Perkiomen Valley reports rising special-education and English-learner enrollment; district outlines targeted interventions
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Summary
District presenters said special-education enrollment rose roughly 8'10% over the past decade and English-learner share nearly doubled since 2010; the district described cohort tracking, co-taught scheduling changes and partnerships to improve outcomes.
The Perkiomen Valley School District used its annual data presentation to highlight trends and interventions for specialized student groups. Joan Aduchi, the district's director of special education, said special-education enrollment has risen "an approximate 8 to 10%" over the past ten years and the district is pursuing more detailed cohort and classroom-level analysis to design targeted supports.
Administrators said the district cannot currently get all state reports disaggregated by disability category but is using local scheduling and classroom-cohort approaches to track outcomes more precisely. "Now that we're able to track students by classrooms," Joan Aduchi said, "we can look at co-taught classrooms and benchmark performance and pair interventions to those cohorts." Presenters described a mix of curriculum alignment, increased instructional time, and interventions tied to IEP goals as the immediate strategies under review.
Megan McCord, the high-school special-education supervisor, presented Keystone and PSSA outcomes for students with IEPs: literature Keystone proficiency for that group was reported at roughly 25% proficient or above (an upward trend despite a 2024 dip). Administrators also noted biology and certain STEM measures remain a focus; the district said it is partnering with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) and outside consultants to explore interventions.
On English learners, Lauren Moulton (interim supervisor of equity and student services) said the EL population has grown from about 0.66% of enrollment in 2010 to approximately 1.57% today. She cautioned that some subgroup analyses (particularly science) are limited by small sample sizes (fewer than 11 test-takers), which constrains interpretation and year-to-year comparisons.
District action and supports: leaders described specific operational steps already underway, including refining schedules to create consistent co-taught cohorts, increasing staff capacity through training (for example, the science of reading), and coordinating intervention blocks and benchmarks so progress is measured more regularly than annual state tests. Presenters said the district will continue to work with the MCIU and consultants and will report back to the board with more granular cohort-level analyses and recommended interventions.
Board members requested follow-up on disability-specific trends and recommended the administration present more detailed cohort results and resource implications at an upcoming Education Committee meeting.