District employees of the year also honored

 

More than six months after its implementation, Dr. Carolyn Patton— Benicia Unified School District special services director—delivered an update on Benicia High School’s curriculum support model for its special education students at Thursday’s school board meeting.

First, Patton highlighted some components of the Performance Indicator Review (PIR), one of five monitors which the state uses to indicate the special education performance of a school district. The PIRs have different targets, which may change each year and examine students’ Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) as well as how students are performing academically in addition to discipline with students compared to the state and peers within the district. If the district does not meet its target for the same indicator two years in a row, then the district has to complete a root cause analysis, develop a corrective action plan, include a Special Education Local Plan (SELPA) in its developing plan and have it approved by the California Department of Education.

Patton said the school has continued to meet the four-year graduation rate for students with disabilities and that dropout rates have decreased since 2014-15. However, Patton noted that while Benicia High was meeting its target for the percentage of students with disabilities taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), it did not meet its target for the percentage of students taking the SBAC. Patton said test-taking strategies were something the district would continue to work with.

“We really want to encourage all of our students to take the SBAC test, and we want to make sure that they know that that’s something that they’re going to have to take a test their whole life,” she said. “They’re going to have to take a test to get their driver’s license, and they’re going to have to take a food handling test, different things depending on what careers they go into.”

The next indicator Patton highlighted was suspensions and expulsions. This data consisted of suspensions, even those done in-house, lasting more than 10 days. For the third year in a row, Patton said the district had disproportionate data for African-American students with disabilities and was including multiracial students in the data for the first time. Since the number was so small, Patton said the state has not asked for a corrective action plan, although with disproportionate data for three years in a row, it could happen.

The final indicator was creating the least restrictive environment for students. Patton said about 7 percent of students with disabilities spent 40 percent of their days in general education settings and that the number of students spending 80 percent or more of their days in general education classes had gone up.

Other indicators included having the least restrictive environment for preschoolers, parental involvement in IEPs, timely assessments, and transition goals and services. The district completed a SELPA and root cause analysis, which have been submitted to the CDE.

Patton then provided an update on the new curriculum support model which was adopted at the start of the 2017-18 year. Previously, the special education department offered classes in the core subjects with a style and pace aimed at students with IEPS. Most of these classes have been phased out with this being the last year of the school offering resource biology, U.S. government and economics, and 12th-grade English. Now, students with disabilities take general education classes, with special education teachers reinforcing that subject material in a new curriculum support class. They also receive support from their case managers during Access period.

Patton said some general education teachers needed more guidance in accommodating students’ IEPs, and the department has been trying to determine how best to utilize its department staff. She also noted that the number of students with IEPs receiving at least one F grade in the first semester had increased from the fall of 2016, but she said most of those Fs were from students who were chronically truant or not turning in any work at all.

On a brighter note, Patton said students with IEPs were more engaged under the new model, there were fewer office disciplinary referrals, students were building skills like putting together study guides and budgeting homework time in their curriculum support classes, and both general and special education teachers were finding new ways to collaborate. She said staff had a number of concerns, including multiple freshmen not completing work, previous issues with students at Benicia Middle School—especially in math, the rigor of mainstream biology and world civilizations classes, limited math options for seniors and general senior distractions. The next steps include creating a room for special education students to take tests, continuing collaboration between general and special education staff, continuing to analyze pass/fail data for special and general education students and providing additional training on Universal Design for Learning.

Patton said that staff was overall pleased with the model and that adjustments would continue to be made.

“I have not heard anybody come forward to say to disband the curriculum support model,” she said. “In fact, (it’s) the opposite. It’s ‘Let’s keep moving forward.’”

In other business, the board highlighted the district’s employees of the year at each site. The recipients are as follows.

Matthew Turner Elementary

Certificated: Carolyn Oliver (Third-grade teacher).
Classified: Laura Anastasios (Custodian)

Robert Semple Elementary

Certificated: Debbie Ewing (Second-grade teacher)
Classified: Hazra Ruiz (Special purpose aide)

Joe Henderson Elementary

Certificated: Amy Parker (Kindergarten teacher)
Classified: Martin Corona (Daytime custodian)

Mary Farmar Elementary

Certificated: Melissa Harley (Fifth-grade teacher)
Classified: Heather Cullum (Food services)
(Note: Harley and Cullum were also both named as BUSD’s respective overall certificated and classified employees of the year.)

Benicia Middle School

Certificated: Anne Marie Van Amson (Sixth-grade English teacher)
Classified: Siobhan Mara (Office manager)

Benicia High School

Certificated: Annette Fewins (Career Technical Education teacher)
Classified: Kim Feiglstok (Office manager)

Liberty High School

Certificated: Chris Winder (Math and history teacher)
Classified: Danny Ruiz (Night custodian)

BUSD District Office

Classified Employee of the Year: John DaSilva (Maintenance department)
Administrator of the Year: Dr. Leslie Beatson (Assistant superintendent of education services)

The board will next meet Thursday, March 15.