[I. Welcome and Opening Remarks]
[00:00:03]
HELLO, AND WELCOME TO OUR LAST SPECIAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE YEAR.
AH, IT'S SAD BECAUSE WE'RE ENDING, BUT IT'S, UH, ALSO GREAT BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A REALLY GOOD MEETING TODAY.
I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT OUR MEETING.
UM, I WANT TO, UH, THANK A LOT OF, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE HERE TODAY.
BUT BEFORE I CONTINUE WITH THAT, I JUST WANNA INTRODUCE MYSELF.
AGAIN, MY NAME IS CARLA GRIEGO, AND I AM YOUR BOARD REPRESENTATIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
I'M ALSO THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE OF A SPECIAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE, AND I'VE GOTTA SAY THAT FOR THE LAST TWO MONTHS, IT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT CO-CHAIRING, WELL, NO CHAIRING AFTER SCOTT, UH, CHAIRED IT FOR SO LONG.
SO, UM, I WANNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
IT'S BEEN REALLY, UH, GOOD TO BE ENGAGING IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OUR STUDENTS, UH, SHARING IDEAS AND, UH, HOW WE CAN DO THINGS BETTER, UH, FOR OUR STUDENTS.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE COMMENTS AND ALL THE INQUIRIES AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE PROVIDED THROUGHOUT THIS, UH, AT LEAST DURING THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN HERE.
BUT I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN DOING IT WITH SCOTT FOR A WHILE.
UM, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOUR QUESTIONS AND YOUR INPUT ARE CONSIDERED, UM, BY THE DISTRICT AND THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WE PASS ALONG ALL OF THOSE IDEAS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS, THESE MEETINGS TO THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED.
I HOPE THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE, UM, AS CHAIR IN THE NEXT YEAR.
AND SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED, UH, TO SERVE NEXT YEAR'S COMMITTEE, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU CONTACT MY OFFICE.
AND AFTER THE MEETING TODAY, I HAVE SOME CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION FOR ALL THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE FOR VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME TO BE HERE WITH US.
I'D LIKE TO OPEN UP THE FLOOR.
WE'RE GONNA BEGIN OUR MEETING, AND AS ALWAYS, I LIKE TO GROUND OURSELVES, UH, IN WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DO.
AND, UM, SO TODAY, UH, WE ARE GONNA BE DOING, UM, THINKING BACK ON OUR OWN SCHOOL EXPERIENCE AND THINKING ABOUT A TIME WHEN WE FELT SEEN AND OR HEARD IN OUR SCHOOL.
AND SHARE ABOUT THAT MOMENT, THINK ABOUT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT THAT MOMENT THAT MADE YOU FEEL, SEEN OR HEARD.
AND SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
IF YOU CAN STATE YOUR NAME AGAIN, YOUR ROLE IF YOU'RE A TEACHER, A COMMUNITY MEMBER, AN EMPLOYEE, AND THEN PLEASE IF YOU CAN SHARE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE THAT MADE YOU FEEL, HEARD OR SEEN.
WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO START? SORRY, I'LL START.
UM, I AM THE BOARD MEMBER FOR REPRESENTATIVE BOARD DISTRICT TWO.
AND, UM, THE FIRST MEMORY THAT CAME TO MIND WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE QUESTION, OR, UM, THE MEMORY WAS WHEN I WAS IN FIFTH GRADE, IT WAS MRS. WRIGHT, I THINK THAT WAS HER NAME, MY, MY FIFTH GRADE TEACHER.
AND, UM, WHAT I LOVED ABOUT A CLASS THAT WE HAD JOURNALS, AND IN THIS JOURNAL WE CAN WRITE WHATEVER WE WANTED TO WRITE, WHATEVER WAS IN OUR MIND, WHATEVER WAS GOING ON, ANYTHING.
AND THEN, AND, AND THEN THESE JOURNALS WERE, WERE ONLY SEEN AND READ BY OUR TEACHER.
AND I REMEMBER ONE TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST LIKE, IN FAMILIES, A LOT OF THINGS WERE GOING ON IN THE FAMILY.
AND I REMEMBER RE WRITING IT, JUST POURING MY HEART OUT INTO THIS JOURNAL, TO THIS, YOU KNOW.
AND, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I JUST TURNED IT IN.
AND THEN LATER, YOU KNOW, UM, MY TEACHER CAME AND HUGGED ME AND, AND SHE JUST SAID, UM, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT? LIKE, I FELT LIKE SHE READ IT AND SHE CARED.
UM, AND THAT'S THE MOMENT, UM, THAT I FELT, I GUESS SEEN AND HEARD, BECAUSE AS A CHILD, YOUR FAMILY'S GOING THROUGH A LOT OF THINGS AND YOU DON'T NECESSARILY FEEL SEEN OR HEARD, EVEN BY, IN YOUR OWN FAMILY BECAUSE THINGS ARE HAPPENING.
AND THEN, BUT I, I JUST FELT THAT WARMTH AND LOVE AND THAT SHE CARED.
AND SHE ACTUALLY WAS LIKE, OH, SHE ACTUALLY READ IT.
AND SHE CAME UP TO ME AND, AND HUGGED ME AND, AND, AND JUST OPENED HERSELF TO, TO DIALOGUE AND, AND TO SHARE MORE FEELINGS.
SO THAT'S THE MOMENT THAT REALLY FELT HURT AND SEEN.
SO I'M GONNA MOVE NOW TO MY LEFT.
THIS IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THIS IN YEARS.
[00:05:01]
I GUESS IT GOES BACK TO SECOND GRADE FOR ME.UM, AND JUST HAVING A TEACHER WHO REALLY BELIEVED IN ME, AND I REMEMBER, UH, THAT WE HAD AN ACTIVITY IN CLASS, WHAT DO YOU WANNA BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? AND I CAN DISTINCTLY REMEMBER THAT I SAID, YOU KNOW, I WANNA BE A LAWYER BECAUSE I WANT TO BE A VOICE FOR OTHERS.
AND, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF SECOND GRADE, AND EVEN THROUGH THE YEARS THEREAFTER, THAT TEACHER ALWAYS REACHED OUT TO ME ABOUT WHAT I SAID THAT DAY.
AND, UM, THE GREAT THING ABOUT THAT IS THAT HAS RESONATED WITH ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.
AND, AND THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY, UH, MEET THAT GOAL.
AND SO I THINK ABOUT THAT TEACHER ALL THE TIME.
SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SPEND TIME TO SPEAK TO YOUNG PEOPLE SO THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE HEARD.
UM, I'M A STAFF MEMBER WITH THE DISTRICT.
UM, MY EARLIEST MEMORY OF SCHOOL MEMORY THAT MADE ME FEEL, SEEN AND HEARD, I WAS THIRD GRADE AND MY TEACHER WAS MS. RONDON.
AND I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN HER BECAUSE I ALWAYS FELT INVISIBLE IN SCHOOL.
I WAS SHY AND NOT, UM, VERY OPEN TO FEEDBACK AND KIND OF JUST STAYED IN THE CORNER, QUIETLY, DID MY WORK.
AND SHE WOULD GO OUT OF HER WAY TO ASK QUESTIONS BECAUSE SHE KNEW I KNEW THE ANSWER.
BUT ME NOT RAISING MY HAND WASN'T BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW THE ANSWER WAS BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT.
AND SHE CHANGED MY LIFE IN HELPING ME TO GAIN THE CONFIDENCE TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK, UM, AND TO BE ABLE TO BE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE SPEAKING.
OKAY, I AM MOVING BACK TO THE FRONT MS. TOES, TAS, UM, HAYES, THANK YOU.
UM, I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT AND I, I THINK THAT, UH, OR AN EARLY MEMORY IS THAT I DON'T THINK MY ART WAS, WAS VERY GOOD, BUT I REALLY LOVED MAKING ART.
AND THERE WAS ONE TEACHER WHO WOULD PUT SOME ART UP BEHIND HER DESK, AND ONE DAY SHE CAME AND SHE ASKED ME IF SHE COULD PUT WHAT I WAS WORKING ON BEHIND HER DESK.
AND THAT MADE ME FEEL REALLY GOOD AND, AND SEEN, EVEN IF IT WASN'T GREAT, IT, IT WAS ACCEPTED FOR THAT SPACE AND FELT NICE.
HE'S PART OF OUR, I USUALLY STAY OUT OF THIS STUFF.
THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION THOUGH, UM, UH, LET'S SEE, SIXTH GRADE, MR. DON LITTON AT, UH, LIMERICK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
UM, HE, HE COULD TELL PRETTY CLEARLY THAT, UM, THOUGH I WAS A TROUBLED CHILD, I WAS, I WAS SMART ENOUGH TO DO SCHOOLWORK, AND HE WOULD, HE WOULD TAKE HIS PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS TIME AND TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT PROCRASTINATION IS, AND HE WOULD TELL ME, LIKE, IN VERY SIMPLE TERMS THAT I COULD UNDERSTAND, EVEN THOUGH I WAS CONSTANTLY MOVING, UH, THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS IT COULD HAVE AS I GO ON.
AND I THINK ABOUT IT, UH, TO THIS DAY IN THIS JOB THAT I HAVE NOW.
SO, LIKE, IT REALLY, I MEAN, HE JUST NAILED ME, SO.
ALL RIGHT, MS. BOGART, I AM AMY BOGART.
UM, BEEN WORKING FOR THE DISTRICT FOR A LOT OF YEARS.
I'M HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THAT QUESTION.
AND I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY APPROPRIATE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INCLUSION BECAUSE BEING THE ONLY DEAF CHILD, THE ONLY DISABLED CHILD IN THAT CLASSROOM, I NEVER GOT THAT.
AND I WAS JUDGED HARSHLY BECAUSE I DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE I DIDN'T HEAR, I, IF I WERE TO LOOK AT A BOOK IN ADVANCE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE WERE, WE WERE, MY HAND WOULD BE SLAPPED.
SO ADVOCATING FOR MYSELF WAS A REALLY DIFFICULT THING WHEN YOU'RE LITTLE IS REALLY HARD TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF.
SO I THINK THIS FORM IS SO IMPORTANT.
WHAT I DO IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE I TRY TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY STUDENTS THAT I WORK WITH AND MAKE THEM SEE, FEEL, SEEN AND HEARD TO VALIDATE THEIR EXPERIENCES IN AN ALL HEARING ENVIRONMENT AND BEING THE ONLY DEAF PERSON AND FEELING DIFFERENT AND FEELING LEFT OUT.
SO I CAN TAKE MY SADNESS OF FEELING ISOLATED AS A KID AND TRY TO USE THAT TO UNIFY OUR STUDENTS AND SHOW THEM THEIR STRENGTHS.
TURNING SOMETHING AROUND FOR OTHERS.
I'LL MOVE BACK TO MS. THOMAS PARKER.
[00:10:02]
GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.UM, I CAN SAY MY EXPERIENCE WAS IN THE SECOND GRADE.
I WENT TO A HUNDRED SEVENTH STREET SCHOOL.
UH, MY SECOND GRADE TEACHER WAS MY MENTOR, AND THAT'S HOW I GOT STARTED WITH L-A-U-S-D.
UM, SHE JUST WOULD EMBRACE ME 'CAUSE I HAD A LOT OF CHALLENGES IN COMING UP AS A CHILD.
AND SO AS I LEARNED FROM HER, I WOULD ALWAYS GO BACK WHEN I GRADUATED FROM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL TO HIGH SCHOOL, GO BACK AND VOLUNTEER TO HELP HER AND ASSIST HER.
AND WHEN I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS HIRED FOR L-A-U-S-D.
AND SO I'VE BEEN WITH DISTRICT EVER SINCE.
AND I NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME IS TO BE AROUND STRONG LEADERS.
AND I CAN SAY LEARNING FROM HER HAS TAUGHT ME A LOT IN MY LEADERSHIP, IN MY ROLE.
UM, I CAN SAY THAT I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE EXPERIENCE WITH SOMEONE THAT EMBRACED ME, THAT IS NOT MY REAL PARENT, BUT IS MY GODPARENT.
AND I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH L-A-U-S-D DUE TO THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND JUST HER EMBRACING ME AND BEING ABLE TO TEACH ME HOW TO CARRY MYSELF FROM CHILDHOOD ALL THE WAY UP TO HIGH SCHOOL.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE WITH DISTRICT RIGHT NOW.
SO IN PHILADELPHIA, IN NINTH GRADE, I CHOSE SPANISH AS, UH, MY ELECTIVE.
AND I HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL TEACHER.
HER NAME WAS JOAN LUCAS BOYER.
AND SHE REALLY, UM, INTERESTED ME IN, IN SPANISH AND BECOMING A SPANISH TEACHER.
AND THROUGH HER ENCOURAGEMENT, I JOINED THE FUTURE TEACHERS OF AMERICA, THE FTA AND I MAJORED IN SPANISH AND I GRADUATED COLLEGE AS A SPANISH TEACHER.
AND THEN WHEN I WENT TO A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS, GUESS WHO WAS SITTING NEXT TO ME? JOAN LUCAS BOYER, THE MY MENTOR.
SO THAT WAS THE EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE FOR ME, SEEING MY TEACHER AGAIN, WHO ENCOURAGED ME.
HI, I'M OMAR FLORES, AND THE ONE EXPERIENCE I HAD WAS THAT WHEN BACK IN SIXTH GRADE, I HAD THIS TEACHER NAME, MA NAME, MISS BER, SORRY.
UM, I WOULD, I WOULD BE LIKE REALLY A SHY PERSON THAT I WOULDN'T BE REALLY ABLE TO SPEAK UP TO MYSELF OR REALLY WOULDN'T INTERACT WITH ANY OTHER PEOPLE.
AND THEN SHE TOLD ME THAT, THAT IT IS OKAY FOR ME TO LIKE, FOR ME TO SPEAK UP AND TRY TO BE ABLE TO LIKE, BE OPEN-MINDED TO MYSELF.
AND THAT WHENEVER I TRY DOING THAT, I JUST, I JUST THINK TO MYSELF THAT, LIKE, I OVERTHINK THAT.
I DON'T THINK THAT PEOPLE JUST LIKE LISTEN TO ME LIKE WHAT I REALLY SAY OR DO I EVEN MATTER TO MYSELF.
BUT MS. AMBER CHANGED THAT THE WAY WHO I AM.
AND THAT'S WHY HOW AM I HERE, THAT I'M HERE IN THIS COMMITTEE MEETING, THAT I AM BEING ABLE TO SPEAK UP AND THAT'S WHERE PROUD OF WHAT I'M BEEN SAYING TO.
I THINK FOR ME, I STRUGGLED IN SCHOOL, UM, BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL COLLEGE WHEN I ACTUALLY READ MY FIRST BOOK FROM COVER TO COVER.
UM, IT WAS OF MICE AND MEN, AND I REALLY WAS ABLE TO HAVE SOME INSIGHT AND, UH, ADDED TO THE DIALOGUE, AND THAT'S WHERE I KIND OF FELT LIKE I BELONGED.
I THINK I COVERED EVERY MR. SOTO.
YOU CAN SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE BEFORE YOU PRESENT.
AND THE SAME THING WITH MS, PLEASE.
UM, I WANNA SHARE FOR ME, IT WAS FOURTH GRADE AT ALEXANDRIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
MY TEACHER, UH, MS. YANO WAS WHEN, UH, SHE WAS CUBAN AND SHE WAS THE FIRST TEACHER THAT SPOKE MY LANGUAGE.
AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME FOR PARENT CONFERENCE THAT I DID NOT HAVE TO TRANSLATE FOR MY PARENTS.
SHE THEN BECAME, SHE MARRIED A MAN NAMED THE LAST NAME CRAB.
NONE OF US LIKED HIM BECAUSE OF THAT NAME.
UM, BUT MS, YOU KNOW, MS. YANO JUST BROUGHT US, OPENED UP THE WORLD FOR US.
SHE WOULD TRAVEL AND SHE WOULD BRING PICTURES OF HER TRAVELS, SHARE ABOUT HER TRAVELS.
I DIDN'T KNOW ANYBODY WHO CAMPED.
SHE WOULD COOK FOR US AND COOK DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS FOR US AND JUST OPENED UP MY WORLD.
AND, UM, AND YEAH, SHE, SHE SAW ME, SHE HEARD ME.
SHE, SHE JUST WAS RIGHT THERE SIMILAR TO EVERYBODY ELSE.
IT'S THAT TEACHER, THAT PERSON THAT, UH, NOTICES YOU RIGHT? AND DOES SOMETHING THAT LETS YOU KNOW THAT ONE, YOU EXIST AND YOU MATTER, AND YOU HAVE A PLACE IN, IN THIS SOCIETY.
[00:15:01]
QUESTION BECAUSE TODAY[II.1. Division of Special Education Listen and Learn Campaign: Summary and Action Steps]
WE ARE GOING TO BE LISTENING THE SUMMARY REPORT OF THE LISTENING CAMPAIGN THAT WAS, UH, LAUNCHED BY THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.WE'RE GOING TO HEAR WHAT OUR FAMILIES, WHAT OUR EDUCATORS, WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAID ABOUT THEIR EDU UH, THEIR EXPERIENCE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO, TO HEAR THIS.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO MR. SOTO.
AND IF YOU CAN, UH, BEGIN AND PLEASE AS YOUR PRESENTERS COME UP, PLEASE SHARE YOUR MOMENT WHEN YOU FELT HEARD AND SEEN.
THANK YOU ABOUT THE GUIDING QUESTIONS TODAY.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, AND ALSO, I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU THAT THIS PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE DONE IN THREE PARTS.
AND SO THERE WILL BE A PRESENTATION AND THEN WE WILL PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
BUT I ALSO HAVE SOME DISCUSSION QUESTIONS THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE TO RESPOND TO, UM, DURING YOUR, DURING OUR DISCUSSION.
SO THERE'LL BE THREE OPPORTUNITIES.
ALSO, I DO THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE PEOPLE FROM SPECIAL EDUCATION DIVISION IN THE BACK, IN CASE THERE'S ANYBODY FROM THE AUDIENCE WHO DID NOT GET A CHANCE TO SPEAK.
THEY CAN, UM, TALK TO SOMEBODY IN THE BACK AFTER OUR MEETING, UH, ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH SPECIAL ED, ANYTHING THAT COMES UP FOR YOU DURING THIS PRESENTATION.
JOSE SOTO, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
UH, BEFORE, BEFORE I BEGIN, I JUST WANT TO THANK, UH, BOARD MEMBER GREGO FOR PROVIDING THIS PLATFORM FOR, UH, ALLOWING THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED TO SHARE, UH, THE SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS AROUND THIS PROCESS THAT WE TOOK, UH, IN LISTENING TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AROUND SPECIAL EDUCATION.
AND JUST TO ADD TO THE TABLE THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UH, TWO REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
WE HAVE CLAUDIA EZ AND LILLIAN MORAN WHO ARE OUTSIDE OF THE BOARD ROOM WITH THE TABLE.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE RESOURCES, UPDATES, INFORMATION FOR UPCOMING EVENTS, IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE HAPPY TO PASS OUT TO ANY FAMILY OR MEMBERS THAT COME, UH, AND COME VISIT THE TABLE.
THEY'RE ALSO THERE TO TAKE ANY CONCERNS SO THAT WE CAN FOLLOW UP AS NEEDED.
SO JUST WANTED TO ECHO THAT AND THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT WE'LL DO MOVING FORWARD AT ALL SPEC COMMITTEES.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, FOR ALLOWING ME THIS SPACE TO SHARE, UH, THE OUTCOME OF OUR LISTEN AND LEARN CAMPAIGN.
