To: Michael GreenFrom: Deb KernenDate: March 25, 2010Re: April Special Ed Monthly Update
Last school year the Special Education department analyzed our WASL scores. We looked at our data compared to the state Special Education data and realized that at some grade levels, our scores are lower than the state. Using the OSPI website I identified 10 districts in the state that have similar demographics (student enrollment, Special Education population percentage, and free/reduced lunch percentage) and had WASL scores that are higher than our special education students. We created a Reading/Writing and a Math Task Force to study what these other schools are doing to achieve these high WASL scores. Eighteen of our Special Education staff and six of our Literacy/Math Specialists have met on eight Monday mornings to analyze data and contacted the identified districts. The charge of these groups was to analyze curriculum, service delivery models, and accommodations that are provided to their Special Education population in the districts identified. I have attached the outcomes from those meetings. We will continue our efforts with these groups when we receive our state assessment data in an effort to improve student learning.