Welcome to the Department of Student Growth & Development. We hope that many of your questions can be answered below or by clicking on the tabs on the right side of your screen.
The Student Growth & Development offices are located in the District Administration offices on the second floor of Grandview Heights High School located at 1587 West Third Avenue, Columbus. Chief Student Growth & Development Officer Robert Brown and SIS Coordinator Denise McGee are available to answer your questions and can be reached by calling (614) 485-4030 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected] Mr. Brown also serves as the district's Title IX Coordinator. A copy of the district's Title IX training is attached.
Announcements and Community Engagement Opportunities
Not all programs are sponsored by Grandview Heights Schools.
The Red Oak Family Foundation is located in Columbus, Ohio, with a mission to provide support for local families with family members on the autism spectrum with social and educational events, networking and connecting to autism resources. Many families are challenged to find the best treatments and therapy for their families, and this organization is a way to connect parents to each other to share ideas and create a cohesive network of families to better people with autism and their families. We realize the importance of early intervention and diagnosis, as well as the need for continued support for families as people with autism move into adulthood. Activity and event information can be found social media on Facebook and Instagram as well as our website: http://www.redoakfamily.org. The Red Oak Family Foundation is not a research-based organization or one that offers medical recommendations.
Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement
The parties in the Doe v. Ohio Department of Education class action have submitted a proposed settlement to the U.S. District Court for approval. The first step in the approval process of the settlement is to provide notice of the proposed settlement to affected students and their parents. The Notice is attached at the bottom of the page.
Special Olympics Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington have a thriving Special Olympics program under the name Upper Arlington Special Olympics. For more information about the program and the sports offered, see the attachment at the bottom of this page.
Franklin County Coffee, Tea, and AutismCoffee, Tea and Autism is a new style of support group that is led by volunteers whose lives have been touched by autism. Sometimes the best support and information comes from others living the same journey. These support groups can:
Connect people with similar experiences
Provide new resources, ideas and suggestions
Encourage you throughout your journey
Celebrate successes no matter how small
Let you know you are not alone
Allow understanding with no judgement
To follow on Facebook - Click here For more information, contact: ASCO | 272 PO Box, Worthington, OH 43085 | 614-284-6323| [email protected] | or contact: Jeff Siegel MSW LISW, Aspirations Coordinator, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University, 285A McCampbell Hall, Columbus Ohio 43210-1257, Phone 614- 685-3188 , 614.366.6373 (fax), [email protected] - Now recruiting for Adult and Teen Aspiration Groups "Aspire to greatness!"
Metro Parks Offers Free Programming for Families with Special Needs Children
Prairie Oaks Metro Parks is offering free programming designed for families with children who have special needs including a Spring Nature Walk, fishing, archery, creeking, and an owl walk during the summer months and into the fall. Please see the attached flyers at the bottom of the page for more information and specific details.
Grandview Heights Schools Receives Highest Rating for the Performance of Special Education Programs from Ohio Department of Education
Each year, districts in Ohio receive a rating evaluating the performance of special education programs, known as the Special Education Rating. The Ohio Department of Education calculates this rating using the final data submitted through the Education Management Information System (EMIS). The compilation of data results in one of four possible ratings: Meets Requirements, Needs Assistance, Needs Intervention or Needs Substantial Intervention.
Grandview Heights Schools 2020 Special Education Rating is Meets Requirements.
The district rating evaluates the implementation of federal requirements, also called compliance measures, as well as results for students with disabilities. The primary basis of this rating is the final special education program data your district submitted through EMIS for the 2017-2018 school year.
Ratings Criteria
The rating assesses districts’ performance on the following measures:
Results Indicators
Math proficiency rate for students with disabilities across all grades (Indicator 3c);
Reading proficiency rate for students with disabilities across all grades (Indicator 3c); and
Third grade reading proficiency rate for students with disabilities.
Compliance Indicators
Disproportionality in discipline rates (Indicator 4b);
Disproportionality in special education (Indicator 9);
Disproportionality in specific disability categories (Indicator 10);
Initial evaluation timelines (Indicator 11);
Early childhood transition (Indicator 12);
Secondary transition planning (Indicator 13);
Timely correction of noncompliance (Indicator 15);
Timely and accurate data reporting (Indicator 20); and
Special education audit findings.
