Lee's Summit R-7 School District

Education Week: Moving Beyond the Mainstream I'd say that our district would get a failing grade for this. How well educators manage to adjust the common core to the needs of each student could prove pivotal scholastically, but also politically, as the standards themselves face skepticism in the states. This special report looks at the challenges educators face in adapting the standards for students with disabilities, English-learners, and gifted students.

Education Week: A Common-Core Challenge: Learners With Special Needs Oh how I wish that our district would concern themselves more with the average student and those with special needs and not focus totally on those that make them look good.

R-7 board member encourages students to ‘make good choices’ | News | Lee's Summit Journal Too bad many of these same individuals don't make good choices when it comes to our children's education.  You can't expect children to make good choices when the adults are not setting a good example.

Autism Acceptance Day: Imagine a World Where Everyone Was Against You....

Disabled 5-year-old's death in Kenner classroom is re-examined in court | NOLA.com

Student who had mouth taped shut speaks out | KOB.com A special-needs student is recounting the moment he says an APS teacher’s aide taped his mouth shut. But the teacher’s aide says the incident didn’t happen how we’re being told. Dolores Lopez spoke briefly with KOB Eyewitness News 4 late Monday night. She didn’t deny she taped the boy’s mouth shut, but says it was done in a “playful act.” Still, the boy is scared because Tuesday morning he’s going to see her in class. He is a special needs boy, but don’t think for one second Augustine Reynoso doesn’t feel pain. And a painful memory is all the 16-year-old with cerebral palsy has of school on September 24th. "Dolores put the tape on me and then...” he said. Asked where she put it, Reynoso responds, “On my mouth. On my mouth. And then I didn't know what to do.” Dolores is Dolores Lopez, a teacher’s aide at Rio Grande High School where Reynoso is a junior. APS place Lopez on leave for three weeks, one week without pay, as it ...

Local Teachers Fail to Report Abuse of Special-Needs Student | Broward Three teachers at a Broward County high school have been charged with failure to report the suspected abuse of a special-needs student. Lauren Book, child sexual abuse survivor, prevention advocate and CEO of the Miami-basedLauren’s Kids foundation, comments below: “Any teacher’s failure to report suspected child abuse is a crime. But when this teacher works with special-needs children who often struggle to communicate, this failure to report — and thus failure to protect — is even more saddening, sickening and unacceptable. Locally, a special-needs teen at Western High School in Broward County wrote an essay in class detailing her rape. It was read by not one, not two, but three teachers who chose to do nothing and ignored the girl’s cry for help. Because the events in this case transpired two years ago, the teachers — who remain employed by the Broward County School District — are being charged wit...

Teacher's aide accused of shoving special needs student - KCTV5 KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV/AP) - A teacher's aide in the Kansas City School District is accusing of shoving an 11-year-old student who has Down syndrome. Both state social workers and school district officials are investigating the teacher's aide after another aide and a teacher came forward to report that the employee in question had shoved Devon Williams. Darwin Williams, the boy's father, said he wants criminal charges filed. He filed a police report, and Kansas City police confirm that detectives are investigating.  Devon is a student at the African-Centered College Preparatory Academy off East Meyer Boulevard in Kansas City. Darwin Williams said he is outraged. He said he was told that the aide shoved his son against a wall with no warning. When Devon got home that day, Darwin Williams said he and Devon's mother could tell something was wrong. "He was not his normal self," Darwin Williams r...

Performance of Students With Disabilities Hard to Gauge in School Accountability - On Special Education - Education Week Getting a clear picture of how students with disabilities have performed under the accountability measures once mandated by No Child Left Behind is difficult because of differences among states in measuring progress, says a report from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, a project of the Institute of Education Sciences. The Inclusion of Students With  Disabilities in School Accountability Systems: An Update  is the latest snapshot of how schools fared under an accountability system that required them to break out the performance of students with disabilities and move them towards 100 percent academic proficiency. The report looks specifically at the four school years from 2006-07 to 2009-10; school accountability has in recent months changed dramatically with the permission of accountability  waivers  that have n...

I just talked to the principal at Jake's school.  It seems that this class is not what I had been informed that it would be.  While the district has conceded to letting Jake take the class, I feel that it would not be in Jake's best interest.   The class would involve working with different partners.  That is not in Jake's best interest or the partner's best interest.  He has limited social skills and this would not be a proper teaching technique for Jake.  The other child's grade would be affected by Jake and this would lead to him being more alienated.    This class involves some very abstract math and ideas.  Something that is not a high skill area for Jake.  It would also involve advocating for himself.  That is on his IEP as one of his weaknesses.   The math involved is very complicated and some of the higher end students have an issue with it.  They did offer to have a para in the class to help Jake, but...

