Minutes
Quincy School Committee
Special Education Subcommittee Meeting
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
A meeting of the Special Education Subcommittee was held on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 6:00
pm at the Coddington Building. Present were Mr. James DeAmicis, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Emily
Lebo, and Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent Richard DeCristofaro, Ms.
Sarah Anderson, Mrs. Catherine Carey, Mrs. Donna Cunningham, Ms. Roberta DiTullio, Ms. Julie
Graham, Mr. Richard Kelly, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Maura Papile, Mrs. Erin
Perkins, Ms. Madeline Roy; Quincy Parent Advisory Council to Special Education Board Members Ms.
Beck and Ms. Nabstedt; Citywide Co-President Scott Alessandro; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Special Education Director Erin Perkins presented the Special Education Program Improvement Plan,
reviewing the Special Education mission of providing specially designed instruction and/or related
services based on individual student needs, building on individual strengths and abilities, while
meeting the diverse academic, emotional, and social needs of all students. Ms. Anderson presented a
reflection on last year’s Special Education goals: For Grades 7 and 8 students having Math goals in
the IEPs the goal was an increase of 1% on average percent correct. The goal was reached for Grade
8 but not for Grade 7. The MAP Assessment was successfully piloted for Grade 3 students across the
district and this year will be expanded to Grade 2. The MAP data has been successful in assisting the
tailoring of instruction. The final goal was to facilitate the implementation of the Aspen Special
Education module and this was successfully completed in December 2015.
Analysis of Spring 2016 MCAS Results for Students with Disabilities. For ELA, the percentage of
students passing grew for Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10; for Mathematics, Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10.
Median student growth percentile was below the desired range of 40 to 60% for ELA students in
Grades 5 and 6 and Mathematics for Grade 6, but within the desired range for other grades. For
Average Percent Correct, Students with Disabilities saw growth in ELA for Grades 3, 4, and 6; for
Math, Grades 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10.
Special Education Goals for 2016-2017 are: (1) All Grades 6-8 students with Math goals in their IEPs
will increase their total Math MCAS average percent correct by 1%; (2) The Special Education Team
will work collaboratively with the Literacy Team to assist in the analysis of the Integrated Learning
Team Meeting process and the creation of a uniform comprehensive protocol as evidenced by the ILT
Meeting Guide document. (3) The Special Education Team will work with the IT Department to
expand the use of Aspen to include monitoring compliance of IEP services and timelines through the
reporting features available as part of the Aspen Special Education module. (4) A tiered, innovative
18- to 22-year old transition program for students with significant cognitive disabilities will be created
for North Quincy High School. The program will emphasize community-based instruction and community work experience with a focus on the development of the following skills. The goal of the
program is to exit students into the world as independent and productive members of society.
Special Education program teams include the Occupational Therapy Team (goal to implement and
utilize the Handwriting Without Tears screener to show improvement with letter formation); Speech
Team (goal to collaborate to modify a data collection form to track the students’ level of knowledge
related to classroom curriculum. This form will be used a pre- and post-data collection to monitor
student progress. The Language Development team will develop a curriculum map for writing for
grades 1-8 aligning skills and the scope and sequence between elementary and middle school
programs using the Landmark Writing Method as the foundation. The GOALS team will work with
students on the Naviance Career and Exploration program, along with continuing to offer credit
recovery to students who have gaps or failed classes within their transcript. The CARES/SNLC team
will implement the Unique Learning Systems (ULS) within their classroom, utilizing the progress
monitoring assessments, classroom curriculum materials, and picture support.
For the collaborative QPAC/Special Education goal, increasing parent engagement throughout the
school year will once again be the focus. There will be a minimum of five parent academies offered; a
resource fair focused on transition services will be held in May 2017; and there will be family
engagement events throughout the school year (sensory night, gingerbread decorating, etc.) One
Parent Academy has already been held, a series of three is planned about Learning to Read and
another about homework.
Mrs. Mahoney asked for list of Special Education program locations and for the Subcommittee to be
kept informed of any potential program location changes. Mrs. Lebo asked about staffing levels at
Broad Meadows. Mrs. Perkins will provide a corrected page for the School Improvement Plan. Mrs.
Lebo asked about portfolio assessments; looking for data on possible points and total earned. Mrs.
Lebo complimented the Transition goal.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Special Education Program Improvement Plan, seconded by
Mr. DeAmicis. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Special Education Team Administrators Catherine Carey, Donna Cunningham, and Julie Graham
presented on the Special Education Rights and Responsibilities, the goals being so that educators will
understand their role regarding special education; to enhance collaboration between family and
school personnel; and so that parents and school personnel will participate in special education
matters as knowledgeable partners. The Quincy Public Schools Special Education Department
operates under the federal Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Massachusetts Special Education Law
administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Students are
eligible for Special Education if all three of the following are true: (1) the student has one or more
disabilities; (2) the student is not making effective progress in school as a result of their disability or
disabiltities; and (3) the student requires specialized instruction in order to make effective progress.
