Early Childhood Screening

Early Childhood Screenings are held twice during the school year to identify students who may need special services prior to entering Kindergarten. Areas to be screened include: speech/language, vision/hearing, and coordination.

Our next Early Childhood Screening will take place on Friday February 22, 2008 at Elizabeth Ide School. This screening is for children ages 3-5 who reside in Center Cass District #66. To schedule an appointment, please call Anita Hart, Special Education Secretary, at (630) 783-5168 by Friday February 16, 2008.

SEASPAR

The South East Association for Special Parks And Recreation (SEASPAR) was developed in 1976 as park districts recognized that they were not meeting the leisure needs of their special populations, including individuals with physical and mental disabilities. The mission of SEASPAR is to provide recreation programs and services for residents with disabilities. Examples of just some of the wonderful opportunities that are available for children, teens, and adults, include: Bowling Party, Lunch and a Movie, Gym Quest, Soccer and Horseback Riding. These activities are a great way to support students' social and physical development, while having fun at the same time!

Interested? More information and a list of SEASPAR's activities can be found in their 2008 Winter-Spring Activities Brochure.

Click here for SEASPAR's website.

SASED

The School Association for Special Education in DuPage County (SASED) is a cooperative of 18 school districts providing services to 6,442 students with disabilities in DuPage County, Illinois. Center Cass School District #66 is fortunate to be a member of this cooperative. We utilize several services from SASED including: school psychologists, a speech and language pathologist, a social worker, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a hearing itinerant, and Instructional Support Team members. In addition, some of SASED's multi-needs programs are located within our school buildings.

SASED also provides programs and services for students with moderate and severe disabilities, and for students whose behavior requires an alternative setting. SASED operates specialized programs on a regional basis for students with severe hearing, vision and orthopedic disabilities. Private placement opportunities are also utilized, when appropriate.

More information about SASED and the services offered to students of member districts can be found at http://www.sased.org/

What is RTI?

RTI or Response to Intervention is an educational approach that aligns resources from various components of our school system, including general education, specialist programs, and special education programs. It provides school personnel with ways of knowing which students are at-risk and if efforts to help these students are working.

RTI committees have been formed at all three of our school buildings. Committee members have been attending professional workshops, as well as meeting regularly to plan for RTI implementation in our district. As a school psychologist and RTI committee member, I am very excited about the implementation of RTI for our students. This system allows schools to intervene early to meet the needs of struggling learners. This proactive approach to learning stresses the importance of providing students with high quality instruction and research-based interventions to match his or her needs.

Downers Grove Organization

Helping Girls Navigate Adolescence, Inc. (HGNA) is a Downers Grove not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering adolescent girls to achieve their fullest potential through education, advocacy, and community collaboration. Various events are held throughout the year to support this effort.

Upcoming HGNA event!

POS: Parent Over Shoulder: Negotiating the Chaotic World of Your Adolescent

-A program for parents of students in grades 6-8

-Tuesday October 23rd 7:00-8:30 @ Herrick Middle School in Downers Grove

More information about the HGNA organization can be found at: http://hgna.org/Homepage.php

Welcome

Welcome! My name is Kimberly Montes and I am part of the special education support staff at Center Cass School District #66. I am the school psychologist for Prairieview School and Lakeview Junior High School. This is my second year in the district and I am fortunate to work with such a collaborative and supportive group of parents and staff members.

I will be updating this blog a few times a month to provide parents and staff with additional resources on issues related to education and the well-being of students.

I can be reached at kmontes@ccsd66.org or 783-5112 (Lakeview) or 783-5159 (Prairieview).