Special Education

The Special Education Staff mission is to ensure student learning and prepare for successful student transition through collaboration with Parents, collaboration with outside agencies, quality center and family based programs, and a working partnership with local districts to provide direct and indirect services to students.

The Special Education Department operates 9 classroom programs, located in public school settings, for children with severe cognitive and emotional impairments.  Early Childhood Special Education classroom programs and home-based services are available for children with significant delays age five and under.  Professional services available to students, families and schools within the WMISD include, but are not limited to:  School Psychology, Speech/Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Teacher Consultant services, and Social Work services.

·          Had 1,389 students throughout the ISD were eligible for Special Education

·          Served approximately 200 children in classrooms operated by WMISD

·          Referrals dropped by 11.2% over the last two years due to CSI. The percentage of referrals establishing Special Education eligibility increased from 77.6% to 85.4% (+7.8%)

·          Provided approximately 100 staff members and contracted specialists that provided Special Education services at no cost to all seven local school districts

·          Coordinated all Medicaid billing for WMISD and local school districts generating more than $600,000 to support Special Education services

·          Completed “Response to Intervention” manual for reading

·          Began use of CI classroom curriculum guide

·          Offered PD on RTI system (Math), Child Study Investigation (CSI), and Life Space Crisis Intervention

·          Completed the State of Michigan “Continuous Improvement Monitoring System” for both Part B and Part C programs

·          Provided training to pre-school teachers in the areas of motor, speech and language activities for the classroom

·          Participated in the district wide Pre-school Leadership Team

·          Completed a pre-school speech screening in all districts

If you have problems opening any of the following documents, please download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats from the following website.

• Collaboration with parents
• Collaboration with outside agencies
• Quality center and family based programs
• A working partnership with local districts to provide direct and indirect services to students