UM, I'M WRAPPING UP MY SECOND YEAR AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL ED.
UM, AND THIS PAST YEAR, UH, WE EMBARKED ON THIS LISTEN AND LEARN CAMPAIGN.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THAT IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE TO SAY THE LEAST, UH, BECAUSE IT WAS A PRETTY BIG LIFT AS, AS FAR AS LIKE VISITING ALL THE REGIONS, INCLUDING OUR VIRTUAL ACADEMY AND OPTIONS, UH, HAVING MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDERS, HAVING REAL ROBUST CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AND THEN ALSO SENDING OUT A SURVEY AND COLLECTING THAT DATA AND ANALYZING THE DATA, AND THEN KIND OF IDENTIFYING THOSE EMERGENT THEMES AND PUTTING TOGETHER THIS PLAN OF THINGS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING AND HOW WE'RE GONNA EXPAND THE ACTION STEPS IN SUPPORT OF SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HEARD.
I AM ALSO GONNA BE JOINED BY TWO OUTSTANDING ADMINISTRATORS WHO SUPPORT THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
UH, ALICIA HAAS, OUR ADMINISTRATOR OF INSTRUCTION WILL BE CO-PRESENTING IN ADDITION TO KRISTEN LAMBERT, OUR ADMINISTRATOR OF OPERATIONS.
ALL RIGHT, SO BEFORE WE BEGIN, I JUST WANT TO GROUND US IN DIVISION OF THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
OUR VISION IS TO INSPIRE ALL STUDENTS TO REACH THEIR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL AS PRODUCTIVE AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS.
OUR MISSION IS TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENTS WITHIN AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT SO THAT EACH STUDENT WILL CONTRIBUTE, CONTRIBUTE TO, AND BENEFIT FROM MY DI MY DIVERSE SOCIETY.
SO THE WORK IN THE DIVISION OF A SPECIAL EDUCATION IS LED BY FOUR BIG PRIORITIES.
[00:20:01]
TWO, OPERATIONS.NUMBER THREE, SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE.
AND NUMBER FOUR, ENGAGEMENT COMMUNICATION.
THOSE FOUR, UM, PRIORITIES ARE ALIGNED TO THE PILLARS IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN PILLARS THAT ARE AROUND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, JOINT WELLNESS, OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS, INVESTING IN STAFF, AND ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THE LISTEN AND LEARN CAMPAIGN WAS TO GET AN IDEA OF WHERE WE ARE WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION.
COMING INTO THIS POSITION, I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, TO BE ABLE TO HEAR WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE WORKING, WHAT ARE SOME AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN LISTEN TO, AND THEN TAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND EXPAND THE WORK THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING.
UM, WE DID HAVE A METHODOLOGY THAT WE FOLLOWED.
WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE HEARING, UH, FROM STAKEHOLDERS DIRECTLY, UH, THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS.
AND WE ALSO SENT OUT A SURVEY THAT COLLECTED SOME QUANTITATIVE DATA IN ADDITION TO MORE QUALITATIVE DATA THAT, UH, WAS INPUT INTO THE SURVEY.
AND OF COURSE, THE VISION WAS TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS' ABILITIES RECEIVE A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION.
THE PROCESS THAT WE FOLLOWED FOR THE LISTEN AND LEARN WAS TO LEARN, LISTEN, ASSESS, AND ACT.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THIS PROCESS WAS TO LISTEN.
UM, THROUGH THIS PROCESS, AGAIN, WE ENGAGED WITH MANY STAKEHOLDERS, AND IN THE BEGINNING I HAD A HARD TIME JUST LISTENING WITHOUT RESPONDING.
AND THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE LISTEN AND LEARN CAMPAIGN IS TO LISTEN AND TO UNDERSTAND.
WE, WE TRANSCRIBED ALL OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN AN ANONYMOUS WAY, BUT JUST TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THOSE S POINTS AND REALLY TAKE WHAT THEY WERE SAYING.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY, AS WE RECEIVED THIS DATA AND WE, WE ANALYZED IT, THE GOAL WAS TO TAKE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, BE ABLE TO ANALYZE THE DATA, IDENTIFY THOSE EMERGENT THEMES, AND THEN ACT ON IT.
SO THIS WASN'T SOMETHING THAT'S DONE IN A VACUUM.
OUR GOAL WAS TO REALLY, UH, ACT AND MAKE CHANGES TO SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO BETTER ADDRESS, FOR EXAMPLE, COMMUNICATION, RIGHT? SO, SO WE CAN REALLY START IDENTIFYING THOSE AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO EXPAND OUR WORK.
SO AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, UH, WE ENGAGED IN 31 FOCUS GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.
UM, FOCUS GROUPS INCLUDED PARENTS, UH, EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS SUCH AS REGIONAL CENTER, OUR CAC, OUR SPED COMMITTEE, OUR CHARTER SCHOOL EXECUTIVE BOARD, OUR DEAF EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
WE ALSO HAD FOCUS GROUPS WITH OUR PARAEDUCATORS, WITH OUR TEACHERS, WITH OUR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, EISS WITH PRINCIPALS AND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP.
THIS PIECE WAS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM STAKEHOLDERS WHO WERE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND TEACHERS AND PARAEDUCATORS FROM OUR REGIONAL STAFF.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY HAVE A ROBUST CONVERSATION AROUND THOSE FOCUS QUESTIONS, THOSE GUIDING QUESTIONS AROUND SPECIAL ED.
UM, VERY CANDID RESPONSES FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, WHICH WAS THE WHOLE IDEA OF LISTENING TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS BECAUSE IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THE, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR WHAT'S GOING WELL, BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO HEAR THOSE AREAS THAT WE MAY NEED TO FOCUS ON AND EXPAND OUR WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGE SOME OF THOSE AREAS.
AND IT WAS REALLY, UH, ENLIGHTENING TO HEAR SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT OUR PARENTS SHARED AROUND THEIR EXPERIENCE IN SPECIAL ED AND HOW THEY'RE NAVIGATING THE IEP PROCESS.
AND IT WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS GOOD INFORMATION FOR US BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA HELP GUIDE SOME TRAININGS THAT WE'RE GONNA PUSH FORWARD AS WE MOVE FORWARD FROM THIS PROCESS.
OUR SURVEY PARTICIPANTS, I WANTED JUST TO HIGHLIGHT, WE HAD OVER 1200 SURVEY RESPONSES.
UM, AND THERE YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR BIGGEST RESPONDENTS WERE OUR PARENTS AND OUR TEACHERS.
AND THEN AFTER WE COLLECTED THIS DATA, WE IDENTIFIED THOSE EMERGENT THEMES WE WANTED TO HEAR FROM OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERTS IN THE FIELD.
SO WE ENGAGE WITH THREE PROFESSIONAL PARTNERS, KRISTEN WRIGHT, WHO IS AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION WITH DR.
VICTORIA GRAF, WHO IS A FORMER ASSISTANT ACADEMIC PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF LIKE LMU, WHO'S ALSO BEEN PART OF OUR SPED COMMITTEE.
UH, AND WE ALSO ENGAGE WITH DR.
CHUCK FLORES, WHO'S AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT CAL STATE, UH, LA TO HEAR THEIR FEEDBACK AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND THIS WORK.
AND NOW I'M GONNA INTRODUCE ALICIA HAAS, WHO WILL BE COMING UP TO SHARE OUR FINDINGS AND SUMMARIZING OUR NEXT STEPS FOR PILLARS ONE AND TWO, WHICH IS ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND JOIN WELLNESS.
[00:25:01]
TO SHARE MY, MY STORY.SO THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION, BECAUSE I THINK AS EDUCATORS, WE COMPARTMENTALIZE THOSE TEACHERS THAT ALWAYS STAY IN YOUR MIND, THAT TOUCHED YOUR LIFE IN SOME WAY.
AND I HAVE THREE, I HAVE ONE IN JUNIOR COLLEGE, DR.
I HAVE ONE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, MS. MORENO, AND I HAVE ONE IN SECOND GRADE, MS. ZAZA.
UM, I WAS QUITE AN ACTIVE STUDENT, UH, GROWING UP.
AND, UH, SOMETIMES, UH, I WAS A STUDENT THAT THEY TURNED THE CARD TO RED AND WE'RE GONNA CALL YOUR MOM, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
BUT SOMETIMES I'D COME HOME WITH NOTES STAPLED ON MY SHIRT OR TWO.
SO I REMEMBER MISS, MISS PZA, SHE RECOGNIZED SOME STRENGTHS, AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS AT THE TIME 'CAUSE I WAS A KID, BUT I WAS A MONITOR, A MONITOR FOR EVERYTHING, THE LIGHT MONITOR, THE, I WAS A, THE MAILMAN.
AND I, WHAT SHE WAS REALLY DOING WAS, SHE WAS ANTICIPATING ANTECEDENTS BEFORE I PERFORMED ANY UNDESIRED BEHAVIOR, LIKE GET UP OR WALK AROUND.
SO WHEN SHE NOTICED THAT I WAS STARTING TO GET FIDGETY, SHE'D SAY, UH, JOSE, I NEED YOU TO TAKE THIS TO THE OFFICE.
AND I GET UP, GO TO THE OFFICE, COME BACK.
SO AS I, AS I AS THE YEAR PROGRESSED, LESS GETTING IN TROUBLE, I REMEMBER SHE MADE ME GO UP TO THE FRONT AND HOLD THE BIG BOOK AS SHE WAS READING THE STORY.
SO I, SO I WOULDN'T BE FIDGETY.
UH, BUT I STARTED THINKING LIKE, WHAT A GREAT IDEA, NOW THAT I'M AN EDUCATOR, BECAUSE MONITORS WERE REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN I WAS A TEACHER, BEING ABLE TO HAVE SOMEBODY BE THE LIGHT MONITOR OR THIS OR THAT, RIGHT? SO, BUT I KNOW NOW THAT SHE WAS DOING IT AS A WAY TO HELP ME NOT GET INTO TROUBLE, BUT TO HELP ME STAY ON TASK.
SO MS. PZA, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
SO I'LL PASS IT OFF TO ALICIA NOW.
ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATED THE QUESTION AS WELL.
UM, I'M GONNA BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT TODAY ABOUT STUDENT VOICE AND SELF-ADVOCACY AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO IT REALLY TOUCHED MY HEART THAT THIS WAS THE QUESTION YOU SELECTED BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING WE THINK AS THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IS SO CRITICAL AS WELL.
UM, MY STORY, I I WAS NOT THE STUDENT WHO IS FIDGETY.
I WAS THE STUDENT THAT PERHAPS WAS A LITTLE TOO STUDIOUS.
AND SO I REMEMBER, UM, THE TEACHER THAT STANDS OUT TO ME AS MY FOURTH GRADE TEACHER, MRS. BEVERLY JACOBS FROM SHIRLEY AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND MS. BEVERLY JACOBS MADE ME PROMISE IF I EVER GOT IN FRONT OF A MICROPHONE, I WOULD THANK HER.
SO MS. JACOBS, WHEREVER YOU ARE, THIS IS FOR YOU.
UM, BUT THE REALITY IS, IS SHE WAS SOMEBODY WHO SPOKE TO US, NOT JUST AS STUDENTS, BUT AS STUDENTS WITH A FUTURE.
SHE WAS SOMEBODY WHO REALLY SPOKE TO US, NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE, BUT WHAT CAN YOU BE, WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU? AND SO WHEN WE ALL CAME UP WITH ALL OF HER IDEAS, I MEAN NOW TODAY IT'S TO BE A SOCIAL MEDIA EMPIRE, RIGHT? BUT IN THOSE DAYS, IT WAS TO BE A DANCER, TO BE A DOCTOR, TO BE AN ATTORNEY, TO, UM, WORK IN SCHOOLS AS TEACHERS.
SHE ALWAYS WOULD PUSH THE ENVELOPE AND ASK YOU TO EXPLAIN AND EXPRESS WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THAT, AND THEN HELP US IDENTIFY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WORLD AROUND US THAT MIGHT CONNECT TO THOSE SAME SKILLS.
SO SHE JUST SORT OF EXPANDED OUR THINKING, AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT AS A STUDENT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY AS AN ADULT.
UM, AND I THINK IT REALLY DID TO MR. MCLEAN'S POINT, IT STILL IMPACTS ME TODAY TO THINK ABOUT STRETCHING BEYOND WHAT COMES TO MIND AS MY COMFORT PLACE AND REACHING BEYOND THAT TO WHERE, WHERE MIGHT BE POSSIBLE.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATED MS. BEVERLY JACOBS FOURTH GRADE, SHIRLEY AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
ALRIGHT, SO TODAY I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND JOY AND WELLNESS.
I'M GONNA BE WALKING US THROUGH OUR RECENT FINDINGS AND OUR NEXT STEPS TIED TO THOSE TWO PARTICULAR AREAS.
AND WE KNOW THAT THESE AREAS ARE ESSENTIAL WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ENSURING HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION AND A SENSE OF BELONGING FOR OUR STUDENTS, REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY COME FROM, AND WHAT THEIR ABILITY LEVEL MIGHT BE.
SO WHEN REFLECTING ON ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, WE REALLY WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS IT THAT OUR EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS WERE SEEING, OBSERVING, FEELING, AND EXPERIENCING IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE EMERGENT THEMES THAT CAME THROUGH IN OUR DATA ANALYSIS, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT THERE WAS A DEFINITE RECOGNITION OF THE VARIETY OF PROGRAM OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
UM, FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE SYSTEM OUR ENTIRETY, UM, WE MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT LOS ANGELES UNIFIED HAS FAR MORE OPTIONS THAN MANY OTHER NEIGHBORING SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MANY STUDENTS TO COME TO US SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
SO THAT WAS RECOGNIZED AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE TEAMS. THE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM OPPORTUNITIES WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME FORWARD.
UM, WE NOTICED THAT MANY OF THE RESPONDENTS COMMENTED ON THE, THE FEELING OF BELONGING THAT CAME WITH INCLUSIVE SETTINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES AND THE FEELING
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OF BEING SEEN AND BEING HEARD AND BEING RECOGNIZED NOT FOR ONE'S DISABILITY, BUT FOR WHAT ONE HAS TO OFFER AND THEIR THEIR RIGHT TO HAVE THAT SAME EDUCATION.SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE REALLY FELT VERY STRONGLY.
HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, UM, THERE STILL WERE AREAS THAT UNDER THIS UMBRELLA BECAME VERY CLEAR TO US.
UM, LOOKING AT THAT NEED FOR INSTRUCTIONAL CONSISTENCY, BEING SURE THAT THE TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT ARE BEING USED IN CLASSROOMS, THE LEVEL OF RIGOR IN CLASSROOMS, THE ACCESS TO MATERIALS IN OUR CLASSROOMS, MAKING SURE THAT THAT WAS CONSISTENTLY NOT ONLY PROVIDED BUT IMPLEMENTED WITH SIMILAR FASHION SO THAT ALL STUDENTS HAD ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE OF THAT WAS AROUND THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT GOES INTO PLAY AND ENSURING THAT ALL OF OUR EDUCATORS HAVE AS MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AS POSSIBLE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR CURRENT PRACTICES UNDER HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED, UM, WAS WHAT IS IT WE'RE REALLY DOING? AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR SLIDES MOVING FORWARD, YOU'LL SEE THIS STRUCTURE IN THIS FORMAT.
WHAT ARE OUR CURRENT PRACTICE AND WHAT ARE THE ACTIONS WE'RE GONNA BE TAKEN? BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE WORK THAT OUR EDUCATORS ARE DOING NOW IN THE FIELD.
THEY'RE WORKING VERY, VERY HARD TO SUPPORT ALL STUDENTS.
WE WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, BUT WE ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE OUR AREAS FOR OPPORTUNITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING TO IMPROVE OUR INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES IS FOCUSING ON STRENGTHENING OUR TOOLS AND OUR STRATEGIES.
AND ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THAT THIS YEAR WE CREATED A DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCE GUIDE THAT INCLUDED CLASSROOM LOOK FOR.
AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE PROVIDING CLEAR GUIDANCE FOR OUR LEADERS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR TEACHERS IN WHAT DOES AN EFFECTIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM LOOK LIKE? WHAT WERE THOSE INDICATORS THAT WHEN YOU WALK INTO A CLASSROOM, YOU JUST KNOW YOU SEE GOOD INSTRUCTION? AND SO WE CREATED A TOOL TO ASSIST BOTH OUR ADMINISTRATORS AND OUR TEACHERS WITH THAT.
THIS YEAR WE ALSO IMPLEMENTED A STRUCTURED LITERACY INTERVENTION PROGRAM ALONGSIDE WITH OUR DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION COLLEAGUES.
AND WE INTRODUCED A DIPLOMA OPTION THAT INCLUDES AN ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT, UM, EXEMPTION.
SO WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO HISTORICALLY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ON A PATH TOWARDS A DIPLOMA.
AND NOW WITH CURRENT LEGISLATION IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WE'RE ABLE TO OFFER THAT.
AND L-A-U-S-D, WE'VE PRESENTED ON THAT IN THE PAST AND WAS AN EARLY ADOPTER OF THAT WORK, AND WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD OF THAT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE THAT THEY FEEL AS EMPOWERED AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN TO DELIVER QUALITY INSTRUCTION FOR OUR STUDENTS MOVING FORWARD.
WE'RE COMMITTED TO EXPANDING OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFERINGS, BOTH IN SCOPE AND FREQUENCY.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDING TREMENDOUS SUPPORTS AROUND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, AROUND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES.
WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND PARAEDUCATORS, BUT WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE.
AND SO WE HAVE DEVELOPED AND ARE DEVELOPING COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR BOTH OUR SPECIAL EDUCATORS AND OUR GENERAL EDUCATORS, AS WELL AS OUR PARA EDUCATORS.
WE WORKED WITH OUR DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION COLLEAGUES AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE THAT WORK THIS YEAR TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE EMBEDDING ALL OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES, NOT JUST IN PD THAT'S DONE BY THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, BUT ALSO ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE MEETING THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF ALL STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH DISABILITIES.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, OUR BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUMS. WE KNOW THAT BEHAVIOR IS AN AREA WHERE WE'VE BEEN ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING AND GROWTH.
AND SO IN THE PAST WE'VE OFFERED BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUMS SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR PARAEDUCATORS.
AND OUR HOPE MOVING FORWARD THIS YEAR IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING THOSE SAME OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR ADMINISTRATORS AND OUR CLASSROOM TEACHERS.
SO IN LOOKING AT INCLUSIVE PRACTICES IN THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT, UM, WE'VE SEEN POSITIVE GAINS WITH SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.
WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD TO OFFER A MICRO-CREDENTIAL FOR OUR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS TO ENHANCE THEIR SUPPORT OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THEIR PROGRAM.
AND I DO WANNA POINT OUT THIS IS THE ONLY PROGRAM OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY.
SO ONCE AGAIN, L-A-U-S-D IS PIONEERING THE WORK.
OUR SUMMER OF LEARNING OPTIONS THIS YEAR ARE HAVE EXPANDED.
