SPecial EDition
November 2017
At long last, Fall weather has arrived and the holiday season is upon us! Those of us that grew up in California have no idea what a real Winter feels like. For your information--and perhaps for your pleasure--here are some Winter facts that are foreign to us:
· Snow falls at 1 to 6 feet per second
· Snowflakes come in all sizes, from the size of a penny to the width of a human hair
· Each winter, more than 22 tons of salt are used on roadways (and, yes, some comes from South Bay Salt Works here in Chula Vista!)
· Wind chill is calculated using a precise formula—it’s not just a guess! For all of you Integrated Math teachers and IAs, here’s the formula: Wind Chill = 35.74 + 0.6215T – 35.75(V^0.16) + 0.4275T(V^0.16)
· Wet snow is best for making a snowman (or snowwoman!).
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The California Department of Education has expanded the analysis of ethnic and racial disproportionality in special education. In addition to looking at ethnic balance in various disability categories, discipline practices are now under review. If a particular ethnic group is being suspended from school in a disproportionate fashion, that practice must be addressed and remedied. Fortunately, this comes at a time when our Equity, Culture and Student Services division is providing training and support on implementation of Restorative Practices. Rather than excluding students from school--particularly those with disabilities who cannot afford to miss instruction--we should instead educate the student on appropriate responses to feelings of anger and frustration. Please communicate with your school psychologist or my office if your school can use support in this regard.
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Largely due to the vision and leadership of Valerie Ruiz, SUHSD has become first district in Southern California to be designated as a “Unified District” by Special Olympics! In just two short years, Valerie has inspired 3 middle schools and 10 high schools, including East Hills Academy, to become Unified Schools. Special Olympics is now providing funding for us to expand our sports events and include even more students. If you haven’t yet seen an event, make an effort to do so. It will fill your heart and remind you of why you chose to work in special education.
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A wonderful outcome of recent contract negotiations was the recommendation for a “Joint Special Education Committee.” Representatives from the district office and SEA will convene to review and discuss special education issues of mutual concern. In recognition of the value of mutual dialogue, Special Services suspended the Fall IEP Reviews. We plan to schedule a Spring Review, after dialogue with the committee.
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This is the final edition of SPecial EDition for 2017, so I’d like to wish you a wonderful Winter Break. I hope you are able to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, but also take some time for yourself. You share your gifts with students each and every day, so please carve out some time this break to enjoy something completely, utterly selfish. My best.
Ron Lopez
Director
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Inclusion Through Sports
Last month, Special Olympics named Sweetwater Union High School District the first Unified District in Southern California. Being named a Unified District has allowed for funding of over $25,000 to support Unified Sports. In addition, each school that commits to becoming a Unified Champion School will receive monies for over a course of three years. SUHSD is in its third year of Unified Sports and the program continues to grow.
What is Unified Sports?
Special Olympics is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
In Unified Sports, teams are made up of people of similar age and ability. That makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all. Having sport in common is just one more way that preconceptions and false ideas are swept away.
(source : Special Olympics Website)
Current Unified Champion Schools
A total of eleven individual schools pledged to becoming Unified Champion Schools. Each school completed an agreement where they committed to being inclusive on three fronts:
Unified Sports – Providing inclusive sports training and competition opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities to showcase their athletic abilities alongside their general education peers, as teammates.
Inclusive Youth Leadership – Students with and without intellectual disabilities working together to lead and plan advocacy, awareness, and other Special Olympics and related activities throughout the school year.
Whole School Engagement – Awareness and education activities that promote inclusion and reach the majority of the school population.
Below is a list of current Unified Champion Schools.
Unified Flag Football Camp
Unified Basketball Game at MOH vs HTH
Unified Kickball at CVM vs HTM
Unified Sports in SUHSD
Unified Sports started with five basketball games in May of 2016. The next school year, track and field were added. In the 2017-2017 school year, we added Unified Crossfit, Unified Flag Football, Competitive Basketball, Competitive Soccer, and Competitive Track and Field. The addition of competitive sports means our Unified Athletes and Unified Partners will have a chance to experience league games just like their peers who play CIF sports. Also, this year, we added the middle schools.
