can all discuss what
they have learned afterwards. Also, at the beginning of each school year,
each team of teachers who will be working with a student with autism, is
updated regarding the specific needs of that particular student. The
parent/guardian of the student usually participates in the meeting. When
it is appropriate, the student also participates in the meeting as well.
Students are placed in programs and classes based on his/her needs as
determined by the IEP team. We have learned to be very creative in the
programming for some of our students. In the past two school years, we
have had a student with Asperger's Syndrome graduate from our high school and
go onto college programs. The feedback we have received back on these
students indicates they are successful in their college programs.
Personnel
Development Activities:
|
Topic |
AUTISM: Students with disabilities
will be provided services by an adequate supply of personnel with the
knowledge and skills necessary to meet their needs |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Ongoing: As more and more students
with autism spectrum disorders enter our school system, more teams of
teachers and even entire buildings will be given training in autism spectrum
disorders. We have also created a booklet, "Getting Started, A Guide to
Teaching Children with Asperger Syndrome". This booklet is shared with
new staff who have not worked with students with Asperger's Syndrome
previously. |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff, Higher
Education Staff, Consultants hired by the District |
Parent, New Staff, Paraprofessional,
Instructional Staff, Administrative Staff, Related Service Personnel |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning, Observation of successful programs in other districts or
venues. |
As the numbers of students with
Austism Spectrum Disorders enter our school system, there will be ongoing
training that occurs each year with school teams. The goal of this training
is that 100% of the students will be successful in the least restrictive
environment. Also, the goal is that 100% of our students with Autism Spectrum
Disorders graduate from high school. |
|
Topic |
ROLE OF PARAEDUCATOR/HIGHLY
QUALIFIED TEACHER: Students with disabilities will be provided services by an
adequate supply of personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet
their needs |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Ongoing: Staff will be made aware
of programs that can help them become highly qualified. This may be in the
form of Praxis prep courses for different content areas or different college
programs that can help them attain their HQT status. Our paraeducators will
also be provided opportunities for training so they can get their 20 hours of
training yearly which is now required of them. |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff, Higher
Education Staff, Consultants brought on site by the district. |
New Staff, Paraprofessional,
Instructional Staff |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning |
100% of our special education
teachers will be highly qualified by September 2008. |
|
Topic |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
Personnel Development - PA NCLB Goal #5
Baseline
Data:
NCLB Goal # 5: All
students will graduate from high school. Indicate the baseline data,
training format, participants and audience, anticipated training updates, and
evidence of results projected percentage of improvement.
The District works with the Intermediate Unit to ensure a smooth transition for
our students who are enrolled in Early Intervention programs into our school
age programs. School Age Transition Meetings are held in February with a
representative from the Early Intervention program, the District staff and the
parent/guardian of the transitioning student. The purpose of this meeting
is to share information on the student, let the parent/guardian know about
kindergarten registration, and determine if the student will be remaining one
more year in Early Intervention or moving onto school age programming. If
appropriate, parents sign a Permission to Evaluate so the appropriate district
staff can evaluate the student to determine if the student needs special
education services coming into kindergarten.
We have been extremely successful in transitioning students from Early
Intervention to our School Age programs. There have been students who
have had significant needs who have remained in their home schools with
appropriate services provided there.
When our students get ready to transition from elementary
school to middle school and then to high school, there are transitioning
meetings that are held at each level. There is staff from each level who
meet to discuss the students and their needs. The students also
participate in tours of their new buildings. At each level, there is an
orientation day held prior to the first day of school for all students who are
new to that particular school. That may be students who are naturally
transitioning to the next level or students who are new to the district and
have never been in our school. This has been a very successful process.
While in high school, some of
our students participate in college prep classes to prepare them for
colleges. Some students attend LCTI for a technical education, and some
students participate in the work based learning program through our IU.
There are some of our students whose needs are so extensive that it is
impossible for them to participate in the traditional work based learning
program. These students are able to participate in the non-traditional
work based learning program through the IU. This allows those students
to experience adult agency programs which may be able to support them when
they graduate from school.
With parent
permission, the district staff invites representatives from adult agencies to
participate in IEP meetings of those students who will be graduating.
Those agencies may be OVR, MH/MR, or Juvenile Probation. The agencies
work collaboratively in order to try to insure a smooth transition for our
students from high school to adult life--whether that is a job, post-secondary
education, or an adult service provider.
