Valley View team highlights sixth‑grader Amelia Daney’s progress with eye‑gaze communication device

Valley View special‑education staff presented a demonstration of an eye‑gaze augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device used by sixth‑grader Amelia Daney at the Edina Public Schools board meeting on Feb. 9.

Tara Cole, the school’s speech‑language pathologist, described how the device is calibrated so a student can select on‑screen buttons by fixing their gaze. "How can we kinda unlock their communication?" Cole said, explaining that the district received the device through a family donation and that the technology can require one‑to‑three second holds and navigation across multiple pages.

Special‑education teacher Maddie Jenny and paraprofessional Zachary Rorta said Amelia moved from a two‑option swipe device to an eye‑gaze setup that now offers multiple buttons and pages, and that staff have tailored content — including family photos and preferred foods — to make the device personal and easier to use. Jenny described an example in which staff added the feeling word “silly” and Amelia used the device repeatedly to announce, “silly, silly, silly,” demonstrating immediate engagement with the vocabulary.

Principal Patrick Bass and several board members praised the team for supporting Amelia’s participation and described the presentation as an example of the district’s stated vision of helping each learner “discover their possibilities and thrive.” Board members asked no substantive policy questions and thanked Amelia’s family for their partnership.

The district’s presentation emphasized classroom strategies (teacher programming, paraprofessional support and family collaboration) rather than any change to district policy. Board members said they would refer specific operational follow‑ups, if any, to appropriate staff and site leaders.