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Bob Blackburn
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Director of Special Education/Interim Asst. Superintendent
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The Special Education Department serves approximately 1,200 students who have been identified as having disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA 2004). Services are provided in accordance with Ohio’s Operating Standards for Children with Disabilities and the Special Education Model Policies and Procedures.
The department includes a director of special education, special education coordinators, special education intervention specialists (teachers), speech pathologists, special education classroom assistants, occupational therapists, physical therapist, assistive technology resource leader, orientation mobility services, social worker, academic/behavior coaches and secretaries. Additional services provided through the Fairfield County Educational Service Center include a special education supervisor, school psychologists, a work-study supervisor/coordinator, and a behavior intervention specialist.
SERVICES
School age students, ages 5-21 years, who qualify for special education services under IDEIA are identified as having disabilities in the following areas: Autism, Cognitive Disabilities, Multiple Disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities, Other Health Impairment, Orthopedic Handicapped, Severe Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Speech/Language Disability, Hearing Impaired, Deaf-Blind, Visually Impaired.
Special education services for each student with disabilities are written into each student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Services may be provided in a variety of settings, with the goal being to educate each student in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE); which means providing services in the regular classroom environment to the maximum extent possible. While the district continues to expand its full inclusion program, most students with disabilities receive some, and in a few cases almost all, of their education outside the regular classroom. This occurs when the nature or severity of the student’s disability is such that his/her progress in the general curriculum is at risk unless specialized instruction takes place in a different, more restrictive setting.
The continuum of services available to students with disabilities include: Collaboration/Consultation Services in the Regular Education Classes, Supplemental Services Teacher, Inclusion, Individual/Small Group Instruction, Resource Room, Special Class, Separate Facility, Home Instruction, Institutions and Hospitals.
In addition, students with disabilities may receive related services which are support services needed to allow the student to benefit from his/her educational program. Related services could include: Adapted Physical Education, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech and Language, Audiological, Interpreter, Orientation & Mobility, School Psychological, Transportation, Work-Study, nursing services, and assistants.
Preschool children with disabilities, beginning on their third birthday, are entitled to the same type of services as are school age students. Our preschool program is administrated through the Fairfield County Educational Service Center (ESC). Questions concerning this program should be addressed to the ESC at 740-653-3193.
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EVALUATION
Each building operates under an Intervention Model to help determine if a disability exists. Our 7-12 buildings continue to utilize Intervention Assistance Teams to help teachers design and document the use of interventions in their classrooms. Our K-6 buildings are using Response to Intervention to help provide individual learning experiences in the form of classroom and small group interventions. These interventions are designed by the building RTI team to positively impact the student’s educational program by enhancing his/her chances to make progress in the general curriculum. Screeners are in place to look at all children to determine the need for tiered intervention. However, parents who have concerns about their child’s educational progress should contact their child’s principal or classroom teacher to discuss those concerns.
Sometimes the interventions designed by the IAT/RTI team are not enough to meet the needs of an individual student. Based upon the student’s response to the interventions or the student’s apparent need for specialized instruction, the student may be referred for an evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. In such cases, the school psychologist will become involved and relevant data will be collected including the various interventions tried and the results of those interventions. If the information seems to warrant it, a meeting is held and a building team, including the student’s parents, meets to determine if the student is suspected of having a disability. If that is the case, parent permission is received and the process for a multifactored evaluation is started. After completion of this evaluation, the team (including the parent) reconvenes to determine if the child meets legal criteria for eligibility for a specific disability. If the child meets eligibility criteria, the team (including the parent) will develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) with specific goals and objectives, specialized services, accommodations as needed, and a determination of where the services will be provided for the child.
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PERSONNEL
| Director of Special Education |
Bob Blackburn
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Building |
Administrator |
Special Education
Psychologist |
Secretary |
Fairfield ES
Heritage ES
Pickerington ES
Sycamore Creek ES
Toll Gate ES
Tussing ES
Violet ES
Diley MS
Harmon MS
Toll Gate MS
Lakeview JHS
Ridgeview JHS
PHS Central
PHS North
Preschool Transitions
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Jennifer McMahon, Coord.
Jennifer McMahon, Coord.
Kristina Hulse, Coord.
Jennifer Winters, Coord.
Jennifer McMahon, Coord.
Jennifer McComas, Super.
Jennifer Winters, Coord.
Tina Weimar, Coord.
Jennifer McComas, Super.
Jennifer McMahon, Coord.
Jennifer McComas, Super.
Jennifer Winters, Coord.
Tina Weimar, Coord.
Kristina Hulse, Coord.
Kristina Hulse, Coord.
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Rick Brenner
Rick Brenner
Sheila Core
Chad Timmons
Sheila Core
Chad Timmons
Chad Timmons
Julie Pitman
Vi Vo
Beth Daniels
Sheila Core
Rick Brenner
Vi Vo
Beth Daniels
Julie Pitman
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Tammy Pruden
Sherri Dittoe
Sherri Dittoe
Sherri Dittoe
Tammy Pruden
Sherri Dittoe
Tammy Pruden
Sherri Dittoe
Tammy Pruden
Tammy Pruden
Tammy Pruden
Sherri Dittoe
Sherri Dittoe
Tammy Pruden
Tammy Pruden |
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RESOURCES
The State Support Team Region 11 serves Central Ohio schools, educators and parents in meeting the needs of students with disabilities by providing staff inservices, materials, equipment and consultative services.
2080 Citygate Drive
Columbus, Ohio 43219
(614) 753-4690
www.cositpd.org
The Ohio Coalition for Education of Children with Disabilities
165 West Center Street, Suite 302
Marion, Ohio 43302
800-374-2806 (Voice/TDD)
E-mail ocecd@gte.net
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