Future ratings also will include:
The percentage of students with disabilities graduating by meeting the same requirements as students without disabilities; and
Alternate assessment rates.
The Ohio Department of Education reports annually to the public on the performance of each district's special education program, including the Special Education Ratings. The report (Excel spreadsheet) containing the 2018 ratings is available here. The Department will add the 2019 ratings to this report after the appeals period has concluded.
Search for Children with Disabilities
School districts in Ohio must locate, identify, and evaluate children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who may be in need of special education and related services. Parents, relatives, public and private agency employees, and concerned citizens can help schools find children who may need these services. The following information might be helpful in determining if a child has a disability:
For birth to age 3 – An established condition known to result in delay, or a documented developmental delay
For ages 3 to 5 – A documented deficit in one or more of the following developmental areas: communication, vision, hearing, motor skills, social, emotional, or behavioral functioning, self help skills, and/or cognitive skills
For ages 5 through 21 – Identification of one or more of the following conditions: autism, deaf-blindness, hearing impairment including deafness, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, emotional disturbance specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and/or visual impairment including blindness.
The Student Growth & Development office is responsible for oversight of the following programs/services:
Title IX
Robert Brown, Chief Student Growth & Development Officer, serves as the district's Title IX Coordinator. A copy of the district's Title IX Training is attached.
English Language Learning (ELL)
The ELL Program supports students whose primary language is something other than English. School districts have the flexibility to decide on the educational approach that best meets the needs of their ELL students and leads to the timely acquisition of the level of English proficiency the students need to succeed in school. Our staff works with all elementary through high school students to improve and develop their English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, as well as to help them adapt to their new environment. Our student population, though small, has grown each year suggesting a steady upward trend. We are dedicated to preparing these students to become independent and successful both in and out of the classroom.
Gifted Services
Grandview Heights Schools understands that there are gifted students whose intellectual capacity, rate of learning, and potential for creative contributions demand experiences apart from, but connected to the regular classroom. The gifted program model used in our district is one of resource consultation and collaboration. This model pulls together the school’s resources and expertise to serve students. Recognizing that gifted education is not a “program”, but rather incorporates an array of services that identify in-school and out-of-school activities, general education staff and gifted education specialists share responsibility for designing educational opportunities for gifted learners. This model enables us to serve the wide variety of gifted children in our schools and begins with differentiated instruction. The District understands that a differentiated curriculum is the best way to meet the day-to-day needs of the students. Flexible grouping and differentiated instruction provide developmentally appropriate curriculum for gifted children that give them opportunities to learn and grow at a challenging pace.
Health Services / School Nursing
Definition of School Nursing:
School nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students. To that end, school nurses facilitate positive student responses to normal development; promote health and safety; intervene with actual and potential health problems; provide case management services; and actively collaborate with others to build student and family capacity for adaptation, self-management, self-advocacy, and learning.
This definition was adopted at the National Association of School Nurses Board of Directors meeting in Providence, Rhode Island in June 1999. Nursing services provided include:
• Health Screenings
• Health Education
• Daily medical treatments
• Daily medication administration
• Creation of Individual Health Plans
• Health resource for staff and students
• Review/documentation of immunizations
Related Services
Related Services are support services needed to help children with disabilities benefit from special education. Eligibility for related services is determined by IEP teams as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.). These services for our special needs students include, but are not limited to:
• Adaptive Physical Education
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Speech/Language Therapy
• Transportation
Special Education Programs
Special Education is a broad, formalized, and highly structured educational program. Federal and state law as well as federal, state, and local policies and procedures strictly govern the structure and delivery of all special education programs. These services are designed for those students who have a documented disability that has a significant and adverse effect on their ability to learn.
Our district works to meet the individual needs of children with disabilities by offering a full continuum of placement options allowed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.) and the Ohio Department of Education. Each building is prepared to offer small group instruction, resource room classes, co-teaching, out of district placements, and home instruction.
The district special education staff, which includes intervention specialists, paraprofessionals, and related services’ providers, serves approximately 10 percent of our student population.
