Pleasant Ridge School District is proud to offer a comprehensive program to address the needs of students who require extra assistance so they can reach their academic and social potential.
• Elementary School Special Education Program
• Magnolia Intermediate School Special Education Program
• Speech Therapy
• Additional Services
Each of our elementary schools operate a learning center in which students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), grades kindergarten through fifth, can receive “pull-out” services at their learning level, either individually or in a small group session. The teachers and instructional assistants work together to serve students both in the learning center and in the general education classrooms, offering “push-in” support when appropriate. For students who require very little intervention, the learning center offers a consult model in which students may receive a brief daily or weekly check-in or the opportunity to use the learning center for test taking or reference. Because it is a Learning Center model, this enables the special education staff to assist some students who do not qualify for special education, yet still need some academic support. This is called the School Based Coordinated Program.
Magnolia Intermediate provides services using a model that incorporates students into either Resource (RSP) or Special Day Class (SDC) identifications. Students who require special educational support for more than 50% of their day are considered having an SDC placement. Students with less than 50% receive RSP support. Magnolia also offers different levels of study skills classes, in lieu of electives, to help the students with organizational skills, test taking, and homework. Students who are able to be in all general education classes, but need only occasional help, receive support through our consult model.
The teachers serving Magnolia in the special education programs are Jane Huiskens, Maria LaRash, and Kathryn Obrien.
PRUSD has two speech and language therapists who serve the four schools . They use a traditional service model of small group or individual instruction. They have added a new model to their service method in which students with single sound articulation errors participate in a speech class for a limited number of weeks to correct the error prior to moving through the IEP process. They are also responsible for the speech and language needs of preschoolers.
Our district has a full time school psychologist who is responsible for testing students needing screenings and assessments for special education placements.
For students with specialized designated services, PRUSD contracts with Nevada County for Occupational Therapy, Adapted Physical Education, Vision Impairment Services, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing Services. For students with significant disabilities and needs that can no longer be addressed appropriately in schools of residence, we scontract with Nevada County for placement in an appropriate program on one of the many Nevada County school sites. One such program, the Transition Class, is located on our Alta Sierra campus.
Vision and hearing screenings and general health and development reviews, required as part of the IEP assessment process, are provided by our school nurse, Patty Mandrup, RN. As she is only with the district for two days per week, she is very busy serving all of our special education students, in addition to our general education population.
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