Special Education
At Saddle Mountain Unified School District we know that every child that walks through our door is special. We also know that some children need more assistance than others. Our special education department is dedicated to working with individual students so that every child will meet his or her potential.
School Start Times for Special Education
Start and end times are as follows:
TVHS
Ruth Fisher
- PBS: 7:45 a.m.–2:45 p.m.
- PBS Early Release: 7:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
- ASD: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
- ASD Early Release: 9:00 a.m.–1:15 p.m.
- Preschool: 7:45–10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.–1:45 p.m.
- Preschool Early Release: 7:45–9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- STC: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Desert Sunset
- Preschool: 7:00–9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.–1:15 p.m.
- Preschool Early Release: 7:00–9:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
- STC: 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Tartesso
e-IEPPRO Parent Portal
Attention, parents and guardians! You can easily obtain the most recent meeting notice, prior written notice, IEP, and progress reports for your special education student by using the e-IEP PRO online portal. Your email will be the one you provided to the school. If you need to change your email address, please contact the school secretary.
District Special Education Programs
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Autism (ASD) Support Program
About
Saddle Mountain Autism Program at Ruth Fisher Middle School is a private day school placement approved by the Arizona Department of Education. It provides services for students with autism from the Saddle Mountain Unified School District who struggle with emotional regulation, sensory integration, social skills, and communication which makes it difficult to be in a cross-categorical education setting and requires an ASD level of service.
Vision Statement
Valuing all students and helping them gain functional skills to prepare for a successful future.
Mission Statement
Utilizing a therapeutic and multisensory approach to provide a structured environment where all students are provided the opportunities to learn the necessary skills to successfully navigate their environment, solve problems, and communicate their needs.
Purpose
Saddle Mountain Unified School District recognizes the value of all students. Therefore, to promote student success, the ASD program exists to provide a high-quality alternative educational setting to meet the needs of students with unique therapeutic needs and challenges utilizing applied behavior analysis (ABA) and the structured teaching model in order to promote positive outcomes in students and sensory integration to meet their individual needs. ASD will focus on what your child can do both inside and outside the classroom. ASD will use this information to create a plan that ensures your child is reaching success, no exceptions. ASD will support the district's mission by providing an academic program that has a passion and commitment for educational excellence.
Positively reinforce expected classroom behavior, teaching students the skills necessary to communicate their wants and needs, provide them the skills to help them regulate their emotions, and make sure that we meet their sensory needs at school.
The ASD Program is designed to promote growth by:
- Providing daily living skills
- Providing transition skills
- Fostering student success in school
- Providing a safe environment where their needs can be met
- Providing educational opportunities that would not be achieved in other educational settings
- Providing an environment where students develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and a desire to achieve their best
Criteria:
- Have a diagnosis of autism
- Have a cognitive delay
- High intensity, frequency, and/or duration of maladaptive behavior(s) must be present
- Communication delay
Developmental Preschool
Saddle Mountain developmental preschool is a special needs preschool. It services students who reside within the Saddle Mountain Unified School District and who qualify for special education preschool services. There is no charge for special needs students to attend. We provide special needs students with free bus transportation. We will offer walk-in speech services to students who qualify for speech-articulation services only. The Saddle Mountain preschool has a license to provide part-day care for children who are from three to five years of age. The preschool accepts a limited amount of role model students. We will charge role model students tuition of $150 per month. Role model students need to have their own transportation to and from school.
Each day will consist of mealtime, circle time, academic skill practice, fine motor skill practice, free-choice learning centers, craft activities, story and song time, and gross motor activities. Speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, vision services, and hearing services will be available to special education students who qualify for these services.
Saddle Mountain Unified School District is looking for students ages two years, ten and one-half months, through five years who may have suspected delays. Children with special needs benefit from early intervention. If you are the parent of a preschool child, or if you know of a preschool child with suspected developmental delays, please call (623) 474-5112 to schedule a free screening. Screenings will take place on the first Friday of each month at Ruth Fisher Middle School.
