Imagine Schools Learning Communities of Achievement and Hope

2 Who is Imagine Schools? A non-profit operator of Charter Schools Operates Elementary and Secondary (K-12) charter and independent schools nationwide One of three largest Education Service Providers in US with demonstrated experience and success Compromised mostly of teachers Imagine Schools is the charter school We do everything necessary to educate children

3 Why Imagine Schools? We serve nearly 20,000 K-12 students in public charter schools in nine states and the District of Columbia We are currently developing schools in seven other states Our purpose is to assist parents and guardians in educating their children with a challenging program of study Students are exposed to a balanced program of academic and character development

4 Phoenix Metropolitan Chancellor Charter School at Bell Canyon (K-5) Chancellor Charter School at Cortez Park (K-5) Chancellor Charter School at West Gilbert (PreK-5) Sierra Vista Chancellor Charter School at Sierra Vista (K-8) Chancellor Early Learning Center (6wks.– 4 years-old) Arizona Region

5 Arizona Region Phoenix Metropolitan Imagine at Bell Canyon (K-6) Imagine at Cortez Park (K-8) Imagine at West Gilbert (PreK-8) Imagine at East Mesa (K-6) Imagine at Rosefield (K-5) Sierra Vista Imagine at Sierra Vista (K-8) Imagine Early Learning Center (6wks.– 4 years-old)

6 Southwest Region Phoenix Metropolitan Imagine at Bell Canyon (K-7) Imagine at Cortez Park (K-8) Imagine at West Gilbert (PreK-8) Imagine at East Mesa (K-7) Imagine at Rosefield (K-8) Imagine School at Tempe (K-5) Imagine at Camelback (K-5) Imagine at Desert West (K-6) Sierra Vista Imagine at Sierra Vista (K-8) Imagine Early Learning Center (6wks.– 4 years-old) Las Vegas Metropolitan 100 Academy of Excellence, An Imagine School (K-5)

7 Special Education Services Provided Inclusion Pull-Out Psychological Evaluations Occupational Therapy Speech Services Physical Therapy Counseling

8 Special Education Staffing Special Education Teachers are typically employed by the school just as any other teacher We provide oversight with a Director and Asst. Director of Special Education We contract for OT and PT Services in most cases Some schools employ their own Speech Therapist –If a school doesn’t have enough need or cannot find a therapist we contract this service

9 Roles and Responsibilities Special Education Teacher/Therapist write the individual education plans Directors over see and assist with difficult meetings Directors are responsible for oversight and assist in the recruitment and hiring process for all special education staff Principals and directors together conduct evaluations and ongoing training for special education staff

10 Negotiations Attempt to negotiate for the whole group of schools in our particular region if possible Negotiations are driven by number of students/service hours, campus locations, travel time, etc. We attempt to use one service provider when possible

11 Challenges Qualified and Certified Staff Staff Availability High Demand Positions Not enough therapists Economics

12 Conclusion Imagine Schools is a non-profit operator of Charter Schools Imagine Attempts to employ the staff rather than contract services Imagine offers the full realm of services as outlined by IDEA Imagine works to share personnel to be more cost effective

13 Questions/Comments Monte R. Lange, M. Ed. Regional Director Imagine Schools Southwest Region Attn: Monte R. Lange N. Black Canyon Hwy. Phoenix, AZ 85053