Jc njsba presentation october 2015 final

County Special Services Districts: Public Partners for In-District Special Education Solutions

October 27, 2015

Session Highlights

Special Services School District OverviewFive CSSSD Superintendents share innovative and cost effective solutionsLearn about specific services including: • Inclusive program models

• Transition and job coaching services

• Alternative school programs

• Deaf and hard of hearing programs in district

• Related services• Transportation services

Special Services School District Overview

The 8 Special Services Districts in New Jersey

Atlantic Bergen Burlington Cape May Gloucester Mercer Salem Warren

The eight county supported districts provide a wide range of educational services for students with low incidence disabilities.

Full-time educational placements for about 3900 of the most severely disabled students. 

County Special Services School District Programs

Major Programs:• Autism• Moderate to Severe Intellectually Disabled• Multiple Disabilities• Emotional Disabilities• Preschool Disabilities• Early Intervention• Auditory Impairments• Alternative High School• Severe Medical Disabilities• Vocational training/life skills/job coaching

Special Services Districts can work with districts to create programming for students based on need.

Shared Services for Local Districts

• Child Study Team• Occupational Therapy• Physical Therapy• Speech/Language Therapy• Assistive Technology• Transportation• Services for deaf/hard of hearing• Augmentative Communication• Transition services/job coaching• Vocational/life skills training• Structured learning (SLE)

• Substance Awareness Coordinator• Special Child Health Services• Autism consultation• Inclusion services• Center for Family Guidance• Chapter 192/193• Other nonpublic school services• Home instruction• Staff development• Juvenile Detention Programs• Technology Services• Grant writing

Why Special Services?

• Cost Effective for Districts

• Collaborative Approach

• Experienced/Qualified Staffing

• Specialized needs can often be met through existing programming

District Accessibility/Accountability Visit and research programming in our schools

Work collaboratively with us to meet your district needs

Transition Requirements• All districts required to provide services to classified students

up to age 21. • Students educated in local districts entitled to transition

services and career training and support.• NJAC 6A:14: At age 16 (or younger): IEP must contain

appropriate and measurable goals based on age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment and independent living.

• Revised 21st Century Life and Career Standards include work skills specific to each placement, developing a level of independence, and applying skills to situations.

Transition Services and Career Training

• Atlantic County Special Services tiered program prepares students for jobs.

• Our students and local district post-graduates ages 18-21.

• Students begin to build vocational skills then progress to on-site jobs (recycling, cleaning, restaurant etc.)

• Students then move to off-site work at hospitals, colleges, nursing homes and the casinos.

• Students supported by teachers, aides and mentors.

Job Coaching & Support• Students prepare to enter the workplace through tiered training,

then assigned an on-site mentor.• Goal is job placement with support for 2 years.• The coaching role has changed to align with current work

expectations that support students long term:– From Total Control to Empowering Students– From Expert to Facilitator– From Trainer to Consultant– From Rule- Maker to Interpreter

• Teachers and students build natural supports in the workplace to foster independence and help students adapt to changes in jobs and environments.

• Support is gradually decreased as independent skills emerge.

Burlington County Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Education Initiative

Changing the face of Deaf Educationin Burlington County New Jersey

As part of the Burlington County Special Services tuition, the Comprehensive Model addresses the linguistic and conceptual gaps between deaf and hard of hearing students and their hearing peers by providing a total team approach in a setting accessible to students with multiple disabilities. Burlington County Special Services, School District, Westampton Township, New Jersey, Educational programs, for students age 3 through 21.

Deaf/hard of hearing students who wish to be a part of their local school community are eligible for District Model services.

Students following this model are those with minimal gaps in learning, are socially and emotionally engaged with their hearing peers and need minimal support in language-based subjects.

The Bridge Model offers the unique opportunity for students who are deaf and hard of hearing to be taught with other deaf and hard of hearing peers.

Bridge High School classrooms offer deaf and hard of hearing students the opportunity to learn and socialize with deaf and hard of hearing peers, while receiving the support necessary to bridge the communication gap with hearing peers in the general education setting.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing programs offered:

• Eastampton School• BCIT Medford & Westampton Campuses• Northern Burlington Regional High School

Integrated Preschool Program addresses the linguistic gap between deaf and hard of hearing preschool students and their hearing peers. Preschool classrooms offer deaf and hard of hearing students the opportunity to learn and socialize in community based preschools while addressing their hearing needs.

Burlington County Alternative SchoolMiddle School and High School

Rowan College at Burlington County College, Mt. Laurel, NJ

BCAHSBCAMSBurlington County Alternative High School, located on the Mt. Laurel Campus of Burlington County College, is a proficiency-based program for students who experience difficulty achieving their potential at their traditional high schools.

