Wawasee Community School Corporation

Article 7, Indiana's special education law, provides procedural safeguards for the parent(s) and students that are designed to promote parental participation, ensure that students with disabilities are provided a free appropriate public education (FAPE), and provide a means of resolving disagreements.

• Introduction
• IDOE Article 7
• IDOE Article 7 (Spanish)

We are committed to your child’s academic success and are glad to have the opportunity to provide your child with the support they need to be successful. As part of new legislation passed in the most recent assembly, SEA 217 provides guidance for testing students in grades K-2 for Dyslexia in an effort to provide earlier support for learners. 
 
A "Universal Screener" is a diagnostic assessment used to aid educators in understanding the causes of student performance, learning strengths, and the needs that underlie student performance. The diagnostic assessment is conducted throughout the school year to identify or predict students who may be at risk for poor learning outcomes. The Universal Screener extends the work of FWCS to help children overcome reading challenges through improved literacy.  We welcome you to reach out to your child’s school if you need clarification or have any questions.

Special Education Forms and Procedures

Contents include:

• Section 1:  IEP Staff Resources
• Section 2:  Codes, Categories, Laws, NCI Cooperative Policy/Procedure Handbook
• Section 3:  IEP Case Conference Process, Documents, Procedural Safeguards, Surrogate Parent
• Section 4:  IEP Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Positive Behavior Intervention Plan Process, Documents
• Section 5:  Present Levels of Academic Performance Process, Documents
• Section 6:  IEP Transition 
• Section 7:  IEP Accommodations and Assessments Process, Documents
• Section 8:  IEP Goals
• Section 9:  IEP Progress Monitoring 
• Section 10:  IEP Provisions
• Section 11:  Disability Information and Resources
• Section 12:  Evaluation/Re-Evaluation Process, Documents
• Section 13:  Termination of Special Education Services
• Section 14:  Release of Information Forms
• Section 15:  Public Agency Representation Training 
• Section 16:  Extended School Year
• Section 17:  Alternate Diploma
• Section 18:  Special Education Transportation
• Section 19:  Least Restrictive Environment 
• Section 20:  Non-Public School Placement
• Section 21:  Manifestation Determination Process, Documents
• Section 22:  Out-of-School/In-School Suspensions Process, Documents
• Section 23:  Move-in Procedures
• Section 24:  Behavioral Readiness & Individualized Growth in Educational Settings - BRIDGE Program Process, Documents
• Section 25:  Applied Skills Program
• Section 26:  WCSC Paraprofessionals 
• Section 27:  Community Resources
• Section 28:  Applied Behavioral Analysis Center Policy and Documents

• Parent and Family Community Resources
• DOE Special Education Website
• Eligibility Categories in Special Education. A Resource for Parents and Teachers
• INSOURCE - Special Education Parent Support Website
• Supported Decision-Making Guide

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. The plan is designed to assist students with special needs who are attending their schools' regular education programs. The 504 plan should not be confused with the Individual Education Program (IEP).
 
The student must be identified as disabled, as outlined under Section 504. Does the individual have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, or have a record of such an impairment, or is regarded (perceived) as having such an impairment? If the answer is "yes" to one or more of the above statements, the individual may qualify for the provisions under Section 504. This would be especially true if the individual does not qualify for special education services under IDEA

Forms and Procedures

• Section 504 Notice of Parent/Student Rights
• Physician Referral for Section 504 Protections
• Release of Information (HIPAA) Form

.Parent/Guardian Resources

• Indiana Department of Education Section 504

Vision

Giftedness and high potential are fully recognized, universally valued, and actively nurtured to support children from all backgrounds in achieving their personal best and contributing to their communities.

Mission Statement

We believe that every student has the right to have the opportunity to develop his or her talents to the highest level. The needs of high ability students differ from others in rate of learning, capacity for in-depth learning, and need for diversity. Therefore, these students need to be provided with an environment that is both stimulating and challenging and that is able to accommodate their abilities.

These students benefit from an emphasis on problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, research, and leadership skills. This is accomplished through enrichment, acceleration, differentiation of the curriculum, and diversification of supplemental materials.

We believe that parents play an integral part in the education of high ability students. Their support of the student and school is essential for success.

Furthermore, we believe it is important that each student is given support and guidance in their affective development and leadership ability so that each will be able to utilize his or her abilities out of a healthy sense of self.

Wawasee recognizes that high ability learners can be found in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.

