Massachusetts Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education

75Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts02148-4906 Telephone: (781) 338-3700

TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370

October 4, 2011

Rose Evans, Educational Administrator

Center for Human Development

Pace Day Program

69 Capital Drive

West Springfield, MA01089

Re: Mid-cycle Review and Verification of previous Program Review Corrective Action Plan

Dear Ms. Evans:

Enclosed is the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (“Department”) Mid-cycle Report based upon the Mid-cycle review conducted in your private school program in September, 2011. This Mid-cycle Review Report contains the Department's findings regarding the implementation status and effectiveness of corrective steps taken in response to your previous Program Review Report issued on October 6, 2008. This report also includes a report on the status of implementation for new state or federal special education requirements enacted since your program’s last Program Review.

While the Department found certain noncompliance issues to be resolved, others were partially corrected, not addressed at all and/or new issues were identified by the Department’s onsite team. Therefore, the Department is issuing a “Provisional Approval” status effective from the date of this letter and indicated on your approval certificate. Your “Provisional Approval” will expire on January 27, 2012. The reasons for the “Provisional Approval” are clearly indicated on the attached Mid-cycle Review Report.

As the Department previously informed you, in cases where a program fails to fully and effectively implement a Corrective Action Plan which was proposed by your program and approved by the Department, the Department must then prepare a Corrective Action Plan for the program which must be implemented without further delay. You will find these requirements for corrective action and further progress reporting included in the attached report, together with any steps that must be taken by the program to fully implement new special education requirements. Please provide the Department with your written assurance that the Department's requirements for corrective action will be implemented by your program within the timelines specified. Your statement of assurance must be submitted to the Department's Onsite Chairperson by October 18, 2011.

Please be advised that the attached Department Approval Certificate must be conspicuously posted in a public place within the program as required by 603 CMR 28.09.

Your staff's cooperation throughout these follow-up monitoring activities is appreciated. Should you require additional clarification of information included in our report, please do not hesitate to contact the Onsite Team Chairperson at 781-338-3719.

Sincerely,

Amy B. Krukonis, Mid-cycle Review Chairperson

Program Quality Assurance Services

Darlene Lynch, Director

Program Quality Assurance Services

c:Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

Jay Primark, Chairperson, Board of Directors

James Goodwin, Executive Director

Encl.:Mid-cycle Review Report

Provisional PrivateSchool Approval Certificate, Expiration Date: January 27, 2012

Page 1 of 2

MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
PRIVATE SCHOOL MID-CYCLE REVIEW

Center for Human Development

Pace Day Program

MID-CYCLE REVIEW REPORT

Previous Program Review Corrective Action Plan Submitted on December 15, 2008

Progress Reports Submitted on June 25, 2009; October 2, 2009

Mid-cycleOnsite Visit Conducted on September 27-28, 2011

Date of this Report October 4, 2011

Criterion
Number
and
Topic / Implementation Status of Requirements
or
Corrective Action Plan Determined
to be
Substantially Implemented
 / Method(s) of
Verification / Comments Regarding Corrective Action Plan Implementation / Corrective Action Plan Determined to be Not Fully Implemented orAdditional Issues Identified
 / Findings Regarding Incomplete Implementation of Approved Corrective Action Plan or Identification of Additional Issues of Noncompliance / Further Corrective Action
Ordered by the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
and Timelines for Implementation and Further Progress Reporting

