From Corrective Action to Number One on State Assessment for Special Education

Plaquemines Parish School Board in Louisiana serves about 3,300 PreK–12th grade students across nine campuses. In 2021, the special education department was audited by the state and placed under a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) due to issues with present levels and goals. This became a catalyst for change, which included partnering with Goalbook beginning in the 2022 school year.

Under the leadership of Special Education Director Mary Ellen Hamner and her IEP coordinators, after implementing Goalbook’s holistic solution, educators are writing higher-quality IEPs with data-driven present level statements that inform goals, which are now standards-aligned and skill-based, enabling educators to accurately assess student growth.

The Audit That Sparked Transformation

After the compliance review in 2021, Plaquemines Parish was placed on a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) due to substantive compliance issues around present levels and goals. 

The insight Mary Ellen and her team gained from the compliance review was that their current instructional practices were not aligned with best practices nor legally defensible. Upon taking a closer look at the special education process, they found the following issues:

1. Present levels: While present levels painted a beautiful, emotive picture of a student, they did not include data to shape the goal. Present level data typically focused on semester grades and didn’t identify skill deficits or areas of need.
2. Goals: Because present levels focused on passing or not passing a class, goals also used grades as the baseline and target. They were not written to indicate how much or what support a student needed; goals did not target skill deficits and were not measurable. Additionally, goals were often not standards-aligned, and, to the extent they were, they were a cut-and-paste from the standards.
   IEP coordinator Molly Brunkow reflected: “The goals were pretty generic and were often over-simplified statements.”
3. Progress Monitoring: Without specific, meaningful goals to monitor progress, there was limited data available for subsequent present level statements, thereby perpetuating the broken cycle.

It was being placed under a CAP by the Louisiana Department of Education that caused the Plaquemines Parish School Board team to fully grasp the problems and begin their transformation.

The Gap in Instructional Practice

Plaquemines Parish educators are well-intentioned, but there were gaps and variability in their knowledge and practices.

Teachers had a disconnect between the core purpose of the IEP and how the elements support each other in a cohesive way. Compliance meant checking a box, filling in a blank field, or copy/pasting a standard.

“Not only were IEPs non-compliant, they were not providing the best support or identifying the best need or strength for the student,” said Molly.

The reality of special education today is that many teachers come to the classroom without the training in special education instructional processes. 

The range of Plaquemine Parish educator experience is wide and fluid: novice teachers may be coming in relying on their university training while others had no formal education in writing IEPs. Veteran teachers also relied on knowledge and practices passed on to them, which varied from school to school across the district. Additionally, veteran general education teachers have moved to special education with limited knowledge and specific training in writing IEPs.

Teachers lacked the training on the core concepts and ongoing professional development to build their instructional practices.  

To make meaningful, sustainable change, the Plaquemines Parish leaders needed to address the problems at the root cause: instructional practice. With the right solution, Goalbook Toolkit, teachers received job-embedded PD to increase their special education knowledge and improve their instructional practice.

Partnering and Collaborating with Goalbook

Plaquemines Parish first met and partnered with Goalbook soon after they were placed under a CAP.

When Mary Ellen heard about Goalbook Toolkit, she thought it sounded “like an answer, perfect timing, and something we could use.” To her, Goalbook is a universal solution that can be used by the district’s special educators, related service providers, gifted and talented, and school psychologists. 

In fact, Mary Ellen and the team at Plaquemines Parish were so confident in Goalbook’s ability to help them improve and get out from under the CAP that they wrote Goalbook into the CAP.

Goalbook blends technology and professional development, which is customized and ongoing based on Plaquemine Parish’s evolving needs. Mary Ellen capitalizes on Goalbook’s professional development offerings, always investing in an extra day of PD per year. The district has participated in Goalbook-provided PD including: UDL, Behavior, Present Levels, and Progress Monitoring. 

“This is my 40th year, and I’ve worked with companies before, but they don’t have the same type of support and collaboration to make professional developments personalized the way Goalbook does,” said Mary Ellen.

Goalbook’s holistic solution has supported the district’s IEP coordinators in their work with educators. The IEP coordinators use Goalbook Toolkit as a core part of their coaching of both new and veteran educators to build instructional practice. And they love it. 

“The way that Goalbook delivers professional development, and through the use of Goalbook Toolkit, we have grown,” said IEP coordinator Gretchen Palmer.

IEP coordinator Molly said, “Goalbook Toolkit is like Special Ed 101 in a really great, user-friendly way. If you engage with it, it can teach you the tools and strategies that special education teachers really do need, not just what the IEP is asking.” 

Goalbook Toolkit is a job-embedded resource that guides educators through the IEP development process when IEP coordinators are not present. This also creates cohesiveness across the district.

