January 2020

From Rochelle...

January has me thinking about the future. Maybe it is because I am looking forward to Spring and maybe it is because much of the work that I am focused are focused towards the future. Let me give you a few updates about what’s happening:

Dr. Ross Greene joined us in January and there was something for everyone. We were able to send a number of school teams who are in the exploratory phase to an all day workshop to learn more about the Collaborative Problem Solving Process and the implementation of the ALSUP and Plan B. Following the session, 9 of our schools who are using the model and tools joined Dr. Greene in individualized consultation to further develop their skills and implementation in schools. We will continue to deepen our work on the Collaborative Problem Solving Process this Spring and Summer, so be on the lookout for new professional development from our amazing District Program Facilitators.

Our work in December and January as Special Education Directors and DPF’s is the review of all students who will be transitioning a new schools in the 20-21 school year to make sure we have the right number of programmatic supports for students in the upcoming school year. As with most years, we will be making a few changes of classrooms around the District to ensure that we will be able to meet every student’s IEP needs. While no student’s will be affected by these changes, we realize that they can be disruptive to staff. We will work hard to minimize movement of staff through the budget tie out process.

Finally, we continue to work on models for the Comprehensive Design. The Comprehensive Design provides an unique opportunity for the Special Education Department to redesign Citywide Special Education Classrooms from an accumulated design (classrooms placed where there is space available in schools) to an intentional design where we place the classrooms based on our students’ communities and needs. We will also be intentional about the programming at both our community schools and magnet schools. For more information and talking points regarding those services I am sharing one pagers in this update. As proposals formally go to the School Board in the next week, please feel free to reach out to myself and the other Special Education Directors with any questions and feedback.

There is a lot happening in the next few months at MPS. That being said, our focus remains on the education outcomes of the students we serve. We will continue to work relentlessly to provide you the resources needed for the important role you play at MPS. Let’s finish strong – MPS strong – this year.

Best,

Rochelle Cox

Associate Superintendent