Selected Approved Private School Program Mid-cycle Review Criteria

2.2 Approvals, Licenses, Certificates of Inspection

18.04(1); 28.09(2)(b)(5); 28.09(5)(b); 28.09(6)(b, c) /  / Documentation
Observations / Pace Day Program has current licenses, approvals and certificates of inspection by state and local agencies as required.
2.3 EEC Licensure
102 CMR 3.00
(Residential Schools only) / Not Applicable / Pace is a Day Program therefore this criterion is not applicable.
8.5 Current IEP & Student Roster
28.09(5)(a) / Documentation
Student Record Review /  / A review of student records found that not all students at Pace Day Program have current IEP’s. Some IEP’s are not consented to by the student’s parent(s) or student, when applicable.
In addition, some IEP and Placement Forms are written for other public and/or private Day Programs and are not specific to Pace as required. / Pace Day Program must have on file a current IEP that has been issued by the responsible public school district and consented to and dated by the student’s parent(s) or student, when applicable.
By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit the following:
  • Complete copies of the current IEP’s for each of the five student records the Department reviewed onsite at the time of the Mid-cycle Review.
  • For all other students, Pace Day Program must submit copies of the IEP signature page and Placement Pages.
  • If a student is his/her own guardian, Pace Day Program must provide documentation indicating that the student is acting on their own behalf and therefore, has legal rights to consent to their own IEP.
  • For each unsigned IEP, Pace Day Program must submit evidence/documen-tation of efforts and/or steps taken to obtain current IEP signature and Placement Forms from the responsible school district.

11.3 Educational Administrator Qualifications
28.09(5)(a); 28.09(7)(a);
603 CMR 44.00 /  / Documentation / Pace Day Program has designated an Educational Administrator who is appropriately qualified to serve in this position. This person supervises the provision of special education services and ensures that the services specified in each student’s IEP are delivered.

11.4 Teachers

(Special Education Teachers and Regular Education Teachers)
18.05(11)(f); 28.09(5)(a); 28.09(7)(b, c); 34 CFR 300.321 / Documentation
Interviews /  / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, a review of staff records and interviews indicated that while all four teachers had a waiver or license in a content area, all teachers did not have a current license or waiver to teach at the grade level and subject matter for all the classrooms they were assigned.
At the time of the Mid-cycle the three teachers on the roster are identified as Special Education Teachers; however, two of the three Special Education Teachers are not currently licensed or on approved waivers and the other Special Education Teacher is not licensed at all grade levels being taught as required. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit a current teacher roster that includes:
  • The name, title and role of each teacher in the program;
  • Grade level being taught;
  • Subject(s) being taught;
  • Massachusetts teaching license title, type, grade level, number and expiration date;
  • Copy of ESE license or most current ELAR activity sheet; and
  • In instances where teachers do not hold Massachusetts licensure for the area in which they are employed, a copy of a current certification waiver is provided or ELAR activity sheet.

11.5 Related Services Staff

28.09(7)(d) /  / Documentation
Interviews / Pace Day Program is in the process of hiring a Registered Nurse (RN). In the meantime, Pace Day Program submitted the qualifications of an agency Registered Nurse who will provide onsite and on call services to the program as needed.
11.6 Master Staff Roster
28.09(7) /  / Documentation
Interviews / Pace Day Program submitted a Master Staff Roster that includes each staff’s name, job title, corresponding Uniform Financial Report (UFR) title number, licensure and/or certification, full time equivalents (FTE) and qualifications that corresponds to their last approved Program Budget.Any changes or discrepancies were described in a written narrative.
19 Anti-Hazing
M.G.L. c. 269, §§ 17 through 19 / Documentation
Student Record Review /  / Documentation of students’ receipt of a copy of the program’s anti-hazing policy as approved by the Program’s Board of Director’s was not found in student records as required. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit documentation of each student’s receipt of a copy of the program’s anti-hazing policy as approved by the Program’s Board of Director’s for each of the five students whose records the Department reviewed onsite at the time of the Mid-cycle Review. Such forms must be signed and dated.
20 Bullying Prevention and Intervention
M.G.L. c. 71, s. 37H, as amended by Chapter 92 of the Acts of 2010. M.G.L. c. 71, s. 370(e)(1) & (2) M.G.L. c. 71, s. 370(d) / Documentation
Interviews /  / Pace Day Program did not submit a description of the process the program followed to amend its’ student admissions materials to include an age-appropriate summary of their Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan as requested. Pace Day Program also did not submit a description of the professional development plan implemented for all staff for the 2010-2011 School Year and evidence of its implementation as required. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit the following:
  • A description of the process the program followed to amend its’ student admissions materials to include an age-appropriate summary of their Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
  • A description of the professional development plan implemented for all staff for the 2010-2011 School Year and evidence of its implementation including dates, formats used and agendas.

