Special Edition, Vol. 1, Issue 13

The Special Education Department would like to wish everyone a safe and wonderful holiday. We are thankful for the dedicated teachers and staff that support children and youth with disabilities each day.

As we continue to share news within SFUSD and beyond, please consider submitting an article for publication.

Simply email spedfeedback@sfusd.edu, and we will be delighted to showcase your school or classroom.

Announcements

Previous Special Edition Newsletters are now accessible online. Please click here to access them.
Remember, the last day for Goalview access will be December 16. If you have any remaining Goalview questions, contact our Special Education Database Manager, Jason Gilmore, at gilmorej@sfusd.edu.
Still haven't tried out a demo our new web-based IEP system, SEIS? It's not too late! Log on to www.seis.org and type in bjones as the user name and demotest1 as the password so you can experience a preview of the site before training begins in 2012.
Do you know how to get support from our IT department? Click here to read more.
CSUEB is offering a program for authorization to teach students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Click here to review their flyer.

Inclusive Schools Week (ISW)

Inclusive Schools Week for this year is December 5-9, 2011.

About Inclusive Schools Week (ISW)

San Francisco Inclusive Schools Week is an annual, district-wide, K-12 celebration of our year-round efforts to promote and build inclusive, welcoming school communities that embrace and support people of all natural and diverse abilities, sociological and cultural backgrounds.

San Francisco ISW was established by Mayoral Proclamation in 2010 in keeping with National Inclusive Schools Week, founded in 2001 and celebrated around the country the first full week of December each year. For more information about, and links and resources for, inclusion please visit our inclusive schools web page.

Participate at your school!

Around SFUSD, schools will be participating in Inclusive Schools Week at their school sites through themed library and classroom readings, ability awareness activities during PE and recess, special events, assemblies and more.

Click here for a packet of useful resources.

Professional Development Opportunity

Special Education Services is excited to offer all educators and administrators the opportunity to register and attend a workshop presented by the Diagnostic Center-Northern California:

Creating Equity in Education for African American Children.

During this session you will:

Learn how disproprotionality is determined
Identify some of the root causes
Consider possible solutions
Develop a plan to address some of these root causes

Date: December 13, 2011

Location: Cabrillo Campus, Multipurpose Room, 750 25th Ave.

Time: 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Registration: Please register for this event through Cornerstone on Demand. Participants will be limited to 50.

Parking is available on a first come, first serve basis.

There will be no financial compensation, nor substitutes provided for this workshop.

If you have not received an email invitation to this event by the end of the day November 15, 2011 , please email csodhelp@sfusd.edu.

SEIS Transition Update

SFUSD staff are currently working hard on preparing accurate data to load into SEIS. Phase 1 of the dataload included school information and staff information, including District Level Users, Teacher Level Users, and Site Level Users. Phase 1 was completed and sent to the SEIS programmers on Friday, November 18.

We are now working on Phase 2, the student dataload. This is composed of two parts: a clean, accurate CASEMIS report to get student demographic data; and the staff assignments, which includes a list of all providers serving a particular student. We are asking all coordinators and school staff to verify the case manager attached to each student at their school to ensure current and accurate data goes into SEIS. The Phase 2 dataload should be completed by Monday, December 5.

For any SEIS related questions, please contact our SEIS Coordinator, Sarah Ashton, at ashtons@sfusd.edu.

Extended School Year 2012

Announcing instructional dates for Extended School Year 2012:

Elementary: June 11th-July 6th
Secondary: June 11th-July 13th

ESY services refer to special education and/or related services provided beyond the normal school year for the purpose of providing a FAPE to a student with a disability. Consequently, some students may require ESY services in order to receive a FAPE. Some students may suffer losses of social, behavioral, communication, academic, self-sufficiency, or other skills during periods of interruption of services that are so significant that they can jeopardize progress made during the academic school year.

The need for ESY services must be considered for every student with a disability at each Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team meeting. ESY services must be provided if the IEP Team determines that such services are necessary for the provision of a FAPE to the student.

Other factors that must be considered:

The determination of the need for ESY must be based on data.
LRE requirements for ESY services are not identical to LRE requirements for the academic school year.
ESY services are only provided for those annual goals identified as an area of concern and which are determined to require ESY services.

New annual goals are not developed for ESY services.

Please click here for further documents to support ESY decsion making.

Articles for Reflection and Professional Development

This is an ongoing section where we will provide a current and relevant research article. The goal is to promote discussion and intellectual stimulation amongst SFUSD staff, schools, and the community.

In the article Segragated Programs Versus Integrated Comprehensive Service Delivery for All Learners, Elise Frattura and Colleen A. Capper make the strong and compelling case to shift away from fragmented services occuring outside the general education setting to providing services within the general education setting. If you have not done so previously, take a few minutes to read this article which was submitted as part of the Urban Collaborative's Audit of Special Education Serivces in SFUSD. Click here to read more.

Heidi Hubrick's students who attend Ruth Asawa SOTA High School enjoyed Halloween this year:

Sincerely,

Communications Team

Special Education Services, SFUSD

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