Special Education is a specialized instruction provided for children from birth to age 22 who qualify according to the laws and regulations outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). A student may qualify for Special Education services as an individual with special needs in one of the following areas: Deaf/hard of hearing, Deaf-Blind, Visually impaired, Speech-Language impaired, Specific Learning Disability, Orthopedically impaired, Intellectually Disabled, Emotionally Disturbed, Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Other Health Impaired. A student receives support from Special Education as identified on his/her Individual Education Plan.
Scotts Valley Unified School District offers a continuum of Special Education support which includes: push-in, resource, and Special Day Classes.
At each IEP meeting, the team is required to consider a continuum of options for service, beginning with the least restrictive. Their job is to determine which combination of services provides the required benefits with the least restriction in environment. Federal law requires that the placement be as close as possible to the child's home, and that the child is educated in the school he or she would attend if non-disable, unless the IEP team determines that the child requires some other arrangements.
Special Education Programs/Directory
Scotts Valley serves a wide range of students with special needs:
- Students that have mild to moderate disabilities are typically served within Scotts Valley Unified School District. Students with mild to moderate disabilities may have learning disabilities, speech and language delays, minor health disabilities, or have a mild form of autism.
- Students with moderate to severe disabilities, including severely handicapped, pre-school through 5th grade are frequently served by Scotts Valley Unified School District. Additionally Pre-school through 22-years may be served by other programs determined to appropriately provide a public education.
If you suspect your child has a disability, do not hesitate to contact the Director of Special Education or your site administrator.
Early detection and intervention is important!
Special Education Personnel
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Interim Director of Special Education Michele Syth |
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Administrative Assistant Alyssa Martinez |
District Psychologist Cardiff Hamilton |
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Student Services Program Specialist Magdalena Macias |
District Psychologist Erick Berglund |
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Behavior Support Aide Leslie Gerlack |
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Brook Knoll Special Education Teachers/Providers
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K-5: Mild-to-Moderate Heidi Reynolds hreynolds@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Resource Teacher Lisa Jacobs ljacobs@scottsvalleyusd.org |
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Occupational Therapy Vickie Wick vwick@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Speech Lea Graff lgraff@scottsvalleyusd.org |
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Speech Jeanelle Babitzke jbabitzke@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Speech Sally Lussier slussier@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Vine Hill Special Education Teachers/Providers
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Resource Teacher Denise Hitzeman dhitzeman@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Adapted Physical Education (APE) Lewis LaHood llahood@scottsvalleyusd.org |
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Speech Kirsten Maure kmaure@scottsvalleyusd.org
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Occupational Therapy (OT) Vickie Wick vwick@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Middle School Special Education Teachers/Providers
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Mild-to-Moderate Special Day Chris Cheek ccheek@scottsvalleyusd.org
Caitlyn Reynolds creynolds@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Resource Teacher Liz Pennington lpennington@scottsvalleyusd.org
Caitlyn Reynolds creynolds@scottsvalleyusd.org |
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Speech Paula Castagna pcastagna@scottsvalleyusd.org |
Adapted Physical Education (APE) Lewis LaHood llahood@scottsvalleyusd.org |
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Occupational Therapy (OT) Vickie Wick vwick@scottsvalleyusd.org |
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High School Special Education Teachers/Providers
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Resource / Mild-to-Moderate Special Day Class Teachers: Lori Blair
Judy Lukasiewicz
Jenny Daniels |
Occupational Therapy (OT) Vickie Wick |
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Speech Paula Castagna |
Adapted Physical Education (APE) Lewis LaHood |
