Special Education

Alecia Foster NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Glendale Unified will be among those reaping the benefits of legal settlement between the state and California school districts. The settlement -- which would give special education programs throughout the state a combined total of $620 million -- was reached in November and signed into law this week by Gov. Gray Davis. Glendale Unified will receive between $113,000 and $130,000 annually over the next 10 years, thanks to Senate Bill 982. "The exact amount will depend on the number of special- education students we have in the program," said Vic Pallos, spokesman for Glendale Unified School District.

Glendale Unified officials are calling on state and federal officials to help cover the cost of serving thousands of special-education students, which in the past three years alone has drained nearly $45 million from the district's General Fund. The federal government may commit to funding up to 40% of a school district's cost for special-education programs, but in Glendale, officials say they've never received more than 20% - and the costs keep going up. “It is an extraordinary financial burden for the school districts to bear,” school board member Mary Boger said.

LA CA—ADA FLINTRIDGE ? School district officials are considering an overhaul of their special-education program after watching a presentation Tuesday that showed special-education staff has decreased by almost one-fourth over the last five years, costs are eating up about 18% of the district's total budget and the number of autistic students has skyrocketed by 1,150% in eight years. But this is a problem most, if not all, school district are facing, said Cindy Wilcox, a La Cañada Unified School District board member.

Daniela Masatani was overcome with tears of joy as her daughter Analise, who is deaf and partially blind, received her graduation certificate on Wednesday from College View School. "She's just made such tremendous progress here," Daniela Masatani said of her daughter, wiping away tears. "She is a lot more social; she took off like a jet." Twelve students with special needs, who have demonstrated improvement in their learning skills, were honored at the ceremony held outside in front of the school.

GLENDALE — A division of special education at Glendale Unified was honored by the state Friday for its innovative instructional programs. The Foothill Area Community Transition Services, or FACTS program, was selected by the California Advisory Commission on Special Education, which presented the award in Sacramento. The program is for 18- to 22-year-olds from Glendale Unified or La Cañada Unified who’ve finished high school but need further social or developmental skills, said Amy Lambert, the assistant superintendent of special education for Glendale Unified.

GLENDALE — Fourteen-year-old Jonathan Sanchez said he returned to his alma mater Thursday to say goodbye to a program and a teacher who helped him communicate. He was part of a special education day class at Toll Middle School, a self-contained program that, because of minimal enrollment, is being collapsed into Wilson and Rosemont middle schools. "We had a lot of fun here," he said. "I learned about animals, I learned how to talk about animals. " Jonathan, now a freshman in the general education group at Hoover High, joined Toll teachers, students, office staff and parents Wednesday as they celebrated and bid farewell to special education instructor Steve Field and the students with moderate to severe special needs he led for 16 years.

GLENDALE ? Glendale Unified School District officials and Rep. Adam Schiff hope a pair of House bills will force the federal government to provide more funding to school districts for providing special education programs and provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act. Those programs are projected to cost the Glendale Unified School district $8 million in the 2006-07 fiscal year. The district is projected to spend about $9.8 million for mandated special education services in 2006-07 but will receive about $1.7 million in federal reimbursement, said board member Mary Boger.

Marshall Allen LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- An upcoming conference will provide information to parents of special education students. "Schools Helping Parents Helping Children" is the title ofthe third annual special education conference sponsored by the Foothill Special Education Local Plan Area advisory committee. The group is made up of students and their families from the Burbank, Glendale and La Canada Unified school districts. The seminar will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at La Canada High School, 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada Flintridge.

GLENDALE ? Education for students with disabilities undergoes a major shift between high school and college, and local special-education experts explained some of those key differences to families Wednesday at a community meeting on special education. The meeting was a joint presentation by Glendale Community College and the Foothill Special Education Local Plan Area, which provides resources for special-education students in the Glendale, Burbank and La Cañada unified school districts.

GLENDALE — School district officials are doing a case-by-case analysis of every special-education student suspended for more than 10 days or expelled during the 2006-07 school year after the state education department found that the district suspended or expelled a disproportionate number of Latino special-education students during the 2005-06 school year. The state department of education notified Glendale Unified officials on Nov. 5 that the self-review of last year’s suspensions and expulsions of special-education students was necessary to make sure the district is complying with state and federal law, said Lou Stewart, the assistant superintendent for special education.

