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[Music] [Music] [Music] Hello and welcome to today's special education committee. I am Carla Grigo and I am the board
representative for board district 5 and chairperson of the special ed committee. As a former special education teacher, I feel very honored to be in this space with you uh facilitating much neededed conversations between the diverse voices that are represented on this committee.
Um before I continue, I want to acknowledge that there's been uh mass staff reductions at the federal level in the Department of Education. We heard about that uh last week and we recognize that this uncertainty surrounding funding and resources especially for
special education rem remains top of mind for us. However, I want you to know that LUSD remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that all of our students have access to a quality education including our students in
special education. As a reminder, our goal for this committee is to make this a co-thinking space where together we can uplift the need the needs of our students in special education, but also come up with solutions on how we can improve the way that we serve our
students. I invite our committee members to share their ideas and experiences with special education. I invite our parents to share their concerns and students needs. And I invite our educators and pair professionals to share any recommendations they have
about how the district can better prepare our students. As part of our series of committee meetings for this school year, we will be highlighting key updates and outcomes coming out of the Division of Special Education's Listen and Learn campaign
report. For those of you who may not know, this report was published in the spring of 2025, and it summarized the key findings highlighted successes, challenges, and opportunities for how LUSD can improve how it supports students with disabilities. The report
also outlines measures of success and action items to be executed by 2027. We have copies of that, I think, and you can also find them online and in English and Spanish. Um, this month, October, I
want to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of needs of our communities and students. October is a time to celebrate the abilities, the contributions, and resilience of people with disabilities and neurodeiverse experiences.
recognizing observances such as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia Awareness Month, ADHD Awareness Month, Blind Awareness Month, World C uh Cerebral Pulsy Day October 6th, and
White Cane Safety Day on October 16th helps raise awareness, break down stigma, and promote inclusion. together. These remembrances remind us of our collective responsibility to build communities where everyone can learn,
work, and thrive with dignity and belonging. So, now I'm going to open up the floor for some a quick round of introductions uh from our committee members. If you can share your name, your title such as parent, educator,
community, labor rep, and your school affiliation. and then one word about how you're feeling in this moment. So, I will begin to my left. >> Yes. Didn't give me time to think about my
word. No, it's okay. I'm Dr. Evas, um board member for uh board district 2. And my word is just feel happy. Feel happy. Yeah, that's my one word. Yeah. Thank you. And if you like
what you hear, I used to always tell my students just do like little happy fingers. Okay. Yes. >> Good afternoon. Jose Sto, Division of Special Education. My word is hopeful. >> Alicia Hos, Division of Special
Education. My work is My word is inspired. >> Good afternoon. Mary Kellogg on behalf of Janine Cox for the Office of General Counsel. And because Dr. Sodto took my word first. I will go with opportunity. We will move to the back.
of a student in special education and I am in the ACE organization and my school is SMLton but my word is strength strength for all those students and strength to overcome. >> Good afternoon. My name is Tamila Davis.
I'm a PSA counselor for region west and a word for me would be collaboration. Good afternoon. My name is Maria Duran and I have a student in swe education and for me inspiration for me the word
is perseverance and unity. >> Good afternoon. My name is Elizabeth Thomas Parker. I'm a special education assistant and also SEIU vice president. And the word I can say would be excited. Hello, my name is Kenya Maria Pineda. I use they them pronouns. I'm a resource
teacher at Thomas Dark King Middle School and my word would be growth. Hello, good evening. My name is Christina Martinez. I'm a special education pair professional and my word is ecstatic.
I am Amy Bogos. I'm a teacher of the deaf and my word is elevate. >> Marcia Scott. I'm a human resources specialist and my word is grateful. >> Charita Rogers inclusion uh the West
area and my word is energized. >> All right. And I'm Carla Grigo and my word is thrilled. I am thrilled to be here. Of course, I added more words. All right. Um, so again, I want to thank you for committing all of you here,
committing your time and your energy to be a member of this committee and for sharing all that you share with us when you are here. Before we move on to the presentation, I'd like to remind the audience that at the end of our meeting, we are going to take public comment. Um,
so I'm super thrilled and excited about today's presentations. We have students, we have parents, and we have educators presenting today. Um, but before we go on, I just want to remind folks that the last time we were here in September, we talked about parent learning
opportunities and educator PD and trainings that will be offered this school year as part of the action items ali outlined in the listen and learn campaign. That recording and slide deck is up on the board of education website, and if you'd like to go back and watch it, you're welcome to do so. But for
today's presentation, we will hear directly from principles about special offerings found at LUSD's special education career and transition centers. To our committee members, we will have time for discussion at the midpoint and
at the end of the presentation. So, please make sure you're jotting down your questions, doing little bunny ears on your paper here. Um, and then just as a reminder, if you have specific questions related to a student or school site due to privacy concerns, the
division of special education will be limited in as to what they can u answer publicly. But I do want to remind you that we do have the special ed division in the back outside this room who are there to answer any questions and any concerns that you may have. And they
also have a lot of documents that if you want more information, they will share with you. So for right now I'm going to go ahead and begin with our first guest speaker who is principal Danielle Fearson of Marlton School and they can get us started with the presentation.
Welcome [Applause] Thank you for having us. Um I'm Gavin Mglani. I am uh the president of SEIPO which is the special education principles organization. Uh I am so proud to be here. Uh last year I had the
privilege of serving on the committee. Uh so I know the great work that's done here. Um one of the schools that we'll be presenting is uh Marlton here uh this this afternoon. Uh Marlton is one of our special education centers along with
Salvin uh and Lorraz. Uh and I would like to introduce principal of Marlton. >> Hi, good afternoon. Now I'm not sure how to work this. Okay. Um good afternoon. Um I am Dr. Frierson. I am the proud principal of
Marlton School and um just to share a brief overview of the dynamics of Marlton. It does not fit the caveat of all schools um that are considered centered centers. Marlton is special and unique
um within itself. It is the only deaf day school in California where students can come to school and go home um every day. And it's um a public school obviously because it's LA Unified. A lot of the other schools that are deaf
schools are state schools and they're residential. So we are special in that um aspect. So we are a public preschool through 12th grade um school for students that are deaf. Um and what's special about us is that we do have a
sibling program that has um siblings of deaf students can come to school from grades TK through fifth grade and those are hearing students and then our deaf students range from PK all the way
through 12th grade. Um currently we have 132 students. the majority of our students are on core um education and I'll the next slide will kind of explain that. Um
so here are some of our highlights. Um we are a community school. Uh we also have um and we're one of the 32 community schools. We recently received a mo meaningful teaching and learning grant. Um we offer ASL classes for our
families and the communities. Um because we are core, our students are on A through G um track. So we graduate students um and they go to the university. Last year um we had students that went to um Sea Sun.
The year before that two students went to RIT, Rochester Institute for Technology. And um so we have college visits um and we do college tours um for our secondary students. Uh because we're a small school, we do not have sports, but we
were able to partnership with have a partnership with Dorsy High School to run CIF. So we do have students that play um football, run track, and I think one student is going to be playing volleyball, and we have three boys that are on the baseball team um at Dorsy
right now. Uh because we are a community school, we do um engage our students with um all of our students hearing and deaf. We do a lot of community um activities. So when you come to Marlton, you will see ASL,
you will see English, you will um you'll see here spoken language as well. So there's a variety of different languages um as far as it's not only just all ASL, but the primary language at Marlton is
ASL. So we um do a lot of engagement with our um community and so we have a deaf I was one of the pictures is the deaf friendly kickball. So it was a silent kickball game. So it was a lot of fun. Um this year we um every staff
member is encouraged to learn sign language. So, we do, like I said, we offer the ASL classes for our community as well as for the staff. And one of the things that's great is ASL is the um one of the primary languages and
we'll you'll see people using their hands um a lot. So, I'm doing really hard trying to put my hands down um and not look at the interpreter, Mac, to make sure he's capturing everything that I'm saying correctly. Um so, um Hey, Mac.
So our um our ASL classes are offered. We have community every staff member this year, not every but most staff members. They gave their inspirational word. So our community school coordinator went around and videoed everyone and they said,
"What's your inspirational word?" So they signed their word. So my word was in was success. And they signed what their words what that word meant to them. And what was great is like the even the staff members that were new to Marlton worked really hard to learn why
their word was inspirational. And so there was a QR code and you can click on the QR code and it gave what the word was. Um and it shows the pride that we have and the love of the school access for our students um
for our staff. The my secondary staff, middle school through high school. Out of my seven teachers, five are deaf. The majority, so they're getting the students are getting instruction in first language. Uh my preschool, my teachers are deaf because they need
instruction in their first language. So we get a lot of kids that come at age three that are language deprived that have never had access to any language. So, a lot of our kids stay from age three through age um 22 or age 18
depending on what track if they're alternate curriculum or core. Um but it is a very loving, a very rich environment um rich in language, rich in love and um dedication. We have teachers that have been there for years, so they've watched babies come in at three years old and now some of their first
students are now teaching at the school. So that's what's special um about Marlton and that's what makes Marlton so um great and that's all I have. Thank you Dr. Frederickton. We are so proud of the work that's done at Marlton. Uh that is just one of the
special education centers that we have uh in LAD. um when when we're thinking about special education and special education centers and career and transition centers during this presentation, if you could do for me uh just a visualization.
And what I would like you to do is think about the parent that was so excited when they heard the news that they were pregnant and the child was coming and then a few months or maybe a year or two uh they went to a doctor and got a
diagnosis that their child may have had a disability and how things in their mind might have changed and paths that they thought about might have changed. So, while we're presenting, think about that family and then at the end, we'll show you um what we're capable of doing.
So, I'd like to present uh on on two of our other special education centers, Lorocrants and Salvin. Uh they do a lot of different things. Uh they are move trained teachers which help students that are uh in wheelchairs uh or walkers
get into different standing devices uh so that they can get up and at eye level to interact and engage with the community and the world. Um they do partnerships with sea sun music. Music is the ultimate uh bridge for our
population to the outside community. uh all of the arts really connect our students to that. They have reading companion programs where they read to dogs. Working with animals is another bridge that our students are able to connect with. Um they have
transportation heroes. They work in the cafeterias learning job skills. Uh they have full-time nursing. Uh and then on all of our sites we have California Children's Services. So in the educational model, LAUSD supports the
child in uh the education. California Children's Services works on the medical model, providing wheelchairs, walkers, braces, all of those things as well, making it more convenient for families because their child is already at school. The parent just comes to the
school site and gets the support that they need. In addition to that, they get our students ready for the world. So, as you look through and see the smiling faces, um, at our special education
centers, it is a continuum. So, the IEP makes the decision whether or not a student uh is eligible for the services at a special education center. For some students, it is a great opportunity for them to thrive and succeed. For others,
the IEP team might decide to leave them at a general education site and have different opportunities to engage. All are appropriate based on what the IEP team decides. But looking through the slides that you see here and the faces
of students that are engaged and active, they're out in the community. They're in grocery stores. They're riding the bus learning all the job skills and work skills that they need to be successful. at our special education centers. It's the starting line. So, they get there,
they're getting ready and working their way through to move on. Not only are our schools a beacon for the students that go there, but they're a beacon for our communities as well. Uh, doing projects like this, uh, a mural project at Salvin
allows the community to see all the great work that is done inside. So we're able to tell our story based on the work that we do and the work that we do is all inclusive of students. In addition to our special education
centers, uh we have our career and transition centers. And I'll invite Mr. Whittington to come up and introduce himself. >> Good afternoon everyone. Uh my name is Jamal Whittington. I'm the principal at CTC West and McBride Special Ed Center.
