Looking back at the 2024-25 school year in the Hollister School District, Director of Special Education Gabriel Gutierrez reflected on areas of focus and progress such as strengthening student achievement, stronger collaboration with the Educational Services Department and enhancing the curriculum.
Gutierrez heads the department overseeing a student population that encompasses about 15% of HSD enrollment.
Gutierrez said the district did, indeed, strengthen achievement and outcomes for students with disabilities.
“We want to strengthen them for everyone, but we recognize we want to see steeper growth for students with disabilities,” he said.
With regard to the crucial partnership with Ed Services, it’s important to be cohesive so the district is planning for all students.
“Along with that, we’ve really looked at the curriculum, the instruction, the way we’ve been teaching and monitoring students’ progress,” he said.
He underscored the use of instructional rounds—a reference to the practice of designated coordinators going into classrooms, especially self-contained classrooms, and observing and providing feedback to teachers who get advanced notice.
“It’s meant to be positive,” he said. “We want them to have a stronger foundation, at least in the Common Core standards—to balance the skill gaps with supplemental curriculum and to connect those lessons to the Common Core.”
He said the district is becoming more strategic with instructional curriculum. He noted use of the Sonday system for reading and word recognition and the Zearn program for math as helpful supplemental tools.
“In our self-contained classrooms, the students with mild-moderate needs, we want them to continue to have access to the core curriculum,” he said. “Because of the students’ difficulties identified in their IEPs (Individualized Education Programs), they may not be able to access or benefit from it.”
District efforts have helped reduce referrals that may not be appropriate, such as earlier support, thus reducing time students wait to get assistance. Currently, the district has about 900 students with IEPs. From a percentage standpoint, the goal is to get the district close to the state average of slightly below 13 percent.
He stressed the importance of inclusion toward improvements for students with disabilities, and the Gen Ed population as a whole.
“If we strengthen the outcomes for our students,” Gutierrez said of his department, “we’re going to strengthen our outcomes for the entire district.”
When the district surveyed staff and analyzed instructional rounds, it became clear that professional development is a key toward efforts to support students. Gutierrez is confident over the next couple of years, the district is going to see correlating improvements. Internal data back up the optimism, he said.
Gutierrez highlighted co-teaching at Rancho Santana, Ladd Lane, Maze and Rancho San Justo.
“Really what we’re trying to do is provide meaningful opportunities for students to be included,” he said. “That may be by integrating students in a co-teaching model or strengthening the mainstreaming, where students would go into a classroom and be there for a portion of time.”
Each student’s IEP dictates how much time spent in Gen Ed classes or the learning center.
“We don’t want to disrupt any learning. We want to enhance all learning,” Gutierrez said.
Educators ask, how do we take the strengths of that student with a disability and integrate them with their student peers?
“Inclusion is a challenge, but it will yield some significant benefits over the long haul,” he said.
Connecting with parents has been a big part of the process. The district has gathered surveys and held numerous meetings with parents.
Next school year, the district plans to expand outreach at various sites, then implement a district-wide parent committee to observe themes across the district landscape.
In the end, the district strives to provide high-quality services to all students. Staff are writing high-quality IEPs and reports, regularly meeting, and working to gain parents’ trust.
“We’ve really been focusing on strengthening our reports, strengthening our IEPs, taking into account data collected showing students’ needs,” he said.
This type of diligence leads to all-around compliance with deadlines and outcomes. When the state looked at outcomes for this last year, there were no issues with compliance or deficiencies, he said.
With the early childhood program, the district also has made significant improvements while collaborating with the San Benito County Office of Education to build opportunities for students in self-contained classrooms.
“We’ve made progress toward including students,” Gutierrez said. “The next phase is to build those opportunities for those students to have more inclusive practices with peers.”
