Special Education
In District 31, we believe that all of our students are individuals with unique learning styles who can be successful in carefully matched learning environments. Working in close collaboration with general education teachers and other members of the IEP team, we work hard to design appropriate instruction and to provide the resources our students need to reach their potential. Some students need different ways of accessing the general curriculum; others may need alternative instructionalprograms altogether. We are also committed to building strong partnerships with parents and families in supporting our children.

The Special Education process can be confusing and sometimes intimidating. There are multiple steps, a series of meetings discussing your child with people you may not know, unfamiliar terms and concepts; the process is like a maze! It is important for parents to know that as the people who know their child best, they are key members of the I.E.P. team along with teachers, related service providers (speech pathologists, psychologists, social workers etc.), and administrators. Here are some questions parents may have about the process of creating an Individual Education Program for their child:

What is an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)?
I.E.P. stands for “Individual Education Program.” Every child who is found eligible for special education has an IEP. The IEP team—which includes parents, teachers, related service providers and administrators—work together to develop a plan to help a child be successful in school. The IEP identifies areas in which a child is most discrepant from his/her peers, goals created by the team for the child to work on during the school year, accommodations he/she will receive in the classroom and during formal assessments, as well as any special supports needed to help the child be successful throughout the school day.

Every IEP specifies:

• a child’s strengths and areas for improvement
• goals and objectives for the current school year
• types of services to be provided
• amount of time the child will receive special services throughout the school week
• accommodations needed for in-class and state/district assessments

What is a Domain meeting?
In the Domain meeting, a team of staff members, along with the parent/guardian determine what type of evaluations and tests are necessary to get a full education view of the student. Domain meetings are the first step in an initial special education eligibility evaluation or a 3‐year re‐evaluation.

What is an Annual review meeting?
The IEP is reviewed every year at the annual review meeting. Goals are reviewed and progress updates are shared. Accommodations, minutes, goals and related services are discussed at the meeting.

What is a 3-year re-evaluation meeting?
By law, all students receiving special education services must be re-evaluated every three years to look at progress and to see if they continue to need special education (determining eligibility) and, if so, to make sure that they get appropriate special education and related services.

What is a 504 plan?
A 504 plan is an educational plan that may be written for students who do not qualify for special education, but have identified disabilities which negatively impact their academic progress and can be accommodated in the regular education classroom. These plans are most commonly written for students with attention deficit disorder, as well as for students with physical and health disabilities. 504 plans can include classroom accommodations, such as preferential seating, motor breaks, and extended time on assignments and tests. Like IEPs, they are written by the team, which may include the parent, classroom teacher, psychologist, social worker, special education teacher, and administrator.

What does your child’s case manager do?
In addition to teaching small intervention groups or providing resource support for students in reading, writing or math, your case manager is responsible for making sure that the IEP plan is implemented across all school settings. He/she meets regularly with your child's general education teachers, collaborates with them in creating a learning environment in which your child will be most successful, and collects data to determine student progress or to inform instructional decisions, The case manager also makes sure that your child receives any related services (e.g. speech or social work) as indicated in the IEP and provides parents with progress reports on IEP goals (at Winkelman, you will receive 3 IEP updates each year).

Who is your child’s case manager?
If your child is in Kindergarten or 1st grade, the case manager is Miss Greenspan (rgreenspan@district31.net) or Miss Parrillo (vparrillo@district31.net). A child in 2nd or 3rd grade will have Mrs. Wilkin as his/her case manager. When your child is in 4th and 5th grade, the case manager may be Mrs. Conway, Mrs. LePine or Dr. Chinitz.

Who else is on the Special Education Team?

• School Psychologist - The Psychologist organizes and completes the psychological evaluation to assess academic skills and learning potential. of the student. The Psychologist may evaluate memory skills, performance areas, verbal and nonverbal abilities and how the child uses information in making decisions. The Psychologist will assess the child through written and verbal testing, observations, and parent/teacher feedback.
• Special Education Facilitator - The Facilitator plans, organizes and facilitates the special education meetings. She coordinates the process from the initial referral to the completion of the eligibility evaluation. She works with the case managers to ensure that all the information on the IEP is current.
• Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) - The SLP observes and interacts with the child to evaluate language ability and the production of speech sounds. The SLP also observes how the child expresses him/herself and responds to language.
  Social Worker (SW) - The Social Worker meets with the parents to complete a social history. The SW meets with students in small intervention groups or in a one-on-one setting. She observes the child’s behavioral and emotional responses to peers, teachers and staff.
• Occupational/Physical Therapist - Typically, the OT works with fine motor skills and a PT works with gross motor skills. The OT/PT may observe the child to see how fine and/or gross motor coordination affects tasks in the school setting.
• School Nurse - As part of the evaluation process, the nurse may meet with a parent to obtain health history about the child. Vision and hearing screening are also completed.
• Special Education Director- runs and facilitates meetings, coordinates team member participation, mediates disagreements, ensures legal and district policy compliance.

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What are accommodations?
What is executive functioning?
What are some of the ways teachers talk about my child's progress in READING?
What are some of the terms teachers may use to talk about my child's progress in MATH?
How do teachers talk about, measure, and teach BEHAVIOR?

Resources
Northern Suburban Special Education District (NSSED)