Consultant urges Guilford to prioritize needs-based special-education programs, staff expertise

The Guilford Board of Education on Aug. 12 received an executive summary of a New Solutions K12 review that recommended prioritizing program placements by student need, strengthening a continuum of services across grades, and focusing on staff expertise rather than sheer adult-to-student headcount.

"Our focus was really just on students with significant needs at the K–8 level," New Solutions senior consultant Steve Sandal told the board, outlining interviews, classroom observations and data analysis that informed the report. Sandal said the study deliberately produced a short list of priorities the district can implement incrementally.

The report urged the district to group students by similar instructional and behavioral needs rather than by disability category or strictly by age, noting that "disability category does not necessarily mean that they have similar needs." Sandal described problems from mixing students with severe behavioral needs and students whose primary needs are mental health, saying that combination can increase anxiety and reduce meaningful learning time.

Board members raised concerns about how changes would affect paraprofessionals and teachers. Sandal and Superintendent Dr. Freeman said they heard that paraprofessionals are hardworking but often constrained by schedules and limited planning time; the report recommends reducing overreliance on lower-trained paraprofessionals by hiring or developing more specialized staff and coaching.

A recurring theme was creating leadership capacity within specialized programs. Sandal suggested district-funded part-time or stipended program leaders who could coach teachers, advise on curriculum and support consistent program design across buildings. He also recommended reducing the number of transitions for students with high needs—such as consolidating some middle-school programs—to preserve routine and reduce regression.

The report does not propose immediate, districtwide structural changes; Dr. Freeman said administrators will bring the executive summary to parent groups and staff forums and consider small, phased changes that may inform the budget process. "We will absolutely schedule further opportunities for you to discuss this," she said, adding that some recommendations "may very well have implications for the budget proposal that we bring forward to you this year."

The consultant and district leaders acknowledged outcome measurement limits. While academic outcomes are tracked through IEP processes and state testing (with many students participating in alternative assessments), Sandal said life-skills and transition outcomes are harder to benchmark but are essential to the district's goals.

A middle-school teacher quoted in the report said at times she feels "more like an air traffic controller than our instructor," a comment board members cited when discussing the need to match staff strengths to student needs.

Next steps, the superintendent said, include sharing the full report on the district website, presenting it to parent groups this fall, and convening staff and community conversations before any major reconfiguration is proposed. The board moved on to other business after the presentation; no structural changes were voted at the meeting.