SUHSD will host a Special Olympic Youth Summit where students will lead a conference educating others on Unified Sports. This event will be held at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (formerly The Olympic Training Center) on May 4 with the annual Track and Field Event occurring the next day at CVEATC.
A few upcoming events:
December 6 - Unified Flag Football, CVM at HTH
January 12 - Unified Basketball, EHA at ELH
January 23 - Unified Flag Football, HTH at CPH
February 9 - Unified Basketball, OHS at ORH
February 16 - Unified Leaders Conference at Special Services
May 4 - Special Olympics Youth Summit at CVEATC
May 5 - Unified Track and Field Event at CVEATC
July 1 - July 7 Southwest High attends Special Olympics National Games in Seattle, WA to represent Southern California in Unified Soccer
Contact Me
The smiles and camaraderie you will witness at a Unified Sports event is indescribable. Unified Sports has helped make our schools inclusive through building culture, empathy, and community. If you want Unified Sports to come to your school, please contact me at valerie.ruiz@sweetwaterschools.org.
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Some lessons, we learn more than once……. When dealing with complicated cases, a dispute may arise between district and family IEP team members. This may lead to a parent deciding to stop sending the student to school, which results in the student no longer having access to the services he/she is entitled to, per the IEP. Although our initial reaction might be to place responsibility on the parent for keeping the student at home and denying the student access to services, the legal responsibility ultimately falls on the LEA. In every case that involved the parent keeping the student at home and ultimately filing for due process, the district was directed to provide compensatory education and services for lost time. The lesson learned is a rather simple one: implement the active IEP! Even when doing so in its entirety might not be possible, IEP teams need to explore other options until a resolution is reached. We need to document that we are making a good faith effort to resolve the dispute and to bring the student back to school as quickly as possible. Sites should not hesitate to reach out to Special Services to access support staff and resources available to help with challenging cases.
Mabelle Hernández Glithero
Program Manager
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Staggering Increases in Credit Recovery Needs
The foundation of Sweetwater’s approach to meeting the academic needs of students with our most significant learning disabilities is to offer courses with adjusted pacing, adapted curriculum and assessments and small group instruction. There are times, however, that even with these adaptations, students still struggle to demonstrate proficiency in the course standards and objectives. When students fail to earn a credit that is required for graduation, IEP teams and counselors must determine how that student can make up that credit. Below is a chart summarizing some of our current options for doing this.
After school Credit Recovery
Last school year, 2016-17, the office of Special Services received 100 requests from teachers across the district for credit recovery packets. So far this school year, Special Services has already received 80 requests. At this current pace, there is expected to be close to 240 credit recovery requests, an increase of 58% in one school year.
Summer School
This past summer we offered credit recovery for fundamentals courses at four different high school sites for 130 students (14% of our total SDC population). These students were attempting to recover a total of 230 credits. This means that 44% of students that started summer school were attempting to recover more than one course. Of those 230 courses, 110 credits were issued at a completion rate of 48%. For those students that attended the full summer school session but did not complete the credit, they were offered the opportunity to finish the credit in an after school credit recovery model.
Many more questions arise than solutions when looking at this type of data and it is obvious that continued discussions are key. These real dialogues must look at the barriers that struggling students are facing to accessing the curriculum (and school in general), the instructional approaches and policies we engage in as teachers, and the “out of the box” ideas that can help ensure that these students receive the interventions and supports needed to reach graduation, before they lose hope.
Carla Jacobs
SEAST TOSA
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Is an iPad the Right Fit?
