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Student Support Office

Home  \  Departments  \  Student Support Office

Support and Resources

Autism Support
Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

  • To learn more about symptoms, click here.
  • To learn more about developmental milestones for children, click here.

Autism Resources
 
Autism Speaks Resources:
Office Hours by Autism Speaks easily connects families to a wide variety of autism-related resources, including Family Services Tool Kits, and the Autism Speaks Resource Guide, an online national database of autism providers and resources searchable by state and zip code. To learn more, click here.
 
Autism Apps:
Kids love iPads. This seems to be especially true of students with Autism. Central Schools has purchased a number of these units for use in the classroom. To view some of the latest IPAD apps, click here.
 
Behavior Resource Website for Teachers and Parents:
There is a great site put together by Polk Elementary with interventions and ideas. You can view the site here.
 
Additional Resource Websites for Teachers and Parents:

  • PictureSET - Great visuals and social stories, click here.
  • Free download, click here.
  • HandsInAutism - How to make visual schedules, click here.
  • Visual Schedules for Parents - Chore charts and More! Click here.

Dyslexia Support
"Dyslexia" means a condition of neurological origin that is characterized by difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities, which characteristics typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction and may result in problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that may impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Click here to view NM House Bill 230
 
Signs and Symptoms:
The National Center for Learning Disabilities has compiled the list of symptoms below. To learn more about symptoms, click here.
 
Dyslexia Resources
Would you like to be trained in dyslexia? The NM Public Education Department has partnered with Regional Educational Cooperative IX to offer high quality training, absolutely free. In these modules you will learn what dyslexia is, what can be done for intervention, and how it is diagnosed.
 
Dyslexia Apps for iPad and iPhone:
Kids love IPADs; however, nothing is as good as old fashioned one on one support from a certified therapist. To further support students, Central Schools has purchased a number of iPads for use in the classroom. For the latest IPAD apps, click here.
 
Behavior Support
Schools are all about academics. However, another important part of student learning is behavior. All students deserve the opportunity to have positive support and guidance in developing appropriate behavior.  NM Addressing Student Behavior: The NM Public Education Department has issued this technical assistance manual to guide teams in their approach to addressing behavior. At CCSD, we embrace this guidance and utilize its methodologies in our intervention approach. To see the manual, click here.
 
Behavior Resources
Students Who Are Using or Suspected of Using Drugs or Alcohol: The Partnership for a Drug Free America has valuable resources to guide your team in positively intervening to help students overcome this destructive habit. To see the resources that can guide your intervention, click here.
 
Bullying Prevention and Intervention:
StopBullying.gov has great resources for helping schools address bullying on both an individual and a schoolwide basis with specific ideas. To learn more, click here.
 
Child Study Forms from the NMPED:
Form packet includes ABC Chart, Scatterplot, Sample Student/Parent Interview Scripts, Sample Teacher Interview Scripts, and more. Download here.

Staff

Amanda D. Sutherland
Student Support Director
 
Amanda D. Sutherland brings in over 22 years of educational experience to the Student Support Director position as an Educational Assistant, School Site Coordinator of Latchkey program, Special Education teacher, Principal of an Alternative High School, Special Education Coordinator, and Student Support Director. Ms. Sutherland believes that every student can succeed and that all staff have a responsibility to provide an adequate education to every student. She believes in building relationships with all stakeholders in order to promote positive environments conducive to learning. Ms. Sutherland also leads the district's initiative to improve the health and wellness of all students, and staff members. Ms. Sutherland believes in the importance of school wellness and safety and is committed to the implementation of the District Health and Wellness mission and initiatives.
Becky Brandt
Coordinator Early Intervention and 
Elementary Special Education

My name is Becky Brandt.   I have worked in education for 37 years as a teacher, special education teacher, preschool teacher, early intervention coach and currently as Student Support Coordinator of Early Intervention and Elementary Special Education.  As a coordinator I work with Parents as Teacher staff, early intervention staff, preschool special education educators, NM PreK staff, and elementary special education educators to provide CCSD with early intervention programs to support students and family from pre-natal through elementary school.
I believe that all children/students can learn and should have the opportunity to receive the support at an early age so they can achieve their learning goals.  Team work is important to ensure children/students/families have the support they need.
Christie Brown
Coordinator of Health, Wellness and Ancillary Programs

My name is Christie Brown, I am the Student Services Coordinator of Health, Wellness and Ancillary Programs for CCSD. I work with Nurses, Health assistants, Non-clinical social workers, Occupational therapists, Physical therapists, Speech-Language pathologists, and the Student Services' team to provide CCSD students, staff and community members awareness,  motivation, and tools to maintain a healthy and safe environment.

I have worked for CCSD for 16 years. I have seen many changes throughout the years, but my passion is supporting and helping the community. I believe in collaboration, connection, and communication.
Ann Kluth-Clark
Coordinator of Secondary Special Education
 
Greetings!  My name is Ann Kluth-Clark.  I am the Student Services Coordinator of Secondary Special Education.  My main focus is to provide guidance and support to our middle school and high school special education programs and educators, including our Transition Counselors and Work Skills Facilitators.  I also work with our team of Educational Diagnosticians to provide timely and accurate evaluations for PreK-12.    
I am celebrating 31 years of working in the field of Special Education.  I have had the great opportunity to work as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, director, and coordinator.  I believe all children can learn, and it is our job as a team to make it happen.  This year, we may need continued grace and flexibility, but we have what it takes to support, advocate for and educate our children.

Joel C. Balasuit

Program Coordinator


My name is Joel Balasuit. I have been with the school district for over 10 years now. I started as a SPED teacher at Newcomb Middle School, later joined Mesa Elementary and Ojo Elementary before becoming a SPED Coach. I am currently a Program Coordinator for the district as part of the support team for special education. My educational background is in Psychology and Special Education, with a Masters in Management. My professional highlights teaching in the district are a certificate of recognition from New Mexico Public Education as among the highly effective teachers in the state for three(3) consecutive years and a recognition from UNM-CDD  for my autism classroom as a model site for teaching students with autism. As an educator I believe in the quote that “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”