Contact Us

Overlake Specialty School is a unique program coordinated with school districts, community service providers, families and others to meet the special needs of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The program is committed to Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) through application of the principles of Re-ED and the techniques of Life Space Crisis Intervention to our work with students.
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Contact Information

Address: 2610 116th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004

Phone: 425.688.5425

Refer a Student

Students are referred to Overlake Specialty School by regional school districts through the special education evaluation and IEP process. Students are referred to us when their home schools and communities have exhausted their available resources and staff supports, and the student is not progressing in school. The IEP teams can then review available data and consider a change of placement to Overlake Specialty School. Referral documents, including either an initial evaluation for services or current evaluation and IEP, are given to OSS’s Vice Principal by a Special Education Administrator and then a tour is scheduled to determine whether the services are a good match for the student’s needs.

‍Individualized Education Program

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Every student comes to Overlake Specialty School with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) from their home school district. These students have already gone through the steps of the Special Education process under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IEP is individualized to each student and their particular needs, and is the foundation of quality education for students with disabilities. All students who attend Overlake Specialty School have specific behavior goals included in their IEPs as well as any other related services designed to meet the needs for each student.

An IEP and the meetings involved in processing specialized programming creates an opportunity for parents, guardians, family members, teachers, district representatives, counselors, behavior specialists, related services personnel and students (when appropriate) to work together as a team to improve behavioral and educational opportunities for the students with disabilities. The team collaborates using each person’s knowledge and experience with the student to design the best program possible. The IEP team meetings occur at least once a year. Your student’s team may meet several times throughout the year to implement new behavior plans, add or delete services, and make changes or amendments to the student’s educational and behavioral programming as needed.

Quarterly Team Meetings

Overlake Specialty School understands the importance of open communication, collaboration, and working as a team. Each student has a multidisciplinary team consisting of the IEP team, outside therapists, respite care workers, family members or any support systems included in the student’s and family’s life. Quarterly meetings provide a chance to pool everyone’s knowledge of the student to provide the best programming possible for each student. The classroom teacher will contact parents/guardians, school district representatives and other relevant parties to set up a meeting.

Meetings help gain information about the student’s strengths and the areas in need of improvement. It is a time for families to share their thoughts about their child’s progress in the program and ask questions regarding their program. It can also be a time to generate information and ideas on how to help students at home, recruit and organize help or support, implement behavioral techniques and/or address new challenges that may arise throughout their placement. Meetings can also be a place to identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family
practices, and student learning and development.

When educators and parents are viewed as a team by a student, it reinforces the student’s commitment to the program and educational standards. Studies have proven children perform better when there is a positive partnership between parents and districts. Generally, parents and teachers tend to have limited face-to-face communication. Quarterly meetings provide interactions with parents, teachers and service providers, which are critical for student success. Adults create powerful models for children through words and actions and modeling good communication skills. The meetings help to keep the channels of communication open between home, school and the community.