Special Education and Student Services

Special Education and Student Services in the Medford School District provides appropriate interventions and instruction, through quality teaching, for students with special needs to overcome challenges in order for them to become successful, contributing members of society.

The Office of Special Education and Student Services supervises and supports the areas of Special Education, Section 504, Alternative Education and School Health Services. Our mission is to provide information, guidance, and support to district staff and parents in order to enhance the education of the students with special needs that we serve.

Special Education

                                                                                                                                                                  

Student Services

Children with Disabilities under Section 504

Some children may have a disability that affects a major life activity but does not fit into one of the categories of disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  These children may be protected by a different federal law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  Contact your school principal for more information.

For more information or questions regarding district policy or special education law contact Student Services at 541-842-3628.

Section 504 Brochure

School Health Services

Health Services in the Medford School District are coordinated and supervised by Registered Nurses (RNs). Services provided through a school-health program include identification of health concerns, nursing assessments, and the development of individual health care plans to ensure a safe school experience for students with health related concerns.

Our mission is to support the health and well-being of students because healthy students learn better. We help families and school staff by providing health education and guidance. We promote student access to primary health care and community services in order to foster healthy behaviors and promote preventative care. We also support the mission of the Office of Student Services by providing nursing care to students eligible for special education or Section 504.

Click here for School Health Services Page
 
Multi-Tiered Instruction (MTI) and Response to Intervention (RTI)
 
Multi-Tiered Instruction (MTI) and Response to Intervention (RTI) are often used interchangeably. MTI, as a school organizational model, is a system of organizing general education curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of all students.  This system of support integrates core instruction and all supplemental and intervention programs in order to use resources more efficiently.

School-wide

• All students receive high quality, research-based instruction by qualified staff in their general education classroom.
• Instruction is delivered using a multi-tier model of increasingly intense student interventions.
• Differentiated curriculum and instruction is in all classrooms.
• General education instructors and staff assume an active role in the assessment of the student’s progress in core and supplemental curriculum.
• Schools conduct universal screening of academics and behavior three times per year.
• All schools have a common framework and participate in similar procedures and processes that are well defined and allow for some variation between schools.
• Grade and School Level Teams use a problem-solving model to develop and evaluate core instruction and intervention programs.

For Students At-Risk

• School staff implements specific, research-based interventions to address the student’s difficulties.
• Continuous and regular progress monitoring of the student’s performance occurs.
• Interventions may be delivered by someone other than the classroom teacher.
• Interventions are varied in duration, frequency and time.
• School staff will use progress monitoring data and decision rules to determine the effectiveness of the interventions and to make modifications, as needed.
• Systematic evaluation of the fidelity or integrity with which instruction and interventions are implemented.

Response to Intervention
The school will keep you informed about your child and will tell you whether your child begins to make sufficient progress or if your child has or continues to have difficulty. If you and the school have tried several interventions, and progress is still limited, you may be asked to give your consent for an evaluation. The purpose of such an evaluation is to determine your child’s specific educational needs and to consider whether a disability may impact his or her learning.