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Jørn  Utzon,  architect  of  the  Sydney  Opera  House,  had  dyslexia.    The  Opera  House  was  lit  in  blue  to  raise  autism  awareness.  

                                     

End  of  Year  Report  June  1,  2015  

   

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To:  The  Weston  School  Committee  -­‐  Danielle  Black,  Alex  Cobb,  Ed  Heller,  John  Henry,  and  Sanjay  Saini  

Cc:  Cheryl  Maloney,  Pamela  Bator,  Cynthia  Mahr,  Anthony  Parker,  John  Gibbons,  Matthew  Lucey,  Cynthia  Crimmin,  Christine  Price,  Lee  McCanne,  Susan  Fisichella,  Cheryl  Antoine,  and  Elizabeth  Nagarajah  

From:  Christen  Lacey,  Chair,  Weston  PAC    

Date:  June  1,  2015    

Re:  Weston  Parent  Advisory  Council  for  Special  Education  (Weston  PAC)  End  of  Year  Report  

-­‐-­‐-­‐  

Gratitude  

In  the  2014-­‐2015  Weston  PAC  Mid-­‐Year  Report,  we  observed  a  theme  of  gratitude  for  the  renewed  commitment  to  special  education  in  our  schools.    As  this  school  year  draws  to  a  close,  we  express  our  thanks  to  the  educators  and  service  providers  who  support  our  children  each  day,  and,  in  particular,  acknowledge  the  following  individuals:    

• Departing  School  Committee  members  Rosemary  Tomaso  and  Rick  Manley.    Mrs.  Tomaso  and  Mr.  Manley  spent  many  hours  listening  to  the  stories  of  WPS  parents  of  children  with  special  needs  during  the  2012-­‐2013  school  year  in  particular.    Their  concern  for  students  initiated  a  series  of  changes  in  special  education  in  our  district,  and  we  are  grateful  for  their  contributions.    We  also  thank  School  Committee  Chair  Danielle  Black,  who  has  served  as  liaison  to  the  PAC  for  the  past  two  years.  

• We  thank  our  Office  of  Student  Services  administrative  team,  Susan  Strong  and  Sue  Fisichella,  for  their  work  in  creating  and  strengthening  several  new  programs  in  recent  years,  and  for  their  assistance  in  developing  rich  programming  for  PAC  meetings  this  year.    

• Finally,  we  recognize  our  retiring  superintendent,  Dr.  Cheryl  Maloney,  for  her  dedication  over  thirty  years  to  the  students  and  families  of  our  district.    

 Past,  Present,  and  the  Role  of  the  PAC    As  we  thank  those  who  have  supported  our  students,  it  may  also  be  helpful  to  consider  the  journey  towards  educational  equity  for  children  with  special  needs.        This  video,  created  in  2012  by  Massachusetts  Advocates  for  Children  (MAC),  commemorated  the  40th  anniversary  of  Chapter  766,  the  Massachusetts  special  education  law,  which  in  turn  informed  the  first  federal  special  education  law,  the  Education  for  All  Handicapped  Children  Act  (EAHCA)  in  1975.    EAHCA  has  evolved  and  is  now  the  Individuals  with  Disabilities  Education  Act  (IDEA).    In  addition  to  IDEA,  Massachusetts  also  has  its  own  laws  and  regulations  governing  special  education.  

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MAC  was  also  instrumental  in  the  passage  of  legislation  for  school  districts  to  establish  Parent  Advisory  Councils  (PACs)  for  special  education,  which  has  been  part  of  the Massachusetts  General  Laws since  1986.    The  PAC  has  both  an  advisory  and  participatory  role.  

The school committee of any city, town, or school district shall establish a parent advisory council on special education. Membership shall be offered to all parents of children with disabilities and other interested parties. The parent advisory council duties shall include but not be limited to: advising the school committee on matters that pertain to the education and safety of students with disabilities; meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the school committee's special education programs.