Uh so as Gavin said, we have our career and transition centers here. Uh as you can see, there are eight s uh CTC's throughout the district. In the uh district's current configuration, that's uh three in the south, three in the north, one in the east, and one in
the west. Um, CTC's are really the foundation of LUSD's transition adult transition programs. Uh, the it's it's the the ideal pathway if you think about it this way to kind of see where they fall into
the scheme of things is that a student would do four years at their high school. uh they're on modified uh core curriculum and then after those four years they could go to a CTC and receive an additional four years of instruction
uh but different instruction which we'll talk about. They have different opportunities, different experiences at the CTC's than they would get at the high schools. Um CTC's focus CTC's focus on independence as a whole.
uh in three main areas, vocational skills, community skills, community travel skills, and living skills. And uh some of the ways that we do that include vocational strands, which uh there are
up to 10 vocational strands that could maybe be more at some CTC's that exist. Uh we'll talk a little bit about those on the next slide. Um work experience programs to support employment preparation. That's another key component.
The off-campus satellite programs which we'll get into more detail a little bit later and agency linkages. So partnerships and collaboration with regional center and department of rehab are very important uh for us and a key component for our students because those
are really the next uh the the agencies that take over after they they leave. that's their primary resource after they uh leave the CTC's. Um, another very important piece of CTC's is the community- based
instruction. So, uh, some parents may have heard of this. If you're in special education, for sure you've heard of this. Uh, it is really the opportunity where students get to practice and generalize skills that they've learned in the classroom uh, around independence. So it does focus on
community travel as you can see uh accessing different resources in the community when they practice in class to to any kind of u money skills making change making purchases they go out into the community and then they actually can have the opportunity to make purchases
and practice getting the correct change and all those things. Um, another piece that wasn't shown in the picture, but even accessing uh different resources of the community like libraries, learning where the fire stations are that are nearby, police stations, things like that.
Okay. So, I'd like at this point to go a little bit more into the vocational strands. So, uh, what we have here is an example. This is definitely not um a complete list of all the strands, but these are what we refer to as our, uh, legacy strands. These are strands that
we started pretty much every CT started with these. Uh most of them have expanded and added different strands throughout the years. Um but uh this is a good example of what what you'll find at a CTC. Culinary culinary arts. Um for
the district folks, you're well aware we do a lot of catering for different meetings and things at our at our CTC's. Uh students are learning the skills they would need to work in a uh professional culinary environment, a kitchen, at a restaurant. Um retail focuses on the
skills they would need in order to work in a retail environment. Hand making uh transactions with customer service, um doing inventory are just some examples of that. uh product design and you might find different CTC's will have
slightly different names for some of these but you know these are just kind of general descriptions uh product design focuses on things where students are actually creating products so there's there different strands do this in different ways but some examples are
like jewelry um we have some couple of sites that well at least one that makes guitars I can let uh them go into that a little more Um that's the product design. Building and grounds is one that uh teaches students the skills
around facilities and groundskeeping. Uh autodetailing, pretty self-explanatory, but uh there's a lot that goes into it. So students are doing the interior, the exterior, cleaning the windows, vacuuming, all the components that go with that. Um but also the setup
of the equipment, the breakdown of the equipment um is all very important. Uh graphic arts is another one that uh most of the CTC's will have and that is one where a lot of the uh t-shirts and different apparel uh students are
learning to use heat presses to put designs on the shirts on bags, hats, um lots of different things, skateboards, there's a lot of different examples. uh the the hard skills that they're learning in the strands are very important but just as important are the
soft skills that they can apply to any job. So this is really the hook where they can uh the students get to choose these strands and then from there uh we get them in and we teach them the skills that they need that they can apply to any job.
All right. So, I'd like you to go back in your mind to that individual family that we were talking about and take a look at some of these photos. So, in the photos we have here, we have uh some of our um assistants. So, either Mr. Curtis or Miss Jesse or Miss Anna, Miss Kim,
Miss Yena, Miss Jenny, our teachers. Not only are they special education teachers or assistants or office staff, they are also individuals that have taken on new skill sets. So they have to master these
skill sets in order to make our students uh competitive for employment. So in our culinary arts teams, we've catered events of 250 um people at at uh events. We have food trucks, uh, VW bus wreck
like food trucks that offer, uh, our football games, desserts. We're innovative. So, we have ocean farming and ocean robotics three years before the city of Los Angeles uh, college programs uh, develop those programs. So, these are not your traditional special
education, what you thought of of the past. We're innovative. We're active. uh were supportive of our our students and making them competitive. So that student that you thought of, I bet you didn't think of these kids.
What we do is we we take the California Tech standards and we modify them. Um we create safety opportunities for students to work with real tools of the trade. So as Mr. Whittington said if it's working in landscaping, they're using weed
whackers and lawnmowers and all the tools of the trade. Why? Because they need to be competitive. We don't want our students to go for a job interview and the interviewe asks them, "Have you had any experience?" Uh, no. My my mom or dad wouldn't allow me. We're going to
make sure that they're safe and that they have those opportunities. We have students that are working on heat presses, creating t-shirts. We have students that are working at in farms on our campuses. They're working in retail stores. We not only offer the the uh few
classes that Mr. Whittington had talked about, but we look at our communities and what our communities are doing and we develop strand classes to support our students going into those communities and working in their home communities.
All of our students learn to work together as a team. We have our students that become leaders of those teams. They learn the skills of using hand tools. They learn the skills of listening and taking feedback uh from their
supervisors. So when they graduate and move on, and they have a supervisor that says, you know what, I appreciate the work that you did, but I need you to do it this way that they don't take it personally. It's not that the individual doesn't like them. They just need to continue the business running and it to
be efficient. So, we need to empower our students to take that criticism, adjust, pivot, and move on. Not only do we want our students to get jobs, but we want to maintain those jobs for life and Mr. Wington will talk about our pay
lab. >> All right. So the pay labees is an acronym that stands for practical assessment exploration system and it is a class it's a very unique class that um as you can see from the pictures covers a wide range of entrylevel job skills
and the idea there is that uh the students are not only getting exposed to these different um activities the different types of job skills but they're being assessed to determine how independently they can do the the task and if they liked it or not. So, it's
really it's a career exploration uh opportunity for them, but also um an opportunity to see what they're good at and what what they enjoy. So, um that's sort of a we gave this its own slide because it's not really a vocational
strand. It's sort of it's a unique uh type of class. And I think >> Oh, do do we have any that wants to talk at this point? >> No. No, not. >> So, we'll pause here and open it up for
discussion on the first half. >> All right. Well, thank you. So, we have uh probably about 15 minutes for conversation, discussion, any questions that you might have for the folks who presented, this would be the opport the time to do that. And I just want to
remind everyone that um some norms that I want to keep in in mind, step up, step back. So if somebody if you have not spoken and you know go ahead, I encourage you to speak. If you have already spoken, you know, step back a little so others who have not spoken yet
will have an opportunity to speak. And then also if um we can keep the comments and and the discussion to the topic. So even if it has to do with funding along the topic that we just heard that would be very helpful. So I will open it up
for uh discussion or questions right now. Anybody? Okay. We have Okay. Right here and then back there. >> Hello. My name is Amy and as I said I'm in depth education. Um,
kudos to uh all the staff learning ASL in school. That is something that is near and dear to my heart that if people are going to be interacting with de students, they should at least be able to communicate with them. Um,
as we know or some of us really know, the Molton has a very rich and complex history that we're still working through. One distinction that I want to make about Molton as a designated special ed center from hearing from the
presenters low cran and salvin I heard medical model for Molton I heard language model so therefore that is the big distinction also Molton is ag academic core
curriculum which is different from the more medical model specialized centers so my question is why is Maltton still considered a special ed center? Because I do know that staffing ratios are different for special education centers
and for a school that focuses on A to G with the whole gamut of of education educational opportunities. >> Okay. >> The state has Marlton identified as a special education center.
>> Okay. So maybe we need to look at redesating it because it really if we look at what a special ed center is molten like most steped we is not a special ed center because we are addressing a tog graduation
requirements it is a bilingual environment it sounds really rich I love the fact that sports is being reintroduced um so maybe that's something that we can look into because I one thing I do know
that Maltton every year has to fight to keep classes open because of the way it's designated. So Molton also as you said cater to the neighborhood students and to the siblings. So it
really is a special ed center in a very different way than the other special ed centers. I had something else to say and I can't think of it right now, but it was Oh, one other thing I want to give a shout out to the early special ed um teachers
who used Molton as one of the schools and they had the preschool program at the campus. So 0 to three with the parents coming doing a biodal approach to eliminate
the language deprivation opportunity that happen too often for our deaf students. So thank you for giving them that space and thank you for the district for creating a a biodal approach for our kids. >> Amy,
>> thank you Amy. that you did bring up about something that we might have to bring up to the state, right? And I'd like to hear more about that uh through our own governmental relations and division of special ed about what would be the pros and cons of something like that. So, thank you for uplifting that.