WE HAVE OVER 14, UM, CHOICE SESSIONS THAT WE'RE OFFERING FOR ALL EDUCATORS TO PARTICIPATE IN CONSIDERING WAYS TO INCREASE THE ACCESS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WITHIN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING, BUT ALSO WITHIN THE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES THAT THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO OFFER OUR ONGOING YEAR ROUND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS MOVING FORWARD.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME THROUGH IN THE RESPONSES FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS WAS
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AN INTEREST IN PROVIDING, UM, FEEDBACK THROUGH A MULTITUDE OF OPPORTUNITIES.SO WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN CONDUCT SURVEYS OF OUR, OF OUR FIELD, OF OUR FAMILIES, OF OUR COMMUNITY, OF OUR TEACHERS IN AN ONGOING MANNER, AS WELL AS FOCUS GROUPS FOR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE EXPANDING OUR DISTRICT-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.
WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE TEACH OUR INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM TO SUPPORT LEARNERS WITH A DIVERSE LEVEL OF NEED, AND WE ARE INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING, WE CAN SERVE STUDENTS, STUDENTS IN A LESS RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.
WE'RE GONNA EXPAND THAT MICRO-CREDENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THIS YEAR.
WE HAVE OUR FIRST COHORT, THEY'RE JUST FINISHING JUNE 7TH IS THEIR GRADUATION.
UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THEM.
AND STARTING OUR COHORT NUMBER TWO IN THE FALL, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON DEVELOPING OUR MODEL CLASSROOMS FOR INCLUSIVE PRACTICES WITH OUR INSTRUCTIONAL PARTNERS.
WE HAVE SEVERAL EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS WE WORK WITH, INCLUDING SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE PRACTICES OR SIP, WHICH WE ARE A GRANT FUNDEE FOR.
UM, C DR. FLORES, WHO IS ONE OF THE, UH, CONTRIBUTORS, IS A MEMBER OF THE C GROUP.
UM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER AGENCIES THAT WE PARTICIPATE WITH TO SORT OF HELP US DEVELOP OUR SKILLSET AND ENSURE THAT THE SKILLSET THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO OUR TEACHERS IS TOP NOTCH.
SO WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH THEM TO WORK AT, WITH SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS THAT ARE LEADING THE WAY WITH INCLUSIVE PRACTICE TO DEVELOP MODEL CLASSROOMS AND PROVIDE, UM, SUPPORTS AND RESOURCES TO THOSE SCHOOLS AS WELL AS OTHERS WHO STRIVE TO BE MODEL PROGRAMS. AND THEN THIS YEAR, UM, OUR EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAM, OUR ESY PROGRAM, WE'RE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING AN INCLUSIVE MODEL.
SO WE WILL BE HAVING OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND OUR ESY PROGRAMS ON THE SAME CAMPUSES AS OUR GENERAL EDUCATION PEERS.
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
I REALLY APPRECIATED THE QUESTION AS I SAID, BOARD MEMBER GREGGO.
AND THEN MR. FLORES, YOUR COMMENT ABOUT BEING SEEN AND USING YOUR VOICE REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME.
UM, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT PILLAR TWO, WE WERE LOOKING AT JOY AND WELLNESS AND THINKING ABOUT HOW DOES THE WORK WE DO IMPACT JOY AND WELLNESS? AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DATA THAT WE RECEIVED FROM OUR FOCUS GROUPS AND FROM OUR SURVEYS, WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT THERE WAS AN EMPHASIS ON THE IMPACT OF FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO FEEL THAT THEY'RE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
SUPPORTS LIKE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES HAVE HELPED WITH THAT AND OTHER WELLNESS PROGRAMS. BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S STILL WORK TO DO, ESPECIALLY AROUND EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THEIR IEPS AND USE THEIR VOICE FOR SELF-ADVOCACY.
SO I'M EXCITED THAT MR. FLORES, YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A MENTOR WHO REALLY SHOWED YOU THAT AND AND, AND HELPED YOU TO ACCESS THAT PART OF YOURSELF BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY THE KEY, RIGHT? AS ADULTS, THAT'S WHAT WE DO EVERY DAY.
WE HAVE TO ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES.
AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL REPRESENTATION THAT YOU HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
WHEN WE LOOK AT CURRENT PRACTICE AND ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN, STUDENT VOICE AND SELF-ADVOCACY ARE CRITICAL TO THAT WORK.
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE FOR A STUDENT TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY THAN AT THE IEP MEETING.
SO TO SUPPORT THAT, WE CREATED A STUDENT IEP PARTICIPATION TOOLKIT.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR SCHOOLS TO UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT WAYS STUDENTS MIGHT PARTICIPATE IN THE IEP PROCESS.
AND IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, WE DID TRAINING FOR OUR ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS ON THE BEST PRACTICES IN DETERMINING NOT ONLY WHAT ARE POSSIBILITIES, BUT HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE.
AND THEN WE'VE BEEN MONITORING STUDENT PARTICIPATION TO SEE IS THAT GROWING? ARE WE SEEING MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS? AND I'M VERY EXCITED THAT TO, TO SHARE THAT.
UM, IN LOOKING AT THE DATA SO FAR COLLECTED, THIS MAY, IN COMPARISON TO LAST MAY, THERE WAS A 69% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THEIR IEPS.
AND I KNOW THAT WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA SAY THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT RANGES BASED ON THE ABILITY OF THE STUDENT, THAT LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION.
SO MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR TEACHERS ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
WE WANT THEM TO REALLY FEEL CONFIDENT IN DETERMINING WHEN AND WHAT IS APPROPRIATE.
AND AGAIN, JUST LIKE MRS. JACOBS HOW TO STRETCH A LITTLE BIT BEYOND THAT AND GIVE THOSE STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ENGAGING OUR FAMILIES AND UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICALNESS OF BUILDING STUDENT VOICE AND SELF-ADVOCACY FOR OUR STUDENTS.
WE KNOW OUR FAMILIES ARE VERY COMMITTED TO THEIR CHILDREN AND WANT VERY MUCH TO SUPPORT THEM AND HELP THEM TO SUCCEED.
BUT PART OF THAT IS ALSO ALLOWING OUR STUDENTS TO FLOURISH AND GAIN THAT INDEPENDENCE.
AND SO WE WANT TO HELP OUR FAMILIES REALLY ENGAGE WITH THAT WORK AND UNDERSTAND WHERE THAT FINE LINE REALLY IS THAT STUDENTS STILL NEED SUPPORT, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO PROVIDE OUR STUDENTS OPPORTUNITY
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AND HELPING OUR FAMILIES BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHEN THAT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE VERSUS WHEN THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST CHOICE.AND THEN WE WANNA FIND EXAMPLES LIKE MR. FLORES THAT WE CAN HIGHLIGHT AND CELEBRATE THEIR SELF-ADVOCACY AND THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE IEP PROCESS.
WE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND THAT WE'RE SO VERY PROUD THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO USE THAT VOICE TO SPEAK UP TO ADVOCATE FOR WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY NEED, WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY FEEL NEEDS TO BE SAID, AND THAT THEY ARE SEEN AND HEARD AT EVERY MEETING, NOT JUST AT AN IEP MEETING, BUT EVERY MEETING THAT THEY PARTICIPATE ON CAMPUS, EVERY CLASSROOM THEY ENGAGE IN, AND EVERY OPPORTUNITY WITH THEIR PEERS AND THEIR THEIR EDUCATORS.
SO WITH THAT, I'M NOT SURE, ARE WE GONNA TAKE A BREAK BETWEEN? UM, YES.
UH, MS. HAAS, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, WE WANNA TAKE A PAUSE RIGHT NOW AND THINK ABOUT WHAT WE'VE HEARD.
WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS IF THEY CAN BE, UM, DISPLAYED.
SO THESE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT, UM, WE HAVE FOR YOU TO ENGAGE US IN A DISCUSSION, BUT OF COURSE, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OF YOUR OWN THAT YOU WANT TO ASK OF 'EM, SOME CLARIFYING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, PLEASE FEEL FREE.
BUT I POSE THESE FOR US TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, SO WHAT TYPES OF INVESTMENTS AND STUDENT SUPPORTS ARE NEEDED TO CREATE AN EQUITABLE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHEN STUDENT VOICE IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE IEP PROCESS? SO WE COULD ENGAGE IN THAT CONVERSATION, UM, HERE AMONGST US AND OR YOU COULD ASK YOUR OWN QUESTION DURING THIS TIME.
SO I'M OPENING IT UP FOR DISCUSSION.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE POWERPOINT BECAUSE THERE WAS ONE PART THAT SAID THAT YOU COLLECTED INFORMATION FROM THE DEAF EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
AND SINCE I'M PART OF THE DEAF EDUCATION PROGRAM, WHAT COMMITTEE WAS THAT? THE ADVISORY, THE DEAF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WASN'T SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT.
NOW I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE PILLAR ONE, THE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE WITH A VARIETY OF PROGRAM OPTIONS.
UM, ONE THING I HAVE NOTICED, AND I, LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR THE DISTRICT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND PRIOR TO THE FULL INCLUSION MODEL BEING ROLLED OUT, AS WE KNOW, THE IEP THROUGH IDA IS THE PRIMARY PREMISE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE STUDENTS ARE EDUCATED WITH THEIR NON-DISABLED PEERS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE.
SO I BRING THAT WITH ME WHEN I WORK WITH MY STUDENTS AND ADVOCATE FOR THEM, WHICH ALSO MEANS THAT WE NEED TO BE PROVIDING A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES.
I KNOW YOU HAD SAID WE DO HAVE A LOT, BUT I HAVE NOTICED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN CLOSURES OF THE AUTISM CLASSES, SLD CLASSES, ID CLASSES.
AND IF WE'RE EDUCATING STUDENTS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE, WHERE ARE THOSE CLASSES FOR THEM? THAT THAT'S THE MAXIMUM EXTENT? SO WE ARE PUTTING THEM IN ONE OF THREE BUCKETS, FULLY MAINSTREAMED IN A GEN ED CLASSROOM, MAYBE A FEW SPECIAL DAY CLASSES, OR IN A WAY MORE RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT LIKE A NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL.
WHERE ARE THE CLASSES IN BETWEEN OR THE PROGRAMS? SO I I IT'S OKAY IF I RESPOND.
UM, I, I, SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
UM, I THINK THAT IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT CLOSE, BUT I THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR TO SAY THAT WHEN WE ALSO SAY THAT THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT OPEN.
SO EVERY YEAR OUTSIDE OF TALKING ABOUT INCLUSIVE PRACTICE AS A DISTRICT, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, JUST LIKE GENERAL EDUCATION DOES, TO LOOK AT WHO ARE OUR STUDENTS THAT WE SERVE, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF THOSE STUDENTS THAT WE SERVE, AND WHAT PROGRAMS BASED ON AN IEP TEAM DECISION, WHICH INCLUDES A FAMILY ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THAT PARTICULAR STUDENT.
AND SO, YES, THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE CLOSED BOTH S-D-C-R-S-P, BUT THE SAME WAY THERE ARE GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSES THAT CLOSE.
AND AGAIN, ALL OF THOSE ALSO OPEN.
SO BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENT THAT ARE DOCUMENTED IN THE IEP EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY AT BOTH NORM DAY AND IN ANTICIPATION OF THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.
WE CALL THAT E CAST TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS OF STUDENTS THAT WE SERVE AND WHAT HAVE THE IEP TEAMS FOR THOSE STUDENTS DETERMINED IS
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THEIR LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR SOME STUDENTS THAT MIGHT BE GENERAL EDUCATION WITH SUPPORT.FOR SOME STUDENTS THAT MIGHT BE A SPECIAL DAY CLASS FOR SOME STUDENTS THAT MIGHT BE A NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL OR A PRO OR A, UH, SOME OTHER TYPE OF PROGRAM.
A CARLSON HOMESCHOOL HOSPITAL TYPE PROGRAM THAT'S BASED ON WHAT THE IEP TEAM SAYS.
AND SO THERE IS A NATURAL MOVEMENT THAT HAPPENS EACH YEAR OF PROGRAMS OPENING AND CLOSING BASED ON THE NEEDS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED BY AN IEP TEAM AND THE NUMBERS OF THOSE STUDENTS.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET A LIST OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED SO THAT THAT WAY IT'S A LITTLE MORE TRANSPARENT WHERE THESE PROGRAMS ARE? WE CAN CERTAINLY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
I CAN BRING THAT BACK TO LEADERSHIP.
I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS AS ALWAYS.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A QUESTION TO THEM OR, UM, SOME RESPONSES, SOME IDEAS ON WHAT TYPES OF INVESTMENTS AND STUDENT SUPPORTS DO WE NEED IN ORDER TO CREATE AN EQUITABLE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT.
WHAT DO WE THINK AND WHAT IS OUR IDEA OF A STUDENT, UH, WHERE STUDENT VOICE IS PRESENT IN THE IEP PROCESS? SO, YES, SCOTT.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SUMMER.
SO TEACHERS WHO ARE TEACHING EXTENDED A YEAR PROGRAM, EYP AND TEACHERS WHO MAY BE SUNNING THEMSELVES ON THE COAST OF MALAGA.
WILL THERE BE ANOTHER ADVANTAGE OR ANOTHER CHANCE FOR THEM TO TAKE THIS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OTHER THAN THE SUMMER? THE SUMMER IS GREAT 'CAUSE EVERYBODY SUPPOSEDLY IS OFF, RIGHT? SO IS THERE ANOTHER TIME THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING? YES, THERE IS.
ACTUALLY, WE OFFER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
THE SUMMER PD THAT I WAS REFERRING TO IS THE SUMMER PD THAT ALL TEACHERS, ALL EDUCATORS HAVE ACCESS TO DURING THE SUMMER.
IT'S A SPECIFIC TWO DAYS IN THE, UH, IN THE SUMMER RIGHT BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS FOR THEM TO COME BACK AND HAVE A PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITY.
BUT WE DO HAVE, UH, REPEAT SESSIONS OF THOSE.
AND WE DO HAVE THINGS IN MY PLN AND THANK YOU.
UM, I'M, I'M GONNA SPEAK TO THE BOTTOM QUESTION.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHEN STUDENT VOICE IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE IEP PROCESS? I THINK A LOT OF TIMES THAT WE THINK OF STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN THE IEP AS THE STUDENT THERE AT THE IEP MEETING, SHARING SOMETHING OR HAVING SOME SORT OF INPUT.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK SOMETIMES WE FORGET ABOUT THE IEP PROCESS BEING THAT WHOLE YEAR.
AND I THINK THE MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF THE STUDENT REALLY COMES IN THE PROCESS IN WHICH THE WHOLE TEAM CHECKS IN WITH THAT STUDENT IN WAYS THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE.
AND, UM, MAYBE NOT AS FORMAL AS WE'RE GONNA SIT DOWN, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT YOUR IEP, BUT MORE, HEY, WE JUST DID THIS ACTIVITY.
DID THAT, DID THESE SUPPORTS FEEL GOOD? DID, WAS THERE SOMETHING MISSING? UM, AND THAT QUESTION MIGHT NOT BE AN ACCESSIBLE QUESTION.
SO THINKING ABOUT HOW CAN I ASK THIS STUDENT IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN SHARE WITH ME HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THE SUPPORTS BEING PROVIDED? I THINK THAT'S MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION.
I THINK TRANSPARENCY ABOUT, UM, ABOUT SUPPORTS AND WHAT STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE RECEIVING THOSE AND ADVOCATING FOR STUDENTS TO ADVOCATE FOR RECEIVING THOSE SUPPORTS.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ONE THING.
UM, AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE PLANNED JUST LIKE WE DO OUR, UM, UH, PROGRESS REPORTS A FEW TIMES A YEAR.
I THINK THOSE ARE THE POINTS IN TIME WHERE WE SHOULD REFLECT ON, WELL, WHAT STUDENT INPUT HAVE I COLLECTED AS A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER? JUST SO THAT THERE IS SORT OF PLANNED TIMES TO DO THAT.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
UM, ANYBODY ELSE? UM, MOVE TO THE BACK.
MS. THOMAS PARKER, CAN YOU ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE EXPAND TRAINING FOR THE PARAPROFESSIONALS? I NOTICED WE HAVE A LOT OF BII TRAINING, BUT WHAT OTHER TRAININGS ARE YOU EXPANDING ON FOR THE PARAPROFESSIONALS? WE'RE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING TRAINING FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS, BOTH FOR NEWLY HIRED PARAPROFESSIONALS AND ALSO OUR VETERAN PARAPROFESSIONALS THAT YES, WE'LL ABSOLUTELY HAVE A BEHAVIOR COMPONENT TO THEM, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, HOW TO MEET THEM, THE, UM,
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PERSONAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS, UM, THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM AND HOW THEY CAN SUPPORT WITH SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION, UNDERSTANDING DISABILITY AWARENESS, UM, LOOKING AT, UM, HOW THEY ARE DOCUMENTING INFORMATION WHEN IT DOES, WHEN THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO DOCUMENT SOMETHING WHEN, UM, LOOKING AT EARLY EDUCATION AND HOW WE SUPPORT OUR EARLIEST LEARNERS.SO THERE'S A VARIETY OF MODULES THAT WE'RE CREATING.
UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT MODULES THAT WILL BOTH BE, UM, ASYNCHRONOUS, SYNCHRONOUS.
WE'RE CREATING A, AN ONGOING, IT WOULD BE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR OPPORTUNITY FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS THAT'S VERY INTENTIONALLY PLANNED.
SO WOULD THEY BE IN PERSON TRAINING OR IS THIS WOULD JUST BE ON MY PL IT'LL BE A COMBINATION.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE PERSONNEL COMMISSION TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UM, COLLABORATING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING ALL OF THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE PERSONNEL COMMISSION AND STAYING WITHIN CLASS CODES AND, UM, DOING ALL OF THAT AS WELL.
BUT WE ARE DOING THIS IN COLLABORATION WITH HR AND THE PERSONNEL COMMISSION.
AND THEN I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
I NOTICED THAT THE HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS ARE ALSO, UM, ACTING AS A ROLE OF A PARAPROFESSIONAL AS WELL.
SO WHAT TRAINING WOULD YOU HAVE TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT MORE TO ASSIST FOR THEM TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS PARTICULAR TRAINING? SO THE PARAPROFESSIONAL TRAINING THAT WE'RE PLANNING IS FOR ALL OF OUR PARAEDUCATORS.
SO EVEN OUR HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS, UM, OUR BASELINE PROVIDERS, OUR, OUR BII, OUR BEHAVIOR IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTERS, THEY ALL WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE WITH THE TRAINING.
I THINK MR. MARIE GIANI HAD A QUESTION.
I, I ACTUALLY WAS GONNA ADDRESS THE FIRST ONE.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT, UM, SOMETIMES FLIPPING THE SCRIPT WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE INCLUSION, UH, EQUITABLE INCLUSION.
UH, THIS SATURDAY, UH, MY SCHOOL, WHICH IS A CAREER AND TRANSITION CENTER, WE DEVELOPED A, UH, UNDERWATER, UH, OCEAN ROBOTICS PROGRAM, UH, WHERE MY STUDENTS HAVE BUILT ALL THE OBSTACLES AND WE'VE OPENED IT UP TO THE GEN EDUCATION STUDENTS.
AND RATHER THAN MY STUDENTS PUSHING IN, I'VE GOT SCHOOLS WITH WAIT LISTS TO JOIN OUR PROGRAM AND WORK WITH US.
SO SOMETIMES OUR KIDS ARE IN SPECIAL ED AND ARE IN THERE FOR A REASON, AND SOMETIMES THEY DON'T FIT GOING BACK IN.