You may see evidence of suspected delays in the areas of communication, cognition, and behavior, as well as in physical, auditory, visual, and sensory development.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) requires that public school agencies ensure all children (from birth through age twenty-one) with delays or developmental disabilities receive the supports and services they need. We identify, locate, and evaluate these individuals. This includes all children living within the geographic boundaries of the school district, whether they are homeless, wards of the state, attending private schools, or school at home. Public schools and the Arizona Early Intervention Program are responsible for “finding” eligible children and providing services needed for them to reach their developmental milestones or meet their educational needs.
Inclusion Support
Students who are eligible for inclusion support services in the Saddle Mountain district have access to the general education curriculum and receive specially designed instruction in their general education classroom via their general education teacher. Additional assistance is provided in the form of paraprofessional support, modifications, accommodations, and consulting.
Positive Behavior Support (PBS) Program
Saddle Mountain Positive Behavior Support (PBS) program focuses on providing a quality education that adheres to the state of Arizona and Saddle Mountain Unified School District standards. All Saddle Mountain PBS students will have individualized plans (academic and behavior) to ensure that they continue to make progress towards the academic and behavior standards. Students will continue to receive the services listed in their IEP in order to achieve their goals.
Saddle Mountain PBS program has been designed:
- To promote growth.
- To foster student success in school.
- To encourage students to return to their home school.
- To provide educational opportunities for students who would otherwise fall behind.
- To provide an environment where students develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and a desire to achieve their best.
Resource Support
Saddle Mountain Unified School District provides resource support services to students who are eligible through an evaluation and part of their Individual Education Program (IEP). Students who are eligible will receive specially designed instruction for part of their school day in the resource room. The support will typically be available through small group instruction at their instructional level with a certified special education teacher, along with other trained staff such as a paraprofessional. Services have a focus on skill deficits and goals listed in the IEP designed by the IEP team. Services could include academic, behavioral, and/or social skills support. Resource Support Services use research-based programs that allow teachers to be able to support individual student needs to support them in accessing the general education curriculum.
Examples of research-based programs that we use are:
- SRA Reading Mastery/Corrective Reading: Students receive direct instruction to increase skills in letter sounds, blending, fluency, and comprehension.
- Touch Math: Students learn to use the points on the numbers zero to nine to help them with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as well as money and time.
- Language for Writing: Students with word work and developing sentences using correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Read Naturally: Student’s become fluent readers and make gains in comprehension and vocabulary skills.
Collaboration between general education and special education teachers occur frequently to assist with the implementation of accommodation and/or modifications for students with an IEP.
Structured Teaching Classrooms
The STC Program
The structured teaching class (STC) is a program designed to meet the needs of students who have characteristics associated with an array of disabilities including intellectual challenges and autism. Students will participate in inclusive settings whenever appropriate, with a focus on reducing adult support. The use of visual supports and reinforcement systems are used across settings to promote success, self-advocacy, and independence. The classroom is structured to respond to health and medical needs as appropriate.
Saddle Mountain Unified School District recognizes the value of all students. Therefore, to promote student success, the STC program exists to ensure that students are able to learn standards at their own rate of growth while also learning skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. STC will support the district's mission by providing an academic program that has a passion and commitment for educational excellence.
Saddle Mountain’s structured teaching classrooms provide an environment where students are able to learn and grow at their own pace both in and outside the classroom. Our students learn how to adapt and communicate on their path to college, career, and life decisions.
The structured teaching classroom is to help students with their cognitive needs while also promoting life skills that can be used in all areas of the student's life.
Saddle Mountain’s STC Program is designed to:
- Promote growth
- Foster student success in school
- Provide educational opportunities for students who would otherwise fall behind
- Provide an environment where students develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and a desire to achieve their best
- Provide assistance with hygiene in everyday life
- Incorporate job/work skills within the academic setting, promote opportunities beyond the school setting
Special Education Office
