Board hears one-year special-education master-plan update and approves aide positions

Monica Church, director of pupil services for the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, told the board March 9 that the district is about halfway through year one of a three-year special-education master plan and is making measurable progress.

"We had 45 year-one action steps within our master plan. I'm excited to say that 27 of them are completed, 15 are in progress, and only 3 are not yet started," Church said. She described five focus areas — staffing and systems, communication consistency, high-quality specially designed instruction, professional development, and inclusive representation — and outlined next steps including a year-two Gantt chart and additional committee work on grading and caseload planning.

Church highlighted data showing improvement in participation and achievement indicators: for the 2024–25 school year, 46% of high-school students with disabilities participated in extracurriculars; winter STAR and math benchmarks showed increases in proficiency for many grades. She also reported concern about disparities: the risk ratio for suspension among students with disabilities was 6.41 and the risk ratio for certain groups was above target.

Following the presentation, the board approved a staffing request to create one 6-hour and one 1.5-hour special-education aide positions to support classroom transitions and a student with significant needs. School staff explained that schedule changes and additional inclusive offerings created new support needs; the board approved the request by voice vote.

Monica Church said the district will continue professional development (including trauma-informed care and crisis-prevention training) and refine caseload and communication systems as part of year-two planning.