Medical and Education Support: an Examination of a Self-contained Classroom

Description of the Medical & Educational Support Program in DC Public Schools

1. MEDICAL AND
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
(MES)
Elizabeth Caspari
District of Columbia Public Schools

2. Agenda
oWhat is MES?
oWho are the students?
oClass structure
oServices
oInclusion

3. WHAT IS MES?

4. Medical and Educational
Support
oA self-contained program designed to meet
the individual needs of students with
complex medical issues and severe cognitive
impairments
oDC Public Schools with MES Programs:
▪School Within School PK -5th
▪Turner PK-2
▪River Terrace Grade 3 - Age 22
(Advocates for Justice and Education, 2021).

5. School Within School Elementary
oThe details in this presentation are based
upon the MES program at SWS Elementary
School
oProgramming may differ based on school
culture and expectations between schools

6. WHAT STUDENTS
DOES MES SERVE?

7. MES Students
oStudents with self-contained IEP's
▪Mo re than 20 ho urs of specialized instructio n
o utside of genera l educatio n
oPre-K – 12th Grade
oStudents with functional limitations and chronic and
complex medical needs
oClassroom cap of 8 students
(Office of Specialized Instruction, 2015).

8. Common Characteristics
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024).
oSeizures
▪ Students will have a seizure action plan depending on theirunique
circumstances.
▪ Always time the seizure, make sure they don’t hit theirhead, and follow
the plan
▪ DCPS offers seizure trainings for staff
oG-Tube
▪ A gastronomy tube surgically placed in the abdomen with direct access to the
stomach. Student who cannoteat by mouth are fed at school by nurses through
their G-Tube.
oCortical Visual Impairment (CVI)
▪ Low vision, trouble seeing faces or moving objects, recognition in
cluttered spaces
▪ High contrast black backgrounds with red or yellow text make visuals more
accessible

9. Exceptionalities in MES
oOther Health Impairment
▪Hav ing l i mit ed s tre ngt h, vi t al it y, or a le rtne ss t o
e xte rnal st imul i due t o c hronic or a cut e he al t h
proble ms
▪Mus t a dvers el y a ffec t a chi l d's educ at iona l
pe rforma nce
oMultiple Disabilities
▪Concomit ant di sabi l it i es t hat whe n combine d hav e
ne eds t hat ca nnot be met by a s pec ia l educ at ion
program de si gne d for one of t hose di sa bi li ti e s
(Department of Education, 2018)

10. CLASS STRUCTURE

11. Staff
oTeacher
▪ O n e l e ad s p ec i al e d u c a t i o n t ea c h e r
oParaprofessionals
▪ O n e-T w o i n st r u c t i o n a l p a r a p r o f e ss i o n al s p e r cl as s r o o m
oNurses
▪ O n e n u r s e p e r c l a s s
▪ S t u d e n t s r e q u i r e c o n s t a n t a n d c o n s i s t en t n u r si n g ca r e
t o ac c e ss t h e c u r r i c u l u m
▪ S o me st u d en t s ma y a l s o h a v e a d e d i c a t ed n u r s e b a se d
o n m ed i c al n e e d

12. Curriculum
oStudents in MES receive instruction in literacy,
numeracy, life skills, and daily living that are
aligned to the DCPS common core standards
scaffolded to meet the individual needs of students
oMES addresses students physical,
intellectual,social-emotional, and medical needs

13. Therapies
▪Individualized dependent on student IEP
oSpeech
oOccupational Therapy
oPhysical Therapy
oVision
oAdaptive PE
oAssistive Technology

14. Adaptive Equipment
▪Students use a variety o f adaptive equipment in the classroo m to
access cur riculum, medical, and wellness needs
oStander
oWalker
oRifton Chair
oTumblefo rm Seating
oAFO Braces

15. INCLUSION

16. Specials
•Student access the same specials as the rest of the
school with scaffolding for their individual needs
oPhysical Education
oWorld Language
oArt
oMusic
oLibrary
oFoodprints (Cooking and Gardening programming)

17. Community Meetings/Assemblies
•Students attend monthly community meetings where a question is
posed around community and kindness
▪Prepare students before the meeting by talking about the question in
morning meeting
▪Use Assistive Technology to answer questions
•BIGmackrecording button
•PECS

18. 5th Grade Collaboration
•An initiative with the 5th grade class to build
positive relationships within the school and create
an inclusive welcoming environment for special
education students
•5th grade students join MES for specials
▪Hel p wi th t rans it i ons
▪Work one-on-one wi t h stude nts
•Art
•Re adi ng
•Se nsory pl ay

19. Schoolwide Staff Support
oSchool staff and educators can suppo rt special education and the MES program
thro ugh:
▪Educating general education students about people with severe and pr ofound
disabilities
▪Creating a fr iendly, inclusive, and welco ming enviro nment
•Say hello in the hallw ay
•Give pro ject presentation to M ES students (Science fair, histor y)
▪Remember ing to involve M ES in pr ojects
•Our students often cannot stay after school fo r extracurr icular activities or
events due to bus schedules.
•Finding inno vative w ays to invo lve students through video s, ar t, multiple time
slots fo r events

20. References
A dvocate s for J usti ce and Educat ion, I nc. (2021) . Me dical and Educati onal Support Program. The Parent Trai ning and I nform at ion
Cente r for the D ist ri ct of Col umbi a. ht tps: // ww w.aj e-dc.org/ wp-cont ent/ uploa ds/2021/ 08/MES-Progr am-G uide.pdf
D epart ment of Educat ion. ( 2018). Sec. 300.8 c hil d wi th a di sabil it y. Indi vidua ls w it h Di sabi li ti es Educat ion A ct.
ht tps: // sit es.ed.gov/ ide a/r egs/b/ a/ 300.8
O ffic e of Speci ali zed I nstr ucti on. (2015). Progr ams & Resourc es Gui de f or Fami li es. D C Publ ic School s.
ht tps: // profi le s.dcps.dc.gov/ pdf/ OSI% 20Fa mi ly%20Pr ogram s%20and% 20Res ources% 20Gui de%20SY %2014-15.pdf
O ffic e of Te aching a nd Le arni ng & D ivi sion of Spe cial iz ed Inst ruct ion. ( 2019). Speci al e ducati on programs and resources gui de for
st aff. D C Publ ic School s. ht tps: // dcps.dc.gov/ sit es/ defaul t/ fi les /dc/ sit es/ dcps/ publi cati on/a tt achme nts/ At tac hment %20J-
9%20( DSI% 20SY18-19%20St aff% 20Pr ogram s%20and% 20Re sources %20Gui de).pdf
U .S. D epar tm ent of Heal th a nd Hum an Servi ces. (2024) . Cere bral vi sual im pairm ent ( CVI ). Nati onal Eye I nsti tut e.
ht tps: // ww w.nei .nih.gov/ lea rn-about-eye-heal th/ eye-condi ti ons-and-di seases /cer ebral-vi sual-i mpai rm ent-cvi

21. THANK YOU
Elizabeth Caspari
[email protected]