Romero,+Adriana+504+Plan



**__ Personal Introduction: __** Hello, I am Adriana Romero and this is my first year in the MAT program. I recently got married with the love of my life and we are expecting our first child. I have lived in the Klamath basin all of my life and have my family here. I feel like this is the perfect place to raise my family. When I am not at school or at work I enjoy spending time with my family, hanging out with friends, watching movies, shopping, and being outdoors. When I am finished with the program I hope to obtain a job as a teacher in the Klamath County School District. My ideal grade to teach would be fourth grade.Sometime later in my life I would like to go back to school and get my administration license to become a principal. One of my biggest fears about being a teacher would be getting carried away with my life and the demands of being a teacher that I would fail to meet the needs of my students. In school one of the subjects that I struggled with was reading.Every time it was time to read out loud I would get nervous and cross my fingers I wouldn’t get call to read. I knew I wasn’t the best reader in my class and I felt ashamed when I came across words that I couldn’t pronounce correctly. I feel like this could help me connect to students with learning difference by finding possible solutions in making them feel accepted. I want to find effective strategies to create a safe and fun environment for all of my students. In addition I want to learn how to teach the curriculum in a way that includes every students needs. Without excluding students with learning disabilities and moving at a pace that keeps students without learning disabilities engaged. **__ 504 Plan: __** I selected this topic because I think it is important to learn about other alternative to serve children with learning disabilities who may not qualify under the IDEA guidelines. I feel there are many children could benefit extremely from modifications, accommodations, and the resource room but because they don’t meet the criteria they are denied these services. Section 504 offers these students a written plan that will help accommodate these special needs and provide an accessible environment to help them succeed academically. **__ 5 things I learned while researching: __** **__ Top Resource: __** This is my top resource for my WIKI. I really liked this website and find it very beneficial because it gives teachers, students, and parents all the information they need to know about the 504 Plan pertaining to Oregon. In addition, it informs parents their rights and provides sample forms, such as, how to request medical information, notice and consent to evaluate, elegibility & accommodation plan, and manifestation determination. Finally, it gives teachers sample resources, such as, evaluation guidelines, roles and responsibilities, meeting checklist, and meeting planner. [|Student Access]
 * Something interesting about me: **
 * What brings me joy: **
 * Education and career goals: **
 * Greatest fear about being a teacher: **
 * A time when something was extremely difficult to learn? **
 * How this piece of history helped me connect to students with learning differences? **
 * What do I want to gain from this course? **
 * 1) Any person can refer a student for evaluation under Section 504. Parents, guardians, and school staff can refer a student for evaluation if they know or suspect that, due to a physical or mental impairment, a student needs special education or related aids or services to participate in or benefit from a district's education program.
 * 2) Section 504 is a federal civil rights law that is designed to eliminate disability discrimination in programs and activities that receive federal funds. Since all public school districts receive federal funds, all public school districts must comply with Section 504. Under Section 504, denying a disabled student a free appropriate public education constitutes disability discrimination.
 * 3) A school-aged student is a disabled student under Section 504 if, the student has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.
 * 4) There is no time limit specified for an accommodation plan, though a yearly review is recommended. Section 504 accommodation plans may be updated at any time to reflect changes and recommendations by the team.
 * 5) The major difference between IDEA and Section 504 is the following; IDEA provides more specific categories of disabilities. In order for a student to receive services under IDEA, the student’s educational performance must be adversely affected by the disability and he or she must be in need of special education services. Last, IDEA applies only to individuals from birth through age 21. On the contrary, Section 504 is not limited to specific disability categories and does not require evidence that the disability adversely affects the student’s educational performance. Students ineligible for services provided under IDEA may be eligible for accommodations under Section 504. Finally, it covers individuals of all ages

