VCOE Special Education

	SPECIAL EDUCATION Student Services Branch
	John Gahan, Executive Director 5189 Verdugo Way, Camarillo, CA 93012 805•383•1924 • Fax: 805•383•1915

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VCOE SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

John Gahan
Executive Director of Special Education
jgahan@vcoe.org

GOLDEN BELL AWARD RECIPIENT FOR 2006

The Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) is pleased to announce that our Special Education Department has been awarded the California School Boards Association’s Golden Bell, which honors outstanding educational programs from around the state. The Golden Bell was presented for the VCOE’s development of a, “Formative Assessment Program of CAPA (California Alternate Performance Assessment) Functional Indicators”. It was presented on December 2, 2006, at the California School Boards Association conference in San Francisco, California.

The Golden Bell Awards program, now in its 27th year, promotes excellence in education by recognizing outstanding programs in school districts and county offices of education throughout California. The Golden Bell program contributes to the development of model programs by recognizing exemplary, innovative and sustainable programs which have been successfully implemented.

The “Formative Assessment Program” was developed by the VCOE to increase the achievement of students with moderate to severe disabilities. To accomplish this, the Formative Assessment Program helped to guide instruction and to provide teachers with accurate feedback of student learning over time. In doing this, the teachers obtain regular feedback and can adjust their instruction to promote the learning of these students, many with significant challenges. By providing teachers with common data, the Formative Assessment Program has also provided teachers with common data, thus facilitating constructive, meaningful discussions and collaboration among our teaching staff.

DEPARTMENT INFORMATION:

The Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE), Special Education Department provides special education services to the 21 school districts in Ventura County and the Las Virgenes Unified School District in Los Angeles County. The department operates 64 special day classes on 22 different school sites throughout Ventura County. The department serves students with developmental delays and students with emotional disturbances. All classrooms align curriculum goals with the California content standards. Students with developmental delays are instructed in a Functional Skills Curriculum in the seven curricular domains: Communication, Self-Care/Independent Living, Recreation/Leisure, Vocational, Community Access/Motor Skills, Social Emotional and Functional Academics. Students receive instruction on the subset of the California Content Standards which are included in the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA). Students with emotional disturbances (in the Phoenix School) receive instruction in the regular core curriculum in the state content areas and participate in all of the state testing programs.

Each student has an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) which is a plan developed by a team, including the parent(s) of each child, to address that student’s individual needs. Additionally, as determined by the IEP team, support services may be provided in the areas of speech therapy, occupational therapy, vision services, nursing services, psychological services, and translation services. Individual Transition Plans (ITPS) are written with graduating students and their families to facilitate appropriate adult life post-school options. The department also provides speech and/or psychological services to five small school districts located in Ventura County.

Transportation is provided to over 850 students, of which over 150 are students in wheelchairs. In order to accomplish this, the department operated 75 busses, which serviced 71 different school sites.

Resource Specialist services are provided through the Court and Community School Program.

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