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Director of Student Services details first 30 days, equity and program-inventory plans
Summary
The district's director of student services described visits to almost every building, a planned inventory of elementary interventions, parental resources and plans to examine LRE/inclusion practices ahead of next school year.
The district's director of student services addressed the education committee on May 22 to describe priorities after roughly 30 days on the job: classroom visits, a program inventory, equity of intervention access across elementary schools, staff training, and communications for families.
The director said he had visited nearly every school and planned remaining visits in the coming week, and that he is meeting monthly with supervisors and weekly with department leaders to identify immediate and longer-term priorities. He told the committee that a major short-term task is an inventory of programs and teacher training so that every elementary building has equitable access to interventions and staff with training to implement those interventions with fidelity.
"Part of the process is... really focusing in on what we have, what the teachers are trained on and what supports we have for our students," he said. He described plans for an online family guide about the special-education process, a monthly Student Services newsletter, and summer work to train staff so interventions are implemented consistently in all buildings.
The director said he will examine least-restrictive-environment (LRE) percentages and inclusion practices across schools to spot immediate opportunities for improvement and to make longer-term changes where needed. He also said his team will prioritize clearer parent communications about interventions and program availability.
Committee members responded positively and asked about professional development and whether anything surprised him during building visits; the director said he was "very happy" with what he saw overall but flagged process differences among buildings to be standardized.
The director asked parents to contact his office with concerns; he said Student Services will continue CPAC work and finalize a family-friendly special-education guide over the summer.
