Special Education Department

 

• Savannah Pacheco {Fundamentals} 
• Dezeree Stewart {Structure}
• Jacob "Mike" Trevino {Structure}
• Lvette Ruth {Positive Behavior Support (PBS)}

• Rachel Bigham {HPMS}
• Mary Margaret Kyle {MIS}
• Jerica Cox {MIS}

 

• Kris Williams

•  

 

 

The MIS/HPMS Special Education Departments are committed to being life-long learners.  We are dedicated to forming positive partnerships with parents and students.

 

Every student who receives special education services has a monitoring teacher, who is one of the parent’s primary points of contact for questions or concerns about your child’s IEP or special education services. Your child’s monitoring teacher is very familiar with his or her accommodations and IEP. The monitor teacher is responsible for tracking your child’s progress and updating IEP goals and objectives for each grading period.  Your monitoring teacher communicates with general and special education staff to stay informed about progress and what’s going on in the classroom at the times when he or she is not there.  Your child’s monitoring teacher may be a teacher that provides in-class support, a fundamentals, resource or structure teacher, a positive behavior support teacher, or a speech-language pathologist.  Your child’s monitoring teacher will be the person who attends your child’s annual ARD meetings and any revisions throughout the year. Additionally, any IEP amendments will be completed by your child's monitor teacher.

 

In-Class Support (ICS) teachers/providers support students in the general education classroom. They help monitor and deliver accommodations and modifications to the general education curriculum in the general education setting. They may provide direct support with study and/or organizational skills, provide small group instruction or reteach when necessary.

 

The teacher in a Fundamentals classroom provides specialized instruction in a special education classroom. The focus is on training and instruction in functional and academic skills to help students become as independent as possible. 

 

The teacher in a Structure classroom provides specialized instruction in a special education classroom. The focus is on highly structured and routinized activities, strongly predictable routines, visual supports and communication.

 

The resource teacher provides specialized instruction for students who access general education curriculum through the use of significant accommodations, modifications, supplementary aids and/or related services.

 

The Positive Behavior Support (PBS) teacher/providers support students behaviorally, academically and socially. They may provide instruction in or support with social skills, study skills and/or organizational skills.  Students may access the PBS teacher/providers for assistance when they are having difficulty in the general education classroom. 

 

Instructional Assistants support students and teachers through various means and in both general and special education settings. These settings may include in-class support, fundamentals, structure, resource or a positive behavior support (PBS) setting. Additionally, support is often provided during specials, electives and with transitions between classes.

 

Your child may receive support or instruction from the following (based on evaluation and ARD committee recommendations): *a speech-language pathologist (SLP), *occupational therapist (OT), *physical therapist (PT), *adapted physical education teacher (APE), *music therapist (MT), *teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH), *teacher of the visually impaired {VI} or *licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP). 

 

Special education campus coordinators are responsible for coordinating campus special education services for students determined eligible for services through special education. They are in ARD (Admission/Review/Dismissal) meetings, collaborate with school staff and parents regarding instructional support and services in the area of special education.