Annual Report of the Superintendent - North Branford Public Schools

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Technology Tim Hartigan, Director of Technology WEB Site The North Branford BOE web site has been expanded during the year. It now has a link to Special Education and all the approved Board Polices. Planning is underway to enhance the site, starting in June of 2007. Network Upgrade The North Branford Network underwent a major change in December 2006 when Totoket Valley, Stanley T. Williams and Jerome Harrison schools were connected to North Branford High School with fiber optic cable, an upgrade from the copper T1 circuits that had been in use for many years. PowerSchool In the fall of 2006 the district purchased a major upgrade to PowerSchool called PowerSchool Premier. Premier includes a student information system. Premier will be completed in the summer of 2007 and will be available for use before the start of school in August. New servers are being purchased to support this system, giving the district better data integrity and backup capability. This upgrade increased network speeds to these three facilities from 1.5 megabits/sec. to 10 megabits/sec. at Jerome Harrison School and 20 megabit/ sec. at Stanley T. Williams and Totoket Valley schools. These fiber connections have the added benefit of being scalable. The speeds that transmit data can be throttled up as high as 100 megabits/sec. if the need warrants and funds are available. Lease Purchase The district continued on its course to update and or replace all computer hardware on a four (4) year cycle. During the summer of 2006 approximately 200 old computers (four years and older) were replaced by an equivalent number of new computers at all our schools. Grants, E-Rate The district continues to participate in the Federal E-Rate program. This is the 9th year of our participation. In addition the district applied for an additional infrastructure grant in early May 2007. Education Members of the technology department attended a number of seminars, workshops (EXCEL, ACCESS) and technical updates as well as local user group meetings for PowerSchool and FirstClass. Topics included the new Intel-based Apple computers, Windows Vista and Windows 2003 Server, among many other topics. We also attended the Connecticut Education Computer Association (CECA) conference, in Cromwell, in November 2006. In addition North Branford is a member of the ACES Technology Council and regularly attends these meetings. 18 Annual Report to the Community www.northbranfordschools.org
Special Services Suzanne Wright, Director of Special Services Students Served During the 2006-2007 school year, the Special Services Department provided individualized education programs (IEPs) for approximately 290 students. Students received services under the following disability categories as recognized by the Connecticut State Department of Education: Intellectual Disability; Hearing Impairment; Speech or Language Impairment; Visual Impairment; Orthopedic Impairment; Other Health Impairment; ADD/HD; Specific Learning Disability; Deaf- Blindness; Multiple Disabilities; Autism; Traumatic Brain Injury; and Developmental Delay. Despite the continuum of services offered within the district, approximately 18 students with intensive needs received their education in private placements. The Special Services Department staff conducted the following evaluations during the course of the school year: 144 psychological evaluations, 127 educational evaluations, 59 psycho-social evaluations, and 110 speech/ language evaluations. Assessments measured students’ cognitive ability, academic achievement, communication skills, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning, health, fine and gross motor skills. These evaluations were conducted by school psychologists, special education instructors, speech/language pathologists, and social workers. Evaluations were used to determine students’ eligibility for special education as well as to assist the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) at each building in designing IEPs to meet the unique needs of each student. This year, in lieu of contracting physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) services from Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES), the district hired its own occupational therapist and physical therapist. This provided greater access to consultative support for staff, and more consistent and direct services for students. The district continued to contract with a consulting psychiatrist who reviewed cases, conducted psychiatric evaluations, and met with mental health staff members on a monthly basis. The district also continued to work closely with private neuropsychologists, behaviorists, audiologists, and assistive technologists when more specific assessments were required. Programming The Special Services Department offers an array of special education programs and services to eligible students. They include the following: • Special education or related service support within the regular classroom • Special education instruction in a Resource Room • The Project Pride Preschool Program • The Bridges Program - Elementary • The Bridges Program - High School • Life Skills instruction These programs reflect a continuum of services ranging from least restrictive environment (LRE) to more restrictive environments as required by State and Federal law. Students have the opportunity to learn and progress in the LRE before moving to a more restrictive environment. All students receive inclusive experiences to the maximum degree appropriate to meet their unique educational needs. In addition to the various programs available within the district, there are supportive services available to eligible students. Some of these services include the following: • Counseling services for individuals, small groups, and/or as needed • Speech/language therapy • Occupational therapy and physical therapy • Consultative services in any of the above areas Professional Growth Professional Growth opportunities have focused on the following areas: • Using Data to Monitor Student Progress • Displaying Student Data Using Excel • Response to Intervention • Wilson Reading • PMT Training • Spelling and Writing • Transition planning for high school students • Administering new and/or updated versions of assessment instruments Staff members have shared their learning with colleagues, paraprofessionals, regular and special education staff members during team meetings, department meetings, and faculty meetings. Special Services 19
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Annual Report of the Superintendent - North Branford Public Schools

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