This was posted on the Lee's Summit R-7 Website, it was sent out in an email to all residents, it was in the Kansas City Star, it was in the Lee's Summit Tribune, it was in the Lee's Summit Journal, and it was in the newsletter sent out to patrons. It is full of lies. I have proven that with actual numbers taken from the DESE website. I contacted all of the media outlets, DESE, the superintendent, and United States Department of Education. Still, this is going to happen next month. I plan to be there to greet them.
Keimig has a laugh that comes suddenly and loudly, like a burst of machine-gun fire. His detractors tend to compare him to a used-car salesman.
His supporters want him to teach all Missouri administrators how to deal with their autistic students.
As proof of his program's success, Keimig cites two examples: special-ed students' high test scores on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test, administered by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the district's program for training teachers on how to educate special-needs students.
The district's special-needs students performed well on reading comprehension exams in the last round of MAP tests in August 2007. Overall, however, their scores fell far short of the "Adequate Yearly Progress" goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act. (The same was true for students for whom English was a second language.) As a result, the entire district was given a failing grade.
District Superintendent David McGehee made sure that parents knew which students were at fault. "The scores of students in these two subgroups are the sole reason our district was designated in this category," he wrote in an August 17, 2007, letter to district parents.
Keimig touts Lee's Summit's teacher training program: two four-day sessions a year to refresh teachers on recognizing autistic behaviors and dealing with autistic students. But these sessions aren't mandatory, and there are no special incentives for teachers to attend. Of the district's 1,264 teachers, fewer than 80 attended the most recent sessions; half of those who did, Stacy Martin says, came from schools outside the Lee's Summit district.
But, Martin adds, teachers from neighboring states and school districts often pay $1,400 per person to attend the Lee's Summit training sessions. And Lee's Summit is so well-respected within the Missouri education system that Heidi Atkins Lieberman, commissioner of special education for the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, has invited Keimig to speak at a conference of state administrators in August. He's scheduled to present a special session for superintendents on effective teaching methods for autistic students.
The Missouri Department of Education does not keep records detailing the progress of autistic students. Instead, it tracks the performance of special-education students as a whole.
In choosing Keimig to lead the special session in August, Lieberman says, she relied on informed friends. "I asked people who were very knowledgeable about autism education, and they all said Jerry would be great," Lieberman says. "I don't think I'm really at liberty to identify anyone I talked to."
The announcement of Keimig's special session infuriated some members of the Lee's Summit Autism Support Group, a collection of parents that includes Joyce Lindsey.
"If he's going to be there, we are picketing that conference," Lindsey says. "There's no way that he should be in that position."
Missouri education officials select Lee's Summit R-7 School District to
present program on autism education at state-wide conference
Selection based on district's exemplary services for special-needs students
The Lee's Summit R-7 School District was recently selected to present information on the district's services for students with autism at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Annual Cooperative Conference for School Administrators, scheduled for early August. Just two districts in the state were chosen for this presentation, and selection was based on the district's outstanding programs for students with autism, according to state officials. (Who made these decisions? Lee's Summit has had quite a few due process cases and child complaints filed because of the lack of services that they offer children with autism)
Lee's Summit R-7 and Kirkwood School District officials will share their exemplary practices in the area of autism education at the conference, which is attended by superintendents and other school district leaders from across the state. The presentation is designed to showcase these two outstanding programs and to help other districts better serve their students with autism spectrum disorders, a growing population regionally and throughout the nation. (The families in Lee's Summit would like to see these wonderful programs implemented. They look good on paper, but they are not put into practice.)
