Harris County Department of Education physical therapist Kaylon Fenner works a student at CFISD.[/caption]
With more than 8,000 students attending Cy-Fair ISD who are in need of specialized education services, district officials are improving upon what they do to help these students reach success.
As enrollments continue to grow district-wide, the population of special needs students has kept pace at roughly 8-9 percent of enrollment, said Dan McIlduff, assistant superintendent for educational support services with CFISD.
“You’re always looking at new ways to teach and use best practices for each student,” he said.
Determinations as to whether a student has special needs are made at the district level based on standards set by the Texas Education Administration. Special needs services at CFISD cater to students with orthopedic, auditory, speech and visual impairments, intellectual and learning disabilities, autism, and students who have been diagnosed as deaf, blind or have sustained a traumatic brain injury.
Students can receive in-class support from instructional facilitators, allowing them to integrate into the classroom setting with other students. Homebound services allow students to continue coursework from home while temporarily unable to attend school. A specialized L.I.F.E. skills program—Learning in Functional Environments—helps students with more severe disabilities prepare to lead productive lives.
Services for students who are hearing impaired are available at select schools, and adaptive behavior and speech/language services are available at all middle and high schools.
Individualized Education Program committees on each campus look at each individual student’s needs and develop services accordingly, said Lisa Franke, assistant director of special education programming. However, staff and faculty prefer the word “services” to “programs” because all students, regardless of abilities, are enrolled in the same public education curriculum approved by the state.
“Teachers and paraprofessionals are trained on how to assess individual student needs, design effective instruction, create individualized accommodation or modifications and evaluate progress,” Franke said.
Working with students on an individual basis is one of the things CFISD does best, McIlduff said.
“We don’t look at students in terms of their disability, but their ability to learn,” he said. “We look at how we can provide services for them and use their abilities to the maximum extent to be successful learners.”
Parents looking to learn more about services can contact the Special Education Department at 281-897-6400.
Harris County Department of Education physical therapist Kaylon Fenner works a student at CFISD.[/caption]
With more than 8,000 students attending Cy-Fair ISD who are in need of specialized education services, district officials are improving upon what they do to help these students reach success.
As enrollments continue to grow district-wide, the population of special needs students has kept pace at roughly 8-9 percent of enrollment, said Dan McIlduff, assistant superintendent for educational support services with CFISD.
“You’re always looking at new ways to teach and use best practices for each student,” he said.
Determinations as to whether a student has special needs are made at the district level based on standards set by the Texas Education Administration. Special needs services at CFISD cater to students with orthopedic, auditory, speech and visual impairments, intellectual and learning disabilities, autism, and students who have been diagnosed as deaf, blind or have sustained a traumatic brain injury.
Students can receive in-class support from instructional facilitators, allowing them to integrate into the classroom setting with other students. Homebound services allow students to continue coursework from home while temporarily unable to attend school. A specialized L.I.F.E. skills program—Learning in Functional Environments—helps students with more severe disabilities prepare to lead productive lives.
Services for students who are hearing impaired are available at select schools, and adaptive behavior and speech/language services are available at all middle and high schools.
Individualized Education Program committees on each campus look at each individual student’s needs and develop services accordingly, said Lisa Franke, assistant director of special education programming. However, staff and faculty prefer the word “services” to “programs” because all students, regardless of abilities, are enrolled in the same public education curriculum approved by the state.
“Teachers and paraprofessionals are trained on how to assess individual student needs, design effective instruction, create individualized accommodation or modifications and evaluate progress,” Franke said.
Working with students on an individual basis is one of the things CFISD does best, McIlduff said.
“We don’t look at students in terms of their disability, but their ability to learn,” he said. “We look at how we can provide services for them and use their abilities to the maximum extent to be successful learners.”
Parents looking to learn more about services can contact the Special Education Department at 281-897-6400.
