West Cook News

Alicia Norgard, director of student services of the Pennoyer School District, recently briefed school board members on special education in the district as students have completed their first trimester of the school year.

"Everything that we do in our program is aligned to our mission and vision statement for the district in the special education program. We really focus on our two core values of equity and inclusion," she said. "We want all of our students to feel like they have a sense of belonging up in there and that they have access to all of the experiences and opportunities that the regular ed peers would have."

She explained that any student who qualifies for special education will have an individualized placement to ensure the least restrictive environment possible. The educators try to keep it as routine and inclusive in the general education as they can while still supporting all the needs of the student. 

The district has two special education classrooms. The kindergarten through third grade classroom has six students this year, while the fourth through eighth grade classroom has seven. Last year, the district had three special ed classrooms. There is currently an opening for a special ed teacher in the district and the district is actively trying to recruit for that position.

There are currently 38 students in the district receiving special ed services, two of them at other facilities. There are five special ed teachers in the district along with three full-time staff including a speech pathologist, social worker and occupational therapist. Each of those three service providers work with between 20-40 students in the district across all classrooms.