Blue Valley School District: Overland Park , Kansas

Program in Brief:

Blue Valley School Districts educational professionals are leading the way in promoting self-determination and self-advocacy skills for students with disabilities. We believe that by providing each student with the opportunity to develop the appropriate self-advocacy skills they will be able to be an active participant in the I.E.P. process, including transition services, and ultimately take control of the many aspects of their adult life. We believe each person has the right to self-determination and to live as independently as possible.

Population Served:

Preschool through high school students with disabilities who are placed in resource and self-contained settings and students ages 18 – 21 participating in the Adult Cooperative Community Education Services and Support (ACCESS) program engage in programs that emphasize self-determination.

Exemplar Approaches to Promoting Self-Determination:

In preschool students in the Early Childhood Special Education classrooms, are given choices and encouraged to express these choices verbally or in actions. Elementary portfolios highlight the student’s work and provide a valuable opportunity for students to work with their teachers in setting academic, self-advocacy, social and home goals. Students are then encouraged to share their work with their parents in a structured situation. Conferencing with parents and teachers and learning to express interest, strengths and special learning needs is a valuable foundation for supporting each child in the process of becoming effective self-advocates. Peer support, inclusion in the regular classroom along with appropriate adaptation to equipment are all significant in supporting self-determination at the elementary level.

At the middle school level the students become increasingly involved in the IEP preplanning process along with setting goals, writing the IEP and holding the IEP conference. Resource teachers work with the students so they understand the content of their IEP and the accommodation/supports that they may need in the classroom. Students with special learning needs are encouraged to become active, productive members of their school community with the support of school personnel and special technology.

High school students assume greater responsibility for their IEP meetings, including selecting goals and facilitating the meeting. Students learn about themselves through a variety of activities which include but are not limited to Person Centered Planning activities, pretests, teacher conferences, learning style evaluations and a variety of inventories both written and oral. The Kansas University Self-Advocacy Strategy (I-PLAN) is used to support the students in planning and writing their IEP. Students are expected and encouraged to look frequently at their IEPs during the year as they monitor progress and determine next steps for their education. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves in several ways. Asking for help from teachers and seeking this support appropriately is critical to their continued success after high school.

Becoming involved in outside activities is also an important part of building self-esteem and encourages school and community involvement. Generally, students who are involved in extra curricular activities do better academically and feel better about themselves in general. Finally, captioning videos is a critical support for students in all levels who are hearing impaired or have a visual learning style.

The Career Development Opportunities Program (CDOP) provides juniors and seniors with special needs a very important foundation for school-to-work transition. Students move from school to community and participate in career exploration and vocational training with the support of school district staff. Students in this program identify their strengths and interests and develop their individualized occupational goals. Job sites are aligned to match the students’ strengths, interests and goals. Students participate in meaningful career exploration, learn and practice positive work attitudes, behaviors and skills, learn about employers’ expectations and ultimately learn more about themselves. --- (Students often feel good about their experience and leave with a feeling of pride.)

The ACCESS Program was established in the Blue Valley District in 1996 as a community-based instruction center for 18 to 21 year-old students with moderate to severe disabilities. This program supports student preparation for living and working in the community along with increased opportunities for self-advocacy and self-assertiveness. Individualized programming based on person-centered planning along with collaboration between parents, students, teachers and adult service agencies are also foundations for this program.

The Blue Valley School District has a strong culture in which student self-determination is the expectation, rather than the exception, for all students with disabilities. The Special Education Program in the Blue Valley School District believes each student should be given the opportunity to take control of their lives by realistically learning about their interests and abilities, recognizing their needs associated with their disability and effectively advocating for themselves. This philosophy is supported by administrators, special and general education teachers, paraeductors, therapists, and parents. The district collaborates with local universities, colleges, and adult service agencies with strong self-determination-promoting policies and backgrounds, as well. Planning, modeling, and communication are behind the success of the self-determination practices in Blue Valley.

Karvonen, M., Test, D. W., Wood, W. M., Browder, D., & Algozzine, B. (in press). Putting self-determination into practice.

Contact Information:

Charlotte Walker, transition coordinator, cwalker@bluevalleyk12.org
Blue Valley School District, #229
7500 West 149 th Terrace
Overland Park, KS 66223