**__ 8 Additional Resource: __** 1.) I really loved this resource because it is a video that shows the perspective of two individuals who have a learning disability. In this video they show a scenario of a situation where a student is not receiving the accommodations he needs for one of his classes. Then it describes what a student can do to have the school meet his needs under the Section 504. I give this video a score of 5 out 5,  media type="youtube" key="tMpDGilxyGU" height="315" width="420"  2.) I give this resource a 4 out of 5. This resource gives valuable information of who is entitled for Free Appropriate Public Education for students with disabilities under the 504 Plan. ** [] ** 3.)This resource is a sample of Section 504 Plan developed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). This sample allows a person to learn what is included on a 504 Plan and the format. I give this resource a 5 out of 5 because it [|**http://www.oaanews.org/documents/Sample504Plan.pdf**] 4.) I give this resource a score of 5 out 5 because I found it very beneficial in understanding the difference between IDEA and Section 504 Plan. After reading this article I learned how students can meet the eligibility criteria under both of these services. [|**http://www.ldonline.org/article/6086/**] 5.) In this website a teacher can learn general strategies and samples of 504 accommodation plans for specific disabilities. I give this resource a 5 out of 5 because as a future teacher I find it really useful to have background information on how to make accommodations for my students with disabilities. [|**http://www.advancingmilestones.com/PDFs/m_resources_504-accomodations-sample.pdf**]  6.) I give this resource a 5 out 5 because it is a great powerpoint that teaches individuals abut the history, relations between Section 504 and IDEA, eligibility requirements, disability harassment protections, and what schools are required to do under the 504 plan. media type="custom" key="13282680" [|**http://susd.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/394763/File/504/s504discipline.pdf?sessionid=6a767572db**] 8.)I really liked this resource because it gives people a brief summary of what the 504 Plan is in about two minutes. This allows people to learn about the 504 Plan without having to take the time to read a lengthy article. I give this video a score of 3 out of 5 because it touches on key points and facts but fails to include other important information regarding Section 504.media type="youtube" key="em-aOVSmFbw" height="315" width="560"
 * 7.) In this resource someone can learn the process on how to disciple a student under the 504 Plan. I give this resource a score of 5 out of 5 because it explains in detail this process. **

**__ Community Based Learning Project __**


 * Account of the IEP process **

Before the IEP meeting I was able to see how the teacher prepared for the meeting. First the teacher sent a letter to the legal guardian to obtain permission to test the student for his yearly evaluation and see if he still qualified to be in special education. For the purpose of the privacy of the student I will refer to him as Jose. Since Jose’s grandmother does not speak English I was asked to translate the parent consent for evaluation document to Spanish. Once the document was ready, Jose was sent with the document and asked to return the document signed. The teacher also asked me to call the grandma and inform her of the document that was going to be sent to her. As soon as the special education teacher received her consent she began to test Jose. The tests the teacher performed on Jose were the test of silent word reading fluency (TOSWRF) and Woodcock- Johnson test of achievement. The teacher decided not to perform the WISC-IV test because it was done in 2009. After the teacher preformed the test she found that Jose was still eligible to continue to be in special education and prepared his IEP. Then, the teacher asked me to call the grandma and set a date for his IEP meeting.

On February 19, 2011, I was given the opportunity to attend Jose’s IEP meeting at Henley High School. Jose is in the 11th grade and English is his second language. At home he communicates with his grandma in Spanish. In his IEP he was found to be eligible in special education as struggling in the areas of math and language arts. The staff that was present in his IEP meeting was the special education teacher, his agricultural teacher, grandma, the school consular, and me. The special education teacher started the meeting by presenting each staff member to the grandma. As soon as she introduced the staff she gave the grandma a copy of the Oregon’s special education procedural safeguards.

