Florence Unified School District No. 1
Adam Leckie
Director of Exceptional Student Services
May 2015
______
Board of Education
Denise Guenther, President Janeane Candelaria, Vice-President
Rose Marie M. Monks, Member Bob Dailey, Member Steve Johnson, Member
Director’s Summary
Trainings
- National CEC Conference: Adam Leckie attended the national conference for the Council for Exceptional Children. This conference provided information on current trends and instructional practices for students with disabilities.
- STMP: Pam Fesko, Teri Steele, Claire Allain-Broeman, Kristian Wostl and Victor Mukhopadhyay attended the final training for a transition grant provided by ADE.
Materials
- 10 iPads were purchased to enhance technology in special education classrooms.
- Splash pre-K curriculum was purchased for the special education pre-school program. This is a high quality curriculum with special education adaptations.
Special Olympics
- CORRECTION FROM APRIL – in addition to the 15 Poston Butte students who participated in the Chandler Rotary Unified Track Meet, there were also several students with and without disabilities from Florence High as well. These athletes ran the 4 x 100 meter relay, long jump, and javelin.
Identification Rates
Below are our current numbers and percentages for the three exceptional student programs:
Program / Total Number / Percentage of District StudentsSpecial Education / 1216 / 14.1%
504 / 116 / 1.3%
Gifted / 307 / 3.5%
Summary
This an extremely busy time of year for the ESS Department. Teachers are completing IEP meetings and reports and psychologists are furiously processing all of the child study team (CST) referrals. Challenges and disputes often increase this time of year as parents hope to resolve any complaints or disagreements with the IEP teams before the end of the school year. This means that there are often more IEP meetings to attend than usual. Hiring new teachers is a top priority as we had over a 20% non-retention rate, which included several related service providers. Many efforts are being made to recruit new highly qualified and motivated special education teachers, including exploring grant opportunities for tuition assistance for existing special education paraprofessional staff. This year is ending on a positive note as the performance of our students with disabilities continues to improve.
Adam Leckie
Director of Exceptional Student Services
Board of Education
Denise Guenther, President Janeane Candelaria, Vice-President
Rose Marie M. Monks, Member Bob Dailey, Member Steve Johnson, Member