Special Education

• Pure tone air and bone conduction testing.
• Soundfield testing.
• Speech audiometry.
• Auditory processing testing.
• Audiometry Otoacoustic Emissions screening.
• Hearing testing and screening for difficult to test populations. 

TBD, Behavior Analytics Program 

Please visit our Child Find webpage

In the Cherry Creek School District, students with significant support needs are served through Integrated Learning Center (ILC) programs and attend their neighborhood school as much as possible. Out of 45 elementary schools, we have 40 ILC programs with specialized staff; and all of our middle and high schools have a severe needs (ILC) program.  Long-term goals for our students supported through ILC include the development of functional skills, communication and independence.   Special attention is paid to skills in the following domains: communication, social, academic, daily living, independence, sensory motor, and vocational. 

At the elementary level, students are included in general education with support as needed and as appropriate based on the student's strengths and needs.  General education curriculum is adapted and used as the foundation for these programs.  As with any student qualifying for special education services, the Individual Education Plan (IEP) will direct the program. 

Para-educator support is present at all elementary levels and fades as the students gain more independence.  There are transition plans created for students transitioning to the next level. 

At the secondary level, inclusion focuses on electives, after-school activities, and the general school community. Core subjects are often taught in the resource room and applied within the community as the students move into their high school and transition years. Community-based instruction is gradually increased during the student's secondary school years. 

Purposeful Inclusion is our district philosophy from preschool to age 21. Special education is a service, not a location, so individual needs should be carefully considered when determining the amount of inclusion for each student.

Kyle Summers
Secondary Integrated Learning Center/Significant Support Needs Program Liaison
720-886-7026 | ksummers@cherrycreekschools.org

Andrea Ketterlin
Elementary Integrated Learning Center/Significant Support Needs Program Liaison
720-886-7584  | aketterlin@cherrycreekschools.org

Please visit our Early Childhood Education website

ESY - Extended School Year 2025

Monday-Thursday (no class on Fridays)
8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Session 1:

June 8th - 11th
June 15th - 18th

Session 2:

July 6th - 9th
July 13th - 16th

Locations: 

Fox Hollow Elementary School - Elementary ESY
6363 S. Waco Street, Aurora, CO 80016 

Endeavor School - Secondary ESY
14076 E. Briarwood Ave, Centennial, CO 80112 

The Journey - Preschool ESY
4360 S Pitkin St, Aurora, CO 80015 
 

Colorado state law defines the eligibility criteria for Specific Learning Disability. Current law uses a response to intervention model for identification. This model contains two major criteria a child must meet in order to be identified:

1. The child does not achieve adequately for the child’s age or to meet state-approved grade-level standards … when provided with learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the child’s age or state-approved grade-level standards, and
2. The child does not make sufficient progress to meet age or state-approved grade-level standards … when using a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention as determined by a body of evidence
3. These criteria can apply to each of the eight areas of SLD identification:
   • Oral Expression
   • Listening Comprehension
   • Written Expression
   • Basic Reading Skill
   • Reading Fluency Skills
   • Reading Comprehension
   • Mathematical Computation
   • Mathematical Problem Solving 

Christina Kirchhof
Elementary, Moderate Needs Support Liaison
TBD | ckirchhof@cherrycreekschools.org

Stephanie Wise
Secondary, Moderate Needs Support Liaison
720-886-7025 | swise@cherrycreekschools.org

Occupational and Physical Therapies in Cherry Creek Schools

Both occupational and physical therapy are legally considered a “related service” to special education and are governed by federal laws and state and local mandates.  Occupational and physical therapists provide specialized services and supports to students with motor issues that significantly limit the student’s ability to access or participate in typical school activities and routines.  Services are focused on helping the student benefit from their specific educational plan. Occupational and physical therapists are part of student teams that include parents or guardians, classroom teachers, and special education professionals.  These teams make decisions about assessment and services based on the specific needs of each student.    