All right, this is the stack that I have. I have Marsha, then Maria, then Kenya, and Christina. Okay, let's go. So, if a community member was interested in enrolling in the ASL classes at
Marlton, how do they go about doing that? >> That is a very good question that people are asking me. So, right now, our classes are just open. So, we have we offer classes Monday and Tuesday from
10:00 a.m. through 11:00 a.m. for parents and community. And we have had um community members who live in the area come and they go they sign in and then they come to the parent center and then they have their classes and then they leave. Um so there's no real formal
like application because we were just opening up you know just to have classes so that we can increase the the the access for our families. So if just contact the school um contact ask them to find me and usually most of the time
I say yes but if it becomes too arduous then we may have to put a formal um process in place but right now it's just whoever is willing. >> Thank you. All right. I think next is Maria
and then Kenya. See, >> pardon. Yes. Well, >> here you spoke about the um um the hiring of students. So my question is where can an employer obtain information about the transitional
uh professional uh services so that a student of special education can obtain this uh job or employment. Okay. Gracias. Okay. Where can an employer obtain information about the transitional programs or the
professional um programs for students of special education so they can obtain this job >> more about the CTC programs in order to recruit some of the the students from there? >> So one of the things that we do is we
connect with our chamber local chamber of commerce. We present and meet with local businesses. uh we do a lot of cold calling. Uh but if there is in a community an employer that is interested um one of the things that I always
articulate to local businesses is the federal government actually offers tax incentives for businesses to hire our population and we can teach them how to fill out those tax incentive forms uh and they can actually fund 40% of the
salary uh for our students entering into those jobs. So for the business, they get a dedicated worker that loves to do the work and then they also get tax incentives. So the federal government would much rather provide a local
business giving purpose to an individual disability to have a job, go out into the community, be part of the community instead of funding in in other ways. So we meet with our local chamber of commerce. We work with them and for the uh a lot of us will go doortodoor and
into our communities and do cold calls. >> All right. Um I think it was uh Kenya. >> So I understand that LADC and transition centers offer those vocational strands like culinary arts and product design
and autodetailing. Are there ways in which district personnel or um anyone who wants to find this information can be permitted to engage in products created or services provided by the students? Um because I would love to contribute to that and I would love to
participate with um the adult education program. >> As a matter of fact, there is so uh for those of you that work at uh Bodri, you may have seen um the sales that we do a couple times a year. I think we did three or four last year actually. But so
we have uh two how many three this year that are planned I believe. >> Yes. >> Uh so we have those in the cafeteria at the in the basement area. Uh those will be I think they're promoted pretty well. you can you know you can tell me but uh the other way is if you know there's a
your your local CTC whether you know close to home or close to uh to work you can reach out and most we will have uh we all have websites uh we don't have we don't all have all of the products available on websites but if you give us
a call uh we can definitely tell you what we have and um some of the services like that we didn't mention that happen though like even shredding and of course the autodetailing. Um, but lots of different products and everybody doesn't produce the same thing. So, it might
even be beneficial to reach out to uh different sites. We are working on a catalog by the way. So, that's Yeah. So, that's the that's the ultimate goal to have everything in one catalog to make it easier for you. But I I do appreciate that. Thank you. >> Alison, I had all these Oh, go ahead.
Uh, are you gonna add to what he just said? >> To what he said? Okay, go ahead. >> Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, we really try to promote the work of our CTC and our students. They make really great things. So, if you have an opportunity to purchase from our CTC's or special ed centers, I encourage you
really great gifts for any occasion. Um, I've purchased a lot here when they come to to the school. Um, so I really encourage you to to click on their website and that catalog will be coming out shortly so you guys can see what's available at all of our schools >> and the catering as well too. deliver.
>> I I promise I'm not a paid advertiser, but uh I have purchased a number of plants from the CTC's and they never die. They do so well. >> Thanks, guys. >> It's all that love they pour into it. That's what it is. All right, Christina.
I feel like everybody asked all the questions everyone wanted to ask. And um as you know like Kenya said um you know Marcy said and Maria said it's like I work with high school so I know a student who is in the program and it would be nice to you know be able to at
least go and see how they're doing because you know we know the challenges that arise because of their disability because I I I will at the school that I'm in we have an IDM class and two of our students at are at Whitney. So it
would be nice as a pair professional who works with these students be able to see get a glimpse of you know life after high school. So and that's why my my word was ecstatic because it's like you know we work with them we know what they're capable and to see them after
high school it would be you know a nice opportunity. So that was more my question like how can you know us um employees get involved you know because we would be interested you know because it's it's like I said it's a in a nice
opportunity to be able to see the life after high school. So that that was pretty much my question but everybody asked. We invite you to come to our tours. So we have tours for all of our feeder schools. Um, one of our big, uh,
recruitment is we want our students to end up at our CTC's. And so, um, if you are a teacher or a pair professional, we offer tours throughout fall and spring. And we love the whole classroom to come. We want parents to come. We want them to
start coming at 9th grade because we really want them to start envisioning the transition to CTC. And sometimes it takes a few years uh for the parents and the students to feel comfortable because it's a big transition. They love it once
they get there. Um but sometimes it takes some time. So please come. Our uh students are so excited to see their old teachers, uh their old friends when our tours are on our campuses. So we invite you. >> Can you introduce yourself? I didn't get neither of your names.
>> Yes. Sorry. My name is Manuela Hernandez and I'm the proud principal of Perez in the east. >> Okay. >> And I'm Jennifer Hubard, proud principal of Leechman CTC in the north. >> Wonderful. Thank you. Any other questions? >> Yeah. And board member Grios, before we
go on to other questions, since we just had them introduce themselves, I do want to point out that while we have these five amazing presenters this afternoon, the rest of our CTC and special education centers are here in the audience to be able to support with questions as well. stand up and they can also >> I do want you to introduce yourself
please. I apologies please come and and and introduce yourself. >> Thank you. Uh good afternoon. My name is Anush Buajan and I am the proud principal of Lman Special Ed Center and CTC. >> All right. Hello everyone. Happy
wellness Wednesday. My name is Natalie Smith and I am the proud principal of Salvin Special Ed Center. [Applause] And good afternoon. My name is Carara Gelfend, proud principal of Low Crant Special Education Center. Go Zebras.
>> Go Zebras. >> Hello. Uh my name is Tim Sweeney. I am the proud principal of Miller CTC. Uh our first CTC. Uh and if I could just for one second, my word today is grateful. Uh I'm grateful to LA USD for
starting the CTC's about 25 years ago. None of this existed. So everything you see today is, you know, in education terms brand new. Uh and we're thriving. Um allowing us to create these novel programs allows us to build and all the things you've seen already are
incredible. Uh and we all can take something from another CTC. We have the freedom to build it. And this school district has been so wonderful in supporting those programs over the last 25 years that no other district anywhere can offer anything like this. So, thank
you. >> Oh, wow. >> Wonderful. All right. We have a few more speakers. Uh >> Dr. Rivas and then Miss Rogers. >> Just really quick, um just want to also reiterate the wonderful work of our
CTC's. Um I my regional office is at Paris. So um I've seen firsthand all the wonderful um work everyone the whole community inside a Pis is so loving and so
supportive. Um so I have a lot of earrings. I have a lot of t-shirts. I have some I have a lot of the wonderful work that um the students at the CTC centers make. They also have a coffee shop so at Bes so I get my coffee when
I'm there and um earrings and plants all just wonderful things and I had an opportunity to also tour with our workbased learning program at Pettis and I was able to visit and just see firsthand the the the change and and
then speaking also to the staff that they see the change in the students when they um get on the bus for the first time right independently. um or you know at they're at their job um and you see such um you see the
light, you see wonderful the their personhood just feeling so accomplished and so yes, so very grateful for the district as well to have these programs and all of you who do really life-changing work and giving um
independence and a future and so much more for for for our students. um at the CTC centers. Um so just really quick, I know that you mentioned the vocational strands, but these are just some, right? There's some that are not here. I know
there's a infant care, right? Because I know we have some of our students who are working in the infant care center, right? So any other areas that you would like to add on the vocational strands that's probably not there that you would like to add? >> We have a second half.
>> Oh, you have a second half. Okay. >> Okay. because we do have some unique >> Yeah. No, I'll I'll wait till the second half because I have more questions. So, I don't want to >> I do have Okay. I do have two more um committee members who have some questions, but we do have the second
round of questions. Um so, I'll call on Okay, you can wait. All right. And uh Tamila, can you wait? Do you want to go? >> I can wait. >> Okay, great. And here's mine for you to keep in your mind for the end. What more can we do? I know we're doing great and
we're grateful, but what more can we do? This is your chance. So, please, that's not only to the staff, but to parents and students who are here. Thanks. >> We're going to answer that one. >> Oh, good. Okay, let's let's go on. Thank you.
>> All right. So, uh we want to continue our pathway with our students. So, we talked about our vocational strands. Um, that is the classroom instruction and now we're going to shift into work-based learning. So, as students are on their pathway to employment, uh, students get
an opportunity to have on-site work experience uh that is very structured, that is very safe. Um, this might be the first time that our students are learning or experiencing workplace expectations. Uh, was mentioned one of
our cafes, right? We all have cafes. So, that is one of our work readiness programs. We also have student stores. And so, our students are in there. They're learning how to have customer service skills, how to work as a team, how to show up to your assigned work
time, right? Be on time. So, they're getting some of those work soft skills that we talked about. Um, at our campuses, it's different. and it is still part of their instructional day, but it feels and looks different because it's very independent. It's very
individual based on the student. So, we have some pictures uh some So, here's some students in uh the retail, our culinary arts uh students again that are doing retail will go to Costco, do traveling to buy
all the merchandise. So, they have their inventory list. They're learning how to manage money. Um, and then a few other pictures. Again, as we continue, uh, we really want students that show work readiness to be able to go off-site. Uh, we want
them to be as independent as possible. And so while they're building this independence, their confidence and their real work histories, right, as Gavin mentioned, we want them to have a resume, uh, when they're leaving us, so that the ideal is that they're going to get employed. Um, so our students have
partnerships within our local LA USD schools, uh, we have some pictures. So they're there, they're working in classrooms, they're working in main offices, they're working in parent centers, they help in building and grounds. They do a lot. Uh we also have
uh local uh business partners where our students can also go and get some of this work readiness offsite. Again, really trying to give them that authentic work experience. Uh we talked about community- based instruction. So, learning to travel independently to a
work site, navigating the metro, perhaps walking. It really just depends on the student um where they may go. uh they also are learning to communicate with a supervisor. I think all of us that's a skill you know h taking feedback
constructive feedback you know and taking it you know trying to do better um and then again working as a team that is a skill that we're really trying to to teach our students. So we have pictures again of our
students out in the field. Um, we have wonderful LAUSD schools that are willing, love to have our students. They call all of us asking us when are our students going back. They're very excited to have us. And then we all individually build uh community partners
so we can expand the opportunities that our students are able to have. So, they're at Walgreens, uh they're at local other businesses, a party store, cemetery. It's anything we can uh do to get our students experience.
I get to talk to you about our two programs that are most independent. So, uh cats program and I always get asked what does cats mean? Is a cat your mascot? No, it's center. It's called center for
advanced transition skills. CATs for short and it's a unique partnership between LUSD and the Los Angeles Community College District. So we are at select colleges around the Los Angeles County and um we provide instructional
support independent travel um to from home to the campus and throughout the community to go to work and then to home and we provide uh career guidance, work-based learning and job opportunities to prepare our interns
with specialties for the adult world. Our CTC teachers are experts in partnering with the community college staff in collaborating with families, school personnel, employers, and outside agencies um to make sure our interns are
able to make decisions and set goals and transition appropriately to life after high school. Our participating interns um enroll in college classes as well, and they are supported if needed. Um most of our students are using it as an
experience to um be on the college campus with their peers and be immersed in that life and also some are getting certificates to work in industries such as child care and so on. Some of them
are able to do it and and um come home with that certificate and be very proud. Um they are assisted. have mentors. Um we're there to support them and um they also go out into community and work and
they're part of WBL. I forget that I have to do this. We also have project search and I'm gonna invite my student Louise. >> Can you come up with Louise?
