For Immediate Release: October 19, 2023
Contact: communications@doe.virginia.gov
Todd.Reid@doe.virginia.gov
New Prioritized Monitoring Team to monitor and support school divisions continually struggling to provide special education services; Work Group will review recommendations of national experts focused on improving special education services for students and families
RICHMOND — The Department of Education announced the creation of a Special Education Work Group comprised of parents, educators, and support organizations to assist the Department in developing the 2024 Roadmap for Special Education. This roadmap is expected to include an increased focus on inclusion, high-quality instruction for all students, strong systems of parents and family engagement, prioritized monitoring and support, as well as an emphasis on postsecondary pathways for all learners.
The Department is also enhancing its monitoring efforts and creating a prioritized special education monitoring team reporting directly to the Superintendent. This team will monitor school divisions and provide intensive supports to those school divisions having difficulty delivering effective special education programming.
Both moves come out of comprehensive, external evaluations of Virginia’s special education programs commissioned by Superintendent Coons and performed by two leading national experts, Dr. Robert Pasternack and Nathan Levenson.
“Since I have arrived, we have worked to improve our special education programming. I am extremely appreciative of the program evaluation teams and their thoughtful recommendations that will inform the improvement of our special education services,” said Dr. Coons. “The new work group will consider these recommendations to help inform solutions that will improve services the Department provides to students, families and schools across the state.”
“The Department of Education takes seriously its responsibility to make sure that students and families are receiving the appropriate services they need. The department also has a duty to make sure that school divisions are supported with the guidance and professional development they need to have effective special educational programs,” said Grace Creasey, President of the State Board of Education. “The changes being implemented today will ensure that the department is effectively monitoring school divisions to ensure they are providing high quality instruction and access to high quality educators, as well as supporting those divisions who continue to struggle meeting those obligations.”
Based on feedback from the program evaluators and to ensure that Virginia’s “Right Help, Right Now” behavioral health supports for our schools are a focus, the Department is also launching a new Office of Behavioral Health, focused on mental and physical health of all students and reporting directly to the Office of the Superintendent.
The Special Education Work Group members include:
- Grace Creasey - President, Virginia Board of Education
- Jennifer Waggener - Assistant Superintendent of Administration, Goochland County Public Schools
- Craig Pinello - Director of Exceptional Learning, Chesapeake Public Schools
- Roni Myers Daub - Executive Director of Programs for Exceptional Children, Virginia Beach City Public Schools
- Melanie Kay Wyatt - Superintendent, Alexandria City Public Schools
- Marc Bergin - Superintendent, Bedford County Public Schools
- Verletta White - Superintendent, Roanoke City Public Schools
- Martha Brizendine - Director of Special Education, Halifax County Public Schools
- Mike Asip - Policy & Legislative Chair, Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education
- Tammy Burns - Deputy Director, Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center
- Dana Yarborough - Director, Center for Family Involvement, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Laura Armstrong - Executive Director, Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs
- Parthenia Dinora - Executive Director, Partnership For People With Disabilities, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Vicki Taylor - Parent, former public school special education teacher, Arlington
“School divisions play a crucial role in serving students receiving special education services and their families. We must always ensure we are meeting the needs of all students, supporting their families, and providing information and resources so each child can be successful. I look forward to serving on this work group so we can continue to provide the best education for our students in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Dr. Verletta White, Superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools.
Robert Pasternack, Ph.D., is Chief Executive Officer of Ensenar Educational Services and a native of Virginia who currently resides in Virginia Beach. Dr. Pasternack is the former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services at the US Dept of Education.
Nathan Levenson is President of New Solutions K12. Mr. Levenson has spent the last 25 years working to improve the lives and outcomes for students who struggle and brings a unique perspective to this mission having served as a school superintendent, school board member, author, speaker, and consultant to over 250 districts in more than 30 states and around the world including being a former Superintendent in Arlington, MA.
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