All New Transformative Functional Academics Program Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2024
A brand new transformative Functional Academics Program by Specially Designed Education Services (SDES) now includes Functional Science, Functional Social Studies, Executive Functioning, and more, making it the only student-based functional academics curriculum that addresses State Standards – linked to the first and only automated, online data collection system.
In this truly revolutionary new edition, The Functional Academics Program by SDES has added Functional Science, Functional Social Studies, Executive Functioning, and doubled the number of lessons included with the Program, uniquely meeting State Standards for Special Education. Utilized by hundreds of school districts around the world, The Functional Academics Program is a comprehensive scope and sequence roadmap that enables students with moderate to severe disabilities to improve their ability to live independently and show meaningful growth both academically and personally, while creating accountability with data-driven, evidence-based results.
Former Special Education teacher turned President and CEO of the certified woman-owned company Suzanne Fitzgerald is excited to share this transformation of the Program with the Special Education community. “We are so thankful for the incredible special educators who have been actively informing exactly what they need to be successful in their classrooms and school districts.” Suzanne goes on to share, “Our collaborative work with educators, students, families, and administrators is exactly how we were able to dramatically expand and improve the Program to create this ‘team roadmap’ for students with complex learning challenges to reach their full potential. We are always whole student-focused, and our education system is truly functional and meaningful to ensure we are supporting students to become as independent as possible.”
You Asked. We Listened. It’s Here! In addition to the significant advancements in the curriculum, SDES is also introducing FLIGHT (Functional Learning Insights Guiding & Helping Teachers), the first-to-market automated, teacher-friendly, innovative online data collection system directly linked to the comprehensive Curriculum, elevating ongoing progress tracking and real-time reporting to an unprecedented new level.
With these significant enhancements, The Functional Academics Program is now the only evidence-based solution that enables teachers to educate centered on each child’s present level of performance in one-to-one or small group settings. With built-in data collection tools, FLIGHT now makes it simple for educators to easily and consistently evaluate progress and produce data-driven IEP reports for parents and school administrators, giving the IEP team the necessary tools to adjust programs as needed to increase student success.
White glove teacher support! The incredible training team—composed of 100% Special Educators—works hand-in-hand with the entire teaching team to implement the Program with complete fidelity. This is just a start! As adoption increases, Specially Designed Education Services will consistently collaborate with their community of educators to gather feedback for ongoing improvements. By integrating new-age technology and tools into FLIGHT, the team at SDES is able to push new updates, resources, and materials out to their educators instantly. Teachers receive an email highlighting what was added and connecting them directly to the new resource.
This release is no small update as it is the culmination of a decade’s worth of feedback from all levels within the classroom. The ultimate goal of The Functional Academics Program is to keep things as simple and as user-friendly as they can be, while never sacrificing the integrity of what students need. The final product showcases the art of taking deeply complex variables and providing easy-to-administer instruction in making everything work as effortlessly as possible. The same goes for our newly minted FLIGHT data collection software—custom built with the sole purpose of keeping things as simple as possible while ensuring fidelity of program implementation.
Special Education leaders using the Program are thrilled. “Truly a game-changing program for students with moderate to severe disabilities! Functional Academics has the content areas and data collection systems that I needed as a special education teacher. Students are finding great success both inside the schools and generalizing skills to their community; it provides a great opportunity to support students toward independent living after they leave the school system,” said Barb Beck, Special Education Teacher & Mentor.
From the heart, for teachers, now it’s your turn to take FLIGHT to a whole new stratosphere!
About The Functional Academics Program by Specially Designed Education Services
The real standard for teaching functional academics. Developed by teachers for teachers, The Functional Academics Program is a comprehensive, evidence-based roadmap with a scope and sequence designed to empower students with complex learning challenges to increase their independence and reach their full potential. By providing a clear and actionable framework for educators to address the unique needs of the students in their classroom in a structured and meaningful way, for the first time, districts can expect fidelity of use providing the much-needed consistency across grade levels. Thought leaders in the special education realm, SDES has created a game-changing data-driven program that includes all the tools to enable educators to create concrete data-based reporting necessary to drive real accountability. Their ongoing collaborative work with educators, students, families, and administrators provides an unprecedented connection and in-depth understanding of the learning community they serve, which sets them apart from others. SDES participates in iKeepSafe’s Safe Harbor Program and the Functional Academics FLIGHT data collection software has been independently verified and certified to ensure the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of personal information is kept private. For more information about the Program: Please contact Specially Designed Education Services at 425.820.5855, info@sdesworks.com, visit SDESworks.com, or connect on LinkedIn. Investor Relation questions: Please reach out to investor.relations@sdesworks.com.