>> All right. All right. Yes. >> Okay. Hold on one sec. >> All right. So, Luis is a student at Project Search with Hills Kaiser. So, Project Search is a program of total workplace immersion with the goal of
competitive employment for every graduate and is designed for individuals who have a strong desire and ability to work and perform skills. Is that true? >> Yes. >> Okay. Um today's competitive um market is very
very hard. It's diverse. It's multifaceted. It's very complex. Um but we're preparing our students to be able to get jobs with no problem. Um at the conclusion of the program, graduates have the ability to maintain employment.
they have access to supports and then they will have access to supports for life at the curriculum model is um used in 785 sites across nine countries and is successful in supporting individuals
with gaining competitive employment and most of our students are averaging 30 hours a week and for LUD our partnership um includes regional center and then we're at the Kaiser and children Hospital LA and they
are exposed to about 20 hospital departments and they rotate throughout the year and it's the last year with LA USD. So it's a one-year program. So Lou here would like to share um his
experience in Project Search. >> Do I say my speech? >> You say your speech. Hello, my name is Luigi Ricardo Mendit at Leechman. I have learned so many important things like showing up for
your team, being on time, and do whatever it takes to get the job done right. When I was the Leechman, I got to work at grocery outlets, Martin Pino, and Dearborn Elementary. Now I am a project church intern at Kaer Permanente
Willie Hilts. I work in the pharmacy and in the pathology department. My dream one day to work at Kiter. Thanks to Leeman for everything. [Applause]
>> As you mentioned um he's working in the pharmacy. Um there's also laboratory, sterile processing, food and nutrition services, oncology, um supply chain, internal medicine, and that's just to name a few. So it's
pretty complex, and they're doing so great. They learn a lot. And here are some pictures from the students working this dance of presenting. Okay. Okay. So, uh after we give our students some of these work experiences, something
that we've noticed that they struggle with is interviewing. And let's be real, we all struggle with interviewing. It's very difficult. So, uh we do we do host uh mock interviews. Um we did host one recently where we had hundred students
uh come and practice their interview skills. We invited uh different different district personnel uh to come and join us because we really wanted them to have the opportunity to be interviewed by someone they didn't know. It's very different when our school
staff is interviewing them versus an unfamiliar face. So we uh had this mock interview. Our students came prepared. they were professional. They had their questions to ask the interviewer. Um, and then most importantly, they got
feedback after their interview uh to hopefully take with them because we do take our students to job fairs. And so, we're really working on this so that we can hopefully line them up employment before they leave us. That is our big goal. So, Dr. Rivas was one of our uh
interviewers. Um, and I think was a huge success. We're going to have another one in spring. I think we're all we'll have a mock interview. So, we would enjoy en enjoy having any of you at our next mock interview. Okay. So, partnerships for us are very
important. Um the community partnerships uh play an important role in supporting our school communities. They're are crucial for providing access to the community resources, social interactions, skills development, advocacy, support, employment, and so on. Um, some of our partnerships are
unique and um, a few of them are presented here. We have a partnership at UCLA. Um, Leechman's data archiving and preserving historical information. It's about 40 years they're trusting us with of local TV news footage and academic
white papers and books. Um we have News Horizons. It's a travel training program that they are partnering with us and helping to travel train our students. Um we have one generation where um interns are preparing meals uh and delivering
them to homebound seniors. So our interns are learning how to give back as well and make those connections um meaningful connections in the communities. Um so they're used to us helping them. So we want to teach them that you can help others too. Um, we have AltaC. It's a nonprofit
organization that focuses on developing blue technology businesses in the port of Los Angeles and San Pedro Education Foundation. It's a nonprofit organization dedicated to the enhancement and advocacy of public schools in San Pedro. And we also have
its which is part of LUSD giving back and um that is a Perez and Miller CTC is proud to um announce that they're collaborating with Los Angeles Mission College and it offers
courses in culinary arts and these classes um help the students and interns learn the sanitation principles as they apply for jobs that require the serve safe certificate in order to handle food. Um part of the day is an
instructor meets from LA um Mission College to instruct the interns and then our staff will take over from there. At the end of the year, uh the interns will take the food handlers test and obtain the card and they can take with them for
when they're applying to jobs. Okay. So, uh just to mention the partnership that we have with our LA Unified IT department. So, this uh new strand or new vocational strand uh started in August. Um, and the IT
department partnered with Perez to teach our students entrylevel skills in repairing Chromebook devices. So, our students are disassembling them. They're troubleshooting. They're identifying the components and they're putting it back
together to get to get the Chromebooks back into student hands. So, this is so awesome. It's very new. Just started in August. But as you can see, um, our students are on phase two, so they are able to, uh, take apart the back. Today,
they learned how to do the screens. Um, so we're very excited, uh, to have this partnership to again teach them another industry standard skill um, and just continue to build our vocational strands. So, thank you. So in addition to the work that we do uh
at our schools, we we work hard and we play hard. So a lot of our students also have the opportunity to do wreck and leisure type activities uh and explore uh hobbies and things like that. Um, what we've learned is since we've been
doing this for over 20 years, many of our students would get jobs, they'd come home, get jobs, come home, and that's all they would do. All their co-workers were having baby showers or parties, going out to dinner, and our kids were never included. So, what we do is we
teach these wreck and leisure activities so that they can make connections with their peers out in the communities. So it's not just focused in on work but it's focused on balance of life
and part of how we collect data. So uh each year we follow up with our graduates. We will make phone calls. This past year uh 75% of our graduates we were able to connect with. Uh out of all of our graduates, 52% of the
responses uh we got back were students that were either in additional education programs or they were in a uh employment opportunity program. So it could be a day program where they're learning job skills and leading to employment. It
could be that they're independently employed. It could be that they're attending classes at City College. So the de the validity of our programs um speak for themselves. When we look at national averages uh for employments for individuals with disabilities currently
they're looking at 7%. And LA USD is is truly leading the way uh beyond what what national average can do. So at this time you've heard from us but we really want to give opportunity uh to
additional families students uh to tell their story. So I would like uh Frederick Noah Fabin. >> So we'll start off with Frederick Harris. >> Um hello my name is Frederick Harris. I
am a former student and now employee of Willenberg. Um I guess how I got the job is kind of interesting. So I actually used to work for a hospital as a dishwasher. Uh unfortunately didn't work out and can't remember how long but maybe a week or
so. My mom told me that Gav actually contacted saying at the school that I went to as a custodian and I thought that very interesting. I went to the school and think it would be a cool job there. So went there, did the training
got another school, definitely played at the school. Honestly, it's a honestly great experience. Um kind of messy because you know custodians had to do with toilets, all this stuff, but um still fun though. Mostly outside because I'm nature person. So could be outside
for the most part. But it's very um cool job. my co-workers aka the custodians and my plan manager are all great people lots of fun and of course Mavis Mary great principal vice principal and also um fortunately he's not here but there's
another student that went to his name is Freddy um fortunately he could get beer today but he also went to he's also the student you see in the picture so shout out to him um I know he'll watch this but yeah shout out to him and um yeah
that's about All right. [Applause] >> Good afternoon everyone. Um, no. Can you introduce yourself?
>> Speak louder. >> Okay. >> Malo. Malo. >> Yes. Okay. I'll speak for him. So, his name is Noah Yurgu and he is a fashion designer and a model
[Applause] and I am going to talk about our experience as um LA USD family. Uh so, my name is Faben Fontu and I'm a proud mother of uh this young man Noah Yurgu,
a talented fashion designer. He is a model and a true LA USD success story. Uh from a young age, Noah has been inspired by colors, art, and a strong sense of style as you can see. Um and he
began his educational journey uh with LA USD at the just the age of three years old and he received tremendous services throughout his elementary, middle, and high school. and um obviously transition
programming, right? Um our family is deeply grateful and um for the support that we've received over the years for Noah. And I would like to take a moment to talk about the transition program and how important it is for our students. Um
Noah had the opportunity to uh receive uh meaningful educational experience at uh Willenberg COC. uh there he developed valuable skills that has uh that have now translated to a really good career for him. Um
and he um uh he was in a design strand where he learned how to print on um you know textile different textiles and what works on what um color combinations and different um skills. Um, and now he uses
those skills to be able to design his wonderful designs. Um, he's currently working on his sixth fashion show and um, at any given uh, fashion show he's dressing about 25 models. Um he's also
inspired a program um that is focusing on uh fashion design and around fashion art and designs for people with developmental disabilities. So all of this work is because of what you do uh you know at the school level at
elementary and middle school especially our transition programs. So, uh, we want to continue to support our transition programs. Um, and, um, it's not only jobs, but they're creating careers. So, um, thank you.
Okay, I'm back. Uh, what I do want to do is introduce Liz Flores. She's a parent of one of our thirdyear students. Uh so this is someone who's uh in the CTC experience right now. [Applause]
>> Hi, good afternoon everyone. Thank you for having me. Uh my daughter is Sarah Flores. She is her third year at Miller. Uh she started LA USC at three years old. Um and after high school, you don't really know what what's going to come
next, right? And then we walk into Miller and boy was her life changed for the better. Didn't know what to expect. But the first year there, she goes into um the
boutique and she's learning how to stock shelves. She's learning how to prepare a stock a store. She's learning to vacuum. Things I didn't necessarily think to that she can do at home. And she's doing it. and she's coming home and she's
telling me your windows are dirty and I'm like oh okay she's learned she she knows um and she's wanting to help at home and the teacher there Miss Vardoui from the from day one I mean these teachers are remarkable the way they
they they're experts in their field whether they were or 10 years ago or not they are an expert she knows what she's doing there and you think wow this year two can't be any better and And yet year two she goes into the Miller Cafe and they're preparing meals and they're prep
they're they're in the kitchen and you think wow with Miss Laura it really can't get any better than this because each teacher is just remarkable and it's because the leadership they have for Mr. Sweeney and my daughter every day she'll
I saw Sweeney today mom. Yeah. Yes. Sarah because we're just so grateful because it's really a school that is run so well and just listening to Gavin here as well. It all of the stories all of the schools I had no idea all of these
existed till today and it's incredible. It's incredible the work that Ali USD has for our children, our babies, our adults who we hope can only continue to thrive through these CTC's. And now year three, she's in textiles. And in the
first week, they're already creating things and they're selling them. And I want to be the first one to go in there and shop. And I want to go to the boutiques and I want to buy their shirts and their keychains and their earrings and the plants. And it's I just can't say enough
good good things about not only Miller, but all of the CTC's, all of the special education centers. And I'm so grateful and thankful that LUSD gives our children these opportunities um that I don't believe they would get anywhere
else. So, thank you, LUSD, and I just hope that um they continue to thrive for the future students and interns that are going to be coming through the district. Thank you.
[Applause] Hello again. I would like to introduce two of our parents. And I think they'll say it much better than I would ever say. Mrs. Martinez.