John and Mary Parent [Street Address] [State, Town and Zip Code] [Phone number] [Email address] [NAME OF PRINCIPAL] [NAME OF SCHOOL] [STREET ADDRESS] [TOWN, CITY, ZIP CODE] RE:    Request and Parental Consent for Student's Education Records Child's Name DOB: (fill in birthdate) School Name and Grade: (fill in status) Dear Mr., Ms., Dr. _____________: I request a copy of all education records in the School District's possession that pertain to [name of student].  I make this request under the Family Educational Records and Privacy Act (FERPA), 34 C.F.R. Part 99, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004), and its regulations, 34 C.F.R. Sections 300.501 and 300.610-627. This request encompasses the identified education records no matter where they may be located, whether in the Central Administration Office, the Special Education Office, or any other department or office with...

email : Webview What does "community" mean to you? For some people, this question doesn't mean much. But for the hundreds of thousands of Americans receiving Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), the meaning of community has huge implications.   In 2010, the State of Missouri tried to use Medicaid funds that were intended to serve people with disabilities in the community to build group homes on the same property as an institution. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rightly   refused  to allow Missouri to use Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) funding for this plan, as the purpose of HCBS funding is to help people avoid institutionalization, not to fund placements that segregate people from their communities.   As a disability rights organization committed to advancing equal access and inclusion for all people with disabilities, ASAN belives strongly that anything that segregates people with disabilities from our c...

Police: school principal dragged child with Down Syndrome across concrete floor An 11-year-old boy with Down Syndrome was pulled from his classroom by his private school principal and badly hurt, according to police and his family. Meibol and Cesar Suarez adopted their grandson, who has Down Syndrome, after his parents were no longer able to take care of him. They enrolled him in a school for children with learning disabilities, where they believed he would be safely taken care of. But according to Neptune Beach Police Department in Florida, about three weeks ago the 11-year-old was harshly disciplined in class, and criminal charges could follow. “This is my child. I have to protect my child,” said Meibol Suarez. She’s still furious weeks after her son came home with bruises on his arm and side. She said that as a child with Down Syndrome, he sometimes throws himself to the ground and refuses to get up. According to police, on September 12, while at the New Leaf School for Change, th...

R-7 to host Transition Fair to help families with special needs children prepare young adults for life after high school. The Lee’s Summit R-7 School District will host a Transition Fair from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 at Lee’s Summit North High School, 901 NE Douglas St. The event is designed to help families with special needs children prepare for their children’s transition from high school to the world of a young adult. Representatives from over 25 agencies will be at the event to provide information and resources to families attending the fair. Sessions are also scheduled throughout the event, including presentations by the Missouri Governor’s Council on Disability, Vocational Rehabilitation, University of Central Missouri’s THRIVE program, JackieKBags, ABLE program, Community of the Good Shepard, Shepherd Elder Law and Community of America Special Needs Planning Center. Families attending the Transition Fair will also learn about how their child can receive school cr...

I'm Sorry - From One Special Needs Mom to Another | The thing about “I’m sorry” is that it’s something we’re constantly telling people  we don’t want to hear .  We don’t want people to pity us as parents of children with special needs.  We don’t want people to be sorry that we have a child with special needs, or with challenges, or sorry for our daily struggles, or our challenge to survive the hour much less the day or a lifetime.  I’ve said that before myself… don’t pity me.  Don’t pity my child.  I wouldn’t change a thing (except maybe there would be  a couple things ).  But essentially, don’t be “sorry” for me / him / our family / our life. With that, I’ve found that when I want to say, “I’m sorry”, it’s been hard to find words that say something else.  Because to me, when I say “I’m sorry”, it means… That it totally sucks that you just found out your 9 year old has the mentality of an 18 month old; that’s a hard one for people to wrap t...

Missouri House Interim Committee on Education Hearings | Missouri Learning Standards The Missouri House of Representatives Interim Committee on Education is holding a second round of  hearings  about a number of education issues facing the state. The Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education encourages parents, teachers, administrators and community members to attend these hearings and make your voices heard. This is your chance to provide input on the priorities for lawmakers leading up to the 2014 legislative session. Topics will likely include: Common Core State Standards Foundation formula for education funding Student transfers from unaccredited to accredited districts Teacher tenure Educator evaluation Interim House Education Committee Hearing dates and locations:  Monday, October 21, 3:30-6:30pm at LaGrange College,  2800 Palmyra Rd, Hannibal, MO 63401 Tuesday, October 22, 1:00-4:00pm at Northwest Missouri State University, Stude...

St. Louis schools taking aim at social promotion : News ST. LOUIS •  Each year, around 2,000 children in the city’s public elementary and middle schools receive the worst score possible on state reading exams. And yet, just 134 students in grades three through eight were held back this year, according to state data. It’s a fact that was pointed out to St. Louis Public Schools officials in a stinging state audit of the district last month. Now city school officials are taking steps to better comply with two largely ignored state laws that prohibit children who lack adequate reading skills from advancing to the next grade. In the next few weeks, parents of city school children are to receive notice if their child is reading more than one grade level behind. For the first time this fall, the district is giving a standard reading assessment to middle and elementary schools to determine where their skills stand. Those not reading adequately will receive reading improvement plans that ...