To
Incoming Students and Families of Exceptional Students,
Greetings from Animas High School! As the end of the 2011-12
school year rapidly approaches, I wanted to take a moment to check-in with you
regarding our school’s Exceptional Student Services Department. Many families
have inquired as to the process they should follow when coordinating with our
ESS team and this letter serves to address procedures and timelines at AHS.
First, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Carlin Mallman,
Animas High School’s new ESS Director. Carlin
joins us after 6 years as Exceptional Student Services Coordinator at the Ross
Montessori School in Carbondale. Originally from Chicago, Carlin earned
her TESL certificate while studying Sociology and Creative Writing at Hamilton
College in upstate New York. She then joined the Peace Corps,
teaching English and leading a women's group in a public high school in
Albanian. She earned her Colorado Special Education License through
Western State College and her Master's degree in Education (Multicultural
Special Education) through CU-Boulder. In addition to Special Education,
Carlin also has CDE endorsements in LDE (linguistically diverse education) and
as a Gifted and Talented specialist. I know I speak for our entire school
community when I share with you how excited we are to add Carlin’s talents,
abilities and leadership to the team here at Animas High School.
Many
incoming families have alerted AHS that they are being asked to complete
transition meetings with their local district’s high school ESS staff. Parents
have questioned the need for such meetings, confident that their student is
heading to Animas High. Please know that AHS works closely with local districts
to ensure a seamless transition of student records and information and we are
well aware of local transition procedures. Additionally, incoming AHS families
should know that per district policy, schools like Durango High School must run
springtime transition meetings to accurately assess the needs of students entering
the 9th grade. Regardless of a family’s desire to register their
student at AHS, district feels they have a responsibility to prepare for these
students should they not succeed at Animas and ultimately return to district
schools. We support these efforts but please know that these are not AHS
transition meetings.
Preparation
for ESS students at AHS is ongoing. Students with IEP, 504 and ALP plans must
ensure these documents are provided to Animas High School this spring. ESS
staff is currently reviewing all goals, objectives, accommodations and
modifications as documented in student plans and we are actively assessing our
school’s ability to serve and support your student’s needs. The school will
contact families for clarification and/or with questions as the ESS Department diligently
processes incoming files. Following this initial review, Animas High will
coordinate transition meetings with all of our exceptional students and their
families prior to the start of the 2012-13 school year. Families should expect
these meetings to happen with Carlin and her staff this August.
We
understand that being asked by district to participate in transition meetings
for the local high school can seem unnecessary and redundant knowing your
student’s intention is to attend AHS. However, it is my hope that you will
embrace the work by all educators in our community as a sincere effort to
support and plan for your student’s
continued success. In the meantime, we encourage you to continue to seek us out
with your questions, comments and concerns. We look forward to serving you next
year and we are very excited to have you join our school community.
Warm
Regards,
Michael
Ackerman
Executive
Head of School
Animas
High School