Good afternoon. My name is Martha Martinez. I'm a mom of a student of special education with severe autism. She's been in Lonam for 16 years and now they are 19. It's an excellent school. truly she has progressed so much thanks
to every service in that school and L USD has done a great job sending uh capable people to assist because without that our kids can't progress if they progress us parents progress so uh as parents to be prepared learning
every single day um es especially our principal we have an exceptional principal in the years in Lman they've done such a great job and all parents are happy and we support 100%. It's so flexible even though that person doesn't have children, they have such a huge
heart and they hear us parents and we know it's a big responsibility uh on their back with the responsibility of our children so that they can go forth. So only as parents with children of disabilities know the true concern
that we may have for them in their futures. So the day that we're gone, what will happen to them? And we want these schools to keep existing with capable people to help these kids go forth because we don't want to leave them on the sidelines without any
support so that they can go forth. So we're strong parents and we have exceptional teams in the schools and in Lman truly is a wonderful school and it's helped my daughter go um progress. My daughter had uh
hardship regarding her mobility and they they assisted her and everybody in in the school site. So truly, it's a school that I recommend in the valley in San Fernando in North Hollywood. And I would love for everyone
to keep fighting for these schools to keep existing with professionals that are capable to assist that don't go for a check, but because they have big hearts. Thank you very much and good job to the
team. And next I would like to introduce Miss Olga Castillo. >> Hi uh my name's Olga Ulbe Castillo. Um I'm so thankful to LA Unified uh because uh my daughter Julianne has Down
syndrome. Um we've experienced um not being in the LA Unified School District and what a difference. Um when she I had a hard time getting her to school. She dropped to the ground, did not want to go to school. When we moved to L uh when
she moved to Lman um she was just more her personality just came out. She loved going to school, had perfect attendance. Um and she's speaking even more. She even had the opportunity to work at uh
Smart and Final. and I only regret that we didn't um come to LA Unified School District sooner. Um I just want to I we say thank you for these CTC schools. I've seen the big difference. Thank you.
>> I would like to welcome I have staff members and student and parent. Richie. >> Hi everyone. My name is Richard Salazar. I'm a par profofessional at Leechman CTC. I am so grateful for the opportunity to speak today about something I'm deeply proud to be a part
of. Our students and the incredible programs that make Leechman such a special place. Leechman is more than just a school. It's a community that believes in opportunity, inclusion, and the idea that every student has something to offer. The programs we
provide open doors to jobs, to friendships, to independence, and to a sense of belonging that every person deserves. Over time, we get to witness incredible growth. Students come in unsure of what they're capable of, and they leave with so much more confidence,
more independence, and a real sense of pride in who they are and what they can do. But the beauty of Leechman is that learning goes both ways. We as staff learn just as much from our students as they from us. They teach us patience, understanding, and the value of
celebrating every victory, no matter how small. Our classrooms are hands-on and filled with purpose. Whether students are learning job skills, practicing daily living activities, or building social and communication abilities, every lesson helps them take one step closer
to independence. And just as importantly, our programs give them a safe space to explore who they are, to express themselves, to try new things, and to learn that they can. Thank you. [Applause]
>> And we have a student, Louise, and his mom, Rosa. >> Hello, my name is Louise Rano. I would like to talk about my school and the classes I've liked and what I
plan on doing in my future. The classes I've liked are the film class in my school, the work class in my school, and the garden class in my school. And I plan on being a movie director like my heroes, Quin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsesei.
>> That's pretty much all I have to say. >> All right. [Applause] Good afternoon. My name is Rose Serrano or best known as Louisa's mom. Leechman has been life-changing for Luis. a complete transformation from his
confidence to advocating for himself and all around growth. Luis gets to experience all the different programs and classes that are available. His personal favorite, the film program. He's a human movie encyclopedia. Um, and working in special education
takes passion, patience, dedication, empathy, and most important, love. Leechman has made us feel welcome since day one when we came to tour the campus. Their wonderful staff has been a blessing in our lives. There's no doubt that God's plan is perfect. Louisa
Leechman, Go Lions. Thank you. [Applause] >> And a teacher with Angela. >> Hello everyone. My name is Miss Angelo Bispo. I run the culinary arts program at our school uh at Leechman and Rita. Um I was about to introduce our
programs, but we already got to know a lot of them. Um I do want to discuss what my students did today. We had a big event hosting an APIs meeting of about 140 people and I have a new class this
year who don't know anything about being in food prep industry. um they're not sure how to offer their services to their family members. And there were a lot of tantrums in the beginning of our school year, including myself. And the one thing that I appreciate about our
school, especially from our administration with Miss Jennifer Hubard and Mr. Danny Hernandez, is the support that they give us. Um we learn a lot of soft skills that many of our students may not be able to participate in the community. Um, I think that having those
soft skills is really important to get our students out of their shell to um, learn what their mode of communication is um, for the preferred communication with their family members, with our staff members, and with their peers alike. Um, at this point in November, no
actually it's still October because I'm thinking about the whole year and how I've planned everything to the tea. But just like every teacher, we don't always get to finish our lesson plans because of behaviors, because of setbacks, maybe some um life tragedy that might have to
um just stay with us for a couple months before we can totally heal. The one thing that I do appreach about my students is their um urgency to communicate their needs. the fact that we are giving them the space to communicate in different modes of uh verbal communication, gestural
communication, um sometimes even a facial expression is enough for our students to be seen. So our students um were very nervous at the beginning of our APIs catering event. Um we met a lot of itinerants that may not know our student population. Um luckily our
students were able to vocalize what they do. Um, a lot of them will also say things that they don't like, which is fine. We also want to reason why um, certain services are expected versus what we want to do at home or when we're on our break time. Um, we have to uh,
try to make it structural for them so that they know when it's time to play and when it's time for business. And we're still learning that. At the same time, I'm very proud of my students for excelling. And I don't know if they're just afraid of making me upset. I don't
think I'm the worst teacher on campus. At the same time, the level of firmness and expectation has been met by these students because of the kind of support we have from our school. So, um please visit our school. We are open for tours during instructional time. Um you can
get your car wash, you can come to our beastro, Leo's Beastro, get a coffee made by our students. Um you can shop at the Lion's Den or Leo's Locker. Um and we make LD coffee cake from scratch. Our students are so thrilled to share that
with you guys. So, thank you very much. >> So, I I started off with asking you to visualize that student. I want to wrap up with that same student. That student and that family has gone through LA USD, have gone through the CTC's. That
student now has earned their first paycheck. that student is graduating with a high school diploma and at graduation, I've been doing this for 15 years, that parent comes up and says, "I never thought that my child
would have a path to the future. Thank you." And that's what LUD does. We create that path. We It It might have changed when they got that diagnosis, but we gave it back. and that individual now has a future to be part of their
community, to be part of their home. And all of this work is done by these amazing principles, but not just our amazing principles. I I have to give a special thank you. My my AP is here today. I I had surgery last Thursday on
my my knee. I can't drive. Uh and she she helped to to get me here and and and I I can't thank her enough for all that she does. But each one of us has a dedicated assistant principal, administrative team, teachers that come
in and do this not for a paycheck but for the kids because the smiles and the pride in their eyes are what matters. So the the last thing that was asked is what what can everyone do for us? So our
programs they run uh based on the production that we do. So the superintendent for instance has a um plan of having green spaces on campus. We have horiculture programs. We cultivate plants all the time. We're
doing that for schools. So schools are purchasing for us from us instead of going outside. Whenever a school or a department needs swag, look at a CTC first. Come to us. We can meet your needs. If we can't directly, we can find
one of the CTC's that can do that. All of the funding that comes through from the purchase of those products goes right back into our programs and supports the development of supplies that we need to keep our programs running, to help support students to go
out and get clothing for the interview that they might need. All of the funds, they don't go to a profit, they go back to the kids. And so what can the district do? Support our programs. Come to us first. If we can't meet your
needs, then go outside. But I can guarantee if we can meet your needs, we'll we'll beat anybody's prices for sure. [Applause] Wow.
Can we all just take a breath? Oh my gosh, that was just incredible. So beautiful. I'm so grateful for today's presentation to hear from the parents, to hear from our students, your dreams, your goals, all the wonderful
stuff you're already doing. Um, it's it's, you know, it's evident that everyone who works at these centers loves the work that they do and they have a great heart for the students. And
like the parent said, we need people with great hearts at these schools. So, thank you. Um, we have three we have public comment and I think we have 11 speakers. So, we have three people on stack to to speak who did not get a
chance to share. So, I'll give them an opportunity and then we can go back. So, Dr. Rivas, Sharita, Miss Rogers, and Tama. questions. Okay. Um have a few but I'm trying to Okay. Um,
so is there is there a voice is how is student voice integrated into sort of the program designs like the vocational or um and are alumni or current students involved as mentors, adviserss,
evaluators of the programs? Do they come back after they leave the program to provide any feedback? Uh well I would say uh for the first question student voice um I know that we
all it's all focused on student interest. So when when we develop uh or I should say when we when we do the strand selection each year all those classes that we talked about the students choose which ones they want to be in. So it's not us placing them.
They're having a say. Um, I know we I can speaking for my my own school, we've taken ser interest surveys for uh potential new strands that students would be interested in uh as well. Um, what was the second question? Sorry.
>> Do um alumni come back as mentors or >> Yeah. Yeah. So, and I I know Gavin can speak more to that, too, but I've had uh students come back and and be uh uh like keynote speakers or we'll do special presentations when they get jobs to share their experience and um just kind
of give the the rest of the students, you know, opportunity to see someone that they know that has uh you know, kind of made it to to what they're shooting for. So, and maybe you guys can share more on that. It's built into the project search program too. So the students that had
graduated and got a job, they're coming back and they're mentoring during we call it boot camp for that first summer uh that they are entering the program and they will do the assessment with the students, the new students, meet the new students, walk them through the whole
selection process, the interview process, and then they're also present at all the events that we have for Project Search. One last question. Um, are there any systemic barriers uh that continue to prevent students from moving from the
work experience models into uh more competitive integrated employment or what are the barriers that you see after students leave the program? >> That's a really great question. Um, internally, one of the the barriers that
we have, uh, years ago, as as Mr. Harris had talked about, uh, we had several students that were, uh, hired in LUSD. As you know, LAUSD is probably the second largest organization in Los Angeles. Um, but yet we we don't hire
our students out of the CTC's. Um and then some of those barriers are are dealing with um the um union contracts and things like that and what obligations. But there are opportunities uh that we do have that allow our
students the opportunity to gain employment. Um right now our students can earn what is called restricted positions. Um so they could be custodials, they could work in our cafeterias and go through that. um they avoid taking the entry level testing. Um
but because they do that, they're in a restricted position, so they can't move up. Um and if there are layoffs and cuts, they don't earn any seniorities and things like that. But allowing us to have the opportunity to hire our own
students within would be a great advantage for our students. So, finding um a career path within our lab with our labor partners, maybe working to find some some support for them there. Okay. Absolutely. Thank you so much.
