WJCC Board Approves Contract for Special Ed Program

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Williamsburg-James City County School Board voted unanimously to award a $468,602 contract to CompassLearning for a special education curriculum and instruction program.

The board approved the contract award during a special call meeting Tuesday, directly following their regular work session. The funds were part of the $1.5 million federal stimulus funding earmarked for special education use in September 2010 (read more about that allocation here).

The project was requested by the division’s Department of Special Education. The division will use CompassLearning’s research-based program Odyssey, which includes instruction on reading, comprehension, writing, math and critical thinking. The program includes measures for monitoring a student’s progress that will link initial assessments of his or her performance with the student’s current functioning level. The contract also provides ongoing professional development through workshops, guided practice sessions and mentoring relationships.

Kathleen Velez, an instructional specialist who led the RFP process, said the program had everything the selection team wanted and more. She said parents will be able to help their students and observe the program at home at any hour, throughout the year. In addition, she said the professional development can be in-person or completed through webinars.

Three firms responded to the division’s Request for Proposals (RFP), and were vetted by the Specialized Educational Services Instructional Specialists, the Federal Programs Supervisor, a parent representative of the Special Education Advisory Committee and the Purchasing Senior Buyer.

CompassLearning is an Austin, Texas-based education technology firm that creates curriculum and assessment solutions, according to its home page. The company will complete the work by mid-Fall.

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0 #3 Guest 2011-08-15 12:55

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0 #2 Guest 2011-07-21 09:12

I am a parent of a student in need of these services and I saw no evidence of these programs all last school year.
So if they got this money Sept 2010 ,,it has taken them 10 months to get a contract in place???

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0 #1 Guest 2011-07-21 08:14

CompassLearning can be a fantastic program. It addresses so many different levels, issues, and subjects that it can really make a difference. However, it all depends on quality of implementation and follow-through.

I follow educational technology from a long term historical perspective.

Sandra

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