West Hartford Public Schools
PJ Settlement Agreement
End of Year Self-Evaluation
May 25, 2006
What would you recommend others do that has worked well for you?
 Created Student Profile Sheets for the students who were going back to their home school. It provided the home school with
data/information regarding students that were returning.
 Profiles allowed for more conversation to occur and more questions to be asked and answered.
 Identified data and then shared it with administrator and direct service providers
 Once selected for Focused Monitoring Review that was shared with the Board of Education
 Having the SDE Consultant come and meet with the district executive team. (It meant more than just coming from staff)
 TWNDP targeted golden band and moved into regular class placement (8 students)
 Gradual movement of students helped model the success that occurred so staff will realize these changes can take place.
 Started in preschool for home school placement
 All students in K-3 were transitioned to home school and fourth graders will be placed in home school once they entered the
secondary level. Projected 100% home school placement by 2007.
 Built capacity in home schools with staff
 Did parent training through SEPTA and opportunity for dialogue.
 This district has been involved with Step by Step, Coaches Academy, and LRE/AT Consortium
What would you caution others not to do that hasn’t worked for you?
 It really helped not to be directed to have these movements done by a certain date. (e.g. Hartford Model)
 Need to provide time to accommodate staff concerns and create fundamental understanding about why the change is occurring.
It is a paradigm shift.
What will you continue to do for continuous improvement?
 Continue to monitor and analyze data
 Ongoing staff development
o Invite SDE to spend time with staff
West Hartford Public Schools
PJ Settlement Agreement
End of Year Evaluation
5/25/06
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
o LRE points at PPTs
o Support Staff Training
Continue to provide resources
Implement walk-throughs by the district during the first quarter
Goal
Mean/median time with
non-disabled peers
Mean/median time with
non-disabled peers
What have you accomplished over the past 12
months (May 2005- May 2006) to address this goal
of the Settlement Agreement?

Identified the targeted students and analyzed
our data and established benchmark (gold
band)
What impact has this had on advancing toward
your district’s target for this goal?



Mean/median time with
non-disabled peers

Vote in all district wide leadership (executive
team, principals, assts and dept supers)

All (except
Extracurricular)

Meet with all sped staff and specifically
service providers, e.g. teachers and support
services staff

Home School Placement

Develop profiles for each school

All (except
Extracurricular)

Focus in on early learning center staff and
inservice them on making home school

West Hartford Public Schools
PJ Settlement Agreement
End of Year Evaluation
5/25/06
TWNDP: District moved from 50% in
11/05 to 58.7 in 06/06
Regular Class Placement: went from 3.3%
in 11/05 to 30.3% in 06/06
Attends Home School: went from 76.7% in
11/05 to 87.8 in 06/06
The district is dedicated to ongoing
professional development. Participated in
Step by Step, Coaches Academy and
LRE/AT Consortium.
Focus on home-school placement and
providing services within the general
education class has emphasized that as the
districts primary practice.
Another result is that it has heightened
awareness between general and special
education
All (except
Extracurricular)

All (except
Extracurricular)




All (except
Extracurricular)
All (except
Extracurricular)

All (except
Extracurricular)

placement and regular class placement the
district primary practice (this was consistent
with the district-wide K-5 program evaluation
on December 2004)
Meet with all PPT Chairs (monthly meetings)
to review the data, ID the benchmarks and
review the LRE points as well as the checklist
Make changes in students IEPs,
hold strategy meetings
and then held PPTs
Provided parent training through SEPTA on
IDEA 04 and LRE and PJ informing them on
what the district plan was regarding inclusion,
TWNDP and Home school
District presented to the CDEC the action
plan regarding special needs using the rubric
of “what was”, “what is” and “what will be”.
District took a systemic approach updating
and revising the LRE action plan and next
year will establish a district-wide or board
goal to increase the percentage of time that
students with disabilities spend with their non
disabled peers in the general education
classroom and curriculum. (District goals are
presented to the board and submitted each
year and a report card is given annually to the
Board of education.)



Fold parents in (SEPTA) and have them be
supportive


Extracurricular
Participation

West Hartford Public Schools
PJ Settlement Agreement
End of Year Evaluation
5/25/06
Increase participation for middle level in
District at 66.7% in 11/05 and increased to 78% in
intramural activities
06/06.
Goals
What do you plan to do in the next 12 months to continue to address the goals of the PJ Settlement
Agreement?
Mean/median time with
 Explore differentiated curriculum models and teaching models
non-disabled peers
 Conduct the walk through to get a sense internally how these kids are being included
 Making the linkages between the needs, goals and services (explore Ed Benefit and Gap Analysis
opportunities through SERC)
Regular Class Placement
 Explore differentiated curriculum models and teaching models
 Conduct the walk through to get a sense internally how these kids are being included
Attending Home School
 Continue to transition students to their home school
Extracurricular
 Continue to increase opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities (intramural
Participation
in the middle levels)
What was your greatest challenge? The need to reallocate and shift resources. Build capacity among staff.
What was your greatest success? Have been able to transition the kids back into their home-schools.
What action had the most significant impact? (and what was its impact?) The leadership has committed to this, including the
superintendent of schools.
West Hartford Public Schools
PJ Settlement Agreement
End of Year Evaluation
5/25/06