L.E.A.P.

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Leading, Educating, and Assisting Parents with Special Needs Students A Proposal Presented by Patrina Johnson, Lynn Akdamar, and Tamela Turbeville

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
According to the December 1, 2010, child count reported to the Department of Education, White Hall School District placed over fifty students in Special Education for the first time between August and November. This number was added to the over 200 students already receiving special education services. These services are regulated by federal, state and school guidelines. Often parents do not understand the processes and regulations, nor are they aware of available outside resources to assist their student. This proposal, titled L.E.A.P.S., or Leading, Educating, and Assisting Parents of Special Needs Students, sets forth suggestions for addressing this issue. This three phase proposal addresses connecting parents, educating parents and assisting student. The first phase provides a method to form a support group for the over 200 special education parents. The second phase builds onto the support group by adding topic seminars designed especially for these parents. And finally, the last phase, adds more support by focusing on special education students by offering tutoring that assists in maintaining, and eventually surpassing, grade level performance. ______________________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF NEED
At the beginning of each school year, a number of parents with elementary school children are notified their child may be in need of special education services. In some cases, physcoeducational testing completed by the District will determine a disability, making the student eligible for a number of special education services. Those services range from speech therapy services to one-on-one instruction to classroom modifications. In most cases there is a myriad of
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due process paperwork necessary to meet regulations. The special education system is filled with federal, state and school level requirements and guidelines. For parents new to special education, understanding these regulations can be overwhelming and raise more questions than answers. How is a first time parent to sort out the details? Although booklets outlining the parents rights are provided at each parent conference, the information does not cover ways to assist the student outside the classroom, or provide information about a particular disability. Often the best place to understand and find answers are with the people who have gone before and those with similar situations. For parents, access to special education professionals with answers is often limited. This proposal provides a means for connecting parents of special education students and to educate them about available resources to assist in their students success.

By first connecting parents new to special education with experienced parents, and supporting that information with the insight of specialists and professionals in special education, parents become informed participants in their students education. The support group could become a valuable tool for the district in educating and assisting parents. Once parents become better educated about special education, they will be able support their student at home and reinforce classroom instruction. Therefore with the aid of support groups and by offering continuing education, the district would be creating successful productive special education students. ______________________________________________________________________________

PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION AND DETAILS

There are three phases of the L.E.A.P. proposal. The initial phase of the proposal begins with the formation of a support group specifically designed to connect special education parents. The second phase will offer additional parent education through topic seminars aimed at addressing issues relevant to supporting classroom instruction and behavior. The final phase is to offer specialized tutoring for special education students assisting them to possibly exit the special education system before graduation.

Phase One:

The largest task is beginning. The support group must be formed initially by a

committee of approximately six volunteer parents active in special education. The initial committee should also include one or two special education teachers and a district administration representative. The role of the committee is act as liaison between the school administration and the support group. Initial responsibilities would include inviting parents to join the group, creating awareness and designing the support meeting agenda.

To form the group, during the first days of the school year, parents with children currently in special education would be notified of the initial meeting. Parents with children added to special education before the first meeting would also be notified. Wanting to honor privacy regulations, the notifications would be sent home by special education teachers with their students and not through the volunteer committee. The meeting agenda would consist of a discussion topic presented by a specialist, a question and answer period led by a school administrator and a time for parents to share their success tips for assisting special education students. A sample agenda is attached. Ideally, support group meetings would occur five times each school year -- just before school begins and at the end of each nine weeks period.

To enhance communication and promote participation, the committee would distribute a short one-page newsletter each nine weeks to participating parents. The newsletter is an important tool in communicating with special education parents. Information could include a calendar of upcoming school activities, a synopsis of available outside resources, and even a brief story about student accomplishments. The newsletter could promote parent participation in other activities such as Special Olympics and provide information about outside sources, such as Easter Seals. Again, the newsletter would be sent home with students or mailed by the school. Of course, the newsletter information would be approved by the Special Education Supervisor and Superintendent before mailing. A sample suggested layout of the newsletter is attached.

Phase Two: The second proposed step to educate and assist special education students is through topic seminars. Topic seminars are one or two hour educational seminars designed to provide parents with intensive training in at-home methods that reinforce classroom instruction and behavior modification methods. Additional professional training will assist parents in
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maintaining methods at home that are used in the classroom. For instance, Autism Spectrum Disorder is a fast growing diagnosis among elementary age students. Symptoms and their treatment span a wide range and often involve routines and activities used at home and school to be effective. Also,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is an often diagnosed disability. Behavior modifications used at school and continued at home are beneficial to the students success. Providing free, local training to educate parents about the methods used by the District and creating continuity outside the classroom is a vital key in reaching and maintaining student success.

Phase Three:

The final phase of the proposal addresses assisting special education students to

exit the special education program. A number of students diagnosed as Specific Learning Disability and other milder learning disabilities would benefit from extra tutoring to address their weaker areas of learning. This tutoring program would accept students referred by special education teachers. Parents would be notified by the school counselor that such tutoring would be beneficial. Parents accepting the opportunity would then be placed in contact with tutors from a pool of retired teachers, current teachers and qualified student teachers. During these sessions that last from approximately October to March, the student would work to maintain and improve grade level skills. The length of tutoring would depend on the needs of the students and the goals set forth by the teachers and parents. The ultimate goal would be to assist the student to completely exit the special education department.

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BUDGET
The cost to begin a support group for special education parents would be minimal as the success depends initially on parent volunteerism. There are, however, some small direct costs. Most schools require a fee for janitorial services to attend after school related meetings. The estimated cost would be $50.00 per meeting. The second direct cost includes copying the proposed newsletter each nine weeks which is estimated to be approximately $50.00 each period. Other parent groups use fundraising to cover expenses for projects and programs. It is suggested the support group may begin raising funds similarly. A budget is attached.

Budgeting for topic seminar speakers and trainers would depend on the school district funding. Often budgeting of the Special Education Department can include seminars once or twice a year that includes parent training. This issue must be addressed by the Special Education Director and the school district Superintendent. If school budgeting is not available, speakers and facility fees could be raised by the volunteer committee. Costs would depend on the speaker or training and location and range from $500.00 to $1,500.00.

Compensating tutor for Phase Three of the proposal involves applying for grants from education focus grantors such as Target, and WalMart as well as smaller entities. Tutors would be recruited from a pool of area retired teachers, current teachers and qualified student teachers. Recent job opening notifications from the surrounding area show a range of pay to be between $500.00 to $700.00 per month for tutoring.

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EVALUATION OF IMPLEMENTATION
The success of the proposal implementation would be measured by the participation of the parents. A short survey completed by parents at each support group meeting would identify areas of concern and the needs of participating parents. Additionally, the survey would offer an opportunity for the facilitating committee members to learn where to make necessary adjustments. A sample of the survey is attached.

Measuring the effectiveness of Phase Two, or the topic seminars, again would come from parent surveys. Most important to know, is how many parents used the techniques and information gained at topic seminars. Surveys would be sent ten days after the seminars.

The success of the tutoring phase of the proposal would be measured by the number of students exiting the special education program. At the end of each school year, the District reports to the Arkansas Department of Education the number of exiting statistics. The goal of this phase is to aid in increasing this number.

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CONCLUSION
Parents consistent participation in a childs education is vital to the childs success. This is true not only for regular education students but also special education students. Parents with special education students, however, are faced with even more obstacles and hindrances. It is the hope of this team and the intent of this proposal to aid special education parents in finding ways to support each other and learn ways to help their student succeed.