Identified Areas of Non-Compliance During the Program Review or Other Areas of Concern
1.2 Program & Student Description, Program Capacity
28.09(2)(b)(2, 3, 7) /  / Documentation
Interviews / Pace Day Program submitted a revised Program and
Student Description that now includes the appropriate number of approved students to be 45.
6.1 Daily Instructional Hours
27.04 /  / Documentation
Interviews / Pace Day Program ensures that the students receive the minimum requirement of 990 instructional hours as required.
Pace Day Program now includes school-to-work opportunities such as carpentry, community service at a local elementary school, and shopping as structured learning time and are included on the Program’s block schedules.
8.4 Program Modifications and Support Services for Limited English Proficient Students
M.G.L. c. 71A; Title VI /  / Documentation
Student Record Review
Interviews / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, student record review and interviews, indicated that students who had been identified as limited English proficient did not receive sheltered content instruction or instruction in English as a Second Language as required.
At the time of the Mid-cycle Review, Pace Day Programstates they have had no reason to contact a sending public school district to request a student to be assessed to determine if a student might have limited English proficiency.
The Department notes that while Pace Day Program may not have found comments on IEPs, assessment results, Home Language Surveys or correspondence from sending school districts referencing concern about students’ aptitude with the English language, Pace Day Program must continue to monitor the need for these services and provide them if necessary to meet individual student needs .
8.8 IEP – Progress
Reports
28.07(3);
34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)
(i, ii) / Documentation
Student Record Review
Interviews /  / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, IEP progress reports were not always found, the narrative portion of several progress reports indicated that the student was not making sufficientprogress toward meeting the IEP goals yetgoals were continued for the next IEP period, and there was no documentation of contact with the sending public school regarding concern of thestudent’s lack of progress.
At the time of the Mid-cycle Review, Pace Day Program did not have current Progress Reports in student records as required. The previously issued progress reports that were found in the record did not indicate to whom they were sent. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit the following:
  • Complete copies of the most recent progress reports for each of the five students the Department reviewed on site at the time of the Mid-cycle.
  • Evidence of to whom and when the progress reports were issued for each of the five students the Department reviewed onsite at the time of the Mid-cycle Review.
  • For all other students, Pace Day Program must submit each student’s initials, sending school district and date their most recent progress report was issued.

9.5
3-5 Day Suspensions
18.05(6) / Documentation
Student Record Review /  / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, interviews indicated that students had been suspended and that Pace Day Programhad not developed a system to document the number and duration of suspensions for eachstudent. Documentation review also indicated that Pace Day Program had developed a letter to send to guardians when a student was suspended;however those were not found in student records at that time.
While Pace Day Program has now developed a system to document the number and duration of suspensions for eachstudent, documentation of notification was only found for parents and not for the sending school district, state agencies or other appropriate parties as required. In addition, the incident reports and suspension documentation was not found in the student record as required, but is maintained only with the suspension log. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit:
  • A copy of the current Suspension log along with any correspondence sent to parents/guardians, the sending school district, state agencies or other appropriate parties.

