Increasing the Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Serving Students with Special Needs: It All Starts with a Special Education Opportunities Review

School districts must tackle the twin challenges of controlling special education costs and improving student achievement. Fortunately, there are proven best practices that have allowed school districts to raise student achievement, reduce costs and improve parent satisfaction. District and Community Partners has assembled 75 proven strategies and a team of educators with hands-on experience of turning strategy into results.

Each school district has different history, student population and systems. An Opportunities Review pinpoints which strategies will yield the greatest increase in effectiveness and cost effectiveness for serving the children with special needs in your district. It also highlights current commendable practices.

An opportunities review includes a systematic study of your district’s current special education and general education services, programs, procedures, staffing, and costs. Based on this data, 75 specific strategies to lower cost and increase student achievement are evaluated and the highest potential ideas for your district are identified. A detailed road map outlining current commendable practices, the three to five highest impact opportunities and projected benefits will be provided in a final report.

We know that your staff is very busy. District and Community Partners has structured the Special Education Opportunities Review to minimize the impact on staff time and schedules, while engaging them in the discovery process. This creates positive energy and buy-in for the implantation phase. Staff in other districts have found the review to be inclusive, exciting and thought provoking. The process typically takes 8 – 10 weeks from start to finish with only a few days of onsite time required.

The first step towards more learning and less spending. The Opportunities Review is the start of a comprehensive effort to help students and the budget. After the review is completed, we host a planning retreat to create an implementation plan. District and Community Partners will also provide a proposal to support your implementation, including access to our library of tools, flow charts, training, software, and other services. We can provide as much, or as little, follow on help as needed.

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