Improving the Quality of Individualized IEPs

Now, after implementing Goalbook Toolkit, educators make the connection between all parts of the IEP and deliver more targeted, specially designed instruction.

1. Present levels: Educators now have real baseline data to inform present levels and goals. Present levels also now identify both areas of needs and strengths.
   Educators “can connect the dots better” and write present levels using Goalbook Toolkit’s assessments or tools.
2. Goals: With data-driven present levels, goals are now truly individualized.
   “Now that we have real-time assessments, we can create a baseline to inform the goal that we want to see a student achieve. The goals are not generic; they’re very individualized,” said Gretchen
   IEP coordinator Jeanne-Claire Saucer said, “When you’re accurately determining what a student is able to do and what their specific needs are, then you can put that into a goal that aligns with the standards and curriculum. This is always going to improve your effectiveness.”
   Rachel Kancewick, OT Administrator, shared that the district’s Occupational Therapists work with special education teachers to use Goalbook Toolkit to develop student-specific goals that are both functional and educationally relevant. Rachel said, “The numerous skill-specific assessments within Goalbook Toolkit are easy to administer and can be used for progress monitoring.”
3. Progress Monitoring: Educators are using real-time assessments for monitoring goal progress.
   The IEP coordinators also shared that now when they ask for progress monitoring information and data, educators “know what progress monitoring they want to do and how to bring that back to what they’re going to put in a present level,” shared Molly.
   In a Goalbook-provided annual survey, a Plaquemines Parish educator said: “Goalbook progress monitoring materials that are designed based on individual needs provide students with the support needed, build confidence in students, and allow them to become successful. These materials give them a sense of accomplishment.”
4. Specially Designed Instruction: With higher-quality IEPs and accurate progress monitoring, teachers are able to deliver more effective and intentional SDI.
   IEP coordinator Gretchen said the use of resources and supports provided in Goalbook Toolkit result in more targeted SDI that is aligned to goals and informed by progress monitoring.
   OT Administrator Rachel added: “Goalbook Toolkit has been an invaluable resource that has made our jobs less stressful and more efficient by providing much needed resources right at our fingertips.”

From Noncompliance to Number One in the State

By improving educator instructional practice across the special education process, Plaquemines Parish School Board has improved both compliance and student outcomes.

• Corrective Action Plan:
  Plaquemines Parish was removed from corrective action within a year.
  “Goalbook is the reason we’re not in CAP anymore,” said Mary Ellen.
• Student Achievement:
  With higher-quality IEPs and more targeted, intentional instruction based on a student’s strengths and needs, students have improved academically:
  In 2025, Plaquemines Parish was #1 in the state of Louisiana for special populations.
  Gretchen said, “A good reason we’ve moved up is because we’re writing better IEPs.”
  “Our improved student outcomes are tied to what we teach and what we believe; Goalbook has helped us move forward in that mission,” said Mary Ellen.
• Family Relationships:
  The district leaders reported that parents have noticed the difference in the quality of IEPs, and trust has increased as a result.
  
  IEPs are “easily understood and measurable, and parents appreciate that,” said Mary Ellen.
  Molly said the IEPs now show “quality, care, and like we’re investing in kids. IEPs look professional and are addressing real content.”
  
  This is important as parents want to trust the people working with their children every day. Parents want to know educators have the skills to help their children grow.
  
  “When we have present levels that clearly lay out the strengths and needs of a child and a goal that aligns with them, we’re really advocating for the parent and the child,” said Jeanne-Claire, IEP coordinator. “To be able to say to a parent how we’re going to address the needs for the child to be successful is real advocacy.”
  
  “Having the robust resources and strategies in Goalbook Toolkit gives our teachers the language to speak to parents in a way they’ll understand,” Molly said.
  
  With real advocacy, parents trust the team and partner with them.

Conclusion

The key to moving instructional practice for Plaquemines Parish was weaving Goalbook Toolkit into their practices and professional development. IEP coordinators use Goalbook Toolkit as a resource to support educators, and educators receive job-embedded professional development through it.

One Plaquemines Parish special educator said, “Goalbook gives me all of the tools I need to write high-quality IEPs, and makes sure that I meet all of the compliance criteria that’s mandated by the Louisiana Department of Education.”

Special Education Director Mary Ellen remains committed to using Goalbook Toolkit to improve the district’s instructional practice. “Goalbook continues to evolve,” she said, “And we are still discovering parts of Goalbook that our staff is not utilizing to its fullest.”

To Plaquemines, Goalbook is more than a vendor. The partnership is an active collaboration in improving instructional practices and aligning with the district’s priorities.