Website Search
Special Education
About Our Special Education Programming
At Lewis Central, we proudly serve approximately 440 students with instructional or support service IEPs. Our dedicated team includes 3 preschool teachers specialized in special education and 27 teachers across grades K-12. Supporting them, we have about 55 skilled paraeducators committed to student success.
Lewis Central partners closely with Green Hills AEA to provide comprehensive special education services for students. The AEA plays a vital role in identifying children with disabilities through their Child Find program and offers essential support and related services to those students. These services are available for children from birth through age 21 and can be accessed anytime through requests made by parents or school personnel, ensuring every student receives the assistance they need to thrive. Green Hills AEA provides assistance in the following areas for children with special needs:
- Assistive Technology
- Brain Injury Resources
- Family and Educator Partnerships
- Hearing Services
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Rising Hope Academy
- School Psychology
- School Social Work
- Significant Disabilities
- Special Education Transition
- Speech-Language Services
- Vision Services
Special Education Delivery Plan
The Iowa Administrative Rules of Special Education require that each Iowa school district create a delivery system for special education instructional services.
The content requirements of the plan have been met through a series of five questions:
- What process was used to develop the special education delivery system for eligible individuals?
- How will services be organized and provided to eligible individuals?
- How will caseloads of special education teachers be determined and regularly monitored?
- What procedures will a special education teacher use to resolve caseload concerns?
- How will the delivery system for eligible individuals meet targets identified in the state's performance plan, and what process will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery of eligible individuals?
A committee comprised of parents, general education teachers, special education teachers, an AEA representative, and district administrators met over a series of meetings to develop a plan for eligible individuals in the Lewis Central District that meets the state's requirements and addresses best practices in special education instructional delivery.
Resources & Links
Achieve Family portal
The ACHIEVE Family Portal is an optional, online system that lets parents and guardians access information about their child's special education records electronically! This tool provides you with important information to support your child's development and learning and helps you take part in Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meetings. Creating an ACHIEVE Family Portal account is completely optional. While the family portal will be a valuable resource for parents, it is not meant to replace communication with your child's IEP team. Meetings with your IEP team continue to be required, and paper copies of your child’s records will be provided. Key features of the portal include:
- Access to your child's Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and/or Individualized Education Program (IEP) and historical records
- Real-time updates on progress and goals
- Ability to electronically view and sign consent documents
Special Olympics
Any individual with an intellectual disability who meets the eligibility requirements may become an athlete member of Special Olympics by submitting or having a coach submit on his/her behalf a correct and complete Application for Participation and Official Special Olympics Release Forms prior to training or competing in Special Olympics.
Eligibility Requirements:
- At least 8 years old
- Identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions:
- Intellectual disability
- Cognitive delay as determined by standardized measures such as intelligence quotient or other generally accepted measures
- Or a closely related developmental disability, i.e., functional limitations in both general learning and adaptive skills.
Special Education Coordinator
Laurie Thies
lthies@lewiscentral.org
712-366-8311
AEA Building Representatives
Kreft: Joanna Weber
Titan Hill: Vincent Winkler
LCMS: Nicole Owen
LCHS: Sarah Esser
Speech - Language Services
Kreft Preschool: Gretchen Donegan
Kreft: Jordan Fowble
Titan Hill: Lindsay Willadsen
LCMS: Gretchen Donegan
LCHS: Jordan Fowble
Hearing Services
Kreft & Titan Hill: Kendra Peitz
LCMS & LCHS: Amanda Juhl
Physical Therapy
Katie Wells
Occupational Therapy
Mary Connelly
Vision Services
Transition
Significant Disabilities
Rising Hope Academy