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Pupil services highlights special-education program growth, community partnerships and mental-health supports
Summary
The pupil services director reported expansions to special-education programming including an Empower program in year five, model autism initiative classrooms, new paraprofessional partnerships with West Chester University, community-based instruction, and mental-health partnerships that provided counseling to 106 students.
The district's pupil services director told the education committee the division had expanded several programs and partnerships to support students with disabilities and mental-health needs, including growth of the Empower program, recognition for autism-model classrooms, a paraprofessional pathway with West Chester University and community-based instruction initiatives.
Special-education expansions and recognitions: staff said the district added another teacher to a supported-belief program and marked the fifth year of the Empower transition program; a classroom at Penn London Elementary was recognized as a model autism-initiative classroom and two teachers presented at Penn State. Staff said the community-based instruction and life-skills programming had expanded and that the district planned a parent-engagement series and a reverse transition fair where students would host employer-style tables.
Partnerships and supports: the district partners with West Chester University on a paraprofessional program that places students in classrooms for credit and pay; the director said four West Chester students are in the program this semester. The district also partners with community providers, including New London Counseling, which served 106 students through in-school counseling this year, according to the director.
Training and monitoring: the director said school nurses were trained as CPR/first-aid trainers to create emergency-response teams, staff completed cyclical monitoring required by the state with positive results, and the district procured Access 3 (an operations/tracking tool) to streamline special-education timelines, meetings and paperwork.
Why it matters: the overview showed a mix of instructional, clinical and community-based supports intended to increase student outcomes and transition opportunities, particularly for students in special-education programs. Committee members praised the work and asked for further detail about monitoring, community partnerships and how audit findings were being addressed.