SO LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS OF CREATING THINGS WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE THE LEADS, AND HAVING, UH, GEN ED COME IN AND BE PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, IS IMPORTANT.
YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I HAVE A FOLLOW UP FOR DR.
SO I LIKED YOUR ANSWER ABOUT SELF-ADVOCACY, BUT MY QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, WHAT'S THE APPROPRIATE ROLE FOR THE TEACHER TO TAKE WHEN ENGAGING THE STUDENTS? WHAT'S THE APPROPRIATE ROLE? I, I WOULD SAY THAT'S VERY SPECIFIC TO THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT.
I KNOW THAT DR. SOTO WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING.
SO, I, I AM ALSO A FATHER OF A STUDENT WITH DISABILITIES.
MY SON IS ON THE MODIFIED COURT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND THIS YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT MY SON PARTICIPATED IN HIS OWN IEP.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A VOICE AS SIGNIFICANT, THIS WAS HIS MATRICULATION, IEP, UH, 'CAUSE HE'S GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL NEXT YEAR, AND WE HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THREE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS.
AND JUST HAVING HIM COME IN AND DO A BRIEF LITTLE POWERPOINT ABOUT THINGS THAT HE'S LEARNING, THINGS THAT HE LIKES, AND SHARE THAT WITH US AND MY SON, SOMETIMES WE NEED TO PROMPT HIM TO SPEAK.
BUT ONCE HE STARTED TO SPEAK AND TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT HE'S DOING, IT REALLY HELPED GUIDE THE CONVERSATION AROUND INSTRUCTION GOALS.
ALSO, WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THE HIGH SCHOOLS, EACH HIGH SCHOOL HAD DIFFERENT STRANDS FOR, FOR, UM, FOCUS.
SO HAVING THEM BE ABLE TO SAY, OH, I'M INTERESTED IN COOKING.
THAT HELPED GUIDE OUR DECISION TO SEND HIM TO THIS HIGH SCHOOL SO THAT HE CAN ACCESS THAT PROGRAM.
JUST HAVING MY SON BE AN ACTIVE PART OF HIS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND BEING ABLE TO SEE HIM TAKE PART IN THE CONVERSATION.
AS A FATHER, I WAS VERY PROUD.
MY WIFE WAS VERY PROUD, ALTHOUGH HE DIDN'T, ALTHOUGH OBVIOUSLY WE'D WANT HIM TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE FEEDBACK.
BUT JUST HAVING HIM THERE AND SHARING WHAT HE COULD DO, SOME OF THE THINGS, SOME OF THE THINGS HE HATED OR 'CAUSE I, I HATE MUSIC, RIGHT? BUT BEING ABLE TO HEAR FROM HIM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO, TO PROMOTE AT OUR SCHOOL SITES.
WE KNOW THAT EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT.
THEIR ROLE OF PARTICIPATION WILL BE DIFFERENT, BUT HAVING A CHILD COME IN AND START BEING PART OF THEIR IEP PROCESS AND I HEAR WHAT DR IS SAYING, IT'S NOT JUST ONE TIME A YEAR.
[00:55:01]
THAT WE ARE MONITORING THE IEPS, THE GOALS, THE BENCHMARKS, AND HAVING THAT CONVERSATION WITH FAMILIES TO GIVE THEM AN UPDATE OF HOW IS MY CHILD PROGRESSING? RIGHT? BUT BEING ABLE TO HAVE YOUR CHILD COME IN AND SHARE AND TALK ABOUT THEIR LIKES OR DISLIKES AT WHATEVER CAPACITY IT IS, IS SO GOOD FOR THE IEP TEAM TO HEAR, BECAUSE THEN HE GOT THE SIGN THAT HE PARTICIPATED.AND AGAIN, UM, TO YOUR QUESTION, IT DEPENDS ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT A TEACHER WOULD LIKE A STUDENT TO SAY OR WHAT THE STUDENT CAN BE ABLE TO SHARE AT THE IEP MEETING.
THERE'S DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION.
WE JUST WANNA ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION AT WHATEVER LEVEL SO OUR STUDENTS CAN BE AN ACTIVE PART OF THEIR IEP PROCESS.
I JUST WANNA ADD REALLY QUICKLY, AS PART OF THE PARTICIPATION TOOLKIT, THAT'S WHAT IT TALKS ABOUT.
IT TALKS ABOUT HOW DO YOU ENGAGE YOUR STUDENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IN PREPARATION FOR THE MEETING, AND THEN WHAT COULD IT LOOK LIKE AT THE MEETING.
SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE OUR LISTENING AND SPEAKING GOALS, REALLY LOOKING AT HOW ARE WE ENGAGING OUR STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AND THE INTENTION OF THAT WORK.
SO IT'S MOVING THEM THROUGH A PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE YEAR.
RES, I MEAN, APART FROM THE TOOLKIT, UM, THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, ARE THERE OTHER SYSTEMIC CHANGES, CHANGES THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED TO BETTER INTEGRATE, UM, A STUDENT VOICE AND SO SELF-ADVOCACY IN THE IEP PROCESS AT AN EARLIER STAGE, OR WHAT ELSE BEYOND THE, THE TOOLKIT CAN, CAN BE SYSTEMATICALLY CHANGED IN THE IEP PROCESS FOR STUDENTS? I THINK THAT PART OF THE, OKAY.
OH, I WAS JUST GONNA SHARE AN A SUGGESTION, BUT YOU CAN GO FOR IT.
UM, I WAS JUST THINKING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL THESE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE IEP THAT WE SHARE ABOUT, WE SHARE ABOUT PRESENT LEVELS OF THIS AND THAT, AND WE SHARE ABOUT PARENT INPUT.
UM, BUT IN THE IEPS THAT I'VE PERSONALLY DONE AND THAT I'VE SEEN OTHER STUDENTS DO RECENTLY, THERE ISN'T A TIME, LIKE A SPOT IN THE IEP MEETING WHERE WE TALK ABOUT STUDENT INPUT, EXCEPT IN OUR TRANSITION IEPS, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TRANSITION PLANS AND THERE'S SOME STUDENT INPUT THERE.
BUT FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S THAT DESIGNATED TIME.
UM, AND, AND NOT TO SAY THAT THE STUDENT HAS TO BE THERE AND DOING IT, BUT A TIME FOR THE TEACHER TO REFLECT ON, YOU KNOW, THEIR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE STUDENT ABOUT, UM, ABOUT THEIR GOALS OR THEIR, UM, FEELINGS ABOUT THEIR PLACEMENT OR THEIR ACCESSIBILITY OF, UM, SOCIAL OR ACADEMIC MATERIALS.
I'M JUST GONNA BRING US BACK TO YOUR QUESTION.
UM, AND WHAT DR. SOTO WAS SHARING BEFORE, FOR SOME OF OUR STUDENTS, UM, IT'S GOING TO BE A STUDENT COMING IN AND SIMPLY INTRODUCING THEMSELVES.
THEY'VE BEEN WORKING UP ALL YEAR, THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SAY THEIR NAME AND SHARE WHO THEY ARE AND JUST INTRODUCE THEMSELVES OR INTRODUCE THEIR PARENT OR ESCORT THEM TO THE SPACE.
IN SOME CASES, IT'S GOING TO BE A STUDENT ON THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THE SPECTRUM WHO CAN FACILITATE THE ENTIRETY OF THE MEETING.
IT'S REALLY BASED ON WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THAT PARTICULAR STUDENT.
AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT OTHER SYSTEMATIC THINGS BESIDES THE TOOLKIT, I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE TRAINING REALLY COMES IN HANDY.
IT'S REALLY ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS APPROPRIATE AND WHERE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY.
HOW DO WE WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO HEAR THEM AND SEE THEM AS PARTNERS IN THE PROCESS AS AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY THE KEY, GOING BACK TO WHAT MR. FLORES WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, JUST HAVING SOMEBODY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONVERSE WITH A STUDENT AND ENCOURAGE THEM THAT IT IS OKAY TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK AND WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT YOU WANT.
UM, AND THAT'S A CRITICAL PART OF THE PROCESS.
SO I THINK SYSTEMATICALLY THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS WORK ON THE MINDSET AND HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT'S POSSIBLE AND THAT IT'S NOT AN EXPECTATION THAT EVERY STUDENT IS THERE FOR THE ENTIRETY.
UM, IT'S NOT THE EXPECTATION THAT EVERY STUDENT WILL LOOK THE SAME AS IN THEIR PARTICIPATION.
WHETHER IT'S A PICTURE THAT THEY DREW THAT THE TEACHER BRINGS TO THE MEETING AND THE STUDENT'S NOT THERE.
UM, IT CAN BE A VARIETY OF WAYS, BUT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE ENGAGE, JUST LIKE WE TALK ABOUT ENGAGING OUR PARENTS AS PARTNERS, HOW ARE WE ENGAGING OUR STUDENTS AS PARTNERS BECAUSE THIS IS THEIR STORY AND OUR ROLE SHOULD BE TO FACILITATE AND TO SUPPORT THEIR ROLE SHOULD BE TO LIVE THE LEADING PART.
RIGHT? SO I THINK THAT, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE DONE THROUGH SOME ADDITIONAL TRAININGS, BUT I THINK IT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE.
PLEASE HOLD ONTO YOUR QUESTIONS.
YOU CAN BRING THEM UP IN THE NEXT SECTION.
SO NEED IS TO SAY, THIS AREA OF THE FOCUS GROUPS
[01:00:01]
ELICITED THE MOST CONVERSATION, THE MOST ROBUST CONVERSATION FROM OUR PARENTS, FROM OUR TEACHERS, FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ENGAGEMENT.HOW DO WE ENGAGE FAMILIES, UH, AND COLLABORATION.
SO SOME OF THE EMERGENT THEMES THAT, UH, WERE SHARED BY RESPONDENTS WHERE THAT PARENT ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES ARE INCREASING THROUGH AMBASSADOR WORKSHOPS.
ALSO, THAT COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS ARE GROWING TO SUPPORT FAMILIES.
ALSO, FAMILIES NEED MORE ACCESSIBLE AND CLEAR INFORMATION, TRANSPARENT INFORMATION.
SO AN AREA WAS ENHANCING PARENT ENGAGEMENT.
SO CURRENTLY, AS YOU GUYS ARE AWARE, WE ARE UPDATING OUR WEBSITE.
WE NOW HAVE A, A NEW WEBSITE, UH, SERVER THAT WE'RE USING.
SO WE'RE UPDATING THE WEBSITE.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT, UH, REALLY USER FRIENDLY TO HAVE FINGERTIP FACTS, TO HAVE THOSE DOCUMENTS THAT PARENT MAY NEED AT THE TOUCH OF A, OF A BUTTON.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, WE COLLABORATE WITH OUR CAC WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, DEVELOPING THE, UH, SELPA PLAN.
UM, AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING.
WE ALSO COLLABORATE WITH OUR S FACE DEPARTMENT, OUR STUDENT FAMILY ENGAGEMENT OFFICE, AND WE COLLABORATE WITH THEM WHEN IT COMES TO AMBASSADORS TRAININGS, BEING ABLE TO, UH, WORK WITH THEM IN DELIVERING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR PARENTS.
AND AS YOU GUYS KNOW, WE HAVE THE REGION AMBASSADORS, WHICH HAPPEN, UH, AT EACH REGION.
SO WE DEFINITELY ARE EMBEDDED IN THAT WORK AS WELL IN PROVIDING, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR FAMILIES.
AND LASTLY, VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS ARE AVAILABLE, UH, ON THE WEBSITE.
SO IF A PARENT MIGHT HAVE MISSED A WORKSHOP, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE THEY CAN CLICK AND WATCH A VIRTUAL WORK, UH, WORKSHOP THAT WAS PROVIDED.
SO, HOW WE'RE GONNA EXPAND THIS WORK, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT AND WE WANT TO REALLY PROMOTE AND, AND PUSH IS FAMILY RESOURCE FAIRS.
SO WE WANNA HAVE A SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT AND FAMILY RESOURCE FAIR, UH, AT EACH REGION.
SO IT'S CLOSER TO HOME FOR OUR FAMILIES.
UH, WE WANT TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUR PARTNERS COME AND TABLE, WHETHER IT'S REGIONAL CENTER, UH, CHILD, UH, CHILDREN, UH, CALIFORNIA CHILDREN'S SERVICES, BE ABLE TO HAVE OUR TEAMS OUT THERE DOING ACTIVITIES WITH PARENTS AND FAMILIES, AND REALLY MAKE IT A DAY TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION AROUND SPECIAL ED FOR OUR FAMILIES, UH, IN EACH REGION.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WANNA ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO EITHER PARTICIPATE IN THE AMBASSADOR TRAININGS OR TO WATCH THE AMBASSADOR TRAINING.
SO WE WANT TO PROMOTE, UH, WATCH PARTIES AT OUR SCHOOL SITES.
SO AT EACH PARENT CENTER, WHEN THE AMBASSADOR TRAINERS ARE GOING ON, IF THERE'S WATCH PARTIES ARE SCHEDULED, THAT THE PARENTS AND THEIR PARENTS CAN GO TO THEIR LOCAL SCHOOL SITE, WATCH THE TRAINING, AND THEN HAVE A, A NETWORK OF OTHER FAMILIES OR PARENTS THAT ARE STUDENT ARE FAMILIES OF STUDENT DISABILITIES, AND CREATE A NETWORK THERE WITHIN THEIR SMALL SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
UM, WE ALSO WANNA CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AROUND LISTEN AND LEARN.
UM, WE FELT THAT THIS FIRST GOAL OF LISTENING TO ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE DISTRICT WAS VERY, VERY POWERFUL.
AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE THAT WORK.
SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOCALIZE THAT AND START HAVING LISTEN AND LEARN, UH, SESSIONS AT OUR REGIONS OR COFFEE WITH THE, WITH THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED, AND BE ABLE TO HEAR FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, UH, AND CONTINUE THIS WORK SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AREAS THAT WE NEED TO EXPAND ON AND BE ABLE TO PIVOT AND, AND CREATE ACTION STEPS.
UH, AND THEN LASTLY, WE WANNA CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE, OR WE WANNA ORGANIZE WORKSHOP FOR PARENTS FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING THEIR CHILD AT HOME.
UH, WHETHER IT'S INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT, BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO OFFER THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR PARENTS.
AND THEN IN THE AREA OF FOSTERING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, CURRENTLY, WE COLLABORATE WITH, WITH PARTNERS TO PROMOTE SERVICES, SERVICE DELIVERY.
IN THE LRE, WE DEFINITELY, WE ALSO PARTNER WITH OUR DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION, UH, SUPPORTING THE WORK THAT WE DO WITH OUR STUDENTS HERE IN LA UNIFIED.
WE ALSO HAVE, PROJECT SEARCH WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS TO, UH, WORK, UH, AT HOSPITALS, UH, AS, AS INTERNS, UH, AND WE HAVE THAT, UH, SPREAD ACROSS, UH, L-A-U-S-D AT CERTAIN HOSPITALS WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE WORKING.
UH, WE ALSO, UH, COLLABORATE WITH THE CENTER OF ADVANCED TRANSITION SKILLS.
AND ONE BIG FEATHER IN OUR CAP IS A VERY SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL, WHICH HAPPENED LAST WEEK.
UH, IT WAS REALLY, UH, WELL ATTENDED BY OUR STUDENTS, OUR STUDENT PERFORMERS, STUDENTS FROM OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND IT BROUGHT TO TOGETHER THE ARTS AND THE FOCUS WAS ON SCIENCE.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO COLLABORATING WITH THE DEPART, WITH THE DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION ON, ON THE DYSLEXIA WORK GROUP.
ACTIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE TO EXPAND THE WORK IS WE DEFINITELY WANT TO CONTINUE MEETING OR MEET WITH NEWER OR MORE, UH, HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS.
UH, CURRENTLY WE MEET WITH UNIVERSITIES TO WORK ON RECRUITMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, BUT TO CONTINUE THAT WORK, UH, SO THAT WE CAN CREATE THIS NETWORK OF, OF EDUCATORS THAT WILL GRADUATE
[01:05:01]
AND COME BACK TO LA UNIFIED TO TEACH HERE IN OUR DISTRICT.UM, AGAIN, WE ALSO WANT TO OFFER MORE WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS THAT'S FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN THE LRE.
AND I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INCLUSION, INCLUSION, WE OFFER A CONTINUUM OF PROGRAM OPTIONS.
WE ARE NOT CLOSING SPECIAL DAY PROGRAMS AND PUSHING ALL STUDENTS INTO THE GENERAL ED.
OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE STUDENTS, UH, EDUCATED WITH THEIR GENERAL PEERS TO THE, TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES BASED ON THEIR IEP TEAM DECISION.
SO, UM, AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO, I THINK THERE'S BEEN, THERE MIGHT BE SOME MISINFORMATION ABOUT WHAT INCLUSION IS.
A LOT OF TIMES WE HEAR, OH, THEY'RE CLOSING PROGRAMS AND KIDS ARE GOING INTO THE GEN ED.
OUR GOAL IS TO MEET THE STUDENTS WHERE THEY'RE AT, AND TO USE THE IEP AS A DRIVER TO DECIDE AS A TEAM WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST BENEFIT FOR A STUDENT WHEN IT COMES TO INCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, JUST WANTED TO KIND OF COME BACK AND, AND HIT ON THAT POINT.
AND WE WANNA ALSO CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE EVENTS, BUT ALSO HOLD AND CELEBRATE MORE EVENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE WANNA REALLY HIGHLIGHT OUR CEREBRAL PALSY, UH, UH, WORLD CEREBRAL PALSY DAY.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS RECENTLY PASSED THIS YEAR.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE USING ALL OF OUR, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, OUR WEBSITE, TO REALLY PROMOTE THAT.
ALSO, INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS WEEK IS ANOTHER BIG, UH, LIFT THAT HAPPENS IN DECEMBER, WHERE SCHOOLS SHOW OFF HOW THEY'RE USING INCLUSION AT THEIR SCHOOL SITE AND SHARE ACTIVITIES, AND THEY POST ON THE, ON THE, ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND WE ALSO WANT TO CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT AUTISM AWARENESS WEEK AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY, UH, PROMOTING THOSE DAYS SO THAT ALL L-A-U-S-D KNOWS AND, AND ENSURE THAT THEY'RE CELEBRATING THOSE DAYS AT THEIR SCHOOL SITES.
AND AGAIN, WE WANT TO EXPAND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH DAYS, OUR DIVISION OF ADULT AND CAREER EDUCATION, TO FIND THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS AFTER POST-GRADUATION.
UH, TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS THAT, UH, MAY ATTEND A CTT TO HAVE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES WITH LA UNIFIED SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE HIRING OUR STUDENTS HERE IN L-A-U-S-D, ENSURING EQUITY AND COMMUNICATION.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE WEBSITE PLATFORM ALLOWS USERS TO SELECT A PREFERRED LANGUAGE.
SO THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE THEY CAN TRANSLATE WHAT THEY'RE READING ON THE WEBSITE.
ALSO, UH, WE OFFER MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT FOR PUBLICATIONS, UH, DOCUMENTS, VIDEOS, AND COMMUNICATIONS.
UH, WE COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT BOTH LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE AND THE EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS.
WE ALSO, UH, HAVE COMPUTER GENERATED, UH, TRANSLATION OF IEPS CURRENTLY IN SPANISH, BUT THAT'S ALSO BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN REALLY BENEFICIAL BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE A, A TRANSLATED IEP FOR PARENTS AS THEY LEAVE THE IEP MEETING.
