Special Education Opportunity Report….An Analysis That Leads to Action

Application FAQs

How many reports, specific to Special Education, have you prepared?

Our work in Special Education is well known throughout California.

Since fiscal year 2007-2008, SI&A has prepared over 100 Special Education Reports on behalf of school districts. The districts that we have partnered with range widely in size (our smallest client being under 100 enrollment and our largest being over 56,000) and range from rural districts in counties as far north as  Humboldt as well as urban districts as far south as San Diego.

How specific is the report to my district?

Our report is about you, not about us. We will follow the data to find what we need.

Oftentimes, other service providers only focus on a few content areas and provide boilerplate findings and recommendations. In order to get a complete picture of how to enhance your Special Education program, SI&A believes that a complete analysis of every fiscal and program aspect of your district—along with district specific recommendations, is required. The result is a comprehensive analysis packed with district specific information. Our reports generally contain 75-85 pages of content, charts and graphs that are unique to the district versus the 20-30 pages of content prepared by other service providers.  We will follow the data to find what we need.

What does the typical timeline for the process look like?

• Contract received from district to SI&A
• Week 1
  Welcome call with district, and data collection begins
• Week 5
  District interviews and data collection continues
• Week 9
  Web meeting presentation of findings and recs
• Week 12
  Final report mailed to district
• Presentations
  Board, Cabinet
• Implementation Assistance
  Short-term, mid-term, long-term

What happens after the report is completed?

Your report is a roadmap.

Our report concludes with a detailed action plan that tiers our recommendations into short-term, mid-range and long-term implementation strategies.

We continue to partner with the district to implement district-specific goals and monitor progress along the way. Our role in this partnership is to offer the assistance necessary to support the administration in implementing the report’s sequenced plan of action. We will work closely with you to set benchmarks, monitor activities, and measure progress. Our efforts would entail data gathering, ongoing analysis, evaluation of progress, presentations, template development (for revised forms and procedures), research, and advice. While we assist with the technical aspects of implementation, you can focus on what you do best: developing programs, communicating with parents, supporting teachers, enhancing instruction, and ensuring that all related services are as responsive as possible.

What is your process for conducting the report? Will you be at our district?

We have an established process that helps us conduct a complete analysis while keeping costs down.

SI&A believes that ongoing conversations with key district and site staff are required to compile a complete report.  Through on-site visits, phone calls and web-based meetings, we are able to strike a balance that allows us to conduct a thorough analysis without tacking on the extra costs of additional staff and on-site travel expenses.  By scheduling meetings and focus groups ahead of time we are able to make the most of our district visit. Our report process usually lasts about 12 weeks, and SI&A is with you every step of the way.