


Special Education Staff Newsletter
February 2024
Dear Staff,
The Special Education Staff Newsletter is a monthly newsletter, brought to you by the VUSD Special Education team, it's filled with department resources, and professional development information as well as highlighting our department recognitions across the school district.
This month we have a great opportunity to nominate someone special in our VUSD community. Please help me nominate a special staff, parent, or community member by using the link provided below for the NCCSE Excellence in Special Education Awards.
With gratitude,
Nereida Gutierrez
Director, Special Education
Congratulations to Steffanie Rupp for being selected as Region 18 ACSA Administrator of the Year!!
Congratulations on being awarded the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Special Education Administrator of the Year award! Your dedication and leadership as department coordinator are truly commendable. This recognition is well-deserved and we couldn't be happier for you.
Congratulations! 🌟
T.H.E. Leadership Academy
Cassandra Ratigan SDC Teacher
Monte Vista Elementary
Kristin Childs
Speech Langauge Pathologist
Roosevelt Middle
Jillian Keith
Education Specialist
Lake Elementary
Sarah Rombotis
Instructional Assistant
Vista Adult Transition Center
Teresa Fulgham
Instructional Assistant
Thank you for promoting our recent workshop! We had a full house.
IEP Work Sessions
Back by popular demand - IEP Work Sessions. Mondays 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the ASC/District Office Boardroom. The next session is: Monday, February 26, 2024
Please sign up in Vector:
How to add Vector PD to your Google Calendar
For any additional questions, please email or call Joe Garza josephgarza@vistausd.org
Phone: 760-726-2170 ext. 92900
Need a form?
End of year Ed Specialist Responsibilities:
The end of the school year is quickly approaching. With that being said, here are a few important dates to remember:
All IEPs must be completed by May 29, 2024
All IEPs (annuals and tris) due by Sept 30, 2024 must be completed by the sending team by May 29th, 2024.
Please notify your Special Ed Supervisor of any extenuating circumstances
ESY Information:
For students who qualify for ESY per their IEP. Use this ESY Criteria Worksheet as a guideline.
ESY Dates: 6/17/2024 - 7/12/2024 (no school 6/19/24 & 7/4/24)
Certificated and classified applications are being sent out by HR so keep an eye out if you are interested in teaching ESY.
All ESY info must be added to IEPs by April 26, 2024
Parents will receive an online ESY application on March 13, 2024, replies will go to the SpEd Dept. ESY Transportation Forms will be attached to the application, however, we will need your help for those parents who have not submitted ESY and/or transportation forms if the parents do not attach them to the application.
Ed Specialist Responsibilities for any ESY additions after April 26, 2024:
AFTER 4/26/24: Notify your SpEd Supervisor of any ESY additions and we will send you the ESY information for the parent to fill out.
IEP Statewide Assessment Accessibility
Please be sure to update all IEP statewide assessment accommodations by 3/29/2024
The California Assessment Accessibility Resource Graphics for the 2023–24 school year have been updated and are now available on the California Department of Education (CDE) Student Accessibility Resources web page. These graphics display the embedded and non-embedded universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations allowed within the CAASPP and the ELPAC systems. These one-page documents serve as quick reference guides for accessibility resources and are available for the following assessments:
Mathematics (PDF)
Science (PDF)
ELPAC Computer-based (PDF)
ELPAC Paper–Pencil (PDF)
Out of District Professional Development
Please note: you must get approval from your site administrator to attend any out of district trainings using the following form:
Staff and Student Travel Form: (FYI: this document is housed in Classlink (formally known as Cloud Connect) under "Forms."
Certificated: If you require a sub, please contact your site office manager for a school business sub. (Due to the shortage of subs, there is no guarantee that a sub will be available. Also, no school business subs are approved on Mondays and Fridays)
If you’d like to attend a webinar, please submit a Webinar Approval Form
Yvonne's Friday Tips
Previously on Friday Tips...
02/23/24 - Required dates for Initial IEPs and Initial Re-Evaluations
02/09/24 - IEPs due before Census Day & Services ending in June
02/02/24 - Statewide Assessments Page
01/26/24 - 2024 ESY Dates and IEP Implementation Audit
01/19/24 - New Name for TRI's in SEIS & How to Read the Thursday Report
01/12/24 - DNQ's and Exit IEP's - the difference
12/15/23 - How to print IEP forms in Spanish
12/08/23 - Documenting Special Assessments
12/01/23 - Affirming with an incorrect meeting date or meeting type
11/17/23 - Caseload Cleanup!
11/09/23 - Progress Reports - a walkthrough
11/03/23 - Affirm before signatures
10/27/23 - It's all in the Transportation Details and Parent Involvement
10/20/23 - ESY (does my student qualify?)
10/06/23 - Delay Code Reasons
09/29/23 - Changing signature status from unsigned to signed and Mail Etiquette
09/22/23 - Documenting a Late IEP
09/15/23 - How to edit Services, Printing Greyed out Forms and Do not PREdate IEPs
09/08/23 - Plan Effective Start Date and Selecting the Correct Meeting Type
08/25/23 - Document Management and IEP checklist
08/21/23 - New Students
08/18/23 - SEIS Training, 60 Day Timeline and What to do if an Annual and TRI are due on Separate Dates
08/11/23 - Caseload Management and New Students from a Non SEIS District
Supervisor Support List 2023 - 2024
SpEd Guidelines Shared Drive
We have a shared google drive called "SpEd Guidelines" that stores all of our office hour notes and important documents. Please take some time to explore the drive if you haven't already.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0AFviPtZ0AtWyUk9PVA
Special Education Community Liaison
Please don't hesitate to communicate with our Community Liaison. We are here to facilitate communication between VUSD and families. If you need assistance please reach out to Doris Cruz
Email: doriscruz@vistausd.org
Phone number: (760) 726-2170 ext. 92914
Previous Special Education Staff/Parent Newsletters
All of our Special Education Newsletters are available on the school district website. Please review the website and share the events with our VUSD families.
To learn more about the jobs posted please click on the following links.
Certificated:
- Education Specialist-Moderate/Severe Teacher
- Education Specialist-Mild/Moderate Teacher
- Speech Language Pathologist
Classified:
SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT STAFF
Special Education Department: specialeducationdept@vistausd.org
Nereida Gutierrez, Director, Special Education, specialeducationdept@vistausd.org
Steffanie Rupp, Coordinator, Special Education, steffanierupp@vistausd.org
Rachel Schmidt, Principal, California Avenue School, rachelschmidt@vistausd.org
Katherine Abraham, Principal, Vista Adult Transition Program, katherineabraham@vistausd.org
Jennifer Gruman, Special Education Supervisor, jennifergruman@vistausd.org (Non public schools. residential placements)
William Foley, Special Education Supervisor (K-12 specialized programs) williamfoley@vistausd.org
Kinga Nagorny, Special Education Supervisor (Elementary) kinganagorny@vistausd.org
Casey Lynn, Special Education Supervisor Secondary Mild/Moderate caseylynn@vistausd.org
Dafnee Ramirez, Administrative Secretary, Special Education dafneeramirez@vistausd.org
Joe Garza, Staff Secretary, josephgarza@vistausd.org
Debra Harris, Data Tech debraharris@vistausd.org (elementary, private school, non-public)
Yvonne Fortin, Data Tech yvonnefortin@vistausd.org (middle and high school)
Doris Cruz, Community Liaison, Special Education doriscruz@vistausd.org
Website: https://www.vistausd.org/departments/educationalexcellence/specialeducation
Email: specialeducationdept@vistausd.org
Phone: 760- 726-2170 ext. 92900