Students at BCAHS meet or exceed state and local graduation requirements through highly individualized programs provided by state certified high school teachers and college instructors.

BCAS MissionThe mission of BCAS is to challenge, instruct and guide students to develop the abilities to:

• Achieve academically through student- centered projects, experiential learning activities, and creative expression

• Build resiliency by strengthening mental health, emotional health, and interpersonal skills

• Contribute to the school family and society by becoming responsible, well adjusted, and motivated young adults ready to transition to high school in their local school district

Students in the middle school program at the Burlington County Alternative Middle School meet or exceed state standards through an interactive theme-based curriculum, supportive counseling services, and the benefit of a small learning community.

Any student in 6th-8th who is not succeeding in their home school is eligible to attend. We often see students with anxiety, depression, mild behavioral problems, etc. We accept both general and special education students.

Gloucester Center for Regional Education Support Services (CRESS)

• CSSSDs share educational programs and services within their local schools.

• Provide quality services to school districts in a cost effective manner.

• Develop and provide specialized services to meet new and emerging needs in response to increasingly diverse student populations in the schools.

• Related Services include consultation, evaluation, treatment, staff recruitment, supervision and training.

Center for Regional EducationSupport Services (CRESS)

• Occupational Therapy• Physical Therapy• Speech-Language Therapy• Teacher of the Deaf• Teacher of the Handicapped• School Social Work• Homebound Instruction• Educational Sign Language

Interpreter• Board Certified Behavior

Analyst (BCBA)

Specialized Services include:• Consultation, IEP review and services

for children with cochlear implants.• Autism Services – home program

and parent training.• Autism Services (direct) and

consultation to district programs.• Assistive Technology • County-Wide Community Workshops• Social Skills Training• Behavior Services• Crisis Management Training

Center for Regional EducationSupport Services (CRESS) (con’t)

• Professional Development• Specialized regional workshops,

in-services and trainings requested by county professionals

• Approved CEU provider for Board Certified Behavior Analysts

• Substitute School Nurse Clearinghouse

• Comprehensive Early Intervention Program

• Member of the Southern New Jersey Regional Early Intervention Collaborative (SNJREIC)

• Discipline specific assessments and consultations

• Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP) developed and implemented by direct OTs, PTs, SLPs, and teachers in natural environment

• Transition services from IDEA Part C to IDEA Part B

Affiliations with local college programs for OT, PT, Speech-Language Pathology and Teacher of the Deaf student practicum and fieldwork placements.

Cooperative Transportation • Cooperative county-wide system of coordinated transportation services

for special education/vocational/homeless/public and non-pubic students.

• Safe, economical and timely transportation• Routes formulated to meet local district transportation needs.• Students from multiple districts combined onto one route to schools in

the same geographic area.• Creates substantial cost savings• GCSSSD transports 1,400 students on 237 routes. Approximately 125 are

shared routes• Example: Route S5876 – Shared route with Clearview (1),

Greenwich (1), Paulsboro (1) • Route Cost $299.00 per day ÷ 3 students = $99.66 per student

per day • 7% administration fee

Cooperative Transportation (con’t)

• GCSSSD creates jointures with local districts that provide cost savings to both the sending school district and the district providing transportation.

• GCSSSD will quote routes for any unanticipated transportation needs, ad will advertise for bids if above threshold (currently $18,800).

• GCSSSD will annually review and renew eligible routes based on CPI cost factor. Adding additional students to existing routes further saves ing districts transportation costs.

Host Site Model

• Specialized program located in local district(LEA)• Facilitated and administered by SSSD• Accept students from other LEA’s (regional)• Host LEA receives both rent and inclusion fees from

SSSD• BCSS partners with 14 districts and serves 390

students via inclusive programming

County-Wide Professional Development

• BCSS Cape Resource Center– Resource for educational professionals– Workshops for parents and professionals– Provide BCBA credits and graduate credits via

university partnerships

• Ed Enterprises provides direct services and customized PD for district staff (transition, AT, behavior, inclusion etc.)

More InformationDr. Howard Lerner, Bergen County Special Services:[email protected]

John Swain, Salem County Special [email protected]

Dr. Kerri McGinely, Atlantic County Special [email protected]

Dr. Christopher Manno, Burlington County Special [email protected]

Michael Dicken, Gloucester County Special [email protected]

Joint Council of County Special Services Districts new website:www.njspecialservices.org (coming soon!)Judy Savage, consultant: [email protected]