Program Goals:

• Provide a variety of appropriate services for the high ability student, K-12, including acceleration, cluster grouping within a grade level, and differentiated curriculum based on students’ learning needs.
  • Determine the students’ needs based on complied information to make decisions about acceleration and differentiation. This will include screening for early entrance to kindergarten.
  • Determine services based on the classroom curriculum and the level of acceleration for the high ability student.
• Provide students with learning experiences at an appropriate level of challenge based on current and pre-assessed data.
  • Support and resources from the high ability coordinator and high ability liaisons to facilitate student learning.
  • Provide ongoing professional development to aid in interpreting test data and differentiation options.
  • Analyze trends in test data to ensure growth of the high ability students.
• Ensure the curriculum for high ability students is aligned with the state standards and is an extension of the regular classroom.
  • Differentiation of core curriculum within the regular classroom with support from the high ability coordinator. Some techniques for differentiation are:

1. Reading Workshop
2. Writing Workshop
3. Math Workshop

• Math workstations
• iReady
• Math Pentathlon Games

• Recognize and provide for the social and emotional needs of the high ability student.
  • Cluster grouping of students to provide interaction with peers of like ability.
  • School counselors are available to meet the individual needs of the high ability student.

What is Title I?

Title I is the largest federally funded education program in the United States. Authorized by Congress, it provides supplemental funds to school districts to assist eligible public and private schools with the highest student concentration of poverty to meet school educational goals.

Title I, Part A: Improving the Academic Achievement of Disadvantaged Students

Purpose: Enable schools to provide opportunities for at-risk and disadvantaged children to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the challenging state content standards and to meet the challenging state performance standards developed for all children.

Title I, Part D: Homeless, Migrant, Neglected and Delinquent Student Services

Purpose: To improve educational services for homeless and migrant students and children and youth in local and state institutions so that such students have the opportunity to meet the same challenging state academic content standards that all children in the state are expected to meet.

How do we use Title I funds at Wawasee?

Wawasee Community School Corporation receives federal grants to supplement state and local funds to ensure a quality education for all students. All three elementary schools at Wawasee receive Title I monies that pay for instructional supports that normally would not be available to students due to lack of funding.

The purpose of Title I at Wawasee is to assist schools in improving student achievement, provide staff development, and parental involvement. All three elementary schools receiving Title I funds are operating as school-wide programs. Schools utilize Title I funds to enhance the core instructional program. Our schools use these funds to:

• add additional highly-qualifed staff
• improve staff development
• purchase additional instructional materials and supplies
• support parent involvement

In Indiana over 29,000 children experience homelessness each year. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was created with the goal of ensuring the enrollment, attendance, and success of homeless children and youth in school.

The McKinney-Vento Act provides certain rights for homeless students. This includes waiving certain requirements such as proof of residency when students are enrolling and allowing eligibility for certain services, such as free textbooks.

When families and students find themselves in transition due to their housing situation, it is important that they know their rights regarding education. If students meet the requirements as stated in the McKinney- Vento Act (42 U.S.C11431) (TitleVII, Subtitle B), their rights are as follows:

• Students may attend their school of origin or the school where they are temporarily residing.
• Students must be provided a written statement of their rights when they enroll and at least two additional times per year.
• Students may enroll without school, medical or similar records.
• Students have a right to transportation to school.
• Students must be provided a statement explaining why they are denied enrollment or any other services.
• Students must receive services, such as transportation, while disputes are being settled.
• Students are automatically eligible for Title I services. Educational services for which the homeless student meets eligibility criteria include services provided under Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or similar state or local programs, educational programs for students with limited English proficiency.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, people living in the following situations are considered homeless:

• Doubled up with family or friends due to loss of housing or economic hardship
• Living in motels and hotels for lack of other suitable housing
• Runaway and displaced children and youth– Unaccompanied Youth
• Homes for unwed or expectant mothers for lack of a place to live
• Homeless and domestic violence shelters
• Transitional housing programs
• The streets
• Abandoned buildings
• Public places not meant for housing
• Cars, trailers(does not include mobile homes intended for permanent  housing), and campgrounds
• Migratory children staying in housing not fit for habitation

District McKinney-Vento Liaison

Sarah LeCount

Wawasee Community Schoool Corporation

1 Warrior Path, Bldg. 1

Syracuse, IN 46567

Phone: (574) 457-3147

Fax: (574) 457-4364

slecount@wawaseeschools.org

More Information

• Documents
  • Wawasee Community School Corporation Indiana Education for Homeless Children & Youth District Plan SY18
  • WCSC McKinney-Vento Appeal Process
• Resources
  • Homeless students' rights
  • McKinney-Vento: Homeless Children & Youth Program 