UM, IT'S NOT THE OFFICIAL IEP, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY A, A TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE IP AND THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO TO EXPAND THIS WORK.
UM, BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AS WE, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO EXPLORE EXPANDING AVAILABLE, AVAILABLE LANGUAGE OPTIONS FOR RECORDED PARENT WORKSHOPS.
WE ALSO WANT TO INTEGRATE VISUAL AIDS IN, IN ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS.
AND WE WANT TO USE AI RECORDED VIDEOS.
THIS IS, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, AI IS A BIG MOVEMENT RIGHT NOW.
SO BEING ABLE TO LEVERAGE AI TO PROVIDE, UH, AI VOICE TO PRESENTATIONS THAT IS CLEAR, UH, THAT IS, UM, MONOTONE AND IS ABLE TO BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD BY ANYBODY WHO'S LISTENING IN TO IT, IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA LEVERAGE.
UM, AND WE WANT TO EXPAND COMPUTER GENERATED TRANSLATE TRANSLATIONS TO OTHER LANGUAGES.
WE WANNA EXPLORE THAT AS WELL.
AND THEN THIS, THIS, UH, LAST AREA WAS ONE OF THAT REALLY ELICITED, UH, CONVERSATION FROM ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AND THAT WAS DEMYSTIFYING THE IEP PROCESS.
UM, CURRENTLY WE HAVE RESOURCES AND TOOLS ON THE WEBSITE THAT, UH, PARENTS CAN UTIL CAN ACCESS AROUND THE IEP.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, ENHANCE THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS AND RESOLVE PARENT CONCERNS DURING THE IEP PROCESS.
UH, WE HAVE UPDATED THE IEP AND YOU AND THE ITP AND YOU AND THOSE ARE AVAILABLE NOW ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL.
UH, WE HAVE INFORMATIONAL PARENT WORKSHOP SESSIONS TO CONTINUE PROVIDING, UH, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OR GUIDANCE ON PARENTS AND EMPOWERING PARENTS.
UH, DURING THE IEP PROCESS, UH, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION OF EMPOWERING PARENTS ON THE IEP PROCESS, BUT WITH THAT SAID, THERE'S MORE WORK TO DO.
UH, SOME OF THE SALIENT THEMES THAT WE HEARD DURING THE LISTEN AND LEARN FROM PARENTS WAS THAT AT TIMES THEY FELT LIKE THEY WERE JUST ACQUIESCING TO THE IEP TEAM.
THEY FELT LIKE YOU GUYS ARE THE, THE PROFESSIONALS, WHATEVER YOU SAY WILL DO.
RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT IT'S A, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY, UH, CREATE AN OP TO EMPOWER OUR PARENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE IEP PROCESS, TO BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS IN A COLLABORATIVE MANNER WITH THE IEP TEAM AND BE AN ACTIVE PART IN THEIR CHILD'S EDUCATION.
UM, SO WE WANTED TO, WE WANNA DEVELOP, UH, VIDEO, VIDEO MODULES FOR THOSE PARENTS WHO ARE PROBABLY ENTERING SPECIAL
[01:10:01]
ED.UH, SO THEY CAN HAVE A MODULE TO REFER TO, TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE COMING INTO AS FAR AS BEING A PARENT OF A STUDENT WITH DISABILITIES AND AN IEP AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION.
SO WHEN THEY COME INTO AN IEP, THEY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT I'M COMING INTO, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE ABLE TO REALLY ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE.
WE WANT TO PRODUCE VIDEO MODULES, UH, AROUND SECTION 5 0 4 AND THE IP PROCESS THAT WILL BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL PARENTS.
SAY THAT I'M A PARENT AND I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT 5 0 4.
HAVING A VISUAL VIDEO MODULE THAT I CAN ACCESS AND WATCH WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL.
UM, ALSO, AGAIN, LIKE REALLY PROVIDING A ROBUST OVERVIEW OF THE IEP PROCESS AND SUPPORTS AVAILABLE, UH, AT PARENT CENTERS.
WE WANNA EMPOWER OUR PARENT REPS AT SCHOOL SITES BY TRAINING THEM AROUND THE IEP PROCESS AND MAYBE NOT BECOME EXPERTS, BUT BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND MAYBE WHO DO THEY GO TO IF THERE'S A QUESTION AROUND SERVICES OR SOMETHING, WHO CAN THEY GO TO, RIGHT? SO BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION AT PARENT CENTERS, PROVIDE UPDATED MATERIALS, THE SAME MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE OUT FRONT WHEN YOU WALK OUT, THAT OUR DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED HAS ENSURING THAT OUR SCHOOL SITES HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE MATERIALS SO THEY CAN HAND THEM OUT TO FAMILIES THAT GO VISIT THE PARENT CENTER.
UM, AND THEN WE DEFINITELY WANT TO, UH, HAVE SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESENTATIONS AT OUR SCHOOL SITES.
SO BEING ABLE TO OFFER TWO PRESENTATIONS PER YEAR AT EACH SCHOOL THAT'S EITHER LED BY OUR A PIS OR SCHOOL SITE ADMINISTRATOR ON TOPICS AROUND THE IEP PROCESS OR INSTRUCTION AND BRINGING IT TO A LOCALIZED SCHOOL SO THAT THERE'S ACCESS FOR PARENTS WHO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GO TO, UH, UH, UH, TRAINING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IN, AT A REGIONAL OR AT BOWRY.
AND BRINGING IT CLOSER TO THE SCHOOL SITE AND BEING ABLE TO OFFER THOSE, UH, AT THE SCHOOL SITE DIRECTLY TO PARENTS AT THAT SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND IT'S ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PILLARS, RIGHT? I KNOW OUR PARENTS.
AND I JUST WANNA TAKE A MOMENT FOR THE FAMILIES WHO ARE IN THE AUDIENCE.
IF YOU'RE NOT, UH, GOING TO BE SPEAKING TODAY, UH, YOU CAN DEFINITELY RESPOND TO THESE QUESTIONS.
IF YOU AN EMAIL TO ME OR IN A LITTLE CARD, HOWEVER YOU WANT TO, UH, SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ME IN REGARDS TO THESE QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING THAT YOU'VE HEARD TODAY, PLEASE FEEL, UH, FREE TO EMAIL.
WE ALSO HAVE A STAFF PERSON FROM MY OFFICE OUT THERE THAT YOU CAN ALSO, UH, SPEAK TO IF YOU WANNA HAVE ANY, UH, INPUT INTO THIS.
UM, ALRIGHT, SO WE ARE NOW, UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A QUICK LITTLE PAUSE 'CAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT AFTER THE MEETING.
SO, UM, A FEW MOMENTS, UH, WHAT TYPE OF EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS COULD WE COULD RESOURCE GAPS IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES OR, AND OR WHAT ARE SOME TOPICS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WOULD MAKE PARENT WORKSHOPS MORE MEANINGFUL AND RELEVANT? UM, I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM, YOU KNOW, MR. MARTIN FLORES, UM, OUR EDUCATOR.
ANYBODY WHAT TO, OR ANY RESPONSES TO THESE QUESTIONS OR ANY QUESTIONS TO MR. SOTO REGARDING THE PRESENTATION HE JUST DID? I WILL START ON THIS SIDE.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS HERE? WE HAVE? OKAY, GO AHEAD, MS. SCOTT.
I ACTUALLY FIND, UM, RECORDED WEBINARS BE A BENEFICIAL WAY TO TRANSLATE INFORMATION.
UM, AND WE'VE RECENTLY STARTED DOING SOME OF OUR TRAININGS IN OUR DEPARTMENT AS WEBINARS THAT ARE PRERECORDED.
BUT AS, UM, A TEAMS MEETING WITH A LIVE PERSON THAT CAN PAUSE THE WEBINAR AND ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THEM.
AND I THINK THAT COULD BE A HELPFUL WAY TO ENGAGE PARENTS, UM, WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, LIKE, UH, OFFICE HOURS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, TO BE ABLE TO BE MORE ENGAGED WITH PEOPLE THAT CAN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY NEED.
'CAUSE ACCESSIBILITY FOR PARENTS MEANS ACCESSIBILITY FOR STUDENTS.
AND I'M ALWAYS HERE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE PARENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS BECAUSE AS WE DO OUR WORK, IT IS FOR THEM.
SO IT NEEDS TO BE BENEFICIAL AND MEANINGFUL FOR THEM.
WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN ON THE SAME TEAM, UH, FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY CRITICAL, THE PIECE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN LOOKING AT WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, CAREER ED AND THE SUPPORTS, UH, FOR THAT.
I THINK HAVING, UM, THE LEVERAGE OF A COMMITTEE LIKE THIS, THE SCHOOL BOARD, UH, LOCAL SUPERINTENDENTS HELP US AS WELL.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, A STUDENT, UM, STUDENTS TRYING TO GET JOBS IN THE DISTRICTS, BUT OFTEN HIT ROADBLOCKS
[01:15:01]
FOR TESTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT FOR THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.SO HAVING MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE THE, THE NEED.
UM, FIVE YEARS AGO WE HAD SEVERAL STUDENTS THAT WERE ABLE TO GET CUSTODIAL POSITIONS IN THE DISTRICT.
THEY'RE MAINTAINING THOSE POSITIONS.
UM, ONE OF MY GRADUATES ACTUALLY WAS BEING EVICTED AT THE TIME, AND NOW IS THE, THE BREADWINNER FOR HIS HOME.
AND, UH, THEY'RE ABLE TO, TO SUSTAIN THAT.
SO IT'S LIFE-CHANGING TO HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THE MORE THAT WE HAVE THOSE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK WITH THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND EXPAND THOSE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS, UH, THE BETTER OFF OUR, OUR POPULATION IS GOING TO BE.
SCOTT, I'M A BIG FAN OF THE TV STATION, KLCS, AND I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF PARENTS WHO DON'T FEEL THAT COMFORTABLE MANIPULATING A LAPTOP FOR THESE PDS.
IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD HAVE A SERIES OF PROGRAMMING ON KLCS SO PARENTS COULD WATCH AT THEIR LEISURE? IT'S OUR TV STATION.
OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS DO NOT HAVE A TV STATION.
SO I'M THINKING WHAT A GOOD WAY TO USE IT.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL DEFINITELY LOOK INTO AND I'M WRITING IT DOWN RIGHT NOW AS WE FOLLOW UP.
UM, DOES ANYBODY ELSE? I JUST, I'LL SPEAK TO THE SECOND ONE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM PARENTS, AND EVEN AS A TEACHER WHEN I WORKED AT THE SCHOOL SITE AND AS A COMMUNITY SCHOOL COORDINATOR, UM, A LOT OF OUR PARENTS NEEDED SUPPORT AT HOME WITH THEIR, UH, CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR, RIGHT? AND WE KNOW WHAT THAT CAN BE LIKE EVEN, YOU KNOW, AS A PARENT, PERIOD, YOU NEED SUPPORT WITH THAT.
AND, UM, AND WHEN I WOULD HOST, WHEN WE WOULD ORGANIZE PARENT MEETINGS WITH OUR PSW, WHO WOULD HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRAIN AND TRAUMA AND HOW KIDS LEARN, WHY DO KIDS BEHAVE A CERTAIN WAY? WHY ARE THESE, WHAT IS A BEHAVIOR, RIGHT? WHAT NEED ARE KIDS TRYING TO MEET? IT JUST PARENTS, THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM PARENTS WAS AMAZING.
LIKE, IT JUST REALLY DIMINISHED THE LEVEL OF STRESS BECAUSE YOU REALIZE THAT YOU CAN SEE CHILDREN IN, IN, AS THEY ARE, RIGHT? HOLISTIC, HOLISTICALLY AND APPRECIATE ALL THAT THEY ARE.
I THINK AS PARENTS IN GENERAL, WE STRESS OUT ABOUT OUR KIDS AND WE, WE COMPARE THEM, WE THINK LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, MY KID IS THE ONE WHO LIKE REALLY ACTS OUT, BUT I'M, BUT NO, ALL OF OUR CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEIR BEHAVIORS.
AND SO ONCE WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT'S COMING FROM, WHY THEY'RE DOING IT, WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE, IT JUST ALLEVIATES SO MUCH STRESS ON THE PARENTS.
AND ALSO, IT, IT REALLY, UM, THAT IS WHEN WE START TO SEE AND HEAR OUR OWN CHILDREN.
SO I GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS ABOUT THAT KIND OF SUPPORT THAT THEY NEEDED SOME MORE, UM, SUPPORT FROM OUR PROFESSIONALS IN THE MENTAL HEALTH OR PROFESSIONALS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, PLAY THERAPY, UH, PLAY, UM, WAYS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN'S LANGUAGE IN, UH, AND COMMUNICATION IN ANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT, THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL FAMILIES.
JUST HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A CHILD, ASK WHY AND HOW, AND THAT WILL REALLY EXPAND THEIR BRAIN, RIGHT? THEY JUST START TO THINK, IMAGINE, CREATE.
AND SO, UM, ANYWAY, I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO HAVE FOR OUR FAMILIES AS PART OF THE MENU OF PDS THAT, OR NOT PDS, BUT, UH, PARENT WORKSHOPS, UM, THAT WE CAN OFFER.
UM, YES, MS. TAS, DR I JUST WANNA BUILD ON THAT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I THINK IT CONNECTS BACK TO, UM, EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION, ONE OF THE AREAS OF NEEDS THAT TEACHERS MENTIONED RELATED TO EDUCATION WAS BEHAVIOR.
AND I THINK THAT WHOLE CONCEPT OF BEHAVIOR IS ENVIRONMENTALLY DRIVEN AND IT'S ALWAYS COMMUNICATING SOMETHING.
I THINK IF WE'RE PROVIDING TRAINING TO GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, THAT'S A REALLY BIG IMPORTANT PIECE BECAUSE I, I, I THINK ALL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS COME OUT OF THEIR TRAINING WITH A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THE FUNCTIONS OF BEHAVIORS, HOW TO ADAPT ENVIRONMENTS TO SUPPORT, UM, COMMUNICATION.
BUT I DON'T THINK GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS ALWAYS COME OUT WITH THAT DEEP KNOWLEDGE.
UM, AND I THINK IT CAN REALLY HELP FOLKS UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, OH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A INHERENT STUDENT DEFICIT.
THIS IS COMMUNICATION AND THERE ARE THINGS I CAN CHANGE ABOUT MY ENVIRONMENT.
UM, SO I THINK IF, IF TEACHERS ARE REQUESTING TRAINING FOR BEHAVIOR, THAT IT SHOULD BE FIRST GROUNDED IN, IN ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION AND
[01:20:01]
COMMUNICATION RATHER THAN HERE'S HOW TO STOP THAT BEHAVIOR.I THINK I ALSO HEARD CHANGING THE MINDSET, RIGHT? WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT OUR STUDENTS AS HAVING A VOICE, BEING A PART OF THE IEP PROCESS, WE DO NEED TO START SEEING THE IEP PROCESS TRULY COLLECTIVELY CREATED AND DEVELOPED WITH OUR STUDENTS.
NOT ONLY THEIR NEEDS AT THE CENTER, BUT THEIR VOICE AT THE CENTER.
IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENT? YES.
UM, JUST ON A LITTLE BIT ON THE VIDEO MODULES AND, UM, TO HELP PARENTS UNDERSTAND THE IEP PROCESS, IEP PROCESS AND THE SECTION 5 0 4 I THINK WE'LL ALSO BE GREAT IS, UM, IN THESE MODULES TO HELP THE PARENTS UNDERSTAND OR KNOW, UM, HOW THEY CAN BE ADVOCATES FOR THEIR CHILD.
IT'S ONE THING UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS.
SO, SO THIS HAPPENS AND THIS AND THAT, BUT HOW CAN PROVIDE, UM, SOME QUESTIONS THAT THEY CAN ASK, HOW COULD THEY CAN CRITICALLY, UM, SUPPORT THEIR CHILD BUT HELP THEM BECOME ADVOCATES? 'CAUSE WHAT I'VE HEARD, UM, FROM A LOT OF PARENTS IS IN THAT PROCESS, AND I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, IS THAT THEY FEEL LIKE YOU'RE THE PROFESSIONALS AND I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, BUT THE PARENT KNOWS SO MUCH, RIGHT? AND HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR CHILD IN ADVOCATING FOR THEM IN THIS PROCESS? AND FOR THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE AN EQUAL AN AN EQUAL PARTNER.
AND, AND, AND THERE'S THIS, YOU KNOW, THE SAME THING AS PARENT, RIGHT? WITH STUDENT, WHEN YOU HAVE THE STUDENT VOICE, THEY'RE ALSO AN EQUAL SORT OF PARTICIPANT AND ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES.
BUT HELPING PARENTS REALLY KNOW HOW TO BE AN ADVOCATE AND THEN MAYBE IN THESE MODULES OR, OR, OR VIDEOS IS HEARING FROM ANOTHER PARENT THAT'S BEEN IN THEIR POSITION AND HOW THEY ADVOCATED AND HOW THEY, UM, SORT OF MANEUVER THE SYSTEM.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT'S, IF ANYTHING, IS THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR ROLE AS A PARENT AND ADVOCATING AND THE KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK IN ALL, IN ALL STAGES, THE INITIAL STAGE AND ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THE STAGE.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING I JUST WANTED TO, UH, MENTION IS I KNOW AI IS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL WANNA USE.
AND, UM, AND THAT'S ALL GREAT.
UM, AND, AND I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, I USE AI EVERY NOW AND THEN, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, I THINK WHAT'S REALLY CRITICAL IS HAVING THAT CONNECTION WITH A, WITH A, WITH A HUMAN BEING WITH A PERSON.
AND I'M, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY HOW THESE AI RECORDED VIDEOS ARE REALLY GONNA BE INTEGRATED OR THE, UM, EXPANDING COMPUTER GENERATED TRANSLATIONS FROM, ALSO, FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM, FROM PARENTS IS WHEN THEY HAVE A TRANSLATOR, UM, THAT PERSON IS JUST THERE TO TRANSLATE, OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? BUT THEY WANT MORE OF A CONNECTION WITH THAT TRANSLATOR BECAUSE THEY, THAT TRANSLATOR IS THEIR VOICE.
AND SOMETIMES THEY, THEY FEEL LIKE, UM, THEY WOULD LIKE SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE IEP PROCESS AND CAN BE THEIR VOICE WHEN THEY'RE TRANSLATING TO THE IEP TEAM AND, AND, AND ET CETERA.
THEY FEEL LIKE THAT PERSON IS LIKE, I'M NOT HERE TO HELP YOU.
AND I THINK THERE'S A DISCONNECT AND AGAIN, FEELING ALONE IN THIS PROCESS.
SO I A I AI IS GREAT, UM, BUT I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO INVEST MORE IN TRANSLATORS THAT EITHER HAVE HAD A TRAINING IN THE IEP PROCESS OR, OR SOMETHING THAT THEY, THAT PARENTS CAN FEEL CONNECTED TO THE INDIVIDUAL THAT'S HELPING.
AND A LOT OF THE TIMES IT IS SOMEBODY FROM, FROM THE SCHOOL IS THAT MAYBE IT'S A PARENT REP OR MAYBE TRAINING PARENT REPS ON HOW TO BE THAT, THAT PERSON THAT CAN EITHER CONNECT WITH THE PARENT OR BE HELPING THEM ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES.
YOU GOT A LOT OF IDEAS COMING OUT OF THIS GROUP.