Occupational and physical therapists work in every school in the district. Assessment services are provided to infants and toddlers up to age three. For children age 3-5 both evaluation and intervention services through early childhood education programs. Information about services for children from birth to age 5 is available through Cherry Creek's Child Find office. 

Occupational and Physical therapy staff includes occupational therapists, physical therapists, and occupational and physical therapist assistants.  Therapists and assistants are fully credentialed in their fields and are licensed through the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE).

Amy Barr, PT, DPT
Physical Therapy Program Liaision
abarr2@cherrycreekschools.org

Kristen Reaves, OTR/L
Occupational Therapy Program Liaison
720-886-7029 | kreaves3@cherrycreekschools.org
 

Kara Peterson
Severe Affective Needs Liaison (Elementary)
720-886-7283 | kpeterson2@cherrycreekschools.org

Tara Cullen
Severe Affective Needs Liaison (Secondary)
720-554-2246 | tcullen2@cherrycreekschools.org

Christina "CJ" Loomis
Severe Affective Needs Support Liaison
cloomis@cherrycreekschools.org

Speech-Language Pathologists provide a wide variety of services to students (Pre-K through 12th grade).  The full spectrum of speech-language services might include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide speech-language screenings and evaluations to determine an educational identification of disabilities, including a Specific Language Impairment (SLI)
• Provide community awareness about communication disorders
• Provide assistance with and consultation of augmentative communication devices
• Assist in planning appropriate programming for students with various language-based disabilities
• Provide research based intervention in the areas of: literacy, articulation, receptive language, expressive language, pragmatic social language, voice, and fluency
• Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings and IEP meetings

Jennifer Kuhlen
Speech Language Pathology Liaison
720-886-7086| jkuhlen@cherrycreekschools.org

Jenn Shroyer
DHH & Speech Language Pathology Liaison
720-886-7021 | jshroyer@cherrycreekschools.org

• a learning disability, emotional disorder, communication disorder, and/or physical disability
  AND
• is also formally identified as gifted in one or more areas including intellectual ability, specific academic ability, or is recognized for extraordinary talent in creative and/or artistic areas or leadership

How are they recognized?

GT Identified First

• Achievement noticed first
• Strengths or "gifts" often fostered through GT programs
• Often passed over for special ed. support because they may be achieving at grade level (Baum, 1991)

Disability Identified First

• Often failing in school
• First noticed for what they cannot do
• Most "at risk" because the special ed. label tends to have a focus on deficits
• Often difficult for them to give themselves credit for abilities
• Acquisition of basic skills emphasized over creative productive behavior (Baum, 1991)

Neither GT nor Disability Identified

• Disability masks "gifts"
• "Gifts" mask disability
• Intellectual ability masks disability
• Often gifts emerge in specific content areas or particular learning environments where nontraditional methods are used (Baum, 1991)

Teachers of Visually Impaired and Blind students provide specially designed special education services to students ages 3-21 with visual impairments as addressed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These services include direct instruction, as well as consultation with students, their families, and school teams. Students with visual impairments may also be eligible for Orientation and Mobility training from a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS). The Cherry Creek team for students with visual impairments works with children who are blind and visually impaired as per the Colorado Department of Education and federal guidelines. Listed below are the types of services provided based on individual needs as determined by the Individualized Education Program team.

• Consultation services and training for parents and staff
• Collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team at each school
• Functional Vision Assessments and Learning Media Assessments
• Instruction in the use of low vision aids
• Braille instruction
• Orientation and Mobility assessment and training
• Daily living skill assessments and instruction
• Compensatory skill evaluations and instruction
• Assistive technology evaluations and training
• Adaptation of instructional materials
• Participation is Child Find arena assessments
• Procurement of special equipment, aids and modified textbooks, tests, and educational materials

Julie Sauerberg
Elementary Special Education Director
720-886-7098 | jsauerberg@cherrycreekschools.org