Vision Statement: Every student with special needs is prepared for maximum independence in learning and living.
Mission Statement: Provide an excellent, distinctive educational experience for each student in keeping with his or her individual needs.
The Palmer High School Inclusive Services Department believes that students with IEPs learn best when students are part of their community. For us, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) speaks to our inclusive practices for Students With Disabilities because we know from research that all students – both general education and students with IEPs – perform better when they are educated together in inclusive settings.
Specialized services and support are determined by a highly-qualified IEP team and are available for students who are eligible. Specialized instruction and support is provided in accordance with both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Exceptional Children's Education Act (ECEA).
Certified Teachers:
Rich McKenna | 719.328.7360 | richard.mckenna@d11.org
Mary Raymond | 719.328.7373 | mary.raymond@d11.org
Sarah Shub | 719.328.2858 | sarah.shub@d11.org
Gesine Steinbach | 719.328.6389 | gesine.steinbach@d11.org
Larry VanKorlaar | 719.328.7390 | larry.vankorlaar@d11.org
Kyle Reno |719.328.5758 | kyle.reno@d11.org
Paraprofessional Educators:
Michele Blanchard | michele.blanchard@d11.org
Hayley Shade | hayley.shade@d11.org
Steven Janoka | steven.janoka@d11.org
Deaf Education/HH Interpreters:
Julie Arbuckle | julie.arbuckle@d11.org
Ginny Hall | virginia.hall@d11.org
Donna Keller | donna.keller@d11.org
Morgaan Pervis | Morgaan.Pervis@d11.org
Amanda Saft | amanda.saft@d11.org
Support Staff:
Sarah Scheidt - Social Worker | 719.328.7353 | sarah.scheidt@d11.org
Kari Snow - Speech Language Pathologist | 719.328.7154 | kari.snow@d11.org
The Palmer High School ESL Department provides a comprehensive English as a Second Language program for beginning to advanced English language learners with a variety of academic and cultural backgrounds.
Newcomers: Recently arrived students receive two hours a day of direct English Language development in addition to sheltered classes in the areas of social studies, mathematics, and science. Students are mainstreamed into physical education and art classes during this initial stage of their English language development. Students’ programs are individualized based upon prior academic experience, social and cultural factors, as well as parent input.
Intermediate Learners: Intermediate learners are provided with two hours of daily English language development, but they are mainstreamed into more classes as their English proficiency and academic levels permit. Support in the mainstream classes is provided with an educational assistant or with an ESL teacher teamed with a regular education teacher.
Advanced Learners: Advanced learners are provided with different supports than the lower levels. They receive the regular District Eleven English curriculum taught by either a certified ESL teacher or by a team of both en ESL and regular education English teacher. Student progress is monitored and there is constant collaboration between the ESL Department, mainstream teachers, and counselors.
Tutoring and Other Support: In addition to the support provided to all Palmer Students, our English language learners also receive weekly tutoring after school with individualized help and computer aided instruction. We also have a constant stream of volunteers and interns from the local community and colleges who help to support our students in and out of our classes.
Griselle Duval |719.328.6688 | Griselle.Duval@d11.org
Christine Gragirena | christine.gragirena@d11.org
Beate Silva | 719.328.7380 | beate.silva@d11.org
Vision: The Gifted and Talented will maximize achievement for all gifted students.
Mission: The Mission of the Gifted and Talented Department is to support gifted and talented students in achieving their academic, social-emotional, and creative-productive potential by providing an appropriate learning environment based on best practices in gifted education.
Guiding Principles: We, as the Gifted and Talented Department:
Promote high academic achievement for each student
Seek meaningful and challenging learning experiences
Facilitate talent development
Encourage social and emotional growth
Support future planning
Develop habits of good citizenship
Advanced Learning Plans (ALPs)
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) requires that all Gifted and Talented students have an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP), and state that communication between parents, educators, and students are essential in the goal setting, development, and review of a gifted student's Advance Learning Plan. In order to comply with the CDE rules, parents must review and approve the completed ALP.
As a gifted student you have the right to gifted programming. At Palmer High School, this entails taking honors and advanced classes, but may also involve extracurricular activities, personal and social support, and other services. The objective is to allow gifted students to learn and grow in their area(s) of strength/interest commensurate with their ability. The Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) is a Colorado state requirement aimed to address this objective by means of goal attainment. All identified gifted students need to complete an ALP yearly.
The ALP is embedded within Naviance, a school-wide management and career readiness/planning solution for students, and a system for students to complete ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan) graduation requirements. Since there is alignment between the ALP and the ICAP (e.g., both are state requirements, and both are utilized in planning for the future), using Naviance for the ALP reduces the redundancy of both. The ALP and the ICAP are graduation requirements.
There is one ALP task (survey) all gifted students need to complete before parent/teacher conferences in October (20-30 minutes to complete). There will be a goal progress monitoring task assigned to students in January, and a year-end summary in May. Together, this constitutes the yearly ALP - for the student. The ALP is much larger and more encompasssing than these Naviance tasks assigned to students. The two year-long ALP goals, one academic and one affective (social/emotional), need to be a collaborative effort between student, parent(s), teachers, Gifted Resource Teacher, and other adults associated with the student and his/her goals. Parents will have their own parent Naviance login where they can view and comment on their child's written ALP. In addition to the goals, the ALP is composed of gifted identification information, scholastic performance, ICAP information, and other school information which paints a comprehensive scholastic picture of the student.
Once the ALP is written, the Gifted Resource Teacher (me) will work with the student to help them reach their goals. I will meet with the student several times throughout the school year to check progress and to help with goal attainment. My focus up until parent/teacher conferences is to ensure all gifted students have written their ALP in Naviance. After parent/teacher conferences, I will focus on getting students to achieve their goals.
Name: Michael Chamberlin
Email: michael.chamberlin@d11.org
Phone: (719)-328-5079