SO I'M A NEW SPECIAL ED TEACHER, AND I WANNA KNOW HOW I CAN EXPLAIN TO MY GEN ED CLASS, UM, ABOUT SPECIAL ED STUDENTS.
HOW CAN I DO THAT? IS THERE A PD, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN WATCH AS A NEW TEACHER TO HELP THEM TO USE THE CORRECT VOCABULARY AND EXPLAIN TO THEIR GEN ED CLASS EXACTLY.
WHAT, WHAT IS A SPECIAL ED CLASS AND HOW DOES IT WORK? IS THAT, IS THAT, IS THAT A COMPLICATED QUESTION? I MEAN, WE ALL ARE GOOD AT OUR, WE ALL HAVE GOOD HEARTS.
WE ALL HAVE GOOD HEARTS, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING VERY THOROUGH AND, AND, AND PRECISE AND EXPLAINING TO OUR GEN ED KIDS, WHAT, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE SPECIAL ED CLASS AND HOW DOES IT WORK? WHAT DO YOU THINK? DR.
[01:25:01]
UM, WHEN WE'RE NAVIGATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND IEPS, WE ALSO WANNA BE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT CONFIDENTIALITY AND MOVING TOWARDS THAT PROCESS.
SO, UM, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE TRAININGS FOR THE WHOLE SCHOOL AROUND, YOU KNOW, UM, DISABILITY AWARENESS, RIGHT? OR PROMOTING THAT FOR THE WHOLE SCHOOL AS OPPOSED TO ONE TEACHER TALKING TO ANOTHER CLASS AND SAYING, OH, I'M A TEACHER OF A SPECIAL DAY PROGRAM.
SO WE PROMOTE MORE TRAININGS ON DISABILITY AWARENESS, THAT ALL THAT, ALL STAKEHOLDERS, ALL STUDENTS HERE AT THE SCHOOL SITE.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DEFINITELY ARE PUSHING, UH, SO THAT THERE IS, THAT, THAT CONVERSATION THAT'S BEING HAD AT THE SCHOOL SITE AROUND DISABILITIES.
ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA GO TO, YES, MS COZ I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION OF THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED LEADERSHIP IN TERMS OF THE PARENT WORKSHOPS.
ARE YOU CONTEMPLATING INVITING LIKE REGIONAL CENTER REPRESENTATIVES OR DEPARTMENT OF REHAB, UH, REPRESENTATIVES TO THOSE PARENT WORKSHOPS AS WELL TO EXPAND THAT KNOWLEDGE AROUND THE WHOLE PROCESS? THAT WOULD BE QUITE BENEFICIAL.
AND I KNOW THAT WHEN WE HAD THE LISTEN AND LEARN FOCUS GROUP WITH REGIONAL CENTER, THEY WERE REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF HAVING THAT PLATFORM TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE PUSHING TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DIVISION AS WITH EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS.
SO HAVING GROUPS COME ON TO PRESENT AROUND SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING TO SUPPORT STUDENTS DISABILITIES WOULD BE IDEAL.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL DEFINITELY LOOK INTO.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
SO WHY DON'T WE MOVE ON TO OUR THIRD SECTION, UH, OUR LAST ONE AND, UM, YEAH, WE CAN BE HERE ALL NIGHT.
WE HAVE SO MANY IDEAS AND SO MANY COMMENTS, BUT WE WON'T.
I'M THE ADMINISTRATOR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED, AND I'LL BE SHARING SOME KEY FINDINGS AND NEXT STEPS RELATED TO PILLAR FOUR, WHICH IS OUR OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS.
AND PILLAR FIVE, WHICH IS INVESTING IN STAFF.
THESE PILLARS ARE CENTRAL TO OUR ONGOING WORK TO STRENGTHEN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND OUR OUTCOMES THROUGHOUT LUSD.
SO SOME EMERGENT THEMES THAT POPPED UP IN PILLAR FOUR IS WHEN WE TALKED TO STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS, A FEW THINGS WERE REALLY LOUD AND CLEAR.
PEOPLE REALLY APPRECIATED OUR ACCURATE DATA THAT WE PROVIDE 'CAUSE IT'S ESSENTIAL FOR APPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES.
THERE WERE ALSO A STRONG COMMITMENT ON USING THE DATA THAT THEY GET TO ENSURE AND REFINED PRACTICES.
BUT WE ALSO HEARD THAT STAFF COULD USE MORE SUPPORT ABOUT FEELING CONFIDENT ON HOW TO USE DATA, MANIPULATE DATA AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO DIVING A LITTLE DEEPER INTO PILLAR FOUR, WE ALREADY HAVE A NUMBER OF STRONG DATA, UM, PRACTICES IN PLACE.
WE HAVE REGULAR SCHEDULED DATA DISCUSSIONS WITH SCHOOLS REGIONS, AS WELL AS DIVISION LEADERSHIP.
WE PARTICIPATE IN DATA DIGS WITH THEM.
WE ALSO DISTRIBUTE COMPLIANCE DATA TO REGIONAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEAMS WEEKLY AND MONTHLY.
WE'VE DEVELOPED SCHOOL SITE TRAINING TO ENSURE THAT TEAMS ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL, STATE AND DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS.
AND WE HAVE MONTHLY OFFICE HOURS WHERE OUR DATA TEAM MEETS WITH PEOPLE FROM THE FIELD, TAKES IN DATA REQUESTS, GOES, DOES TINY BITS OF TRAINING TO REALLY ENSURE THAT THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING THE DATA THAT IS OUT THERE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, AVAILABLE TO THEM.
WE ALSO USE THOSE DATA TRENDS TO DESIGN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
MOVING FORWARD THOUGH, WE DO WANNA BUILD ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE WORKING.
WE'LL BE HIGHLIGHTING SCHOOLS, UM, THAT ARE LEADING THE WAY OR MEETING OR EXCEEDING COMPLIANCE STANDARDS.
WE'D LIKE TO PROVIDE CERTIFICATES AND HIGHLIGHT THEM IN DISTRICT AND DIVISION PUBLICATIONS AND USE THEM AS A BEACON OR A LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL SO THEY CAN HELP OTHER SCHOOLS, WHAT SYSTEMS ARE WORKING, YOU KNOW, AND REALLY BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO HELP THEIR COLLEAGUES.
WE ALSO WANNA CONTINUE TO DELIVER A COMPREHENSIVE ESY PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE INELIGIBLE.
MY COLLEAGUE TALKED ABOUT THE INCLUSION THAT'S GONNA BE HAPPENING THIS SUMMER, SO KEEP ON BUILDING THAT AS WE PILOT IT THIS YEAR.
WHEN IT COMES TO INVESTING IN OUR STAFF, THERE'S A LOT TO BE PROUD OF, ESPECIALLY OUR NEW TEACHER ACADEMIES AND INCREASING ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WE HEARD ABOUT, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE STILL SOME CHALLENGES.
WE HAVE STAFFING SHORTAGES THAT REMAINED AN ISSUE AND THE CLEAR NEED FOR MORE PARAEDUCATOR TRAINING TO SUPPORT PILLAR FIVE EDUCATOR GROWTH.
WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDING TRAINING AND COACHING BASED ON RESEARCH BASED STRATEGIES.
WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH HUMAN RESOURCES TO OFFER A FIVE DAY NEW SPECIAL EDUCATION TRAINING ACADEMY FOR NEWLY HIRED SPECIAL EDUCATORS THAT FOCUSES ON BEHAVIOR INCLUSION AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL INITIATIVES.
WE HOLD REGULAR MEETINGS WITH OUR CURRICULUM PARTNERS, WHICH ARE 95% GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE CLASSROOM AND LOOKING AT DATA, IT'S COMPARABLE.
UM, WE ALSO FOSTER STRONG AND CONSISTENT
[01:30:01]
COLLABORATION WITH MED AND DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE.SOME ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN PILLAR FIVE AND INVESTING IN STAFF IS WE'RE GONNA DEVELOP SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR EDUCATORS AND PROGRAM SPECIFIC ROLES.
SO, SO THAT WHAT WE HEARD WAS YOUR TRAININGS WONDERFUL, BUT YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT NOT ALWAYS APPLY TO ME.
SO WE REALLY WANNA FOCUS ON OUR DEAF EDUCATORS RESOURCE SPECIAL DAY.
REALLY HAVE SPECIFIC TRAINING MODULES FOR THAT TYPE SO THEY CAN TAKE THAT BACK TO THEIR SCHOOLS.
WE ALSO WANNA EXPAND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GEN ED TEACHERS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN INCLUSIVE GENERAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS.
WE STARTED THAT WITH OUR FIRST MICRO-CREDENTIAL, BUT WE ARE OFFERING MORE AND MORE ROBUST PRESENTATIONS FOR OUR GENERAL ED, KNOWING THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO COME TO OUR SPECIAL ED PRESENTATIONS AND TRAININGS.
WE ALSO ARE WORKING ON OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE ONBOARDING AND SUSTAINED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PREPARE PARAEDUCATORS.
SO REALLY FOCUSING ON THE NEEDS OF WHAT WE HEARD, BEHAVIOR INSTRUCTION, WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE YOUR FIRST TIME IN A SCHOOL.
HOW DO WE GREET STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, REALLY WORKING ON THAT.
SO WE ALSO KNOW THAT RE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT IS KEY.
SO WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH OUR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO RECRUIT, TRAIN, AND RETAIN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND DEAF EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONALS.
WE HAVE WORKED ON CREATING PATHWAYS TO PLACE UNIVERSITY INTERNS AND STUDENT TEACHERS IN THOSE AREA OF NEEDS TO MATCH THEIR CREDENTIALS.
AND WE'VE TAKEN A BIG PART TO BE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN JOB FAIRS AND RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.
WHAT WE, WHAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO OUR ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO WORK ON DEVELOPING A CAREER IN TECH TECHNICAL EDUCATION PATHWAY FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN CAREERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND OR DEAF EDUCATION.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING TO EXPAND OUR PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN INTERNAL L-O-U-S-D DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS BSAP, ETO, CSIS, AND DA TO REALLY COMBINE OUR EFFORTS AND REACH OUT.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH HR TO STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION WITH OUR INTERN CREDENTIALING AND OUR ALSO OUR ADDED ENDORSEMENT AUTHORIZATION PROGRAM TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS IN OUR CLASSES.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. LAMBERT.
UM, SO THIS IS OUR LAST, UM, DID YOU NOTICE I'M CHUNKING OUR PRESENTATION HERE.
I REALLY DO BELIEVE IN CHUNKING THINGS.
SO, UM, WE WANT TO GO AHEAD AND WE CAN DISCUSS THESE, UH, QUESTIONS OR IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. LAMBERT OR ANYTHING THAT, THAT YOU STILL'S STILL PENDING, UM, THAT YOU DID NOT GET TO ASK EARLIER.
I'M GLAD WE GOT TO THE PART ABOUT THE PARA EDUCATORS BECAUSE I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THE SPECIAL ED TEACHER, HIM OR HERSELF, REALLY CAN'T HAVE A COMPLETE PROGRAM WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE RIGHT.
SO WE REALLY SHOULD BE RECRUITING AS STRONGLY AS WE'RE RECRUITING SPECIAL ED TEACHERS, PARAEDUCATORS, WHO CAN MAKE THE THE CLASS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, CAN, CAN HELP THE TEACHER, CAN HELP THE KIDS AND MAKE PROGRESS.
SO REALLY IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE THEM TOO.
WE TALK ABOUT EXPLORING DEVELOPMENT OF CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PATHWAY AND USING OUR HIGH SCHOOLS TO FIND POTENTIAL PEOPLE TO COME AND WORK IN L-A-U-S-D.
I WAS JUST IN AN, UM, INTERVIEW WITH SOMEBODY, A CANDIDATE WHO WAS TALKING ABOUT THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE LEARNING A SL BECOMING FLUENT, GETTING HOOKED, TAKING A SL CLASSES IN COLLEGE, GOING TO THE TEACHER TRAINING AND WANTS TO GET BACK TO L-A-U-S-D HIGHLIGHT.
SO WHAT WE DO IN THE SCHOOL TO INCLUDE OUR NON STUDENTS WITH OUR STUDENTS WITHOUT IEPS TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS WITH IEPS.
SO ONCE WE GET THEM HERE, LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN TO KEEP THEM.
ANY OTHER? YES, MS. SCOTT, HAVE YOU PARTNERED WITH THE CAREER LADDER PROGRAM? BECAUSE THEY'RE ONE OF OUR BETTER PIPELINES TO BUILD OUR PARAEDUCATORS AND THEY HAVE RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN TERMS OF, UM, SOMETIMES THEY HAVE STIPENDS FOR, FOR EXAMS AND, UM, SCHOLARSHIP, UH, ASSISTANCE.
THEY HAVE TUITION REIMBURSEMENT, UM, WHICH IS VERY BENEFICIAL FOR OUR PARA EDUCATORS THAT WANNA BECOME OUR TEACHERS.
SO WE'RE CREATING OUR PIPELINES AND EXPANDING OUR PIPELINES.
THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GO HAND IN HAND.
IF WE START OFF WITH PEOPLE THAT KNOW OUR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS WELL AND WORK WELL WITH THEM AND HAVE THOSE SKILLS AND BUILD THEM
[01:35:01]
INTO OUR, OUR EDUCATORS, THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY.YEAH, WE ACTUALLY ARE, AND THAT'S WHY I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE WORKING WITH NOT ONLY THE PERSONNEL COMMISSION, BUT WITH HR BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT FROM BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM.
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE BETTER SUPPORT OUR PARAEDUCATORS AND RECRUIT QUALITY STAFF, BUT THEN HOW DO WE GIVE THEM THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING AND GROWTH? ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M VERY PROUD OF IN L-A-U-S-D IS IN THAT WORK WITH THE PERSONNEL COMMISSION IN HR, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX.
HOW MIGHT WE EXPLORE AVENUES THAT PERHAPS IN THE PAST WE HADN'T EITHER THOUGHT TO EXPLORE OR BEEN ABLE TO EXPLORE? WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE MORE CREATIVE? UM, CERTAINLY STILL WITHIN ALL THE GUIDELINES AND, YOU KNOW, EXPECTATIONS THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW, BUT REALLY LOOKING AT HOW DO WE IDENTIFY STAFF EARLIER LOOKING AT OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS? IS THERE A POTENTIAL PATHWAY WE CAN CREATE FOR THEM TO GAIN THAT OPPORTUNITY THROUGH, UM, OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH OUR CLUBS AND OUR, UM, PROGRAMMING TO GET TO ENGAGE IN THE PARAPROFESSIONAL WORK? AND THEN HOW DO WE ALSO TAKE THAT STAFF AND WORK WITH THEM FROM BEING THE PARAPROFESSIONAL TO THE TEACHER? WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT WORKING WITH OUR DAYS, OUR, UM, DIVISION OF ADULT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THEM TO CREATE PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS TO GO FROM WHAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN IN HIGH SCHOOL TO CAREERS THAT WE NEED HERE IN LA UNIFIED, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH OUR, UM, GROUND BUILDING AND GROUNDS, CULINARY ARTS, ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS THAT THEY OFFER AT OUR OCCUPATIONAL CENTERS.
HOW MIGHT WE LEVERAGE THAT AND PARTNER THAT WITH THE WORK OUR AMAZING CTCS ARE DOING? SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX AT SOME NEW AND INNOVATIVE WAYS AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT'S TO COME.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE? THERE'S ALWAYS THE LAST PROMPT, WHICH IS NOTHING LEFT UNSAID BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING RIGHT, THAT WE WANNA SAY.
SO THIS IS YOUR NOTHING LEFT UNSAID.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING, PLEASE.
ALRIGHT, WELL, UM, I GUESS THAT'S ALL.
DO YOU HAVE A, A FINAL, I I HAVE SOMETHING LEFT UNSAID.
I JUST WANTED TO THE, THE COMPLETION OF THE LISTEN AND LEARN CAMPAIGN, ALTHOUGH IT TOOK ABOUT A YEAR, UM, IT, IT WAS, IT'S BEEN A HEAVY LIFT AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T THANK THE SUPPORT OF DR.
TONY AGUILAR THE CHIEF, FOR ALLOWING ME THE AUTONOMY TO KIND OF SCHEDULE THIS AND WORK IT.
AND THEN ALSO I HAVE TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO THESE TWO YOUNG LADIES WHO SUPPORTED ME THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WHO ARE HERE PRESENTING ALSO, UM, BEHIND THE SCENES, WE HAD SOME OF OUR SPECIAL ED TEAM PUTTING TOGETHER ANALYZING DATA, FINDING EMERGENT THEMES, CREATING BOOKLETS.
SO I WANT TO CALL OUT SPECIFICALLY DR. JAMES KONZ, UH, FOR HIS SUPPORT IN CREATING THE SLIDE DECKS.
AND, AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA BE, UH, PUBLISHING AN ACTUAL PAMPHLET OR A, A BOOK THAT HAS THE RESULTS OF THE LISTEN AND LEARN CAMPAIGN.
IT'LL HAVE THE QUANTITATIVE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY.
IT'LL HAVE A MORE IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE EMERGENT THEMES AND WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING.
THIS IS MORE OF A SUMMARY OF, OF THE LISTEN AND LEARN, BUT THAT'LL BE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE, UH, SO THAT ANYBODY CAN ACCESS THIS.
BECAUSE AGAIN, WE WANNA ENSURE THAT ALL THE VOICES THAT WE HEARD, WE HAVE SOMETHING MEMORIALIZED KNOWING THAT WE HEARD YOU, WE ACKNOWLEDGE YOU, AND HERE'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO TO MOVE THIS WORK FORWARD.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US THIS PLATFORM TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION AND UM, AGAIN, WE'RE GRATEFUL THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROCESS NOW.
ANOTHER, NOTHING LEFT UNAID, NOTHING LEFT UNSAID.
WHICH, UH, JUST ON THAT NOTE, UM, JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WHAT'S THE ANTICIPATED TIMELINE TO ROLL OUT THE KEY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN, OUTLINED IN YOUR PRESENTATION AND HOW WILL PROGRESS BE MONITORED AND COMMUNICATED TO THE COMMUNITY AS YOU'RE WORKING ON ALL OF THESE? I MEAN, THERE WAS A LOT.
SO YEAH, WHAT WILL BE LIKE THE FOLLOW UP TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE VERY, UH, INTENTIONAL IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO AS PART OF THE BOOKLET THAT WILL COME OUT, WE ALSO HAVE INCLUDED MEASURES OF SUCCESS WITH, UH, TIME BOUND TIMEFRAMES SIMILAR TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN WE HAVE BY THIS YEAR, WE WILL DO THIS, RIGHT? UM, SO WE ARE BEING VERY INTENTIONAL IN ENSURING THAT IF WE'RE GONNA COMMIT TO MAKING A CHANGE, THAT IT'S TIME BOUND AND THAT WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS MONITOR BASED ON WHATEVER METRIC THAT IS THAT WE'RE MONITORING, UH, SO THAT WE CAN GET INFORMATION, SEE WHERE ARE WE IN THIS METRIC SO THAT WE, SO THAT WE'RE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT.
IT'S ABOUT LISTENING TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS VOICE, BEING ABLE TO FIND THOSE EMERGENT THEMES, EXPAND THE WORK THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING WITH THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL ED, AND THEN BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO IMPLEMENT THESE CHANGES THAT WE ARE SAYING THAT WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT.
