August 11, 2014 at 2:40 p.m.
Peterson honored to be district's new director of special education/pupil services
Peterson honored to be district's new director of special education/pupil services
Peterson will replace Dave Wall, who retired at the end of the 2013-'14 school year, and comes to the district from the Northland Pines School District where she worked for 15 years as a special education teacher and director of pupil services, according to a press release from the district.
In an interview with the River News, Peterson said she is very grateful to have been chosen to fill the position.
"I felt very honored to be asked to be part of what I consider to be a very excellent team," she said. "I've been the director of pupil services and special education at Northland Pines for the past 13 years. Prior to that, I had a variety of teaching experiences. I taught elementary school students with emotional and behavioral disabilities, but I also taught high school social studies and English at both the Florence County School District and the Lincoln Hills school."
Peterson said the skills she has accumulated over her long career will serve her well as she joins the School District of Rhinelander, but she will also be spending time listening to and learning from her new coworkers as she begins her new job.
"I think in any new position it is very important to come in and be prepared to listen and to just discover what are the things that are the strength of the school district and the relationships that the district has with its families, get to know the staff and then build off of those," she said.
"I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of new people and having them get to know me."
It was Peterson's skills and her demeanor that made her the standout choice out of the five applicants interviewed, Superintendent Kelli Jacobi said.
"She has a lot of experience with special education, which is a really specialized area of our administration. There are so many federal and state requirements that require a really high degree of expertise and she has that," Jacobi said. "You can't make mistakes in special education because the person doing it isn't aware of what current law is, so it was really important to get someone with the experience needed and she brought that to the table."
Peterson will work with district staff and families to make sure special education students' needs are met.
"Maggie will be working with our pupil services staff and our special education staff to make sure that we're doing everything we can to meet the needs of our students," Jacobi said.
"She'll be working with the families of students with special needs to make sure we're using the correct approach and that we're all working together toward the same goal, which is to meet the needs of the students in our district."
The process for moving a student into special education can seem daunting. First, parents must contact the school for an evaluation, also known as a referral. The evaluation is conducted by a specialist and is paid for by the school.
Once the evaluation is complete, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meets. The team consists of the parents, a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, an LEA representative (usually the principal or special education director), someone to explain the results of the test - it can be the special education teacher or the LEA representative or somebody else who is qualified - and anyone else the parents wish to bring for support.
While the process can seem confusing, frustrating and complicated, Peterson said she will guide through parents every step.
"The IEP process, the evaluation and getting services in place initially for a family can be really intimidating. I truly believe that my job and the job of the special education team is to ease that anxiety and make sure they know there is no question that is too simple to ask," Peterson said.
"We're there to guide them through what can be an intimidating and stressful situation. Our job is to make sure that kids have their needs met and that parents understand the process every step of the way."
Peterson's first day in the office will be Tuesday.
"I'm just anxious to get started and get through all of the normal beginning stuff," she said.
"I'm looking forward to connecting with all the families of the district."
She can be reached at (715) 365-9700 ext. 5728 or via email at [email protected].
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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