Then she began by explaining to her in detail, of all the tests that were performed to Jose. Next, she proceeded by explaining to the grandma his test scores and what it meant. In the TOSWRF, Jose was able to accurately identify 69 words in a 3 minute time period. This places his overall reading comprehension and fluency at approximately the 4-4.5 grade level ability. Jose’s scores on the WJIII fell in the low average range. His Broad Reading Score was 75. His strength in this area was passage comprehension with a score of 93. His area of concern was reading fluency with a score of 68. Jose has a good understanding of what he reads but needs extra time to reread the material to fully understand content meaning. His Broad Written Language score was 79. His strength in this was writing samples with a score of 96. His area of concern was spelling with a score of 75. Jose has good ideas when writing, but struggles with how to properly punctuate a sentence and sentence structure. His Broad Math Score was 71. His strength in this area is applied problems with a score of 81. His area of concern was math fluency with a score of 58. Jose does have a good understanding of how to manage money but struggles with basic concepts, such as, fractions, division, and measurement. Another area of concern for Jose is his academic fluency. Jose struggles with the ability to apply his academic skills, in all academic areas, in a timely manner, Jose needs time to process information and develop his answers before responding in order for him to adequately understand new information being presented.

Later, the team members discussed his test scores and what this meant. All of the team members decided that Jose should continue to be in special education based on his test results and of the accommodations that Jose would have. Jose would be allowed to take exams and complete class work assignments in the resource rooms whenever he felt he needed extra support. On tests, he could use his notes and textbooks to complete them. Also if he needed extra time to complete assignment he needed to speak to her and let her know, that way she could speak to his teachers and request for extended time. In addition, Jose would have a class period in the resource room. The class period would be used to complete homework and work on his reading skills. Jose will work on his reading skills by completing one reading challenger a week. Once the reading challenger was done for the week and he received a score of 85% or better he could used his extra time working on other classes.

Finally the teacher asked the grandmother if she had any concerns. The grandma expressed that she was worried that Jose would not graduate and if there was anything that could be done to make sure that he did graduate on time. The special education teacher told her that they were going to make some class changes at the start of the semester to make sure that he had all of the credits that he needed. Then the school counselor explained to her of those changes. She told her that Jose was going to be placed in a lower math, placed on online classes to make-up for his failed classes and with these changes they hoped that he would be back on track. Both of them informed the grandma that Jose needed to work really hard on his classes and ask for help when he was falling behind. They asked the grandma if she could help by motivating him and to reminding him to do his homework. At this time his agricultural teacher told the grandma that she was really happy with Jose, that he was a great student, and that she enjoyed having him in her class. Also that he never caused trouble and always did what he was asked.

The IEP meeting ended by having all the team members agree that Jose was still found to eligible to be in special education and signing the statement of eligibility. The also gave Jose a new class schedule for next semester. The meeting took about 45 minutes. Also, during the duration of the IEP meeting the special education teacher was constantly be stopping in order for me to translate to the grandma what was going on.


 * Reflection of the process **

I found the IEP meeting to be very beneficial. Before the meeting I had seen many IEP’s and have assisted the teacher in writing her 6 week goal progress reports but I had never attended an IEP meeting. I have always been really curious on what goes on in an IEP meeting but because they are always held early in the morning, after school, or I am assisting students while she is in the meeting, I haven’t been given the opportunity to be present in one. The community based learning project made me prioritize and set a time where I could finally attend one.

The teacher did a great job explaining the process to the grandma and making her feel comfortable. Before the meeting I was concerned that the grandma would not feel comfortable to ask questions regarding Jose’s IEP or any other concerns she might have because of the language barrier. Luckily, that was not a problem and it was very helpful that I could assist both the staff and the grandma translating. In addition, I feel that the grandma was comfortable with the IEP meeting because she has been familiar with the process since Jose has had an IEP since he was in 5th grade. I also felt that the grandma was really relieved to know that the staff members from Henley High School were going to help Jose graduate. Finally, I realized that the IEP meeting took a longer time than they usually take because of the translation.

In conclusion I admire the work that special education teachers do. The majority of them, work really hard and spend a lot of time ensuring that their students succeed academically. I find it impressive how they find the time to work with students when they have so much paperwork that they have to do.