District-Wide Special Education Program Evaluation

[Pages:53]District-Wide Special Education Program Evaluation Department of Special Services Lynnfield Public Schools Lynnfield, Massachusetts

Conducted: October / November 2017

Submitted by: Northshore Education Consortium

112 Sohier Road Beverly, Massachusetts

NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

Table of Contents I. Introduction A. Purpose B. Evaluators II. Methodology III. Commendations IV. Factors Affecting Programming and Services V. Notable Observations VI. Recommendations VII. Summary

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NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

I. Introduction

The Director of Special Services for the Lynnfield Public Schools requested that the Northshore Education Consortium (NEC) provide consultants to conduct a district-wide evaluation of the special education programs and services for preschool through grade 12. The administration requested this evaluation in order to secure recommendations that will address the following: current status of special education programming and services, staffing pattern, utilization of professional staff, and instructional assistants, effectiveness of current special education program models and instructional support services, strategies of inclusion, inclusionary practices of instruction (push-in), coteaching classes, specialized instructional strategies, substantially separate programming, and professional development needs of general and special education personnel at the preschool through grade 12 levels. Special education administrative practices and procedures, the pre-referral process, and tiered instructional support approaches are also to be reviewed.

A. Purpose The purpose of an independent evaluation of a special education program and services is to provide a school district with an objective report that identifies areas of strengths, needs, and recommendations. An independent evaluation allows for the district to be examined from the perspective that looks at what is working well in the district, but also identifies areas that need to be strengthened.

The evaluation process is designed, through a multi-step approach, to assist the school district's leadership team and the school-based special education personnel in having a guided and focused discussion that will enable effective short and long-range planning to occur while recognizing and addressing issues such as:

o Identifying trends and patterns in student referrals to special education

o Identifying the main characteristics in the students who are referred

o Identifying similar profile characteristics in the non-referred and referred students

o Determining the effectiveness and utilization of current special education personnel and their roles and responsibilities with respect to serving students in Individualized Education Programs

o Identifying trends in the program placement of students

o Determining the effectiveness of current program and service interventions

o Identifying staffing and resource needs that reflect student needs

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NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

o Creating a long-range plan that addresses the agreed-upon needs of the various student disability populations.

o Establishing a comprehensive approach to program and service development that is linked to the budget planning process

It is important to recognize that, for the information contained in this report to be beneficial to the school district and special education services, the stakeholders must come together to discuss the findings and the recommendations. This evaluation process brings forth information that will enable the district administration and school-based special and general education personnel to develop an action plan(s) that will lead to more effective approaches for serving the students with disabilities.

B. Evaluators Ms. Sally Smith, M. Ed., is a Special Education and Early Childhood Consultant for the Northshore Education Consortium. Prior to her present professional position, Ms. Smith has thirty-nine years of educational experience that includes Early Childhood Coordinator and Northeast Regional Associate Manager of Walker Partnerships, Director of Professional Development for the Education Collaborative of Greater Boston, four years as Director of Student Services for the Belmont Public Schools following twelve years of involvement with the Early Childhood Program for the Belmont Public Schools as a preschool special education teacher, an inclusion specialist, and Early Childhood Coordinator. Ms. Smith has also been an elementary and middle school consulting teacher for the Lynnfield Public Schools and a special education teacher at the SEEM Collaborative. Ms. Smith has conducted numerous professional development trainings and directed over thirty-six program evaluations of special education programs and services at all grade levels for public school districts. Additionally, Ms. Smith has instructed and supervised graduate students from numerous Boston area colleges and universities as well as mentored/coached teachers and coordinators. Ms. Smith also has extensive experience with developing effective programming for students on the Autism Spectrum.

James B. Earley, Ed. D., is a Special Education Consultant for the Northshore Education Consortium. Dr. Earley has forty-seven years of public education experience as a teacher, teaching assistant principal, Massachusetts Department of Education Supervisor, and Acting Regional Special Education Director. For thirty years Dr. Earley served in the positions of Administrator of Special Education for the Watertown Public Schools and Superintendent of Schools for the Watertown Public Schools. Prior to assuming his position as Special Education Consultant, he was Managing Director of Walker Partnerships for twelve years. Dr. Earley has been a Senior Lecturer at Lesley University and Wheelock College, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts/Boston, and a Student Teacher Supervisor for Salem State University. Dr. Earley has consulted for numerous educational organizations, participated in a variety of special education task forces and committees, and was a member of the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Administrators of Special Education for 24 years. He has conducted over one hundred twenty-five independent program evaluations and numerous professional development

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NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

trainings for school districts within Massachusetts and several other states. Dr. Earley has been recognized for his contributions to special education and received several awards, culminating with being named the recipient of the National Outstanding Special Education Administrator of 2003 by The Council of Administrators of Special Education.