Wawasee Community Schools operates a comprehensive special education program for students with disabilities, ages 3 through 22. Special education services are coordinated and administered within the Department of Special Services. Operating in accordance with Indiana Article 7, which governs the provision of special education, Wawasee Community Schools provides services that encompass a continuum of services. These services range from consultation to resource rooms to self-contained classrooms, depending on the individual needs of the students identified as having a disability

• Children who are served through the WCSC Special Education program include those with the following special needs:
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Blind or Low Vision
  • Cognitive Disability
  • Deaf or Hard of Hearing
  • Deaf-Blind
  • Developmental Delay (early childhood) 
  • Emotional Disability
  • Language Impairment
  • Speech Impairment
  • Multiple Disabilities
  • Other Health Impairment
  • Orthopedic Impairment
  • Specific Learning Disability
  • Traumatic Brain Injury

Wawasee’s Multilingual Learner (ML) Program advocates for all language minority students. We are committed to fostering the acquisition of the English language skills necessary for a full transition into a regular academic program and participation in the total school community. We are also dedicated to providing programs, practices, and services that reflect our students' changing educational and cultural needs.

Wawasee Community Schools values ALL students and families. 

What is the goal for Multilingual Learners? 

What is the Identification and Instructional Process for Multilingual Learners?

1. Multilingual Learners acquire English and academic skills within content-area classes, ultimately leading to graduation and success while maintaining their first language and recognizing the value of multiple cultures.
   1. Complete registration with the district
   2. Home Language Survey
   3. WIDA screener
   4. Scores: Parent/Guardian notification of result & Individual Learning Plan (ILP) are created
   5. WIDA ACCESS annual testing
   6. Monitored for two years after reaching English Proficiency Level 5.

Definition of High Ability:

Public Law 221 says that Strategic and Continuous School Improvement and Achievement Plans “must address the learning needs of all students, including programs and services for exceptional learners.” IC 20-31-5.

At Wawasee Community Schools a high-ability student is one who performs at, or shows the potential for performing at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in mathematics and/or language arts when compared to other students of the same age, experience, or environment.

Nomination and Screening

Students at Wawasee Schools will be given equal opportunities to be considered for placement into the high-ability program. We will not discriminate based on age, race, economic status, or handicap.

Teachers, administrators, parents, peers, and the students themselves may make nominations for high-ability screening. Additionally, all students Fall, Winter, and Spring NWEA RIT scores, in math and language arts will be examined for high ability identification in those specific academic domains. Move-in students that were in a high-ability program at another school will immediately be screened for placement into Wawasee’s high-ability program.

Data will be collected on referred students which will include, but is not limited to: Teacher rating Scales, NWEA testing, ISTEP testing, sample work, Kingore Observation Inventory, and student grades. The top 20-25% of scorers on the screening will go through a complete identification process administered by the high-ability team. Please note: data will be sorted based on different norming groups in order to give multiple perspectives on the top 20-25%.

Complete grade-level nomination and screening will take place in kindergarten, second grade, fifth grade, eighth grade and tenth grade. Parents and teachers may request screening and/or identification at any point in the school year. However, consideration will be made to ensure an appropriately timed transition to the high-ability program is in the best interest for the student

Instrumentation

Wawasee Schools will subscribe to the Fair Testing Practices to ensure that students from populations that are culturally diverse, economically disadvantaged, have a disability, or have limited English proficiency, have equal opportunities to show what they know and can do. The district may use the following instruments for screening and identification.

Qualitative:

• Scales for Identifying Gifted Students (SIGS)
  • Must be completed by classroom teacher
• Student portfolios or work samples
• Student work collected throughout the year and submitted to the high ability coordinator (K-12).
• Planned Experiences (Bertie Kingore/Kingore Observation Inventory)
• Non-Verbal Tests
• Will not stand alone; student must also demonstrate one of the following:
  • High accomplishment in the academic domain in which accelerated instruction or enrichment is offered.
  • Student’s verbal or quantitative reasoning abilities are high relative to other students who have had similar opportunities.

Quantitative

Cognitive Abilities Test (6th ed) (CogAT) – Kindergarten/Second Grade

• NWEA Fall, Winter, and Spring Tests
  • Math and Reading RIT scores (K-8)
• PSAT/SAT (10-12)
  • AP Potential
  • Generate list of students who are 80% or more likely to score a 3 or higher on AP test
• Orleans-Hanna
  • Administered to all 7th grade students and qualified sixth graders
• ISTEP
• Math and Language scores (3-8)

Quantitative identification criteria scores are two standard deviations above the mean, minus the standard error of measure (SEM). Specific cut-off scores will not be used.