In 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the company's new iPad to the world. Seven years later, the field of Education has never been the same, especially for the SUHSD Assistive Technology Department, who receives hundreds of requests per year for iPads and/or software for the iPad. The iPad can help children read, write, spell, and speak (just to name a few) - it is understandable why there have been so many requests for the iPad and related software. But is the iPad the best fit for all students? The answer is no. Most students we encounter could be better served with another item or device. With thousands of assistive technology items and devices out there, why are we so fixated on only one device? I believe we are fixated because we don’t know about the other things, like a Speech Generating Devices, which usually works better than iPads for many of our beginning level communicators. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates considering assistive technology for all students with disabilities. Teachers and related service personnel must be knowledgeable about many aspects of assistive technology. Researchers have found many districts are struggling with just this. They have also found nearly one third of the devices purchased are abandoned during the first year. The iPad is not going away - teachers and related service personnel are going to have to become knowledgeable about assistive technology, so they can truly consider assistive technology at every meeting as the IDEA requires. Ready to learn more about assistive technology? Click here for a link to learn more.
Jason Schmidt
Assistive Technology Specialist, TOSAToo Much Technology?
Technological advances in the past decade have created great opportunities for students to become digital citizens. Never has that been more apparent, than in the K-12 classroom in the last five years. For Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD), the 1:1 initiative has opened up a world of opportunities for students and the staff that support them in the teaching and learning process. As a committed partner to prepare all students to become digital citizens, by “enhancing access to technology” in the preparation for college and/or career, is SUHSD’s pledge to provide opportunities for students and staff. However, these opportunities are not without challenges; some may wonder does the positive outweigh the barriers technology brings to the twenty-first century classroom?
For twenty-first century students, technology is a way of life, and use of technology is practically second nature. PC tablets, and iDevices (i.e., iPad, iPod Touch and iPhones) are some of the leading technological advances they are familiar with and use on a daily basis. In contrast, pre-millennial society uses technology as a tool, and have had to learn to navigate through the technological world and its development. For students in Special Education, the use of technology has not only assisted in bridging gaps. For instance, for the high incidence Learning Disabled (LD) students, and with more involved disabilities; i.e., complex communication needs, visual impairments and those with physical limitations, technology has assisted in bridging educational supports alongside their non-disabled peers seamlessly. Several studies have shown that students have improved motivation, engagement, increased memory, gaining of fluency, advancing and maintaining vocabulary. In addition, several unforeseen advantages have emerged with the use of technology in the classroom for students, disabled and non-disabled, such as the increase and engagement of peer support, student innovation, development of problem solving skills, including self-regulation. Finally, with the increased understanding and use of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model, accessibility to technology has increased. With the built-in accessibility features on the newest operating systems, the educational materials inside and outside of the classroom are now available. Therefore, all students whether older, younger, disabled, non-disabled, identified and non-identified, have the opportunities alongside their peers to access educational materials that previous generations were limited by expensive and intrusive technologies. For students of all ages, and abilities, the use of technology has been an equalizer to compete in a global society, where the only limitation is your imagination.
Dennis J Hernandez, MS
Alternative Instruction Media Technician
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IPE / IPP
These two acronyms are beginning to enter the vocabulary of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and other professionals in the education world, but they have been popular in the healthcare field for a while now. In 2010, the World Health Organization defined Interprofessional Education (IPE) as “…two or more professions learn/ing/ about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes” and Interprofessional (or collaborative) practice (IPP) as “…multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds provid/ing/ comprehensive health services by working with patients, their families, caregivers, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings.” Several studies in the medical field have established that this model provides better outcomes as well as reduced costs. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has been working to promote this model in all the areas where SLPs practice in order to enhance the quality of services. Its application to the area of K-12 education lines up perfectly with longstanding collaborative practices along with recent trends designed to deliver evidence-based, quality instruction to students throughout our country. The importance of teamwork and mutual respect are reinforced when SLPs and other professionals are trained together and are able to develop their skills in an environment that promotes an understanding of each profession’s role in the larger framework. Practitioners who have been educated to work collaboratively are much more likely to see the benefit of Interprofessional Practice in their daily work. Some of the key tenets of this approach are shared values, communication, appreciative inquiry, trust, shared goals, and clear roles. This core set of values allows educators to remain student-centered and complement each other’s strengths. Parents, Special Educators, General Education Teachers, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Administrators, School Nurses, Audiologists, SLPs, and many others have unique skills as well as overlapping capabilities that can be brought together to support students’ educations efficiently. Professionals in education have long known the value of collaboration, and they can help advance it by promoting the goals of IPE/IPP as this global movement picks up steam.