Glendale Unified officials are calling on state and federal officials to help cover the cost of serving thousands of special-education students, which in the past three years alone has drained nearly $45 million from the district's General Fund. The federal government may commit to funding up to 40% of a school district's cost for special-education programs, but in Glendale, officials say they've never received more than 20% - and the costs keep going up. “It is an extraordinary financial burden for the school districts to bear,” school board member Mary Boger said.

Frank Sgherzi, a resident of Burbank for 35 years passed away Monday afternoon, July 9th of kidney failure. He was employed by LAUSD as an Industrial Arts and a Special Education teacher for 23 years. Born in Hoboken, NJ on November 14, 1923, son of the late Anthony and Filomena (DeSommina). He leaves behind his loving wife of 63 years, Helen (nee) Florio; three children, Anthony, Jeannine Hawkes Hubbard, Michael and five grandchildren. Viewing was held at Valley Funeral Home on Thursday, July 12th from 5 to 8 pm. Services were held Friday, July 13th at St. Robert Bellarmine Church with a mass at 10 a.m. and burial followed at San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

A group of parents of children with special needs experienced frustration firsthand on Saturday when they were asked to perform a series of exercises designed to test their visual perceptions and thought processes. The word “Red” was printed in blue, and when parents were asked to say the color's name, they shouted “blue.” But they were supposed to say “red.” The exercise was designed to acquaint parents with the frustration and processing difficulties experienced by their special-needs children.

Built in 1977 and passed over amid a wave of bond-funded refurbishment projects three decades later, College View School is now poised for a multimillion-dollar makeover that Glendale Unified officials say will enable the district to better serve its severely disabled students. School board members on Tuesday picked apart four potential construction projects with price tags ranging from $11.6 million to $19.4 million that would dramatically reshape the site. It will be among the first projects funded by Measure S, a $270-million school bond passed by voters in April 2011.

School officials in Burbank and Glendale may not have to absorb hundreds of thousands of dollars in transportation costs after the state Legislature on Thursday restored $248 million for student busing operations. Gov. Jerry Brown, who eliminated the funding last month after state revenues fell short of projections, has indicated that he supports the move, according to the Los Angeles Times. Glendale Unified stood to lose about $750,000, including $350,000 in reimbursements for home-to-school busing of special education students.

A longtime mental health advocate got the thanks and recognition many felt he deserved Tuesday. Eugene Ferkich spent more than three decades volunteering his time and professional expertise at Tobinworld, a Glendale-based school that serves students with severe emotional and behavioral problems. Before his death last year at the age of 77, the mental health expert and school psychologist was a member of Tobinworld's Peer Review/Human Rights Committee, and helped design a satellite campus in Antioch.

GLENDALE — Fourteen-year-old Jonathan Sanchez said he returned to his alma mater Thursday to say goodbye to a program and a teacher who helped him communicate. He was part of a special education day class at Toll Middle School, a self-contained program that, because of minimal enrollment, is being collapsed into Wilson and Rosemont middle schools. "We had a lot of fun here," he said. "I learned about animals, I learned how to talk about animals. " Jonathan, now a freshman in the general education group at Hoover High, joined Toll teachers, students, office staff and parents Wednesday as they celebrated and bid farewell to special education instructor Steve Field and the students with moderate to severe special needs he led for 16 years.

GLENDALE — Parents at a special Glendale Unified community meeting said they support greater emphasis on teaching social skills, more career and technical education opportunities and more multi-use facilities. School district officials held their first community meeting Monday, soliciting feedback from parents as they set goals for the next five years. The input will go to a 45-member planning committee, which will make recommendations to the Board of Education for the 2015 strategic plan in February, officials said.

GLENDALE — A division of special education at Glendale Unified was honored by the state Friday for its innovative instructional programs. The Foothill Area Community Transition Services, or FACTS program, was selected by the California Advisory Commission on Special Education, which presented the award in Sacramento. The program is for 18- to 22-year-olds from Glendale Unified or La Cañada Unified who’ve finished high school but need further social or developmental skills, said Amy Lambert, the assistant superintendent of special education for Glendale Unified.

GLENDALE — A division of special education at Glendale Unified was honored by the state Friday for its innovative instructional programs. The Foothill Area Community Transition Services, or FACTS program, was selected by the California Advisory Commission on Special Education, which presented the award in Sacramento. The program is for 18- to 22-year-olds from Glendale Unified or La Cañada Unified who've finished high school but need further social or developmental skills, said Amy Lambert, the assistant superintendent of special education for Glendale Unified.