There are 12 different types of disabilities defined by state and federal regulations: Autism,
developmental delay, intellectual impairment, sensory impairment/hearing; sensory
impairment/vision loss; sensory impairment/deafness and blindness; neurological impairment;
emotional impairment; communication impairment; physical impairment; health impairment; a
specific learning disability; or any combination of the above.
Special Education is specially-designed instruction to meet the unique needs of an eligible student
and/or related services necessary to access and make progress in the general curriculum. The
timeline for entry into Special Education is up to 45 school working days, beginning with the parents’
consent to evaluate, followed by evaluation and a team meeting to determine eligibility. A proposed
IEP is then generated and /or placement recommendation. Services begin upon parental consent.
There are six principles of Special Education: (1) parent and student participation – it is the obligation
of the school district to make strong efforts, in multiple ways, to ensure parental and student
participation; (2) Free and appropriate public education; (3) Appropriate evaluation and three-year
re-evaluation; (4) Individualized Education Program (IEP) which contains written information on the
parents’ concerns and the students skills, a written explanation of how the disability affects the
student’s ability to learn and to demonstrate his or her learning; an identification of specific,
measurable goals which can be reached in a year’s time; and a listing of the services to be provided to
the student. (5) Least Restrictive Environment – to the maximum extent appropriate, students with
disabilities have the right to be educated in the general education environment and in the classroom
they would have attended if they did not have disabilities. Removal from the general education
program occurs only if the nature or severity is such that education in general education classes with
the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be satisfactorily achieved. (6) Procedural
Safeguards include right to written notice; right to consent/refuse; right to “stay put”; problem
resolution system; mediation and due process; timelines; confidential records; right to receive any
evaluations 2 days in advance of Team meeting, if requested.
Mrs. Lebo asked about what age students become our responsibility; on the day they turn 3 until they
turn 22. Ms. Nabstedt asked that all team chairs be reminded that 2-days to review evaluations is a
right of parents that is not always consistently honored. Ms. Campbell suggested that it become
standard practice that the paperwork be shared two days before the IEP meeting. Mr. DeAmicis
asked about electronic communication, but there are concerns about privacy with emailing student
information. Mr. DeAmicis asked about parents who don’t speak English as a first language, QPS
provides translated documents and interpreters as well. Mrs. Mahoney noted that once students are
14, they are able to participate in the IEP meetings.
Mrs. Mahoney asked about students with IEPs transitioning to college, Ms. Anderson said that this is
why high school age students need to participate in their IEP meetings, they will advocate for
themselves in college. Not only do students have to work with the college office of disabilities, they need to speak with each professor about their accommodations. Ms. Anderson said that postsecondary students are under 504 plans, no longer under IDEA.
A parent questioned about the least restrictive environment requirement, Mrs. Perkins said the
students referred to substantially separate classrooms require a higher level of services than can be
provided at their home school. Mrs. Perkins suggested that what the least restrictive enviroment is
defined as is different for every child. Mrs. Lebo asked if we have BCBA paraprofessionals in a
classroom. Mrs. Perkins said we have paraprofessionals who implement behavior plans in fully
included classes. Mrs. Mahoney asked about inclusion, all middle and high schools have inclusion
classes. At the elementary level, there is some resource room push in and sometimes occupational
and speech therapists push in as well.
Mrs. Perkins spoke about Administrative Communication, a parent feedback item about consistent
implementation of afterschool opportunities for substantially separate students requiring
transportation. This will be followed up at a Principal team meeting. Ms. Beck asked if students are
eligible for programs at their home school or where they attend, and Mrs. Perkins said that either is
possible. For increasing Inclusion opportunities, at the high school level, some adjustments have
been made and future meeting topics will include high school Special Education pathways and middle
school inclusion.
Mrs. Perkins reviewed that Maria Trozzi is scheduled for a Professional Development training
stressing empathy for families and helping Special Education and Guidance staff to understand and
respect parent reactions to evaluations and diagnoses. Ms. Trozzi presented a Parent Academy in the
fall and will hopefully present again in the spring.
Ms. Nabstedt and Ms. Beck presented a QPAC update, parent engagement goal is a collaboration
with Quincy Public Schools Special Education department. QPAC will assist with publicizing
collaborative events. For parent concerns, Mrs. Perkins has been proactive about addressing issues
as they arise
Mrs. Lebo thanked Ms. Nabstedt and Ms. Beck for their work and for keeping Quincy Public Schools
Special Educations programs focused and changing as needed.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to adjourn at 7:40 pm, seconded by Mr. DeAmicis. On a voice vote, the
ayes have it.