Understanding the Special Education Referral Process and Signs to Look for in a Struggling Student

Introduction

This week, I had the opportunity to interview three people who work in the Santiam Canyon School District in Mill City, Oregon about the referral process in their schools. The goal was to understand the special education referral process in their schools and the signs they look for in a struggling student. 

Interviews 

The first interview I did was with the Special Education Director of the Santiam Canyon School District and his name is Alex Nalivaiko. 

1. How long have you been the Special Education Director for the Santiam Canyon School District? 
• "3 months. Since August 1st, 2015." 
2. Can you tell me a little bit about your background with the special education population? 
• "SPED teacher for Santiam for 2 years. Scio SPED teacher 1 year. Middle school teacher at Santiam for 1 year. "
3. How is a student identified for special education referral? 
• "Usually by parent request when they have concern for their child. A team meeting is held right after that. This can result in a formal referral or a pre referral. The response is intervention and a collection of data. A small intervention is a review of the collection of data which shows a pattern or weakness." 
4. Who takes responsibility for the process of the child before and after the referral? 
• "During the process is it is the SPED teacher. The SPED teacher has the support of the principal and the director. There are also learning consultants that come in. There is usually a quarterly check in meeting every 3-5 weeks based on the individual and the data collection. There is always a follow up meeting. There are also general observations that happen and that is done by the SPED teachers and principal. These can happen sporadically or be structured. Generally when there is a new student there is a observation that is done." 
5. What is the school administration's directive for special education? 
• "Our philosophy is dictated by state and federal laws. We want the least restrictive setting with peers. As long as the child has the skills to do it. It's a balancing act so that the student does not regress. They need to be ready. We have 4 SPED teachers in the district for 2 schools. Resources are limited."
6. What provisions are made for students identified for special needs? 
• "80-90% of our students need small supports. We determine if this is an accommodation or modification. Examples are: sitting closer to the board, extra day to turn in work. These are simple supports. High needs examples are: medically fragile, nursing support, direct staff, someone next to them at all times. Sometimes their behaviors are great and sometimes dangerous. We have a dedicated plan which the staff enforces which is to clear the room to make sure the student feels safe." 
7. What is the level of parent involvement in the referral process and special education? 
• "A majority of the parents in this district are parents who are very supportive and proactive. The hands off parents happen but that's when a teacher would notice what is going on with the student and process a pre referral. We work with all families and try to be accommodating to make sure each student is taken care of. 

The second interview I did was with the Athletic Director and teacher of the Santiam School District, Clint Forste. 

1. How long have you been a teacher for the Santiam Canyon School District? 
• "This is my 14th year in the Santiam Canyon School District."
2. Have you taught at any other schools?
• "Nope, this is the only school district, if you don't count student teaching. I student taught in the Dallas School District and Central School District."
3. What is your experience with the special education population?
• "I worked in the Special Education Department for 10years."
4. How do you identify a student for special education?
• "Typically, a regular education teacher or parent makes contact with the special education department. The regular education teacher typically suggests keeping an eye on a particular student or recommends that the Sped Department makes contact with the parent and/or assessing the student for services. The parent usually has some type of previous awareness of their child's struggles and finally caves in and makes a request for testing." 
5. What are the signs of a struggling student? 
• "There are so many signs for struggling students. Some of the biggest signs that I looked at were: reading levels, spelling, basic math skills, paragraph formation, where they sat in the classroom, did they answer any questions in class, were they involved in the discussions and class attentiveness to name a few. Outside the classroom issues that I looked at were: peer interaction, family dynamics, did they seem to care about school at all, anger escalation, depression and/or anxiety, did they get involved in anything, behavioral issues, did they eat lunch alone, did they attend school functions after school, etc... "
6. Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they? 
• "Each school district usually has their own policy regarding the referral process, which is based off of the state OAR's for special education. There are several alternate methods that schools can use though. Reading classes, lower level math classes to build the foundation. You can offer after school, before school help. One on one assessments or read aloud assessments. Allowing students to use computers to write papers vs. handwritten. One of my favorite, if you have the right student for it, is peer tutoring. This is not right for everyone, but it's a valuable resource for many students. Giving students more time to complete assignments works well sometimes also. Using alternate methods before assessing for services is important. It will give you some extra data to provide to the parents when recommending referral for assessments. School counseling can be very valuable as well. It's amazing how often the struggle in school is directly related to home environment and/or how a students feels about themselves."
7. If there was anything you could change about the special education program within the school what would it be? 
• "I would require one certified teacher for every 10 special education students. Also, there would be no mixing of the programs on teachers. This makes their job way harder and less valuable for the students. Cut  back on the paperwork and focus on what is important, the students. I would love to get rid of some of the parents in sped ed as well. Not the ones that complain and are involved, but the ones that cause the biggest problems that are more concerned with the federal money they receive because their child is in special education. I think the school districts should have more power in these situations."

