Category Archives: Special Education

School secretary Karen Reed is HISD Employee of the Month for January

Karen Reed, left, is recognized as the January 2015 Employee of the Month at the HISD Board Meeting in December.

Karen Reed, Employee of the Month for January, is a Special Education secretary at Hogg Middle School, a position she has held since 2012. She walked away from a lucrative career in commercial real estate to join Team HISD, after realizing that her job wasn’t meaningful enough.

“As a research analyst, I did all this work so brokers could go home with big commissions,” said Reed. “I was padding someone else’s pocketbook, but not making a difference. I wanted somewhere for my stamp to be. These kids provide me with what I need: a purpose.”

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HISD students participate in first-ever UH Special Olympics Basketball Camp

Basketballs were flying around the Hofheinz Pavilion on Nov. 10, as more than 50 HISD students with special needs got to meet and play basketball with coaches and student-athletes from the University of Houston (UH) men’s basketball program.

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For the first UH Special Olympics Basketball Camp, Cougar coaches and players set up six stations on the pavilion’s basketball court, and middle-school students practiced shooting, dribbling, passing, and other fundamentals. Continue reading →

Special Education expert shares lessons learned during PowerUp

Representatives from school districts as far away as Seattle and Boston sat in on Beth Goodrich’s presentation on the importance of considering the needs of special student populations when giving students access to laptops or tablets.

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The HISD senior manager’s talk was one of many sessions at the fall 2014 meeting of the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative, a national network of approximately 100 school districts committed to improving outcomes for students with disabilities. The topic of the gathering hosted by HISD last week was “Designing Learning Environments for all Students: Increasing Access Through Technology.” Continue reading →

Camp M.I. Way kicks off this year with the dedication of Phinny’s Field

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T.H. Rogers student Phineas Armstrong was recognized recently in a somewhat unconventional manner: a baseball diamond was named in his honor—but next year, it might actually be in a different location.

The dedication of “Phinny’s Field” took place on the campus of T.H. Rogers last month during Camp M.I. Way, which provides students with multiple impairments with daily opportunities to practice their communication skills. And though that campus has consistently hosted the event every summer for the past decade, if the camp ever moves, the name will travel along with it to wherever it may be held in the future. Continue reading →

2,000+ students participate in Special Olympics field days

More than 2,000 Houston ISD students from more than 120 schools participated last week in the second annual field days hosted by the district and Special Olympics Texas.

The events were for students who have intellectual disabilities.

“It’s so important because it gives our children the opportunity to participate just as regular athletes do,” teacher Lynn Mayer said.

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Notice of destruction of special education records

Attention Parents/Guardians, Former Students, Eligible (Adult) Students:

Special Education records which have been collected by the Houston Independent School District (HISD) related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of Special Education in the district, must be maintained under state and federal laws for a period of five years after Special Education services have ended for the student. This requirement has changed from seven years to five years based on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and HISD’s updated records retention schedule. Special Education services end when the student no longer is eligible for services, graduates, completes his or her educational program at age 22, or moves from the district.

This notification is to inform parents/guardians and former students of HISD’s intent to destroy the Special Education records of students who are no longer receiving Special Education services as of the end of the 2005–2006 through the 2007–2008 school year. These records will be destroyed in accordance with state law unless the parent/guardian or eligible (adult) student notifies the school district otherwise.

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Video Demonstrates Students Receiving Special Education Services Performing Well in Regular Classes

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HISD’s Gregg Elementary is having great success placing children with special needs into the general student population and is getting national recognition for those strides. Susan Pansmith, senior manager for the district’s Elementary Special Education Services, presented the HISD video, which details Gregg’s advances, to 300 participants at a conference in Chicago on “Success at an Early Age: Improving Outcomes for Young Children With Disabilities.”

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Partnership Yields Real-World Skills for Students with Special Needs

Jones High School graduate Cynthia Nieves puts labels on supply bags at a Walgreens pharmacy as a part of her training in the HISD/HCC Transition Program.

Some students need just a little extra help to become self-sufficient—and that’s where the HISD/HCC Transition Program comes in.

This partnership between the district and the local community college system, which began in 1994, was designed for students with cognitive disabilities who have already met the district’s graduation requirements.

HISD teachers work collaboratively with Houston Community College instructors to help students learn skills they can use in obtaining meaningful employment, such as the art of interviewing, how to complete applications, and the characteristics of good employees.

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Special Ed Teachers Gather to Prepare for New School Year

Special education teachers gathered across HISD to train, network, and share ideas as they prepare for the new school year. The training on August 15, called Job-Alike, brings together participants with similar roles at various campuses. It’s all part of efforts by the Office of Special Education to strengthen services to the district’s nearly 16,000 special-education students.

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