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NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

II. Methodology

This program evaluation was conducted based on a four-step approach.

1. Document Review The NEC consultants reviewed various documentation consisting of the following: program description(s), program staff roles/responsibilities, census data, procedural guidelines and practices, instructional, therapeutic, and behavioral intervention strategies/protocols, budget data, student progress data collection and reporting systems, District Curriculum Accommodation Plan, professional development offerings, 24 sample IEPs, and other related documents for special education. Two hours was required for this activity by each consultant.

2. Observations of Designated Classes The NEC consultants spent a total of 2.5 days observing 37 instructional settings for preschool, elementary, middle, and high school general education, special education programs and services. These observations included the following instructional settings:

Huckleberry Hill Elementary School Observations: o Kindergarten Inclusion Classes, 2 o First Grade Small Group, Pull-Out o Learning Center, Grade 2 o Learning Center, Grade 4 o Differentiated Learning Program Classes, 2

Summer Street School Observations: o Preschool Classes, 2 o Learning Center, Grade 2 o Grade 3 Co-Teaching Class o Grade 3 Inclusion Class o Grade 3 Language-based Program o Kindergarten Inclusion Class o Preschool Occupational Therapy Group o Social Skills Group, School Psychologist

Lynnfield Middle School Observations: o Differentiated Learning Program, Grades 5-8 o Grades 6, 7, 8 Language-Based Programs o Grade 6 Language-Based Strategies o Grade 6 Co-Taught Class o Grade 7 Co-Taught Class o Grades 5 and 6 Academic Support o Grade 8 Inclusion

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NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

o Grades 5-8 Student Support Program

Lynnfield High School Observations: o Co-Taught English Class, Grade 9 (Language-based) o Social/Emotional Support Class o Differentiated Learning Program I o Differentiated Learning Program II o Center for Independent Learning o Co-Taught ELA Class, Grade 10 o High School Student Support Team o Bridge Program

3. Interviews One-on-one interviews and focus group interviews and discussions occurred over two days. Individual interviews were 30 minutes in length while the focus groups were 45 minutes in length. Forty-one staff members and two parents participated in the interview process. The positions that were interviewed are listed under the following interview formats.

One-on-One Interviews: o Superintendent o Director of Special Services o Special Education Coordinators, 3 o Principal, 1 o School Psychologists, 3 o Kindergarten Teachers,1 o First Grade Teachers,1 o Special Education Teachers, 2 o Learning Center Teachers, 5 o BCBA Program Director o Speech and Language Pathologist, 1 o Language-based Teachers, 4 o Merrimack Fellow, 1

Focus Groups Interviews: o Middle School Team Chair, Principal, and Assistant Principal o High School Assistant Principal and Bridge Program Teacher/Team

Chairperson o High School CIL Teachers, 3 o Grade K Co-teachers, 2 o Grade 3 Co-teachers, 2 o Grade 4 Co-teachers, 2 o Preschool Teachers, 2

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NEC: Lynnfield District-Wide Program Evaluation

Parent Interviews: Ten parents were contacted to participate, representing the elementary school (grades K, 1, 4), the middle school (grades 6, 7, 8), and the high school (grades 9, 10, Of the ten parents contacted, two parents were individually interviewed, and four parents returned answers to the parent questions via email.

Questions for School Personnel:

o What trends do you see in the overall school population?

o Your tenure in the district?

o What do you see working well for students with special needs?

o What is your role and what are your responsibilities in the school where you are assigned?

o Do your colleagues have a full understanding of your role?

o Do you feel that there is a clear and definitive understanding of the population that you serve?

o Are there clear procedures and practice policies for the work that you do?

o What are your main concerns regarding special education?

o What strengths do you see in the various special education programming and services?

o What trends are you experiencing in your program?

o What type of data collection system is utilized?

o Is RtI/tiered instruction a formalized process within your school?

o Do you find social skill curriculum an effective tool?

o What do you see as a major influence(s) on referrals to special education?

o What do you currently see occurring for students who are struggling with their academics and social/emotional/behavioral issues?

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