Among the 17 Missouri school districts with enrollments of more than 10,000 students, the Kirkwood and Lee's Summit R-7 School Districts rank first and second statewide when comparing Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test scores among special-education students in both communication arts and math. (Lee's Summit didn't do well on the MAP test scores according to DESE and the district. "Although repeatedly recognized for our students' outstanding scores on the Missouri Assessment Program tests, our district has still been placed in the "District Improvement Level 1" category based on the scores of a very small number of students in two sub-groups. These students were in the sub-groups of special-education students and "English language learners" (students who do not speak English as their first language). Although we do single out these two sub-groups as part of this explanation, I want to make it clear that we are proud of these students and their efforts and believe that they did their best on the state-wide tests, demonstrating improvement in a comparison of 2006 and 2007 test scores.") (Kirwood's enrollment is 5267)
KIRKWOOD R-VII District Status Not Met Y
KIRKWOOD R-VII KIRKWOOD SR. HIGH Not Met
KIRKWOOD R-VII NIPHER MIDDLE Not Met
KIRKWOOD R-VII NORTH KIRKWOOD MIDDLE Not Met
KIRKWOOD R-VII W. W. KEYSOR ELEM. Not Met T
KIRKWOOD R-VII NORTH GLENDALE ELEM. Not Met T
KIRKWOOD R-VII GEORGE R. ROBINSON ELEM. Met T
KIRKWOOD R-VII F. P. TILLMAN ELEM. Not Met
KIRKWOOD R-VII WESTCHESTER ELEM. Met
The R-7 School District currently serves approximately 250 children who have an autism spectrum disorder. The district is recognized for both its excellent special-education programs as well as the comprehensive training it offers for staff members.
(They only serve 83-88 students with educational autism. Out of the 250 that have a diagnosis of ASD the district will only give 83-88 and educational diagnosis.)
For the past 10 years, the R-7 School District has offered training in the area of autism for staff and parents. "Working with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Educational Environment" began as a two-day workshop but has grown to be an intensive 4-day training. Approximately 125 educators and parents attend this intensive session each year, including a number of attendees from other districts and other regions. The program has been recognized by districts throughout the state and has drawn participants from as far away as Illinois.
In addition to the popular four-day workshop, the R-7 School District offers workshops on functional communication, applied behavior analysis, and other topics related to the field of autism. The purpose of these workshops is to provide staff and parents with quality training on a variety of issues facing those working with children with autism spectrum disorders. (According to Jerry Keimig, regular education teachers and paras will only receive this training if they do it on their own time. The district will not pay them to attend this workshop. Many children with autism are in regular education classes with teachers that have no training in their disability. )
Just as important as the intensive workshops are follow-up training and assistance provided for R-7 staff members by the district's four coordinators focusing on autism and behavior disorders. These coordinators help conduct assessments, design programming and work with teachers and families on each child's individualized education plan. They also work with R-7 staff members to help educators effectively use materials and equipment, including specialized technological equipment designed to help children with autism in the areas of instruction and communication. (These four individuals are not full time employees and according to Stacey Martin, she has to attend to all of the children in Lee's Summit with an educational diagnosis of autism.)
This team of R-7 specialists also helps coordinate and oversee two very unique programs in the Lees Summit District. STARS (Structured Teaching to Acquire Readiness Skills) is an early childhood program designed to meet the needs of children, ages 3 to 5, who present challenges in early learning behaviors. Lee's Summit R-7 is one of only a few districts in Missouri to offer this exemplary type of programming. STARS began during the 2006-07 school year and provides very intensive services, including a one-on-one aide for each child. (The district will not provide families with any information about this program. Repeated requests have been met with denials of information.)
STARS was so successful during its first year that the R-7 School District implemented PASS (Promoting Academic and Social Success), a similar program for kindergarten students enrolled at Longview Farm Elementary. Both programs have generated interest among other school districts throughout the region. (One student that was in the STARS program regressed so much that the parent had to remove him and send him to a private school in Kansas. Another family had to remove all five of their children because of psychological damage that was done to their children. Still another family had to remove their child from PE because Jerry Keimig refused them the alternative of adaptive PE without any basis. When the family found out that the teacher was the adaptive PE teacher and met with him, he told the family that he knew more about this child than any "Autism specialist, any psychologist, or the mother. He went on to say that he would push this autistic child socially, emotionally, and physically beyond his comfort level. When the administration was notified of this they stated that the family would have to get a note from their physician before the child would be taken out of PE. The family's psychologist quickly complied as to avoid further damage to this child.)
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