Special  Education  in  Weston  

Based  on  the  October  1,  2014  data,  the  composition  of  WPS  students  on  IEPs,  based  on  “primary  disability  code”  is  as  follows:  

WPS  students  on  IEPs  -­‐  by  Primary  Disability  Code  October  1,  2014  

         Specific  learning  disability   136   34.8%  Health   89   22.8%  Developmental  delay   43   11.0%  Communication   42   10.7%  Autism   37   9.5%  Emotional     19   4.9%  Intellectual   10   2.6%  Neurological   8   2.0%  Multiple  disabilities   3   0.8%  Sensory/hearing   3   0.8%  Sensory/vision   1   0.3%  

 391   100.0%  

*  MA  DESE  disability  definitions    

• At  this  time,  17%  of  WPS  students,  or  approximately  1  in  6,  are  receiving  some  form  of  Special  Education  services.    

• The  distribution  of  primary  disability  codes  has  remained  relatively  stable  over  time,  with  specific  learning  disabilities  (such  as  dyslexia)  at  35%  of  the  total,  health  (the  category  often  used  for  Attention  Deficit  Hyperactivity  Disorder),  developmental  delay,  and  communication  as  the  top  categories.    Students  on  the  autism  spectrum  now  comprise  approximately  10%  of  our  students  with  special  needs,  consistent  with  figures  reported  at  the  state  level  (For  additional  information  on  special  education  at  the  state  level,  refer  to  the  Report  to  the  Legislature:  Annual  Report  on  Students  with  Disabilities  2013-­‐2014).  

• As  noted  in  the  Weston  PAC’s  June  2,  2014  presentation,  significant  numbers  of  our  students  have  been  identified  with  specific  learning  disabilities  over  a  long  period  of  time,  indicating  a  need  to  develop  high-­‐quality  programs  within  the  district.    The  PAC  continues  to  have  discussions  with  the  administration  regarding  the  importance  of  early  identification  of  children  with  language-­‐based  

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learning  disabilities.  Applying  the  “80/20  rule,”  we  believe  that  the  20%  of  students  who  struggle  to  learn  to  read  require  specialized  instruction,  and  we  support  the  identification  and  implementation  of  effective  research-­‐based  programs  to  remediate  reading  challenges.  

• The  PAC  continues  to  follow  developments  in  the  education  of  students  on  the  autism  spectrum,  including  the  establishment  of  a  teacher  license  endorsement  in  autism.  

 Second  Half  of  the  2014-­‐2015  School  Year    • As  noted  in  the  Mid-­‐Year  report,  we  collaborated  with  the  Office  of  Student  Services  to  develop  a  

schedule  for  PAC  meetings  that  have  provided  information  to  families  on  a  wide  range  of  topics.  o February  ’15  PAC  meeting  –  The  meeting  focused  on  the  topic  of  Social  Pragmatics  and  a  

team  of  WPS  educators  and  service  providers  presented  resources  which  may  now  be  found  on  westonpac.org.  

o March  ’15  PAC  meeting  –  In  March  we  discussed  ADHD  and  Executive  Function,  with  presentations  by  Field  and  WHS  faculty  members  and  WPS  psychologists.  

o April  ’15  PAC  meeting  –  In  April  we  focused  on  Autism  and  our  ACCESS  programs.    We  also  hosted  Brenda  Dater,  Director  of  Child  and  Teen  Services  at  the  Asperger/Autism  Network  (AANE)  for  an  evening  presentation  at  the  Field  School.    In  addition,  the  Weston  library  staff  also  prepared  a  central  display  of  books  for  Autism  Awareness  Month  and  acquired  a  copy  of  Mrs.  Dater’s  book  for  the  town  library’s  collection.  

o May  ’15  PAC  meeting  –  This  meeting  focused  on  Assistive  Technology  and  included  an  outstanding  presentation  by  AT  consultant  Karen  Janowski.  

o The  June  ’15  meeting  will  provide  an  opportunity  to  reflect  on  this  year  and  to  plan  for  the  ’15-­‐’16  school  year.      

o We  are  deeply  grateful  to  all  of  the  following  WPS  administrators  and  faculty  members  who  attended  our  meetings  this  year,  provided  resources  for  parents,  and  described  the  WPS  programs  that  are  in  place  to  support  our  students:  

                   

     

Cheryl  Maloney   Lauren  Belmont   Beth  Harrington  Pam  Bator   Amy  Black   Peggy  Payne  Susan  Strong   Alyssa  Cohen   Amanda  Pezzotte  Sue  Fisichella   Debra  Cohen   Vickie  Porter  Patrick  Kelly   Rita  Comtois   Kate  Rodger  Richard  Escobar   Rosemary  Conway   Paula  Rozantes     Savann  Donovan   Thea  Ruggiano     Carrie  Dyball   Robert  Shyllberg     Jennifer  Hamilton   Laurie  Smith-­‐Michaels     Lia  Hansen   Susan  Tokay  

