Special Education BLAST

Shout out to:

• Bailey Towns from Claudia Espiscito. Bailey is a helpful, kind, and generous person. She doesn't let anyone fall through the cracks and I appreciate that so much! Shout out to her for checking in on me, a new staff member, frequently to make sure I am settling in well :) Bailey is the best!

• Katelyn Wybenga from Shana Wolstein. Thank you to Katelyn for going above and beyond to help lead our department in the best direction. Your efforts make us all better at our job!

• Jennifer Bair from Shana Wolstein. Thank you for doing your best to get us what we need to do our jobs to the best of our ability. Your leadership keeps our standards high and focused on what we need to be doing without being overbearing. Thanks for all you do!
• Kara Milton from Randee Sedore. I appreciate Kara for always keeping me in the loop, being organized and making my Wednesdays a little more enjoyable!
• The Speech Language Pathologist Team from Randee Sedore for doing your very difficult jobs while always having the best interest of students in mind. You are appreciated!
• The Milwood Magnet Para Professional Team from the Milwood Special Education Teacher Team. Thank you for showing up for our kids everyday! We appreciate everything you do to support us and our kids. Milwood would not be the same without you!
• Jennifer Bair from Bri Mayhew. Thank you for letting us come and observe your classroom. You are a wonderful teacher and we are so grateful to be able to learn from you!
• Katelyn Wybenga and Jennifer Bair from Kathy Fosness. Thank you for always being willing to support the students on my caseload for small group testing at Maple Street! You are appreciated!
• Michelle Youngs and Michelle McMullen from Kathreen Fahey for always having my back and doing what is best for kids!
• Sarah Casanto and Alysia Baznik from Kristin Ghiringhelli. I am so thankful for Sarah and Alysia as the high school department heads. Their knowledge of all things happening in their buildings blows my mind. Thank you for always being so quick to respond to Instant Messages and helping me keep things together
• Laura Alsup from Kristin Ghiringhelli. Laura, you are always willing to learn and help take things off of my plate. I am so thankful to work with you in all things Special Education. You are the best!
• Kathreen Fahey from Ellie Kositzke for being an amazing mentor teacher and teaching me so much during my student teaching!!!
• Super kudos to the Parkwood-Upjohn Special Education Team! Shout out to Principal Rosecrans and Ms. Frew for building of a high-quality presentation and to the Parkwood SE Team for your work to facilitate good learning with your colleagues on all things special education on our recent Early Release professional learning!
• Kevin Downing from Kristin Ghiringhelli. I so appreciate your amazing attitude! You always dive into the strange situations and some how always have an answer. I appreciate you very much!
• Susan Voss from Sharon Oke. Susan is willing to share her expertise and talent for special education.
• The ECSE Team from Jennifer Smith for meeting our students' changing needs and adjusting instruction as necessary. Thank you for going with the flow as we navigate all of the demands of our ECSE programming.
• Omar Alston from Mike Phillips for handling an intense situation in the classroom calmly and safely.
• The King-Westwood and Lincoln Special Education Teams for establishing regular team meetings! What an awesome structure to ensure connectivity and collaboration as a team as you lean in to support our students and families.

Annual and Reevaluation IEP due dates are NOT affected by snow days and remain the same.

Please continue to schedule and hold IEPs with enough time to allow them to be rescheduled. Any

meetings not held before the already established due dates would be considered untimely/overdue.

Any IEP timeline that operates under a 30-school-day deadline (e.g. initial evaluation) are affected

and those deadlines would be extended as snow/cold days do not count as school days.

For any case specific questions or concerns, please reach out to Student Services for support.

From the desk of KRESA:

If you are completing an amendment to an IEP that was held in the 23-24 school year before updates to Present Level and ESY sections were made, you will notice that the Present Level is blank. This is because the Amendment is pulling from the most recent and now retired (due to system changes) Present Level. To get the Present Level to show up within the Amendment:

• Ensure you are NOT in edit mode.
• Click on “Set Document”;
• Click on “Sections”; and
• UNSELECT the retired Present Level and SELECT the new Present Level.

Any IEP Team that is considering alternate instruction and assessment for a student MUST USE the Should My Student Take the Alternate Assessment Flowchart within the IEP Team meeting. To ensure the team is prepared to process though the flowchart, a thorough data review must be conducted well in advance of the IEP Team meeting to ensure there is sufficient information for the team to consider. It is critical to ensure the school psychologist and school social worker are a part of this team.

For more information and guidance, see:

• KPS SE Handbook and Guidance Manual (starting on page 6) linked below;
• KPS IEP Guidance Document (starting on page 11) linked below;
• Volume 8 of the 2024-25 SE Blast;
• and Volume 4 of the 2023-24 SE Blast.

As you head into Winter Break, please know how much we value you and the important work you do. We hope you take this time to relax and recharge, and return feeling refreshed and ready to continue making a difference for kids.

• Monthly Suspension Team Reports - Due Dates HERE.
• Medicaid completion in PowerSchool Special Programs (PSSP). See below for training information.
• Supplemental Aids and Services completion monthly OR by trimester with submission in KPS: SE Teacher + Ancillary Google Classroom.
• Lesson Plan submission in accordance with building guidance with submission in KPS: SE Teacher + Ancillary Google Classroom.

The purpose of Office Hours is to connect with teachers and providers to ensure that you are supported in your roles either 1:1 or in a small group. If you have a need, please sign up by noon on Friday for the following week.