Eligibility and Placement

• Students will be automatically eligible if they score in the 96thpercentile (with regards to SEM) on the CogAT or in the 95th percentile (with regards to SEM) on NWEA in the domains of math and language arts. Kindergarten students will be eligible if they score in the 98th percentile on NWEA.
• Qualitative data will be used to support quantitative data if a student falls just low of the aforementioned percentiles.
• Students will also be eligible if they show outstanding performance or potential in qualitative instruments with regards to others in the district that have had the same experiences or environment.
• Student placement in the specific academic domains will be based on multifaceted assessments. No single criterion or cut-off score will be used to exclude a student from the high ability program.
• Student placement in the regular classroom will be aligned with teachers who have had training in high ability and/or differentiation with proven success.
• Placement in high ability program is subject to annual review. Successful students in the program will remain without further testing.
• Parents/guardians will be notified in writing if their student is eligible for the high ability program. Students will be placed in the appropriate classrooms with regards to their specific educational needs, interests, and abilities.

Appeals Procedure

Parents and students may appeal the decision of any committee decision that is made concerning high ability placement.

• The parent or student should contact the teacher or high ability coordinator.
• An appeal form may be given to the parent explaining their concerns and reasons for reconsideration. In the event the form is not completed, the parent can give rationale through a phone conversation documented by the high ability coordinator.
• The high ability coordinator compiles student data and qualitative data is examined. If a parent requests an alternative norm-referenced achievement or aptitude test is administered by the high ability coordinator.
• The new information is taken back to the persons involved in the selection and a final decision is reached.

Exit Procedure

If a student, parent, teacher, or administrator feels that Wawasee’s high ability program is no longer in the best interest of the student, an exit procedure will follow.

• A meeting with the student, parent, building administrator, high ability coordinator and teacher(s) providing service to the student will be arranged. This conference will be set around the parent’s schedule and may fall before or after school.
• The meeting will follow a typical RtI meeting. Areas of concern, data, documentation, and interventions will be discussed. Interventions will take place for a six week probationary period.
• At the end of the six week period, the student, teacher, parents, high ability coordinator, and building administrator will meet to review the interventions and determine if their placement has changed.
• If the student no longer qualifies for the services, the parent will be notified and all information will be kept in the student’s permanent file.
• High ability coordinator will remove G/T status from Skyward.

K-5: Differentiation within the classroom

Students are identified for High Ability Math, High Ability Language Arts, or High Ability General Intellectual (both). The needs of high-ability children are met in the same way that the needs of all students on the learning spectrum are met – through differentiating instruction within the classroom.
Most identified elementary high-ability students are cluster-grouped in one or two classrooms in each grade level at each of the elementary schools. They receive accelerated and enriched on grade-level curriculum and instruction in math and/or language arts. 

Grades 6-8: Accelerated and differentiated curriculum designed for students with high ability

The options for students at the middle school are designed to offer many pathways to develop and extend a child’s unique talents and interests as well as providing rigorous academic preparation for high school.

Advanced and accelerated classes offered at the 6th-8th grade levels include English/language arts and math. Algebra is offered in 8th grade for high-ability students.

High School: Honors, AP, ACP, Dual Credit

At Wawasee High School we provide a rigorous academic curriculum designed to prepare students for advanced course work at the secondary and postsecondary level.

A variety of honors, advanced placement (AP), ACP, and dual credit courses are designed to challenge our high-ability students. College credit from selected colleges and universities may be granted for test scores at or above a 3 and at the college admission office’s discretion. All students enrolled in advanced placement courses are expected to complete the AP test in May.

High-ability high school students with questions about appropriate options and prerequisites for placement should consult their school counselor. Many of our high-ability students graduate with college credit in at least one or more subjects!

Math Pathways & Placement

• This outlines the varied options for students to transition from 6th – 12th grades with their math education and credits.
• Decisions about placement and movement on these pathways are made on an individual basis and are dependent on a number of criteria, including student performance and teacher recommendation.
• The goal of this process is to align our practice with the goals and objectives of the Wawasee High Ability Mission, thereby creating consistency district-wide with our math curriculum

• Roles & Responsibilities
• CogAT Information
• Indiana Code for HA