SO THERE WILL BE MEASURES OF SUCCESS THAT A ONE-PAGER THAT WILL OUTLINE ALL OF THESE TASKS WITH THE TIME BOUND DATE SO THAT
[01:40:01]
BOARD MEMBERS, FAMILIES, PARENTS CAN SAY, HEY, WHERE ARE WE WITH THIS? SO WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA HAVE THAT.WE'RE GONNA BE VERY TRANSPARENT IN THIS WORK.
AND DO YOU PLAN ON HAVING A SECOND, A FOLLOW UP TO THIS ANOTHER LISTENING AND LEARNING SESSION? OR, OR AT LEAST FROM THE COFFEES OR THE MEETINGS, HAVING SOMETHING THAT IS CONTINUOUS 'CAUSE YOU WANNA CONTINUING TO LISTEN AND LEARNING AND EVALUATING AND ABSOLUTE AND IMPROVING, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BE REFLECTIVE INTROSPECTIVE OF OUR PRACTICE.
SO, UH, AS MENTIONED, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS ENSURE THAT WE'RE OFFERING THESE OPPORTUNITIES REGIONALLY BECAUSE EVERY REGION IS DIFFERENT, RIGHT? AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE STAKEHOLDERS FROM A REGION PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS AND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES OR SHARE INFORMATION THAT IS PERTINENT AND THEN BEING ABLE TO KIND OF ANALYZE THAT DATA AND THEN REGIONALLY BEING ABLE TO CREATE ACTION PLANS OR THINGS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
BUT WE DEFINITELY WANT TO CONTINUE THIS AS PART OF OUR PRACTICE BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO HEAR NEXT TO OUR STUDENTS, OUR PARENTS ARE OUR BIGGEST STAKEHOLDERS.
SO BEING ABLE TO, UH, CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM OUR PARENTS, OUR EDUCATORS, OUR BOOTS ON THE GROUND, OUR TEACHERS, OUR PRINCIPALS, WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE STILL HEARING THEIR VOICE AND ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR, THEIR PRAISES IN ADDITION TO THOSE AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE DISCUSSING THIS AND CHECK ON THE PROGRESS AND REVISIT AND DO OUR OWN, UH, PDSA CYCLE AND SEE WHAT IS WORKING AND WHERE WE NEED TO SHIFT AND PIVOT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S THE KIND OF WORK THAT WE WANNA DO IN THIS COMMITTEE.
I HEARD A LOT OF GREAT THINGS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LIKED WAS HEARING THAT WE DO STUFF AND WE NEED TO DO MORE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, RIGHT? OUR PARENTS HAVE BEEN TELLING US THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN TELLING US THAT.
SO I'M GRATEFUL THAT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AND THAT YOU SAID IT ALOUD THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE.
AND, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THE TAKEAWAYS FROM HERE ON MY PART, UM, THAT I HEARD WAS ENSURING THAT THE IEP PROCESS INCORPORATES CONTINUOUS POINTS OF ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, STUDENTS AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS, MODELING AND INCLUSIVE, SUPPORTIVE, TRANSPARENT AND ACCESSIBLE IEP PROCESS, EXPANDING L-A-U-S-D JOBS AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS PROGRAMMING THROUGH KLCS GUIDING AND SUPPORTING OUR PARENTS TO FEEL EMPOWERED, NOT JUST ENGAGED, NOT JUST INVOLVED, EMPOWERED WHEN THEY'RE ADVOCATING FOR THEIR CHILD, PROMOTING DISABILITY AWARENESS, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION FOR PARAEDUCATORS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND GENERAL ED TEACHERS.
AND AS A FINAL POINT I'D LIKE TO MENTION AT MY OFFICE, WE'LL BE PUTTING OUT TOGETHER A, UM, A YEAR IN REVIEW IN COLLABORATION WITH, UM, OUR BOARD PRESIDENT SML SIM'S OFFICE, WHERE WE WILL ELEVATE THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ALL THE SPECIAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR.
SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
AND, UH, WE'RE NOT DONE BECAUSE WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT.
[V. Public Comment]
AND ONCE AGAIN, I WANT TO, UH, INVITE THE FAMILIES WHO ARE HERE, CAREGIVERS, STUDENTS WHO ARE HERE TO WRITE YOUR QUESTIONS OUT IF YOU HAVE ANY, IF YOU ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO COME TO PUBLIC COMMENT TO CONNECT WITH REBECCA.AND THERE'S ALSO THE SPECIAL ED DIVISION OUTSIDE IN CASE YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS OF THEM.
SO I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO MR. MCLEAN WHO WILL GUIDE US THROUGH, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT.
OKAY? IT'S TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE HAVE A PRETTY FULL LIST OF FOLKS.
WE HAVE A YOUNG MAN UP FRONT WHO SEEMS VERY EAGER TO GO.
SO, UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, UM, COME ON UP, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
I'M KIND OF A LITTLE NERVOUS TO YOU'RE COOL.
I GO TO RALPH WADO EMERSON COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL.
I'VE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM AND THE ONE THING I NEED FROM IS I NEED RESPECT FROM MY TEACHERS BECAUSE ONE DAY WHEN I WAS AT MY SCHOOL, MY, LIKE IN PERIOD FOUR, MY TEACHER TOOK AWAY MY CHROMEBOOK AND FORCED ME TO LEAVE HER CLASS WITH HER SCREAMING.
AND SHE REPEATS THE WORDS, GET OUT, GET OUT.
WHEN SHE SAID THOSE WORDS, I MEAN THOSE WORDS.
I WAS CRYING TO TEARS FROM THE WORD SHE SAID.
I WOULD SAY THAT ONE DAY IF THERE WAS A KID WHO WAS BEING YELLED FROM A TEACHER, I WOULD THINK OF THE SAME PROBLEM THAT I HAD.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY TO YOU GUYS THAT PLEASE
[01:45:01]
TELL THEM TO RESPECT ME AND MY CONDITION OF THE AUTISM THAT I HAVE.AND I DON'T EVER WANT A PERSON TO YELL AND YELL AND MAKE ME GET OUT OF THE CLASS OF, OF ALL YEARS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, MR. MARTINEZ.
SHIRLEY GRUBER, ARE YOU HERE? SHIRLEY GRUBER.
OKAY, HOW ABOUT DEANNA GUILLEN? TIANA GUILLEN HERE.
OKAY, SO MS. MS GRUIN IS GONNA SPEAK IN SPANISH, SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT SHE'S SAYING IN ENGLISH, UH, PLEASE PUT ON THESE HEADSETS THAT, UH, MY COLLEAGUE ROBERTO IS HANDING OUT AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE SIMULTANEOUS TRANSLATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU TODAY.
IN MY PUBLIC COMMENT, I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS IT AS A APPRECIATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THANK YOU BECAUSE LAST MONTH I WAS HERE.
I'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING THIS YEAR IN THE COMMITTEES FOR CAC, AND I'VE BEEN HEARD.
I HEARD MR. SCOTT, I AM SUCH A FAN OF YOURS AS OF THIS YEAR.
I JUST WANNA TELL YOU THAT I AM SEEING YOUR WORK.
THAT IS, THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN FAKE.
AND AS A MOM, A COMMITTED MOTHER WHO DRIVES AN HOUR AND A HALF TO GET HERE, I AM GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU DO FOR OUR KIDS.
I'M SO MOVED BY WHAT I HEAR FROM MR. WOMEN BECAUSE I WANT MY SON TO SPEAK HERE WHEN HE IS OF AGE TO FIGHT FOR HIS RIGHTS.
BECAUSE WHEN I AM HERE NOW, FIGHTING FOR HIM, BUT I WILL COLLABORATE WITH YOU.
I APPLAUD MR. SOTO, EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE PROPOSED TODAY.
LET ME JUST TELL YOU THAT HERE YOU HAVE A MOTHER WHO WILL COLLABORATE WITH YOU.
THESE WORKSHOPS ARE INCREDIBLE WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING, AND MY HUSBAND AND I WILL COLLABORATE WITH THIS COMMITTEE ALWAYS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING.
DEANNA GUILLEN, ARE YOU HERE? UM, JACQUELINE CASAS.
JACQUELINE CASAS, MS. CASAS IS GONNA SPEAK IN SPANISH, SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT SHE'S SAYING IN ENGLISH, PLEASE CONTINUE TO USE THESE TRANSLATION HEADSETS.
OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON TO ALL OF YOU.
I WANT TO THANK YOU, UH, FOR HAVING THIS MEETING AND TO SPEAK ABOUT ALL THE CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE.
AND MORE THAN ANYTHING, HEARING THE COM, THE COMMITMENT YOU HAVE WITH OUR KIDS.
I AM A MOTHER WHEN MARTINEZ, AND FOR ME, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE MY SON SO THAT HE CAN LEARN HOW TO ADVOCATE.
SINCE UNFORTUNATELY, I, I TALK ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES AND I THANK MR. SOTO FOR SUPPORTING US.
AND I ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR SHARING ALL THE INFORMATION THAT, UH, YOU BRING HERE AT THE BOARD MEETING.
AND I HOPE WITH THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART THAT TEACHERS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION CAN BE BETTER TRAINED AND HAVE MORE EMPATHY WITH OUR CHILDREN BECAUSE THEY, THEY SUFFER.
DALIA GUTIERREZ, ARE YOU HERE? DALIA GUTIERREZ.
DAVID TOSKI, ARE YOU HERE? I DO NOT SEE YOU.
PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I'VE MISPRONOUNCED YOUR NAME.
UH, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
GOOD AFTERNOON OR GOOD EVENING.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I'M THE MOTHER OF A THIRD GRADER DIAGNOSED WITH A SD AND A DHD.
IT'S OUT THERE IN THE RANKS TOO.
AND WHOM AGAINST ALL ODDS, HAS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITIONED FROM SDC TO GEN ED? UH, OR AT LEAST THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.
[01:50:01]
CHILD, LIKE MANY IN SPECIAL ED HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, WORKSHOPS, OR ANY ENRICHMENT AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS BECAUSE FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THE DISTRICT REFUSES TO ALLOW HIS BII TO SUPPORT HIM DURING AFTER HOURS, DURING THE AFTER SCHOOL HOURS.IF WE MAKE EFFORTS FOR A CHILD WITH A PHYSICAL DISABILITY TO JOIN A CHOIR, WHY CAN WE PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH INVISIBLE DISABILITIES SO THEY CAN ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPACTFUL LEARNING AND PERSONAL GROWTH? MR. SAN RUBIN, THE KTLA ANCHOR WE LOST THIS YEAR, HE FOUND HIS PURPOSE, HIS PURPOSE, RIGHT HERE IN OUR DISTRICT, RIGHT THERE AT THE CHILD SCHOOL.
HIS SISTER, A RETIRED TEACHER OF JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, SHARED WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT CARVALLO HOW AN EXTRACURRICULAR PROGRAM SPARKED THAT AHA MOMENT WHERE EVERYTHING CONNECTED FOR HIM.
WHAT HELPED YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR VISION? HOW DID YOU DISCOVER YOUR SKILLS? WHEN DID YOU EXPERIENCE THAT SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT? LIVE IN A COLLECTIVE SPOTLIGHT, NOT IN THE SHADOWS OF A RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.
THE QUESTION IS SIMPLE, OR AT LEAST I THINK IT'S SIMPLE.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR STUDENTS' AGENCY OVER THEIR OWN ONGOING EDUCATION SOLUTIONS EXIST? LET'S CREATE PATHWAYS FOR EVERY CHILD TO DISCOVER THE UNIQUE GIFTS IN THE LIGHT OF OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE MR. SOTOS OR DR.
LET'S MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE, BUT PLEASE ALSO OPEN DOORS FOR THEM.
UH, MARIA SANCHEZ, ARE YOU HERE? MARIA SANCHEZ.
MS. SANCHEZ IS GOING TO SPEAK IN SPANISH, SO PLEASE PUT ON HIS HEADPHONE HEADSETS, TRANSLATION HEADSETS IF YOU NEED ONE.
CIO, CARLA SCOTT AND MR. SOTO.
I HOPE YOU WILL DO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BECAUSE I'VE BEEN 16 YEARS IN THE SCHOOL AND I HAVE NOT SEEN PROGRESS IN THAT SCHOOL.
MARK ANTHONY'S SCHOOL AND IT'S FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND THE PARENTS ARE TRULY COMPLAINING OF MANY SITUATIONS OF WHAT MR. SOTO WAS TALKING ABOUT.
AND WE DON'T HAVE THOSE WORKSHOPS FOR THOSE KIDS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION.
AND I WILL, I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU WILL DO THE SAC COMMITTEE BECAUSE THE PARENTS REALLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT COMMITTEE.
I JUST FOUND OUT BECAUSE I, UH, SOLICITED SOMETHING AND I WAS NEVER CALLED.
I I WAS NEVER, I I NEVER CONCLUDED BEING IN IT.
BUT OTHERS WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THERE ARE NO WORKSHOPS FOR THESE CHILDREN THAT HAVE AUDITORY ISSUES OR DOWN SYNDROME OR OTHER SPECIAL NEEDS.
THERE'S NO COMMITTEE FOR THEM, AND THE PARENTS ARE COMPLAINING IN THE PARENT CENTER.
IN MY PARENT CENTER ALSO, THEY ARE COMPLAINING QUITE A BIT FOR THE MOST PART.
AND THERE'S NOT TEACHERS FOR HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN.
SO I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IF THEY CAN PROVIDE THEM, BECAUSE THERE ARE NONE WITH THOSE NEEDS AND THERE'S NONE FOR SIGN LANGUAGE AND THERE ARE NOT, THERE ARE NOT RESOURCES FOR THEM.
AND FOR ALL THE SCHOOLS, FOR THEM TO HAVE A CLASS FOR SIGN LANGUAGE BECAUSE THERE'S BROTHERS OR SISTERS WHO ARE IN LIMBO.
AND ME, THESE SIX YEARS, I'VE SEEN SO MUCH INDIFFERENCE IN THE PARENTS.
AND LIKE I JUST SAID, LIKE MR. SOTO JUST SAID, IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS THIS YEAR, THEN PLEASE DO SO BECAUSE THE PARENTS ARE NOT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME OKAY WITH IT.
NOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ONLINE.
SOME WERE LISTED TO SPEAK IN PERSON, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE HERE WITH US ONLINE.
LET'S GO FIRST TO CONCERNED PARENT, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF CONCERNED PARENT.
AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND MY DEEP GRATITUDE
[01:55:01]
TO DR. SOTO FOR LAUNCHING THIS CAMPAIGN.I'M HOPEFUL FOR, FOR THE POTENTIAL DIRECTION, POSITIVE DIRECTION THAT THIS WILL TAKE, UM, THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION INTO.
AND, UM, I WANNA, UH, POINT OUT A COUPLE OF OF THOUGHTS.
UM, AND THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK, THIS IS MORE FEEDBACK.
SO I HOPE THAT YOU ALL TAKE IT IN THAT WAY.
IN TERMS OF DOMESTIC, UM, SPECIAL EDUCATION, I WOULD WANNA EXPRESS THAT IT STARTS AT THE TOP.
AND A LOT OF YOU, SOME OF YOU SITTING IN THIS BOARDROOM RIGHT NOW HAVE EXPRESSED THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION IS MORE OF A BURDEN TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BECAUSE OF COST.
AND I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.
FIRST AND SPECIAL EDUCATION IS A SERVICE, NOT A PLACE.
SO WITH THAT, I ENCOURAGE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO MAKE GENERAL ED SPECIAL EDUCATION TRAINING A REQUIREMENT AND NOT AN OPPORTUNITY OR AN OPTION GIVEN THAT THE MAJORITY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES ARE PLACED IN GENERAL EDUCATION FOR THE MOST PART IN TERMS OF PARENT TRAINING.
PARENT TRAINING IS PART OF THE IEP PROCESS, BUT IT'S NOT TAPPED INTO WELL ENOUGH OR EFFICIENTLY ENOUGH BECAUSE IT'S MOSTLY, UM, TARGETED TOWARDS MENTAL HEALTH AND NOT, UM, DISABILITY AWARENESS OR DISABILITY SUPPORT FOR PARENTS.
THAT STUDENT ADVOCACY, AGAIN, PART OF THE IEP PROCESS, IT'S EMBEDDED IN THE INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUAL TRANSITION PLAN.
BUT A LOT OF THESE PLANS ARE JUST EMBEDDED INTO THE THE, INTO THE IEP WITHOUT DISCUSSION AND MEANINGFUL INPUT FROM PARENTS AND STUDENTS.
SO LET'S, LET'S BETTER THAT, LET'S MAKE AN AND MORE TRAINING FOR STUDENTS IN THIS PROCESS AND GIVEN THEM THAT EMPOWERMENT TO DO THAT TERMS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME IN TERMS ADVOCACY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF.
YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYBODY HERE PRESENT.
WE ASK SAFETY FOR THE SCHOOLS.
PLEASE HAVE METAL DETECTORS AT THE DOORS TO PREVENT WEAPONS FROM COMING IN AND SECURITY AND DRUG CONTROL TO AVOID DEATHS AS PARENTS NEED YOUR COLLABORATION WITH ACADEMIC THINGS, WHAT ARE THE PROTOCOLS THAT YOU ARE COMPLYING WITH? AND I ASK YOU, ARE TEACHERS TRAINED IN THE MATERIALS THEY'RE TRYING TO TEACH, SHARING, LEARNING WITHIN THE SCHOOLS WITHIN THEIR CERTIFICATIONS? HAVE THEY COMPLIED WITH THE CRITERIA AND THE STATEWIDE CREDENTIALS THEY NEED WITH THE INSTRUCTION THAT THEY ARE IMPARTING? OUR CHILDREN WITH THE DISTRICT AND THE BOARD ARE FAILING THE STUDENTS AND US PARENTS ARE BEING GIVEN THE RUNAROUND AND WE ARE NOT BEING ANSWERED IN OUR PHONE CALLS, IN OUR QUESTIONS WHEN WE'RE ASKING, SINCE THERE'S NOT A KNOWLEDGE REGARDING TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM.
AND WE ASK THAT YOU REPLY IN A FORMAL DOCUMENT.
WE'VE BEEN HAVING SO MUCH STRESS.
I'VE TALKED WITH SO MANY OF YOU AND NOTHING HAS BEEN SOLVED ENOUGH OF THIS PARENT INJUSTICE.
I NEED THIS PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED IN THE SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE A STRUCTURED GUIDE IN THEIR TEACHING.
I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN NINTH GRADE, 10TH, 11TH, AND MY STUDENT IS ABOUT TO FINISH AND THERE STILL HAS NOT BEEN A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM.
I NEED YOU TO HELP, I NEED YOU TO GIVE ME THIS INFORMATION IN WRITING.
I DON'T WANT TO BE GIVEN THE RUNAROUND BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY TALKED TO SO MANY DISTRICT, UH, MEMBERS OF PERSONNEL, THE BOARD, THE SCHOOL, AND MY PROBLEMS HAVE NOT BEEN SOLVED.
MARIA DURAN, I SEE YOU'RE ONLINE.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? GOOD AFTERNOON.
HELLO, GOOD AFTERNOON TO THE COMMITTEE.
[02:00:01]
STUDENT AND, UH, SPECIAL EDUCATION.WELL, WE HOPE THAT THE L-A-U-S-D CAN FORM A COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION ON A SCHOOL LEVEL FOR ELEMENTARY, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENGLISH ADVISORY, ENGLISH STUDENT ADVISORY COMMISSION, THIS CAN BE A PART OF THE CONTINUING EDUCATION OF OUR EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS.
