Support Unit South Website

Recently a couple of colleagues and myself were asked to develop a website for our support unit. The main directive: to provide a place where parents, teachers and administrators could easily go to find answers to operational questions, locate resources to support student achievement, remain current with breaking news in the field of Special Education, and most importantly, to help strengthen community involvement.

This was no small task! We held several planning meetings to address our concerns and to figure out the most sensible way to go about this project. After sifting through several options we finally settled on creating a site through Wordpress. A reasonably priced account was opened up through Dreamhost to act as our site's server. All the pieces seemed to be in place...

As someone wise once said, "You can only learn by doing." This became my mantra as I struggled to understand the compatibility of widgets (the little buggers aren't always the best of friends), the written discourse of PHP and the limitations of the design template. Of course, the constant stream of input from supervisors wanting to make sure that what we were building would most closely resemble the artistic genius found within the Sistine Chapel was slightly unnerving as well.

With the unveiling of this website only days away, I'd like to be the first to offer a sincere thanks to all of those who contributed their ideas, time and sweat to this project, particularly Nathan Edson and Michael Kessler! Aside from gaining some much needed technical knowledge I learned a really valuable lesson. Sometimes, you have to trust the process. It sounds simple, but it's not. Especially, for someone like myself, who can micro-manage with the best of 'em.

So, I think we're off to a great start with the site! When you have a free moment please take a look. It can be found at http://supportunitsouth.com Thanks! -Cary

A Legal Update

Hello all, I had the privilege of attending the Special Education Symposium, hosted by the law firm Fagen, Friedman & Fulfrost, on March 20Th. The panel of speakers shared valuable information on several current topics of interest: autism, defensible IEP's, a comparative analysis between IDEA and Sect. 504, common mistakes with acronyms, and subject matter worth including/avoiding when writing IEP notes. Each session also had a question and answer portion, which helped to further clarify issues and concerns many of the attendees had. For the purpose of this posting, I have included a few of the highlights from this event.

There is no secret- autism is on the rise in our country. Because of how incredibly vast the autism spectrum is, no two students are alike in how their disability affects them. We as educators are often faced with tough decisions when determining how to best meet our student's needs. Our challenges are only augmented by the often passionate IEP meetings involving these very students. One aspect of the educational code worth storing away for future reference is: Title 5, Section 30. This portion of the code is linked to several important items, including the educational benefit legally mandated to be given to students with autism.

Defensible IEP's are above all else well-documented!

Section 504, in my opinion, is a large uncharted frontier. There has been a recent shift in determining when students are eligible for Section 504. Two questions which need to be asked when considering if a student will meet the criteria are: does the student have a physical or mental impairment; and does the impairment substantially limit a major life activity? This can be confusing to say the least. To complicate things further, if a student qualifies for a 504 plan they will need to be given FAPE (just like the students with IEP's). A couple of do's and don'ts: Never use IEP document pages for a student with a Section 504. Also, do not end an initial IEP meeting where a student does not qualify for Special Education with a directive to promptly begin a Section 504 meeting. While the question can be raised, a separate timeline should be established. The other thing to keep in mind is students with 504 plans do not receive federal funding directly. Services are provided at the expense of the school. There's plenty more on this topic covered by PUBLIC LAW 110-325-Sept. 25, 2008.

IEP notes pages can sometimes read like a novel. People are often unsure of what to include, and what not to include. One issue worth targeting: the unwilling participant. Many of us have had IEP's where a parent has left without leaving a signature behind (even on the attendance record). It is vital to document the efforts made by the team to get that signature on the attendance sheet. Also, the efforts made by the team to get the parent/participant to remain at the meeting should be documented. The legal overview: IEP notes are mandated when they add required content too complicated for the form. Notes are helpful where they document compliance with mandatory procedures.

Finally, it does seem our profession is dominated by acronyms! Many of the parents our students often have little understanding of those found within their child's IEP meeting. Admittedly, I have to double-check some of them from time to time. One acronym worth knowing is OAH, or the Office of Administrative Hearings. As some of you may've guessed, this is the place where all of the really nasty due process cases end up for settlement.

Hope this information helps!

A Cary Mullen Film

Reflection #1

It was a pleasure for me to present my "Snowflake" activities to EDUC 843. Because I am out of the classroom right now, I had to draw upon previous classroom experiences for the purpose of today's presentation. Fortunately, creating snowflakes is something my students really enjoyed. They met a wide variety of goals through these lessons (e.g. Reading Comprehension, ELD, Science, Technology). As well, they were able to link information through their use of technology to connect with their IEP goals.

I designed this unit of study with higher-order thinking skills in mind. My students for the most part demonstrated the use of inquiry, problem-solving, collaboration and synthesis when completing their assignments. A few students who had gross/fine motor needs also benefited from manipulating the mouse during the interactive snowflake design portion. In my opinion, all of their tech skills improved, as a result.

I think the study of snowflakes is interesting! I also really like taking a theme and using it for cross-curricular activities. My students, as well as my classmates, responded well to the different elements presented. In terms of having something go smoother, I believe its important to have opportunities to deliver lessons to different groups of students. Presenting the information to EDUC 843 was limited by the sheer fact that my classmates were not the intended demographic for the activities.

I was happy with the evaluations I received. They indicated other teachers thought their students would have similar positive experiences with these activities. Thank you!

Welcome!

Hello & welcome to my blog! I am very excited about all of the possibilities for sharing useful information with all of you. I hope my site will prove to be both thought provoking and beneficial. Let's get started!