Accelify Consulting To Conduct Special Education Program Analysis For Seattle Public Schools
May 19, 2014
By: Natalie Roth
Source: Accelify
Accelify Consulting (www.accelifyconsulting.com) was selected by Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the State of Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to lead an effort to study the District’s Special Education system and make recommendations to allow SPS to comply with the Comprehensive Corrective Action Plan (CCAP) issued by OSPI. The contract was awarded through a competitive bid process.
The engagement with SPS will involve collecting detailed program data for review; interviewing stakeholders, including parents of students with disabilities (SWDs); conducting input sessions with the learning community and general public; developing and deploying structured interviews; coaching and mentoring key leaders in the Special Education Program; meeting with State leaders in Special Education (OSPI); and conducting a series of on-site activities related to data acquisition, data analysis, and development of actionable intelligence. Once the analysis is complete, Accelify Consulting will provide SPS with targeted recommendations and an execution plan to drive transformative change in the SPS Special Education System, allowing them to achieve compliance with the CCAP.
“The Accelify Consulting practice differs from the traditional education consulting model in that we do not believe in problem admiration, but rather focus on working with LEA leadership to identify problems, develop plans for problem amelioration, and execute those plans by forming a partnership with the LEA,” explained Dr. Robert Pasternack, Founding Partner of Accelify Consulting. “We are privileged to be partnering with SPS and the OSPI to provide these services, and are looking forward to an intense, but productive period of work with District Leadership and all Stakeholders in the learning community focused on improving compliance with IDEA to improve outcomes and results for SWDs.”
Dr. Pasternack, former Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, will be leading the work with Accelify’s Senior Consultants, Dr. Alan Coulter and Deborah McKnight. Dr. Coulter is currently the Principal Lead for the TIERS Group (Teams Intervening Early to Reach all Students), and Director for Education Initiatives at the Human Development Center (HDC). His role in the TIERS Group is in the design of Data Use concepts and applications at national, state, and local levels. Alan has also served on the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education and was a member of the National IDEA Monitoring Stakeholders Group.
Deborah McKnight has been involved in Special Education for over thirty years. She was responsible for implementing the very first Special Education model on the island of St. John and served for eight years as Executive Director of Special Education for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). During her tenure at SFUSD, she led the district to be the highest-scoring urban school district in California for students with disabilities in both English Language Arts and Math for two consecutive years.
About Accelify Consulting
Focused on Special Education, Accelify Consulting aims to help schools improve academic outcomes and student achievement through more efficient and effective practices in program design and delivery. With a combination of proprietary software solutions and expert consultation services, Accelify Consulting is uniquely positioned to analyze data and execute solutions to identified areas in need of improvement. Our seasoned team includes former district, state, and federal public school administrators who bring a deep understanding of the issues faced by schools today. Using practical knowledge and a theory of action, we influence educators to better decision-making and improved processes, bringing about transformational change. Accelify Consulting works with many of the nation’s largest districts, state education agencies, as well as a plethora of small and rural districts.
For more information please contact:
Natalie Roth
Director of Marketing
Accelify Consulting
Phone: 347-532-3209
Email: natalie@accelify.com
SOURCE Accelify Consulting