New Vista High School & Special Education Students
Parents of students with identified disabilities are also invited to attend a meeting with members of New Vista's Special Education team in order to find out more about the way special education services are delivered at the school. The meeting will be held Thursday, February 19th, 2008; 7 p.m. Please attend this meeting in addition to an Open House in order to obtain the most complete information about our program.
Background
New Vista High School was created in 1992 by the Boulder Valley Board of Education to "break the mold" of conventional high school practices. A small, non-traditional school, New Vista is designed to cultivate the unique talents, gifts, and interests of students who are ready to be more responsible for their own learning. We give students real choices in the program they take and the work they do in classes. In exchange, we require that all students do high quality work and earn a grade of A or B in core classes.
The program, which serves approximately 340 students, includes project learning in block classes, multi-cultural curriculum, community-based learning, and advisory, as well as individualized graduation plans and senior culminating projects.
New Vista works well for students who want more responsibility for their own learning, have shown some evidence of being able to handle that responsibility, and are willing to commit to consistently producing high quality work. Experience has shown that New Vista does not work well for students who do not usually make appropriate behavior choices, who need a great deal of adult supervision to do their school work, or who just want to "get by."
Special Education at New Vista
At New Vista we believe that all students learn best with their peers; therefore we use a full inclusion model to provide special education services. While we may occasionally meet with a student outside the regular classroom, the vast majority of special education needs are met within the regular classroom, by the regular education teacher.
Special education case managers consult with regular education teachers to inform them of students needs. In addition, special education teachers offer classes in developmental reading, writing and math for all students who need to target these areas. They also teach "Making It at New Vista" which is open to all students and emphasizes organizational study skills and time management. "Post High School Transitions," offered most quarters, helps students prepare for leaving New Vista.
Federal law requires that reasonable accommodations be provided to permit the participation of children with disabilities in District programs. It does not, however, require focus schools, such as New Vista, to make fundamental alterations of legitimate admission criteria or program goals to allow for participation of children with disabilities.
Therefore, a staffing is convened for each special education student who has been selected through the lottery process, to determine if there is a match between the student's needs and the New Vista educational program.
Key questions to discuss during the staffing:
Can a student's individual special education needs be met in New Vista?
Is there a match between New Vista's philosophy/goals and programs and the learning style/needs of the student?
What kind of services and accommodations will be necessary to meet the student's needs?
A further consideration is the fact that New Vista offers students a degree of both freedom and responsibility which is almost always a significant leap beyond that in the student's current school. Many students have been unable to make this transition successfully. We encourage staffing teams to seriously consider whether an intermediate environment, with more overt structure, is a better option to promote student success. Sometimes, New Vista is a better placement later rather than sooner.