Robert McKinney
Speech Therapist
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TPP Interview Workshop in 10th Year
This year marks our 10th year in providing mock interview experiences for our students transitioning from high school to adulthood. We value so greatly the time, effort, and countless hours of preparation that lead up to the event including students, instructional assistants, administrative assistants, teachers and bus drivers who dedicate themselves to supporting students with disabilities in this opportunity!
A record 200 students participated in the interviews with a wide range of interviewers such as parents, speech therapists, psychologists, highly esteemed directors, retired educators, community employment counselors, and various other generous volunteers. Photos of the event are compliments of Manny Lopez!
This recognition would not be complete without an overwhelming “THANK YOU!” to Kristina Josafat, our TPP Employment Specialist, who planned, solicited interviewers, and tirelessly dedicated her time so this event would be a success.
Some quotes from our students after being interviewed:
- I'm proud of myself today because I was brave."
- After my interview I feel now prepared."
- "I wanted to thank you for taking the time to interview me and helping
me experience what it is to be in an actual interview."
All efforts combined resulted in well over 600 interviews across the two-day extravaganza, which will repeat for the REAL-DEAL in the Spring! Be sure to stop by your transition classrooms to ask the students about their experiences, congratulate them and encourage them to pursue their dreams by focusing their efforts now.
Michelle Sturm-Gonzalez
Program Manager
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IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT SEIS 2.0
· You can now re-set your own password! For the next 3 to 4 months, you will have to go to the beta site, located at: https://beta.seis.org
After the 3 to 4 months is up, you will be able to re-set your password from your SEIS login page. Yay!!!
· Validation: Almost all boxes on the IEP will have warnings when you leave them blank. If you are absolutely sure that you are supposed to leave the box blank, then do so. If not, ask your school psychologist, to be sure. SEIS is still working out the bugs on this to be sure the warnings are accurate for our district IEP’s.
· When working on the student information page, the student’s age will not update as you enter the new dates until you refresh the page.
· Historical IEP icons have changed. You will have to pay a little extra attention to the order of the icons to be sure you are clicking on the correct version of the IEP.
Christine Fax-Huckaby
TOSA
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CaneQuest
Three Otay Ranch High School students and one Hilltop High student matched independence skills with more than 40 visually impaired youths from around Southern California. They all won. Our Sweetwater students swept the 7th annual Cane Quest in the B1 Trailblazer (light perception to total blindness, 10-12 graders), and gained new friends. Ricardo Herrera placed first and received a Victor Reader Trek. This device holds thousands of digital books and has accessible GPS. Sean Caballero took second winning a cool pair of wireless Beat Headphones. In third place, Danielle Vergara was awarded two tickets to Magic Mountain. Finally, Joy Delgadillo competed her first time in the B1 Explorer Division (7-9 graders). Though nervous, she met new friends and came away excited practice orientation and mobility skills.
This year Cane Quest was held on a college campus for the first time at California State University, Los Angeles. The local Metro Transit provided two buses as part of the journey where youth showed their orientation and mobility skills honed by several years of training. Youth from around southern California recently showed travel techniques such as navigating various terrains and obstacles with their long-white-canes. They traveled stairs, encountered a parked car, detected curbs, and misplaced objects. They showcased their ability to localize sound, and their expertise in cardinal directions. When asked how many degrees a turn from west to south was, Ricardo said,"90 degrees if I turn left, and 270 degrees if I turn right." Finally, they exhibited their expertise in crossing streets with only their ears and a long white cane.
Sean was surprised when directed to cross a street with six lanes with the nearest-parallel-lane on his left, a counterclockwise street-crossing at a busy street. Counterclockwise crossings takes far more skill than crossing clockwise and are far more dangerous “It was hard telling my (near-side parallel) surge cars from the left-turning vehicles since the sound comes from the same place,” Danielle explained. “Then, I was able to hear them coming from a slightly different place. I was able to cross the second street counterclockwise independently.” Joy Delgadillo, in the B1 Explorer group (7-9 grades), said the hardest part of her route was the street light crossing. Joy learned that she won despite not placing because she met new friends, had fun, and learned what skills she needs to focus when working with her O&M teacher.