9.6
10+ Day Suspensions
34 CFR 300.530 – 537; 18.05(7) /  / Documentation
Student Record Review / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, the Department was not able to verify if a student had reached 10+ days of suspension because Pace Day Program did not have a system to track the number of suspensions for each student.
Pace Day Program submitted a copy of the Suspension Log now used and reports that a student has not been suspended for 10+ days.
10.2 AgeRange
28.06(6)(f, g) /  / Documentation / Pace Day Program submitted block schedules for every classroom and every period indicating the initials of students with corresponding dates of birth that shows that
the age range of students in all instructional groups is less than 48 months, as required.
15.1 Parental Involvement
and Parents’ Advisory Group
18.05(4)(a) /  / Documentation / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, Pace Day Program had only scheduled two Parent Advisory Group meetings for the academic year while their policy indicated that they would hold meetings quarterly. For the Mid-cycle Review, Pace Day Program submitted the Parent Advisory agendas for the 2010-2011 school year indicating that they offered these meetings quarterly, as required by their policy.
15.3 Information to be Translated into Languages other than English
Title VI; EEOA: 20 U.S.C. 1703(f); M.G.L. c. 76, § 5; 603 CMR 26.02(2) /  / Documentation
Student Record Review
Interviews / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, documentation review and interviews indicated that Pace Day Program provided parents and guardians with written notice of field trips and early dismissal in both English and Spanish; however, otherimportant school announcements, progress reports and report cards were not translated in written form. Staff members provided oral interpretations for parents who are Spanish speaking, but such translations were not documented in student records. Pace Day Program submitted a plan to provide translations for parents or guardianswho may speak languages other than Spanish.
At the time of the Mid-cycle Review a review of student records indicates that Pace Day Program provides parents and guardians with written notice of field trips and early dismissal in both English and Spanish; and otherimportant school announcements, progress reports and report cards are also now translated for parents who have limited English skills.
15.5 Parent Consent and Required Notification
18.05(5)(c); 18.05(8); 18.05(9)(f)(1); 18.05(9)(j); M.G.L. c. 71, § 32A / Documentation
Student Record Review /  / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, student record review and interviews indicated that PaceDay Program did not annually obtain required parent consents for all students.
A review of student records at the time of the Mid-cycle Review revealed that required consents for emergency medical treatment, restraints and medication administration are not current. In addition, two of the records reviewed indicatedeach student had signed their own consents while there was no evidence that they are their own guardian, and their parent had consented to their IEP’s. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day program must submit
  • Copies of current emergency medical treatment, restraint and medication administration consents for each of the five students the Department reviewed onsite at the time of the Mid-cycle Review.
  • For all other students, Pace Day Program must list each students’ initials, sending school district and the date of most recent parental/guardian consent for emergency medical treatment, restraint and medication administration
  • For any consents that are not current, Pace Day Program must provide evidence or documentation of efforts to obtain current consents from parents/guardians.

16.7 Preventive
Health Care
18.05 (9)(g)(1); 105CMR 200.100(B)(1); 105CMR 200.400(B);
105CMR200.400(C); G.L. c. 71, § 57; and G.L. c. 111, § 111 / Documentation
Student Record Review /  / At the time of the 2008 Program Review documentation of physical or dental exam, vision, hearing or postural screenings in the previous 12 months was found in only one of the student records reviewed.
At the time of the Mid-cycle Review, none of the five student records reviewed evidenced preventive health care screenings, medical examinations, dental examinations or immunizations as required. / By 12/15/11, Pace Day Program must submit the following:
  • Copies of current dental examinations, physical examinations, vision, hearing and postural screenings for each of the five student records the Department reviewed onsite at the time of the Mid-cycle Review.
  • For all other students, Pace Day Program must list each students’ initials, sending school district and the dates of the most recent dental examination, vision, hearing and postural screening, and the date of most recent physical examination along with the physician’s written report of the results,.
  • For any examination or screening that is not current, Pace Day Program must provide evidence or documentation of efforts to obtain current examinations or screenings from parents/guardians.
  • For a schedule of when examinations and screenings are required, please refer to pages 43 and 44 of the 2011-2012 School Year “Approved Private Day and Residential Special Education School Programs Program Review and Mid-cycle Review Procedures” booklet.
  • If a specific screening is not required due to the student’s age and/or grade level, please indicate so on the chart by writing “Not Applicable” for that specific health care screening.

18.1 Confidentiality of Student Records
28.09(5)(a); 28.09(10); 23.07(1); M.G.L. c. 71, § 34H /  / Documentation
Student Record Review / At the time of the 2008 Program Review, student record review indicated that the log of access did not include all required information. The log of access now includes all required elements.

Center for Human Development, Pace Day Program Mid-cycle Review Report