Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Inclusive Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Subcommittee reviews renewal of Autism Level Up partnership to expand inclusive preschool supports
Summary
Presenters asked the subcommittee to continue a grant-funded partnership with Autism Level Up (about $99,260) that this year helped move pre-K students from substantially separate classrooms into partial or full inclusion; the subcommittee referred the contract to the full committee.
The subcommittee reviewed a district partnership with Autism Level Up, a privately operated support and professional-development provider that worked with three schools this year to move a subset of prekindergarten students from substantially separate settings into partial or full inclusion.
Presenters said about 28 students participated in the program this year’s “GROW” initiative; by year end 22 of 28 were moving to either full inclusion with supports or partial-inclusion models. The presenter described Autism Level Up’s model as including pre-summer professional development for staff, classroom observations, twice-monthly on-site coaching visits during the school year, immediate feedback to teachers after observations and ongoing email or other remote access.
Administration told the committee that the recommended contract for the coming year is grant-funded and that the backup materials list a cost of $99,260. The subcommittee discussed possible expansion to additional schools including Henry Lord and, later, other elementary schools if the partnership grows slowly as the vendor recommends.
Committee members asked whether the program serves only students with autism; the presenter said Autism Level Up emphasizes neurodiversity work and supports students with complex needs beyond autism (for example, students with regulation or communication challenges not strictly tied to autism diagnoses).
The subcommittee voted to refer continuation of the Autism Level Up partnership to the full committee for approval and asked administration to provide clarifying information on which classrooms and student counts would be included next year if the grant and referral are approved.