At the high school, the data
indicates that 78.96% of students with disabilities graduated from school in
2006 and over 93% graduated from school in 2007.
Personnel
Development Activities:
|
Topic |
TRANSITION: Students with
disabilities will demonstrate increased ability to successfully make the
transitions to school age programs, to work, to post-secondary education
and/or adult |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Ongoing: Staff will continue to be
trained in methods and programs that keep our students successful and in
school. Staff will continue to work with agencies in order to help our
students transition to adult life in a successful manner. |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff, Higher
Education Staff, The district will contract with consultants if it is
appropriate for our need. |
Parent, New Staff,
Paraprofessional, Instructional Staff, Administrative Staff, Related Service
Personnel |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning, Observation of successful programs, strategies, and
classes. |
For the duration of this Special
Education Plan: |
Behavior Support Services
Summarized
School District Policy:
Provide the school
district policy of behavioral support services including but notlimited to the
school-wide positive behavioral supports (PBS) and how staff will be trained to
implement PBS in your district.
The District has policies on Student Discipline and Behavior Support
Policy. The Behavior Support Policy follows the "standards to
be met and procedures to be followed" set forth in the Facilitated Self
Assessment. The Behavior Support Policy focuses on positive rather than
negative measures which should be the basis for any behavior support
program.
Currently, our elementary schools use school-wide incentive programs to teach,
encourage, and promote positive behavior in the common areas of the school,
outside the classroom. For example, students use the "High
Five" model as they work together and play together: Be responsible,
Be respectful, Be kind, Be ready, Be your best! Children learn what these
characteristics look like in the hall, cafeteria, and across the
building. Many teachers have developed and implemented their own positive
classroom behavior systems as well. During the 2008-2009 school year, a
focus of the building RTI teams is to examine and revamp their school-wide
positive behavior support programs at the elementary level based on the core
components of the RTI model.
On the secondary level, there are school-wide incentive programs which focus on
such topics as Getting Along with Others, Social Growth, Communication,
Conflict Resolution, and Relationships with Others.
Our District is also beginning to examine whether we need to have school-wide
or even district wide program(s) that address bullying. The District has
created a Bullying Task Force which has representation from across all
buildings as well as staff. The task force will be looking at data, using
discipline reports, surveys, and input from stakeholders to determine what
would be an appropriate plan of action. The task force is in its
beginning stages and will continue to meet and investigate over the next few
months in order to create either an action plan or recommendations.
The District hired a behavior specialist for its Emotional Support classroom at
the high school when it took over the Emotional Support classroom from the IU
for the 2006-2007 school year. The behavior specialist has had a positive
influence not only in the Emotional Support classroom, but also with the
students in the learning support classroom as well. She is seen as a
support by many of the identified students who are not in the Emotional Support
classroom.
If it is determined, after numerous interventions, that a student requires an
alternative program or school--whether the student is identified or non-identified,
the student's parent/guardians are involved in that decision. If it is
determined that a student needs an alternative program/school, the goal is
always to bring that student back to his/her home school. When that
student is ready to come back to his/her home school, a transition plan is
created in order to ensure that the student has a successful transition
back. Currently, there are 3 identified students out of 404 identified
students in the District, placed by the District, who are in alternative
programs. This is less than 1% of our identified student population which
is placed in alternative programs outside of our schools.
The District strives to keep students in school and is very creative when it
comes to its discipline policies and identified students. When an
identified student is involved in an action that calls for a suspension out of
school, the administrators work with the Director of Special Education in order
to determine how many days out of school the student should be suspended.
For example, if an identified student is involved in an incident of
insubordintaion, and the discipline code calls for 2 days out of school
suspension, depending on the student and the circumstances surrounding the
incident, the student may only receive one day out of school suspension or may
only receive a Saturday detention. Due to working collaboratively on out
of school suspensions of identified students, our out of school suspension rate
is very low. Out of 404 identified students, a total of 26 have been
suspended out of school. That is 6.4% of our identified population.
