Jonathan Burras reviews the daily schedule with Deb Morich, an executive assistant in the special education office.
As the recently hired director of pupil services/special education for Mansfield City Schools, Jonathan Burras has a clearly defined goal.
“Our ultimate job is to ensure that all students with disabilities graduate with a plan, whether it be college, the military or the workforce,” he said. “We must provide the tools and path for them to be successful.”
Currently, 777 students in the district – nearly 22 percent of total enrollment – are on individualized education programs (IEPs) as the result of special needs. Those needs range from speech therapy of perhaps 30 minutes each week to extensive care for multiple disabilities or orthopedic impairment. Within that range also are students identified as developmentally delayed, visually impaired or autistic.
“Whatever the circumstance, we must work together to achieve the best possible education for each student,” said Burras, who was an intervention specialist at West Holmes Local Schools before coming to Mansfield this past summer.
“I have spent these first weeks getting to know the district and the staff, while identifying available resources and all the intangibles that make special education function efficiently.”
The IEP is a written plan which outlines the goals set for a child during the school year as well as any special support needed to help achieve them.
“Strong interaction with parents is key in developing an IEP,” Burras said. “The team includes parents, the student, myself, the general education teacher and the intervention specialist. Parents and students are the most important part.
“The team looks at a data-based decision balanced with parent needs. How can we allocate limited resources to best serve the student?”
Burras, who holds a degree in adolescent education from Miami University and a master’s of school administration from Ashland University, said the state is moving toward grading school districts on the results of their special education program.
“By 2017 the state will grade us on results rather than simply compliance with procedures. How are students with disabilities doing on assessments and placement in the workforce or in college? It will be results-driven accountability, which I agree with,” Burras said.
In some cases a student could be involved in special education from preschool through high school graduation, which requires a longterm district relationship with parents and the student.
“Building a positive, trusting relationship is the way it should be and that’s the way we are at Mansfield City Schools,”Burras said. “I am very optimistic. The most wonderful thing about Mansfield City Schools is the great people who work here. They are resilient and hard working.”