The third interview I did was with Debbie Fawcett who is the Business Education Instructor and the Career Technical Education District Coordinator for the Santiam Canyon School District. 

1. How long have you been a teacher for the Santiam Canyon School District?
• "8 years."
2. Have you taught at any other schools?
• "Nope. I am an Adjunct Professor for Chemeka Community College in Salem though." 
3. What is your experience with the special education population?
• "I have many students who are special needs and I adapt my lesson plans depending on the students ability so that all students are working on a common theme together as a class. I have a unique perspective on special education since my daughter is special needs. I try to look through the eyes of my daughter when I teach so that I am giving my students the best opportunities to learn. Since I teach business I am able to help the students expand their interests and work towards relationship building." 
4. How do you identify a student for special education?
5. What are the signs of a struggling student?
6. Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they? 
• Audio Link to Debbie's Answers
7. If there was anything you could change about the special education program within the school what would it be? 


• "I would like special education not to be viewed as hidden or separate. A lot of time teachers who don't have the patience kind of have a 'deal with it' attitude and this causes them to lose the meaning and purpose behind the special education students and their needs. We need to try and understand and get to the root of the issue instead. The biggest thing I want to avoid is having these students feel isolated. My daughter's classroom is separate from her peers because she is special needs and she is with other special needs students and they don't have windows and their room is like a big closet. If we hide the problem does it go away? We need to force the interaction and make it normal." 
8. Can you tell me a little bit about the nonprofit you set up, switchback? 

• Audio Link to Debbie's Answer

• Switchback

Comparative Analysis 

After my interviews I was able to make connections with my learnings from Activity 1. From my interview with Alex I was able to take away that 80-90% of students need small supports. This directly relates to the Finland video where early intervention is key and usually most students have some sort of need that needs to be addressed. This allows the student to feel comfortable coming forward and asking for help when they need it. It sounds like this is a step that the Santiam School District is working on and this is a clear improvement for the referral process for students. 

In my interview with Clint he mentioned alternate methods he uses and his favorite being peer tutoring. The video resources from last weeks activity showed how valuable alternate methods can be for students in special education. I think having these alternate methods applied really helps to improve a special education students learning experience. Clint also mentioned how there should be restrictions on parents in the classroom in ways he would change education program. I really agree that there should be restrictions that allow a teacher to do their job without the negative aspects some parents can bring to the classroom. I think if this were implemented it could really change the special education referral process and help a teacher to be able to do their job. This directly relates to my reflection on communication and how when used correctly can have a lasting positive impact. 

My final interview with Debbie had many relations to last weeks activity. When I was doing my interview, I felt that everything she said was a review of what I learned and reflected upon last week. She is working towards implementing numerous methods to help her students and she has started a non profit to go above and beyond for her special needs students. You can tell she is truly involved in each of her students lives and she tries to help them in every way she can. It was so inspiring interviewing her. I was also able to ask her about the two videos I watched last week; Finland's education system and New York's School for one. She is very interested in implementing any new method to help all of her students. 

Conclusion 

Overall this experience was extremely uplifting. It was so great to see how these three individuals are working towards positive changes in tomorrow's learning world. It was also really great to hear specific examples from each person on how they would identify a struggling student. It's one thing to read about the signs but it's another to hear real life examples. This really helps to connect the dots as to what to look for and how to help. What I learned is that the support system at Santiam Canyon School District is wonderful. The teachers there truly care about their students and they are able to collaborate well. After my interviews the Special Education Director reached out and asked if I would be interested in doing my student teaching hours at their schools. I feel honored and hope that I can be a part of the Santiam Canyon School District.