Emmett board hears plan to add psychologist, shift some special-education services as Black Canyon becomes True North
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Summary
Superintendent Woods and special-education staff briefed trustees on vacancies, recruitment, caseload goals and how services will move as Black Canyon transitions to the True North model; board asked for details and staff committed to oversight and continued hiring.
Superintendent Woods and special-education staff told the Emmett Independent District board the district is working to fill multiple special-education vacancies, will add at least one full-time school psychologist and expects some students to move from Black Canyon to a new True North program model.
Woods said the district has experienced a number of retirements and some late hires that required reposting positions; he described higher applicant pools in many roles but said special-education positions and secondary mathematics remain harder to fill.
"One of the big agreements that we came to is how can we retain SPED staffing? ... that was number one," Woods said.
Staff described operational changes tied to the Black Canyon transition. Woods said certain students now served at Black Canyon will be offered services through True North, but some students who require a higher intensity of special-education intervention will continue to receive services at Emmett High School. He gave a rough example: of about 15 students from one cohort, roughly half may transition to the high school.
Board members asked how caseloads will be managed. Staff said regional director conversations indicate a secondary special-education caseload of about 30 is high and that a target closer to 25 (and 20 at the elementary level) is preferable. To respond to demand, the district plans to add an FTE at the high school and a full-time psychologist to help with academic testing and coordination; staff said a Patriot Center teacher will take an oversight role for paraprofessionals at certain sites, and that the district will set up regular communications (email, phone, weekly/biweekly meetings) between on-site paraprofessionals and specialist staff to ensure oversight.
Miss Thomas (special-education staff) and other staff described recruitment steps and noted the district has posted for a psychologist and other openings. The board asked whether the district will be fully staffed by the start of the next year; staff said positions remain open but progress is positive and hiring continues.
No formal action was taken; staff said they will continue interviews and bring recommendations back to the board as hires are completed.