2010-11-13 LPS - Student Services Staffing & Financial Assessment

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32 í¹òÝ»®¬·º·½¿¬·±²¿²¼µ·´´»¬±º®»±«®½»®±±³¬¿ºº Most school systems hire special education teachers for resource rooms/ academic support roles. IDEA however, is not black and white. Content expert teachers can provide the instruction under direction of a special education teacher. Often special education staff are asked to teach content that they have not been trained or prepared to teach. The Lexington Public Schools are no exception. Nearly all resource room staff are certified in special education. Only 5% of the elementary resource room staff are also certified in reading. For elementary students who struggle, reading is the primary skill deficit. Less than 1/2 the elementary special education staff are certified as an elementary teacher or in any core subject. At the secondary level, where the content complexity is quite significant, less than 1/3 of the resource room staff are certified in any content area. Those who are content certified are still expected to teach across all content areas, not just in their area of expertise. Resource room staff areas of certification Certified in Elementary Secondary Special education 97% 98% Reading 5% 9% Core academic subject* 42% 32% ö Ñ°¬·±²¿²¼º·²¿²½·¿´·³°´·½¿¬·±² The district has two broad options to consider: 1) Optimize the current “teacher on their own” model. 2) Develop a new district-wide theory of action (See Section 4). Given the very large variation in caseloads and approaches used, some guidelines could be set on the current model. It is impossible to separate the many variables, but because the contract caps caseloads at 24 students, the caseload variable will govern most options. All current forms of support should be possible within the caseload guidelines, especially if scheduling improves. The District Management Council 7 Harcourt Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 - Tel:1877-DMC-3500 | Fax:617-491-5266 |www.dmcouncil.org