IRSD Spotlight

Students with disabilities have many more educational opportunities than they did several decades ago. One of those opportunities is inclusion, the practice of having special education students learn in the same classroom as their typical, general education peers. Since gaining traction in the 1990s, inclusion is now standard practice in most school systems and the benefits have been far-reaching.

A special announcement from Superintendent Dr. Jay Owens regarding the upcoming current expense referendum on March 20.

AI, or “Artificial Intelligence,” is a topic that has become increasingly prevalent in our society. It’s been the subject of numerous media reports, of intense debate in the educational community and even of a hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch. Jeff Kilner, IRSD instructional technology specialist, is an expert on AI at both the local and national levels. Recently, he conducted an AI seminar for district secondary teachers that informative, funny and even a bit disturbing. In this episode, he stops by to discuss AI’s benefits and drawbacks and what parents should know about this technology. (Saturday Night Live audio courtesy of NBC Universal Media, LLC 2024.)

It’s been said that all behavior happens for a reason; that it’s a form of communication. Managing a child’s behavior from PreK through their teenage years is never an easy task, as almost every parent can attest. Each age group presents its own unique set of challenges. In this episode, IRSD Director of Special Education Melissa Whisted and Supervisor of Special Education Patti Harris discuss strategies that parents can use to regulate behavior in the years where children’s brains are still developing.

In this episode, we speak with three IRSD staff members – one whose father was a champion professional boxer, one who taught a reality TV star and another who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and parachuted into some hazardous areas during the Iraq War.