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Applicants describe special education, ESL and staffing plans for Museum School; coordinator role initially part‑time
Summary
The Museum School team told TEA they expect a relatively high share of neurodivergent and emergent bilingual students, will start with an ESL‑inclusion approach rather than dual language, and intend special education teachers to act as case managers with a part‑time special education coordinator in year one.
Applicants told Texas Education Agency reviewers on May 14 they expect the Museum School of East Dallas will attract neurodivergent and emergent bilingual students, and they outlined how they plan to staff and support those learners in the first year.
“Teachers with this experience — successful experience with neurodivergent students — are a priority in recruitment,” said a member of the applicant team. The presenters said they expect to hire special education teachers who will serve as case managers and to support them with a special education coordinator who will start part‑time and convert to full time as the school grows.
Applicants explained the budget shows a higher line item for special education teachers (about $62,000) than for the coordinator (about $55,000) because the coordinator role was budgeted part‑time for year one. “When our numbers grow, we would turn that position into full time,” an applicant said.
On bilingual services, applicants said the school will implement an ESL inclusion model initially and that all teachers will be ESL‑certified or trained in sheltered instruction. If applicant enrollment triggers the TEA “rule of 20” and a bilingual program is required, the team said they would consider transitional bilingual programming before moving to dual‑language, citing staffing constraints for dual‑language implementation in early start‑up years.
For behavior and special education supports, applicants said they plan an expanded professional development schedule (three weeks of initial PD in the first year) and an MTSS framework with progress‑monitoring and individualized accommodations. Carrie Holliday Sneed and other proposed board members described long experience in special education and dyslexia intervention as part of the team’s planned supports.
TEA special populations reviewers asked for documentation of identification, LPAC procedures and the use of TEA‑approved language assessments; the applicants said they will archive required letters and records in the student information system and the individualized learning plans.
