- To prepare each student to earn a general education college preparatory high school diploma.
- To teach student strategies and skills to gain academic and social independence.
- To prepare students for transitioning out of the PEC program.
- To prepare students to take advantage of all resources and opportunities at Inman.
What Exceptionalities Are Served?
Currently Inman serves students with the following exceptionalities: specific learning disabilities (SLD); other health impairments (OHI); visually impaired (VI); mildly intellectually disabled (MID); speech and language impairments (SI); moderately intellectually disabled (MID); emotional behavioral disorders (EBD); and mild autistism (AUT).
How many PEC students are currently at Inman and who serves them?
We have 78 PEC students and a PEC staff consisting of seven (7) full-time highly qualified and certified teachers, four (4) teacher assistants, and a Program Assistant. Depending on the needs of our students, other specialist provide assistance to our students in the areas of occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, adaptive physical education, and physical therapy. In addition, the school has a nurse, as well as a social worker and counselor, who serve as a resource for all students at Inman Middle School. Your case manager will be able to connect you to these people.
How are PEC students served? What do accommodations and modifications look like at Inman?
You child will receive services based on his or her current IEP. The placement and accommodations listed in your child's IEP will be implemented as soon as your child begins here at Inman.
As the school year begins, and the students acclimate to the changes of middle school, concerns may arise. These may be brought up by your child's case manager, general education teachers, or you, as the parent or guardian. A meeting may be called to discuss these concerns. At this time, changes to accommodations or setting may be made to ensure that your chid gets the services to build skills that are necessary for success and independence in school.
All students at Inman are expected to master the Georgia Performance Standards and take the CRCT or GAA. Recognizing that students have unique learning needs, the PEC teachers may structure and present the curriculum with methods and strategies that are different from the ways in which the general education teachers do. We don't water down the curriculum or lower the expectations but tailor teaching methods to the students' needs. This correlates with Inman's emphasis on differentiated instruction for every student.
You will hear the terms "inclusion" and "resource" frequently.
Students are served through a number of instructional models at Inman depending on their individual needs. Inclusion and resource classes are the most frequently used because they directly support our goal of academic and instructional independence for our students. These classes provide needed support while allowing the students to learn in a setting that best suits them.
Inclusion - in this setting, the students are in a general education class. Depending on the student's needs, there may or may not be a co-teacher in the room for extra support. The students in these classes are of mixed ability levels.
Co-teaching - in inclusion settings, where the students need some extra support, a PEC teacher will be in a the room as a co-teacher. She will participate in planning, creating, choosing, and modifying assignments, and teaching lessons to the class.
Resource - this is a pull out setting for students who benefit from a smaller group and more individual attention. These classes cover the same material as the general education classes and use many of the same assignments. Math and Language Arts resource classes offer the student an excellent opportunity for smaller group instruction.
Depending on your student's needs, they will receive instruction in one or more of the settings described above. Many PEC students at Inman have both inclusion and resources classes in their daily schedule. We hope that students will grow and become independent and move towards all inclusion classes with needed support.
Who do I contact first regarding concerns?
Each student has a case manager who is your first contact for questions or concerns. The case manager is the teacher responsible for making sure your child's IEP is fully implemented and explained to all the teachers who work with your child during the year. The case manager thoroughly reviews and maintains your child's confidential folder. He or she is in charge of monitoring the progress of your child's goals and objectives, which are aligned with the state grade level standards. The case manager is your child's advocate, who is responsible for making sure that your child's instruction is aligned according to the modifications and accommodations as mandated in your child's IEP.
It is strongly suggested that parents first contact the case manager before contacting the general education teachers on the grade level team so that your concerns can be addressed as quickly as possible. Using the case manager as the first point of communication will also help streamline communications, ensure consistent implementation of new strategies, and keep everyone who is working with your child on the same page.
How do my child's records get to Inman? Do I need to do anything to facilitate?
