Special Education Department at WSD : Winter Edition
The therapy department has been working hard to get students new or resized equipment, so they can better participate in daily school activities. In conjunction with NuMotion Yakima, a durable medical equipment provider, we have been able to get the following equipment ordered through the families’ insurance: one crocodile walker (WJH) , two manual custom wheelchairs (SME and WHS) and one custom power wheelchair (ME) It's very stylish like the Ferrari of a wheelchair. It has a tight turning radius, and a range of seating positions (raise and lower to different heights and can recline to a lying position), personalization options, intelligent control system, LED lights and turn signals, infrared and Bluetooth technology, can travel at top speed and has advanced vibration reduction. It also has a long battery life and USB port for a phone.
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In addition, NuMotion has provided SME with a one-year loaner, Rifton Activity Chair, for classroom use. NuMotion has also generously donated $3,000 worth of gait trainers for student use, refit student’s current equipment and completed equipment orders for families at the school instead of having them retrieve equipment in Yakima. We’ve been very thankful for the wonderful service NuMotion has provided to our students.
In November, we opened the doors to a new Learning Academy to address the academic and behavioral needs of students with severe emotional and behavioral challenges. At the Learning Academy, students work to progress in personal behavior management through a three-level system that addresses their capabilities for respect, responsibility, and safety.
In a setting of effective, rigorous, and engaging academic instruction, our highly qualified staff supportively acknowledge and reinforce each child's act for positive social behaviors. We want to thank Karen Acevedo, lead teacher, along with Guadalupe Martinez and Karena Mendoza, instructional assistance , for their commitment to these students and the program.
As we begin the new calendar year, some of our students are starting state testing. The Washington Access to Instruction & Measurement (WA-AIM) is an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The WA-AIM is built off of Access Point Frameworks that expand upon the mathematics and English language arts Common Core State Standards and the Washington State science standards to provide students with significant cognitive disabilities a continuum of access points to the standards.
The WA-AIM will measure student knowledge and skills through the use of twice annual administered performance tasks. The WA-AIM will be used for federal and state accountability in grades 3-8 and 10 for ELA and Math and can be used to meet a student's graduation pathway requirement. Science will continue to be administered in grade 11. Our students who are eligible to participate will be working on these frameworks over the next 8 weeks.
To help support our families, we are including some
Family Resources (Spanish available in links):
Through more than 30 projects, PACER provides individual assistance, workshops, publications, and other resources to help families make decisions about education and other services for their child or young adult with disabilities.
https://www.pacer.org/publications/spanish.asp
https://www.pacer.org/es/publications.asp