North Cook News

Kevin Wolf, executive director of Leyden Area Special Education Cooperative (LASEC), recently talked about the organization and their partnership with the Pennoyer School District.

Wolf was present at the Nov. 9 school board meeting as a representative of LASEC, an organization that partners with area schools to help support students and education. LASEC has nine member districts in the co-op, including Pennoyer. They work collaboratively with each district to ensure their students are getting the support and resources they need to supplement their education.

"[We are] a co-op that is continuing to grow and needs to really focus on growth to ensure that we're meeting students where they're at," Wolf said at the meeting.

LASEC supports special education by determining what services will be most beneficial for the student, and then determining in what setting those services would be best delivered in – in the general education classroom or elsewhere. LASEC has people in the office to aid in IEP and special education grant writing to ensure highest quality and success.

The co-op has 10 technical assistance supervisors, one for each member district, plus an additional for coordinating off-campus care. They have seven occupational therapists, two physical therapists, seven psychologists, four teachers, two social workers, a transition specialist, as well as people in transportation, business offices and additional educational support personnel.