AND THIS CAN CONSIST OF ASSISTANCE FROM PARENTS OF FAMILIES TO PROVIDE, UH, ADVICE FOR THE DISTRICT POLICIES TO IMPROVE THE ACADEMIC RESULTS OF OUR STUDENTS AND GUARANTEE THE SPECIAL EDUCATION RIGHTS.
AND THIS COMMITTEE WOULD BE ESSENTIAL SO THAT THE STUDENTS WITH EDUCATIONAL NEEDS HAVE ACCESS TO EQUALITY EDUCATION BASED ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND PROMOTING THEIR INVOLVEMENT, INCLUSION AND DEVELOPMENT INVOLVING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THIS WOULD BE TO WORKSHOPS THAT CURRENTLY ARE NOT BEING DONE IN THE SCHOOLS INVOLVING PARENTS IN PERSON.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES MADE, ESPECIALLY WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION, ESPECIALLY WITH ENGLISH LEARNERS, ESPECIALLY WITH IEPS AND YOU ALL.
SO THIS HAS NOT BEEN DONE IN THE SCHOOLS.
LIKE I'M MENTIONING, THE WORKSHOPS ARE NOT IN PERSON AND A LOT OF PARENTS CANNOT ACCESS A COMPUTER AND THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO MANAGE THE PARENT PORTAL.
SO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THERE MAY BE SPECIALISTS THAT CAN PROVIDE THESE TYPES OF WORKSHOPS IN THE SCHOOLS.
AND WHY, BECAUSE SOMETIMES PARENTS HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS AND THAT'S WHY THESE IEP MEETINGS, WE
MY NAME IS NORMA ELENA GONZALEZ.
I'M A MOTHER OF A STUDENT WHO HAS SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I'M HERE SUPPORTING PARENTS LIKE MYSELF WHO HAVE STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND OTHER PARENTS WHO HAVE STUDENTS WITH ALTERNATIVE CURRICULUMS. BECAUSE A LOT OF SCHOOLS HAVE THESE TEACHERS THAT ARE NOT PREPARED OR QUALIFIED TO HAVE STUDENTS WITH AN ALTERNATIVE CURRICULUM THAT IS SEVERE.
WHY? BECAUSE THESE STUDENTS HAVE NEEDS THAT ARE MORE IMPACTFUL WITH THEIR, UH, WITH THEIR DISABILITY.
AND THERE'S TEACHERS WHO DO NOT CONSIDER OR DO NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITY OR THE EMPATHY TO, UH, DEAL WITH OUR STUDENTS.
SO THERE WAS A PROPOSAL HERE ABOUT, UM, THERE WAS A SITUATION WHERE A TEACHER ACCUSED THE STUDENT, BUT THE SAME TEACHER DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND THE STUDENT.
WE NEED A CONTINUOUS INVESTIGATION OF NOT JUST ONE, BUT ALL THE TEACHERS IN GENERAL WHEN IT INVOLVES SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS AND ALTERNATIVE CURRICULUMS. 'CAUSE WE ALSO NEED AS PARENTS TO JOIN AND NOT RELYING ON OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE EXPOSING THEIR WORK.
BUT WE REALLY DO NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING THEIR JOBS.
WE DON'T NEED TO BE APPLAUDING CERTAIN AREAS THAT BENEFIT ONLY CERTAIN PARENTS.
AS PARENTS, WE ALL NEED TO WORK, AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT THAT THE EMPLOYEES IN THE DISTRICT SUPPORT ALL PARENTS, NOT A SELECTIVE GROUP.
WE THINK THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HERE, PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMITTEES AND THE SCHOOLS IS, IS, UH, WHERE WE NEED A COMMITTEE WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ALL PARENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION BECAUSE WE CAN'T JUST BASE OURSELVES IN THE WORKSHOPS THAT HAS BEEN OFFERED TO US WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
WE WANT A COMMITTEE THAT CAN HELP ALL OF US PARENTS.
DEANNA GUILLEN, I SEE YOU'RE ON THE LINE.
DEANNA GUILLEN, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF.
AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
[02:05:02]
GOOD AFTERNOON.MY NAME IS DEANNA GUIN, CHAIRPERSON OF THE PAC COMMITTEE, AND I WANNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OCCASION TO PUBLICLY SAY TO MS. RIVAS THAT IT'S BEEN TWO EMAILS THAT I'VE SENT ON BEHALF OF PAC AND WE WANT TO MEET WITH YOU AND YOU'VE IGNORED US AND WE'RE HOPING THAT I'M GONNA RE REMIND YOU.
I'M GONNA SEND A THIRD REMINDER.
AND ALSO THE OTHER BOARD MEMBER THERE, THE CHAIRPERSON.
I ALSO WANT TO SAY TO MS. GRECO THAT WE HAVE A MEETING PENDING WITH MS. ORTIZ.
AND WELL, MS. ORTIZ HAS BEEN SENDING EMAILS AND WE'VE BEEN IGNORED AS WELL.
RIGHT NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU WANNA INVOLVE PARENTS, AND MR. SOTO DID A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION.
I THINK THE INTENTIONS THAT MR. SOTO ARE GREAT, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORK, IT JUST DOESN'T GET DONE.
THE CAC COMMITTEE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS COMMITTEE THAT WE WANT ON A SCHOOL LEVEL FOR THE CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND PARENTS WITH KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND A REGIONAL COMMITTEE AT LEAST, BECAUSE THE ONE WE HAVE IS SO LITTLE AND WE HAVE LESS THAN 20 INDIVIDUAL PARENTS PARTICIPATING.
THE WORKSHOPS THAT YOU'RE DOING THAT ARE OUR WEBINARS, AND LIKE THE OTHER SPEAKER SAID, IT'S NOT AN ATTACK, IT'S FEEDBACK.
IT'S NOT WORKING BECAUSE PARENTS IN THIS MOMENT NEED TO HAVE THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
AND WHEN THE PARENTS ARE SEEING THESE VIDEOS, YOU START TO USE A LANGUAGE THAT IS NOT UNDERSTOOD WHERE WE CAN'T GET CLARIFICATION.
SO I WOULD RATHER STOP THIS WEBINAR BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORKING.
I'M NOT GETTING THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS, THEY NEED TO GIVE ONE WITH THE THINGS THAT ARE JUST THE BASICS AND THE CURRICULUM THAT YOU HAVE FOR PARENTS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TO AT LEAST TIME.
OKAY, LENE, UH, ISABEL MIRON, I SEE YOU'RE ON THE LINE.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
MY NAME IS ISABEL, AND ABOUT THE PRESENTATION, I DO HAVE SOME POINTS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION.
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, NUMBER ONE, FOR THE STUDENTS, THEY ARE NOT BEING GIVEN THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN IEP.
PRACTICALLY, UH, THEY'RE BEING OBLIGATED TO BE THERE, AND THE WORST IS THEY'RE NOT TAKING CONSIDERATION THE OPINIONS OR THE FACT THAT THEY WANT TO ADVOCATE FOR WHAT THEY NEED AND WANT.
SO WHAT'S THE POINT OF THEM BEING THERE IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE LISTENED TO? THE INCLUSION IN ACTIVITIES WITH STUDENTS IS IMPORTANT AND CAN BE VERY PRODUCTIVE IF IT'S DONE WITH FIDELITY AND RESPECT.
WE CONTINUOUSLY HEAR THAT THE DISTRICT IS A PIONEER AND IS IMPLEMENTING THESE PROGRAMS THAT DON'T EXIST IN OTHER DISTRICTS OR OTHER STATES BECAUSE THEY'RE THE FIRST TO DO IT IN THE NATION.
BUT IT DOESN'T WORK IF WE'RE HAVING THESE PROGRAMS AND IT'S NOT BEING MONITORED, AND WE REALLY DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE WORKING FOR THE PARENTS.
WE ARE NOT BEING CONSIDERED WITH OUR OPINIONS AND OUR CONCERNS.
AND TO A CERTAIN DEGREE WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR RIGHTS AND THOSE OF OUR CHILDREN, WE FEEL LIKE THERE'S A VENGEANCE DONE AND WE'VE BEEN VICTIMS OF A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT ON, ON BEHALF OF THE COORDINATORS AND THE MEMBERS OF THE IEP.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE A VOICE AND WE NEED TO BE RESPECTED.
AND WE ALSO NEED, NEED THE RESPECT OF THE PERSONNEL.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE IEP, THEY BE TRAINED AND THEY BE KNOW THE BASIC LAWS BECAUSE SOME REALLY DON'T KNOW THE PROCESS.
THEY REALLY DON'T RESPECT THE GUIDELINES, THEY DON'T RESPECT OUR QUESTIONS, OUR RIGHTS.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS BE TRAINED ON HOW TO RESPECT THE LAW.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, VANESSA DAVID TOSKI.
I SEE YOU'RE ONLINE WITH US, DAVID TOSKI.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF, AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
THANK YOU FOR THE GENEROUS TWO MINUTES.
I APPRECIATE THE COMMITTEE MEETING.
THE LISTENING, LEARNING, UH, STUDY IS WONDERFUL AND YOU CLEARLY HAVE GOOD STAFF TO DO THINGS WITH IT, BUT AS A POLITICIAN, I
[02:10:01]
KNOW THAT ONLY SURVEYING A THOUSAND PEOPLE OUT NEARLY A MILLION IS ABOUT 1%, AND THEREFORE YOUR ERROR RATE AND THE CONCLUSIONS WILL BE UPWARDS OF 20 20%.BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN THE ERROR RATE IS WHAT DR.
WHAT'S THE DATA? WHAT'S THE TIMELINES? WHAT'S THE COMPLETION? THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
AND WHAT I LEARNED, UH, LEARNING SO MUCH ABOUT SPECIAL ED AS A FORMER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER FOR 144 MONTHS ON LA UNIFIED, IS THAT THERE ARE THREE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT.
THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT HAS TO BE CHANGED.
AND THAT YOUNG MAN WHO SPOKE AT THE BEGINNING EXPRESSED IRONICALLY, RALPH WALDO EMERSON SCHOOL, UH, THE HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT THAT CONTINUES.
AND JUST SAYING THANK YOU TO DR. ESTRADA IS NOT THE SAME THING AS HAVING DR. ESTRADA AND THE SUPERINTENDENT SIT IN THIS COMMITTEE AND NOT SEGREGATED TO THE INSTRUCTIONAL COMMITTEE.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THE MONEY IN ELAP IS $500 MILLION A YEAR.
15% OF THAT, WHICH IS THE STUDENT POPULATION OF SPECIAL ED, AT A MINIMUM WOULD BE, UH, OVER $45 MILLION COMING, UH, TO, UH, HELP PROGRAMS LIKE THE, UH, ESY IN THE SUMMER.
NOT, NOT TO JUST DO INCLUSION, BUT TO ENRICH THE PROGRAM, STRENGTHEN THAT PROGRAM.
UH, NUMBER FIVE, UH, LAWSUITS.
YOU STILL ARE NOT SEEING HOW MANY LAWSUITS ARE HAPPENING AND SETTLEMENTS ON A REGULAR BASIS AND HOW MUCH THAT IS BLEEDING THE DISTRICT.
YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SCHOOLED ON THE CONSENT DECREE BY LEGAL STAFF AND OTHERS THAT CAME BEFORE YOU.
AND THE PARENT WHO SPOKE TODAY BRILLIANTLY SAID, IT IS NOT JUST SPECIAL ED MONEY.
ALL OF THE BUDGET IS SPECIAL ED.
AND TO ONLY SEGREGATE, IT MEANS THAT YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON OPPORTUNITIES TO PAY FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, PAY FOR COUNSELORS, PAY FOR SOCIAL WORKERS, AND GET THE MONEY FROM THE CHILDREN.
YOUTH BEHAVIORAL INITIATIVE, HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES THAT YOUNG MAN SHOWED IT TO US AND TEACHERS NOT IN THE CLASSROOM, AND LACK OF PEOPLE SHOULD BE A WILLIAMS COMPLAINT.
EVERY CLASSROOM THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT CERTIFIED PERSON IN THERE IS A WILLIAMS COMPLAINT.
YOU CONTINUE TO HAVE A SUPERINTENDENT AND TEAM WHO HAS NOT POSTED THE WILLIAMS, UH, IN EACH AND EVERY CLASSROOM LIKE MR. MCLEAN HAS DONE IN YOUR BOARDROOM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME TO SPEAK IN TWO LANGUAGES.
I MIGHT ADD THE WILLIAMS COMPLAINTS.
OUR OUR FINAL, UH, FINAL CALLER IS MR. LUCAS COOK.
LUCAS COOK, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF, AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
MR. COOK, I SEE YOU'RE WITH US.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK WHEN YOU HEAR.
CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT? WE SURE CAN.
I'M A FORMER MEMBER OF THE LED BOARD COMMITTEE AS THE STUDENT, AS THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISTRICT THREE.
UH, GOING INTO THIS MEETING WHILE LOOKING OVER THE SLIDES, I WAS JUST VERY OPTIMISTIC, UH, GIVEN THE FACT THAT YOU SEEM TO BE ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF WHAT PARENTS ARE ACTUALLY ASKING FOR THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN INCREASING INCLUSIVE MODEL.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS. HOWEVER, MY SKEPTICISM STILL REMAINS AS THE TASK THAT I SET OUT.
VERY SIMPLE TASK OF JUST CHANGING ANTIQUATED LANGUAGE, SUCH AS THE USE OF THE WORD RETARD AND THE, UH, UH, DRESS VIRUS MANUAL HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED.
YOU'VE LAID OUT THIS PLAN OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO, OR SORRY, YOU'VE NOT LAID OUT PLAN.
YOU'VE SAID ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH NO WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING IT.
UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE GREAT THINGS, BUT AS WE'VE SEEN BEFORE LAST YEAR, OUR OR THE SUPERINTENDENT OF CARVALLO CUT A LOT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND WE'VE SEEN A DRAMATIC DROP IN THE AMOUNT OF INCLUSIVE MODEL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. IT'S NO WONDER WHY PARENTS ARE DEMANDING THE RETURN OF THESE PROGRAMS, BUT TO SIMPLY GET RID TO CREATE A PROBLEM AND THEN A CLAIM VICTORY FOR PUTTING MONEY BACK INTO INCLUSIVE MODEL EDUCATION PROGRAMS DOESN'T SOLVE THE ISSUE AT HAND.
WE FURTHER WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE INTO ACTUALLY EXPANDING INCLUSIVE MODEL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. UH, AS A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY WHO WENT TO LUSD, I WAS ATTEMPTED TO BE DENIED ACCESS TO AN INCLUSIVE MODEL EDUCATION PROGRAM WHEN TRANSITIONING FROM KINDERGARTEN, FROM PRESCHOOL TO KINDERGARTEN.
I HAD TO GO TO A CHARTER SCHOOL INSTEAD BECAUSE I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD'VE TO BE PLACED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION MODEL, SORRY, I'VE TO BE PLACED IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM, WHICH WOULD'VE PREVENT ME FROM GOING TO UC, BERKELEY, WHERE I NOW GO AND IS A VERY UNFORTUNATE THING.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO, IS ACTUALLY CARRYING OUT OUT WHAT WE'VE LAID OUT TODAY IN THIS MEETING.
SO I HOPE THAT EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN SAID AS MEANING IS CARRIED OUT, BUT I DO HAVE A LOT OF SKEPTICISM.
SO I HOPE YOU ARE TRUE AND HONEST TODAY.
HOWEVER, UH, SELF INSIGHT, SKEPTICISM, BUT THANK YOU AND I HOPE THAT THIS PLAN IS ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED.
AND THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE SKEPTICISM.
I, ANY COMMENT THAT COMES TO US, I CERTAINLY,
[02:15:01]
I DON'T THINK ANY OF US TAKE OFFENSE TO IT.WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS.
WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK, BECAUSE THAT IS OUR GOAL AT THE BEGINNING WHEN I FIRST CAME, WE ALL SHARED AS TO WHY WE ARE A PART OF THIS COMMITTEE.
AND ALL OF US SAID THAT WE WANTED TO DO MORE AND BETTER FOR OUR STUDENTS, RIGHT? SO PLEASE, THERE IS NO OFFENSE TAKEN HERE WHEN YOU SAY THE THINGS THAT WE NEED, AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR.
MY DREAM IS TO HAVE THIS ROOM FULL OF PARENTS AND STUDENTS AND TO HAVE STUDENTS COME UP AND SPEAK AND LET US KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING GREAT AND WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE.
THIS IS THE SPACE AND WHAT WE CAN DO.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR OUR STUDENTS AS OUR STUDENTS DESERVE IT? MY HEART IS WITH ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, BUT I, I, I'M BIASED AND I HAVE A VERY SPECIAL SPOT FOR OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
I'M A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER.
AND SO I WANT YOU TO ALWAYS FEEL WELCOME THAT THIS IS A SPACE FOR YOU TO ALWAYS SPEAK, UM, AND SHARE YOUR IDEAS.
SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY HERE AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS JOURNEY, SHARING YOUR IDEAS AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON, ON WHAT WE CAN DO FOR OUR STUDENTS.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE NEED TO REGAIN THE TRUST OF PEOPLE.
AND SO IT'S ON US TO BE HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE NEED TO BUILD THAT TRUST AND THAT BELIEF THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO WHAT WE SAY WE'RE GOING TO DO.
THIS COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD OUR, UM, OUR DISTRICT ACCOUNTABLE.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT.
UM, SO WITH THAT, ONCE AGAIN, THANKS TO THE COMMITTEE FOR GIVING UP YOUR AFTERNOONS TO COME HERE.
THIS IS VOLUNTARY WORK AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT.
SOME OF YOU DRIVE FAR AWAY TO GET HERE.
UM, AND SO YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VERY CRUCIAL TO IMPROVING HOW WE SUPPORT SPECIAL EDUCATION.
AND I THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I ALSO WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO USE ME AND MY OFFICE AS A RESOURCE.
IF YOU EVER WANNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION OR SHARE ANY USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING HOW WE CAN IMPROVE SPECIAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE FOR OUR STUDENTS HERE IN LA UNIFIED, PLEASE SHARE THAT WITH US.
AND THEN, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NEXT YEAR'S COMMITTEE, PLEASE REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE.
IF YOU CAN STAY FOR A LITTLE BIT, COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR A PHOTO AND WE HAVE A LITTLE, UH, CERTIFICATE.
I WANNA THANK THE PE THE MEMBERS, UH, OF OUR STAFF WHO, WHO CAME OUT.
I WANNA THANK OUR PARENTS AND OUR STUDENTS AND OUR, UH, EVERYONE WHO COMES AND SHARES THEIR VOICE HERE WITH US.
AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO STAY ENGAGED AND LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN BE, MAKE THESE MEETINGS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO YOU.
SO WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
THERE ARE FOLKS OUTSIDE IF YOU WANNA SPEAK TO ANYBODY FROM THE SPECIAL ED OFFICE, THERE ARE FOLKS OUTSIDE.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC CONCERNS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
SCOTT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANY WORDS? I JUST WANNA SAY THAT CARLA HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB WITH THE SPECIAL ED COMMITTEE, AND I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH.
SHE HAS THE STRENGTH AND SHE HAS THE VIGOR AND THE GUMPTION TO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HELP OUR SPECIAL ED KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS.