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Special education director highlights individualized supports and rising caseloads
Summary
Miss Johnson described a kindergarten student, Jordy, who gained access to school lunch through a feeding evaluation and credited staff and kitchen teamwork; she said district special education enrollment is about 484 and pointed to earlier identification as a driver of growth.
Miss Johnson, the district’s special education director, used a student example to illustrate how teams coordinate supports: she described a kindergarten student, Jordy, whose family allowed staff to share his story and photo; the district completed a feeding evaluation so the student could eat safely and access school lunch.
"Jordy is an amazing kid, and his mom gave me permission to use his name and his picture and to even tell his story," Johnson said, emphasizing that the school’s SLP, occupational therapist and kitchen staff collaborated on a tailored plan. She said the case shows “true inclusion” is more than placement in general education; it means students can safely access the full school experience.
Johnson told the board Cascade currently counts about 484 students in special education across all levels and that the district is identifying more students earlier—this year she said about 25 kindergarten students were already identified for services versus 10–12 in earlier years. She also noted the district partners with Willamette Education Service District (WESD) for preschool evaluations and that Cascade offers an 18–21 adult transition program.
No board action was taken; the report was informational and prompted questions about program counts and service ages.
