Robert McArdle joins the Walker Partnerships team: will oversee expansion in northeast region

We are extremely pleased to announce the hiring of Robert McArdle as the Walker Partnerships Associate Manager for the Northeast Region.

 Affiliated with Walker Partnerships for the past two years as a Senior Staff Consultant, Bob is the former Executive Director of the Greater Lawrence Education Collaborative, Director of Student Services for the Stoneham Public Schools, Greater Lawrence Technical High School and Woburn Public. Bob also has been an adjunct professor at Salem State College and a trainer for Educational Specialists Association.

 In his new role, he will serve as administrative representative and be responsible for establishing a Walker Partnerships presence in the northeast region of Massachusetts, where he will develop and strengthen programs that assist public school systems, educational collaboratives, charter schools and community-based systems of care in building their capacity to serve students with complex social, emotional, and behavioral needs.

 The addition of McArdle to the Walker Partnerships team not only adds an education professional with 38 years experience who has made a significant contribution to children with special needs over his career, but also demonstrates the growth of Walker Partnerships services into an area of Massachusetts where more schools can potentially benefit from Walker Partnerships expertise and support services.

 Bob will be available to assist special education administrators as they develop their school-based wraparound services and strengthen their internal special education programs and service capacity with the objective of maintaining more students within their local districts. 

 If you would like more information about how Walker Partnerships can provide services and consultation to your school district in the northeast region of Massachusetts, please contact Robert McArdle at  rmcardle@walkerschool.org or 781-898-8305.

Walker Partnerships welcomes Fall River and Holliston Public Schools

We are proud to welcome our newest partners at Fall River Public Schools and Holliston Public Schools.

 With the assistance of Walker Partnerships, Fall River Public Schools has established a new middle school therapeutic day program. Walker Partnerships will provide a social worker/case manager and a behavioral specialist, along with professional development services and psychiatric consultation. Under the leadership of Joyce Blackburn, Executive Director of Special Education and Student Services, this initiative will provide a quality education in a safe and therapeutic learning environment to approximately 25 students in grades 6 – 8. This new middle school program is specifically designed to offer a therapeutic education program that will successfully return middle-school-aged students to the district and reduce out-of-district placement.  

Holliston Public Schools has contracted with Walker Partnerships for a .8 social worker/case manager for assignment to an elementary school therapeutic program. This in-district program is in place to provide a therapeutic educational setting that enables elementary age students to receive the necessary supports while having the opportunity to experience appropriate inclusionary academic opportunities

District-Wide Special Education Program Evaluations Can Help Make Good Programs Even More Effective and Efficient

Special education departments in Bellingham, Lynnfield, and Milton have recently contracted with Walker Partnerships for district-wide special education program evaluations, to be conducted in September and October. West Boylston Public Schools has also contracted with Walker Partnerships for a Title I grant evaluation, scheduled for this September.

Walker Partnerships program evaluations are designed to identify the strengths of existing special education programming and services within a district as well as those program and service areas that need to be enhanced and further developed. These program evaluations can be site-specific or district-wide. They are uniquely  tailored to each specific district and are issued-focused to provide action steps that will lead to sustainable improvements and, often, cost savings.

 At the completion of the evaluation, clients will receive a detailed evaluation report that provides student data comparisons with similar school districts, financial analysis of special education expenditures, trend line data on student needs, areas of professional development that need to be addressed, current utilization of paraprofessionals, and other information critical to programmatic planning and budgeting. And each recommendation is supported with a detailed explanation that can help build consensus through discussion among all stakeholders.

 “The report has become a guide to the next steps in the district for both program development and professional development” said Terri Hamm, Director of Student Service, Old Rochester Regional School District.

 The evaluation report can serve as a blueprint for administrators of special education to map out short- and long-range plans for building the capacity to serve more students within the district and, in many cases, facilitating the return of students from out-of-district placement.

 John Brackett, Superintendent of Sudbury Public Schools, recently noted that “In the three years since receiving the report, we have implemented many of the report’s recommendations and believe our special education department is the better for it.”

 Walker Partnerships has conducted nearly 70 district-wide special education program evaluations, specific program evaluations, and federal-grant-funded program evaluations since September 2004. Cost of these program evaluations are based on Walker Partnerships rate structured for on-site time of $160.00 per hour and off-site time of $100.00 per hour with $125.00 per hour for travel time and expense.

 For further information regarding a district-wide or program-specific evaluation, please contact Jim Earley at jearley@walkerschool.org or 781-292-2178.

Renewed Affiliations Seek a Wide Range of Services and Expertise

School systems are currently renewing their affiliation with Walker Partnerships and are contracting for a broad variety of services to support their students with complex social, emotional, and behavioral needs.

Currently, 27 of the 49 school systems partnered with us in fiscal year 2010 have renewed their affiliation, with three additional school districts joining us as new affiliations.

Nine school districts have contracted for a total of 17 Walker Partnerships personnel, social workers, case mangers, and behavioral specialists. Other districts are receiving individual case consultation, clinical supervision, program consultation, program evaluations, and professional development. There are 13 districts that are receiving two or more services provided by Walker Partnerships.

For further information about the services Walker Partnerships can provide to your staff or the ways we can help strengthen your capacity to serve students with special education services, contact James Earley at jearley@walkerschool.org or 781-292-2178.

Building Capacity: Program Development is Key

School districts continue to look to Walker Partnerships as they develop new programs that build and strengthen a school system’s capacity to educate students with complex social, emotional, and behavioral needs.

Program development consultation with senior staff at Walker Partnerships can be utilized by school systems when developing a new program or to assist with a program that is currently in operation. In the planning stage, the targeted focus is on the creation of practices, procedures, protocols, and positive behavioral intervention strategies that will guide the daily operation of the program.

Ongoing consultation support by Walker Partnerships staff allows for timely adjustments according to the therapeutic and clinical needs of the students. This can be an important calibration tool for maintaining the operational efficacy of the program and a continuum of support for students.

Walker Partnerships also offers professional development to school-based staff of these programs. Upgrading and refining the skills of program staff, especially new staff, can prove to be very beneficial to the ongoing success of the program.

One unique—and often critically important—aspect of Walker Partnerships services is working with the parents of those students who have been identified as candidates for return into a program within the district. The transitional process can be very difficult for parents, with even when they are in agreement with the decision for a change in placement, and Walker Partnerships will work in collaboration with the school district to support parents through the transition.

Walker Partnerships has collaborated with 13 LEAs to develop district-wide programs that have reduced the number of students placed outside the district, facilitated the return of students to in-district programs, and sometimes even accommodated students from other school districts, with their tuition reducing overall operating costs.

Te learn more about how Walker Partnerships can assist with program development in your school district, contact James Earley at jearley@walkerschool.org or 781-292-2178.