Amid parent backlash, Sears School’s special-education program set for overhaul

Significant changes are recommended for The Joseph Sears School’s special-education program as the result of a recent independent audit.

Dr. Christina Sepiol, a retired student-services educator who has worked in special education, conducted the audit after being hired by the Kenilworth District 38 School Board earlier this spring. She presented the results of her audit at a special D38 School Board meeting on Thursday, June 4.

Superintendent Kate Donegan explained during the meeting how several of the recommendations will be implemented in the near future.

As previously reported by The Record, parents of special education students confronted the School Board in March about what the school’s comprehensive needs program classroom.

At that meeting, parents accused administrators of ignoring their concerns and said there is a toxic work environment within the program that has caused turnover. The program’s most recent lead teacher resigned at the end of February, and a replacement reportedly was hired last week

Parents respond

Seven parents of special education students addressed the board on Thursday, with many of them saying that Sepiol’s report confirmed what they had been saying about D38’s special education program for years.

Jennifer Price called out multiple administrators by name whom she said were “dismissing our concerns” about the program. She asked the School Board to commit to the full implementation of all of Sepiol’s recommendations.

“You have an opportunity tonight to be on the right side of this,” she said. “The administrators are not your friends. We are asking you, as your neighbors, as your community, and as the parents of the most vulnerable kids in this school to please act like it.”

Jack Brown encouraged the board to focus on ensuring that the new special education teacher and other staff members feel that they are valued employees of D38.

“Those other people didn’t have that,” he said. “So are we going to be sitting here in six months and that person just left because of the same thing? It’s up to all of you. We can’t do it. We embrace all of the teachers who have left because anyone who works with our kids are wonderful people. That’s why they go into this.”

Former D38 School Board member John Gottschall, a current village trustee, said, “The special education program at Sears completely collapsing has diminished our reputation in the wider community,” adding that it “doesn’t make sense” to him how that could happen while general education classes are doing well.

“We have an opportunity to fix things,” he said. “You don’t have much time. I think you only have one shot, but please recognize what you have to do.”

Research and analysis

Sepiol told the board that the purpose of her audit was to “determine whether the program was appropriately designed, adequately supported and sustainably implemented to meet the needs of the students served through the program.” It included interviews with 34 people (parents, administrators, teaching staff and instructional assistants), classroom observations and data collection, which included emails between parents and staff.

While she did not go over all the results in her 60-page report, Sepiol delivered some recommendations to the board, including a primary suggestion to “reset” the program into one that is more restrictive.

Although she praised the district’s prior inclusion model, calling it a “source of pride” for D38, Sepiol said that may not be the best environment for the students.

“The flip side of (inclusion) is that it’s perhaps too much inclusion for some of the students,” she said. “Their needs are too intensive and they just need that next level of service, and so that is what I am proposing within the recommendations, that you go to that next level of service.”

She recommended a 1:1 model for students, saying the students in the classroom  — which this school year totaled six — need “constant supervision and attention.”

She described the previous philosophy of inclusion as “more of a resource model” that had the special education students attend some general education classes so that they would be taught alongside their peers.

“(The recommendation) is technically more restrictive because it limits the inclusion opportunities, but it’s responsive to the curricular, communication and regulation needs of the students,” Sepiol said. “The schedule would allow students to be included with their grade level peers during the day but not to the extent that they currently are.”

Addressing the concerns about staff absences and retention, Sepiol recommended improvements to the district’s onboarding process and an increase in professional development opportunities.

“People do leave this position,” she said. “I think when people feel a sense of belonging, and recognized and valued, that adds to their longevity. When they grow as professionals, they feel more agency and that will contribute to their longevity as well.”

Regarding staffing, Sepiol said that over the years the classroom was managed by both D38 and staff from the TrueNorth Education Cooperative, and at times staff was unclear who was responsible for what. She specifically mentioned an instance where, year after year, the person in charge of paperwork shifted.

“It’s not a blame situation. It’s just a fine example of you had a lot of people in the mix and the roles and responsibilities were not as outlined as they could have been,” she said. “And so things get missed when that happens. So it would be an area of growth for next year,” especially with TrueNorth adjusting its services and D38 taking over management of the classroom.

Sepiol also recommended a change in parent communication, saying that some of the parents hired legal representatives to accompany them to individualized-education-plan meetings.

She said certified staff, and not assistants, should deliver information and suggested a communication plan be installed and regularly updated.

Sepiol concluded her presentation by saying that, within her report, she had prioritized the tasks she’s recommending for implementation.

“I would not recommend a program like this unless I truly believed it could be done,” she said. “It would be less juggling and pivoting than what the teacher has had to do up to this point.”

Timeline and changes

Following Sepiol’s presentation, Superintendent Kate Donegan reviewed how implementation of the recommendations will occur, while also mentioning changes that have already been made.

To start, a new special education teacher reportedly was hired on Thursday and will reportedly undergo 100 hours of summer work time.

Donegan said that the district will also bring on consultants to work with the new teacher on classroom redesign, and they will also have monthly coaching sessions during the next school year.

A consultant will also oversee the implementation of Sepiol’s changes, and regular updates will be provided at future board meetings.

Donegan also said that this past year the district piloted a standardized daily parent-school communication program with two students, and it will be implemented for all students starting next school year.

The district will conduct end-of-summer meetings with parents that will include staff, teachers and instructional coaches where individual students needs will be discussed. Each student will also have their own personal binder containing detailed information about their education plans, and a new classroom has been identified for the comprehensive needs program.

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