The Department of Special Education supports and provides directions to schools and teachers in several areas. The department provides the following services:
Cognitive Disabilities Services (CD)
Coordinators:
Elementary:
Karen Peterson (262) 970-1113 kpeterso@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Sarah Drzewiecki (262) 970-1114 sdrzewie@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Grades 7-8:
Butler - Marianne Kirsch (262) 970-2987 mkirsch@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Central - Ann Shurte (262) 970-3254 ashurte@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Horning - Terese Mislang (262) 970-3360 tmislang@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Grades 9-12+: Bruce Massman (262) 970-3601 bmassman@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Cognitive Disabilities Services provides a school and community-based model of programming that provides services to support student’s academic, adaptive, motor and language needs. Students are diagnosed as having mild, moderate, or severe disabilities and range in age from three through twenty-one.
Cognitive Disabilities Services provides academic instruction in basic reading, math, and written expression, and supports students in a variety of curriculum areas including science, social studies, and other classes such as art, music, and physical education. Students participate in community-based instruction to teach basic skills needed for future living as appropriate. Areas of instruction may also include mobility, shopping, restaurant use, money management, and vocational experiences. A successful transition to adult vocational and living environments is a priority of programming at the secondary level. School staff works closely with parents to insure consistent reinforcement of academic and independent living skills. Parents are directly involved in the transition process for middle and high school level students.
Early Childhood Services (EC)
Coordinator: Stephanie Lichtig
Phone: (262) 970-1111; email: slichtig@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Early Childhood programming in the School District of Waukesha refers to specialized programming, for children ages 3-6, as determined through the IEP process. The IEP team, as assigned to each individual child, makes a determination, after assessment, regarding what goals would be appropriate to strive toward, and where those services to readh said goals would best be provided.
Each IEP is specialized to meet individual learning needs and styles. Therefore, programming is varied. The circumstances of each child and family are considered prior to any offer of services. We strive to meet a child's needs in the least restrictive, most natural setting possible as this is where most progress happens. We are able to offer a range of services which may take staff into the home, school or community setting.
Emotional/Behavioral Disability Services (EBD)
Coordinators:
Elementary:
Karen Peterson (262) 970-1113 kpeterso@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Sarah Drzewiecki (262) 970-1114 sdrzewie@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Grades 7-12: Linda Sumwalt (262) 970-1115 lsumwalt@waukesha.k12.wi.us
The emotionally/behaviorally impaired programs provide for the social, emotional, and behavioral interventions needed for students who have been identified with an emotional/behavioral impairment and in need of special education. These students have been found to have severe, chronic and frequent problems in emotional, social and behavioral functioning manifested in two or more of the child's social systems. Interference with development, acquisition, and production of academic skills may occur as well as functioning that interferes with interpersonal relationships and other social interactions.
These students require an individually guided program that may include modifications made in the regular education setting or placement in small, highly structured classroom settings or a combination of options. The students receive regular education programming where and when it is appropriate as determined by the IEP. Our goal is that the least restrictive options be provided for each student with special education needs.
Several different types of programs are configured to meet the needs of the approximately 100 elementary and 170 secondary level emotional/behavioral disabled students. The EBD program serves some of the most needy children in the district and requires staff to cooperate and commit themselves to sometimes small improvement or progress. Support service budgets and interagency collaboration also help us to provide educational programming in the least restrictive environment.
Hearing Impaired Services (H)
Coordinator (Grade 7-Grade 12): Deb Koller (262) 970-1126 dkoller@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Coordinator (Grade Early Childhood-Grade 6, Auditory Oral Programs): Debbie Schrader (262) 970-1968 dschrade@waukesha.k12.wi.us
The School District of Waukesha has historically housed the hearing-impaired program for the Waukesha County Special Education Cooperative. The cooperative serves as the elementary and secondary site for the 13 collaborating districts in the county. In addition to Waukesha County, the hearing impaired program also provides educational services from five neighboring counties, Walworth, Ozaukee, Dodge, Milwaukee, and Racine counties. An additional 20 students receive instruction in regular education classrooms in neighborhood schools and are serviced by an itinerant teacher. The Program for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing is committed to meeting educational needs identified through the development of an individual educational plan in speech perception, speech production, language communicative competence, academic, technical, vocational and social and emotional development.
During the 2002-2003 school year the program continuum for deaf and hard of hearing students was expanded to include auditory-oral programming at the elementary site, Lowell Elementary School. Partial funding through an IDEA Preschool Discretionary Grant, enabled the School District of Waukesha to develop the Preschool Statewide Auditory-Oral Demonstration Project. To learn more about auditory-oral programming in the Preschool Statewide Auditory-Oral Demonstration Project visit www.auditoryoralprogramsWI.com. Students are programmed into regular education to the degree possible in accordance with state and federal laws.