>> Right. And it's the test that is because they they don't go through the process of taking a test to enter. That's part of the barrier, too. >> So, the the because they don't take the test, they're eligible for restricted uh positions. But in order for a student to
obtain a restricted position at this time, I would have to contact a principal at another site and ask them to convert their custodial position to a restricted custodial position and then they can be hired >> and then they can't but then they cannot
be a union member because of that. >> They they still can be >> Yeah, they can be a union member as a restricted employee. >> Yes. >> Oh, yeah. >> Well, that's good to know. That's good. All right. Um >> um so I hired I have a restricted program for B&G. I hired a a former
graduate and one of the things I'm trying with him is as he learns the job year after year and gets more familiar with the items that will be on the test. We're gonna try to take the test um and
see if we can pass it so that we can move out of the restricted um position into a more normal position. So, we we're going to try that and see how it works. But he is picking it up. So, it might just be a reading barrier
and so maybe we can get accommodations later on for a reader or something. We'll see. We'll explore it as we get closer to him being able to pass that test. Wonderful. Um, were you gonna say Okay, I've got uh
Miss Rogers, Tanala, and Elizabeth. And that Elizabeth will be our last uh speaker from our team here. Um, thank you for sharing. It helps me in my job as um my inclusion is with moderate um wait, let me get it right.
um students on the exceptional needs strand who are doing the um supports in the class geneted classroom. So I have actually sent a student to the cats program and I have sent a program to the CTC um and so hearing what you're doing
is helping me plus I'm going to get the training um and I look forward to visiting because I also think that'll support me in individualizing my support as I transition students. Um to piggyback on um the question that was just asked and I have three different
questions. Um what partnerships are are you all doing with the regional center to then support some of those transitions um and looking at especially with students because I'm glad the student u mentioned like the film and production. So I know they had a program
for students uh for PE for people with autism who could then do a directoral program. I do not know if that still exists, but there were a lot of lines that they crossed over, but it also helps them when they transition out of the CTC, our cats program.
>> Great question. So for all of us, we really focus in on families either reconnecting with the regional center or signing up and doing that initial intake because the way that our system works is when they graduate from us at age 22,
the regional center is, as one of my colleagues had talked about, it's the agency that steps in for the rest of their life. And the regional center, what they will do is they will provide funding for a job coach. So anytime our students gets a job, the regional center
will pay a separate agency to come in and train that student to do that job and then we'll continue with that. So they'll speak with the managers at a Home Depot if the students working at Home Depot and we'll work with that student to make sure that they're doing the job correctly if they have to alter
and change anything. So the critical piece is not just us training and getting the job but making that connection so that there's an agency supported by regional center to continue that work on for the rest of their life. >> May I add to that?
>> Sometimes the hurdle is connecting the parents to the regional center. So what we have done is uh in the north um we schedule two life after high school fairs. Lman does it during the fall semester. Either Lichman and Miller they
trade off and they do it in the spring semester. So basically um the regional center brings in their vendors to our site uh in the afternoon. So the parents have a chance to get out of work, get ready and come back and they go through each of the vendors and see what
services they offer. and they can either make an appointment to go visit the center or they can actually go in person or come to us and we take them. Uh my parent center director who's sitting back there, she is wonderful. She takes
groups of uh parents and we visit the facilities that are in the valley. So everybody gets to have a chance to see what's out there because not every facility offers the same service such as kiddos with medical needs. They need to have a medical professional on site for
example. In addition to that we also offer or we're going to offer we are working with regional what's called the mobile uh service where regional will bring in their staff to our site and we'll make an appointment with the parents. they come in, maybe they have
to reapply and just get more information. So, the biggest challenge that we've seen so far is parents connecting with regional. So, we're trying to bridge that gap. Uh oh. When um as everyone was speaking, one of
the um thoughts that have come to my mind is that Marlton also has deaf plus. So we have students and there's no pathway. Um there's not a clear like well are they going to go to CTC or do they stay with at Marlton. So many of our students stay some do go to Marl um
go to other CTC's once they um reach that age 18 with an interpreter. But one of the when you talked about the regional center recently the regional center has a deaf unit that they have added. Now how does that fully look? I'm
not 100% sure which creates a barrier. So, um, when you're at a school that has nine different programs from preschool all the way through 12th grade, including beyond alternate curriculum, it's kind of hard to navigate all those
different spaces and understand the dynamics after age 22 and how that pathway for our alternate curriculum students, um, our deaf students on core um, who are graduating with a A throughG
um with the A throughG requirements, they have a different um the department of rehabilitation kind of supports that. But our deaf plus students that are deaf, blind, deaf with autism, cerebral pausy, and all those other different um disabilities, that's creates another barrier and another challenge,
especially when parents um in some cases don't sign or don't know what the resources are available um to them. So, I just kind of wanted to add that in as we're talking about regional center and, you know, CTC because that also embodies
Marlton's community as well. >> I just want to add that when we hold our IEPs, uh, we also invite them, um, we want to start at age 20 earlier if possible, but a lot of times they'll let us know, we'll come a little later when it's closer to them exiting. Um, all of
us do student led IEPs. So, we really want our students to advocate, to have self-determination, to really explain what their goals are. And we invite the regional center to come because we want them to hear because they're picking it up after we're done. Um, we we all do
the resource fairs. We also uh invite them to do parent trainings. So again, as all that four years of helping prepare our parents, like after LA Unified, you got to make sure you're connected to the regional center. Um, so that can lead into my next question
because it was um an ASL question. Um, and so I'm advocating for students who have alternative um forms of communication um and mainly our mod severe student modore students who um use AAC devices. I have found using um
ASL in the limited ASL I know um to support them in connecting with the language, connecting with the vocabulary, connecting with um not just hearing things but seeing things has been very supportive. So my question is one how can we support you in getting
connected to a regional center but also how can we connect teachers who support in my field with um learning ASL um so they can continue to support. Recently, I had a student whose device went down and they had no form of communication.
And so, my thing was like, my student needs to be able to say hi. They need to be able to say help. They need to be able to say more. They need to be able to say any basic thing that'll help them connect with speech if something happens to technology. And I am one to believe technology will not always be available.
I was shouting p paper will be here forever. And my my professor yelled at me. But the point is like I feel like though it helps the deaf community, it also will help other communities. And so how do we help branch that across and
support teachers in using it and utilizing it in their class? I've used it in um Kore Korea teaching Koreans English. So it supports and it helps. But what can we do to make sure everybody or who you know teachers who
can can learn this language? That's a very loaded question. It >> It is. It is. >> That is probably bigger than my position. >> Well, what if we just even figure out how we can because your classes was Monday to Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and I know I can't go there cuz um
I'm working and my supervisor is here. So, even if I was to come, >> he would know. But like even if there's something offers everyone an opportunity and they don't have to take their break time um to go to the classes even our staff can go and I'm not penalizing them
um for learning a language that provides access for everyone um even my staff the custodians the bus drivers we actually do offer it for the bus drivers on Fridays. So we have a special class for bus drivers so that they can communicate with um our students. So the bus drivers
we house um they're housed on our campus. We have a lot of different agencies. So, we have on our campus aiologist um and we have a aiology booth where the community comes in. Um everyone from in that region, anyone from downtown um all the way closest to
the valley can come to Marlton and get an aiology test. Um we also have transportation on our campus and we have an infant program and so families are able to learn ASL. Now to answer your question, for me I learned as a um a young teacher because I was a back then
it was um ID. I don't know all the acronyms changed but yeah um 20 20 plus 25 years ago before there were CTC's um I learned ASL as a way to communicate with students that had language um weren't able to communicate. I don't
know the answer to that question. Um that would be um a Dr. stood to um um answer um and Dr. Strada and all of the people that you know are a little more higher than me. >> So, thank you for that question. Um we do have a related service department.
Last year they did a presentation on AAC and all the different devices um which you can find on the archive web. Um but that's something that we'll follow up to see how we can continue to bolster professional development for teachers to be able to access and use technology to support student learning. So definitely
something that we'll take back and we'll we'll circle back on that. >> Okay. And then as far as the regional cons um center, you asked that question. How could we connect um regional says my students are bust in from all over the district, north, south, east, and west.
I have kids that are even coming from Culver City and Compton Unified from different school districts because we are the only school that provides the services um for um deaf students where they're in class with other with their peers that are deaf and receiving
instruction in their first language. Um so that is a challenge um connecting with all of the different regional centers because there's not just one. So >> okay. Um, and then sorry, my last is, um, I heard about all the resources
everybody has and they're trying to get it to, you know, schools and trying to, you know, frontload for, and I would love a mobile detailing, but, um, that might be too big. Um, but how are we marketing to school? Oh, well, you know, cuz, you know, I'm just saying teachers
during teacher appreciation would love to have mobile detailing. So, if we market to principles, just saying. But how are we marketing to school? So, how are stu cuz I haven't heard of schools having like a catalog of saying you know even at Christmas or during Mother's Day or you know during the at least those
big holidays where they can give it to the staff and everybody's there on a Tuesday. So if we know like we can call you guys out you know to do mobile detailing like how do we and I'm at like six schools so I know I could be like hey did y'all hear about this because you know I have you at all my schools
>> right first Miss Rogers thank you because you do have great questions. um Natalie from Salvad and I just wanted to take a back a quick notch just to say when it comes to DHH as a special ed center um I also support that program.
We do have a DHH uh zero to 36 month program on my campus. I am a huge supporter of that component because it does open the world up to other parents and letting them know what kinds of services and supports and schools that LUSD offers. In regards to communication, um it's really important
that we start with communication and multimodal communication. So at Salvin, uh we are in communication with all of our sister and brother schools and we know where our kids are headed. So we are big on putting those devices, AAC's, Big Mac, switches, go talks. My school
is predominantly lowverbal, non-verbal. So we are really big on giving student voice. So when you go across the campus, you see a variety of ways that we represent student voice. Uh we are also inviting our students to their IEPs and allowing them the opportunity to shine
and show their own voices. Um so I just want you to know that as a center we feed into these situations and in order to get our parents ready uh for those regional centers and that next step after 22, we are starting at a center. We have one of our regional center uh
meetings happening this uh Monday inviting our parents to get started early because that relationship needs to begin prior to getting to a CTC at 18 to 22. It starts right now developing that uh communication and that pathway for our students. So we are working in
tandem uh as a special ed cohort department family uh to make sure that we are wrapping all the way around all of our students starting very young at prek at Marlton at K for Salvin and all the way from 22 and above. So we are working together to make sure that one
leads into the next and leads into the next. So when you see us standing here we don't stand here isolated. We are a community and we are wrapping around the entire child and we're thinking about now and forever. So, thank you for this opportunity.
>> Thank you. All right. Well, you know, we do have a lot of questions because we're very excited about your presentation and learning more. So, we have Tamala and Elizabeth. And I do know that, you know, our meeting is supposed to end at 5:30
and we do have public speakers coming up. So, if it's okay with the whole committee, if you need to step away, I understand. Um, but I do want to give space for the last two folks who wanted to ask some questions. So, we have Tamala and then we have Elizabeth will
be our last speaker before we go into public comment. >> Hi, thank you. I'm going to be as quick as I can. I just want to say that um I have been very privileged to work at Marlton and at CTC um West and McBride.
Um I've been at Marlton for about 10 and a half years, so I'm very familiar what happens there. I was privileged last year to work at um McBride and CTC West and was absolutely amazed at what I saw.