As long as you reside in the Inman attendance zone, all of your child's records and files are delivered to Inman in early June by the elementary school. If you do not live in the Inman attendance zone, the elementary school records will be delivered to the middle school closest to your home or to the APS Records Center. When your child arrives at Inman, the counselor at Inman will request the records from that school. At that point, the school will send the records to Inman, at no inconvenience to you.
Ways to Enhance Your Student's Success
- Parental involvement is essential in your child's education. Get to know and work alongside your child's case manager. Our PEC staff has met the highly qualified requirements set by our school district. We welcome the opportunity to form a cooperative partnership between home and school.
- Keep up on all strategies and interventions that have been successful in the past, and make your child's case manager aware of these. This may include medication, a behavior chart, or a set homework time and place. Students needs consistency and structure, especially during transitions such as these. Taking a child of medication or changing routines at the beginning of the school year will make the transition more difficult.
- Get your child to tutorial. All teachers have a tutorial time during the week, either before or after school. Tutorial provides an opportunity for students to review current information or secure academic skills they may not have mastered before.
- Check your child's agenda daily and use homework hero to stay on top of your student's assignments, tests, and quizzes. Homework is a requirement of all Inman students, and the completion of this work increases each student's knowledge and understanding of the materials being presented in class. It will also be included in your child's grade.
- Help your child make a plan for long term assignments and projects. Many teachers in middle school will give assignments that need to be completed over a period of days or weeks. In order to get these done successfully and on time, talk with your child about how to break the assignment down into small pieces, and set due dates for each piece.
- Be sure your child is prepared before she heads off to school everyday. Cleaning out and repacking her back pack before bed will ensure that she has all homework and materials and will help to avoid a morning rush.
- Consider sharing your child's IEP with him. As students move into middle school, they are better able to understand their academic needs and should begin to become an advocate for themselves. By sharing the IEP, you empower your child to voice his needs and work towards his goals.
- Talk to your child about how school is going on a regular basis. If any concerns come up, share them with your child's case manager as soon as possible. Being proactive will stop minor concerns from turning into major problems.
Placement Options for Services
The IEP addresses the placement option for services. The least restrictive environment (LRE) provides the most possible time in the general education classroom setting. The continuum of services begins with the least restrictive and continues to the most restrictive options. The IEP team discuss the needs of the students when deciding upon the environment in which the student will receive his or her instruction.
- The continuum of services begins with the option of General Education where no IEP-based specific accommodations or modifications have been determined to be required.
- General Education with Supplementary Aids is offered when a student is able to function successfully in the general education classroom with specific supplementary accommodations (visual aids, preferential seating, manipulative materials, etc.). The assigned case manager monitors the student's progress and implementation of the recommended aids.
- General Education with Consultative Services is considered LRE when the student is able to function successfully in the general education classroom with the case manager consulting with the student and general education teachers. The case manager informs the student and parents of the progress and any concerns through goals evaluation methods.
- General Education with Therapy is selected for students that have speech as their primary area of service. Severity of speech/language deficits dictates the delivery of services from the Speech and Language Therapist as being direct or consultative.
- General Education with Half Special Education is the placement option that indicates the student receives a portion of his or her academic instruction directly from the PEC teacher. The direct instruction can occur in the resource room or in the general education classroom. The resource class is taught by a PEC teacher and allows for more one to one intensified instruction focusing on deficit areas while covering the grade level performance standards-based curriculum. Currently, resource is offered in Math and Language Arts. There are students who remain in the general education classroom with the PEC teacher. The PEC teacher is there to ensure that the IEP is fully implemented and that appropriate accommodations and modifications are in place so that the student can independently function with minimal teacher support. The severity of the disability, social and emotional development and educational needs of the student are fully discussed and used to determine if this setting is the LRE. Students in this model require minimal support from the PEC teacher.
- Self-contained is the placement whereby the students receive all core class instruction by the PEC teacher(s). The intensified instruction is aligned with the state grade level standards. The students are involved in the general education environment for all connections and general school activities. Again, the severity of the disability, social and emotional development and educational needs of the student are fully discussed and used to determine if this setting is the LRE and appropriate to build the skills that are necessary for mastering the Georgia Performance Standards and the CRCT or GAA.
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