Of those 26 students suspended out of school, only 1(less than .5% of our
identified student population) student was suspended out of school a total
of 9 days, 2 students were suspended out of school for a total of 7 days
each; 2 students were suspended out of school for a total of 6 days
each; 3 were suspended out of school for a total of 5 days each, and the other
16 students were suspended out of school for less than 4 days each. That
means that of the 26 identified students who were suspended out of school, 69%
of those students who were suspended out of school were suspended for
less than 4 days each, and 31% of the students who were suspended out of school
were suspended between 5-9 days each.
Personnel
Development Activities:
|
Topic |
Positive Behavioral Supports |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Ongoing: Staff will be trained in
positive behavior intervention yearly or as needed. Additionally, elementary
school teams will be participating in the RTI training module titled,
"School-Wide Positive Behavior Support in an RTI building" during
the spring of 2008. When the Task Force on Bullying has completed its task,
the task force will determine what training and when it will be done in order
to implement the recommendations. |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff, Higher
Education Staff, Private Consultants |
Parent, New Staff,
Paraprofessional, Instructional Staff, Administrative Staff, Related Service
Personnel |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning, Observations of other demonstrated successful programs. |
For the duration of this Special
Education Plan: |
|
Topic |
De-escalation Techniques |
|
Anticipated Training Dates |
Training Partners |
Training Participants and Audience |
Training Format |
Evidence of Results |
|
Ongoing: New staff will be trained
in Crisis Prevention Intervention and staff who have been trained previously
will get renewed training every three years as recommended. If there are any
new techniques or strategies that are offered, staff will be trained in those
de-escalation techniques. |
PATTAN Staff, IU Staff, Higher
Education Staff, Consultants, as appropriate |
New Staff, Paraprofessional,
Instructional Staff, Administrative Staff, Related Service Personnel |
On-site Training with Guided
Practice, Workshops with Joint Planning Periods, Conferences, Study Groups,
Distance Learning, Observations of different types of successful
programs/strategies and classes. |
Students with disabilities will
continue to remain in their school environment so their behavior does not
impede their learning or the learning of others. We will continue to strive
to keep our percentage of students in alternative placements under 1% of our
identified student population. The school administrators will continue to
work with director of Special Education in order to keep our out of school
suspension rate at less than 6% of our total identified population. We will
continue to have students not suspended outside of school more than 10 school
days. |
Interagency Collaboration (11 P.S.
§875.304)
Ensuring FAPE/Hard to Place Students
If
the school district is having difficulty ensuring FAPE for an individual
student or a particular disability category, describe the procedures and
analysis methods used to determine gaps in the continuum of special education
supports, services, and education placement options available for students with
disabilities.
Include information detailing
successful programs, services, educational placements as well as identified
gaps in current programs, services, and education placements not available
within the school district.
For the last several years, the District has been able to find educational
placements for all of its students with disabilities. The District works
very hard to be creative in its programming in order to meet the needs of all
of its students. There have been students who have entered the District
from Early Intervention Programs over the past few years who have had
significant needs in either the areas of behavior, cognitive abilities, or
health issues. The school teams have worked extremely hard to provide
appropriate supports in order to keep these students in general education at
their home schools. The teams work in collaboration with IU 21 to provide
both services and training opportunities that aide in the support of these more
challenging students.
All of the students who have been placed in residential facilities over the
past two years have been placed there either by mental health agencies or
juvenile probation. The district has been involved in the Interagency
meetings placing these students, but the need for these students to be placed
in the residential facility has not been educational. The educational
program that has been provided here has been successful, but there have been
other factors that affected their residential placement. The District
does stay in contact with the educational component of the residential facility
in order for the student to be able to transition back to the District
successfully. Some of these residential facilities that have been used
are Kidspeace, Devereaux, and Mathom House.
The District works with different agencies in order to support students with
many different needs. Those agencies include MH/MR, Children & Youth,
Juvenile Probation, the Intermediate Unit and different Provider Agencies both
within Lehigh County and outside of Lehigh County. The District works
with hospitals in the area as well as outside of the area. The District,
in collaboration with the agencies, has been successful in finding appropriate
placements for its students.
If there is a student that the District is having difficulty in finding a
placement, the District will contact the appropriate agency(s) and ask for an
Interagency or CASSP meeting. The appropriate educational personnel,
parents/guardians, and agency representatives come together to brainstorm ideas
and interventions that could work in order for the student to be successful in
the least restrictive environment. Sometimes it does take more than one
interagency or CASSP meeting in order to find an appropriate placement
depending on the need of the student. If an appropriate placement cannot
be found, the student is reported as a Cordero At Risk student so that
additional resources can be used.
