By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LUTCHER – Vondra Etienne-Steib, director of the Special Education Department in St. James Parish, announced to the School Board Tuesday that the department has been taken out of corrective action.

When Steib became director in March 2009, the department had already been in corrective action since December of the previous year. Among the findings that placed it there were: “failure to provide appropriate services to meet the needs of students with academic and behavior concerns”; “failure to follow discipline procedures for students with disabilities”; and “failure to provide appropriate services to meet the needs of students with transition concerns.”

In July Steib presented the board with a plan to get the department, which serves about 560 students throughout the parish, out of corrective action. To facilitate the execution of the plan, the department created three new positions, an individualized education plan support teacher and two behavior strategists. The department also collaborated with the SUNS Center of New Orleans to create a co-teaching initiative.

“General education was doing their thing, and special education was doing their thing, and now we’ve learned how to work together,” said Steib.

Through this collaboration, the department is now better able to identify those students who might benefit from placement in the special education program.

Earlier this month, representatives from the Department of Education paid another visit to the parish’s special education classrooms to see if the program was able to meet its goals and exit corrective action by the state-set deadline. They interviewed 13 administrators, 14 teachers and 27 students, observed six classes and reviewed 21 records.

They apparently liked what they saw as they said the department was meeting 100 percent of the educational needs of the students and 100 percent of its goals and objectives. They cited progress in the areas of documentation and collaboration between general and special education in their findings.

They also left the department with a short list of suggestions that mostly consisted of recommendations to keep doing the things that got them out of corrective action in the first place. Their report also suggested the department work on decreasing transition time for students who must attend one of the parish’s alternative centers.

After her presentation, an exuberant Steib said, “It certainly wasn’t an easy task, but everyone pitched in and helped in some kind of way.”

The special education program helps students with a wide range of problems, including physical and mental disabilities and cognitive and behavioral disorders. Students must be evaluated to enter the program, according to Steib.

Another member of the district administration, Director of Student Services Gaynell Albert, had something to smile about as she introduced the board to St. James Parish’s 2010 students of the year.

“This is the best part of my job,” said Albert.

The overall students of the year were Lutcher High School 12th-grader Elyse Garon, St. James High School eighth-grader Sydney Jack and Sixth Ward Elementary School fifth-grader Kassidy Jack, Sydney’s sister.

The three students competed in the regional competition earlier that day, but the district is still waiting on the results.

Other students of the year included Fifth Ward Elementary fifth-grader Brenaiya Francis, Gramercy Elementary fifth-grader Nathan Whitlow, Lutcher Elementary fifth-grader Destenae Mosby, Lutcher High eighth-grader Kassie St. Pierre, Paulina Elementary fifth-grader Connor Louque, St. James High 12th-grader Monlana Landry and Vacherie Elementary fifth-grader Emily Faucheux.

Also Tuesday, the board held a closed-door session in which they evaluated Superintendent Alonzo Luce’s contract.

Although some minor changes will be made to the contract before it is approved, School Board President Charles Nailor said, “The superintendent’s performance overall was satisfactory.”

Rounding out the action from Tuesday’s meeting was the approval to grant two student groups $1,000 and release time to attend out-of-state functions. In February, students in the culinary program will visit the French Culinary Institute in New York City, and members of the Lutcher High Band will attend the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.