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BA Schools to Reorganize Special Services Division

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Broken Arrow Public Schools is spending more than $1.4 million on reorganizing its special services division in response to being placed on the "Needs Improvement List" by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The district was placed on the needs improvement list after its special education and English language learner students did not make adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act for the second straight year, said Keith Isbell, chief communications officer, in a press release.

Brian Beagles, assistant superintendent for instruction, said every school in the district made adequate yearly progress in 2003- 04 even though the district as a whole did not because of the two groups of students falling short of state-mandated requirements.

"The state average for Academic Performance Index was 1086 last year, and our school site scores ranged from 1105 to 1383 so we are obviously meeting the needs of the majority of our students in an exceptional way," Beagles said.

"However the very term, 'No Child Left Behind' says we must make progress with all children, and obviously we need to better address special education and ELL students to improve in their academic learning."

He thinks the restructuring of the division and the ELL program will allow the district to better meet the students' needs.

In March, school officials submitted one of many strategies in the district's comprehensive school improvement plan to the State Department of Education, identifying actions that have the highest probability of improving the students' achievements in comparison with the state's academic standards, Beagles said.

"The end result of this strategy is a recommendation to create a district-level organizational structure to coordinate, focus, and align the district's basic level programs," Beagles said. "Which includes special education with the district's written curriculum objectives."

He said this strategy, along with several other strategies such as providing additional teacher training and instructional resources, will give our special education students the best chance of improving their academic performance.

As part of the reorganization of the division, former special services director Carol Lunn was dismissed.

The board of education, during a special meeting June 15, approved the administration's recommendation to eliminate the position.

Other changes include positions within the division being changed to more effectively address special education compliance and curriculum issues, as well as changes with the ELL program.

Laura Grisso, ELL director, said changes in the ELL program include adding three newcomer centers and four regional centers.

ELL students to be assigned to newcomer centers are nonEnglish speakers who need intensive, full-day intervention services. NonEnglish proficient speakers will be expected to remain at a newcomer center for two semesters unless they qualify to transition into a regional ELL center at the end of the first semester.

Newcomer centers will be at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Adequate Yearly Progress is the part of the Academic Performance Index that determines if a school is making progress and is on target to meet No Child Left Behind requirements, according to information provided by the district.

For Adequate Yearly Progress to be achieved, each subgroup of students within a particular school and the district as a whole must improve a specified amount in test scores and other accountability measures.

If even one subgroup of those measured fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress, the entire school or district is designated as having not made progress, school officials said.

Source: Tulsa World

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