.
Local Continuum of Supports and Services
Describe the procedures used to expand
the school districts continuum of special education supports, services, and
education placements that will address identified gaps.
Include:
(A) Detail strategies
and plans used to engage and encourage cross-systems agency support and funding
available through local interagency teams, established school consortia, the
local Intermediate Unit, private or public service providers or other county or
state-operated programs and services for non-traditional placements.
The District works very closely with the IU in order to provide a continuum of
special education supports and services. As a District, we have been very
lucky that we have been able to provide educational services to most of
our students either within our District or within the IU. The IU provides
physical therapy, occupational therapy, vision therapy, hearing support,
audiologist support, orientation and mobility training, and psychiatric
services to students educated both in our district as well as in IU operated
programs outside of the district. The District uses the IU to provide
services in life skills classes and multiple disabilities classes--both
behavioral and cognitive. These classes are outside of our district in
neighboring school districts. There are only two students who attend a
program outside of the District or IU who were placed there by District IEP
teams. This program is the HMS School, For Children with Cerebral
Palsy. This is an Approved Private School in Philadelphia, PA. The
parents of these two students were in total agreement to this placement.
The parents feel that the program that is provided to their children could
never be duplicated in their home school.
All of the other students who have been placed in programs not in the District
or IU have been placed there by either Juvenile Probation or MH/MR. The
students' placements in residential facilities were based not on the
inappropriateness of their educational programs, but the students were
placed there due issues that were occurring at home or with the law
which caused those students to be placed outside of their home in a residential
facility. Some of those facilities are Devereaux and Mathom House.
The District works with the facilities that provide those services so that when
it is decided that the student should return home, the District works with the
agency and parent/guardian in order to provide a smooth transition
for that student.
(B) Describe plans
to enhance staff recruitment, retention, and professional development to build
local capacity to provide FAPE for students with disabilities.
It has been difficult over the past year to recruit special education
staff. This is in the area of both school psychologists and special
education teachers. As the demands on special education staff continues
to rise, it will become more and more difficult to both recruit and retain
staff. We are asking teachers to do more and more. Most special
education teachers are spending over 30% of their time just completing paperwork,
and they become very frustrated despite the extra time that we give them to do
this.
Many special education teachers are coming out of college certified in
both special education and elementary education, but for special education
teachers who want to teach on the secondary level, they are not coming out of
colleges prepared. Colleges should be preparing students to take the
Praxis Exams in different content areas so they can become highly qualified
upon graduation from college. On the secondary level, not only do special
education teachers have to be certified in special education, but then they
must get a separate content area certification in order to be highly qualified
teacher. Those special education teachers who teach multiple pull out classes
(mostly emotional support teachers) face the most difficult task because they
must get content area certifications in multiple areas in order to be highly
qualified. The emotional support population is one of the most difficult
populations. What is also happening is that once these special education
teachers become Praxis certified in a content area, if a teaching position
opens up in that content area, they are leaving special education and
going to teach that content area.
Our District does actively try to recruit and retain staff. District
staff attend college recruitment fairs in many different areas. We
advertise in multiple sources and use personal contact in order to recruit
staff. The District is also trying to create partnerships with local
colleges in order to have a better chance at making it a
smoother transition from college student to classroom teacher. The
District has an intensive New Teacher Induction program and spends both time
and money to support our new staff. The District has a very extensive and
needs driven professional development plan which supports all of our
staff. This plan uses assigned In Service and Act 80 days for
professional development, but it also uses the Academy System to enhance and
differentiate professional development. The Academy System is a system
that is unique to Southern Lehigh School District. Teachers are required
to take 18 hours of Academy Time every year. During the summer and at
different times during the school year different "Academies" are
offered. These may be anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of time. The types
of Academies that are offered are based on a staff survey that is given every
spring. Academy offerings may range from "An Introduction to
Asperger's Syndrome" to "The Social and Emotional Needs of
the Gifted Student". Instructional Assistants may also
participate in the Academy System and are paid up to 18 hours of Academy Time.
I personally see the recruitment and retention of special education staff as
one of the most challenging things facing public education.