Um, and it it what it did is it caused me to kind of reflect on my years at Marlton and all the kiddos that would have absolutely benefited um our our deaf students that would have benefited from something like that. um
listening to the presentations today um with the slides of of the kids um breaking down technology, we had a student that could tear down a laptop and put it back together like you would not believe. And I just I I remember
speaking with the both of you about how we can ma make this happen for our deaf students um because they would greatly benefit. One of the reasons that I learned to sign and went to school and got my degree in dev studies was because
when I was a grocery checker, there was a deaf student that um was working as a bagger and I was have always been fascinated with the language and he would talk to me as best he could
because I was learning and it it inspired me to go to Pierce and so I can see our kids doing these things um and inspiring other hearing people like
myself. And so hopefully there's a way that we can make that happen more um uh now rather than later because like I said, I've been at Marlton 10 and a half years. I would really love to see our
kids 18 plus get involved more with CTC and and you know I can see them out there. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you for that. And we do communicate about uh possible students. We started uh CTC West in 2017 and in
our first class, we actually made a a a specific effort to reach out to Marlton and see if there were any families that were interested in and getting on board with this program uh from the start. And we had uh we I I believe at the highest point we had five students that uh from
Marlton, students that are deaf that needed um they had we had sign language interpreters. We had uh instructional aids, DHH uh and a couple of assistants that happen to sign that joined our team. And so that's actually been very successful
and we we continue to collaborate and try to, you know, keep that going as much as possible. It's always an IEP team decision, of course, like everything else, but we're available. So, thank you for that. >> All right. And our last speaker or
commenter will be Elizabeth and then we will move to public comment. Good afternoon, good evening everyone. I just want to make this really quick. Um my concern is during the community um for the community based instruction. How can continued in-person training be
ensured for pair professionals supporting students at work at colleges and in the CBI programs uh be able to assist the students and how can participation be recognized through stipens or advancements for our students?
the training uh piece there there's ongoing trainings for CBI on a regular basis. So I know for uh for CTC West specifically anytime we hire a new assistant uh we send them to the training. So everybody everybody gets trained on CBI. Um all of our students
participate our staff uh takes them out. Uh I don't I I couldn't answer on the stipen that's a that's a district kind of you know above my pay grade question but for sure uh the training is is there. It's available and I believe that
most of us take full advantage of that and get our staff trained. >> All right. Well, thank you all so much. I invite you to please stick around. I would love to take pictures with the whole team, parents and students. Thank you very much. Um, and I'm going to go
ahead and hand it um, over to Mr. McClean. And I just want to remind uh, people who are making public comment that um, we cannot directly respond to your comments, but know that we have staff here who can support with any
concerns that you may have and we are also taking notes and we could definitely follow up. So, Mr. Mclean, uh, can you please open up public comment? Thank you. >> Yeah, here we go. There are 15 folks signed up for public comment. I'll call on the folks who are listed in person first and then we will call on those who
are listed as speaking remotely. Uh let's see. The first person is Jaclyn Casas. Jacqueline Casas, are you here? Come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then after Jacqueline Casas is Win Martinez. Jackie Kasas. Win Martinez
not here. All right. How about Anita Yusfian? And then after Anita is Elizabeth Flores. Come on down. You have two minutes to speak. Miss Yufian. >> Thank you. Hello everybody. Good evening. It's good to see you. My name
is Anita Yufian Adams. I'm a psychiatric social worker and this is my start of my 28th year. I'm here to talk to you about Eric's counseling, educationally related intensive counseling and services. And I have deep concerns regarding the recent
mid semester decision to transition ERIC's providers to school-based roles with little notice or clarity. The abruptness of this shift has created significant disruptions not just for us as providers but more importantly for
the students, the families and the schools that we serve. This change was implemented from one day to the next. It leaves students who rely on educationally related intensive counseling and services feeling
unimportant and uncertain. Students with this counseling may already be in a fragile position and depend on the consistency and the connection. Being removed from a trusted provider
mid-semester breaks that trust breaks that continuity of care. It sends an but clear message. Their needs are not a priority. Without a clear plan or communication,
there's widespread confusion about who will deliver the mandated services these students rely on. As providers, we build strong, trusting, therapeutic relationships with these students and their parents, their families. And we've had to sit with students, some of them
in tears, and let them know this news without being able to offer them any answers or reassurances. Watching them process their sudden loss and feeling helpless in that moment has been heartbreaking.
The students the impact of that's the two minutes. The impact of these decisions is felt across all the levels. Students are left without care and consistency that they need. Families are unsure who is supporting their child,
who will I have a relationship with. Schools are left to manage without clear guidance or resources and providers have been uprooted with little regard to their therapeutic relationships that they've built or the personal sacrifices and professional ones that they've made.
>> Thank you for your time, Elizabeth Flores. Elizabeth Flores. >> Hello. I did speak earlier um just as a parent at Miller CTC and I think this time I can slow myself down a little bit um and just reiterate how special the
work is that the CTC's are doing. My daughter has become a much more independent young lady. She is a much more confident young lady. She is independent and I owe that to the district. owe that
to the um staff at Miller CTC, the trainings they go through that I that we were just mentioning. I think it's a it's something I will I'm grateful for, something maybe other
districts don't get to uh experience it, but just again reiterate what a fantastic job everyone's doing here. and I can only hope that the CT the CTC's continue to thrive with the leadership that I see here today. It's a spectacular thing to see as a parent.
So, just thank you again for your time. >> Thank you for your time. Okay, Norma Gonzalez, are you here? Norma Gonzalez. And then after Mr. Miss Gonzalez is David Tokowski. Miss Gonzalez is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English as
she's speaking Spanish, please put your hands up and we will get you these translation headsets. Good afternoon. >> Good afternoon. My name is Norma Gonzalez and I am the mother of a student in special education. I'm here
and I would like to also offer my word like Miss Carla said, I'm surprised and sad at the same time because surprised as a mother with of a student with special needs that who is also a parent leader with others who also have the
same services with their student and this information does not arrive. this information. We need it at the schoolwide level because there's so many students, very many severe students that are locked in classes and that could benefit from these programs in these
services and centers. We want to know how they can be eligible to be in these centers. We want to know where do the funds come from, Mr. Soto, Miss from Selpa, because it's great, but we don't have these presentations at the at the regional or schoolwide level. They talk
about the transitions in CTC's very sporadically. We need that information complete because there's many students that are still segregated in schools that look like jails, Miss Carla, in all the regions that look like jails. Our
students should not be in jails. They should be included. The district is is handling inclusion, right? So why can't our students be free? It's beautiful seeing these presentation. I'm enchanted. I'm happy because there is inclusion in the district, but the
information doesn't a isn't accessed uh by the parents. So, please pay attention to that because there's funds in SULPA, but we don't know where they're allocated. We don't know which part of SULPA it says that. We don't know where the bylaws are to that talk about this.
There's many students whose parents have to fight for and they'd rather send them to non-public schools knowing even though there are these centers that are so wonderful, there's not going to be funds for for our students or these
centers. Where is the eligibility for them? How can they be eligible for this? Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. >> Okay, Mr. David Tokski and then Martha Martinez and then and then Olga Castillo. So come on up, Mr. Tokovski.
>> Thank you. David Tokovski, former school board member, California teacher of the year. Amazing committee today. Really exciting team here. The passion and love of kids is so ex uh clear. But this continues to be a segregated committee. Okay, that is to say, the facilities
department doesn't show up. The top brass superintendent don't show up. It's a segregated topic that should be altogether. Next, uh, the APIs, assistant principles, with Donalin Anton when she was a head of special ed, and
myself on the board. We created over 500 APIs's so that every administrator in the district would start as a special ed administrator and learn the ropes and then grow it into the higher. It got cut by this board last year. Number three,
great career pathways. Let's get the unions involved. Member Grigo to hear that UFCW the largest private sector all the markets HRE SEIU and get the personnel commission director that's a strong union team they can tell you how
to help these principles get people in and finally some of the stuff I heard this is a 20 billion organization it's not even a Fortune 500 it's fortune 250 company this is the district it has a lot of money and you will hear in the next
weeks here In California, the revenue in Sacramento is massive. The AI stock boom is sending in lots of billions of dollars. And yet, we're cutting people. We're telling people to cut 20% of their budget, 30%. The amount
of money for last year, 2425. This year is like$25 billion.$2 billion. The governor would like to hear from a superintendent about what we can do with that money to help special ed. That's government
relations and government relations should be talking bipartisanly to the president. Uh what's his name? Gavin Nuome. I mean president I mean governor. Um he has ambitions and special ed is in his family and his pri priorities. Get
your government relation team on that topic and your superintendent. Thank you very much. and fix the fiscal stabilization plan. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you for your time. >> Martha Martinez, are you here? Martha Martinez. >> Miss Martinez is going to speak in
Spanish. Okay. Miss Martinez is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying, please use the translation headsets and put your hands up if you don't have one. Okay. >> Good afternoon. My name is Marta Martinez. Once again, a
mother with a daughter um with special needs. I'm here to express more than anything and to support the mother who spoke about how it's true that we need these CTC's and the information related to it to access to get to the schools
because there's a lot of parents who don't know about their existence. We need more information in all the schools. As a team, we need to create a plan so that all these benefits that the district offers can be accessed by all
the children and none stay behind or by the sidelines. Also, more publications or the the services that are being worked now because everyone that came forth are doing an excellent job. all our kids are having progress and that's what we want
as parents of these kids that they can take care of themselves in the future. So, we need to do a little bit more of an extensive communication effort so that we can have more kids that benefit from these services that exist. I'm not
sure what plan there is or what can be done, but can we work on this uh more more propaganda or more communication about the existence of these CTC's and more personnel to assist so that our kids can can have success and navigate
their lives. It's very hard as a parent and as teachers be working with them. And I thank everybody that's involved in these schools, principles, uh the p the the employees because they
have a huge heart and all those that work there. I see that they have that big heart with that loveliness with the kids and the parents and and as parents to have the open doors are happy to be there to be heard and to have a great
parent representative. and we want that to go forth. Thank you, >> Castillo. >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Castillo. So, you the folks streaming at home, she said I'm cool. I don't need to go again. She's in the audience. You just can't
hear her. We are not ignoring her. Um, okay. Elizabeth Hernandez. Elizabeth Hernandez. when else when um good afternoon sorry trying to fix my language right now uh good afternoon my name is Elizabeth Hernandez I'm a parent at Santi High
School as well as John Adams um so one of the things I wanted it to also say it's like yeah we need to know about this CTC programs as a parent who is really involved and is trying to build a chapter with special ed parents uh who can we um you know provide this
information that would be great if it you know we know more about it so we can guide the parents better right um I we have a chapter with ACE Alliance of Californians for community empowerment and we've been developing along with uh
Maria Sanchez who is a parent at Martin you know a chapter where we are gathering parents who had kids with special needs so we can kind of guide them on what what schools they can take their kids and the resources which is really important because uh Maria
Sanchez is not just sitting there because you know she's so awesome but also because she is part of the community she's a person who has been you know gathering before she comes to these meetings we have meetings before that with other parents so that way
she's not just coming to speak only her mind or learn but also to to get the feedback from other parents and I think that One of the most important things about organizing outside the schools um and we are always open to uh bringing
new parents who want to be a part of it and it's really important that we also take into consideration that there is other people who fighting to uh bring the police back into our schools and you guys have to think about that that is going to take money from special education. So, we need to make sure that
we keep fighting for special education resources instead of bringing school police into our schools. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. Next, I'll start calling on the folks who are listed as speaking remotely. So, Shirley Gruber, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to
speak once you begin. Shirley Gruber. the grouper, I see you're unmuted. And you're mute. You're muted again, Miss Gruber. Please press star six to unmute yourself. Okay, we'll come back to you, Miss Gruber. You're not you're not coming through.