Specific Learning Disability Services (SLD)
Coordinators:
Elementary:
Karen Peterson (262) 970-1113 kpeterso@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Sarah Drzewiecki (262) 970-1114 sdrzewie@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Grade 7-12 Specific Learning Disabilities Coordinators: (6 Members)
Marianne Kirsch-Butler Middle School
Address: 310 N. Hine Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53188
Phone: 262-970-2987
e-mail: mkirsch@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Ann Shurte-Central Middle School
Address: 400 N. Grand Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: 262-970-3254
e-mail: ashurte@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Terese Mislang-Horning Middle School
Address: 2000 Wolf Road, Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: 262-970-3360
e-mail: tmislang@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Jeremy Monday-North High School
Address: 2222 Michigan Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53188
Phone: 262-970-3693
email: jmonday@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Judy Ertel-South High School
Address: 401 E. Roberta Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: 262-970-3874
e-mail: jertel@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Gail Henning-West High School
Address: 3301 Saylesville Road, Waukesha, WI 53189
Phone: 262-970-4210
e-mail: ghenning@waukesha.k12.wi.us
The program for students with the impairment of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) is the largest special education program in the district providing services to over 650 students across grades K – 12. Determination of eligibility and need for special education under SLD is done through the referral and evaluation IEP process.
There are three major criterion for SLD. First, the IEP team must determine that a pattern of severe delay exists in classroom achievement as manifested in severe delay in one or more of the following seven areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, math computation, math reasoning, or written expression. Second, the IEP team must determine that a significant discrepancy exists between the student’s academic achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the seven areas listed above. Using the Wisconsin Regression Table, the IEP team determines whether the difference in scores from standardized ability and achievement tests represents a significant discrepancy. Third, the IEP team must determine that severe problems with information processing exists in one or more of the following areas and are directly linked to delays in classroom achievement: acquisition, storage, organization, manipulation, retrieval, or expression. Severe problems means that the student’s functioning is (a) below average in comparison with peers and (b) significantly lower than his/her overall level of cognitive functioning.
Before making final determination that a student has the impairment of SLD, the IEP team must consider whether any exclusionary factors are the primary reason for the student’s significant discrepancy between ability and achievement. Exclusionary factors include environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage; limited English proficiency; insufficient instruction in reading or mathematics; and other disability(ies).
The IEP team must also determine that the student needs special education in order to address his/her learning problem(s) for the student to be considered a student with a disability. In determining the need for special education, the IEP team must identify whether the student’s needs can be met in the regular education program as currently structured; whether any modifications can be made in the regular education program, such as modification of content, instructional delivery, or methodology that will allow the student to access the general curriculum and meet the academic standards that apply to all students; additions or modifications that are needed and which cannot be provided in regular education including replacement content, extended core curriculum, or other supports; and potential harmful effects if the student does not receive special education.
After the IEP team determines that the impairment of SLD exists and there is need for special education, an individualized education program is then developed. The individualized education program is based on the student’s present level of educational performance that identifies how the student’s disability affects his/her involvement and progress in the general curriculum. Annual goals with benchmarks and/or short-term objectives are developed to address the student’s educational needs resulting from his/her disability. The heart of the student’s individualized education program includes the special education and related services the student requires in order to: (a) advance appropriately toward attaining Annual goals; (b) be involved and progress in the general curriculum; (c) participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and (d) be educated and participate with other students with disabilities and nondisabled students to the extent appropriate.
A placement for SLD is proposed based on the student’s individualized education program developed by the IEP team. Placements for SLD can involve the student in general or specially designed curricula and in regular or special education settings, or a combination thereof depending on the student’s individual needs.
Speech/Language Services (SL)
Coordinator (Kindergarten-Grade 12): Patty Hovel
Phone: (262) 970-1112; email: phovel@waukesha.k12.wi.us
The Speech/Language program provides programming to students ages 3 through 21 whose disorders have been found to be disabling in the educational setting. These disorders include language, articulation, voice and/or stuttering. Programming is provided in individual, small group, and classroom settings depending upon the needs of the students.
Every student enrolled in the Speech/Language program has an IEP developed by a Speech/Language Pathologist and reviewed at least annually. About 1,000 students are served in this program annually by the Speech and Language Pathologists.
Vision Impaired Services (V)
Coordinator (Kindergarten-Grade 12): Karen Peterson
Phone: (262) 970-1113; email: kpeterso@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Students enrolled in this program have been identified as having blindness or visual impairment by a physician and determined to be educationally disabled through the IEP evaluation process. The range of vision in students served by the program ranges from partial sight, to severely restricted, to light perception, to total blindness. Instructional strategies are determined based on the individual's needs (per the IEP).
Primary instructional approaches are assessed for each child (i.e. Braille, large print, recorded materials, etc.). Specialized equipment is an integral part of the program for these students. Teachers of the visually impaired usually collaborate with a variety of other professionals including orientation and mobility specialists, for students needing this kind of training.
Updated 9/18/08