Expansion of Continuum of Supports and Services
Describe
the processes, systems, and programs used to initiate and/or expand the
continuum of supports and services and educational placement options available
within the school district to students with disabilities.
Include detail of
strategies and plans used to engage cross-systems agency support of:
local interagency teams, established school consortia, the local Intermediate
Unit, private of public service providers, or other state-operated programs for
non-traditional educational placements.
The Southern Lehigh School District works with different agencies using
interagency or CASSP meetings. These interagency meetings may involve
representatives from MH/MR, Juvenile Probation, or private agencies. The
District and different agencies work together to create support for students
who are already in existing programs. The District also works with
agencies to help create programs which students who have challenging needs may
benefit. An example of this collaboration in order to improve the
district’s program capacity is the Non Traditional Work Based Learning Program
which has been created with collaboration of adult agency providers and IU
21. Working collaboratively, a Non Traditional Work Based
Learning Program was created for students with multiple
disabilities. These students would not be appropriate for the traditional
work based learning program, but the Non Traditional Work Based
Learning program was created and piloted. This program took students
with multiple disabilities out to different adult agencies weekly so the
student and agency would get to meet each other and see the different strengths
and needs of both the student and agency. This program also includes a
parent/guardian component. This component encourages the parent/guardian
to also come out to the adult agency to visit and assess how the agency and
student may be able to work together. This program has been successful
and students in Southern Lehigh School District have participated and will
continue to participate in the Non Traditional Work Based
Learning Program.
The creation of the Non Traditional Work Based Learning Program is a
wonderful and successful example of how agencies and school districts, using
the IU, work together to create new programs that benefit students. The
District will continue to work together with IU 21 and different agencies in
order to expand programming for its students.
Program Profile
|
ID |
OPR |
Location / Building Name |
Bldg Grade |
Bldg Type |
Type of Support |
Type of Service |
Low Age |
High Age |
Case load |
Tchr FTE |
|
- |
SD |
Hopewell |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
5 |
8 |
15 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Hopewell |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
8 |
11 |
17 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Hopewell |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
9 |
12 |
17 |
1 |
|
N |
SD |
Hopewell |
E |
GE |
PT |
LS |
5 |
8 |
5 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Lower Milford |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
5 |
8 |
14 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Lower Milford |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
9 |
12 |
14 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Liberty Bell |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
5 |
8 |
14 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Liberty Bell |
E |
GE |
R |
LS |
9 |
12 |
14 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh Middle School |
M |
GE |
R |
LS |
11 |
13 |
16 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
R |
LS |
11 |
13 |
17 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
R |
LS |
12 |
14 |
16 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
R |
LS |
12 |
14 |
17 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
R |
LS |
12 |
15 |
17 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
R |
LS |
12 |
15 |
18 |
1 |
|
- |
IU |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
FT |
ES |
11 |
14 |
12 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
I |
LS |
14 |
18 |
35 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
LS |
14 |
18 |
19 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
LS |
14 |
18 |
19 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
LS |
14 |
18 |
19 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
LS |
14 |
18 |
19 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
LS |
14 |
18 |
19 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
PT |
LS |
14 |
16 |
4 |
1 |
|
N |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
LS |
14 |
18 |
13 |
1 |
|
T |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
R |
ES |
14 |
19 |
19 |
1 |
|
- |
IU |
Southern Lehigh HS |
S |
GE |
FT |
ES |
14 |
18 |
12 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Hopewell |
E |
GE |
I |
SLS |
5 |
11 |
48 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Lower Milford |
E |
GE |
I |
SLS |
5 |
11 |
40 |
.8 |
|
- |
SD |
Liberty Bell |
E |
GE |
I |
SLS |
5 |
11 |
45 |
.9 |
|
N |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
M |
GE |
R |
ES |
11 |
14 |
20 |
1 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh MS |
E |
GE |
I |
SLS |
11 |
14 |
8 |
.2 |
|
- |
SD |
Southern Lehigh HS |
E |
GE |
I |
SLS |
14 |
17 |
6 |
.1 |
Justification: The Emotional Support classroom is a 9th through 12th
grade classroom. So on the teacher's caseload their are students who are aged
14-19. They do not have classes where the 14 year olds and 19 year olds are
together. If that would happen in the future, we would send out a letter to
parents/guardians to let them know this is happening. We do work at letting
this not happen.
