Exceptional Programs

Welcome to Taos Municipal Schools Exceptional Programs. Our department and staff provide individualized services to students with exceptionalities by highly qualified teachers and ancillary staff. Your child will have an assigned case manager to oversee the development and implementation of his/her program. The case manager assigned to your child and your school principal, along with other team members from the school, will work with you to meet your child’s individual needs throughout the school year.

What are Exceptional Programs?

Students who qualify for exceptional programs have been identified by a multidisciplinary team with one or more of thirteen recognized disabilities and a need for specially designed programming to be successful in school. A multidisciplinary team consists of individuals who have expertise in various areas and most importantly you as their parent! In New Mexico students also qualify for exceptional programs if they meet the state criteria as gifted by a multidisciplinary team in either academic achievement, critical thinking, or creativity.

How do I know if my child qualifies for Exceptional Programs?

There are a number of pathways to potentially identify a student with a disability.

1Your child can be referred for an evaluation by your schools Student Assistance Team if he/she has not made expected progress, even after research-based interventions have been implemented over time.

2You can request an evaluation from school personnel at any time. Exceptional Programs staff will meet with you and your child’s teacher to review existing data and provide recommendations.

3Your child may have participated in a Child Find activity and a referral may be made to the school district. If it is in the best interest of the student to proceed with an evaluation, you will meet with a professional from the district to receive information on the potential assessments and will be asked to sign a consent form to proceed with the assessments.

A licensed professional diagnostician will gather more information from both you and your child through some interviews and standardized assessments. Also, other professionals may become involved, such as a Speech Language Pathologist, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, etc. The team will then meet to review all this data and make an eligibility determination based on state guidelines. As your child’s parent, you are an essential member of the ‘IEP team’ in the process.

What is an IEP?

An IEP is an Individual Education Plan, which is an agreement between the school and you to provide specifically designed instruction and individualized support to your child in order to access the same curriculum as other students. It is a living document that should change regularly as the team refines strategies to maximize your child’s ongoing educational success.

Who calls an IEP meeting?

Your child’s case manager will schedule at least one IEP team meeting every year to review your child’s progress on their goals and update the current IEP. Your child’s case manager will also schedule a re-evaluation every three years. Any member of the IEP team can call for an additional meeting at any time to review the current document and make any changes to the plan or services. As you are a member of the team, you may ask for a meeting at any time.

Exceptional Programs can help families by:

„ Locating valuable resources in the community. „ Identifying and evaluating student needs „ Transitional planning for the future

Specialized programs that Exceptional Programs support:

„ The preschool classrooms at Enos Garcia Elementary and Ranchos Elementary provides both inclusive and/or pull out services to meet each child’s needs. „ In partnership with all other licensed preschool facilities in Taos County „ Gifted programs K-12 „ Chrysalis Alternative School – 9-12 th „ Los Brazos setting – Taos Middle School grades 6-8 „ Transition Support and Job Training/Coaching „ Child-Find (ages 3-21) to locate students in Taos County in need of Special Education support „ Extended School Year Services The public health order in March of 2020 presented unique challenges for all students, parents, community members and district staff. If your child had an IEP, the Exceptional Programs (EXPRO) team at each of the school buildings within Taos Municipal Schools worked tirelessly to develop a specialized program to best support your child through this time of distance learning. The team is dedicated to continuing to support your child in any way possible. When we are able to return to a more For more information traditional setting, the EXPRO team will review about Exceptional Programs, your child’s IEP to determine if there was a you can contact our office significant loss of learning during the COVID-19 at 575-737-6115. health emergency. If there is a concern, you will be invited to participate in a meeting to review the results and Lynn Brashar discuss if Extended School Year (ESY) services Director of Exceptional Programs next summer would benefit your child or if there may be a need for compensatory services. If you would like to have a meeting to discuss Christina Martinez the results at any time, please notify your child’s and case manager. Danette Rael