Their O&M teacher, Lorna Berliner, is proud of their work during classes. Understanding the flow of traffic, keeping a straight-line of travel, using the sun to determine direction, knowing how to use addresses takes much practice and problem-solving. Traveling while blind takes much vigilance, especially in complex city environments. Her primary goal for her students is to move from rote travelers to survey travelers. Meaning, they will have the same access to their community as their sighted peers.
Mabelle Hernández Glithero
Program Manager
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January is Braille Awareness Month. Louis Braille was 15 years old when he created the Braille code. The Braille code has made it possible for Blind individuals to get an education so they can become independent! For more information on Louis Braille and a cheat sheet of the braille alphabet go to:
The first person to decode the following braille will receive a prize.
Fidgets: Tools vs. Toys
With the recent rise in popularity of fidget spinners and fidget cubes, more and more students are bringing these items to school. Unfortunately, because they have been more of a distraction to themselves and other students, some schools and teachers have banned the use of fidget spinners in the classroom.
So what exactly are fidgets and are they meant to be helpful for our students or cause more harm? Fidget toys are used to provide sensory input to our students in a non-distracting way. Through the use of the tactile system with their hands, students are able to improve attention and focus when fidgets are used correctly in class. Many students, particularly those within the autism spectrum, are constantly seeking sensory input that they are unable to receive from their environment. For these students the more input they get, the more focused and concentrated they can be in their learning environment. Through the receptors in their hands, students can receive the “just right” amount of sensory input with the fidget in a quiet and non-distracting manner in class.
Occupational Therapists often provide and recommend the use of fidgets to students who have difficulties filtering sensory information (visually, auditorily) from their environment and their own body by focusing on the toy/fidget in their hands. Fidgets should be small enough to fit inside the individual’s hands. It should be durable and not produce noise to distract self or others in the classroom. OTs take into consideration several factors when recommending the use of fidgets to a student: does the individual have enough hand strength and motor skill to properly use the fidget? What time of day is the student particularly fidgety? Does the individual have a preference or aversion to certain texture, shape, sensation? Finally, does the student know the rules when using the fidget?
OTs will often tell their students that fidgets are meant to be used as tools for their body and not as toys. Rules of using the fidget may include:
1. ■ Toys should remain on the student’s lap or under their desk and not on the table to distract self or others.
2. ■ The student should be able to continue to participate in class, remain engaged and be able to answer questions when called upon by a teacher while using the fidget.
3. ■ Fidgets should be used to improve attention and focus, otherwise, it will be taken away.
4. ■ Student should return the fidgets to their storage location when done using the item.
There are a variety of fidgets out there. Many will be surprised that these can be found in your homes. Practically anything can be used as a fidget, if used properly. Below are examples of fidgets that OTs have provided for their students and recommended to teachers:
Theraputty
Rubber bands
Hair ties
Squeeze/stress balls
Paper clips
Nuts and bolts screw
Velcro under the desk Theraband
Hand sized smooth stone
Fidget cubes
Fidget spinners
Fidget rings
If you have any further questions regarding fidgets and their use, please contact your school OT.
Majella A Limas, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
South County SELPA
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- One of our High School students recently attended our Interview Workshop. The interviewer said, “We are looking for someone who is responsible.” The student responded, “Well, I am very responsible” He replied, “In my last job, whenever anything went wrong, everyone said I was responsible.”
- “I lost my job at a bank on the very first day”, an applicant said. “A women asked me to check on her balance, so I pushed her over”.
- What starts with an “e”, ends with an “e”, and only contains one letter?
- An envelope
Cast of "Stranger Things" visited Special Services
Will was found hiding here at Special Services
And presenting, our own "Chef Boyardee"
SUHSD - Special Services
Email: SpecialEducation@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: specialservices.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 670 L Street, Ste A Chula VIsta, CA 91911
Phone: (619) 796-7500
Facebook: facebook.com/
Twitter: @SUHSD_SPED