Uh, Cheryl Kono, please press star six to unmute yourself and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Cheryl Kono. >> All right. Hello. Can you hear me? >> Yes, we can. Please go ahead. >> Okay. All right. Good evening. I'm speaking on
behalf of students, families, and PSWs. LED has authorized unfair administrative transfers of PSWs from school mental health that are servicing students and families in special education, our most vulnerable student populations. All of the PSWs serving as transitional service
facilitators from the early childhood special education program have been forced to leave their program risk of IEP non-compliance and abrupt terminations with their students, families, and schools. Many of these PSWs have more than 25 years in this
program and in LUSD. The positions were created due to the special expertise that they have brought to this program. In addition, some of the PSWs in the ERICS educational related intensive counseling services program have experienced force transfers. ERICS is a federally mandated service prescribed
through its students IEP. This educational service supports students who are experiencing the most severe emotional and or behavioral symptoms. Despite the fact that LED has funds to pay for the unfilled positions through school purchase and BP funds, no new
applicants are currently being hired. The suicide awareness and prevention final revised resolution approved by the LUSD board on September 23rd, 25 has been disregarded and now LD is filling school-based and BAP PSW positions with
these force administrator transfers. New external candidates are not being allowed to apply to these open PSW positions. despite their qualifications that would make them prime candidates. We expect that LUSD return current PSWs back to their original positions and
programs to service the special education students. Second, follow through on their commitment to open the PSW application process now and hire at least 28 or more new PSWs for all school purchase and BAP positions. And thank you very much and I
look forward to hearing from all of you soon. and support for students and special education. >> Thank you for your time. Cammy La Laria. Cammy Laria, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two
minutes to speak once you begin. Cammy, >> good afternoon. Our early childhood and K12 special education has a growing group of employees abruptly reassigned, others displaced who have devoted years, often decades of their careers to serving students with unique needs from
various populations throughout our district in these proudly held district positions. These professionals, many of them certificated PSWs, titled transition service facilitators who manage all parts from beginning to
end of the IT experience, have built trust, fostered growth, and provided stability across our Fred program. They've served as a liaison for hundreds, if not thousands of students combined in our district. Their expertise and strong relationships building skill sets have been the
frontline and equitable representation of our district space in the fed world for our families. This large group of suddenly reassigned employees at the introduction for our district's vital special education process. Recently a large group of these employees
assigned from their long nail positions. This action was carried out without clear explanation, a positive waiver or a thoughtful transition planning if nor tailoring anything to the needs of each employee or the students. The manner in which the reassignments occur has left
staff, students, and families feeling confused and unsettled, not to mention feeling distrust over the way the district does business to service their children's needs. These are children with disability. This situation raises serious legal and ethical questions. Reassigning experienced special
education staff without proper justification may violate state and federal education codes, including mandates under the Americans with Disabilities Act. These these laws exist to ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate, consistent, and equitable services. We
remember our districts pass challenges with the P with the Shandra Smith degree consequences of failing to maintain compliance and equitable service delivery. That experience taught us the importance of transparency, adherence to legal mandates, and respect for the
rights of students and staff alike. We cannot afford to >> Thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you for your time. Dr. Rosalind Hicks, I see you're on the line. Dr. Rosalind Hicks, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin.
>> Thank you. Dr. Hicks Walker, I think a lot of my sentiment was already expressed by some previous um speakers. Um, I'm a parent of a child of Jeremy Walker who goes to Miller GTC. Um, and I just wanted to briefly state a couple of
things and maybe highlight very briefly some other things that may or may not have been emphasized here as I was listening throughout our son. Um, Jeremy um, and my, you know, my husband and I, we were very concerned after this 12th grade after he graduated that there was
going to be some further challenges because he had um, some work rellated skills, interests, and things of that sort that really we hadn't been able to explore. But we were very relieved when we um finally were introduced to Miller CTC and um we recognized how they had
such a strong focus and highly expertise in their ability to foster his independence as well as we saw in their other interns um which was very very impressive. Um they they're exposed to a lot of the variety of the patient work strands that you shared here. What I
wanted to highlight very much so is their leadership in that instruct in their leadership to their instructors to the office staff were very accessible in um and they functioned in a very cohesive manner and that is something that was very very new to us without
through Jeremy's K through 12 experience and surprisingly also the collaborative um spirit that they had with his parents you know my husband and I and that is something that's very key there is to also remember although we want them to
have independence and they're older but they still have these guardians and these parents that want to come alongside and understand what's going on a lot of times in the facility I mean the entities because we don't he's not someone who is very verbal but they've been very open very open and um helpful
the staff there and helping us to learn that and and to understand that but very much so to keep the parents involved we are um thankful for a huge amount of resources that they provide. I'm looking forward to them connecting. >> Thank you so much for your time.
>> Thank you for your time. And let's see, the last caller is concerned parent. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Concerned parent. >> Good afternoon committee members. Thank you for today's presentations.
I want to bring up some concerns regarding what was presented today. And I'd like to start by reminding you that special education is a service, not a place. It is important to make this distinction because as it was mentioned
about connecting IEP students with regional centers. I want to inform you that not every person that has an IEP will be eligible for a regional center. regional center provides eligibility under five categories as opposed to 13
categories that are eligible for special education. So, it's important for you to know that because not every student will be able to be a regional center client. Now, in terms of how can we do better, how about we raise the bar a little bit? It's sad to hear that we are only um
placing students with disabilities in jobs such as custodial or food services. we can raise the bar a little bit and have higher expectations. And regarding expectations, we want to make we may want to consider um making us a little
making those a little bit higher because students can achieve more than what you are able to see. Going back to um the soft skills that the speaker spoke about, um IEPs are for educational
academic. So a lot of times these skills are overlooked because we only focus on what students can do academically. Inclusion. How can students in CTC's be included with typical peers? Are they? That's important to consider as well.
And I would have liked to see data on how many students are being eligible and placed in CTC's that are in the alt uh pathway versus students that are in CTC's that are becoming eligible for diplomas. So, I hope you take these into
consideration. Thank you very much. >> Thank you for your time. And we will turn to Shirley Gruber if you're still there. Shirley Gruber, please press star six to unmute yourself and two minutes to speak. >> Okay, >> good afternoon members of the committee.
My name is Shirley Gver. I am a mother with a student who has autism in first grade and and I am here with a group called together for inclusion and first as the same words that Miss Carla Ggo had said today I feel concerned and at
the same time with this presentation with hope first concerned because I want to start my question with the cuts from the federal government for special education specifically in the areas to guarantee uh the comp uh compliance with
ID especially with students with special needs and that they receive an education that is public free and my question for this committee is what measures or what actions are you taking at the state level to guarantee that these cuts do not uh affect the compliance with IDEA
and with the students and much less the services that they require in the school environments. We know very well the situations that we have at the district sometimes the lack of compliance and my question for the committee is what measures are you taking about it what
kind of planning in the future will you take undertake second with the presentation from today definite definitely I feel hopeful with this presentation because I have a student who is six years old but I would like to know what and I do recognize all the efforts
that the committee and the district is doing to promote these areas. But I do consider it critical how they are having these uh work uh opportunities available for our students and it would be important because for the division that
they students have specific needs and that they plan it out and it's just not employment just to clean or to pick up tables. We have to um amplify their uh strength so that they have other opportunity. Thank you so much for the work and have a good afternoon. Thank you for your time. And the last person
who listed themselves as a caller is Chanda Smith. I don't have you signed in, but are you in the room? Chanda Smith? >> No. Okay, that completes a comment. >> All right. Thank you. And I just want to give the mic uh to two folks in the committee who did not have an opportunity to speak or to ask a
question. And I want to honor that because I know you all travel far and prepare for these meetings. And so if it's okay with the committee, I'm going to call on Rabia and Maria who both had um raise your hands and I missed it. So
would you like to say a few words and and then Maria >> um just briefly I am um um quite impressed by the programs that you guys have put together with the CTC's uh particularly bringing a level of um
education engagement within the community and um really offering an opportunity for these children with special needs to grow up and become contributing citizens of our community and living a life of dignity because that's really what the heart of
all of this is. >> Thank you for the presentation. My name is Maria. My name is Maria Maria Sanchez. And how can we implement the programs that we just heard about in the schools? Because for parents to be
engaged also and also have that motivation of being to be with the principles also and to be well informed because it's not just about saying it's the principles or it's the district
also. We as parents have the responsibility to ask for those programs in our schools. And I as a mother who have a student who is deaf, we want want to implement those programs in our schools, but we also want parents that
are engaged as well. And just like I said in that word is strength and fortitude because strength and unity makes everything because we can't just leave it up to the district the work but we as parents we as a responsible
parents and to do everything with the principles and the school staff because it is really important that parent engagement because I as a parent have six years in that school and it is a school that has benefited my student
greatly which is Marlton school and really when I knew that my son was coming with those difficulty I cried because I didn't know where to go what school would he go to I did not know but thank God that the regional center
referred me to that school and I am so thankful and so happy with the teachers with the principal with the staff that is there. I am truly very happy for my son that has learned that came to that
school. He's doing five signs and now he has more than five and now now I'm in the classes too engaged and that is everything and well I'm really happy at that school and every single parent that wants to go to the classes they're welcome because the staff is very
attentive and thank you to the principal as well. Thank you. >> Thank you. Those are wonderful words to uh to wrap us up with. I want to thank again everybody here in this committee. I want to thank the audience for coming. I want to thank the presenters, the families for sharing your story. The
students, congratulations. You all are amazing. And I want you to know that you are our inspiration. So, thank you so much. And the staff, thank you for your words. It is very clear that you do this with lots of love. and we are blessed to have you
here with us. Just for everyone who is watching in our audience know that this committee will be meeting to come up with some recommendations for the district. So everything that is shared at these meetings we take note of and we
are going to review everything and come up with some recommendations for the district because as you know and as we heard today it is not enough to just speak right. We need to fill that with some substance and a lot of that means
funding. And so we want to make sure that whatever we speak here and celebrate that it is matched with that commitment for funding because that is important. We know that nothing can exist without that. So thank you again. I hope you have a wonderful evening. I
would love to take some pictures with the committee and with our presenters um if you can stay. Thank you so much. [Music]