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MCAS  and  PARCC  

• Last  September,  the  PAC  published  its  2014  MCAS  Report,  with  a  focus  on  Weston  “students  with  disabilities”  and  included  a  discussion  of  the  achievement  gap  between  “all  students”  and  “students  with  disabilities.”    • While  there  have  been  recent  discussions  throughout  the  district  regarding  various  ranking  methodologies,  recall  that  the  MCAS  results  determine  the  district’s  accountability  and  assistance  level,  and  Weston  is  currently  a  Level  2  district.      

• While  it  may  be  challenging  to  meet  the  “gap  narrowing  goals”  as  set  forth  by  DESE,  several  of  our  peer  districts  –  Dover,  Sherborn,  Belmont,  and  Carlisle,  for  example  –  were  Level  1  districts  this  year.  

• The  PAC  believes  that  closing  the  achievement  gap  continues  to  be  an  appropriate  goal,  aligned  with  the  Commonwealth’s  objectives  to  prepare  all  of  our  students  for  college  and  careers.  

• As  Weston  students  in  grades  3-­‐8  transitioned  to  PARCC  this  school  year  for  ELA  and  Math,  DESE  will  be  using  a  statistical  approach  called  “equipercentile  linking”  to  link  MCAS  and  PARCC  results  and  determine  accountability  levels  this  fall.      

• As  noted  in  the  Mid-­‐Year  report,  the  PAC  requests  that  WPS  consider  forming  a  committee  to  target  improvement  in  the  math  and  science  performance  of  students  with  special  needs.    

 Taking  it  to  the  Next  Level    • Beginning  July  1,  2015,  we  look  forward  to  welcoming  Dr.  Midge  Connolly  as  the  incoming  

Director  of  Student  Services  for  the  Weston  Public  Schools.    We  appreciate  that  several  of  our  members  had  the  opportunity  to  serve  on  the  search  committee.  

• With  the  administrative  transitions  this  year,  we  request  that  the  School  Committee  consider  having  mid-­‐year  and  end  of  year  presentations  by  both  the  Office  of  Student  Services  and  the  PAC  during  the  next  school  year,  so  that  we  can  continue  the  dialogue  regarding  special  education  in  our  schools.    

• We  offer  the  following  priorities  for  consideration:    

Strategic  Planning  –  We  posed  this  question  in  the  Mid-­‐Year  report  –  “How  can  we  extend  Weston’s  longstanding  commitment  to  excellence  in  general  education  to  excellence  in  special  education?”    We  propose  a  comprehensive  planning  process  to  address  the  academic,  social,  and  emotional  challenges  of  our  students  with  special  needs.  How  can  we  maintain  strong  programs  even  as  certain  student  cohorts  may  be  relatively  small?    How  can  we  leverage  public/private  partnerships  to  enhance  our  programs  (e.g.,  partnerships  with  Carroll  or  Landmark  in  regards  to  language-­‐based  programming)?    What  types  of  professional  development  programs  are  needed  to  build  in-­‐district  capacity?    Can  we  maintain  flexibility  in  meeting  students’  needs?    

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Assessment  and  Evaluation  –  We  should  quantitatively  and  qualitatively  evaluate  our  special  education  programs  on  an  ongoing  basis.  What  programs  are  working  well  and  where  do  we  need  to  improve?    What  instructional  practices  should  we  be  employing?    What  can  we  learn  from  other  districts  through  observation  of  their  programs?          

 Foster  a  Culture  of  High  Expectations  –  We  need  to  keep  our  expectations  high,  for  all  of  our  kids.    Commenting  on  Results  Driven  Accountability,  Michael  Yudin,  Acting  Assistant  Secretary  for  the  Office  of  Special  Education  and  Rehabilitative  Services  at  the  U.S.  Department  of  Education  noted:

In enacting IDEA, Congress recognized that improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. We must do everything we can to support states, school districts, and educators to improve results for students with disabilities. We must have higher expectations for our children, and hold ourselves as a nation accountable for their success.

 We  look  forward  to  our  further  collaboration.      Respectfully  submitted,    Christen  Lacey  Chair,  Weston  PAC