One of the speech/language teachers is at one elementary building, so on her
caseload are students who range from kindergarten to 5th grade. When she has
her speech sessions with students, the students in front of her are never more
than two years apart.
The other two speech/language teacher serve an elementary building as well as
another secondary building. Although those two speech language teachers have
students ranging from K-5th grade on their elementary caseloads, when they are
having speech sessions, the students in front of them are no more than 2 years
apart.
Support Staff (District)
School
District: Southern Lehigh SD
|
ID |
OPR |
Title |
Location |
FTE |
|
- |
SD |
psychologist |
Lower Milford |
1.00 |
|
- |
SD |
psychologist |
Hopewell |
1.00 |
|
N |
SD |
psychologist |
Liberty Bell |
1.00 |
|
N |
SD |
psychologist |
Middle School |
1.00 |
|
- |
SD |
psychologist |
High School |
1.00 |
|
- |
SD |
Instructional
Assistants--classroom |
Across all buildings |
20.00 |
|
- |
SD |
Instructional Assistants--1:1 |
Across all buildings |
11.00 |
|
- |
SD |
Director of Special Education |
Multiple buidlings |
1.00 |
|
N |
SD |
Facilitator for Special Education |
Multiple buildings |
1.00 |
|
N |
SD |
behavior specialist |
high school |
1.00 |
|
N |
SD |
behavior specialist |
middle school |
1.00 |
|
- |
SD |
counselors |
high school & middle school |
5.00 |
Contracted Support Services
|
ID |
IU / Agency |
Title / Service |
Amount of Time per Week |
|
- |
IU |
Job Coach |
4 Days |
|
- |
IU |
Occupational Therapy |
3 Days |
|
- |
IU |
Physical Therapy |
2 Hours |
|
- |
IU |
Assistive Technology |
30 Minutes |
|
- |
IU |
Supervisor of ES/Partial classes |
1 Days |
|
- |
IU |
Audiologist |
10 Minutes |
|
- |
IU |
Autism Specialist |
10 Minutes |
|
- |
Around the Clock Nurses |
1:1 nursing services |
20 Hours |
|
- |
Bayada Nurses |
1:1 nursing services |
5 Hours |
|
- |
IU |
Vision Therapist |
120 Minutes |
|
- |
IU |
Psychiatric Services |
10 Minutes |
|
- |
IU |
Orientation & Mobility
training |
20 Minutes |
ASSURANCE FOR THE OPERATION OF SPECIAL
EDUCATION SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
School Years: 2008 - 2011
The Southern
Lehigh SD within Carbon-Lehigh IU 21 assures that the school district will
comply with the requirements of 22 PA Code Chapter 14 and with the policies and
procedures of PDE. PDE will specify, in writing, policies and procedures to be
followed. Requests for any deviations from these regulations, standards,
policies, and procedures must be made in writing to PDE. The school district
understands that special education reports will be approved by PDE in
accordance with the following criteria as set forth in 22 Pa. School Code
§14.104:
- There
are a full range of services, programs and alternative placements
available to the school district for placement and implementation of the
special education programs in the school district.
- The
school district has adopted a child find system to locate, identify and
evaluate young children and children who are thought to be a child with a
disability eligible for special education residing within the school
district's jurisdiction. Child find data is collected, maintained, and
used in decision-making. Child find process and procedures are evaluated
for its effectiveness. The school district implements mechanisms to disseminate
child find information to the public, organizations, agencies, and
individuals on at least an annual basis.
- The
school district has adopted policies and procedures that assure that
students with disabilities are included in general education programs and
extracurricular and non-academic programs and activities to the maximum
extent appropriate in accordance with an Individualized Education Program.
- The
school district will comply with the PA Department of Education, Bureau of
Special Education's report revision notice process.
- The
school district follows the state and federal guidelines for participation
of students with disabilities in state and district-wide assessments
including the determination of participation, the need for accommodations,
and the methods of assessing students for whom regular assessment is not
appropriate.
- The
school district assures the Pennsylvania Department of Education that
funds received through participation in the medical assistance
reimbursement program, ACCESS, will be used to enhance or expand the
current level of services and programs provided to students with
disabilities in this local education agency.
This
assurance must be signed by the School Board President and the Superintendent
for the school district to operate services and programs.
_________________________ __________
_________________________ __________
Board
President Date Superintendent Date